Poetry Wednesday--Wendell Berry

They Sit Together on the Porch


They sit together on the porch, the dark 

Almost fallen, the house behind them dark.

Their supper done with, they have washed and dried

The dishes–only two plates now, two glasses,

Two knives, two forks, two spoons–small work for two.

She sits with her hands folded in her lap,

At rest. He smokes his pipe. They do not speak,

And when they speak at last it is to say

What each one knows the other knows. They have

One mind between them, now, that finally

For all its knowing will not exactly know

Which one goes first through the dark doorway, bidding

Goodnight, and which sits on a while alone.

This poem was featured on I Wish I'd Written This on Poets United.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Karen Margulis

This beautiful painting by Karen Margulis is called Siamese Cat on the Porch and is done in pastels. I love the peacefully sleeping cat and the interplay of various violet shades throughout. I especially like the splash of turquoise on the collar.

You can go to her website to see more of her work.

Sts. Cosmos and Damian

Today is the feast of Saints Cosmos and Damian, twin brothers who were born in Arabia in the third century. Because of their reputation for healing without accepting pay, they are called "the un-mercenary" in the Eastern Church and also "the silverless".

Sts. Cosmos and Damian, pray for those without access to healthcare. Pray for our politicians and our own individual hearts that they may be inspired to love as Christ loved.


Pray also, for those who chose to abort their children, especially in multiple pregnancies. May God inspire them to life.

Music Monday- Paul Whiteman's Orchestra

This charming song is Last Night on the Back Porch by Paul Whiteman's Orchestra. This was recorded in 1923 and is accompanied by equally charming pictures of couples on porches.

This reminds me of a time when air conditioners, computers and televisions did not exist and people enjoyed each other and the out doors on their porches.  These porches were the center of social existence during the hot summer days.

Jim Henson on Making Muppets 1969

Today would have been Jim Henson's 75th birthday. Henson was the creator of the Muppets. In this film from 1969, he teaches us how to make various types of puppets.

You can really hear Kermit the Frog in his voice.

RIP Jim Henson.

Poetry Wednesday--Hakim Sanai

As you fill with wisdom,
and your heart with love,
there's no more thirst.
~ Hakim Sanai (Afghanistan, 11th Century)

This poem by Hakim Sanai reminds me that thirst is a common spiritual metaphor the world over because it is a common human condition.

Jesus, who we must remember, was also Middle Eastern, used water and thirst as a spiritual metaphor as well.

Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

 

In both Sanai's poem and Jesus' teaching, love is the water that will quench thirst and lead us to oneness with the Divine.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Gustave Courbet

Gustave Courbet's A Family of Deer in a Landscape with a Waterfall illustrates what water often means in art and poetry--life. Water is essential to life. Without it, we would cease to exist.

From the top to the bottom of this piece, life just bursts out. We see a bit of sky with white clouds, which are immediately taken over by the tops of green trees. Our eyes travel down and we begin to see the top of the miraculous waterfall which spills down to the deer family enjoying the bounty it brings. In the foreground, the water sparkles in the sunlight.

This is a kind of Eden, a life-giving oasis, of the kind that exist in the dessert. When it they are real and not a mirage, they are a precious gift of God.

Music Monday - 古箏 Lotus out of water 出水蓮

This beautiful piece is called Lotus out of Water and is performed by Hong Ting. It is traditional Chinese GuZheng Music, performed on the Chinese Zither, an ancient stringed instrument.

Enjoy!

Poetry Wednesday--Billy Collins

This is Billy Collins' poetic tribute to the victims of 9/11

The Names 

Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.

A fine rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,

And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,

I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,

Then Baxter and Calabro,

Davis and Eberling, names falling into place

As droplets fell through the dark.

Names printed on the ceiling of the night.

Names slipping around a watery bend.

Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.

In the morning, I walked out barefoot

Among thousands of flowers

Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,

And each had a name —

Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal

Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.

Names written in the air

And stitched into the cloth of the day.

