jim henson

John draws an obvious parallel in this weekend's Gospel between Jesus and Wisdom from Ecclesiasticus.

In the first reading, the Old Testament writer tells us that  Wisdom speaks her own praises, in the midst of her people, she glorifies in herself.

God told Wisdom to pitch your tent in Jacob, make Israel your inheritance and Wisdom says that in the beginning He created me, for eternity, I shall remain.

At the start of his Gospel, John tells us

In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.


The Word was made flesh,
and pitched his tent among us,
and we saw his glory.

Ecclesiasticus, by the way, is one of the so-called "apocryphal" books of the Bible, that were removed by Protestant groups after the Reformation because they include such teachings as praying for deceased persons.  It is also objected to because they believe that Jesus and the disciples do not quote from those books, but as we have seen, that is obviously false.

Ecclesiasticus is also called Sirach or The Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, or The Wisdom of Sirach,
not to be confused with either Ecclesiastes or The Book of Wisdom.

If you have a Catholic Bible, peruse Ecclesiasticus and partake of its wisdom.

The illustration, above, is a portion of Ecclesiasticus in Hebrew.

I must admit I cringe every time I change my sidebar virtue each January.

Perfection, Lord?  Really?!  I'm supposed to be perfect?!?!  I can't imagine...which, of course, is the point.  Spiritual perfection, I learned from a Carmelite article (also linked via the image of God the Father on the sidebar) is nothing more than love (also called charity).

Love, unprejudiced by selfishness, is the message of Christ.  Agape love, is love as Jesus loves--total self-giving.  This "giving till it hurts" is difficult, but it is what we are all called to.  Crying out to God for help and strength is the only way to accomplish this.

Quite a resolution for the New Year!

Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His
well-belov'd imprisonment,
There He hath made Himself to His intent
Weak enough, now into the
world to come;
But O, for thee, for Him, hath the inn
no room?
~From Nativity by John Donne

I love how this poem talks about Christ being "cloistered" and "imprisoned" in the womb, like He will be imprisoned in the grave.  But He has broken through both types of imprisonment and, in so doing, freed us.

I've had chocolate tea before, but this one does not live up to its chocolate promise.  Perhaps it is the hazelnut flavoring, but Stash Chocolate Hazelnut Tea has a distinctive chemical aftertaste as well as a strong chemical odor.

I will finish the box, but I'll be on the lookout for a chocolate tea that does not taste so man-made.

Icons of the Eastern Church go a long way in explaining the theology behind a particular Feast Day.  The Feast of the Nativity has become so commercialized that even when we think we know about the theology behind Christmas, there is always more to explore.

In the center we see a star.  I think we know innately from the representation, that this is *the* star.  It seems to encompass many stars together, which, interestingly, is one theory on how the star of Bethlehem occurred. The sky is gold, showing the Divinity that is present.  We see the angels guiding both the magi and the shepherds, for it is God who sent the star and God who sends His messengers to each person in the Nativity story.

We notice in the center, that Jesus was born in a cave, not a barn the way we think of it today.  These caves were the home of the livestock and animals.  The inns were often built over the caves, using the heat of the animals to heat the building above.

Two things are apparent about St. Joseph.  The first is, he is shown on the lower left of the picture, away from Mary and Jesus, who are the true center of the Nativity story. Joseph is shown "entertaining doubt", represented by an old man.  Joseph has a halo.  He is holy and ultimately listens to God's direction.  But he doubts.  He has difficulty accepting what is occurring.  His position away from the Mother and Child also shows that he is not the biological father of Christ.  That is the Holy Spirit.

Joseph is also shown as a grey haired older man.  It has been known from ancient times that Joseph and Mary were not a "couple" in the traditional sense.  Tradition, both in the East and West, says that Joseph was an older man, possibly a widower, who may have been Mary's guardian. When Mary was too old to serve in the Temple, [i.e., after the ritual impurity associated with menstruation] Joseph was said to have become betrothed to her as a means of continuing that legal guardianship.  His concern and doubts regarding her pregnancy take on a new urgency in light of this type of relationship.

