jim henson

The virtue for August is diligence or perseverance. The saint who best exemplifies this trait is St. Monica.   Her son, Augustine was a troubled youth who lived an immoral life after accepting the Manichean heresy.  Perhaps its most enticing doctrine was, as Augustine later explained, that "it was not we who sin but some other nature that sins within us.  It flattered my pride to think that I incurred no guilt, and when I did wrong, not to confess it."  A perfect system of belief for the young man who had lost his father at the age of 17.

At first, Monica refused to let Augustine into her home.  Then, after a vision saying that Augustine would eventually return to the faith, and after encouragement by her bishops, Monica decided to take another tack and stay close to Augustine, praying and fasting for him.

Augustine converted after years of prayer and fasting on the part of Monica.

It is so difficult to be persistent in our prayers and in our faith, especially when the "answer" to our prayers seems to be so long in coming.  We need to be like the woman in Christ's parable who continues to pester the judge until her request is answered.

St. Monica, beg Our Lord to give us the strength to follow your example.

Lord my God, I call for help by day;
I cry at night before you.

For my soul is filled with evils;
I have reached the end of my strength,

I have borne your trials; I am numb.

Psalm 88

Tonight's psalm in the Divine Office reminded me of my post about the Rosary as Life's Journey. Scripture is full of very accurate descriptions of depression and the dark night of the soul, where all we can do is to cry out to God and hope we are heard.

Despair can be a real temptation in this life, but God is Light itself (in eastern Christianity, He is Uncreated Energy) and if we reach for the Light, we are promised that we will find it.

I was saying the entire rosary last Saturday when I realized that it is a  metaphor of and a guide to our entire life's journey.

The rosary begins with the Joyful Mysteries.  We start with the Annunciation. God knows everything about us, has counted all the hairs of our heads and knows our name before we are born.  We are loved individually by our Creator.

Next we go to Mary's visitation to her cousin, Elizabeth.  God's love causes us to reach out to others no matter what our own troubles may be.  This is His Kingdom on earth.  Like the Nativity, Christ is born in our hearts and we continue to experience the joy that God has given us.  We have found the Child Jesus.

Next in the sequence are the Luminous Mysteries.  Baptism is God's way of imparting His Grace to the newborn Christian.  In our walk, our faith becomes fruitful as we continue to show His Love to everyone.  We commit ourselves to spreading this joy.  Our faith deepens as we continue to respond to His call to repentance and the turning around of our former way of life.  We are transfigured on the mountain top of indescribable happiness and long to be one with Him.

But, then something odd happens.  We are in darkness.  The Sorrowful Mysteries aptly illustrate this dry period that falls on each Christian.  Just when we thought we were going along fine and living the life God called us to live, darkness falls.  We find ourselves alone in the garden--a place we used to take joy in.  We cry out to God and are unsure if we are even heard. Our emotions and our circumstances torture us in innumerable ways.  We are mocked and laughed at.  Surely, we think, God has abandoned us.  The joy is gone. We have no choice but to die to ourself.

Just as inevitably, resurrection takes place.  We are bathed in the Light of Christ and are visited by the Holy Spirit.  We are given the strength to carry on and show others the love of Christ.  We realize anew that God has not left us orphans, but given us His Mother and His saints to accompany us on our journey to Him.

We join them in spreading the Kingdom.

Character actor Maury Chaykin passes away on his birthday, in Toronto, at age 61.

- Read his obituary at CBC News.













Bye-Bye, 'That Guy'...

It was a pleasure to have drawn a bead on you over the course of many years and many memorable film and TV roles.

Your performances were so often beautifully larger-than-life,
even if the part was small.

- - Or perhaps, especially.

So sorry to see it cut short. Darn.








- Learn more about
Maury Chaykin at Wikipedia and IMDb.

For today's Art and Beauty Tuesday, I have embedded a YouTube video showing Kazu Shimura drawing a sparrow in ink.  I love the different textures and even colors he gets just with black ink. There is much beauty in simplicity.

Drawing in black only, like writing haiku, can lend a certain freedom and creativity from the somewhat artificial parameters set by the medium.

Todays' Music Monday features one of my favorite newer songs by Sir Paul McCartney:  English Tea.  My imagination always takes me to an English garden in the Spring where I can enjoy tea with a friendly stray cat under a beautiful flowering tree.

