Kissing the Face of God

"God's sign is simplicity. God's sign is the baby. God's sign is that he makes himself small for us. This is how he reigns. He does not come with power and outward splendour. He comes as a baby - defenseless and in need of our help. He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength. He takes away our fear of his greatness. He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing other from us than our love, through which we spontaneously learn to enter into his feelings, his thoughts and his will - we learn to live with him and to practise with him that humility of renunciation that belongs to the very essence of love. God made himself small so that we could understand him, welcome him, and love him." Pope Benedict XVI

A Last Minute Gift...With Meaning

An opportunity for a last minute Christmas Gift! Liz has set up a fund to help cover the cost of books and supplies for students in Agua Fria, the mountain town where she did her Peace Corps service. Click below to send a payment via PayPal!! She has a nice certificate that she can send you to use as a gift (co-workers, family members, neighbors, etc.) if you'd like. But since she's traveling back to the states this week, you'd better email me (janen7@cox.net). THANKS! (PS - if you use the link below, the shipping address may be confusing - just enter your own address - since you're not purchasing anything, shipping isn't needed, but something needs to be entered.)

Gifts

Option 1 $10.00 Option 2 $25.00 Option 3 $50.00 Option 4 $100.00

O Come O Come Emmanuel

Oh Holy Advent

I wanted to share a beautiful Advent reflection on this Advent eve - from my favorite blog.

I shed tears of gratitude and joy that you have come round again, O Advent, to shake us from our torpor as early night comes, and the match is struck, and the message is brought home once more; that we are forever in the absence of light; it is beyond us and exterior until we make it welcome and bring it, like a lover, within. Welcome into our deepest void, welcome into the parts of us touched by human frost and stunted. Welcome, O Light, beaming glorious, into remotest apertures of our souls, rays aglow, warmth permeating where we have left old fires unattended and embers to wane, and our abysses to grow chill, and uninhabitable. Welcome light; dispelling illusion, and chasing old ghosts to rest.

With the sunset tonight, the promise is renewed; the story begins again. The beginning; quiescence, empty and void. Then movement; an annunciation; a Word -one boundless, vibrant “yes” that shakes creation; “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior!” Soon there will be dreams, and silent wondering, and a gathering, and a starry night rent with song. The Word Present penetrates lonely, lost humanity, and enters into the pain and fear, the tumult and whirlwind; and He sets His tent with us not merely dwelling among, but literally with us; with hunger, with the capacity for injury and doubt -with enough vulnerability to be broken- and within this espousal, everything is illuminated!

Technology Overload

You know you're technologically overloaded when you finally get invited to create a Google telephone number, spend WAY TOO MUCH time trying different numerical combinations that spell memorable words, finally find the telephone number to rival the one you grew up with - PLeasant OH SHOOT I forgot!! - submit it, and then several weeks later when you realize you haven't used it once, you wonder why you ever got one in the first place because you don't see any purpose!!!

BUT I did just find out that when you forget your Google Voice number you can go find it on the website! 918-200-WIDE (I know, I know - all the interesting words were taken!).

Uh-oh...

Prayers for Honduras

The Wall Street Journal reports on Hondurans prayers for a miracle offered to "La Morenita". Let's join them!

I've copied most of it below (mostly for Liz's sake) since WSJ articles are hard to reach:

In the past three months, a slew of Latin American presidents, foreign ministers, ambassadors and even a Nobel Peace Prize winner, have failed to find a solution to the political standoff that has split Honduras. Now, many despairing Hondurans say, may be time for a little divine intervention...

So every day, more and more Hondurans are calling on the Virgin of Suyapa, a 3-inch statuette of the Virgin Mary, made of dark wood and nicknamed La Morenita, or the Little Dark One, for help. Over the centuries, La Morenita, which was found on a hillside in 1747 and now makes its home at a small whitewashed colonial church near the capital, has been credited with sundry miracles, from curing kidney stones to ending a brief war...

