Chair Volleyball

We won! It wasn't easy.  Our opponents were formidable.  Their hitters often spiked the ball close to the net and we were hard put to keep one cheek on the chair.  Their servers were very accurate and often assisted in fake serves.

The rotation was strong.  It didn't matter who served, they seem to always set point.  They were expert in quick rolls and the ball often bounced off our heads.  Even the net posts seem to mock us.

But it didn't matter.  Perseverance paid off.  We tired them out.  We just outlasted them.  We won.

See the crowns we winners were given.  Better see the smiles.

Mass and Healing Service

Father Aniello Salicone, s.x.

My prayer group was blessed tonight.  We went to see an old friend and mentor, spiritual advisor and priest.  Father Aniello Salicone celebrated Mass tonight and had a healing service afterwards.  I don't think he's changed at all.  His hair is thinner and whiter, but so is mine.  He's still the gentle, prayerful priest, I remember.

His teachings tonight were of God's love (of course).  That's his thing.  But he solved a problem that's been bouncing around in my head for awhile. You see one time when I was praying the thought occurred to me that I was kind of wasting my time because what I was praying for was something that God wants, too.  Father Aniello proved statistically that God answers prayers and either gives us what we want or something better.  I don't remember the exact figures, but I remember that we get what we ask for 4% of the time.  Yet 50 % of the time we get something better.  We also don't see immediate results.  Father Aniello quoted St. Theresa of Avila saying,  "Thank God, He didn't give me what I was asking for two days ago.  Because now I don't need it."

Father Aniello also talked of the evil one.  He's the one that causes pain, sickness, division, etc..  So don't blame God.  God only wants good things for His children.

The Holy Spirit was palpable, too.  I could feel Him.  The praising was uplifting.  I also saw some old friends.  God is good--all the time.

Sympathizing with the Antagonist

Have you ever sympathized with the bad guy in a story?  That's what happened to me in Once We Were Brothers by Ronald H. Balson.  I don't think the author intended sympathy for him; it's my make-up and personality that made me identify with the antagonist.

It's not that Otto is likable.  It's that he falls into the same sins that I would have been tempted to do.  I can just see myself doing exactly what he did, during the war.  I'm afraid I'm a coward or more correctly, I'm afraid of being a coward.

Also, I'd also do what Otto did after the war.  I'd try to make up for my wrongdoing by doing good works.  I just self-identify too closely for comfort.

Once We Were Brothers is a good story.  I love the love story between Ben and Hannah.  And I like how everything is neatly tied together.

At first I was annoyed at how long it took Ben to get into the story, just like it annoyed Catherine, his attorney.  But the author, Ronald H. Balson is an attorney himself, so I guess this is what sometimes happens.  Then I got drawn into the tale and then I couldn't put the book down.  

Laetamur Magnopere

Don't ask me why, but in helping the catechumens make up a Catholic trivia game, I happened to be using the glossary in the back of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  I flipped to the front of the book and read the Apostolic Letter in which the edition of the catechism I was using was approved.
It is called Laetamur Magnopere, written by Pope John Paul II.

I read it.  That's what I meant by my opening statement: "Don't ask me why?"

I just love our Catholic Church.  It is so rich in teaching, history, spiritual  and spiritual exegisis.  There's no end to what you can learn.  I am just amazed how everything relates to each other.

In Laetamur Magnopere I learned that in 1993, Pope John Paul II appointed Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to preside over an Interdicasterial Commission to prepare a revised version of the first catechism.  Do you know who this Cardinal is?  He became pope--Pope Benedict XVI.

I was also surprised that in 1997, the year Laetamur Magnopere was written, Pope John Paul II wrote, "...an extraordinary commitment to evangelization is urgently needed so that everyone can know and receive the Gospel message and thus grow...".  Evangelization, evangelization, evangelization, and evangelization!  That's today's rallying cry.  And this was three popes ago!

There's another document after Laetamur Magnopere in this edition of the catechism.  What will I learn from this one?  Stay tuned.

Details

I'm not a detail person.  "Good Enough!" is one of my most usual expressions."  But The Nightingale by Kristan Hannah was so well written, down to the minuteness of details, that she had me drooling.  I see the importance of details in writing, at least.  What a writer!  Her written expression seems so effortlessly done.  The story is about living in occupied France during World War II.  The Nightingale refers to the code name given to the guide who helped people cross over the Pyrenes.

Hannah's descriptions of the hardships endured had me suffering.  And what I particularly noted was the description of cooking.  This is not a book about cooking, nor hardship.  It's a story of two young women and their differences, especially their different ways of approaching the war.  They both get drawn into the battle.  Hannah deftly describes the scenes so well that you're there.  Although, food was rationed, and they grew what they could, the people had to make do.  Being French, I suppose, meant adding spices when cooking.  Even with using only root vegetables, I was drooling over the description of the vegetables braised in the pan.  This made me personally resolve to be a better cook.  If French cuisine can be adhered to during deprivation, then I have no excuse.

I went through my spices and threw out the old to make room for the new.  I plan to try some new ones too.  I'm even thinking of moving the spices to a more convenient reach, so I'll use them more often.

Actually, cooking has nothing whatsoever to do with the book, The Nightingale.  However, it is
a novel that I'm sure will whet your appetite.

Cooperation Not Transformation

My co-facilitator asked our group, "How many of you read the Bible?"  The people I was standing next to mumbled their responses, but I distinctly heard, "It's too hard."

He continued on about how much he enjoys reading the Bible every day...blah, blah.

But I couldn't get that short sentence out of my mind, "It's too hard."  What did he mean?

There are all kinds of translations, fer cryin out loud!  You could even read a children's Bible!  What's the matter with people?

