Merry Christmas

First Sunday of Advent

I love starting over.

No Cancer

The Good News: I don't have cancer.

The Bad News: I had to have a colonoscopy to find out.

Great Quote

"The state is a Protestant substitute church."

Found at A Conservative Blog for Peace, but I'm not sure if Serge actually making the remark or quoting someone else.

September 14: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

My Youtube Page

I have begun posting my fiction as montages/slideshows on Youtube.

You can check it out here.

The Old-Fashioned Way, or What Has Happened to Us?

Eye-opening...

Nothing so pretty...

Nothing so pretty as vanished fear.

-Nothing By Chance, Richard Bach

I Got Another Job

We praise thee, O God
we acknowledge thee to be the Lord
All the earth doth worship thee
the Father everlasting.
To thee all the angels cry aloud
the heavens and all the powers therein.
To thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry
Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of Sabaoth;
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
The Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee;
the father of an infinite majesty;
thine honourable true and only Son;
also the Holy Ghost the comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the hand of God in glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting
O Lord save thy people
and bless thine heritage.
Govern them and lift them up for ever.
Day by day we magnify thee;
and worship thy name, ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee.
O Lord in thee have I trusted let me not be confounded.

My reading schedule for the next couple months...

Week One (May 31-June 6)

Psalm 103, Genesis 1, Psalm 148
Psalm 32, Genesis 2, Psalm 8
Psalm 1, Genesis 3, Psalm 50
Psalm 15, Genesis 4, Psalm 49
Psalm 68, Genesis 5-9, Psalm 17

Week Two (June 7-June 13)

Psalm 7, Genesis 10-11, Psalm 54
Psalm 66, Genesis 12, Psalm 14
Psalm 143, Genesis 13-14, Psalm 9
Psalm 22, Genesis 15, Psalm 126
Psalm 4, Genesis 16-17, Psalm116

Week Three (June 14-June 20)

Psalm 10, Genesis 18-19, Psalm 110
Psalm 24, Genesis 20-21, Psalm 137
Psalm 70, Genesis 22-23, Psalm 21
Psalm 5, Genesis 24, Psalm 137
Psalm 144, Genesis 25-26, Psalm 111

Week Four (June 21-June 27)

Psalm 70, Genesis 27-28, Psalm 129
Psalm 138, Genesis 29-30, Psalm 30
Psalm 16, Genesis 31-33, Psalm 64
Psalm 143, Genesis 34, Psalm149
Psalm 93, Genesis 35-36, Psalm 124

Week Five (June 28-July 4)

Psalm1, Genesis 37, Psalm 21
Psalm 76, Genesis 38, Psalm 142
Psalm 11, Genesis 39, Psalm 122
Psalm 6, Genesis 40-41, Psalm 63
Psalm 127, Genesis 42-45, Psalm 132
Psalm 32, Genesis 46-50, Psalm 150

Week Six (July 5-July 11)

Psalm 1, Numbers 1-2, Psalm10
Psalm 15, Numbers 3-4, Psalm 32
Psalm 33, Numbers 5-6, Psalm 31
Psalm 43, Numbers 7-8, Psalm 46
Psalm 64, Numbers 9, Psalm 92

Week Seven (July 12-July 18)

Psalm 99, Numbers 10-11, Psalm 105
Psalm 108, Numbers 12, Psalm 119
Psalm 120, Numbers 13-14, Psalm 59
Psalm 146, Numbers 15-16, Psalm 63
Psalm 45, Numbers 17-18, Psalm 111
Psalm 18, Numbers 19-20, Psalm 36

Week Eight (July 19-July 25)

Psalm 143, Numbers 21, Psalm 135
Psalm 3, Numbers 22-24, Psalm 9
Psalm 79, Numbers 25-26, Psalm 34
Psalm 65, Numbers 27-30, Psalm 19
Psalm 22, Numbers 31, Psalm 17
Psalm 91, Numbers 32-36, Psalm 118

*Psalms are given in traditional numberings as found in the Douay-Rheims translation..

Scripture Plan for Year Three

General Plan

I. Pre-Advent (From Pentecost to the Saturday before Advent - approximately 180 days): Historical and Wisdom books from the Old Testament.

II. Advent (First Sunday of Advent until December 23rd - approximately 25 days): Prophecies from the Old Testament

III. Christmas (December 24th until the Tuesday before Lent - between 45 and 70 days): One gospel

IV. Lent (Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday - 44 days): A spiritual text, papal encyclicals, or books that were not completed during Pre-Advent or Advent.