On the bottom right of the icon, we see midwives bathing the newly born Christ.  This reminds us that Jesus was born as all men are and needed care as any helpless infant would.

If we peel back another layer, we see an even deeper symbolism in the Nativity Icon.  The cave in which Christ is born is the same type of location as the cave from which He is resurrected.  Jesus was wrapped "in swaddling cloths" which echo the burial cloths that He is wrapped in after death.

The washing of the infant Christ from the midwives is a reminder that He will submit to baptism by John the Baptist at the beginning of His earthly ministry.

So many of us have lost so much of the Christmas Story--in fact, of the entire story of Christ.  So many of us have forgotten, or have never been taught, the endless richness that is in Scripture.

Let us never stop searching for continued meaning in our spiritual tradition.

I was blessed enough to be able to sing this song in high school and it remains one of my favorites.  The entire Ceremony of Carols, from which this is taken, is beautiful and worth listening to. 

I run around every December 26th singing this song. It is one of my favorites of the season. 

Let us never forget what Christmas is all about.

The Fountain


How well I know that flowing spring
     in black of night.

The eternal fountain is unseen.
How well I know where she has been
     in black of night.

I do not know her origin.
None. Yet in her all things begin
     in black of night.

I know that nothing is so fair
and earth and firmament drink there
     in black of night.

I know that none can wade inside
to find her bright bottomless tide
     in black of night.

Her shining never has a blur;
I know that all light comes from her
     in black of night.

I know her streams converge and swell
and nourish people, skies and hell
     in black of night.

The stream whose birth is in this source
I know has a gigantic force
     in black of night.

The stream from but these two proceeds
yet neither one, I know, precedes
     in black of night.

The eternal fountain is unseen
in living bread that gives us being
     in black of night.

She calls on all mankind to start
to drink her water, though in dark,
     for black is night.

O living fountain that I crave,
in bread of life I see her flame
     in black of night.

When I was in High School, a fellow classmate was studying piano and would practice this piece before class because she didn't have a piano at home. Little did I know at the time that Knecht Rupert (see illustration at left) was a legendary character who accompanies St. Nicholas in Germany. Bearded and hooded, he carries a sack in which he puts naughty children. Quite a bit scarier than coal in one's stocking!

Here is the Advent Calendar for the final time.

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.This week's Music Monday was Rejoice Greatly from Handel's Messiah.  Art and Beauty Tuesday's painting was another one from Gerhartz called Dawn of Hope.  Poetry Wednesday featured Emily Dickinson's Hope is a Thing with Feathers. 

Scripture Saturday was a meditation on the fact that God is with us.  This week, we also featured a fascinating trip back into time to a vintage Christmas photo website featuring pictures from Christmases past.

Have a wonderful final week of Advent everyone!!!

Sunday's first reading is from the seventh chapter of Isaiah when he prophesies about the coming of Christ.

The Lord himself, therefore,
will give you a sign.
It is this: the maiden is with child
and will soon give birth to a son
whom she will call Immanuel,
a name which means “God-is-with-us."

I was struck, when I read it, with the everyday-ness of the text. The sign from Heaven is a maiden giving birth to a son--a common occurrence every day.

Isaiah says His name will be Immanuel, meaning God is with us.

Jesus proclaimed that The Kingdom of God is within you--the Kingdom of God is at hand. This is the message of the Messiah. No more waiting. No more striving after things that do not satisfy.

Jesus was born of a simple maiden in a feeding trough. He is our food. That is the Good News.

God is with us.

I wanted to share with you all this Vintage Christmas photo website that includes pics from prior to the 1920's to post World War II, and much more.

Worth a look down the lens of history.

The picture shown here is of my own Christmas Past circa the 1960's.

Emily Dickinson's birthday was December 10th.  I think her "Hope is the thing with feathers" is an apt poem for the third week of Advent.

Today, during this third week of Advent, we see a painting called Dawn of Hope by Daniel Gerhartz.  We have seen his work before--two weeks ago, actually, with Journey Home.