A name under a photograph taped to a mailbox.

Monogram on a torn shirt,

I see you spelled out on storefront windows

And on the bright unfurled awnings of this city.

I say the syllables as I turn a corner —

Kelly and Lee,

Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.

When I peer into the woods,

I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden

As in a puzzle concocted for children.

Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,

Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,

Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.

Names written in the pale sky.

Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.

Names silent in stone

Or cried out behind a door.

Names blown over the earth and out to sea.

In the evening — weakening light, the last swallows.

A boy on a lake lifts his oars.

A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,

And the names are outlined on the rose clouds —

Vanacore and Wallace,

(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)

Then Young and Ziminsky, the final jolt of Z.

Names etched on the head of a pin.

One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.

A blue name needled into the skin.

Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,

The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.

Alphabet of names in green rows in a field.

Names in the small tracks of birds.

Names lifted from a hat

Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.

Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.

So many names, there is barely room on the walls of the heart.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Ricardo Santos-Alfonso

This is Ricardo Santos-Alfonso's painting My Dream-Vision That Day in 9/11.  It is an abstract piece using oils, mainly in reds and blacks, to express the horror of the world on the day the Twin Towers in New York were taken down by 2 hijacked airplanes.

The painting can be viewed and purchased here.

Music Monday--Ray Pizzi

During times of tragedy, people turn to art in all its forms. This week we will feature

art, music and poetry which were created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the World

Trade Center.

This is Ray Pizzi's "Invasion"--the first movement of his musical tribute to 9/11 victims.

It is very modern and emotional--a fitting genre, I think, for the effect this horrible occurrence

had on America and the world.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.

This week's Music Monday featured a Gregorian Chant Ave Maria. Art and Beauty Tuesday juxtaposed Thomas Kinkade with Rembrandt and for Poetry Wednesday, we read a bit of St. John of the Cross.

This week we also looked at how to make Moroccan tea, 12 Things Happy People do Differently, and a moving video about miraculous survival on 9/11.

9/11 The Miracle Of Stairwell B

Unbelievable video about the firefighters who survived inside stairway B in the collapsed North Tower on 9/11. There are multiple parts to this video. Click on the next one as it comes up.

Poetry Wednesday--Saint John of the Cross

Todays' poem is by St. John of the Cross, from The Dark Night Click on the link(s) to read the entire work online.

Lost to myself and yet remaining,
Inclined so only the Beloved I spy.
All has ceased, all rests,
Even my cares, even I.
—Saint John of the Cross, from Dark Night

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Thomas Kinkade and Rembrandt Van Rijn

As a bit of an art blogger, I thought it my duty to point out a very thought-provoking article by Simcha Fisher called What is So Bad About Thomas Kinkade?

Kinkade, who calls himself the "painter of light", is a very popular artist in the United States. I have a copy of one of his paintings in my living room.

His work is very idealized; all the flowers are blooming, objects are inexplicably glowing, water is sparkling, and tiny cottages ablaze with light await our habitation. His world is perfect.

His w o r l d is perfect.

That is exactly what is wrong with Thomas Kinkade according to Fisher. The world, as God created it, is not beautiful enough.  It needs impossible idealization.  It needs to be "made-up" like an unnaturally skinny model with weirdly puffed up lips.

Another disturbing thing is the lack of light source in his paintings. A commenter on Fisher's blog said that he or she thought of Christian iconography when seeing Kinkade's work. Fisher points out, however, that they are quite different.

In Christian iconography, there is often a fierce interplay of light and darkness, showing that God is the true source of Light. In Kinkade's work, the world seems to be light itself with no source of light discernible .

While mesmerizing, this type of painting leaves us disappointed when we realize that life is not like that. Kinkade's paintings are worldly in an inverted sort of way. We are immersed in this impossible world with nothing that points us to the Source of its beauty. Kinkade's paintings are a kind of addictive escape that tell no story of their own.

