Month: October 2006

  • Happy Birthday Bro!

    It's my brotha's birthday!  My youngest brother, Dan, the opera singer.  He introduced me to the concept of blogging, although he doesn't have one of his own.  "Lurker extraordinaire" is what he calls himself.  He installed Firefox on my computer and showed me how to open many blogs in tabs.  Most of what I know about computers I learned from him .


    We two were the caboose of a large family.  We didn't always get along, but those days of adolescent bickering are almost impossible to remember now.  It seems that we've always shared friends, more so today than ever.  He gave me one of my best friends when he married the beautiful Valeri.  We spend at least one week together every year: a festival of feasting, cooking, reading, talking, listening and sharing.

    How he got to be an opera singer is story for another day.  He sings the big arias and requiems with gusto; when he approaches the end of the Lord's Prayer the goosebumps break out;  but when he sings Children of the Heavenly Father a capella I can only close my eyes and weep.

    But I have this against my brother:  he reads my blog every day but he will. not. comment.   I know, Xanga is a pain in the patooie.  However, if Martin Luther could post 95 theses on the Wittenburg Door dontcha think my brother could post one comment on this blog?  Would you join my campaign to convince Dan to comment?

    First, he needs a Xanga name.  Any suggestions out there?  GodLovesTenors?  You all can do better than that, no?  Pictures aren't necessary, but here are some possibilities.  Which one would you pick?

      

          Happy Birthday, dear Danny.  I love you more than the crisp clear air in the blue, blue sky today.

  • Monday Marriage Quotes

    "If two people who love each other let a single instant wedge itself between them, it grows - it becomes a month, a year, a century; it becomes too late."
       ~  Jean Giradoux,
           quoted in Patches of Godlight (Jan Karon)

    Here is the cake from a bridal shower we enjoyed this weekend for my beloved future DIL.  There was a tropical theme: you can see fishnet and sand.  Aren't the orchids lovely?  My beloved DIL, a floral designer, did all the decorating.

  • Fine Art Friday - Briton Rivière

                   
    Naughty Boy or Compulsory Education                                Sympathy

    Fidelity

  • Steady Hand, Full Cup

    The fire in the woodstove has taken the edge off of a
    chilly morning; a sense of serene stillness hovers over
    the neighborhood. Everything outside of me is peace and tranquility. 

    On the inside, though, there is much scurrying:  reviewing
    my to-do list, trading priorities like baseball players, scuttling
    this job so that one gets done, wondering how today’s
    deadlines will get met. 

    This busy morning, on a whim, I picked up a notebook my
    father kept and read this quote he wrote down sixty years ago
    at 7 p.m. 4-19-46 at St. Giles Church in Vancouver BC:  

    It takes a steady hand to hold a full cup. 


    Those words immediately altered my perspective and calmed my spirit.  I instinctively link the words full cup with the word blessing.  Yes, I have been blessed with a full cup today.  Give me a steady hand and a steady heart, Lord.  I pray that I don't spill too many drops.   

  • My Search for a Dress

     
    "And why worry about your clothes? 
    Look at the field lilies! They don't worry about theirs."
    Matthew 7:28


    My son is getting married in December.  I've been looking for a dress to wear for several months.  It's been a struggle to find something in between frumpy and slutty.  Something between dowdy and "how-dy!".  Something between a potato sack and a pretty slip.  A dress that fit and was fitting.

    I've shopped locally, I've shopped at the big cities 2 1/2 hours away. My MIL and DIL (who both have better tastes and ideas about clothes than I) have each taken up the cause: one looking through piles of catalogs and the other spending hours surfing the web.  My usual nonchalant attitude evaporated as the countdown to the big day continued.

    I've prayed before in general "Lord help us" prayers; it was time to get specific.  Friday night I started praying intentionally for a dress that was 1) under $100,  2) beautiful, and  3) modest. 

    Yesterday my mother-in-law burst in my front door so full of excitement.  She had found a dress in a catalog that she thought would work.  As she was picking up a catalog order in our small department store she mentioned how beautiful this particular dress was.  The lady behind the counter stared at my mother-in-law and said, "That dress was just returned today. I'll be shipping it back tomorrow, but if your DIL wants to buy it today she could."  One dress, my size, one day, here in my small town.  I went down, tried it on and it was perfect!  Thank you Lord!
     

