Poetry Wednesday--Jack Rolph

Perhaps this is what Advent is about: to ask the Infant Jesus to melt the icy cynicism of our souls with His love.

Cynicism

I stand within a cage:
a cage of ice.

I am visible, yet distorted
by layer upon layer of cold armour,
forced upon me by the winds of change
to save and incarcerate the fragility beneath.

The few who have reached me
in hope of finding that which is trapped within,
have suffered the bite of winter's frost
while I stand helpless watching.

Yet I hope that one day soon a warmth
will shatter this prison and set me free
and I will smile without crystal aberration
that allowed me sight with perfect clarity.

Music Monday--Gabriel's Message

This rendition of Gabriel's Message by the Cambridge Choir And Orchestra Of Clare College is accompanied by beautiful pictures of the Annunciation and is an especially appropriate way to begin Advent.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing. This week we listened to a surprisingly well-written and somewhat rebellious song from The Carpenters, read a poem by Robert William Service and looked at a painting by Brenda Thour.

I talked about the first real Thanksgiving, and a reading from the Book of Habakkuk.

The Lord God is Our Strength

For the fig will not flower,

the vines will not fruit,

the work of the olive will be lost.

The fields will yield no food,

the flocks will be cut off from the sheepfold,

there will be no cattle in the stalls.

But I will rejoice in the Lord, take joy in God my saviour.

The Lord God is my strength.

He will make me as sure-footed as the deer.

He will lead me up to the heights.

~Habakkuk 3, from today's morning prayer

This passage from Habukkuk was part of today's morning prayer. The entire world is experiencing economic hardship not seen since the 1930's and political unrest not seen since the 1960's.  So many of us are unemployed or "underemployed", without health insurance and without a safety net of any kind. 

But, "the Lord God is (our) strength. He will lead (us) up to the heights". 

I've been attending daily Mass at a neighboring parish three days a week and one of the priests there had been reflecting on the Feast of Christ the King.  He said, essentially, that there is a lot of fear-mongering going on right now regarding politics in the United States and that we should not be shocked and worried about what might be happening here because the only kingdom that will last forever is the Kingdom of God.  No other ones will last.  That is just a fact. 

The Lord God is our strength.

The First Thanksgiving--Bean Soup After Mass

The winners write the history, hence, the story of the "first Thanksgiving" at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts with the Pilgrims and the Indians.  America being a "Protestant country" gave rise to the idea that the Separatists and Anglicans' feast with the Massasoit Indians in 1621 was the first in the New World.

The real first Thanksgiving in a permanent settlement in the New World took place 56 years before in what is now St. Augustine, Florida between Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Alviles, 800 Spanish settlers and the Seloy Indians.

When Menendez landed with his 800 settlers, Father Francisco Lopez celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving for the safe voyage.

After Mass, Menendez invited the local Seloy Indians for a feast, which consisted of a ham and garbanzo bean stew with garlic and red wine.  If the Indians brought food, it could have included such favorites as corn , squash and turkey as well as tortoise and catfish.

Starting Thanksgiving off by celebrating Mass is a great way to center ourselves with the reminder of Who it is we are thanking for our lives.

Poetry Wednesday--Robert William Service

This poem by Robert William Service explores the meaning of success and failure.

Successful Failure

I wonder if successful men
Are always happy?
And do they sing with gusto when
Springtime is sappy?
Although I am of snow-white hair
And nighly mortal,
Each time I sniff the April air
I chortle.
I wonder if a millionaire
Jigs with enjoyment,
Having such heaps of time to spare
For daft employment.
For as I dance the Highland Fling
My glee is muckle,
And doping out new songs to sing
I chuckle.
I wonder why so soon forgot
Are fame and riches;
Let cottage comfort be my lot
With well-worn britches.
As in a pub a poor unknown,
Brown ale quaffing,
To think of all I’ll never own,–
I’m laughing.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Brenda Thour

Follow Your Heart by Brenda Thour is a bright and cheery abstract painting.  Using lots of primaries as well as hearts and flowers, Thour used a paint knife for parts of this painting. The colors of the heart burst out and splash across the page while the blue in the flowers mixes in with the various blues that float across the background. The splash of white and black in the upper right corner is reminiscent of a smudged yin/yang.

