Flannery O'Connor Reads "A Good Man Is Hard To Find"

Vanderbilt University - April 1959, Miss Flannery O'Connor reads her short story, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find":

There was a piercing scream from the woods, followed closely by a pistol report. "Does it seem right to you, lady, that one is punished a heap and another ain't punished at all?" 

"Jesus!" the old lady cried. "You've got good blood! I know you wouldn't shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I'll give you all the money I've got! 

"Lady," The Misfit said, looking beyond her far into the woods, "there never was a body that give the undertaker a tip." 

There were two more pistol reports and the grandmother raised her head like a parched old turkey hen crying for water and called, "Bailey Boy, Bailey Boy!" as if her heart would break. 

"Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead," The Misfit continued, "and He shouldn't have done it. He shown everything off balance. If He did what He said, then it's nothing for you to do but thow away everything and follow Him, and if He didn't, then it's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness," he said and his voice had become almost a snarl.

Vivian and I sitting on Flannery O'Connor's porch in Georgia. (February 2011)

What a writer; what a lady.

Is The Spirit So Willing?

TBM Topic 30: Forgive Offenses Willingly

"Is The Spirit So Willing?" by Julie Robison
Trista at Not a Minx, Moron, or a Parasite
Elizabeth at Startling the Day

We three are from the oft-mentioned, widely-speculated upon demographic of young, twenty-something Catholic women. We're here to dispel the myths and misconceptions- please join us for the discussion on Facebook and Twitter!


During Lent, we will be discussing the Spiritual Works of Mercy.

As I write this post, I begrudgingly admit I am working on forgiving someone for saying something that hurt my pride. I am currently working on cleaning out my room. I am getting married in less than nine months and, in good conscience, I cannot bring into this marriage my very own section of some rain forest.

I have books. Hundreds of books. Then there's the one box from grade school, and two boxes from high school, the huge bin of magazines, and the multiple drawers and boxes of college papers I have yet to go through. Then there's my research, for current and pending projects, and five shoe boxes of epistolary correspondence. I just started on my sixth this past Christmas.

A member of my family, the Purger, said he'd help me, as long as I sign a contract saying I would not get mad about what he threw away.

Writing messages long gone, unlike my letters. (far L)

"Never!" I protested. "What if you threw away my letters?"

"Why are you saving them anyways? It's not like you're Flannery O'Connor. No one is going to read your letters in 50 years."

"I'm not saving my own letters," I huffed. "I'm saving responses to my letters."

The comment stung. Stings. We had to stop the conversation and part on civil terms. I am now typing, depressed in spirit, in my room. Fortunately, I kept cleaning too. I had a church bulletin from the beginning of Lent, and, wouldn't you know it! Fr. Ed says it best:

I have often thought that it would be nice to have a special name for the final Sunday before the Season of Lent begins. As a culture we have the traditions of Mardi Gras and Carneval during these days, during which people celebrate and eat and "party" before Ash Wednesday. But perhaps the Gospel for this weekend gives us a better tradition to follow: forgiveness. 

We have all heard the old saying, "To err is human, to forgive divine," and actually it is quite correct. Who alone but God has the power to forgive sins? Who else but God sees all there is to us, both good and bad, and love, understands and absolves? When we were able to forgive one another for the hurts against us, we are, in effect, showing the face of God to those we forgive. Because we are forgiven first by Him we are able to give that gift to others. 

In the Gospel this weekend, a paralytic is brought to Jesus for healing. Little does he expect the first words to him from Jesus: "Child, your sins are forgiven". After this Jesus says the famous words: "Rise, pick up your mat, and walk". Why is the other statement first? Because Jesus heals the deepest wounds first. He shows that the physical paralysis of this man is not as important as the spiritual paralysis that can happen when we fall into sin. He heals this first, and does so with great love, even calling the young man "child" as he does. 

What a gift this is for him, and for all of us who have heard the story for the last 2,000 years. Jesus forgives, heals and loves us. Perhaps this gives us an indication of what this final Sunday before Lent can be about: forgiveness, healing and love. In a word, it's about Jesus.

And in like fashion, I went downstairs and apologized for overreacting, and then told the Purger I forgave him for hurting my pride. And I mean it. If Jesus can suffer death to redeem my sins, then I can swallow my pride, admit I was wrong, and forgive, just like Jesus. Because it really is about him, not you.

Besides: if Anne can forgive Gilbert, anything is possible!

Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God. Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions. (Mark 11:20-25)

I Am That I Am

TBM Topic 26: Instruct the Ignorant

"I Am That I Am" by Julie Robison
Trista at Not a Minx, Moron, or a Parasite
Elizabeth at Startling the Day

We three are from the oft-mentioned, widely-speculated upon demographic of young, twenty-something Catholic women. We're here to dispel the myths and misconceptions- please join us for the discussion on Facebook and Twitter!


During Lent, we will be discussing the Spiritual Works of Mercy every week.

Ignorant is not a word I particularly care for, yet most people are culpable. It comes from the Latin words in (not) and gnarus (knowing).

New Advent defines ignorance as "lack of knowledge about a thing in a being capable of knowing. Fundamentally speaking and with regard to a given object ignorance is the outcome of the limitations of our intellect or of the obscurity of the matter itself."

Today, we Catholics (and fellow orthodox Christian and Jewish brothers and sisters) face bigotry based on ignorance of our faith, religion and history. The greater good would be served, society is led to believe, if God was kept in the pews and within the walls of our homes. God is good as long as God is contained.

But our God is an awesome God - awesome in the "awe-inspiring" way. God is not our bro. God is not our homeboy. God is the Almighty one - the Alpha (first) and the Omega (last) - the one who is, the one who was, the one who will be (Revelation 1:8).

