Those Who Know, Know

 Today, I brought my 94-year-old friend to her doctor.  Afterwards, we went to lunch.  I have to laugh at our conversation.  I was telling her about my interaction with a mutual acquaintance of ours.  We knew who we were talking about without knowing her name.  It went something like this.

You know what's her name, the one who's always talking about living in England.

Who?

I can't think of her name.  But she's tall, maybe the tallest woman in the Senior Center.

Oh yeah.  I think I know whom you mean.

Yes, she has naturally curly hair, white.

Oh yes, yes.  I can't think of her name, either.  She sometimes works the register, in the cafeteria.

You got it.  Yes her.

Well, what about her?  

She's the one who told me that if you eat 12 grapes at midnight--one for each of the 12 months, you'll have good luck.

Well, what's her name should know.  She always wins our raffle.

Friends of God

Friends of God Homilies by Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, is a book I used for meditation.  I read something every day.  

This is a book of 18 homilies written during the 1940's. They are simple, something even I could understand.  Yet, they contain doctrine and a theologian's clarity of explanations. 

They are perfect for discussions with friends and God.

 

The Deacon's Homily

 Today, Deacon Ron Gerwatowski, gave the homily to Luke 2: 41-52.  He talked about losing his daughter, on a Fourth of July. This tied in nicely with the Gospel about finding Jesus in the temple.  

A parent losing a child is a nightmare.  Fortunately, I have never had the experience.  My children were always hanging on me.  But I can relate to the feeling of a child losing their mother.

Back in the 1950's, my family didn't have a car. We walked to a corner store and shopped.  It was a small store, like 7-Eleven, Cumberland Farms, etc.  The aisles were small compared to Big Y, Stop & Shop, etc.  

I was around five years old and still remember that feeling of looking up and not seeing my mother.  She was only around the corner--less than 10 steps away.  

Now back to the Deacon's homily.  He spoke of how parents take care of their children and then twenty plus years, those same children are taking care of their parents.  

It struck me that no priest could have given a better homily.  They don't know that feeling of fear, of losing a child, nor will they ever experience their child taking care of them.  Priests aren't parents.

Growing Up Too Fast

 Since the author, Chris Whitaker wrote All the Colors of the Dark, which I loved and still think about, I picked up another Chris Whitaker book, We Begin at the End.

This is another, mystery, thriller, and riveting story.  Again, the story is about a teenager.  There is another handicapped teen in the story.  In All the Colors of the Dark, Thomas Nobles has symbrachydactyly. Thomas Nobles had an undeveloped hand. Again, another mother is unable to care properly for her children and the child takes care of her.  There's a good cop in both stories.  Both take place in the USA.

The cop, Walk, befriended our hero, Duchess.  The plot involves Duchess and her little brother, Robin.  When their mother is murdered, the kids go to live with their grandfather.  Duchess is a tough nut.  She swears and takes no sh*t.  Her comebacks, although course and rude, will make you laugh.  They are quick and unexpected and usually make her opponent back off.  She makes everyone back off.  

Unfortunately, Duchess keys one of her mother boyfriends' car.  Worse, she burned down the bar where her mother worked.  The bar's owner is after Duchess because before she burned the bar down, she took the bar's camera tape, that would have her on it, torching the place.

Her grandfather is murdered by the bar's owner.  Duchess knows he's looking for her.  Social services is looking for a home for Duchess and Robin.  The problem is Duchess.  Robin would be easy to place, but not Duchess.

She takes off for Robin's sake.  She hides at Thomas Nobles, and other places and comes back a year later.

Meanwhile, the man who went to trial for killing Duchess' and Robin's mother is proved not guilty, thanks to the sheriff, Walk, who always knew him as a good guy.  Everything is tied together by finding out who the father of Duchess and Robin is.  Then it all makes sense.

The book is a page turner.  You root for the kids.  You laugh at Duchess' descriptions and antics and hope she doesn't end up bad.  There is so much to say.  It's a good story.  The character descriptions are exquisite.  The descriptions of the landscape make you want to live there.  Chris Whitaker writes very well.

Live and Learn

 I am old. I can positively state that wisdom doesn't grow with age.  Times change and old people can't keep up with the changes.  I was given a pair of snow boots for Christmas. This picture shows you exactly what they are.  Note the laces.  Thinking the boot was "hands free slip on," I almost twisted my back trying not to fall.  

