Prayers for Peace

The following photographs to the left of the prayers are of statues and icons in The Peace Abbey.

		1. THE HINDU PRAYER FOR PEACE: Oh God, lead us from the unreal to the Real. Oh God, lead us from darkness to light. Oh God, lead us from death to immortality. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti unto all. Oh Lord God almighty, may there be peace in celestial regions. May there be peace on earth. May the waters be appeasing. May herbs be wholesome, and may trees and plants bring peace to all. May all beneficent beings bring peace to us. May thy Vedic Law propagate peace all through the world. May all things be a source of peace to us. And may thy peace itself, bestow peace on all, and may that peace come to me also.
		2. THE BUDDHIST PRAYER FOR PEACE: May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed from their illnesses. May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free. May the powerless find power, and may people think of befriending one another. May those who find themselves in trackless, fearful wildernesses - the children, the aged, the unprotected - be guarded by beneficent celestials, and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.
		3. THE JAIN PRAYER FOR PEACE: Peace and Universal Love is the essence of the Gospel preached by all the Enlightened Ones. The Lord has preached that equanimity is the Dharma. Forgive do I creatures all, and let all creatures forgive me. Unto all have I amity, and unto none enmity. Know that violence is the root cause of all miseries in the world. Violence, in fact, is the knot of bondage. "Do not injure any living being." This is the eternal, perennial, and unalterable way of spiritual life. A weapon howsoever powerful it may be, can always be superseded by a superior one; but no weapon can, however, be superior to nonviolence and love.
		4. THE MUSLIM PRAYER FOR PEACE: In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations, that we may know each other, not that we may despise each other. If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust in God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things. And the servants of God, Most Gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility, and when we address them, we say "PEACE."
		5. THE SIKH PRAYER FOR PEACE: "God adjudges us according to our deeds, not the coat that we wear: that Truth is above everything, but higher still is truthful living. "Know that we attaineth God when we loveth, and only that victory endures in consequence of which no one is defeated."
		6. THE BAHA'I PRAYER FOR PEACE: Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be fair in thy judgement, and guarded in thy speech. Be a lamp unto those who walk in darkness, and a home to the stranger. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring. Be a breath of life to the body of humankind, a dew to the soil of the human heart, and a fruit upon the tree of humility.
		7. THE SHINTO PRAYER FOR PEACE: "Although the people living across the ocean surrounding us, I believe, are all our brothers and sisters, why are there constant troubles in this world? Why do winds and waves rise in the ocean surrounding us? I only earnestly wish that the wind will soon puff away all the clouds which are hanging over the tops of the mountains."
		8. THE NATIVE AFRICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE: Almighty God, the Great Thumb we cannot evade to tie any knot; the Roaring Thunder that splits mighty trees: the all-seeing Lord up on high who sees even the footprints of an antelope on a rockmass here on Earth. You are the one who does not hesitate to respond to our call. You are the cornerstone of peace.
		9. THE NATIVE AMERICAN PRAYER FOR PEACE: O Great Spirit of our Ancestors, I raise my pipe to you. To your messengers the four winds, and to Mother Earth who provides for your children. Give us the wisdom to teach our children to love, to respect, and to be kind to each other so that they may grow with peace in mind. Let us learn to share all the good things that you provide for us on this Earth.
		10. THE ZOROASTRIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE: We pray to God to eradicate all the misery in the world: that understanding triumph over ignorance, that generosity triumph over indifference, that trust triumph over contempt, and that truth triumph over falsehood.
		11. THE JEWISH PRAYER FOR PEACE: Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, that we may walk the paths of the Most High. And we shall beat our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation - neither shall they learn war any more. And none shall be afraid, for the mouth of the Lord of Hosts has spoken.
		12. THE CHRISTIAN PRAYER FOR PEACE: Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS, for they shall be known as the Children of God. But I say to you that hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To those who strike you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from those who take away your cloak, do not withhold your coat as well. Give to everyone who begs from you, and of those who take away your goods, do not ask them again. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Americans, Ice Cream, and World Needs

According to a quote in the latest Christian Century magazine (Nov. 13, 2007) under "Centurymarks, "Americans eat so much ice cream each year that the same amount of money spent on ice cream could radically increase the health and welfare of others in the world. Look:

"Americans spend $20 billion each year on ice cream. But according to United Nations figures, over the next 10 years it would take only $7 billion to provide clean water and basic sanitation for the entire world, and another $4 billion to finance basic health care for the same period that would prevent the death of 3 million infants each year." (Theology, News and Notes, Fall)

Saving the money my family spends on ice cream could help others--AND help my husband's and my overweight problem. What a thought!