And he will not be contained. We cannot limit his power, his mercy, his goodness or his Kingdom Come. Our reasons are not his reasons, and this is the first step to instructing ignorance: discernment of our own vocation.



Flannery O'Connor wrote that "Ignorance is excusable when it is borne like a cross, but when it is wielded like an ax, and with moral indignation, then it becomes something else indeed."

For many, the best reason to be a Christian is the joy and fellowship of other Christians. For others, Christians are the best reason not to be a Christian - their small-mindedness, their inability to compromise, their, well, ignorance.

And so, who has the high ground here? The miserable Christians who pray, "I believe - help my disbelief!" Or the one who discuss God's take on a few things, would certainly invite him over for a drink, and then be done with the old chap. He's not really our kind of man, if you know what we mean.

We certainly do. Which is ignorance on their part. I truly this many people intentionally stay ignorant of God - learn things about him, sure, and learn about things that surround him. But not him. After all, it is hard to look at God on the cross and really know that he knows our hearts. He can touch and change our lives, if we only get to know him. Our God is the God of all; our path towards God will never be repeated for another.

While discussing a struggle with my sister last night, she told me I had to believe the consequences would be bad if I continued. She did not mean in the short term, or even in human terms: she meant, if I really wanted a change of heart, I'd have to care more about offending God. The kind of caring that shows considerations for another feelings. In short, I need to know God on a much more personal level, the kind that changes my actions and words in the long-term as well as the short.

We Catholics have a prayer for that: the Act of Contrition. We say it after the sacrament of Reconciliation. It goes, O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

This prayer is not said or meant lightly. Humanity is like a heat-seeking missile: it seeks Truth. It is not pretentious to claim to know Truth, as the Catholic Church does, for example. 2,000 years of bad press and still the truths found in the dogmas and sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, resonate across every color and creed.

No one has it easy. No one knows (or can know) "everything." Ignorance infects the best and most brilliant among us. It is the humility to ask God, to knock on his door, to seek his guidance, that really begins the journey. Some times, people need other people to help them get there, be it in books, blog posts, or conversations.

Perhaps more importantly though, a person needs to be self-aware where they are ignorant. One can always instruct where they know and understand, but they must also be willing to learn. That way, knowledge leads to wisdom, and not a higher level of ignorance.

Baptism In Your Bones

"When I write a novel in which the central action is a baptism, I am very well aware that for a majority of my readers, baptism is a meaningless rite, and so in my novel I have to see that this baptism carries enough awe and mystery to jar the reader into some kind of emotional recognition of its significance. To this end I have to bend the whole novel--its language, its structure, its action. I have to make the reader feel, in his bones if nowhere else, that something is going on here that counts."

--Flannery O'Connor, from "Novelist & Believer"

Sitting on O'Connor's porch

Ain’t Tat Something

TBM Topic 12: Tattoos

"Ain't Tat Something" by Julie Robison
"In Memory Of" by Trista at Not a Minx, Moron, or a Parasite
"Needle and the damage done" by Elizabeth at Startling the Day

We three are from the oft-mentioned, widely-speculated upon demographic of young, twenty-something Catholic women. We're here to dispel the myths and misconceptions- please join us for the discussion!

Last Tuesday, I drove my brother north to his interview with the Navy. I was struck by the number of times the Lieutenant asked him if he had any tattoos. I found out later that the Navy allows tattoos if they are covered by conventional clothing (i.e. chest, back), but not otherwise. I am not sure why this is, but it made me think of Flannery O’Connor’s short story “Parker’s Back.”

O.E. Parker, the protagonist, had been in the Navy. Nearly his entire body is covered with tattoos, with the notable exception of his back. Parker was “as ordinary as a loaf of bread” and began getting tattoos put on his body after he saw a man at a fair who was tattooed from head to foot. “Until he saw this man at the fair,” wrote O’Connor, “it did not enter his head that there was anything out of the ordinary about the fact that he existed.”

Parker later falls in love with Sarah Ruth, who was “forever sniffing up sin.” She was the daughter of a “Straight Gospel preacher,” and was the first woman he met who did not approve of his tattoos, calling them “a heap of vanity.” He is not religious or interested in it, but still wants to make an effort to please his wife, who constantly threatens his lax language with references to Judgment Day.

The Christ

And so, Parker decides to get a tattoo of the Byzantine Christ on his back for her. It takes the artist two days and Parker pays $20. The tattooist (and later, men at the pool hall) asks if Parker has gone and “got religion” and if he is “ saved” now. “Naw,” Parker replied; “I ain’t got no use for none of that. A man can’t save his self from whatever it is he don’t deserve any of my sympathy. …I married a woman that’s saved, ” is his defense. Parker believes she’ll like it because “She can’t help herself… She can’t say she don’t like the looks of God.”

Sarah Ruth, in  fact, doesn’t like it. She takes a broom and whacks him on the back again and again, screaming “idolatry!” at her husband; “I can put up with lies and vanity but I don’t want no idolater in this house!” When she sees the face of the Christ, she says she doesn't know him. When Parker says it's God, she asserts that God "don't look. He's a spirit. No man shall see his face."

I love this short story. Mainly for its mockery of the assertion that God is merely a spirit, which is practically a denial that Jesus is the Word made flesh and lived on this earth, but also for its social commentary. Parker's mother, for instance, "wept over what was becoming of him" after he got his first tattoo (and then began to drink beer and get in fights). She will not pay for his tattoos (except for the one with her name on it) and attempts to drag her son to a revival, before he runs away from home and joins the Navy. His wife barely tolerates the tattoos, and prefers him his sleeves rolled down and fully covered. Before her, he found that women were attracted to his tattoos and men liked to gawk at his new tattoos. He never felt satisfied for long, and always yearned for another tattoo, filling the space, searching for his next one. It's a beautiful and physical image of a man looking for personal fulfillment.