I've been thinking about "It's too hard.", all week.  I've come to the conclusion that the person who said that, probably hasn't really tried.  Not really!  The Bible he looked at probably used more difficult language than we commonly use.  That person was simply intimidated.  He looked and gave up.

Obviously, since he came to our Adult Faith Formation, he is open to being transformed.

Mmmmm.  Maybe not.  His heart and mind are open a crack, but not all the way.  He wants what he wants to change and learn, but he's not open to a complete transformation by God.  IOW, he wants God to cooperate with him, not transform him.

This is what we Faith Formation Facilitators have to address before we teach anybody, anything.  People don't want to change that much.  They want to be better people and grow closer to God, but not too fast and on their own terms.

Yesterday was the feast of St. Martin de Tours.  He did many wonderful things.  When he was dying, his followers begged him to fight death.  They wanted Martin to live longer to help them.  This was Martin's prayer:

Lord, if your people still need me, I am ready for the task; your will be done.

How's that for being open to God's Will!  I think our lesson plan should be a lecture on being open to what God wants us to be, not what we want to be.  We need to pray for God to transform us to do His Will, not ours.  

The Devil's Never Idle

When the Devil’s Idle by Leta Serafim is more than a detective story.  Before reading this novel, I knew nothing about Greece.  Leta Serafim’s descriptions of the country, her explanations of historical events intermingled with Greek mythology, made me fall in love with Greece.  The setting is on the island of Patmos.  You will learn that the evangelist, St. John wrote the Book of Revelation here.  The island is very popular with Greek tourists.  It’s like the snow birds in the US going south for the winter.  German tourists fly to Greece.  It must be a “deal” financially.  It is here that a crime takes place.  A German tourist is murdered with a swastika carved on his forehead.

The detectives are a team.  The leader is Yiannis Patronas.  His cohorts are a fellow policeman and a priest:  Giorgos Tembelos and Papa Michalis.  There’s another.  For comic relief add Evangelos Demos. 

Evangelos is a screw-up.  He is described as “Fat and incompetent, he’d been forced out of the Chios Police Directorate after panicking during a stakeout and shooting up a herd of goats.”  And he is the one who was called in first to investigate the murder.  Evangelos knew enough to call in a more experienced detective.  And that was Patronas.  With Patronas, came the other detective and the priest.  The other detective, Tembelos , helps investigating.  The priest adds an objective, fair, and non-judgmental opinion on history and theology.  Yes, theology!  This is Greece, full of Greek mythology and the history of early Christianity.

Let me be honest.  I don’t usually like novels I can’t identify with.  So I expected to be bored by story.  I thought it would be a lot of background of Greek history, mythology and religion.  Greece never interested me.  I never would want to go there.  So I was taken by surprised by the author, Leta Serafim’s seduction of my senses.  She so deftly interwove the background into the story that I craved to learn more.  The island of Patmos is famous because one of the apostles lived and died there.  St. John was exiled to the island.  The island had currently become a popular tourist spot, especially frequented by Germans.  This fact added a special twist of irony.  The Germans during World War II tried to conquer Greece.  “Couldn’t get here with Hitler, so they bought their way in this time.” P. 4.  At this time, the Greek economy was hitting bottom, so the Greeks had to put up with these “one time enemies.”

The first suspect, Maria Georgiou seemed to be the most likely.  She was an  amicable character, so I didn’t want her to be the murderer.  But the deeper the investigation got, the more likely she looked.  She had every reason to hate and seek revenge on the victim.  Maria was even arrested for the crime.  No one else could have done it.  I won’t spoil the plot for you.  Tracking down the history of the victim and Maria will hook you into wanting to know more.  You will enjoy every well-crafted word, in When the Devil's Idle. Each chapter begins with a Greek Proverb.  Think of this one, as you read:

Second thoughts are ever wiser.

Leta Serafim's Web Site:
http://www.letaserafim.com/

Leta Serafim's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Leta-Serafim-768335269894253/

Leta Serafim's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/serafimleta

Leta Serafim's Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8274457.Leta_Serafim

When the Devil's Idle Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26057071-when-the-devil-s-idle

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
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When the Devil's Idle blog tour site:
http://whenthedevilsidle.blogspot.com

Leta Serafim's Bio:

Leta Serafim is the author of the Greek Islands Mystery series, published by the Coffeetown Press, as well as the historical novel, To Look on Death No More. She has visited over twenty-five islands in Greece and continues to divide her time between Boston and Greece.

When the Devil's Idle Book Summary:

In the Book of Revelation, written by St. John on the Greek island of Patmos, it was said a pale horse would appear whose rider was death, others would cry out for vengeance, and the stars of heaven would fall to the earth. Death does indeed come to Patmos when a German tourist is found murdered in the garden of one of the island’s fabled estates. Yiannis Patronas, Chief Officer of the Chios police, is called in to investigate. He summons his top detective, Giorgos Tembelos, and his friend and amateur sleuth, Papa Michalis, to assist him. What the policemen discover will disturb them long after the conclusion of the case. Only six people were at the house at the time of the murder—the gardener and housekeeper, the victim’s son and his wife and their two children, a boy of seven and a teenage girl of sixteen. All appear to be innocent. But access to the isolated estate is severely restricted. Surrounded by high walls, it has only one entrance: a metal gate that was bolted at the time of the crime. Patronas can only conclude that one of the six is a killer. He continues to probe, uncovering the family’s many secrets. Some are very old, others more recent. All are horrifying. But which of these secrets led to murder?

Book 2 of the Greek Islands Mystery series, which began with The Devil Takes Half.

Price/Formats: $6.95 ebook, $13.95 paperback
Genre: Mystery Suspense Thriller
Pages: 192
Publisher: Coffeetown Press
Release: September 1, 2015
ISBN: 9781603819985

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