I could not figure out how to get my foot down into the shoe.  The elasticized laces didn't expand to allow me to perform that maneuver.  

Just before I resigned myself to returning the gift, I picked up the boot and examined the laces.  I put my finger under the first crisscross to stretch it and much to my surprise, I unlaced it!

!!!!!!!

Lo and behold, the lace wasn't elasticized.  It was a real shoe lace, or in this case, a real boot lace.  Undoing the lace allowed the boot to open wide, to receive my foot.

Live and learn.

Mary Jane

You know what's weird.  The noun Mary Jane.  My Walking Group was at breakfast, the other day.  I was telling them a story about my friend, Mary Jane.

We were at a long table, so not everybody could hear everything.

The person on the end thought we were talking about marijuana, since Mary Jane is a nick name for it.

Another thought we were talking about the shoes, named Mary Janes.

Others, thought we were talking about the little candies, Mary Janes.

I forget what the story was, about Mary Jane, because we were laughing so hard.

Do Not Lose Heart

Looking around the violence in today's world, is enough for anyone to lose their mind.

Never mind, countries who are at war.  We have people shooting children, in our own country.  But try to remember that we're not made for this world, with all its trouble.  Someday, it will all be behind us, when we are in heaven with God.

Keep the faith.  This is not really our home.  We are made for more.

Joyous Worship

 Father John linked the Old Testament to the New, in this morning's homily.  Today's homily was about Mary's visit to Elizabeth.  Luke 1: 39-56  The baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped.  In 2 Samuel 6: 14-22, David is so happy that he danced for joy.  Both are expressions of joy.  Both are expressions of worship. 

Mother/Daughter Relationships

Things I wish I told My Mother, by Susan Patterson, Susan DiLallo and James Patterson is not a keeper only because you will have enjoyed it so much, you have to pass it on. It is perfect for a ladies book club.  Everyone who grew up with a mom will relate.

The mom is Dr. Liz, a perfectionist.  The daughter is Laurie, an artist type.  It is hilarious to see the mocking, snide humor, and jokes, along with the emotional touches of love.

The story begins with Dr. Liz having a heart attack.  While in the hospital, Laurie, to cheer her mother up, suggests a trip together.  Off to Paris they go.  The description and food, I'm sure, will boost tourism.  It's beautiful.  It's fun.  Money is no object; it's not a concern.

Nice.

After Paris, they go to Norway, to look up ancestors.  Laurie sees her mother in a new light.  She sees where she came from and understands her mother in new ways.

The ending is a double take.  By that, I mean that you will have to turn back a few pages and see if a mistake was made and were you reading it correctly.  You'll figure it out and enjoy it all the more.

Zechariah

 In Luke 1:5-25, we see Zechariah doubting the message the angel, the Lord sent.  I always felt this was unfair because Mary doubts also, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  Luke 1: 26-38.

I've reconsidered.  Mary is very young.  She's just a girl, after all.  Zechariah is a grown man.  More than that, he's a priest.  He should have known scripture.  

Therein, lies the difference.  

The Right Reasons

 A Benedictine monk told the story of a young monk asking his spiritual director if his reasons for becoming a monk were shallow, or just plain dumb.   The elder monk said that your reasons for becoming a monk don't really count, compared to the reasons why you stay.

I like this.  I also think the same saying could apply to marriage.  

Blessing of the Houses

It is the custom that those chapters and individual people, who identify with the Sisters of Bethany, pray for each other.  We call this "The Blessing of the Houses."  Over the years, some chapters have closed, and some new ones have started. A new Blessing of the Houses had to be written.  Here is my chapter's new Blessing.

Our Lady of Mercy

MCI Norfolk

Blessing of the Houses

All powerful, ever loving and merciful God, St. Dominic, Blessed Lataste, and all the angels and saint in heaven, receive our prayers for blessing of the following houses:

Lord have mercy...Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy...Christ have mercy.

Lord, hear our prayers...Christ, graciously hear us.

St. Mary Magdalene...Bless our sisters of Bethany in France.

Jesus in the Eucharist...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Belgium.

Our Lady of Peace and St. Niklaus of Flue...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Switzerland.

St. Albert the Great...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Germany.

St. Catherine of Siena...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Italy.

Holy heart of Jesus...Bless our sisters of Bethany in the Netherlands.