  • Monday Marriage Quote - G.K. Chesterton

    Very few people ever state properly the strong argument in favour of marrying for love or against marrying for money.  The argument is not that all lovers are heros and heroines, nor is it that all dukes are profligates or all millionaires cads.  The argument is this, that the differences between a man and a woman are at best so obstinate and exasperating that they practically cannot be got over unless there is an atmosphere of exaggerated tenderness and mutual interest.  To put the matter in one metaphor, the sexes are two stubborn pieces of iron; if they are to be welded together, it must be while they are red-hot. 

    Every woman has to find out that her husband is a selfish beast, because every man is a selfish beast by the standard of a woman.  But let her find out the beast while they are both still in the story of "Beauty and the Beast." Every man has to find out his wife is cross-that is to say, sensitive to the point of madness: for every woman is mad by the masculine standard.  But let him find out that she is mad while her madness is more worth considering than anyone else's sanity.                                                                                                                      
                                    ~ G.K. Chesterton in The Common Man

  • Imitation of Christ

    Thomas à Kempis's classic The Imitation of Christ has been a slow read for me.  It's that kind of book.  I read a quote from this contemporary version by William Griffin and the fresh, dancing language drew me in even more than the devotional thoughts. 

    There is much to be praised about both the original and the translation.  I did find myself arguing with the book on many of the pages.  I don't believe that we are just passing time here on earth and waiting for life in heaven to fulfill us, that we should despise this life.  Just as often, though, the words hit their mark and resonated.  I received a great benefit from the constant reminders to examine motives, deny myself, and take up my cross.  I will pick this book up often in the future.   Its design makes it perfect for short readings.

    Griffin's clever phrases captured and delighted me.  Here are some samples:

    Toad I must be, O Lord, and toad I must remain.  Why? Because I toed the mark and failed.  Of course, I could have toadied up to You, Lord God of all amphibians, but even in this I failed.

    Grace and Charity have this way of clearing the floor of cranks and releasing all the warmths of the soul.

    If you think of yourself as an ant, and really despise your antics, and don't antagonize others, and prefer to be squished under foot than crowned king of the world--then that's something to be truly proud of.

    Drown me in Love, my Lord, that I may learn how smooth and swimming it is to love.

    Yes, consolation's a good thing, but not all consolations are good. We're succored by some, but suckered by others.

    Dust up and empty out that place within, and don't leave behind any fur balls.  Strip bare your soul, and purify your heart first; then you'll have some time to see how sweet the Lord is.

    My pedagogy?  Well, I'm the Logos, and so I don't need a lot of logorrhea to make My points.

    What Devout hogging the fireplace doesn't feel his bottom growing warm!  You're the Fount, the splish and the splash! You're the Flame, the cackle, and the crackle...You're the Pipe of wine that flows freely; that's to say, the Heavenly Cask containing the graces and consolations.  At least for others if not for me.  But if I'm not allowed to drink from the butt, I'll die of thirst.  Perhaps the tap's in the off position.  There'd still be some drippage, some droppage.  I could survive on that.  Anything to slake my thirst, make my fever subside.

    Who's the sort of person grace will occasionally grace? The one who pulls his intention up to God with a simple heart as his only winch and hoists himself out of the slough of self-love.

  • Fine Art Friday - Gérôme

     

                                       The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer by Jean-Léon Gérôme

    You can see a larger scale of this print here.  We've almost finished Eusebius' The Church History, which is full of stories about martyrs.  Eusebius not only paints pictures of the brave, courageous martyrs; he tells of those who escaped martyrdom, who under the strain "sacrificed" [to the Roman god].  This was a time of great unrest with a reign of an emperor lasting 2-5 years.  Because there were alternating periods of persecution and peace, there were folks who denied their faith under pressure and then repented and came back to the church.  