I do not think tattoos are an issue of morals or faith. The argument that one should respect one's body can easily be countered by examples of people who disrespect their body by overeating and/ or drinking, indulging in sexual appetites, and violence. In terms of my Catholicism and tattoos, there is nothing in my beliefs which sway me here or there on tattoos.

There is no right or wrong answer on tattoos. My own opinion, of course, generally thumbs its nose down at tattoos. There are, of course, exceptions and double-standards. I don't mind them on males nearly as much as I despise them on girls. There are also industries where outside appearance matters-- in banking, law, and medicine, for instance-- visibly noticeable tattoos would not be tolerated.

For me, the bigger question is why: Why are you getting that tattoo? Why are you putting it there? Why are you inking something permanently to your largest organ?

a depiction of Parker's back

Apparently tats are big chick and/ or hipster magnets. I'm sorry, I meant "tattoos." I was trying to sound hip, which I am not. In all seriousness, tattoos do hold a fascination for many people. I cannot suppose why, but O'Connor gave me an inkling into such a sentiment.

Near the end of "Parker's Back," O'Connor wrote, "Parker sat for a long time on the ground in the alley behind the pool hall, examining his soul. He saw it as a spider web of facts and lies that was not at all important to him but which appeared to be necessary in spite of his opinion. The eyes that were not forever on his back [of Jesus Chris] were eyes to be obeyed. He was as certain of it as he had ever been of anything."

In the end, in the Resurrection of the body, God-in-Three will not be concerned with the marks on our body, but the state of our souls, our pursuit of truth and our love of God and each other. A tattoo is not going to disrupt our journey towards God, and it should not be a distraction to believers or non-believers alike. One day, when we see the face of God, that will be something to stare at; but for now, tat's tat!

Do you have a Twitter? Follow us! @BrightMaidens

In addendum: If you want to know why this post is late, read here. If you want to read Will's guest post, click here.

Catholics for Choice!

Week Seven: Our Reversion Stories

"Catholics for Choice!" by Julie Robison
"Young Woman at the Well." by Elizabeth at Startling the Day
"Becoming Myself By Getting Closer to Him" by Trista at Not a Minx

This is the seventh post of a Lenten blog post series called "Bright Maidens." We three are from the oft-mentioned, widely-speculated upon demographic of young, twenty-something Catholic women. We're here to dispel the myths and misconceptions- please join us for the discussion!

John Henry Newman says conversion is "nothing more than a deeper discovery of what we already desire."

It's easy to look at my religious upbringing and say, Julie, I'm sorry, but you've been brainwashed.

I've gone through the whole ordeal: infant baptism, First Communion in the second grade, Confirmation in the eighth grade, thirteen years of Catholic schooling and 23 years of (at the very least) weekly Mass.

Where does brainwashing start, however, and formation end? That is, after all, the purpose of religious catechesis: to teach how to carry on the faith; to introduce the child to God in Three, and thus encourage a relationship; to give proper and virtuous character formation; to give order to the soul.

I think many Catholics have been failed in this sense; they have not been introduced to the fullness of the faith in their younger years, given instead a bland version of Christianity, with vague mentions toward the more specific doctrines. No one is inspired by blah, and I am sadly not surprised so many of my friends are not really practicing this life-abundant faith anymore, as well as a few dear family members.

I wasn't always the kind of Catholic I am today. I wasn't always itching for more, or even really concerned with truth. My high school religion classes certainly didn't provide much intellectual stimulation. I went to Mass every week growing up and didn't think twice about the last time I went to Confession. I didn't know if I believed that the Eucharist was actually the Body of Christ, and the wine actually became the Blood of Christ. I just knew the faith; I struggled explaining it to people.

But the Mass is where I came back; the Mass, and more specifically the Eucharist, is what caused my reversion. Newman also said, "Catholicism is a deep matter; you cannot take it up in a teacup."

Catholicism is universal- going to Mass, you know the same Mass with the same readings and liturgy is happening around the world. One sees people of all backgrounds, ages, and both genders in the pews, waiting to go forward to receive Christ or a blessing. For those who disagree with the Church, I say this- it is easy to text-proof. It is a cop-out to Christ, in my opinion, to take one or ten lines from the Bible, and then agree or disagree. Catholics believe in context. We look at the Bible as a whole, just as we look at salvation history as a whole. The mistakes of men happened, and happened frequently; and still, the Catholic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, persists abundantly.

It was at college where I was set on fire: discussions with my roommate and friends; in preparing to defend Catholicism for my Introduction to Western Religion class (I talked at least 10-20 minutes every class period as the "token Catholic"), as well as reading the Great Books and other great Catholic and non-Catholic writers; being touched by the witness of Christians of all stripes around campus.

The witness was not always positive, which could have weakened my faith if my zeal for truth and understanding had not been awakened so fiercely. When I was younger, I always wanted to fight for a cause: now, older and praying for wisdom, I knew what it was. In true Eliot fashion, I returned to the end, and made it my beginning.

I'm purposefully avoiding discussing any specific details of my reversion, for the very reason that everyone, be it convert or cradle Catholic, comes to Christ in their own way. In the Easter season, and especially as we are in Holy Week, the holiest time of the liturgical calendar, we are re-reminded that everyone is called to conversion. Every adult Catholic in the Church must choose Christ, and their heart is called to conform to his, out of love of him. We are in his Church because we are made for love, and so we love: ourselves, our family, our friends, our enemies, our fellow humans and, above all, our Lord Jesus Christ.

As Pope Benedict XVI said, there is only way to the Father, and that is through the Son, who says, I am the way. But that way is so big, it accounts for all who will come. God does not impose himself, but he always beckons us towards him. By finding new life in Christ, a person loses the worldly restraints and gains completion of who they always were and are meant to be. Not that finding Christ makes anything easier, per se, but it changes everything. The Word becomes reality, and are not just words on a page of a sacred book.