If anyone can put Honduras back on the right path, believers think, La Morenita is the one to do it. Over the centuries, she is said to have cured the blind and made cripples walk. It is said that she appeared in white robes to aid Honduran soldiers during a bloody conflict. The challenge now is to get Mr. Zelaya and his foe, Mr. Micheletti, to settle their political differences...

Legend has it that the statuette was discovered one February morning in 1747 by a laborer named Alejandro Colindres who was out clearing a corn field the day before. But darkness fell suddenly, and the farm worker went to sleep by the side of the road. When he rolled over, there was something poking at his side. Half asleep, he threw the object into the night -- only to find it poking at him yet again in the morning.

It was the tiny statue of La Morenita.

Her first supposed miracle took place in 1768, when Capt. José de Zelaya, perhaps an ancestor of the ousted president, was suddenly relieved of incurable kidney stones. Grateful, the captain had a church built to house the Virgin. Pilgrims -- some saying the Virgin had visited them in the night -- arrived from across the land. More miracles were reported.

By the 20th century, the Virgin of Suyapa was Honduras's most loved symbol. Songs were written to her, daughters named after her. In 1969, La Morenita was even given the battlefield commission "Captain of the Armed Forces" when Honduras went to war with neighboring El Salvador after violence broke out in the stands in a World Cup qualifying match. The brief, bloody war took four days and cost 2,000 lives. A draw, it went down in history as the "Soccer War." "We were outnumbered," said Ms. Díaz. "But the patroness appeared in a white gown to our soldiers, guiding them along, giving them food and water."

The pastor chimed in with an anecdote of his own. It was last February, and a family of three from near the Guatemalan border made the grueling journey across the mountains to visit the figurine. But the church had already closed that day. When he returned, "the church doors were open and they were all inside praying to her," said the priest who insists it was none other than the Virgin who let the pilgrims in. "I had locked the door myself."

Last Sunday, parishioners gathered for the first Sunday mass since Mr. Zelaya's surprise return to the country. Two policemen on motorcycles circled the basilica, their rifles pointing toward the heavens. Inside, the church was overflowing with worshipers. Many stood before the altar, waving framed portraits of the Virgin as an assistant sprinkled holy water. Father Ruiz led the services, dressed in long white robes and a green cloak. "With all of the uncertainty now in the country, we beg for your help," he said.

Honduras, Father Ruiz whispered, is like the baby held by King Solomon, in danger of being split in two by its current president and its ousted one. "Maybe the Virgin should be president. She is only 6 centimeters tall, but she has greatness," said the priest, gazing out the window of the church.

Best Listened to with Earphones

Here is an amazing rendition of Spem in Alium a 40-part "motet" that was written in the 1570. The song itself is amazing enough. But once you know it's one person singing all 40 parts, well... take a listen:


Here is the English translation of the Latin text:

I have never put my hope in any other but in you,
O God of Israel
who can show both anger
and graciousness,
and who absolves all the sins of suffering man
Lord God,
Creator of Heaven and Earth
be mindful of our lowliness

According to Wikipedia, the normal method of performing this work is to place the audience at the center of the church and surround them with the performers. The effect "is that of inundation, or of being completely overwhelmed." The work "is not often performed, as it requires at least forty singers capable of meeting its technical demands."

OMG

This picture (from Liz's Facebook) is hilarious! Liz and Sarah in a nutshell!

And this one so sweet... Love you guys! Can't wait til December.

Because of Luis and Maria

I came across a wonderful blog the other day called Why I Am Catholic . Each post has a headline like "Because of Dorothy Day" or "Because of My Friend Ferde". Well, Chris and I just came home from our first Supper Club that we joined at church and I decided to enter a Why I Am Catholic blog.