I do like Sir Paul's appreciation of his childhood, heritage and tradition.

A Trail of Flowers tagged me in a meme! I haven't been tagged in a meme for a long time!  This meme is about your favorite prayers.  Here are the rules.

"Name your three favourite prayers and explain why they're your favourites.  Then tag five bloggers - give them a link, and then go and tell them they have been tagged.  Finally, tell the person who tagged you that you've completed the meme.  The Liturgy and the Sacraments are off limits here.  I'm more interested in people's favorite devotional prayers."

1) The Jesus Prayer:  Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.

2) The Prayer of St. Gertrude:  Eternal Father, I offer you the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family.

3) The Prayer of the Angel at Fatima:  Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.

All my prayers seem to point to God's mercy.  I think that is one of the most important things that Jesus came on earth to do--tell us of His Father's mercy. Trust in God's mercy drives away despair and brings hope.

The illustration above is called Evening Prayers by Eugene Ernest Hillemacher. The gorgeous details in the mother's clothes are worth viewing over at the Art Renewal Center in its larger size.

I tag Michele at A Simple Life, RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing,Teófilo de Jesús at Vivificat!, Paul at Sober Catholic, and Collins Benedict at Stumbling Back Home.

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

This week's Music Monday featured Josquin des Prez' El Grillo (The Cricket) a delightful madrigal.  For Art and Beauty Tuesday we looked at William Bouguereau's La Gouter (Just a Taste)--just in time for summer. Scripture Saturday features a great EWTN sermon on Martha and the importance of hospitality. In between times, I featured two poems, one, Emily Dickinson's Hope is a Thing With Feathers, read and illustrated beautifully, and the other, Billy Collins' The Lanyard, which ushers in our new Poetry Wednesday feature.

I hope everyone has a cool and peaceful week!

I heard a wonderful EWTN sermon on Martha and Mary this week.  


Instead of painting a typically negative picture of "bad Martha" the priest stressed that what she was trying to do was the very important gift of hospitality. After talking about how difficult it was to put a "feast" on the table in the first century, (after all, you have to round up the animal, slaughter it, prepare it and cook it) he said we should all be sacrificially hospitable to Jesus, and listed some things each of us may be called to do in that regard.  He said to pray about it and see what you might be called to do out of this list: 

• Examination of conscience each day.  There are 2 types: 
• Particular--related to a vice or fault you are currently struggling with. Do this about half way through each day. 
• General--go over your entire day in light of each of the 10 commandments.
• Monthly confession
• Lecto Divina--reading of Scripture--daily office either online, or via Magnificat
• Weekly Eucharistic adoration
• Daily Mass
• Daily Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet
• Use of sacramentals: medals, holy water, etc. 
• Daily offering--either prewritten or from the heart
• Daily Act of Contrition--prewritten or from the heart
• Fasting as prescribed by the Church (2 small meals not equal to one large one w/ water between)
• Keeping friday as a special, penetential day, as required by the Church. 

I would add: 
Praying the Jesus prayer throughout the day.  This is a wonderful short prayer that can be used, either by counting on a prayer rope, or just extemporaneously as you find yourself either bored, angry or frustrated with something during the day.  

I've decided to add a new blog feature:  Poetry Wednesday.  Sometimes, this space will feature a poem from YouTube and sometimes it will highlight a poem in print.  At times, I will feature my own poetry.  I hope you all enjoy our continued foray into beauty!  I'm going to start with Billy Collins, "The Lanyard".  Since this is the height of the summer, and lanyards are often made during the long hours of summer camp, this poem will start us off.

Today's picture is by a favorite artist of mine, William Bouguereau who was a 19th century artist from France. His paintings evoke a time gone by, while seeming to touch the present moment with their realism.

Many of his paintings feature a little girl, who always reminds me of my niece as a child.

This one is called La Gouter which means Just a Taste.  What is it she is tasting, do you think?  I think maybe ice cream, which is rather apt for this time of year.

The painting itself seems to be a study in whites; her dress, the crock she is holding and the ice cream itself, as well as the wall behind her and even the floor under her feet.  A perfect summer painting.

El Grillo by Josquin des Prez (the cricket) is a favorite of madrigal singers everywhere.  This video includes the lyrics.  Enjoy!

