Tuesday, January 29, 2008

It is Saturday, January 26th, 2008 and we are going to celebrate Khia’s birthday today. Yea!!!

Wisdom 7:7 - 16

I prayed, and understanding was given me;
I entreated, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.
I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones;
compared with her, I held riches as nothing.
I reckoned no priceless stone to be her peer,
for compared with her, all gold is a pinch of sand,
and beside her silver ranks as mud.
I loved her more than health or beauty,
preferred her to the light,
since her radiance never sleeps.

May God grant me to speak as he would wish
and express thoughts worthy of his gifts,
since he himself is the guide of Wisdom,
since he directs the sages.
We are indeed in his hand, we ourselves and our words,
with all our understanding, too, and technical knowledge.

Well, it is now Tuesday, January 29th, 2008, my 54th birthday. Also it is the birthdays of my two youngest grandkids, my home state of Kansas, my girlfriend’s younger sister, my two oldest grandkids’ dad, Oprah, and countless others too. We’ll all have dinner tonight. Well, maybe not Oprah and Pam’s sister will be in New York but you know what I mean.

The above passage from Wisdom is part of last Saturday’s Mass readings, if I remember correctly. I copied it here Saturday because it was meaningful to me during my morning prayers. I’m not sure why now.

I know it is not the Christmas season now but I just listened to Jars of Clay: Christmas Songs by Jars of Clay. It was really a pleasant album to hear. I really liked it. I will be listening to this CD some more over the next few days. Jars of Clay’s sound on this album is a bit how I hear Christmas and winter, so it rests well with me. Though it has some weak lyrics.

I preceded it with brief segments of a few pieces from The Chariot’s The Fiancée. This is some high-energy punk. It hurt my throat to listen to the screaming on this album but Josh Scogin is a great screamer. I doubt I will listen to The Fiancée much after today. Screaming punk is not really my style but this CD is an interesting and wild ride. The lyrics seem a little forced at times just to make a rhyme. Check out this review on Absolutepunk—http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=224905.

Books read so far in 2008:

Pope John XXIII, Shepherd of the Modern World by Peter Hebblethwaite

The Rise of Benedict XVI: The Inside Story of How The Pope Was Elected and Where He Will Take The Catholic Church by John L. Allen, Jr.

Sad huh? I am a little lazy with my reading. I have thirty or so books checked out from the library right now. There are two books I am currently reading:

Marking the Hours by Eamon Duffy and A Secular Age by Charles Taylor

Lets hope I can note these books as read soon.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Human

It’s Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 and the child Samuel is on his way.

Also, hitting the Roman Catholic news and blog circuit today is the cancellation of Pope Benedict’s planned speech this Thursday at a Rome University because of student and Professor protests. It might be instructive to remember Benedict’s revulsion to the student protests in the 60s and 70s, and, of course, Italian politics.

I am surprised about the Manichean plots so many see in this, possibly including the Pope himself. Actually, I don’t think Pope Benedict sees conspiracies in this situation but given his demonstrated ability to not foresee consequences to his public statements it will be interesting to follow this story as it develops. I will be interested to read the text of his intended talk when it becomes public, which I hope is soon.

Monday, January 14, 2008

The New Year is underway.

Monday January 14, 2008. A new year and my first post. This almost means my first writing of the New Year. A late start, but a start nonetheless. Where will it go? We will see.


I should note that the New Year really began today for me. It is Monday following the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Advent and Christmas are over.

This is not quite my first writing this year. I have been working on my Book of Hours. Anyone out there creating your own Book of Hours for use in prayer?

All we know is this world, in the conventional meaning of “know.” But what is the conventional meaning of know, or any other word for that matter?

The following is from a Steven Pinker piece in this past Sunday’s NYT’s Sunday Magazine. I hope Christians can learn to think about the world and morality in a real, rational sort of way.

“Which of the following people would you say is the most admirable: Mother Teresa, Bill Gates or Norman Borlaug? And which do you think is the least admirable? For most people, it’s an easy question. Mother Teresa, famous for ministering to the poor in Calcutta, has been beatified by the Vatican, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and ranked in an American poll as the most admired person of the 20th century. Bill Gates, infamous for giving us the Microsoft dancing paper clip and the blue screen of death, has been decapitated in effigy in “I Hate Gates” Web sites and hit with a pie in the face. As for Norman Borlaug . . . who the heck is Norman Borlaug?”