Flannery O'Connor's 1955 short story "You Can't Be Any Poorer Than Dead" gives an excellent example of what happens when religion becomes a subjective choice and not a pursuit of objective Truth. The stranger ("his kind friend") is talking to the main character, Tarwater, as he digs his great-uncle's grave, the man who rescued and raised him:

“It should be clear to you,” his kind friend said, “how all your life you been tricked by that old man. You could have been a city slicker for the past years. Instead, you been deprived of any company but his, you been living in a two-story barn in the middle of this earth’s bald patch, following behind a mile and plow since you were seven. And how do you know the education he give you is true to the fact? Maybe he taught you a system of figures nobody else uses? How do you know that two added to two makes four? Four added to four makes eight? Maybe other people don’t use that system. How do you know if there was an Adam or if Jesus eased your situation any when He redeemed you? Or how you know if He actually done it? Nothing but that old man’s word and it ought to be obvious to you by now that he was crazy. And as for Judgment Day,” the stranger said, “every day is Judgment Day.”

They used to be smaller.

 My latter half of my sophomore year of college was a particularly difficult semester for me, and I considered not returning to campus. My roommate and I both agreed I was being spiritually attacked by the Devil as prayer was a nearly impossible task; I was taking way too many upper-level classes while minoring in overcommitments; I was dealing with difficult post-romantic relationships. My sanity was saved by the prayers, love and fellowship of my roommate and my academic advisor's family, whom I became particularly close with that year.

 That would have been a shame if I had left too, since my junior and senior years were really when I blossomed on campus. On a whim, that next fall semester, I began going to on-campus Mass on Thursdays regularly. This would set the stage for me going to Mass daily as a statehouse reporter, post-college, and the new model for how I deal with difficulties. In the past, I would just go for a run if I was upset or angry. There, studying in cold Michigan snowbank, where I was stressed out and freezing, running was not always an immediate option. So I began to re-learn how to pray. My dear friend Julia was an integral part of this, since we would make plans to take a study break around the same time nightly rosary happened.

I felt like I had turned a dark corner in my life, and there was Christ, the light. Even though I am twenty-something, as a cradle Catholic, I sometimes feel like the worker who has found his way to the vineyard at mid-day, receiving my equal wages alongside the early and later day workers. Every day is a constant surrendering of my will to God's will: I'm impatient, demanding, skeptical, and easily distracted from priorities. By choosing Christ, every day, I am focused and grounded. Choosing Christ is about having a relationship with him; being part of his Church is integral to that, and participating in the sacraments is one way to show my love for him, and to get to know him better. The pay-offs are not always immediate, but I do know they have eternal consequences.

I desire God and so, I desire his will be done in my life. I am not convinced by the argument that one cannot choose God, or that one cannot choose to believe in God. That is exactly what belief is- a choice. Part rationale and part faith, belief is the logical action towards a seemingly risky venture. When you believe a person can do something, you believe this because they have demonstrated the ability, not because they actually did it. But Jesus already proved himself to us, which takes out the risk factor in believing in him.

This is the mystery of our Christian faith: Christ came, Christ died, Christ rose again. And yes, there are still times when I must pray the words of the boy's father in Mark 9:24 - "I do believe! Help my unbelief!"

Non-Christians like to look at Blessed Mother Teresa and say, Look! She struggled with belief and had spiritual dry periods- ergo, God isn't real. But isn't the fact that she persisted in the faith and did not lose hope in God and his great mercy despite these doubts mean anything?

The Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian life, calms all of these conflicts. There is only one Church who has stayed true to the Gospels, despite its occasional sordidness and wrong turns, with the help of God, and alongside billions of saints, angels, lay people, consecrated religious and believers of all shades - the great chain of time and space, faith and reason, intellectuals and the simple minded - all comprehending the same truth: that Christ is King, and came to save us.

And me- little me - who am I to argue? It is through the sanctifying grace and mercy of God that I am Catholic, and that I persist in my Catholicism. Pope Pius XII said, "The Catholic Church herself is an historic fact. Like a great mountain-range, she bestrides the history of the past two thousand years. Whatever may be the attitude toward her, it is impossible to escape her."

Consider me trapped, then: freely, out of love, and most joyfully. The smallest taste of truth is enough to keep me begging for me, earnestly, and to tell people where I have found such nourishment: in Christ, our Savior; in God, his Father; in the Holy Spirit; in the communion of saints; and in Christ's bridegroom, the Roman Catholic Church. I choose to believe, and thus hold these truths to be incomparable, and sufficient.

"When we have traveled all ways, we shall come to the End of all ways, who says, 'I am the Way.'" --St. Ambrose (explanation of Psalm 118)

"After losing those human consolations you have been left with a feeling of loneliness, as if you were hanging by a thin thread over the emptiness of a black abyss. And your cries, your shouts for help, seem to go unheard by anybody. The truth is you deserve to be so forlorn. Be humble; don't seek yourself; don't seek your own satisfaction. Love the cross - to bear it is little - and our Lord will hear your prayer. And in time, calm will be restored to your senses. And your heart will heal, and you will have peace."  -- St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way

"Push back again the age as hard as it pushes against you. What people don't realize it how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when, of course, it is the cross." --Flannery O'Connor, The Habit of Being

We're All Austrians Now?!

Oh, Valentine's Day, how I love thee! It is one of the few non-federal holidays which consistently pumps more than 8 billion dollars back into the economy. Yay free market!

Here is a great widget from the Washington Post, collecting fabulous D.C. themed one-liners. Here are a few of my favorites:

"Independence from you would be bad for my Constitution."
"Without you, my heart is like a metro esclator... broken."
"I want to take the red line to your heart."
"I promise to stick by you like that red intern badge."