Today we see a poignant painting where a little girl in white with a white daisy wreath in her blond hair, cups a flaming candle in a bowl.  We see the light reflecting off her peaceful face as she gazes at the fire.

Behind her, a woman lies almost in a fetal position, clutching her head in despair.    Her dark hair and neutral color dress add to her depressed demeanor.  Behind her in the upper left of the painting, is a ballerina with a similar looking flame-like light next to her.  

I wonder if the woman is mourning the loss of her dancing career.  Or, perhaps the dancer is a symbol of the joy she once had in life. It seems very far away. She feels alone, not seeming to realize the little girl is there, and not having any conscious memory of whatever the dancer once meant to her.

In spite of all this, the title of the painting lets us know that Hope has come.

That is what the third week of Advent is about.

Hope.

The third week of Advent is all about rejoicing.  Handel's Rejoice Greatly Oh Daughter of Zion is perfect for this week that follows Gaudete Sunday.

Here is the Advent Calendar. Dymphna's Well was featured on December 10th. Check it out!

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.This week, we featured Christmas Dinner by Paul Stokey, a montage of St. Nicholas art, poetry by Hildegarde of Bingen, and a scripture about being healed.  We also featured a tea review, a Serenity Prayer contest, and the Catholic New Media Advent Calendar Slide show.

I hope everyone has a great Gaudete Sunday and third week of Advent!

When I was reading the Gospel for this Sunday, I realized something I hadn't before.

Jesus is answering a question put to him by John the Baptist's disciples.  They ask him if he is "the one to come, or shall we look for another."   Here is His answer:

Go and tell John what you see and hear.
The blind regain their sight,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised
and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.
 ~Matthew 11

I never realized before that Christ puts hearing the good news on par with being cured of leprosy, or deafness.  There are so many times in our lives when we wonder why we have not been healed, or why a loved one was not healed.

It seems that Jesus tells us here that hearing the good news, which was the Kingdom of God is among you *is* being healed on par with being cured of a physical illness.

The purpose of Jesus' healing ministry was not to heal everyone who needed physical healing.  His physical healing ministry was born, of course, out of His deep compassion for all he encountered, but also, it was to fulfill the ancient prophecy of Isaiah (which is this Sunday's first reading):

The eyes of the blind shall be opened
the ears of the deaf unstopped.
The lame will leap like a stag
and the tongue of the mute shall sing.
~Isaiah 35

and to show the world that the Messiah had come.

Even John the Baptist seemed perplexed that Jesus, perhaps, was not fitting his preconceived notion of what the Messiah would be.  Many in Israel expected Him to be powerful in a  political sense.  But Jesus was called, and calls us, to something much deeper than political "freedom" or physical healing.  He calls us to a deep oneness with the Father.

As promised, I have drawn a name for our Serenity Prayer contest from our three entrants, and TACParent has won our contest!

She tells us that to her, the Serenity Prayer means "Acceptance, courage, and wisdom. If I can live by this then I will suffer less." I think that sums it up nicely.

Congratulations!

Welcome to all who access this post from Catholic Roundup's Advent Calendar! It is a privilege to be able to contribute to this Catholic New Media effort!

Antiphon to the Trinity
(Laus Trinitati)

To the Trinity be praise!
     God is music, God is life
     that nurtures every creature in its kind.
Our God is the song of the angel throng
and the splendor of secret ways
     hid from all humankind,
But God our life is the life of all.


~Hildegarde of Bingen (1098-1179)

I'm excited to bring you a fascinating St. Nicholas Day edition of Art and Beauty Tuesday!

The Saint Nicholas Center reports that the real St. Nicholas may have looked very much like many of the icons of the saint.  When the remains of the saint were removed while the basilica in which they were kept was being renovated, the Vatican requested that a forensic anthropologist reconstruct what St. Nicholas may have looked like based on his remains.  The picture in the middle of the top row is the result.  The others are icons of St. Nicholas.

I think the fact that they do look strikingly close to the real thing is no accident.  Icons are passed down throughout the generations and change very little over the centuries.