V. Easter (Easter Sunday until Pentecost - 50 days): Books of the New Testament.

Year Three 2009/10
(Pre-Advent)
1. Genesis
2. Numbers
3. Ruth
4. Tobias
5. Judith
6. Esther
7. Job

(Advent)
8. Ezechiel
9. Daniel

(Christmas)
10. St. Luke

(Lent)
11.

(Easter)
12. Colossians
13. 1 Thessalonians
14. 2 Thessalonians
15. 1 Timothy
16. 2 Timothy
17. Titus
18. Philemon
19. Hebrews

Now I have this stuck in my head...

Newly Discovered Epistle of St. Paul to Phil?

Paul, a slave of Christ the Lord and a soldier of His Gospel, to Phil, stalwart supporter and himself a gift of God in our mutual work inspired by the Holy Spirit. The peace of Christ be ever with you, until the last trumpet sounds and we join in the air in adoration of God the Father Almighty forever.

I give thanks and rejoice in the Lord that I am once again able to send you an e-mail, though I am burdened by these earthly chains in a false imprisonment. False, as I was long ago freed by the power of the Lord, the source of all life.

It has come to my attention that Onesimus, my constant companion in several journeys, my strength as we carried light into darkness, my vigor in setting captives free, to whom I owe much in this work of the Lord, is himself indebted to you and your company, due to the heavy use of his credit card.

I assure you, his expenses were necessary to our mission. Without these expenditures our work would have suffered greatly and we would not have been able to carry out the Lord’s command and bring the gospel to all nations. You will note how many of the purchases are for plane tickets and meals in restaurants near airports.

I ask of you, though some might conclude that I am certainly capable of commanding you, to consider a more affordable rate of interest. Perhaps you might even investigate aiding him through balance transfers or debt-consolidation, since he has a number of other credit cards and none of their CEO’s follows the Way. This assistance would be greatly appreciated, and I would be happy to overlook your recent non-donation to the collection for the poor in Jerusalem.

I know that you will do all this and more. Please send a similar card for me with a higher limit. Epaphras, Mark, Jimmy and Luke, all fellow prisoners of the Lord, say hi. May the grace of Christ be with you always.

Maybe, if I post it, it will go away.

I can't get this song out of my head. The drums at 2:35-2:45 are just awesome. There's a video of someone playing the drums for this song below.

...And Laid Off Again!

I immediately got an interview with a Catholic school in Phoenix, though. Pray for me.

Exultet

Exultet iam angelica turba caelorum:
exultent divina mysteria:
et pro tanti Regis victoria tuba insonet salutaris.


Gaudeat et tellus tantis irradiata fulgoribus:
et, aeterni Regis splendore illustrata,
totius orbis se sentiat amisisse caliginem.


Laetetur et mater Ecclesia,
tanti luminis adornata fulgoribus:
et magnis populorum vocibus haec aula resultet.


Quapropter astantes vos, fratres carissimi,
ad tam miram huius sancti luminis claritatem,
una mecum, quaeso,
Dei omnipotentis misericordiam invocate.
Ut, qui me non meis meritis
intra Levitarum numerum dignatus est aggregare,
luminis sui claritatem infundens,
cerei huius laudem implere perficiat.

Vers. Dominus vobiscum.
Resp. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Vers. Sursum corda.
Resp. Habemus ad Dominum.
Vers. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
Resp. Dignum et iustum est.

Vere dignum et iustum est,
invisibilem Deum Patrem omnipotentem
Filiumque eius unigenitum,
Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum,
toto cordis ac mentis affectu et vocis ministerio personare.

Qui pro nobis aeterno Patri Adae debitum solvit,
et veteris piaculi cautionem pio cruore detersit.

Haec sunt enim festa paschalia,
in quibus verus ille Agnus occiditur,
cuius sanguine postes fidelium consecrantur.

Haec nox est,
in qua primum patres nostros, filios Israel
eductos de Aegypto,
Mare Rubrum sicco vestigio transire fecisti.

Haec igitur nox est,
quae peccatorum tenebras columnae illuminatione purgavit.

Haec nox est,
quae hodie per universum mundum in Christo credentes,
a vitiis saeculi et caligine peccatorum segregatos,
reddit gratiae, sociat sanctitati.

Haec nox est,
in qua, destructis vinculis mortis,
Christus ab inferis victor ascendit.