AND ON THE SUBJECT OF HELPING OTHERS--If you haven't already contributed to an organization that helps world hunger, please donate to the CROP Walk, which occurs this Sunday here in Corpus Christi, TX.

Corpus Christi, TX CROP Hunger Walk
Sunday, November 11, 2007

Donate to the CROP Walk

(If you want more information about the CROP Walk, look at CROP Hunger Walk, CROP Walk Hunger Quiz!, Plumpy'nut and Malnutrition in Africa, and/or Making Poverty History.)

Loving the Present Moment

From Ellie at Meditation Matters:

Living and loving the present moment is the key to a spiritual life. Without trust, hope and love, we will not be able to endure the hardship of life.

Trust, hope and love will surely lead us to happiness, peace and consolation going beyond the ups and downs of human relationships.

-- Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan

Carrot Cake

For MJ's birthday (Monday is MJ's 18th Birthday!), I made a carrot cake minus the cup of raisins and the cup of pecans. The cake was shorter than usual, but I assumed that that was because it was missing two cups of ingredients. I iced it with cream cheese frosting, and it looked lovely. After dinner out with MJ and four of her friends, we came home to have birthday cake. She blew out 18 candles and then cut the cake. To me, it looked odd. It tasted dense and clay-like, with wonderful frosting. One girl said she was "too full" to eat it--how polite of her! I ended up throwing the cake away.

This was a humbling experience, because I am known to be an excellent baker and obviously on Monday night I wasn't. (In fact, just today AE emailed me for my pecan pie recipe.) MJ was gracious, and I felt very apologetic and also a little disappointed that her friends thought I cooked this badly!

Yesterday morning I went to the hospital waiting room to sit with the wife of an elderly man who was getting his hip replaced. Trying to be cheerful and talkative, I told Mrs. J about the mishap with the carrot cake. And she told me how carrot cake is Dr. J's favorite cake! If I hadn't told her that story, I would not have learned about him liking carrot cake so much. This turned my feelings of regret into anticipation, because I'm going to bake Dr. J a carrot cake when he comes home from the hospital! (Dr. J is a dear man who is a regular member of our weekly Wisdom Class book study.)

In fact, this weekend I was going to bake another carrot cake for our children coming to visit. AE and KA (AE and KA are engaged!) are flying to Texas from Seattle to attend a friend's wedding, and so DC and AA (Happy Anniversary, D and A!) are coming here from Austin. BJ will not be here, because he has to go to Louisiana for a week of safety training. But he'll be here in spirit, because we'll be taking care of his springer spaniel puppy Troy! (or as husband CB says, "our grandpuppy.")

When I bake the carrot cake for family, I can easily make a little for Dr. and Mrs. J. I am so happy thinking of all this, which makes the disappointing birthday a funny memory that is connected to this sweet one. I am grateful for that sad carrot cake.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Rom. 8:28a)

Separation of Church and State?

And he says, "WORKED FOR US!"
Ann Telnaes

Golden Rule--Interactive Movie

Click on
Golden Rule--Interactive Movie

10 Random Things

Magdalene tagged me for this:

1. I fractured my skull in 1^st grade on Memorial Day when I ran through a sprinkler and hit heads with my friend. There was a dent and now it’s flat instead of rounded at that spot on my forehead.

2. I can say “This is a beautiful fish” in Japanese.

3. I make homemade food and don’t use mixes.

4. I can’t think of things to put here, so I asked MJ—she said I like to wear funny reading glasses.

5. That brings me to something else—I had Lasik eye surgery (twice) in 2001. After a lifetime of being nearsighted, I have normal vision (but old eyes so I need reading glasses).

6. I own my parents’ house in Washington State, but live in south Texas.

7. I don’t drink coffee, but still drink that ancient diet drink TAB.

8. In college, it took a female friend and me both working to equal ONE male weekend manager of the campus coffee shop. (It also required a lot of persuasion on our part to convince the management to try this!)

9. I avoid making phone calls.

10. I hate the smell of beer, so that includes the taste of it.

I tag Katherine (when she gets back from vacation), Songbird, The Crimson Rambler, and Suzy.

End Times?

What's your eschatology? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Moltmannian Eschatology Jürgen Moltmann is one of the key eschatological thinkers of the 20th Century. Eschatology is not only about heaven and hell, but God's plan to make all things new. This should spur us on to political and social action in the present. Moltmannian Eschatology 95% Preterist 80% Amillenialist 65% Postmillenialist 40% Dispensationalist 30% Premillenialist 25% Left Behind 0%

Invited In

St. Andrei Rublev's
HOLY TRINITY ICON

This is a familiar icon for me, so when we sat with it in EFM this afternoon, I tried not to arrogantly think, "old hat." I probably was inclined that way though. As we sat and sat, slowly the scene came alive for me, especially as we discussed it alternately with silences. My first observation was that there was "hopeful expectancy."