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

This week began with a Music Monday featuring the talented Bobby McFerrin, singing the Wizard of Oz.

Art and Beauty Tuesday featured a hauntingly beautiful painting called The Hope of the Penitent by Robert S. Brown.

I did two book reviews this week, Bread & Water, Wine & Oil by Archimandrite Meletios Webber and Emotional Alchemy by Tara Bennett-Goleman.

I also tried a recipe from the Depression by Clair from YouTube--A Poor Man's Meal.

Today, I talked about the scripture passage that tells us not to let yourself be troubled, and about the shortness of life and, an addition to my icon corner.

It's been a great blogging week.  I'll see you next week.

Today would have been my dad's 80th birthday. He died when he was 57. So much has changed since then in so many ways. It is amazing how people live on, isn't it? It is hard for the human mind to wrap itself around the fact that life indeed does go on after we depart from this world.

It makes me think, too, about what is really important. What did Jesus really come to teach? Partisanship? Judgmentalism? Power grabbing?

Or, radical love for EVERYONE?

Life is short. Put away your swords. Get out the love.

Do not let yourself be troubled. Trust in God, still, and trust in Me. In my father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. John 14: 1-2

This scripture passage is one that we hear a lot, and, while comforting, it is easy to let it pass through our consciousness without really hearing it.  Jesus says, "Do not LET yourself be troubled." You have control over that! Keep trusting in God, Christ tells us. God is preparing a place for us in HIS house! Jesus keeps us in His confidence. We can trust in Him. When it seems as though God is absent, we are not looking in the right place. We are not seeing His presence among us.


Hat tip to Mother Angelica of EWTN for the gist of this beautiful verse. 

I wanted to share my latest "creation".  This corner shelf was found by the side of the road by my dh when he was a teenager and used in his childhood home for years.  Our ds used it after that and now I've finally been able to use it to hold my bibles and prayer books in my icon corner.

I painted it burgundy with gold highlighting to match my icons and it adds a nice touch to my prayer corner.

I tried one of Clair's Depression Cooking recipes today--The Poor Man's Meal.  I knew as soon as I saw this, that my husband would love it because it would remind him of meals he and I have been making for over 25 years.

I cut up red potatoes, and hot dogs, added salt, pepper and some stir fry veggies, and fried them with olive oil Pam in a the cast iron frying pan my late mother-in-law gave us when we were first married.

Bon Appetit!

Today's Art and Beauty Tuesday is Hope of the Penetent by Ryan S. Brown.  What first attracted me to this painting was the head covering (which, oddly enough I saw as a *head covering* , even before I noticed the candle she is holding.)  Then I noticed the candle she is holding, or more accurately, offering.

The artist really does capture the hopeful pleading in her eyes.  Her youthful innocence is symbolized by her white dress and shows in her face.

The fact that there is nothing shown other than the girl herself, leaves the setting up to the viewer.

The painting is full of beauty, innocence and mystery.

Emotional Alchemy--how the mind can heal the heart by Tara Bennett-Goleman was an interesting accompaniment to Bread & Water, Wine & Oil by Archimandrite Webber.

Ms. Bennett-Goleman writes her self-help book from a psychological/Buddhist perspective and it was interesting for me to pick up some familiar eastern flavor while reading both books at once.  Both talked about being present in the "now" as being of vital importance.  According to eastern Christianity, God identifying Himself as "I AM" as opposed to "I Was" or "I Will Be" means that He is present in the present moment, and that, eternity, in fact, is really an "eternal now" and not an undefined future as we often imagine it to be.

This book centers around the concept of schemas.  Schemas are powerful emotional states of mind brought on by primal fears from childhood such as fear of abandonment.  These emotions trigger unconscious reactions to everyday situations that we use as coping mechanisms, even when they fail us in that regard.

Becoming mindful of our core schemas and allowing ourselves to feel the true emotions behind them, helps us to become more aware of our motivations and therefore more functional as people in our everyday lives.

Becoming more mindful in general is a way to live more in the present, where we have some control over our own emotions and lives, and, where eastern Christianity says, is the only place where God truly exists.

The book has exercises and suggestions at the end of each chapter to help you practice mindfulness.  I found the explanation of specific schemas to be quite helpful in illustrating the unseen motivation behind seemingly extreme reactions to everyday situations.

