… but before I get back to work, there are links to share. Ironic Catholic has posted some great stuff I’ve been linked to before, but in particular, I liked “Worship Faux Pas and How to Avoid Them” (the kneeler one actually does bother me!) and “Insta-Prayers For Each Meyers-Briggs Personality Type.” I’m an ISFJ, and that one is totally me.
Jan 02 2007
God’s Grammar
My friend Lyzii wrote reflections on the lectionary readings for Mary, Mother of God, and my response to her post wound up much longer than the average LJ comment. She, too, found the language of Aaron’s blessing a little odd, and wondered why Christmas is an octave.
I’ve had similar thoughts about biblical language and modern English grammar. The blessing from Numbers does sound a little awkward. When the celebrant says, “the Lord be with you,” at Mass, it has the same odd ring to it. I once read a good explanation of why there is no “may,” but of course I have no idea where.
There are other instances of odd biblical grammar that make more sense, though. When God says in Genesis, “Let us make man in our image,” it reveals the eternal nature of the Holy Trinity. When Jesus says, “Before Abraham was, I AM” (end of John 8) it reminds us of His eternal existence as well.
The third thing I’m reminded of is the language of prayer. Jesus taught us to pray, “give us this day our daily bread.” There’s no “please.” It seems just a tad rude and presumptuous at first, but as Jimmy Akin mentioned once in his blog, in the original languages, you don’t say please. You just state or ask. It’s like writing a sophisticated persuasive statement: you don’t say “I think X,” you just say, “X is;” we know it’s what you think.
I’ve also heard we have octaves for the greatest feasts of the Church because one week won’t do; you need a whole extra day. The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God was traditionally the Solemnity of the Circumcision, and remains so in the Eastern Rite. Jewish circumcisions are supposed to happen eight days after birth. Easter’s an octave, too, though, so maybe octaves exist for both reasons.
Jul 31 2006
When Good Organization Goes Bad
You all know how addicted I am to organization. If you have to have an addiction, that is among the best. When I was working on this site, I had lots of related bits and pieces that I needed to remember to add or post. I just now found parts of an entry I meant to put up about a week ago. So I’m going to post it now.
In reading HP4GU, a very prolific poster, Astarte, mentioned a theory that’s come up before. I always chalked CapsLock!Harry up to being a fifteen-year-old boy. Having never been one, that’s almost entirely conjecture, but it was good enough for me. As Astarte said, someone on the list suggested his irrationality might have been due to Voldemort’s infringing on his mind throughout the book. It also explains why he suddenly got his grip on reality back in HBP without much transition. That makes perfect sense. Darnit, I need to start on my reread soon before school starts strangling me again.
At BustedHalo this week [edit: last week] is an interview with Cathleen Falsani, a Chicago Sun Times religion columnist. She recently wrote a book full of interviews with celebrities about faith and religion, the culmination of her reporter’s work that earned her the nickname “God Girl.” BustedHalo did an interview worth reading. The point of her book, as she explained, is to show that celebrities, like ordinary people, have their own relationships and struggles with God. What’s more, all of them have dealt with the God question at some point in their lives. It’s a new take on the fact that celebrities are just famous regular people.
You know you have close friends when two of them start IM conversations with cryptic queries. Maura said, “There are string babies,” meaning two string quartet members have new babies. (I was thinking very small instruments or babies playing normal-sized ones.) And Kat said, “I took my boards today,” meaning her nursing exams. That one just took a second of thought.
I just remembered [edit: last week] that I never told you all when you could read my Keystone project. I was concerned about publishing rights if I put it online, and then I’d have to code the whole thing. I have a problem with overuse of italics (and the words “so” and “just”), so that would be a task. But no more of that. I’ve sent it out to several people whom I knew would be interested, but if you didn’t get it, just let me know.
Jul 27 2006
On Covering Up and “Coming Out”
This week’s Catholic Carnival is hosted at Alabama Improper. I enjoyed “They Have Become Spotted by the World at Modestly Yours. When I read at Mass before the CSC cookout this summer, I felt really weird about being on the altar in flip-flops. That may be my scrupulosity rising, but it’s something to think about. Weekdays at a college chapel seem to be an acceptably lax time for dress. I stopped wearing jeans to church on Sundays last summer, but I do it on weekdays all the time. It’s either skip Mass or go in jeans. However, I dress up for Sunday Mass, with few exceptions. As a commenter points out, if I were going to dinner at someone’s house, I’d dress more nicely than I do for everyday activities. Why should going to visit God for His supper be any different? I think tube tops are definitely inappropriate for church, and maybe in general. Courtney was wearing one last week, and I was uncomfortable. Am I going hyper-traditional? I’m not so sure I am. If I start rejecting the Novus Ordo and Vatican II, however, please stage an intervention.
I’ve been behind on issues of Boundless and ShoreLines for a long time, but with some determination and the free time afforded me by my summer work, I’m just about caught up now. So I went to read an “issue” of Boundless today and came across an article that I find intriguing. First, some background. I started reading Boundless knowing that it’s sponsored by Focus on the Family, and therefore I could expect some articles to contradict what I believe as a Catholic. Protestants and Catholics have so much in common, though, that I have no problem admitting I read Boundless and praising its excellent writers. Somewhere along the way, I discovered that at least one of the writers, Roberta Rivera y Carlos, is Catholic. I was a bit surprised that it was so clear; instead of writing in a Catholic-friendly Protestant manner, his was distinctly Catholic.
Continue reading “On Covering Up and “Coming Out””
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Jul 20 2006
Blog-Hopping
[Note: I'm new to the whole concept of categories, but this seems like a good one to help organize the links I pull in. My inspiration is Happy Catholic's "Blogging Around."]
I’ve never seen The Colbert Report before; nor have I seen The Daily Show. I know what they’re about, though. So when Julie posted a YouTube video of a Colbert Report “special report” on her blog, I had to watch it. Oh, man. That is the best video I have seen in a long time. I laughed until I cried. (A commenter points out that Colbert is actually and empirically Catholic, which makes it even funnier. Who says papists don’t have a sense of humor?)
Regina Doman is an author of several Catholic-themed novels. She also wrote the beautiful Angel in the Waters, a story about “where babies come from.” Just recently, her four-year-old son was accidentally struck by a car in the church parking lot and died. Terrible, no? It gets worse: His parents were driving the car. I can only imagine how distraught they must be, but reading her eulogy helps me see how much she loved him. If you are so inclined, pray for them all.
This week’s Catholic Carnival is at A Song Not Scored for Breathing (interesting title, but way to long for a subdomain). “God will not listen to you” at A Penitent Blogger is short and sweet, but good. I’ll admit that I was thrown by that at first, but then it made sense. It’s about practicing what you preach, not being a scribe or Pharisee, and being honest to God. If your prayer is just for show, He knows. He’s God; He knows everything you have done and will do before you ever do it.
Pope B16 celebrated Mass in Spain a few Sundays ago. He was there for the World Meeting for Families. Moneybags posted a bunch of great photos and B16′s homily and address. Now, Spain has a ton of issues for a country of over 90% Catholics. What I think is so super cool is that he used the Holy Grail in his celebration of the Mass. The Holy Grail. I didn’t even know it was in Spain. Why do I miss everything?
From The Onion, via The Confessionator: an editorial showing scrupulosity at its worst. I know we’re not worthy of anything God has offered us, but despairing of His love is bad, too.
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