By the end of our period of contemplation, I received an emotional yearning to respond to the invitation to join the angels/Trinity. I felt like I was invited into the setting, which was also a fearful thing to do--like I need to FULLY respond by sitting with them and STAYING.

I also felt this deep longing to convey this invitation to my children, but I don't know how. The Divine opens, waiting always, for us to be part of the WHOLE. See the empty spot for each of us to sit at? (And would I wait so long for someone to show up? Nope!)

This fits beautifully with today's Wisdom Class discussion of the last chapter in Jane Vennard's book, Embracing the World: Praying for Justice and Peace, which was entitled "Trusting the Mercy of God." (I first mentioned this book in the post Intention and Attention.) At the beginning of this chapter, the author quotes Cynthia Bourgeault:

"Mercy is God's innermost being turned outward to sustain the visible and created world in unbreakable love."

That describes the icon for me. The figures are somehow showing the outpouring and pull of the Divine unbreakable love. I think I'm being called to sit with this Love, with this image of Mercy.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And if you've never read books by Cynthia Bourgeault, I urge you to do so. The above quote is from her book Mystical Hope: Trusting in the Mercy of God (Cloister Books). I love her book about centering prayer, because she writes a lot about the false/true self: Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening. The cd collection she recorded Encountering The Wisdom Jesus is very good, too.

Hafiz: Tripping Over Joy

What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?

The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God

And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move

That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, "I Surrender!"

Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think

You have a thousand serious moves.

Ladinsky, Daniel. I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz. Point Richmond, CA: Paris Printing, 1996. 127.

Jury Duty

Rows and rows of back views of heads and shoulders in the holding room for jury selection. . . . It was a slow day, because the computers kept freezing up. Twice, we were told to take breaks due to those hang-ups. Each time I walked a few blocks away to the main public library to use their clean and empty restroom! We sat, rotated, and stood for four hours until noon. By the end of that time, I was finally chosen as #6; our group was dismissed until 1:30. I managed to come home, wash some clothes, and even hang them out on the clothesline before returning.

Our group of 60 was released at 2 pm and told that we'll be called if we need to return to the courthouse and to be available until 5 pm on Wednesday. I am hoping that this is the end of it.

18 Candles

Now that I'm home from jury duty, I'll put something here with 18 candles for MJ, to satisfy her older sister AE. (Wasn't there a Molly Ringwald movie called "16 Candles"?)

Monday is MJ's 18th Birthday!

Monday is MJ's 18th birthday! I just got home from a dinner for the Friday Renovare Group with spouses and made MJ's carrot cake, which she requested for her birthday. Luckily, she asked me, "You're not putting nuts in it, are you? Or raisins?" Since I always do, it came as a surprise that she didn't want them in it. I wonder if it will cook faster without a cup of pecans and a cup of raisins in it?

Even though it is 10 pm (or 11 body time), I had to get it baking, because tomorrow I am called to county jury duty. I have to be at the courthouse by 8 am, and who knows when I'll get home.

It is rather odd that I have never appeared for jury duty in my entire life. For many years I always had a child under 10 years of age, which was an exemption. When MJ reached 11 years old, I started commuting to San Antonio to school, so that was another excuse. No excuses now, so I have to go downtown to the courthouse on MJ's birthday. Hope it won't take all day. . . . .

Be the Messenger!

Messenger

My work is loving the world.
Here are the sunflowers, there hummingbird--

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.

~~Mary Oliver. Thirst. Boston: Beacon Press, 2006. 1.

Loneliness

Silence--a strangled
Telephone has forgotten
That it should ring

by Michael R. Collings

Procrastinating Saturday

Fiddling away on the computer, avoiding Greek, EFM, cleaning, and almost anything else you can think of. THOUGH I did hang out clothes on the clothesline! Seeing this at Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show, I had to try it:

Zambia

I was so very surprised to visit The Mercy Blog and find a link to wonderful Geranium Farm, where Barbara Crafton has a remarkable sequence of poems based on the Beatitudes. These poems are beautiful and worthy to be read and re-read, but I also found her post about Zambia! As I mentioned in my post Plumpy'nut and Malnutrition in Africa, I was in Zambia for a month last year, so I am attracted to anything that is written about Zambia, especially in helping the people there.

Go to Barbara Crafton's meditation about Zambia Episcopal Relief and Development that has partnered with the Zambian Anglican Council and the M.A.C. AIDS Fund to create a pilot program aimed at helping pregnant women protect their unborn children from infection with HIV/AIDS through Preventing Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT).

MJ wants to go to Trinity!

His Dark Materials Trilogy

Remember when I wrote about reading The Golden Compass? I had received various emails (now 5!!) criticizing the book(s) for being one(s) that would destroy the reader's faith.