Everyone who was interested signed up for Supper Club, then we were placed with 3 other couples (or a mix with singles). One of the couples in our group, Luis and Maria, is in their 70's (Luis will be 80 in Nov) and were born in Peru. What a delightful time we had with everyone! But we especially enjoyed Luis and Maria. At one point we asked Luis how he met Maria. He told a story about his "Maria Christina" and when he described the moment he met her, his eyes lit up and he looked upward and said, "It was as if an angel - truly an angel! - had come down from heaven!" And the whole time he told the story, Maria's cheeks were red and she had a beautiful, loving smile on her face. On the way home I said, "If I had a blog like Why I Am Catholic I would say Because of Luis and Maria."

So here it is - a tribute to a couple who has been married close to 60 years, energetic enough to join a Supper Club, proud of each of their five sons, and truly still in love after all these years.

The Fruit of the Culture of Life

A Beautiful Quote for Mothers

A mother is the most important person on earth. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any Cathedral -- a dwelling for an immortal soul...-- Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

Labor Day Weekend

I've had a delightful weekend. First of all, I decided that it must only be Americans who take time off to celebrate Labor and then feel guilty if they don't do major house projects all weekend. So, I decided just to relax and not feel pressured, structured, or scheduled.

On Saturday Chris and I drove Mary to Joplin MO to meet a friend (who then drove her to Kansas City to see fellow students before she takes off for a Junior Year Abroad). Chris and I had talked about taking a drive this weekend anyway, so we decided to take the doogies with us, stay at a dog-friendly hotel, and then visit the Precious Moments Chapel.

Good News first - the chapel was really beautiful. We've driven past it now for 17 years as we traveled to Michigan, but never stopped. I pre-judged it and decided it would be expensive and tacky. Well, it was neither. As a matter of fact it was free, and a beautiful, tasteful monument to God, built by a very loving and generous man (Sam Butcher, the man who designed the Prec Mom children).
On the way home we stopped at Grand Lake, looked around a bit, ate lunch, and decided to buy a camper (not yet, but soon doggone it!).
Today we went to see Julie and Julia. I usually only smile ear-to-ear non-stop when I watch really good Disney movies or pretty much every Pixar movie. But this one had me smiling like a kid in a candy store. Meryl Streep was a joy to watch and the marriages depicted were precious.
And now I'm relaxing for yet another evening because I took tomorrow off too!! (Oh, btw, the bad news was the dogs - they were a pain! They couldn't figure out how much of the hotel they needed to protect and thus were antsy and whining until the lights were out and we went to sleep - for THAT I probably should be grateful!).

The Culture of Life

I haven't wanted to blog because I haven't wanted to distract from my previous entry. Is there a more beautiful depiction of love as the picture below, with the tear in the eye of the mother as she protects her tiny, dying child with her body's warmth and the look of tender, ever-committed love on the face of the father?

I wish I was a brilliant philosopher who could put just the right words together to express what is deep in my soul about the critical foundation to society that is being chipped away (and sometimes blasted with dynamite). Pope John Paul II called it the Culture of Life and expounded upon it with grace...

The first and most fundamental step towards...cultural transformation consists in forming consciences with regard to the incomparable and inviolable worth of every human life. It is of the greatest importance to re-establish the essential connection between life and freedom. ... There is no true freedom where life is not welcomed and loved; and there is no fullness of life except in freedom. ... Love, as a sincere gift of self, is what gives the life and freedom of the person their truest meaning.

It goes beyond defending life from conception to natural death to include respecting the dignity of others with a love that is grounded in truth. Remove the truth, as Pope Benedict recently stated, and we have "charity that degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love. It falls prey to contingent subjective emotions and opinions, the word 'love' is abused and distorted, to the point where it comes to mean the opposite."

What I can do is use my simple mind to communicate the little glimpses of truth that I find in the philosophy of the Culture of Life that make my heart sing. Glimpses that I hope are not shallow and trite, but instead are simplicity on the other side of complexity, as Einstein calls it. Like this picture...

Or this quote...

We must know that we have been created for greater things...-we have been created in order to love and be loved. Mother Teresa

Or this family...