Ms. Thour sells her work on Etsy and lives in Minneapolis, MN.  

Music Monday--The Carpenters

Known in the 1970's for their syrupy sweet music and multi-layered sound, The Carpenters started out as a jazz trio.  When they couldn't find success with more cerebral music, they turned to pop to make it big.

This song, Mr. Guder, was written by brother Richard after he and a friend were fired from California's Disney Land by a rather traditionally-minded boss, Mr. Guder.

Karen's drumming on this piece is phenomenal, as is her singing.  Highlighted by clear, jazzy flute and scat singing at the end, this shows the true talent of the group.

I actually think this version is better than the one that ended up on their album.  It is wonderful to see the joy that playing music brings Karen here as well.  Quite a contrast to her later years when she was plagued by anorexia.

The lesson here, I think, is stick with what you truly love.

RIP, Karen Carpenter and Johnny Carson.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

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

This week was "taking risks" week here at The Well and we heard a surprisingly listenable atonal piece called To Remove All Doubt by Kevin Stever, looked at a beautifully realistic painting about risk, and read a poem called A Morning Offering by John O'Donohue.

I also wrote a piece about The Nativity Fast that is underway in Eastern Christianity--something to think about during our Advent Journey.

Poetry Wednesday--John O'Donohue

This poem by John O'Donohue speaks of stepping out, tasking chances and being alive--just what Jesus asked us to do in the Parable of the Talents.


A Morning Offering

I bless the night that nourished my heart
To set the ghosts of longing free
Into the flow and figure of dream
That went to harvest from the dark
Bread for the hunger no one sees.

All that is eternal in me
Welcome the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.

I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Wave of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Risk

I don't know who did this painting, but I found it online tagged with the category, "Risk".  The young girl is looking at what appears to be a log in the water.  Will it support her?  Will she reach the other side?  It is indeed a risk.  

Music Monday - Kevin Stever

This week's theme here at The Well is "taking risk". I thought atonality was the best example of taking risk in music and this piece, "To Remove all Doubt" by Kevin Stever is the most listenable one I could find. The "cat walking across the piano" sound is mixed with an atonal wordless choir, weaving together through the atmosphere.

I find that in spite of the atonality and modernity you can almost discern a melody and rhythm in this piece.

Preparing for Christmas--The Nativity Fast

I've written before about the Nativity fast kept by our Eastern Christian brethren.  From November 15th to December 12, Eastern Christians fast from meat, dairy and eggs.  On December 13th, they add to that list, fish, olive oil and wine and continue that until Christmas Eve.

In some ways, our Western practice of Advent, with its penitential violet vestments, reflects this, but we have given up the practice of fasting during this time.

With Christmas being a largely secular, money-making holiday today, the idea of fasting during what most people consider the "Christmas Season" is horrifying.  In fact, the Christmas Season begins on December 24th and lasts until at least January 6th, the feast of the Epiphany (Thus, "The 12 Days of Christmas").

Fasting before the great feasts of the year is a way to focus our attention on what is important in preparation for marking a spiritually important part of our lives.

What can we fast from in this time of preparation before Christmas?  Television?  The internet?  News? Cynicism? Hatred? Prejudice? Fatty or sugary foods?  Eating out?

What should we feast on as we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S?  Thankfulness is the obvious thing that comes to mind.  Mindfulness is another.  Try reading the daily readings either at Universalis or, my favorite, Divine Office.  There is nothing like ending the day crying out to God with David and the Church through the psalms.

Give it some thought before the 15th, and before the start of Advent in the Western Church.  How will you prepare for the birth of Christ this year?





 

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

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

Our theme this week was repentance and humility.  We listened to Miserere Mei, Deus, (Psalm 51) read a poem called God's Absence by Mechthild of Magdeburg and looked at a heart-warming painting, Be it Ever So Humble,  by Greg Olsen.