In Rembrandt's Adoration of the Shepherds, on the other hand, the entire story is told through the light source. Light emanates from the newly born Christ Child while the surrounding area is filled with contrasting darkness.

The story here is immediate and obvious, told with genius and artistic uniqueness.

A story is told when beauty is allowed to be contrasted with everyday "ugliness".  Kinkade does not allow this. In his world, everything must be perfect.  Fisher likened this to a child's beauty pageant.  The inner beauty of a child is not good enough.  She must be painted and curled to impossible perfection until she is unrecognizable.

The world was created as a beautiful blend of the joyous and the sorrowful.  Good art is technically talented but it is more than that.  Good art tells a story, as good literature does, through the juxtaposition of beauty and ugliness, joy and sorrow, light and darkness.

That is the crux of the Christian story and we would do well to remember and celebrate it.  Keeping ourselves amassed in impossible standards of worldly perfection only brings disappointment when we wake up and realize that it is not to be.

This is the source of much of our sorrow today.  We want physical, relational, financial and entertainment perfection, often chasing it to the detriment of the fellow humans we have been put with on this earth.  We want it all now.  We must have perfect fulfillment.

Christianity, like life, is not this escape from reality.  It is reality as it was created and redeemed by God.  The world, from Catholicism's point of view, is very "sacramental"--it is a means by which God gives us His grace and reveals Himself  to us.  To take away the everyday, to take away the darkness, is to do God a disservice.

Good art, music and literature conveys this by showing the world in all its glory--not as an over-idealized, cookie-cutter, tv-generation view of reality that must be impossibly air-brushed-perfect to be appreciated.

Moroccan Tea Culture

I wanted to share this fascinating video about how to make Moroccan Tea. It is basically green (gunpowder) tea, fresh mint and sugar. It sounds heavenly!

Enjoy!

Music Monday--Gregorian Chant Ave Maria

Today's Music Monday features a Medieval Ave Maria done in Gregorian chant.

Saturday was the feast of St. Gregory the Great, who tradition points to as the final arranger of Roman Chant.

This particular chant is an Ave Maria, in honor of the birthday of Our Lady on September 8th.

The YouTube video shows an original Medieval copy of the plain chant notation, which is still used in some chant choirs and monasteries today.

See if you can follow along!

Twelve Things Happy People Do Differently

I thought it would be helpful to share these 12 things happy people do differently posted by Marc at Marc and Angel Hack Life.  It is good to keep in mind the things we can do to help stave off depression and a negative outlook.

1.  Express Gratitude -- Lots of people have recently discovered this.  The Psalms are full of praise to God, especially at the end of those that express in vivid terms how the pray-er is despondent and devoid of hope.  At the end, he praises God nevertheless.  Always find something to be grateful for. 

2.  Cultivate Optimism -- I think this is closely related to number 1.  The biggest font of optimism that I have found is Romans 8:28, "All things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. "  Hang tightly onto that verse and keep it close to your heart. 

3.  Avoid over-thinking and social comparison -- How hard this is for me!!  I grew up smack in the middle of a family quite found of both over-thinking and social comparison.  The solution for this is holy simplicity.  Our dear spiritual fathers St. Benedict and St. Francis were very in touch with the value of humility and simplicity--so much so that Francis literally gave everything he owned away--even the clothes on his back. 

When tempted to over-think we need to rest in God and trust that He has things under control.  

The Serenity Prayer is apt here as well: 

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I canand the wisdom to know the difference. 

So many religions have as a central tenant, the idea of letting go.  This goes a long way to inner peace. 

4.  Practice random acts of kindness -- This is another idea that is taking off like gangbusters, but can never be done enough.  How easy it is these days to keep in our own heads and not even notice there are others about much less reach out to serve them.  

Our faith tells us differently.  If we are not thinking of others, we are not practicing our faith. 

5.  Nurture social relationships -- This is another difficult one for me.  I think, also, that this is tied with the one previous.  Reach out to serve others and you will nurture social relationships. 