Sarah, You'll Love This Story

When Carolyn Isbister put her 20oz baby on her chest for a cuddle, she thought that it would be the only chance she would ever have to hold her.

Doctors had told the parents that baby Rachel only had only minutes to live because her heart was beating once every ten seconds and she was not breathing.

Isbister remembers:

I didn’t want her to die being cold. So I lifted her out of her blanket and put her against my skin to warm her up. Her feet were so cold.

It was the only cuddle I was going to have with her, so I wanted to remember the moment.” Then something remarkable happened. The warmth of her mother’s skin kick started Rachael’s heart into beating properly, which allowed her to take little breaths of her own.

We couldn’t believe it – and neither could the doctors. She let out a tiny cry.

The doctors came in and said there was still no hope – but I wasn’t letting go of her. We had her blessed by the hospital chaplain, and waited for her to slip away. But she still hung on.

And then amazingly the pink color began to return to her cheeks. She literally was turning from gray to pink before our eyes, and she began to warm up too.

The sad part is that when the baby was born, doctors took one look at her and said ‘no’.

They didn’t even try to help her with her breathing as they said it would just prolong her dying. Everyone just gave up on her,” her mom remembered.

At 24 weeks a womb infection had led to her premature labor and birth and Isbister (who also has two children Samuel, 10, and Kirsten, 8 ) said, “We were terrified we were going to lose her. I had suffered three miscarriages before, so we didn’t think there was much hope.” When Rachael was born she was grey and lifeless.

Ian Laing, a consultant neonatologist at the hospital, said: “All the signs were that the little one was not going to make it and we took the decision to let mum have a cuddle as it was all we could do.

Two hours later the wee thing was crying. This is indeed a miracle baby and I have seen nothing like it in my 27 years of practice. I have not the slightest doubt that mother’s love saved her daughter.”

Rachael was moved onto a ventilator where she continued to make steady progress and was tube and syringe fed her mother’s pumped breastmilk.

Isbister said, “The doctors said that she had proved she was a fighter and that she now deserved some intensive care as there was some hope. She had done it all on her own – without any medical intervention or drugs. She had clung on to life – and it was all because of that cuddle. It had warmed up her body and regulated her heart and breathing enough for her to start fighting.

At 5 weeks she was taken off the ventilator and began breastfeeding on her own. At four months Rachel went home with her parents, weighing 8lbs – the same as any other healthy newborn. Because Rachel had suffered from a lack of oxygen doctors said there was a high risk of damage to her brain. But a scan showed no evidence of any problems and today Rachel is on par with her peers.

Rachel’s mom tells us, “She is doing so well. When we brought her home, the doctors told us that she was a remarkable little girl. And most of all, she just loves her cuddles. She will sleep for hours, just curled into my chest. It was that first cuddle which saved her life – and I’m just so glad I trusted my instinct and picked her up when I did. Otherwise she wouldn’t be here today.”

Sheas and Brandis!

OK - this is fun. I googled Bernice (my aunt) because today is her birthday - got nothing. So I tried Dorothy and found this...

Hello,
I hope that you reply to this, I currently reside in Saginaw, MI and I own the house that Michael and Mary Brandi raised their daughters in, I eleive they were Bernice and Dorothy Brandi. I have paper work on the history of my hoem if you would like copies.

I'll try to respond and let you know.

Literacy

I don't think this is any special day in the life of my dear Mom (it is 4 days away from her sister's birthday though!) - but I finally did it. I volunteered to be an adult literacy tutor in her memory. She volunteered in that way and so will I. I'm so excited. (Love you, Mom!)

(I decided, on a whim, to search for mom on Google. And I found Mary Ellen's St.Mary's Reunion website! And there was this picture, taken in 1962 when I was seven and she was serving on the Home and School committee. I don't have to point her out - everyone is looking her way!)

On True Love

What a beautiful article written by an 87 year old philosopher who loved her late theologian husband (Dietrich von Hildebrand) deeply.