Also, my friend Maggie works for Sears in Chicago and is in this hilarious video ad called, "Grin and Bear It-- Valentine's Day, The Expert Way": 





(She's the one getting proposed to in the second shot.)

But even more than the entertaining parts of today, it is important to remember St. Valentine, a Roman Bishop martyred in 269 AD outside the Flaminian Gate. He was arrested by Emperor Claudius II for marrying Christian couples and then tried to convert the Emperor, who had him beaten with clubs, stoned, and beheaded for his faith.

My weekend in Georgia was amazing. I love the South and Vivy and Vivy's whole family. If she wasn't going to culinary school in a month, I would probably fly back in two. I'll be writing more on our adventures later. This picture is of us and the back of Flannery O'Connor's house.

Happy St. Valentine's Day! The first reading today was from Genesis, when Cain killed Abel; it is a good reminder that, even when we act unworthy of God's love, he will still bless and protect us.

Born This Way

I heard through the grapevine that Lady Gaga's new album is out today, so I thought we'd start with some John Cusack: "People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

Also, today is my 11th Quick Takes on February 11th! Yeah! Totally happened.

one

First exciting piece of business: a raffle contest! Truth and Life made an unabridged and dramatized version of the New Testament (RSV) with a stellar cast.

Here's their blurb:

The Truth & Life Dramatized audio Bible™ New Testament is endorsed with an Imprimatur from the Vatican and includes a foreword by Pope Benedict XVI. Voiced by internationally-renowned actors including: Neal McDonough, Kristen Bell, Sean Astin, Michael York, Blair Underwood, Malcolm McDowell, Stacy Keach, Brian Cox, Julia Ormond, John Rhys-Davies and many more. The Truth & Life audio New Testament is a first of its kind dramatized audio Bible from the RSV-CE translation and distributed by Zondervan.

From Chicago to Hollywood to New York and beyond... over 70 actors, 20 audio engineers in 10 studios over 3 continents contributed to the creation of this unique audio New Testament.

More than 100 media development experts and 10,000 production hours were needed to complete this ambitious project.

The complete audio New Testament is 22 hours shipped on 18 CDs.

Here's a peek into production:



Yeah, doesn't it sound amazing?! It is. I own it and have enjoyed listening to it so much that I bought it for my adviser's family for Christmas. They love it too. I've also lent it to B + Z, goodly Protestant friends of mine, who also love it. Hearing the Bible is so reminiscent of oral tradition and really touches another part of the intellect and senses.

So here's the raffle: comment on this post or e-mail me at julie (dot) cornerview (at) gmail (dot) com to enter your name to win your own dramatized NT.

That's it! Next week, I'll put all the names in a bowl and one lucky reader will get a free copy from Truth and Life!! I'll announce the winner next week and post a video of one of my siblings picking the name. I promise we'll make it entertaining.

For and on the record, I really do encourage support for this company and the work they do. This product is especially good for people on the go, who perhaps wish they had more time to read the Bible. Listening to it in the car or in the my room has really been powerful, and I am beyond grateful for this recording. Fingers crossed that they produce an Old Testament version next!!

Master, to whom shall we go?

I had my first Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) meeting on Monday. RCIA is what non-Catholics (and Catholics who have not been fully inducted into the Church's sacraments) go through as preparation to join the Catholic Church. I am going to be sponsoring a twenty-something girl whom I will call Kelsey. The first meeting (and next week's) is on the Holy Eucharist.


This prayer was included in the packet of papers we got, and, since it rhymes, I thought it fine to serve as the poem of the week:


"Adoro te devote" by St. Thomas Aquinas (translated by Gerald Manley Hopkins)


Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,
Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more,
See, Lord, at Thy service low lies here a heart
Lost, all lost in wonder at the God thou art.

Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived:
How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God's Son has told me, take for truth I do;
Truth Himself speaks truly or there's nothing true.

On the cross Thy godhead made no sign to men,
Here Thy very manhood steals from human ken:
Both are my confession, both are my belief,
And I pray the prayer of the dying thief.

I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see,
But can plainly call thee Lord and God as he;
Let me to a deeper faith daily nearer move,
Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.

O thou our reminder of Christ crucified,
Living Bread, the life of us for whom he died,
Lend this life to me then: feed and feast my mind,
There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find.

Bring the tender tale true of the Pelican;
Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what Thy bosom ran
Blood whereof a single drop has power to win
All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.

Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below,
I beseech thee send me what I thirst for so,
Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light
And be blest for ever with Thy glory's sight. Amen.

The original Latin does not rhyme, but is still beautiful. The tale of the Pelican is that if a mother pelican has nothing to feed her young, she will bite into her own side and feed her young with her own blood so that they can survive.

The Eucharist is the most important part of Catholicism. We believe the host and the wine, by the power of God, acting through the priest, becomes the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. This happens through transubstantiation, which thus allows us to re-participate in the Last Supper with Christ, who acts as both as the sacrifice and the priest, connecting and bringing together the faithful in the unbloody and heavenly meal, shared in the communion of saints as substantially present nourishment for our souls.


This doctrine comes directly from John 6:30-69:


"So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"


So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."


So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."


Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. But I told you that although you have seen (me), you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it (on) the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him (on) the last day."


The Jews murmured about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven," and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"


Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: 'They shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."


The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"

Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."


These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.


Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?"


Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you?


What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him.


And he said, "For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father."


As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.


Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"


Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."


I love the part where Jesus asks if this shocks them, and how when people turned away, he did not amend his words or say it was just a parable: and this is why, as hard as it might seem to understand, we Catholics accept this great mystery as fact. The accidents of the hosts and wine are completely normal when one looks at them through a microscope, but there is documented proofs of the consecrated hosts bleeding when broken and priests who say that sometimes, while holding up the host, a thin wafer, it grows so heavy that their arms literally shake. St. Padre Pio had to have people hold up his arms during the mass because the Eucharist would get so heavy during the consecration.