I also had a few things to say about the Penn State and Herman Cain scandals.

No Excuses

The airwaves have been full of excuses this week.   Herman Cain has been accused by no less than 4 women of sexual harassment and Penn State is embroiled in a horrific sex scandal (and cover-up) of its own.

Herman Cain has been blaming Rick Perry's Republican Presidential campaign, the Democrats, the media, as well as racism. His lawyer, Lin Wood, has actually tried to warn away any women considering coming forward, telling them that their lives will be under intense scrutiny if they do!  This is unbelievable bullying on the part of the Cain campaign which has turned the clock back on women and politics at least 50 years.  His tasteless jokes about Anita Hill and one of his accusers' lawyers, Gloria Alred ("I can't think of anything I would hire *her* to do" wink, wink...) show that outdated, power-hungry sexism is what he thinks it takes to get elected in the United States.

Meanwhile, radio narcissist Rush Limbaugh has been saying what even Herman Cain will not, making crude puns about accuser Sharon Bialek's last name as he takes Cain's base talking points and runs with them.  There are some who say that is just part of Limbaugh's "schtick".  Maybe so, but there are hoards of people who follow him like he is a modern-day Messiah, hanging on his every word. This latest twist doesn't bode well for the American political process.  Being a supporter of "traditional values" does not mean going back to the days when it was de rigueur to call every victim of sexual harassment a "whore", as Limbaugh has done

Also this week, Penn State has been embroiled in a horrific abuse/cover-up scandal of its own.  Over and over, those involved in this scandal put institution, money, and power over morality and children's lives.  No institution, especially ones like the Church and Penn State who hold themselves up to a higher standard, should ever be put before the lives and safety of human beings. Preying on the weakest members of society, especially for such things as power and money, is so reprehensible that Jesus said it would be better for that person to have a millstone hung around his neck and he be cast into the sea.

I was horrified to discover that Mike McQueary did NOT break the law when he failed to call police after witnessing Mr Sandusky raping a child at Penn State.  He told Joe Paterno.  That is all he had to do, apparently. In light of this discovery, I have written my congressman and senators, asking that they write a bill making it a federal crime to fail to report to the police a criminal act being perpetrated against a minor child.

The people in this country are tired of the excuses.  We will no longer tolerate covering up crimes.  We will no longer tolerate blaming the victims.  We can not.  We are losing our moral compass in an era where literally, "anything goes" as long as it is  for money or entertainment.  Our horror over these tragic incidences have shown us that we've been asleep at the wheel.  We are now waking up to the world we have made for ourselves.

We need standards that a philosophically well laid-out belief system gives us. One with standards.  One that lets us come back, confess the wrongs we have done and make retribution.  We need to remember that people fall--leaders, both Church and state are fallible sinners. But that does NOT give us an excuse to stop striving to follow the path set out for us by our infallible, perfect God.  We need to try to keep to that path and we need to let our leaders know when they have fallen short in leading us.

We human beings are messing up on our own.  It is time to try God.

Poetry Wednesday--Mechthild of Magdeburg

Mechthild of Magdeburg was a Medieval German woman who lived in a lay community and wrote spiritual love poetry.

God's Absence

Ah blessed absence of God,

How lovingly I am bound to you!

You strengthen my will in its pain

And make dear to me

The long hard wait in my poor body.

The nearer I come to you,

The more wonderfully and abundantly

God comes upon me.

In pride, alas, I can easily lose you,

But in the depths of pure humility, O Lord,

I cannot fall away from you.

For the deeper I fall, the sweeter you taste.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Greg Olsen

This painting is called Be it Ever so Humble by Greg Olsen.  It reminds me of this time of year, when we travel, either in reality, or in our minds, to the homes were we once lived.  Often, we come to a point where we realize that the houses, as well as the people who inhabit them, do not loom as large as they once did.