Happy Saint Nicholas Day from Dymphna's Well!

I purchased Twinings English Afternoon tea after searching in vain for a palatable English Afternoon tea that is packaged on its own.

Almost a year ago, I reviewed the Dilmah  variety pack and have been on the lookout for their English Afternoon to no avail.

Twinings just doesn't come anywhere near the standard of Dilmah, in my opinion.  There seems to be less tea per bag and what is there is of lesser quality. The aroma of Twinings isn't as good as Dilmah either.

I'm going to have to expand my search for Dilmah English Afternoon to my neighboring state to the south!

I learned this song more than 30 years ago and had no idea at the time that Paul Stokey of Peter, Paul and Mary had written it.  It was taught to me by a dear friend who passed away last fall.

I think the sentiments expressed in this song point us to what Christmas is really about--loving each other as Jesus loved us and is an appropriate way to celebrate today's Feast of St. Nicholas. (More on him tomorrow.)

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.This week began with Chanticleer singing In the Bleak Midwinter.  Our Advent journey continued with The Journey Home by Daniel Gerhartz.  Poetry Wednesday featured one of my own creations, Journey in Winter and Scripture Saturday talked about Thinking Outside the Box.

In between we talked about Addictive Beans, communicating with dementia patients, our first ever give-away contest sponsored by The Catholic Company, Dorothy Day and Odds and Ends from the blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

As promised, here, once again, is the Catholic New Media Advent Calendar. This week, I recommend visiting December 2 for an invigorating rendition of Carol of the Bells, reminiscent of Mannheim Steamroller. Click daily on the link on my sidebar to access the calendar each day during Advent.

This Sunday's readings from Isaiah and Matthew are about acting with a bold integrity. Isaiah tells us the Messiah will possess certain characteristics.

He does not judge by appearances,

he gives no verdict on hearsay,

but judges the wretched with integrity,

and with equity gives a verdict for the poor of the land.

His word is a rod that strikes the ruthless,

his sentences bring death to the wicked.

Integrity is the loincloth round his waist,

faithfulness the belt about his hips.

In the same reading, he tells us that

The wolf will live with the lamb,

the panther lies down with the kid,

calf and lion feed together,

with a little child to lead them.

God judges with integrity and wants us to do the same.  The only way Isaiah's prophesy of peace can be fulfilled is if we begin acting as Jesus did.  Jesus was constantly challenging the religious power structure of his day to act with integrity.  Intriguingly, he did nothing about the Roman occupation, telling people instead to "give to Cesar what is Cesar's and give to God what is God's". Money and temporal things all belong to Cesar and are not to be hoarded or worried about.

But, if you profess to be a believer in the Father, then your values must always come into play and be consistent, no matter who you may be dealing with--friends, family, employers, believers, those in power and those who are powerless.Sometimes this involves challenging those in power over you in order to maintain your own integrity.

Human dignity comes first.  Jesus healed on the Sabbath and remonstrated with those who thought that following the rule against work on that day was the most important thing. His disciples gathered wheat to eat on the Sabbath.  Jesus was more concerned with their hunger than with blind obedience to the law.
Laws and customs that came from a place of hospitality, though, were to be followed. He challenged the Pharisee when he failed to wash Jesus' feet during a visit to his home.  This Middle Eastern custom was a sign of respect and hospitality to a guest who had walked a long way in the dust and heat.

Jesus' task was to get us to think outside the box of blindly following after authority with no thought for each other.  Far from a faith of ignorant sheep, ours is a faith of thinking, loving human beings bringing the Kingdom of God to each other.

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the death of Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.

An early radical, Day became a socialist, dropped out of college, married and had an abortion before converting to Catholicism as an adult.   As this article by Andrew Hamilton says, Dorothy's was "a gospel with teeth."  She founded Catholic Worker Houses that helped (and still help) the poor--alcoholics, drug addicts and street people.

Her theology was all about pacifism, hospitality and human dignity. The poor who came to her were treated with dignity and non-violence--the first many had ever known.  Even when involved in political passive resistance (think, Gandhi and Martin Luther King) the innate human dignity of one's opponent was at the forefront.