The Eucharist is why mass is different than other services. The Eucharist is why I go to daily mass every time I am able, and not just on Sunday. It can mean nothing to people; it can just be a symbol. But believing one way does not make it so. When I was 12, I went to service with my Protestant cousins. Nothing seemed too different until after the service, when the pastor held up the loaf of bread and asked who wanted to take it home. I was horrified. People are supposed to have a personal relationship with Jesus, but he is also meant to be worshipped and glorified. This includes in our breaking bread with him; he gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins-- he gave himself to us, so that we may have eternal life. Who are we to say and preach otherwise? As Flannery O'Connor said, "If it's just a symbol, to hell with it."


Today is Mom's birthday, so we're having dinner and then going to see the opening night of Muffy's play. It's a rainy day and Dad is in Indiana on business. Also, my former OM and myself are starting a campaign against heavy FDA (Facebook Displays of Affection; patent pending). Its slogan is "Write a letter, Not a post!" I know- so catchy! Stay tuned.

Flannery on Feelings and Faith

This is an excerpt from a letter written by Flannery O’Connor to Dr. T.R. Spivey on August 19th, 1959. After a recent exchange with dear old DF and a comment by Ben, I remembered her wise words on the said subjects and thought I might thus share her response:


I’ll try to answer your questions but as they are not doctrinal questions, you must remember that this is just my opinion about these things.


The good Catholic acts upon the beliefs (assumptions if you want to call them that) that he receives from the Church and he does this in accordance with his degree of intelligence, his knowledge of what the Church teaches, and the grace, natural & supernatural, that he’s been given. You seem to have met nothing but sorry or dissatisfied Catholics and abrupt priests with no understanding of what you want to find out. Any Catholic or Protestant either is defenseless before those who judge his religion by how well its members live up to it or are able to explain it. These things depend on too much entirely human elements. If you want to know what Catholic belief is you will have to study what the Church teaches in matters of faith and morals. And I feel that if you do, you will find that the doctrinal differences between Catholics and Protestants are a great deal more important than you think they are. I am not so naïve as to think such an investigation would make a Catholic of you; it might even make you a better Protestant; but as you say, whatever way God leads you will be good. You speak of the Eucharist as if it were not important, as if it could wait until you are better able to practice the two great commandments. God gave us the sacraments in order that we might better keep the two great commandments. You will learn about Catholic belief by studying the sacramental life of the Church. The center of this is the Eucharist

Pope Benedict XVI saying Mass

To get back to all the sorry Catholics. Sin is sin whether it is committed by Pope, bishops, priests, or lay people. The Pope goes to confession like the rest of us. I think of the Protestant churches as being composed of people who are good, and I don’t mean this ironically. Most of the Protestants I know are good, if narrow sometimes. But the Catholic Church is composed of those who accept what she teaches, whether they are good or bad, and these is a constant struggle through the help of the sacraments to be good. For instance when we commit sin, we receive the sacrament of penance (there is an obligation to receive it once a year but the recommendation is every three weeks). This doesn’t make it any easier to commit sin as some Protestants think; it makes it harder. The things we are obliged to do, such as hear Mass on Sunday, fast and abstain on the days appointed, etc. can become mechanical and merely habit. But it is better to be held to the Church by habit than not to be held at all. The Church is mighty realistic about human nature. Further it is not at all possible to tell what’s going on inside the person who appears to be going about his obligations mechanically. We don’t believe that grace is something you have to feel. The Catholic always distrusts his emotional reaction to the sacraments. Your friend is very far afield if she presumes to judge that most of the Catholics she knows go about their religion mechanically. That is something only God knows.

O'Connor and two of her peacocks

I hope this also clarifies the preferred terms of "practicing" verses "non-practicing" Catholics, as opposed to "orthodox" verses "cafeteria" Catholics. And many, many thanks to all my many, many Protestant friends for asking questions. I appreciate the dialogue. Deo gratias!

Why the Saints?

The question of the saints and why they are included and mentioned so often in Catholicism was recently posed to me. One of the best parts of college was the open dialogue and friendships I have had with serious Protestants who asked me real questions about Catholicism that push me to explain and thus understand my faith in different terms. I can't assume we're on the same page, even though we share Christendom. As a cradle Catholic, there are so many aspects of my faith I take for granted.


Mary, the Mother of God, for example. She is a second mother to me, who I can turn to in prayer for comfort and guidance. She is a role model and I try to emulate her emphatic use of "yes!" to God's call in her life. There are some serious misunderstandings of Mary. I have been told Catholics worship Mary. Statues and pictures of Mary have been equated to idolatry, as does praying the rosary. I have been asked why Mary matters.


All fair questions, but to lay the foundation: Catholics only worship Jesus Christ, not Mary, and we do that through the sacraments, specifically the Eucharist, where Jesus is tangibly present.


Simply put, how does one way to really get to know a guy? You get to know his mother. Ad Jesum per Mariam- to Jesus through Mary. 


DF was in D.C. again this past summer and jokingly asked me why there are so many pictures of her in the Cathedral. Well, I replied, it's the House of God, right? And Mary's His mother. He better have pictures of his Mom hanging up all over or someone is going to get a talking to! The same goes for saints. Pictures of them are considered the same as keeping pictures of family members of the mantle at home. A person doesn't worship those pictures- but they are a physical reminder. It's not enough to have a memory of them; some people need to see it to believe it, and that's not a weakness. Even Jesus allowed Thomas to touch his wounds.


Catholics don't pray to "dead people." If one believes in a Heaven, it should not be a far stretch to say those in Heaven are alive in the Body of Christ and praying for us down on Earth. (In Purgatory too, but that's a different discussion!) They pray that we turn our hearts towards God so that we may one day join them with Him in celestial splendor. They are family, like brothers and sisters, as God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, with Mary as the Mother and Queen of Heaven. For Catholics, it is considered no different to ask for their prayers and intercession any more than to ask one's family and friends to pray here on Earth.