I was also attracted to the word "Humble".  Humility is important, and can cover a multitude of "sins".  None of us would live up to our own scrutiny if we took the time to judge ourselves as we so often judge others. A healthy dose of humility can keep things in perspective.

The painting itself is a beautiful mixture of early Spring colors, with pinks and yellows lighting up the sky, and, seemingly, filling up the farmhouse from behind. The green farmhouse with its rusty roof, nevertheless looks warm and welcoming, blending in a bit with the grass and shrubbery that surround it.

The tiny bit of smoke from the chimney promises a warm fire for all who stop by and the blue sky peaking through the upper left of the painting, gives us hope.

Music Monday-- Miserere Mei, Deus

Today's Music Monday is the haunting chant, Miserere Mei Deus, or Have Mercy on me, God. It is the Choir of Westminster Abbey chanting the Latin version of Psalm 51.

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion, blot out my offense.
Wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me of my sin.
For my offenses, truly I know them, my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone have I sinned. What is evil in your sight, I have done,
that you may be justified when you give sentence, clear when you judge.
Behold, in guilt I was born. In sin did my mother conceive me.
You desire sincerity and in secret, you teach me wisdom.
Clean me with hyssop that I may be pure; Wash me and I will be white as snow.
You will let me hear gladness and joy; that the bones you have crushed may rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins; block out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, Oh God; put a steadfast spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence, nor deprive me of your Holy Spirit.
Restore to me the gladness of salvation; uphold me with a willing spirit.
I will teach the wicked your ways that sinners may return to you.
Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God
and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.
Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
My sacrifice, Oh God, is a contrite spirit.
A contrite and humbled heart, Oh God, you will not spurn.
Treat Zion kindly, according to your good will; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will desire sacrifices of the just, burnt and whole offerings;
They will offer young bulls upon your altar.

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 theme at The Well was Memento Mori in honor of All Hallows Eve, et. al.  Emily Dickinson, Daniel Mitsuri, and Pope Gregory stopped by to help us "remember death".

I also wrote a post about The Gift of Doubt.

Poetry Wednesday--Emily Dickinson

This poem by Emily Dickinson shows how death comes whether or not we take the time to prepare for it. Ever the gentleman, Death makes sure to stop by even when we have lost track of the time.

The cliche of having your life "pass before your eyes" at the moment of death seems true here, too. Dickinson passes by children at recess, "or rather," she corrects herself, "he passed us."

The last thing they pass is "a house that seemed a swelling of the ground"--I think, a freshly dug grave.

The last stanza lets us know that the speaker has, indeed, been dead for "centuries".

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Daniel Mitsui

Daniel Mitsuri's Memento Mori is a collage of sorts, hand-drawn using black and red ink on calfskin vellum.  Mitsuri uses traditional Catholic images depicting, on the upper left, a man on his deathbed, with both the devil and an angel waiting to receive his soul.  On the upper right, Jesus is coming at the Last Judgement, raising the dead from their graves.  The bottom left depicts hell, with all its scary darkness.  The bottom right shows heaven, with angels singing before the Throne of the Lamb, who gives His blood for the salvation of mankind.

Across the center, we see "Memento Mori", Latin for "remember death", a popular theme in the Middle Ages, when death was common, frequent and often unexpected especially during the years of the Black Plague.

The circle in the center seems to be a zodiac/star chart--probably a reminder that when one's time comes, death is inevitable.

In today's modern time we are protected from death.  We don't see it as a matter of course in our farm animals and loved ones who die at home.  "Memento Mori" and indeed the various cultures who take a day per year to "remember death"--rather fittingly on the evening before our two afterlife-related feast days, All Saints and All Souls.

Along the bottom of the drawing, Mitsui has lettered Matthew 12:37 in Latin:  For by your words, you will be justified and by your words, you will be condemned. 

As in many illuminated manuscripts, the initial letter is large and highlighted, this time in red.

Mitsui draws inspiration from his own Japanese tradition which often uses only black ink when drawing, except for the signature, which is lettered in red.