*This* is Christianity.  This is what Jesus wants us to do.

Moving through the crisp cold 
I can see my breath.
The frozen air 
is hypnotic and 
oddly peaceful. 

As though gently warming, 
it belies the temperature
and creeping darkness. 
My senses awaken 
to the screaming quiet
and satisfying aloneness
of a winter afternoon.   

I wrote this poem to go with this week's theme of journey.

I wanted to catch you all up on some additions to the blog.

On the sidebar under the Catholic New Media Advent calendar, there is a St. Andrews novena prayer, said between now and Christmas.  Under that, click on the Advent Wreath picture for a daily meditation on Scripture.

Our December Devotion is focused on Advent and the coming of Christ.  Click on the Our Lady of Advent icon for a peek at an Episcopalian blog, The Advent Door done by artist Jan Richardson.

Underneath that, our virtue for December is Union with God.  Click on the beautiful Saint Gemma holy card to go to http://www.stgemmagalgani.com and read about how she achieved this union. There is so much valuable information there about this wonderful saint!

YIM Catholic is a wonderful new site that posts about positive things happening in the Church around the world.

Take time from your busy Christmas preparations to check out some of these sites.

The Catholic Company is having a contest and is asking us to take part.

They are giving away a Serenity Prayer cross which is a 10" resin cross with the 12 step Serenity Prayer printed on it.

To enter, simply post a comment here about what The Serenity Prayer means to you. On Friday, December 10, I will draw a name from all those who comment and announce it on the blog. I may also post one or more of the comments separately if appropriate.

The winner will then send me his or her address and which I will send to The Catholic Company who will then mail you your prize.

This is a perfect time of year for remembering the importance of serenity!

The Journey Home by Daniel Gerhartz depicts a young man riding home behind 2 plow horses in the snow at sunset.  It made me think of our Advent journey--quiet, contemplative, sometimes in near darkness and bitter cold. But no matter how beautiful the light behind us, the Light is always with us to guide us.

Artistically, I think, even without the snow, there is something about that sky that would still evoke winter.  The way he depicts light--with an almost frozen aura around it--really shows not so much what cold looks like, as what it feels like. The very paint itself seems icy cold and unable to flow too freely.

The church in the background makes me think the driver is returning home from a Christmas service, to the warmth of a cup of hot chocolate by a roaring fire.

I hope he has found what he searches for.

I wanted to share an excellent article called Unlocking the Silent Prison about alternate methods of communicating with dementia patients.

Ohio State University's Michelle Bourgeois suggests that, in addition to communicating verbally, we try writing down important messages so the confused dementia patient can read them (instead of the caregiver having to repeat things over and over.)

She also suggests making a photo album of important family members ("then and now") and labeling them.  This helps the dementia patient understand that the "stranger" they see really is their little baby girl.

I think I'm going to try this with my mom, as she is having a difficult time understanding why she needs to be repeatedly cleaned up by her caregivers.

Alternate ways of communicating with challenging family members, for example, teaching pre-verbal children sign language, can be a breakthrough and a great help to caregivers.

This bean curry really is addictive, and not too hot.  Here is the original recipe.

    1 tablespoon oil
    1 teaspoon mustard seeds
    1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    1 large onion, chopped
    1 tablespoon grated/chopped gingerroot
    2 cloves garlic, chopped
    1 large (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
    2 cans (19 oz each) kidney beans (or mixed beans or other beans)
    1 teaspoon (or more!) curry paste
    salt to taste

Here's what I did.

Prepare kidney beans by the 90 Minute no-soak bean method.  After they are finished baking in the oven (there was still  liquid in my cast iron pan) I added the can of diced tomatoes with garlic, a generous squirt of brown mustard in place of the mustard seeds, lots of garlic and onion powder (I didn't have an onion on hand), ginger powder, a small amount of the curry paste (you can obviously add more if you like), some mild curry powder, and salt.  I omitted the oil.

I put it back in the oven for about 20-30 more minutes (again, making sure I had lots of liquid in the pan).