That's why I love reading about the lives of saints. They were fallen, just like the rest of us, and yet they strove to say "yes!" to the call of Christ and do His will over their own. We read about their life just like we like reading about famous people and listening to stories about family members- because they teach us about them, about ourselves and about our purpose.


Today, for example, is the feast of St. Rose of Lima. She is the first American to become a saint and is the patron of Latin America and the Philippines. She was born in 1586 and died in 1617. My little sister Megan wants to take this beautiful saint as her Confirmation name, and for good cause. Here is a little from her bio:


Rose had many temptations from the devil, and there were also many times when she had to suffer a feeling of terrible loneliness and sadness, for God seemed far away. Yet she cheerfully offered all these troubles to Him. In fact, in her last long, painful sickness, this heroic young woman use[d] to pray: "Lord, increase my sufferings, and with them increase Your love in my heart."


One of Longfellow's poems ends, "Lives of great men all remind us,/ we can make our lives sublime,/ and, departing, leave behind us,/ footprints on the sands of time." 


Isn't this the same for saints as it is with the secular set? When mediocrity is becoming a standard and sensationalism a virtue? Can there be no greater desire now than to counter the culture by asserting that there is more to this life than thrills and making ourselves happy? We humans are an inifinite vessel. We can either pour effort into making ourselves happy or give ourselves towards the service of others. My Dad told me that having [six] kids made him love more ways than he thought possible-- and trust me when I say his graying hair is not just a result of age.


I find I am (usually) happier when I am serving others, be it helping a sibling with homework or dinner dishes duty or the homeless man by work whom I buy a newspaper from every other week. Helping others distracts attention from one's self, both of which is innately petty and self-gratifying, of which I am guilty. I miss living with Bear, for example, because I could always find small things to help her, even if it was only providing her coffee before a long night of studying. It may not be the immediate thought, but like all things, if a person turns their mind and actions deliberately towards goodness and servitude, it will become so.


This is what the saints did too. They looked up from the mud and smiled at the stars. They kept their focus on Christ. They served His people so as to serve Him. They banished vanities because they distracted and detracted. There have been so many times when I am trolling the internet and have to stop and say, Is this really the best use of my time? The internet isn't bad and I love the amount of information at my disposal, but the amount of time spent in its service can be too much. It's amazing how time is clawed at by wants and desires.


Today St. Rose reminded me to rejoice in my little crosses of the day. To keep them to myself and relish in small accomplishments and disciplines. I've been enjoying the British Florence + the Machine's "The Dog Days are Over" recently. I especially like the first stanza: "Happiness hit her like a train on a track/ Coming towards her/ stuck still/ no turning back."


The music video is surreal and odd, but the song is poppy and infectious:



That line reminds me of something Ronald Knox wrote in "The Hidden Stream: Mysteries of the Christian Faith" (an amazing book, I cannot more highly recommend it). In the second chapter, when discussing whether we need proof of God, he ends by saying, irregardless of if we want to believe it, God is everywhere.


I think that is so beautiful. To many, it is a "duh" statement. To others, it is a Homer Simpson statement ("D'oh!"). I've heard the sentiments many times: how can God exist if children are starving/ bad people are allowed to do bad things/ etc. Flannery O'Conner said that evil is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be endured. How should that change a person's perspective on the world? Seeing the world not as a cage but as a creation and manifestation of God; looking at every person as a fellow soul; knowing that this too shall pass.


That's what else the saints can teach us. We are not made for this world, but another. This does not mean humanity is in a waiting room killing time, but the world is where one prepares one's mind and body. A person shouldn't go to class without prepping for the lecture, nor do a job without training. The same goes for Heaven- an eternity of worshiping the Almighty needs a life of freely-chosen devotion to God, not forced or begrudged participation, like an indentured servitude.


"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we are clearly apparent to God, and I hope we are also apparent to your consciousness." 
-2 Corinthians 5:10-11


Today I am writing on Ohio's 'Race to the Top' money and am happy to be out of the heat (for now). I'll ponder and admire sidewalk cracks, old couples ambling and yappy dogs on my bike ride home; but for now, back to work!

The Time Has Come, the Walrus said, to Talk of Many Things

At this point, I have nothing to say on the overruling of Proposition 8 in California. Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage, has been upheld by voters in 2000 and 2008. Vaughn R. Walker, a U.S. District federal judge in California- one man- reversed it with one ruling. It is one victory and it only serves to show how important marriage truly is and the need to protect and strengthen it. Why else do people fight so hard?

I got into a horrible discussion with a lady who supports same-sex marriage two days ago. MB later told me my first problem is that I always want to talk to people. This lady certainly wasn't interested in civil dialogue. She asked me if I hated gays and lesbians because I support traditional and heterosexual marriage. I attempted to not be offended by the question and said certainly not; I asked her how she defined marriage. She recited Loving v. Virginia at me, which is a 1967 case striking down interracial marriages as illegal and which quotes a case from the 19th century which says marriage is a fundamental right. I said marriage between different races is different than marriages between those of the same gender. 

Marriage is fundamental, I said, because its two-fold purpose includes the procreation of children for the continuation of society; same-sex couples can't naturally have children. A third of gay couples have kids, she replied. Would you discriminate against children of homosexuals? Absolutely not, I said; equal protection under the law. Then why do you punish the kids by denying their parents the stability of marriage?, she raged at me. I'm talking about parental choices, I said; children are a different matter.

I left the conversation trembling. The above is an abridged and re-created conversation. I left out many of the back-and-forths and derogatory comments she said to me, including saying I obviously wish harm against the children of gays and lesbians. I had to pull myself out in a respectful way and it is one of the few times in my life I felt utterly dejected and miserable. I feel I have failed to witness for truth, but I don't know how else I could have properly conveyed it to her. It was like we were speaking two different languages. O'Connor said it is often the absence of grace which helps us see its true nature.