    The response of church leaders to those who had recanted and subsequently returned to the church became a major point of dissention.  Some bishops required rebaptism and some sort of purification; some bishops [incuding Novatus] refused to offer any forgiveness and with contempt damned the repentant recantors with no hope of salvation.  The orthodox bishops disagreed. A synod convened and

    "It was decreed unanimously that Novatus, his companions in arrogance, and all who supported his hatred and inhumanity to the brethren should be considered outside the church, but that those brothers who had fallen should be treated and restored with the medicine of repentance." p. 239

    Another divisive issue involved which day to celebrate Easter.  One side favored strict adherence to the precise date on the Jewish calendar for Passover and celebrated on whichever day of the week it fell on [absolute date].  The other side believed strongly that Easter should be celebrated on the day of the resurrection (Sunday) [absolute day].  This was no small quarrel: strong words were used to describe the opponents and whole dioceses were excommunicated.  Polycarp and Anicetus, two leaders, provided a great example.

    "And when the blessed Polycarp visited Rome in Anicetus's time, though they had minor disagreements on other matters, they made peace immediately, having no wish to quarrel on this point. Anicetus could not persuade Polycarp...nor did Polycarp persuade Anicetus... Nevertheless, they communed with each other, and in church Anicetus yielded...to Polycarp, obviously out of respect. They parted from each other in peace, and peace in the whole church was maintained both by those who observed and those who did not." p. 199


     

  • Bach's Passacaglia in C Minor for Organ

    People!  PEOPLE!!  PEOPLE!!! I've just been introduced to the most glorious piece of music:
    Bach's Passacaglia in C Minor for Organ. 
        Thank you,  Dr. Greenberg for using this piece to illustrate Baroque instrumental forms;
        Thank you, Teaching Company for hiring one of my new heroes, Dr. Greenberg; 
        Thank you David for these tapes;
        Thank you Johann Sebastian Bach for your unparalleled genius and mastery, for your Soli Deo Glorias;
        Thank you Lord for Bach.  

    This music drew my husband and son in from distant parts of the house; we all stood in silence, time suspended, and wondered at the beauty, marveled at the glory. Until this moment I thought Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor was  the pinnacle of magnificent organ music.  The Passacaglia doesn't surpass the Toccata, but it matches it. 

    Here's the deal:  if you only have a minute go here.  Scroll down just past the opening page and you can hear a sample from Disc 1, No. 6. If you have the time (and it is SOOO worth it) to download and listen to the entire piece than go here.  Scroll until the little box on the side is 2/3 down the page.  The Passacaglia is just below the picture of the blind organist from Germany.  Under Passacaglia & Fugue you will want to click on the upper right choice.  It took my DSL connection about 20 minutes to download and than 7:15 minutes to listen. 

    I wish you could hear Dr. Greenberg explain this piece and how to listen to it.  This definition of passacaglia might help.  There is a strict structure to this form.  It begins with a baseline, eight measures, heard alone.  This baseline will repeat (20 times in Bach's piece) but the upper voices will be varied. 

    It is so powerful.  I want this piece played at my funeral. 


  • LadyCordeliaFitzgerald

    You must  go over to my neice's new blog and check out the pictures she took of her PA farm.  They are stunning.  Her artist's eye has captured the countryside.  Does anyone get the literary reference to her  blog title?  (Hint: she loves all things gabled and green).   If  I'm allowed to brag, she is a  beautiful  young woman, whose loveliness goes very deep.  

    Our prayer group has expanded and just about doubled in size to 35 people.  We're meeting at our house tonight and I'm providing the meal.  Yikes! The menu is Company Mashed Potatoes (the kind that keeps in the oven), Hamburger Gravy (two crock pots), Green Salad, another veggie I haven't decided, fresh rolls (my DIL makes these and they are perfection) and Apple Pie for Dessert.  I'm always afraid that we'll run out of food and I'm not used to cooking for this number.  It's a tweener number, ya know?  It's not 20 and it's not 100.  We set up long tables in our large garage and it's like a big banquet.

    The best part of prayer group is praying.  We pray around the circle and I love to listen in on the kids' prayers.  While some have learned formulaic prayers, others pray straight from their soul, i.e. "Thank you for getting our family through this divorce."