A Modern Noah
One of the more interesting sagas of the past year has been the building of a boat over at Nancy Nall's house as recorded in her journal/blog/website.
No doubt the neighbors thought it odd when day and night they heard Nancy's husband working loudly on the building of a boat. Perhaps at times they even ridiculed him, telling him he'd never get it done. But there had to come a time when they wondered if Alan was answering some divine intuition and was building the boat as a way to escape the coming divine retribution against Fort Wayne, so that he could take his wife, daugther, dog and himself somewhere safer, (like Ann Arbor, MI).
I thought about this when the water's of the St. Mary's river had risen to their highest levels in recorded history around here and water was lapping the edges of Old Mill Rd. a few blocks from both there house and ours last month. But alas, the waters have returned to normal and Alan has nearly finished a true work of art. They reached Ann Arbor without the boat but he was close to ready if they had need it.
Visit Nancy's web site for a view of the finished project, look to the archives for the progression of the project.
nancynall.com
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Saturday, August 23, 2003
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Smiling Pope's Election
August 26th, 1978
From CNS STORY:
"Yet some Catholics still fondly remember Pope John Paul I and his endearingly simple style of being pope. A few elder cardinals are convinced that his brief papacy was part of a providential design that led to the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years.
In the crypt below St. Peter's Basilica, the tomb of 'the smiling pope' still draws the most comments from passers-by.
On a recent morning, 56-year-old Lucia Casella went up to the marble sarcophagus decorated with angels and gave it a kiss.
'I remember him with great affection. I think he was very human -- smiling on the outside but perhaps worried on the inside about the duties of being pope,' she said."
August 26th, 1978
From CNS STORY:
"Yet some Catholics still fondly remember Pope John Paul I and his endearingly simple style of being pope. A few elder cardinals are convinced that his brief papacy was part of a providential design that led to the first non-Italian pontiff in 455 years.
In the crypt below St. Peter's Basilica, the tomb of 'the smiling pope' still draws the most comments from passers-by.
On a recent morning, 56-year-old Lucia Casella went up to the marble sarcophagus decorated with angels and gave it a kiss.
'I remember him with great affection. I think he was very human -- smiling on the outside but perhaps worried on the inside about the duties of being pope,' she said."
Friday, August 22, 2003
Queenship of Mary
Today is the feast of the Queenship of Mary and I can’t help but think back to a week ago when we were in Cleveland, Ohio standing in the streets of Little Italy awaiting the procession of the statue of Mary’s Assumption. While there was quite a mixture of religion, culture and even some superstition mixed in with the event, it nonetheless stood as a remarkable sign of faith.
What do we ultimately trust in? The procession of a statue of Mary points to trust in Jesus. The statue of Mary is like a great sign of hope being paraded through the streets announcing to all that life after death is a possibility and that Mary is the first to share in the Resurrection of Jesus.
You would think that after 9/11 such acts of religious belief would be on the rise. Personally I think I was more disposed to the procession, in light of the fact that we had been without power from the time we had first arrived in the Cleveland area until almost daybreak on the Feast of the Assumption. We had spent a vigil in a very apocalyptic setting, calling to mind the fragile human nature that we all share.
Today’s Office of Readings offers a reading from Isaiah 30:10-14 that struck me could be an indictment of our culture which seeks to replace God with a lot of little “idols”.
These are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction.
They say to the seers,
"See no more visions!"
and to the prophets,
"Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!"
It is the line that says, “Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions” that strikes me as so pertinent to our times. People want to be affirmed, they want to live in “fantasy land”. The rest of the Isaiah passage offers the frightening prognosis for such people:
"Because you have rejected this message,
relied on oppression
and depended on deceit,
this sin will become for you
like a high wall, cracked and bulging,
that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
It will break in pieces like pottery,
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern."
I think back to the procession in Little Italy and the faith of the Cleveland Italian community drawing people from around the city for the “feast”, God must be pleased with them, what about us?
Today is the feast of the Queenship of Mary and I can’t help but think back to a week ago when we were in Cleveland, Ohio standing in the streets of Little Italy awaiting the procession of the statue of Mary’s Assumption. While there was quite a mixture of religion, culture and even some superstition mixed in with the event, it nonetheless stood as a remarkable sign of faith.
What do we ultimately trust in? The procession of a statue of Mary points to trust in Jesus. The statue of Mary is like a great sign of hope being paraded through the streets announcing to all that life after death is a possibility and that Mary is the first to share in the Resurrection of Jesus.
You would think that after 9/11 such acts of religious belief would be on the rise. Personally I think I was more disposed to the procession, in light of the fact that we had been without power from the time we had first arrived in the Cleveland area until almost daybreak on the Feast of the Assumption. We had spent a vigil in a very apocalyptic setting, calling to mind the fragile human nature that we all share.
Today’s Office of Readings offers a reading from Isaiah 30:10-14 that struck me could be an indictment of our culture which seeks to replace God with a lot of little “idols”.
These are rebellious people, deceitful children,
children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction.
They say to the seers,
"See no more visions!"
and to the prophets,
"Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!"
It is the line that says, “Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions” that strikes me as so pertinent to our times. People want to be affirmed, they want to live in “fantasy land”. The rest of the Isaiah passage offers the frightening prognosis for such people:
"Because you have rejected this message,
relied on oppression
and depended on deceit,
this sin will become for you
like a high wall, cracked and bulging,
that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
It will break in pieces like pottery,
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found
for taking coals from a hearth
or scooping water out of a cistern."
I think back to the procession in Little Italy and the faith of the Cleveland Italian community drawing people from around the city for the “feast”, God must be pleased with them, what about us?
Greg Popcak Responds to His Critics
Greg has come under attack from a group that is on the fringe of Catholicism, something they are accusing him of being. They have gone through all of his writing and come up with a few quotes that they find objectionable. He responds on Mark Shea's blog.
Catholic and Enjoying It!
Greg has come under attack from a group that is on the fringe of Catholicism, something they are accusing him of being. They have gone through all of his writing and come up with a few quotes that they find objectionable. He responds on Mark Shea's blog.
Catholic and Enjoying It!
Schindler's List
"The list is life." I have followed the Terri Schindler-Schiavo case from afar and it is difficult to know what the facts are because there seem to be so many contradictory reports.
The latest outrage being reported is that she is not being allowed to see a priest who has been bringing her the sacraments.
There is a web site dedicated to her cause and I invite you to go there and to read the various reports and to make your opinion known there...Terri's Fight! The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation
"The list is life." I have followed the Terri Schindler-Schiavo case from afar and it is difficult to know what the facts are because there seem to be so many contradictory reports.
The latest outrage being reported is that she is not being allowed to see a priest who has been bringing her the sacraments.
There is a web site dedicated to her cause and I invite you to go there and to read the various reports and to make your opinion known there...Terri's Fight! The Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation
Thursday, August 21, 2003
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