It would be great alone, over rice, noodles or steamed broccoli, or with pita bread.

Great if you are going meatless for the Nativity Fast.

I like to sing this song during Advent, because it often feels like "the bleak midwinter" both literally and spiritually, until our Savior comes.

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

This week's Music Monday featured one of my favorite hymns, It is Well With My Soul.  The video tells the moving story of how this hymn came to be written in the midst of tragedy.   Continuing with that theme, is Duffy Sheridan's painting entitled Trust.

Poetry Wednesday featured Omar Khayyam's poem about what is important in life and Scripture Saturday talked about the Nativity Fast. This Advent I will be posting an Advent Calendar each weekend.  There is also a link to access it on the sidebar.

We also asked Our Lady of Korea to pray for peace in that area of the world.

Have a blessed first week of Advent!

This Advent Calendar will be available 24/7 via the link on the sidebar throughout Advent and once a week as a new post. Click on the applicable day and see what Catholic Round Up has in store for us on that particular day.  NOTE:  If you have trouble accessing this through Google Chrome, try Firefox or Internet Explorer.

Let's ask Our Lady for peace in the troubled country of Korea.

Our Lady of Korea, bring them peace!


Hat tip to Vivificat.

This shall be a sign unto you.  You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a feeding trough.  ~Luke 2:12

The sign of Christ's coming was our Savior lying in a feeding trough.  He is our food.  We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness, Jesus tells us in the Beatitudes.  We are to hunger and thirst after HIM.

In the East, the feast of Christmas is preceded by the Nativity Fast.  Abstinence from meat,  dairy and eggs occurs from November 15th (in some churches December 10) until December 24th. Fish is allowed.  From the 13th until the 24th, fish, olive oil and wine are added to the list of foods that are fasted from.

The idea in the East is not to worry overmuch about incurring a penalty of sin, but to encourage us to use Christ's three-fold method of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to help us draw closer to the Lord and to anticipate and be able to fully rejoice in His coming.

The time of conspicuous consumption which arrives for believers and non-believers alike, and all but replaces the Holy Season now begins at the same time we are being asked to remember the Holy Souls in early November.  When the Church is calling us to more fervent prayer and a awareness of our own mortality, the world temps us from all sides to mortgage both our finances and our souls in a futile attempt to drown out the poverty in our own innermost selves.

Fasting from spending, fasting from overindulgence in food, and fasting from meaningless pursuits as a way to focus our hearts on the eternal is more important now than ever in the 2000 year history of Christianity.  Our Lord in his infinite wisdom, has given us ample spiritual food for these challenging times.

The sign is our Savior waiting for us in a feeding trough.

Therefore, let us keep the feast. 
~1 Corrinthians 5:8

Here
with a Loaf of Bread
beneath the Bough,
a Flask of Wine,
a Book of Verse--
and Thou
beside me
singing in the Wilderness
and Wilderness
is Paradise
~by Omar Khayyam

(translation by Edward FitzGerald)

Written in the 11th century Persian language, this poem beautifully illustrates what is important on this day before Thanksgiving in the Unites States.  All that is needed is "a book of verse, a jug of wine, and thou."

"Give us this day, our daily bread."

We do not need a feast,
for life is feast enough.

Trust by Duffy Sheridan is an abundant feast for the senses.

The subject stands quietly and gazes confidently at us with open and generous hands.

Her beauty is not the modern American standard (although, thankfully, this is slowly changing), but rests in her quiet confident abundance.

She invites us to trust in the bounty of Providence and to rest in that strength.

This is a special Music Monday because today is the feast day of St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians.

This song, It is Well With my Soul, is a beautiful inspiration in times of trouble, even before you hear the background story, and this video does a great job of explaining how this song came to be written.  The accompanying pictures bring the history to the fore and let us know that the almost unbelievable story of this hymn is indeed true.

My son's high school marching band did a beautiful arrangement of this piece years ago and, ever since then, my husband sings and plays this occasionally at Mass.

Let the message of this hymn soak into your being and let God's eternal love shine in you always.