Here's a selection from Alexis de Tocqueville's 'Democracy in America':

"America is the most democratic country in the world, and it is at the same time (according to reports worthy of belief) the country in which the Roman Catholic religion makes most progress. At first sight this is surprising. Two things must here be accurately distinguished: equality inclines men to wish to form their own opinions; but, on the other hand, it imbues them with the taste and the idea of unity, simplicity, and impartiality in the power which' governs society. Men living in democratic ages are therefore very prone to shake off all religious authority; but if they consent to subject themselves to any authority of this kind, they choose at least that it should be single and uniform.

Religious powers not radiating from a common centre are naturally repugnant to their minds; and they almost as readily conceive that there should be no religion as that there should be several. At the present time, more than in any preceding one, Roman Catholics are seen to lapse into infidelity, and Protestants to be converted to Roman Catholicism. If the Roman Catholic faith be considered within the pale of the Church, it would seem to be losing ground; without that pale, to be gaining it. Nor is this circumstance difficult of explanation. The men of our days are naturally little disposed to believe; but, as soon as they have any religion, they immediately find in themselves a latent propensity which urges them unconsciously toward Catholicism. Many of the doctrines and the practices of the Romish Church astonish them; but they feel a secret admiration for its discipline, and its great unity attracts them.

If Catholicism could at length withdraw itself from the political animosities to which it has given rise, I have hardly any doubt but that the same spirit of the age, which appears to be so opposed to it, would become so favourable as to admit of its great and sudden advancement. One of the most ordinary weaknesses of the human intellect is to seek to reconcile contrary principles, and to purchase peace at the expense of logic.

Thus there have ever been, and will ever be, men who, after having submitted some portion of their religious belief to the principle of authority, will seek to exempt several other parts of their faith from its influence, and to keep their minds floating at random between liberty and obedience. But I am inclined to believe that the number of these thinkers will be less in democratic than in other ages; and that our posterity will tend more and more to a single division into two parts —some relinquishing Christianity entirely, and others returning to the bosom of the Church of Rome."

I broke it up to make it easier to read, but that is all one paragraph from Chapter 23, "The Influence of Democracy Upon Religion", which opens with, "I have laid it down in a preceding chapter that men can not do without dogmatical belief; and even that it is very much to be desired that such belief should exist among them. I now add that of all the kinds of dogmatical belief the most desirable appears to me to be dogmatical belief in matters of religion; and this is a very clear inference, even from no higher consideration than the interests of this world." It is worth reading as a whole.

3/5 of the founding members of Founding Fridays.

In other Julie news, I'm attempting to resist my jealousy that Dakota is in Boston visiting Matty right now. Lovers of truth, good beer and American Studies are we three!

God bless y'all and this country. You're in my prayers as I bike to work, close my eyes during typing and find holy in the human.

Trick as a Treat!

Trick is the nickname* I have for a good friend I made junior year of college at KKG Leadership Academy. We were both chosen to represent our respective chapters and both put into the orange group. At the time, she was dating one of my Hillsdale classmates, so I kept looking at her like a familiar face. We soon found the connection and, more importantly, formed one of our own. She lives on the West Coast and has a kind and generous heart. 

The exciting part is that we will have time together this week! She got a job with Kappa as a Leadership Consultant and, since HQ and I are in the same city, Trick is flying here today for the week for work! Ahh! We've already been texting, which prompts this quick post. Perfect timing too, because I'll be in Washington, D.C. the entire following week for work.

This is the sign on the fence we scaled to hang out by the pool and talk on our last night of L.A. Notice "Use Poo At [Own] Risk"-- there's more than a copy-editing problem here!

A great read: "The saint's 'wise heart' rejects dependence on transient things, Pope teaches" (from CNS).

A few lovely quotes from Flannery O'Connor's essay "The Catholic Novelist in the Protestant South" from 'Mystery and Manners':

"To be great storytellers, we need something to measure ourselves against, and this is what we conspicuously lack in this age. Men judge themselves now by what they find themselves doing. The Catholic has the natural law and the teachings of the Church to guide him, but for the writing of fiction, something more is necessary."

"Nothing will insure the future of Catholic fiction so much as the biblical revival that we see signs of now in Catholic life. The Bible is held sacred in the Church, we hear it read at Mass, bits and pieces of it are exposed to us in the liturgy, but because we are not totally dependent on it, it has not penetrated very far into our consciousness not conditioned our reactions to experience. Unfortunately, where you find Catholics reading the Bible, you find that it is usually a pursuit of the educated, but in the South the Bible is known by the ignorant as well, and it is always that mythos which the poor held in common that is most valuable to the fiction writer. When the poor hold sacred history in common, they have ties to the universal and the holy, which allows the meaning of their action to be heightened and seen under the aspect of eternity."

"It is what writer, character, and reader share that makes it possible to write fiction at all."

"I think that Catholic novelists in the future will be able to reinforce the vital strength of Southern literature, for they will know that what has given the South her identity are those beliefs and qualities which she has absorbed from the Scriptures and from her own history of defeat and violation: a distrust of the abstract, a sense of human dependence on the grace of God, and a knowledge that evil is not simply a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be endured."

"Certainly in a secular world, he is in a particular position to appreciate and cherish the Protestant South, to remind us of what we have and what we must keep."

Today is a sunny Sunday-- I love it! I hope y'all have a blessed Sunday, on this the feast of St. Alphonsus Marie Liguori! Happy August!

*I just realized I might have post something eventually about nicknames because I give a fair amount of them out to people, but I also get them in return. Fun fact: one of my nicknames is Kevin. Anyone want to guess why?