Nihil enim nobis nasci profuit,
nisi redimi profuisset.
O mira circa nos tuae pietatis dignatio!
O inaestimabilis dilectio caritatis:
ut servum redimeres, Filium tradidisti!

O certe necessarium Adae peccatum,
quod Christi morte deletum est!
O felix culpa,
quae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem!

O vere beata nox,
quae sola meruit scire tempus et horam,
in qua Christus ab inferis resurrexit!

Haec nox est, de qua scriptum est:
Et nox sicut dies illuminabitur:
et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis.

Huius igitur sanctificatio noctis fugat scelera, culpas lavat:
et reddit innocentiam lapsis
et maestis laetitiam.
Fugat odia, concordiam parat
et curvat imperia.

O vere beata nox,
in qua terrenis caelestia, humanis divina iunguntur!¹

In huius igitur noctis gratia, suscipe, sancte Pater,
laudis huius sacrificium vespertinum,
quod tibi in hac cerei oblatione sollemni,
per ministrorum manus
de operibus apum, sacrosancta reddit Ecclesia.

Sed iam columnae huius praeconia novimus,
quam in honorem Dei rutilans ignis accendit.
Qui, licet sit divisus in partes,
mutuati tamen luminis detrimenta non novit.

Alitur enim liquantibus ceris,
quas in substantiam pretiosae huius lampadis
apis mater eduxit.²

Oramus ergo te, Domine,
ut cereus iste in honorem tui nominis consecratus,
ad noctis huius caliginem destruendam,
indeficiens perseveret.
Et in odorem suavitatis acceptus,
supernis luminaribus misceatur.

Flammas eius lucifer matutinus inveniat:
Ille, inquam, lucifer, qui nescit occasum:
Christus Filius tuus,
qui, regressus ab inferis, humano generi serenus illuxit,
et vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum.

Amen!

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!
Darkness vanishes for ever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!

My dearest friends,
standing with me in this holy light,
join me in asking God for mercy,

that he may give his unworthy minister
grace to sing his Easter praises.



Deacon: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Deacon: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Deacon: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.


For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night
when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.

This is the night
when the pillar of fire destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is the night
when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?
Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave you gave away your Son.

O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer!


Most blessed of all nights,
chosen by God to see Christ rising from the dead!


Of this night scripture says:
"The night will be as clear as day:
it will become my light, my joy."

The power of this holy night dispels all evil,
washes guilt away, restores lost innocence,
brings mourners joy;
it casts out hatred, brings us peace,
and humbles earthly pride.

Night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth
and man is reconciled with God!

Therefore, heavenly Father,
in the joy of this night,
receive our evening sacrifice of praise,
your Church's solemn offering.


Accept this Easter candle,
a flame divided but undimmed,
a pillar of fire that glows to the honor of God.


(For it is fed by the melting wax,
which the mother bee brought forth
to make this precious candle.)

Let it mingle with the lights of heaven
and continue bravely burning
to dispel the darkness of this night!




May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

Something light before the end of Lent

Ash Wednesday

The Lord does not wish the sinner to die,
but to turn back to Him and live.

I Got a Job

We praise thee, O God
we acknowledge thee to be the Lord
All the earth doth worship thee
the Father everlasting.
To thee all the angels cry aloud
the heavens and all the powers therein.
To thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry
Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord God of Sabaoth;
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee.
The noble army of martyrs praise thee.
The Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee;
the father of an infinite majesty;
thine honourable true and only Son;
also the Holy Ghost the comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the hand of God in glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting
O Lord save thy people
and bless thine heritage.
Govern them and lift them up for ever.
Day by day we magnify thee;
and worship thy name, ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us, as our trust is in thee.
O Lord in thee have I trusted let me not be confounded.

Also feeling this way

And with the early dawn
Moving right along
Couldn't buy a eye full of sleep
And in the aching nights
under satellites
I was not received
Built with stolen parts
Telephone in my heart
Someone get me a priest
To put my mind to bed
This ringing in my head
Is this a cure or is
this a disease?

