Sarajevo Haggadah

 The Sarajevo Haggadah is a rare book that comes from the fourteenth century.  It was found in Sarajevo.  A Haggadah is the prayer book used during the Passover Seder.  People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, is historical fiction.  There is such a book, found in Sarajevo.  The restorer found a half an insect wing, a single white hair, some wine and blood stains.  How these things got in the book is the story and it is quite the story.

It is remarkable because the Haggadah is richly illustrated, and Jews didn't do that.  It's considered idolatry.  So, the story ends with the illustrator adding pictures, like the Christians did.  Since few could read in the fourteenth century, stain glass windows told the stories of the Bible.  This is what the Sarajevo Haggadah did.  It told the Biblical story. The author, Geraldine Brooks, has the illustrator using the pictures to teach a deaf child the story of the Passover.

The insect wing was traced to come from an extinct moth from Iran.  The white hair came from a Persian cat's hair, that at that time was used in paint brushes.  The author, Geraldine Brooks had different characters add their blood and spilled wine, in the story.  

Somehow, this prayer book survived the Inquisition, Nazi treasure hunters, war, careless handling, intrigue, and other conflicts.  It is a beautiful testament to faith and talent.  

Scripture Cake

 The other day, I received in the mail, a brochure from St. Joseph's Indian School.  It is full of recipes for Christmas.  This one is interesting, Scripture Cake.  I'm definitely making it for the church bake sale.  The references are silly, in that they mention the ingredient.  That's it.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter-- Judges 5:25
1 1/2 cups sugar-- Jeremiah 6:20
1 teaspoon of each: cinnamon, mace, cloves-- 1 Kings 10:10
1/2 teaspoon salt-- Leviticus 2:13
3 eggs-- Isaiah 10: 14
2 teaspoons baking powder-- Luke 13:21
2 cups flour-- 1 Kings 4:22
1/2 cup water-- Genesis 24: 11
1 Tablespoon honey--Proverbs 24: 13
1 cup raisins -- 1 Samuel 30:12
1 cup figs-- 1 Samuel 30:12
1/2 cup almonds-- Genesis 43: 11

DIRECTIONS

Blend butter, sugar, spices, and salt.  Beat egg yolks and add to butter mixture.  Sift in baking powder and flour, then add the water and honey.  Put fruit and nuts through food chopper and chop well.  Fold into batter.  Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.  Bake for 1 hour in 375 degree Fahrenheit oven.

Destressing

  Any prayer will help.  Just sitting and meditating on Jesus will do.

Details

This is a picture of the sculptor working on a statue of Mary appearing in Fatima, Portugal. This statue was made according to the instructions of Lucia, who was there.  

However, what most people associate with this apparition is this statue:

Out of all the stories that surround this apparition, I found it odd that there's no attention given for the necklace, Mary is wearing.  

And there are BIG differences between the two statues.  Which one is accurate?  One has a crown.  One has the hands folded in prayer.  One has her heart on the outside.  One has a rosary.  And the one that interests me, one is wearing a necklace.  

You would think, vendors would be selling copies of that necklace.  Wouldn't we all want to wear the necklace Mary wore?

No one seems to know what it was.  It looks like a "new age" crystal, but of course, Mary isn't "new age."  Lately, I've been reading everything available to me, about what Lucia said about Mary.  Finally, I found in the book, Vision of Fatima, by Thomas Glynn, OP, that one cannot possibly describe accurately a vision that appeared three times, accurately.

In an interview to get more details for the statue, Fr. McGlynn asked Sr. Lucia about Our Lady’s appearance, beauty, and age. What was telling was that Sr. Lucia smiled and politely answered the questions (she always appeared to be about seventeen, never smiled but was pleasant, and her beauty was beyond telling) but also was unafraid to remark that these were foolish inquiries. There’s a humility in sharing what you know and also understanding that you cannot possibly fathom all that you have seen. Sr. Lucia shined with this humility.

 Regarding, the necklace that so concerns me:   Sr. Lucia insisted Our Lady's hands be positioned just so, the tunic fall exactly the way she remembered, the star placed on the proper spot on the tunic, and the ball of light around her neck reaching almost to her waist. She would make corrections as Fr. Tom worked, and at times would even take one of the tools and make changes to his model.

That's it.  The necklace held a ball of light and what we see is the artist's depiction.

Like Lucia was trying to say.  You can't describe the awesomeness.  

Sr. Lucia thought it was foolish to try to recount exactly how Our Lady looked

Better Than A Stick in the Eye

 "Better than a stick in the eye," is a common expression, one will hear during one of our cribbage games.  It is said to someone who is not satisfied with the paltry points they received.

One of our players said that expression came from the Bible.

????????  

So we googled it.  The closest we came is Mathew 7: 3-5. "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye' while the log is in your own eye?

The context is completely different.  The scripture is referring to the hypocrisy of someone judging someone else.  Whereas the cribbage expression is trying to offer encouragement.

The only thing they have in common is the "wood."  

Barbara Walters

 The Rulebreaker is a biography of Barbara Walters.  It is very, very, well researched.  I read this on KINDLE and I finished the book and kindle told me that I've only read 67% of the book.  The rest were notes, permissions and index.

I grew up watching Barbara Walters and Hugh Downs in the morning, while I got ready for school.  I had no idea she was a pioneer for women journalists.  I think she's beautiful and gutsy.  She made mistakes but to her credit, she only made them once.  So, she's a frail human.  Are you going to cast the first stone?

I Am Officially A Grandmother

 

A grandmother:

        white, wispy hair,

                  disregarded as irrelevant.

Experience:

                 lips have narrowed,

                    yet many laugh lines.

Full of love:

                        matriarch of the family,

             sacrificed much.

Prayerful:

                       conversations with God,

           constant prayers.

A grandmother:

    white, wispy hair,

    disregarded as irrelevant.