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.This week's Music Monday was a beautiful piano, recorder and string piece from Gris "La Dryad".  Art and Beauty Tuesday featured John Grimshaw's November Moonlight. Poetry Wednesday was a poem called Fall Song by Mary Oliver and Scripture Saturday talked about Psalm 131.  This week I also had a post with some photos of this year's Remembrance Day parade.

Thanks to RAnn for hosting the Catholic Carnival!

 Today, dh and I attended the Remembrance Day parade here in Gettysburg.  I wish I had taken more pictures of the rows and rows of Civil War reenactors in this parade.  It is amazing how many people dedicate their lives to remembering those who fought and died here over 100 years ago.

By far the most unusual thing for me was the Civil War era hearse, drawn by 2 horses and driven by a man in a stove-pipe hat.
I wanted to make sure to get a picture of a Civil War band (one with brass instruments) and decided to make this shot sepia toned to add to the semi-authenticity of the moment.

Oh Lord,
my heart is not proud
nor haughty my eyes
I have not gone after
things too great
nor marvels beyond me.


Truly I have set my soul
in silence
and peace.
As a child rests
in its mother's arms
even so
my soul.


~Psalm 131

The scripture  from psalm 131 is from today's office of readings.  It tells us the biblical secret to inner peace.  It is best to be able to look realistically at life and the world and rest in God's arms as in a loving mother's.  As my dear husband reminds me, "grow into your limitations."  Sometimes we can not do it all alone.  That's ok.  Rest in God and let Him take control.

This poem by Mary Oliver beautifully captures the poignant longing of Autumn. 

November Moonlight by John Atkinson Grimshaw is an intriguingly subtle oil on canvas that depicts a hushed hopefulness that pervades this chilly, damp night.

The diffused light leaves us quietly expectant, yet unsure of its source.  The moist fog obscures the horse-drawn cart that moves away slowly from us down the wet street.  The weak moonlight filters through the bare trees and shines on the wall to our right.  The lights shine encouragingly from the windows beyond.

In spite of its austerity, this painting holds a silent promise of better times to come.

This hauntingly beautiful piano is from Gris "La Dryade".

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

This week started off with Roger Williams' Autumn Leaves followed by our Saint for the Year 2011.

I reviewed a book about Gerald Ford, and featured a gorgeous painting by K. Madison Moore for Art and Beauty Tuesday and Wednesday featured one of my own poems.

Thursday featured a Molly Update and a post about Veteran's Day and yesterday's Scripture Saturday was about the fire imagery in today's first reading from the book of Malachi.

Sunday's first reading is taken from the book of Malachi.

Its haunting fire image is juxtaposed by the specific affects it will have on both the just and the unjust. 

Lo, the day is coming,
blazing like an oven,
when all the proud
and all evildoers
will be stubble,
and the day that is coming will set them
on fire,
leaving them neither root nor branch,
says the LORD of hosts.


But for you who fear my name,
there will arise
the sun of justice
with its healing rays.

The idea that a kind of fire can have a destroying and healing affect on two different groups of people is seen in the Eastern Christian theology concerning the afterlife.  The idea is that both the just and the unjust will be in the Presence of God after they die.  The difference is that God's burning Love will be torture to those who do not love Him, and healing to those who do.

Today the United States and Canada remembers all its veterans, especially those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

Veterans Day was started to remember the official end to World War I on November 11, 1918 at 11:00am. (The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.)

This picture is of my grandfather, who earned a Purple Heart in that war and lost sight in one eye.

The doctors have discovered that Molly has Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia otherwise known as Osler-Weber Rendu Syndrome. With Molly, this manifests itself in Pulmonary Hypertension which is very rare.

Her family is devastated at this new news, although this doesn't change much immediately for Molly.

She did a CPAP trial and handled it well. She will get a Trach and G Tube in on Monday and they are talking about moving her, eventually, to rehab to help her regain skills lost by the brain damage she's suffered.

Please continue to pray for Molly and her family as they endure this suffering.

This is one of my haiku and continues this week's theme of my husband's birthday.