"...all I aim to do is offer some "signposts" that might be helpful when people ask the question: Am I or am I not in love?...When in love, we experience a deep, profound joy -- a joy that is both ardent and calm, like a burning bush; but this ardor is not destructive, and is marked by deep recollection. It springs from the very center of our being. How different from the loud excitement of those who experience violent emotions that do not come from their depths and, like a straw fire, shine brightly for a short while but are soon extinguished.

The heart is not only on fire, but this fire has a melting effect. We feel as if a goodness that does not come from within has taken hold of us. Dietrich von Hildebrand speaks of "fluid goodness" of a loving heart. True love makes the lover more beautiful; he irradiates joy. If this is not the case, we can raise doubts as to whether he is truly in love. One says in French: "Un saint triste est un triste saint" -- a sad saint is a pitiful saint. Similarly, a sad "lover" should question whether he truly loves. Small, modest duties are done joyfully, because either they are done "with him" or "with her," or because they become acts of loving service.

True love makes one humble. All of a sudden our weakness, misery, and imperfection flash up before our minds, but with no depressing effect. We see our mistakes with the wish to unveil them to the loved one, and this unveiling is coupled with the wish to beg for his or her help in order to overcome them. We wish to unveil ourselves spiritually in a chaste way, to be truly known by the person we love; we fear to cheat our beloved into believing that we are better than we truly are. We feel that the loved one is entitled to know both our "valid name" and its caricature."

Blacktop Creative

This is the coolest website. It's for an ad agency in Kansas City.

Health Care - Where's the Nearest Town Hall?

Detroit Town Hall

Peggy Noonan has written an article that sums up my frustration at how the recent town halls have been received in Washington. I would like to say, "Hey Mister Former Community Organizer, how would you have liked it if your Chicago residents had been treated this way when they came out en masse to speak their minds? How many folks could you have persuaded to come out and meet with city officials if they hadn't been passionate about the topic? What would you have said if the mayor asked that emails be forwarded to his office?"

And so the shock on the faces of Congressmen who’ve faced the grillings back home. And really, their shock is the first thing you see in the videos. They had no idea how people were feeling. Their 2008 win left them thinking an election that had been shaped by anti-Bush, anti-Republican, and pro-change feeling was really a mandate without context; they thought that in the middle of a historic recession featuring horrific deficits, they could assume support for the invention of a huge new entitlement carrying huge new costs.

The passions of the protesters, on the other hand, are not a surprise. They hired a man to represent them in Washington. They give him a big office, a huge staff and the power to tell people what to do. They give him a car and a driver, sometimes a security detail, and a special pin showing he’s a congressman. And all they ask in return is that he see to their interests and not terrify them too much. Really, that’s all people ask. Expectations are very low. What the protesters are saying is, “You are terrifying us.”

...What has been most unsettling is not the congressmen’s surprise but a hard new tone that emerged this week. The leftosphere and the liberal commentariat charged that the town-hall meetings weren’t authentic, the crowds were ginned up by insurance companies, lobbyists and the Republican National Committee.

And the Democratic response has been stunningly crude and aggressive. It has been to attack. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, accused the people at the meetings of “carrying swastikas and symbols like that.” (Apparently one protester held a hand-lettered sign with a “no” slash over a swastika.) But they are not Nazis, they’re Americans. Some of them looked like they’d actually spent some time fighting Nazis.

Then came the Democratic Party charge that the people at the meetings were suspiciously well-dressed, in jackets and ties from Brooks Brothers. They must be Republican rent-a-mobs. Sen. Barbara Boxer said on MSNBC’s “Hardball” that people are “storming these town-hall meetings,” that they were “well dressed,” that “this is all organized,” “all planned,” to “hurt our president.” Here she was projecting. For normal people, it’s not all about Barack Obama.