Bread & Water, Wine & Oil--An Orthodox Christian Experience of God by Archimandrite Meletios Webber is an excellent introduction to Eastern Christian spirituality.  Archimandrite Webber writes in a way that is inspiring, clear and respectful.

Part I: Life as Mystery lays the groundwork for understanding the Orthodox approach to God and our relationship to God.  It does an excellent job of explaining the difference between the "mind" (feelings and logic) and the "heart" (where God dwells), who God is and how we can really know Him (as opposed to what we *think* we know about Him), as well as specifics of fasting, prayer and icons.

Part II gets into the Divine Mysteries (sacraments) themselves, examining the specifics of how they are done and why.  It opens up new meaning to each, especially if you come from the western Christian tradition.

This is a book that will be read again and again, dog-eared and highlighted beyond recognition.

For Music Monday, we have Bobby McFerrin, multi-talented vocal wizard, doing the Wizard of Oz (with the help of the audience) in seven minutes.  Enjoy.

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

Music Monday this week, was God of Our Fathers in honor of Independence Day. For Art and Beauty Tuesday, we had our final installment of Thomas Cole's Voyage of Life--Old Age.   On Thursday, we had a tiny little break of adorable, and Scripture Saturday talked about the Kingdom of God.

Have a blessed week!

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:2

I always wondered about this verse.  If the kingdom of heaven was "at hand" when Jesus was on earth, then what happened?  Where is it now?  Why all the pain on the earth?

The kingdom of God is WITHIN (you). ~Luke 17:21

Now *that* is news.  That is *good* news!  It also makes perfect sense in light of the fact that the world is still far from "the kingdom of God."  Because the kingdom is not something imposed from above.  Indeed, Jesus says in Luke, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, "See here!" or "see there!" For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." Jesus did not come to earth to set up the kingdom and then leave. He came to earth to declare the kingdom which was already present among us from the Creator.

This also makes sense in light of the verse "you must be born again".  We, each of us individually, has to find and live that kingdom that is within us.  Each of us has to be still enough to find God, who is dwelling "in the cool of the evening"(Genesis 3:8)--in the quiet of our heart.  We have to get our minds and emotions out of the way and listen to God who dwells in the heart.

This message is more urgent today than ever.  We have invented an increasing array of addictive things with which to distract ourselves and ultimately, keep us from recognizing God's presence within us and within each other.  We need to carve ourselves time "in the cool of the evening" or morning, to be with God; to reconnect and recognize (re-cognize or bring to mind) the Presence that God has gifted humanity with and remember (again, re-member or bring together again) that we do have a Creator, and a purpose to our existence both in our present life on this earth, and in the one to come.

Hat tip to Lifeisgreat.  :D

Here is our fourth and final installment of the art of Thomas Cole. Voyage of Life: Old Age depicts our hero on the way to heaven. The man is old and balding, and his beard and hair are white.  One hand reaches forward, almost as if in prayer, and the other hand rests on his chest, as if in joyous disbelief that at last, it is his turn to go to God.  His heavenly angel is back, leading him towards the light where we see other angels awaiting him. His boat, replete with angels, is battered from the storms of life. Again, the play of  light and dark makes it quite obvious what is going on.


I hope you all have enjoyed this series as much as I have.  I'll have to peruse the net to find something equally as interesting for next week's Art and Beauty Tuesday.  Stay tuned!

In honor of Independence Day, our Music Monday this week will feature the hymn, God of Our Fathers, which was our closing hymn on Sunday.

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

This week's Music Monday featured Josquin des Prez' Ave Maria. Art and Beauty Tuesday continued our look at Thomas Cole, this time, with Voyage of Life: Manhood. For the Feast of St. Peter and Paul, we looked at the continuity of icons of the 2 saints from the early Church until now. Scripture Saturday looked at Psalm 63 and thirsting for God.

Finally, I posted the latest video by Geriatric1927, which was a tribute to the late Alf Carretta, lead singer of the Zimmers.

Alf Carretta, lead singer of the Zimmers has died at 93 after a terminal illness. The above YouTube video is a tribute to Alf by fellow Zimmer Peter aka Geriatric1927. It explains the beginning of the Zimmers and a bit about Alf.

O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.

~Psalm 63



As the heat builds in the summer and we long for water, let us remember what it is like to long for God.