Nail in my hand
From my creator
You gave me life now
Show me how to live [ 2 ]

And in the afterbirth
On the quiet earth
Let the stains remind you
You thought you made a man
You better think again
Before my role defies you

Nail in my hand
From my creator
You gave me life now
Show me how to live [ 2 ]

And in your waiting hands
I will land
And roll out of my skin
And in your final hours
I will stand
Ready to begin

Feeling this way now

On a cobweb afternoon
In a room full of emptiness
By a freeway I confess
I was lost in the pages
Of a book full of death
Reading how we'll die alone
And if we're good
we'll lay to rest
Anywhere we want to go

(Chorus)
In your house
I Long to be
Room by room patiently
I'll wait for you there
Like a stone
I'll wait for you there Alone

On my deathbed I will pray
To the gods and then angels
Like a pagan to anyone
Who will take me to heaven
To a place I recall
I was there so long ago
The sky was bruised
The wine was bled
And there you led me on

(Chorus)

Alone

And on I read
Until the day was gone
And I sat in regret
Of all the things I've done
For all that I've blessed
And all that I've wronged
In dreams until my death
I will wander on

Ulysses - by Alfred Lord Tennyson

It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea. I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known,-- cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honor'd of them all,--
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains; but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

This is my son, mine own Telemachus,
to whom I leave the sceptre and the isle,--
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfill
This labor, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and thro' soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail;
There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me,--
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads,-- you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honor and his toil.
Death closes all; but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks;
The long day wanes; the slow moon climbs; the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends.
'T is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down;
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are,--
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Week One, Third Reading

Psalm 139(140), Mark 1:12-13, Psalm 140(141)

And here remain most of us: baptized, tempted, overwhelmed. Unlike saints, we do not get beyond this stage because we do not see, know or accept that the angels minister to us.

Week One, Second Reading

Psalm 130(131), Mark 1:9-11, Psalm 118(119)

In humble obedience to God, Jesus receives baptism. All that he does, even the miraculous, is an example for us. It starts easy: it is easy to be baptized, profound though it us. It is harder to accept crucifixion.

Concerning the psalms, it is often useful to identify with whatever we read in scripture, to associate the accounts we read either with our own lives as they are or as they should be. When reading the Gospel, this is easy to accomplish on an intellectual level, at least. Even if we never manage to practice what we learn, it is not difficult to mentally connect the dots and say, "Oh, this passage means that I should..."

For an American in the 21st century (and we're all Americans now, right?), identifying one's own experiences with those of the psalmist may not seem so easy.In fact, the psalmist may often sound like a bitter, paranoid loser.

I have recently found, though, that if I am truly honest with myself, I do indeed have much in common with the psalmist. When he speaks of those who 'lay traps' or 'dig pits' I do not, of course think of shadow-skulking assassins tracking me through back alleys (I live in a rural area. No back alleys). But, especially now, are there not forces which seek to ruin me and my family? When the credit card company raised my rates to 30%, I certainly felt that way. When banks and utilities began to charge outrageous fees for various services, I felt cornered, angry, harassed. When a mountain lion invaded my kids' school and killed their goats, I felt unsafe.

As it turns out, it is not so difficult to understand the psalmist some times.

Week One, First Reading

Psalm 2, Mark 1:1-8, Psalm 105

Psalm 2 seems to flow well into the beginning of any Gospel, particularly Mark's since it lacks an infancy narrative and almost immediately begins to relate the adult life of the King of Kings.

John, whom Jesus regards as the greatest born from woman, is in the wilderness.He is as poor, in a material sense, as one can be. Barely clothed, nearly starved and without a home. This is the great man of our story here.

He makes me think of those Starving Buddha statues I have seen in pictures of the Far East. Like an Eastern mystic, John is barely alive by our standards, yet the most truly alive of anyone.

Must we all, in some sense, become as bare and vulnerable as John is in order to properly welcome Christ?

Can I?

PS - Psalm 105, in its recounting of the heroes of the books of Moses, reminded me of how the Bible is divided into two parts, Old Testament and New Testament. The books of Moses, the five books of the Pentateuch, are also so divided. Genesis sets the story up, and then the following four books tell of the savior, Moses, and how he gets Israel out of its predicament. Is this a type of the whole of scripture - Genesis representing the Old Testament and the next four books prefiguring the New Testament, in particular the Gospels?