...But most damagingly to political civility, and even our political tradition, was the new White House email address to which citizens are asked to report instances of “disinformation” in the health-care debate: If you receive an email or see something on the Web about health-care reform that seems “fishy,” you can send it to flag@whitehouse.gov. The White House said it was merely trying to fight “intentionally misleading” information.

What a Kid Won't Do...

to get out of going to church. This is a video, taken by a sheriff's video camera, of a 7-year old who took off in the family car to avoid going to church.

Community Blog

I did it. Finally asked Chris to dig out the old letter that we sent the community leaders and created a blog to commemorate the 20 year anniversary. I had a link here, but removed it - not ready for prime time yet!

National Geographic Pics

Here's one example - 30 more at this link.

Please Write

In an interview this week with Katie Couric, President Obama said he would "rather not wade into" the issue of whether or not health care reform should include federal funding for abortions. He said he is trying not "to micro-manage what benefits are covered."

Please join me in contacting your Senators and Congressman to ask them to ensure that health care reform does not include federal funding for abortion. I am blessed to have two senators and a congressman who are pro-life, but I still wrote them in order to add to the flood of letters that are going out after the inter-denominational Stop the Abortion Mandate telephone conference tonight. I'm on the line right now - one of 36,000 callers!

Click here.

Gran Torino

First an update on Honduras - Liz is doing fine and has blogged! We're hopeful that the facilitation by the President of Costa Rica will bring resolution.

Now for Gran Torino...
I thought it was a great movie. If you've seen it, this is a bit long, but very interesting analysis by a priest of Clint's character as a Christ figure.

More on Honduras

I got home too late for the network news so I watched the Directv channel where you can see all the cable news channels at once - hoping to switch to whatever one was showing Latinos in camouflage. I waited, and waited, and waited. This was the one hour 6:00 news and ALL the stations had non-stop Michael Jackson for at least 20 minutes. Finally Fox moved on, and eventually MSNBC did, but CNN kept with it for so long I stopped tracking!! Good Lord!

I talked to Liz today and she had only heard the bit of news they are getting on the radio. But she was sure that someone had "gotten to" the media because they were reporting what surely HAD to be a lie - that countries throughout the world were condemning the coup! I hated to tell her - that it wasn't a lie. She was SO disappointed and had a hard time understanding why no one could see that if the military hadn't done what they did, Zelaya would have rigged the constitutional vote so that he could stay in power.

After reading a lot about the situation I've tentatively formed my opinion. I think they are an amazing, and courageous people who ignored warnings from the US State Dept and did what they thought needed to be done to protect their country's rule of law. When we hear the military was behind the coup we think of a non-populist violent force. But it was non-violent. And the military is in a unique position in Honduras because they deliver ballots in an election. AND the Congress and Supreme Court both supported the move!

Today the new President said something along the lines of "Please leave us alone and let us do what we have to do until November when we will democratically elect a president."

I just saw good news - Hilary Clinton declared that the U.S. will not label what occurred a "coup" since that would result in cutting off millions in aid to Honduras.

In my mind Obama got it all turned around. He should have come out loud and clear immediately in support of the protesters in Iran and thoughtful and restrained on any condemnation of Honduras. Hmmm...

Honduran Coup

I've spent the last hour searching for analysis of the Honduran situation but have not been able to find much. When I talked to Liz today the electricity was off throughout the country and before that the television stations were out of commission.

The people Liz has talked to have been very concerned about the election that was supposed to take place this week. The president was attempting to change the constitution to allow him to run for a second, currently unconstitutional, term.

Unfortunately, the method chosen to prevent Pres. Zelaya from taking a page from Iran's history and rigging the vote, was a military coup. Now they have a newly appointed (by Congress) president that many of the people of Honduras may be recognizing, but an ousted president in exile in Costa Rica that the rest of the world recognizes (Cuba, Venezuela, U.S. - all on the same page on this).

A few minutes ago it was reported that Chavez is threatening to invade Honduras.