6.  Develop coping strategies -- Many support groups recommend having a trusted friend you can call at any time.  With the advent of new technology, it is possible to communicate instantly and silently with a trusted friend in the midst of many an emergency.  Remember also, that you can always call on God.  Journaling is another coping strategy as is saying the rosary. 

7.  Learn to forgive -- another central tenant of our faith, learning to forgive is hard.  If we are aware of our own failings, forgiving others will come easier. 

8.  Increase "flow" experiences -- Marc defines "flow" as when you are one with a task.  I think we can each identify a task that does that for us--playing an instrument or singing, reading, gardening, walking or playing a sport.  Getting out of our own heads is important. 

9.  Savor life's joys -- This is very important and also a challenge.  Life's joys, like life's sorrows, do not last.  The joys need to savored in the moment.  Living in the moment is another important aspect of many of the world's religions.  

10.  Commit to your goals -- Sometimes it is difficult to commit to our goals because we are afraid to fail.  Do it anyway.  Make God your partner and you will not fail, even when it seems as though you have. 

11.  Practice spirituality -- It has been shown that those who practice a religion are happier.  I know I could not long survive without my faith.  A faith that gives you Someone to love and to share your sorrows with, along with a purpose in life and an explanation for its sorrows, is one that will make you more well-balanced and happier. 

12. Take care of your body -- Another challenge for so many reasons.  My advice here would be to take this to prayer if you are having difficulty, either believing you deserve it, or in paying for it in this challenging economy. 

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.

This was carousel week at The Well! We listened to a 1926 Dentzel Carousel from Kennywood Park in PA and looked at Laurie Justus Pace's Escape of the Carousel. We even heard from the artist!

We also read a poem called The Carousel by WriteEditSeek.

I wrote 2 pieces on Scripture, one called Go Deeper and the other called Being Pruned.

Being Pruned

I heard the verse about pruning from John's Gospel on the radio the other day and it got me thinking.  In it, Jesus says,

I am the true vine and my Father is the vine dresser.  Every branch that bears no fruit in it, He cuts away.  Every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it bear even more.  

~John 15:1-2

It occurred to me that whether we bear fruit or not, God cuts out what is useless in us.  This involves (painful) cutting and sometimes we may not be aware of why we are being cut at the time.  We need to trust that God knows, though.

We can't second guess God's intentions, but, rest assured, He is pruning us and preparing us to learn to love as He loves.

This is also a beautiful illustration of the purpose of pain in our lives.  There are those who think that Christians, or religious people shouldn't have pain and that if you do, you are not doing something right.  This verse shows that even when we are bearing fruit , God allows painful things to happen to us for our growth.

There are also those who question the existence of God based on life's pain.  Pain occurs for a reason.  Jesus acknowledged when he spoke of the man born blind, that often it is undeserved.  In this parable, though, He says that His Father does painful pruning in those bearing fruit so that more fruit can be grown for the Kingdom.

God's Kingdom is all around us.  If we are not part of its growth, others will not be shown His love through us.

Like children who do not understand parental restrictions, we question pain, but God is pruning us to show His love to the world.

Go Deeper

In today's Gospel from Luke, Jesus tells the Simon (Peter) to "put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch."  Simon is skeptical and doesn't think this will work. Jesus tells Simon to trust in Him.

Similarly, Christ calls us all out to the "deep water" of a dependent and disciplined faith life.  We human beings often don't see a way out of our problems.  Very often, the Church (or more accurately, the people in it) seem only to exacerbate our difficulties. 

But, as I heard in a sermon yesterday, those who are not (yet) saints are saint makers.  In other words, those who challenge us the most have perhaps been put there by God to hone and polish our faith through patience and constant prayer.

Jesus is calling us to find a prayer practice that fits our station in life and practice the Benedictine virtue of stability in sticking with it.  Row out to the deep water of life.  Depend not on ourselves, money, or even each other. 

Depend solely on God.