St. Joseph...Bless our sisters of Bethany in Latvia.

Mary Mediatrix of all graces...Bless our brothers in the fraternity of Belgium.

Our Lady of the Rosary...Bless our brothers in the fraternity of Huntsville, Texas.

Our Lady of Mercy...Bless our brothers and sisters in the fraternity of Norfolk.

Mother Admirable...Bless our novitiates

Our Lady of the Church...Bless our Lataste fraternities.

St. Francis and St. Clare...Bless our Franciscan Sisters of Milwaukee.

Risen Lord...Bless our Dominican sisters and brothers in the USA.

St. Dominic...Bless our brothers at Santa Sabina and throughout the world.

Our Holy Founders...Bless us.

Blessed Lataste, Apostle of Prisons...Bless us.

A Pro-life Story

 All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker is unforgettable.  I haven't written anything on this blog for five days because I've been immersed in Saint and Patch's lives.  This book has it all.  It's a thriller, for sure.  It's a police story.  It's a romance.  It's a murder mystery.  It makes you re-think your perceptions of right and wrong.  You see two sides of every event.

I call it a pro-life story because the political debate between abortion and pro-life is mentioned, here and there, but when the story moves on and you see it in itself is the defacto debate.  

Where to begin?

Style--beautiful prose.  There are images that are poetic. I love short chapters.

Plot--A teenager saves a girl's life.  He is kidnapped and kept captive but saved by his best friend.  While captive, he is befriended and falls in love with another captive.  The rest of the novel is a search for this captive girl.

Theme--The effects of traumas on people and their relationships with others.

Setting--Mostly Missouri but all over the USA.

Characters--Patch, boy who was born with one eye.
                    Saint, Patch's best friend.
                    Nix, Police chief
                    Sammy--Humorous foil in the story.
                    Norma--Saint's Grandmother
                    Tooms--doctor in the town
                    Misty--Patch's crush
                    Grace-illusive captive
                    Eli Aaron--bad guy

The book begins with two young teens.  Patch is often bullied because he's poor, skinny, has a patch on an eye, and his mother is a druggie.  Saint's parents have died and she lives with her grandmother.  Saint is a beekeeper and a generous person who befriends Patch and feeds him when she can.

Patch saves Misty from being abducted.  Misty lives.  And.  Patch is gone!!!!!  They find his patch on the ground, but no sign of him.  Misty confides to Saint that even though her abductor was wearing a mask, she recognized the eyes of Dr. Tooms.  

After the townspeople give up looking for Patch, Saint never does.  She also keeps a wary eye on Dr. Tooms.  

Meanwhile, a girl is missing.

One day, Saint brings in some film to be developed and talks to the clerk.  He tells her to stay away from the photographer, Eli Aaron.  He's creepy.  Saints scopes Aaron out and becomes convinced that Eli Aaron kidnaps girls and maybe Patch. 

Saint goes to Eli Aaron's on a pretense and snoops around looking for evidence.  Somehow, the house catches on fire and Police Chief Nix finds Saint and they find Patch.  Eli Aaron escaped.  

Patch tells them about a girl named Grace, who was kept down the basement with him.  They don't know whether to believe him or not.

More girls are missing.  Dr. Tooms is arrested and sentenced to life.

Life goes on.  Misty and Patch become an item.  Saint has a boyfriend, Jimmy.  Patch takes over his mother's house cleaning jobs to earn money.  One time, while cleaning Sammy's art gallery, Sammy takes an interest in Patch.  It turns out that Patch is a talented artist.  He paints Grace.  He paints all the places, Grace talks about.  He also paints all the missing girls.  He and Sammy spread the portraits to help find the girls.  Organizations spring up to look for the girls.  If Patch sells a portrait, he donates the money to an organization that looks for missing girls.

Patch quits school at sixteen and works in mines.  His muscles fill out.  He grows taller.  In fact, he is very handsome, and his patch makes him look interesting and exotic.  It's an asset.

The night of Misty's prom, her father secretly has a talk with Patch.  He pays him a substantial amount of money to break off the relationship.  Patch takes it because he knew that he and Misty came from different worlds and would never be a good match.  With the money, Patch buys his mother's house and now their landlord will never bother them, again.

Misty is devasted that Patch dropped her.  But it is the end, for now.

Patch takes off, working here and there, to get by, while he searches for his Grace.