SO - the situation is much more unstable than I had thought, after talking with Liz, but she is only able to get information from short telephone calls she's been getting from the Peace Corps. I continue to be impressed with the quick response from the Peace Corps when it comes to safety. If things don't improve I'm sure they'll be sending all volunteers home.

Videos like this one are hard to watch. Fortunately, she is far away from Tegucigalpa, where most of the action is taking place.

Back to Blogging

or not.. who knows? But I realized I've stopped blogging and I decided to change that. We'll see how long it lasts. I'm currently up way to late, playing on the computer and listening to Michael Jackson stuff on CNN. I can't believe I'm doing that! When he died and they interrupted radio and TV, I thought, "Good Lord! This guy is not the president!" But it is pretty fascinating to watch the videos that were popular while I was in a black hole called "early parenting"! He really was very gifted. What a sad life.

BUT it is Friday and I am looking forward to a 3 day week next week. Love ya'll!

What's Unusual About This Picture?

Give up? Scroll down...












It's in color - even though taken around 1909. Read the photographers amazing story here.

A Smile for You

The NY Times to the Rescue

A great article about Brown's Angels and Demons...

Brown’s message has been called anti-Catholic, but that’s only part of the story. True, his depiction of the Roman Church’s past constitutes a greatest hits of anti-Catholicism, with slurs invented by 19th-century Protestants jostling for space alongside libels fabricated by 20th-century Wiccans. (If he targeted Judaism or Islam this way, one suspects that no publisher would touch him.)...

...both “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” end with a big anti-Catholic reveal (Jesus had kids with Mary Magdalene! That terrorist plot against the Vatican was actually launched by an archconservative priest!) followed by a big cover-up... Having dismissed Catholicism’s truth claims and demonized its most sincere defenders, Brown pats believers on the head and bids them go on fingering their rosary beads.

he serves up a Jesus who’s a thoroughly modern sort of messiah — sexy, worldly, and Goddess-worshiping, with a wife and kids, a house in the Galilean suburbs, and no delusions about his own divinity.

...The “secret” history of Christendom that unspools in “The Da Vinci Code” is false from start to finish. The lost gospels are real enough, but they neither confirm the portrait of Christ that Brown is peddling — they’re far, far weirder than that — nor provide a persuasive alternative to the New Testament account. The Jesus of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John — jealous, demanding, apocalyptic — may not be congenial to contemporary sensibilities, but he’s the only historically-plausible Jesus there is.

For millions of readers, Brown’s novels have helped smooth over the tension between ancient Christianity and modern American faith. But the tension endures. You can have Jesus or Dan Brown. But you can’t have both.

Cool Video

I saw this while on my trip to Fort Worth last week. So fun!

Another Quote!!

“The important thing is that we do not let a single day go by in vain without putting it to good use for eternity.” Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, martyred by Nazis

Franz was quoted by Archbishop Chaput in this very inspiring article

Another Quote

"When someone asks you 'think about what Jesus would do', remember that a valid option is to freak out and turn over tables" -- Unknown

Quote for the Day

"You are my God. Every moment of my life is in your hands." Psalm 31:15

Two Posts in One Day!!

Watch this wonderful 12 year old who was able to get across points that have been log-jammed in my brain for years!!

Waiting in Kansas City...

I'm not sure why I'm not updating, but, well, I'm not. But I would like to say that I'm in Kansas City with my friend Mary Pat. She was the younger girls' Youth Group Leader (and an amazing one at that!). She's Liz and Sarah's confirmation sponsor. BUT, unfortunately, she had to return to her hometown in Minnesota in order to get health insurance for her husband who was facing a lung transplant. He has had the transplant and is well now.

Sooo - we decided to meet half way (although it's not, but she insisted) and have some fun. I've been here awhile and am now waiting for her to arrive. I got here 2 1/2 hours later than I should have (but we won't talk about that) and only got to see Mary for about 10 minutes before she left for the weekend!!!

Looking forward to a fun time with a great friend!