A Reading Schedule

Since we are in Ordinary Time now, I thought someone might be interested in reading Mark's Gospel (slowly, carefully and prayerfully) between now and Ash Wednesday (February 25th). So I prepared a little something:

January 11-17

Psalm 2, Mark 1:1-8, Psalm 105
Psalm 131, Mark 1:9-11, Psalm 119
Psalm 140, Mark 1:12-13, Psalm 141
Psalm 16, Mark 1:14-20, Psalm 23
Psalm 38, Mark 1:21-28, Psalm30
Psalm 57, Mark 1:29-34, Psalm41
Psalm 70, Mark 1:35-45 , Psalm 65

January 18-24

Psalm 51, Mark 2:1-12, Psalm 116
Psalm 143, Mark 2:13-17, Psalm 138
Psalm 50, Mark 2:18-28, Psalm 27
Psalm 28, Mark 3:1-6, Psalm 32
Psalm 8, Mark 3:7-12, Psalm 115
Psalm 118, Mark 3:13-19, Psalm 117
Psalm 121, Mark 3:20-35, Psalm 1

January 25-31

Psalm 67, Mark 4:1-20, Psalm 40
Psalm 27, Mark 4:21-25, Psalm 32
Psalm 37, Mark 4:26-34, Psalm 33
Psalm 69, Mark 4: 35-44, Psalm 29
Psalm 70, Mark 5:1-20, Psalm 66
Psalm 88, Mark 5:21-43, Psalm 107

February 1-7

Psalm 13, Mark 6:1-6, Psalm 36
Psalm 11, Mark 6:7-13, Psalm 4
Psalm 26, Mark 6:14-29, Psalm 10
Psalm 131, Mark 6:30-44, Psalm 147
Psalm 114, Mark 6:45-56, Psalm 124

February 8-14

Psalm 119, Mark 7:1-23, Psalm 112
Psalm 223, Mark 7:24-30, Psalm 118
Psalm 6, Mark 7:31-37, Psalm 31
Psalm 5, Mark 8:1-10, Psalm 105
Psalm 12, Mark 8:11-21, Psalm 17
Psalm 7, Mark 8:22-26, Psalm 18
Psalm 115, Mark 8:27-38, Psalm 110

February 15-21

Psalm 19, Mark 9:1-13, Psalm 20
Psalm 39, Mark 9:14-29, Psalm 40
Psalm 43, Mark 9:30-37, Psalm 44
Psalm 53, Mark 9:38-50, Psalm 54
Psalm58, Mark 10:1-12, Psalm 59
Psalm 91, Mark 10:13-16, Psalm 99
Psalm 36, Mark 10:17-31, Psalm 113

February 22-24

Psalm 124, Mark 10:32-45, Psalm 107
Psalm 28, Mark 10:46-52, Psalm 108

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Hats Off and Good Luck

Okay, I didn't for for Mr. Obama.

But after the election I told my kids (the older, rational ones), "There will not be one disrespectful word in this house about our new President. I will probably disagree with him many times, but we will never permit any insults or verbal mistreatment of the man himself." After all, we aren't whiny, craven grumblers like many other people out there. I tell them they must always respect their leaders, even if they disagree with them.

I must say that I have moved beyond that grudging acceptance to a certain amount of cautious admiration. Yes, he does support abortion, even pledging to pass the FOCA bill (essentially turning abortion into an undeniable human right) and his socialist tax ideas scared me off during the campaign.

But I was impressed, first of all, by his choice of Rahm Immanuel for his chief of staff. I obviously have philosophical differences with the man, but I was happy to see that Obama didn't pick some pie-in-the-sky, dream-befuddled nice guy. He picked a real @$$hole to be his chief of staff. And I like people like that. Maybe it comes form my years in education and administration: I like straightforward people who come right at you; hence my disregard for most Democrats.

Since then he has done, I think, a good job at picking his lieutenants. We are going to have, at least, knowledgeable people running things, even if I disagree with some of them about their goals. And he is apparently going to avoid the mistake politicans made in the 1930's, raising taxes in the face of a recession and turning it into the Great Depression.

I wish my new President luck in his endeavours, and I vow to pray for him.

Feast of the Epiphany

From Matins for the Feast of the Epiphany

from Psalm 71 (72)

For he shall deliver the poor from the mighty:
and the needy that had no helper.
He shall spare the poor and the needy:
and he shall save the souls of the poor

"Youths"

This story cracks me up.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090103/wl_time/08599186939200

There were 43,000 cars burned in France in 2007, about 118 per day. And the press would have you believe that it was all done by "disdvantaged suburban youths", the same "disadvantaged suburban youths" which have been causing problems since the 1970's. Nowhere, will you see them mention that these youths are, uniformly, zealous muslims. No, that would be wrong. Instead, by omission, they cause the uninformed to think that all these riots are being caused by kids in baggy pants and skewed baseball caps. In between listening to their Avril Lavigne and Justin Timberlake albums, I'm sure.

If you wanted to see France, I recommend you get there soon. It will be gone before you know it, destroyed by...

Youths!