Saint takes a job working for the police with Chief Nix.  She still keeps tabs on what's going on with Patch.

Misty is going to Harvard.  For kicks, she takes a job in a bar.  Patch, working as a lobsterman, goes into that very bar.  Misty and Patch reconnect.  Patch moves on but has left Misty pregnant.  

When Patch needs money and he doesn't have a job, he robs banks.  Patch gives the money to organizations looking for missing girls.  Saint who is working for the FBI now, captures him and Patch is sent to prison.

Saint marries Jimmy.  Jimmy turns out to be a bad husband.  He doesn't like Saint working for the FBI.  When Saint becomes pregnant she doesn't know what to do.  She considers abortion, and the reader is led to believe that she did kill the baby.  She gives it up for adoption and gets a divorce.  There is mention, here and there, in the story, of anti-abortion protestors.

When Patch comes out of prison, he goes home.  One day, he sees Misty with a young girl and knows instantly that this girl is his own daughter. Her name is Charlotte.  Misty has cancer.

When Misty dies, Patch becomes her caretaker.  But when Patch meets Jimmy, Saint's "ex", Patch punches him out, for the way he treated Saint.  Jimmy hits his head and dies.  Patch is in prison again.  

While Patch is in prison, he hears a fellow prison describe his hometown, and it sounds exactly where Grace lived.  When Patch asked the inmate what the name of the town was, he was shocked to hear, "Grace, Alabama."  Patch instantaneously knew that was where Grace was.  He had to see it.

The rest of the story would be a spoiler.  Sorry.

Failure Isn't the End

 There's no such thing as failure.  You just find out what works and what doesn't.  Move on.  In the Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah, Dr. Julia Cates is publicly demonized because one of her patients shot up a school.  Meanwhile, her sister, Ellie, has need of her.  A "wolf child" has emerged from the woods.  A little girl seems to have been brought up by wolves.  She doesn't speak.  She's feral.

Julia emersed herself in helping this child.  The love interest is another doctor, Max.  He has his own history.  The two doctors help the little girl.  Actually, the entire town helps her.  It's a small town and they conspire against the media--they agree what to say and do.

Unfortunately, the girl's father turns up.  It's a nightmare.  Who will get custody?  

The story is fascinating and interesting.  I enjoyed the love story and the family dynamics.  Parenthood is examined, as well as the relationship between sisters.  Of course, the good overshadows the bad, as all Kristen Hannah's books prove.

Christmas in Prison

Most people would like a white Christmas.  My "cloistered brothers" are no different.  Christmas times are sad inside prisons.  Their loved ones and cherished memories are out of reach for all of them.  They feel "blue."  It's difficult.

Last weekend, someone had an accident.  He was trying to plug in a frayed wire and sparks flew out and fell on a blanket.  It caught on fire.  60 inmates had to be displaced.  They are not happy.  The administration gave them new mattresses and blankets and placed them here and there.  Some of these guys lost their pictures, cards, books, etc.  Now they have nothing--a mattress and a blanket.  

Fortunately, each block started a collection for the inmates.  They took a bag and everyone contributed what they could: clothes, shaving cream, etc.  It's impressive.

That's Christmas in prison.

Growing Up with Music

 The Great Passion by James Runcie is a book of historical fiction.  The setting is the composer Bach's era--18th century. The major character is Stefan Silbermann. His father sent him to school in Leipzig, for music.  The Silbermann family makes organs, so Stefan knows how to play keyboard instruments and quite a bit about organs.

The story begins with the news that Johann Sebastian Bach has died.  Stefan reminisces--that's the story.  It is a good story.  I read it like I read War and Peace.  I skipped the war and read the story.  In The Great Passion, there is music galore.  I am not a music person.  I didn't know what they were talking about. But I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Since this is the 18th century, schools are places of terror.  Since Stefan was singled out by Bach, who taught at the school, as someone with promising talent, he was bullied.  In fact, he ran away from school.  Bach, who had a household of children, had Stefan live with him.  What's one more?  

Stefan had a crush on Bach's wife, Anna Magdalena, who had a beautiful voice, but in those days, women weren't allowed to sing in church.  She and Stefan made beautiful music together.  Stefan also made good friends with Bach's oldest daughter, Catharina. 

Bach was a demanding teacher, when it came to music, but a loving father and wise.  He saved Stefan's school career.  I guess you can say, Bach made Stefan the man he became.