Phoenix with the Sibs

I just returned from a lovely trip to visit my brothers and sisters (and in-laws and cousin Mary Lynn). We all congregated in Phoenix, where Larry lives. It was so great to see Larry - it's been SEVEN years since I saw him!!! That is too long and it won't be that long again, doggone it!

We stayed at Embassy Suites where the free "lubrication" assisted in relaxed, enjoyable time. We laughed heartily, shared warm (and not so warm!) memories, and had a lot of fun. They all ended up here on their way back to Michigan, which was great - we very rarely are able to have family with us. Once Mary Ellen posts her pics, I'll link.

Love y'all!

PBXVI On the Economy

One thing I really like about Pope Benedict is his habit of gathering priests together for Q&A sessions. What a great contrast to the old days of the papacy where every word is parsed and formal. Recently, in answer to a question about the economy, he made this statement. Click on the "other Vatican officials" link to find a more detailed response from the Archbishop assigned to the U.N.

Earlier the Pope encouraged those who still have jobs to help those who have lost theirs. This helped us to get out of the fearful, clenching, spending less mentality which only engenders more fear. As the crisis continues, my prayer is that I and those I love will be able to remain right in the center of God - His will, His love, His compassion - so we can respond in a way that contributes to the good God is trying to do for us all.

An Oscar Day

Since we hadn't seen any of the Best Picture nominees, Chris and I decided to go to two movies today. The first one:

we thought was a bit over-rated. We gave it 3 stars (our of 4). A good movie, but Best Picture-worthy? Uh-uh.

The next one:

we loved. 4 stars (and that's a RARE rating at the Noble house). What a beautiful story centered on a boy who overcomes a hellish life with his innocence and integrity intact. The kids who acted in the film were approved by their parents at the last minute to attend the awards. That will be fun to watch.

Take a Look...

My Friend

My friend lost his wife today. She died without notice, at 48, of an aneurysm. She was left on life support for a day to enable organ transplants. She left 3 high school girls whose lives were intimately connected with their mom. Things I learned over the last two days:

- loving and helping others after devastation is always good, I will never again question whether I should or shouldn't. I always will at least try and then get a sense of whether I'm needed.
- Williams is a wonderful company, at its best in these crises. The corporate jet was sent to pick up Kathy's family in Pittsburg, my boss gratefully allowed me to spend as much time at the hospital as I needed, just the right number of people came and provided all the support needed, all costs incurred could be expensed, the Board of Directors was meeting and someone who was there said she could actually feel a sense of love and care for the family - she said at her previous employer they would have been asking when he'd be back to work.
- most people in these situations need grandma sitters, mothers or in-laws of the deceased who are lost and alone and need someone to talk to most of the day
- mothers are SO crucial to a family; Kathy's service to her family will be utterly irreplaceable.
- God will provide, I'm sure of it.
- There are special graces at these times - Bryan isn't Catholic, but I felt like he needed something he can put in his pocket and hold when he needs help - something about St. Joseph; I found JUST the thing at the bookstore, a large coin that has St. J's pic with "Patron Saint of Fathers" and a prayer on it.
- My role in this was impressed upon my heart due to something quite amazing that happened the night she woke with the aneurysm. I couldn't sleep and was watching clips of the inaugural. While watching Obama and his wife dance I thought about Bryan and Kathy dancing for some reason - I very rarely think of either of them while at home - they reminded me of them. It was right around the time that she became brain dead. Some day I'll tell Bryan. I think he escorted her, dancing, into heaven.

Please pray for my friend and his daughters Meghan, Kristen and Lauren.

Obama and the Peace Corps

During the short time I had at my desk today, I've been trying to get some time to watch the Inaugural activities. It's amazing to watch the impact on African Americans. No matter how I feel about the election, it is a historic leap in the right direction in the area of race relations.

Anyway, I've only been able to look at the livestream about 4 or 5 times for seconds at a time. And one of those times I saw the Peace Corps alums! I took a screen shot. How cool is that, Elizabeth???