I have just finished the final (third) book of His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman, that dreadful atheist. I got pretty compulsive about reading these, just as I used to do with the Harry Potter books or some other good read.

At some points in the books there were obvious references to the authoritarian acts of the Church and its Magisterium, portraying my image of the Roman Catholic Church in the framework of the middle ages, with emphasis on obedience, sin needing indulgences, the existence of inquisitions, and especially Original Sin. Also in the book were characters from Greek mythology. Talk is of the "Authority," which I take to mean "God." I did not find blatant attacks on faith, though there is a bias against organized religion. (And I would be against that "Church" in the books, also.) I don't think these books should be condemned by Christians. I feel like my daughter MJ who said it's "FICTION!"

I enjoyed reading the books, finding them compelling. The struggle between good and evil goes throughout the three books, with moments of love and redemption in all of them.

Here are some synopses from a website about the Trilogy:

The Golden Compass: When 11 year old Lyra Belacqua attempts to rescue her best friend Roger from kidnappers, she has no idea what she’s getting into. She soon finds herself on a quest that will take her from her home at Jordan College in Oxford to the deep North. She will befriend gyptians, witches, talking bears and a Texas balloonist. She will be followed by mechanical spies and kidnapped by Samoyan hunters. She will be betrayed, and she will betray. All the while guided by the Alethiometer, a truth-telling, compass-like instrument that runs on the mysterious Dust, it has been prophesied by the witches of the North that Lyra is the one destined to bring about the end of Destiny…

The Subtle Knife: Will Parry is like any other ordinary 12 year old boy from our world. The only difference is that he has killed a grown man. While running from his terrible crime, he stumbles through a window into another world. It is the world of Cittagazze, where children seem to rule, as the dreaded specters prey on the souls of adults. In this world he befriends another traveler- Lyra Belacqua, now Lyra Silvertongue. The two soon find themselves in search of a small but extremely powerful knife, capable of cutting a window between the very fabric of the worlds. Will’s search for his lost father, and Lyra’s search for the truth about Dust lead them on, every step of the way to the cliff-hanger ending.

The Amber Spyglass: War is at hand- war between the Kingdom of Heaven, ruled by the Authority, and the newly founded Republic of Heaven, under the command of the upstart Lord Asriel, the father of Lyra Silvertongue. Once reunited, Lyra and Will, armed with the Alethiometer and the Subtle Knife, embark on a quest that will shake the foundations of every world. Protected by two miniature spies, they will travel to the Land of the Dead to undo a wrong, and in doing so change the course of history. They will encounter, face to face, the aged Authority, and the fearsome Regent, Metatron. And as their childhood fades away behind them and maturity sets in, they will see each other in a new light… and be forced to make painful sacrifice to save everyone.

My youngest applies to college!

Thanks to my eldest daughter AE nudging me, here is the announcement that my youngest daughter completed her application to college today! MJ will also turn 18 on Monday!

All Saints Day

We remember

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. . . . .(Heb. 12:1)

And from The Message:
Do you see what this means--all those pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it! Strip down, start running--and never quit! No extra spiritual fat. . . .

Grandmere Mimi has a beautiful post about Feast Of All Saints today, with prayers, links, and descriptions.

Diane has also posted about All Saints Day and here's a wonderful quote she found about those saints we've heard of and known ourselves:

"The wonderful thing about saints is that they were human. They lost their tempers, got hungry, scolded God, were egotistical or testy, made mistakes and regretted them. Still they went on doggedly blundering toward heaven."

P. McGinley, Saint Watching

Stop by and visit these lovely ladies!

Happy Halloween!

I skipped Greek class tonight.

ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. πάντα δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἓν ὃ γέγονεν. ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων̣· καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shone in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."


After having the morning Wisdom Class (book study) and afternoon EFM class, I didn't feel like going to the beginning Greek class taught by Fr. Frank at a different Episcopal Church here. This is the first time I've skipped, and I know it was partly because I wanted to finish reading The Golden Compass, which I just did. I will write about my impressions of it tomorrow. You'll be glad to know that I did not turn into an atheist by reading it!

Virgin of Vladimir

When I first saw the Virgin of Vladimir icon at a regional Shalem retreat, I was mysteriously drawn to her. I kept being pulled to sit in front of her. I was captured by the pain and love for the world seen in her eyes. She was prayed into being at the beginning of the 12th century in Russia.

Icons Explained writes this:

Treasure of Russia, the miraculous icon of the Mother of God of Vladimir is among the best known in the Western World. It's one of the oldest icons of the type Eleousa (Virgin of Tenderness, Tender Mercy, Merciful Love, LovingKindness). The icon can be recognized by the arm of the Child around the neck of the mother. The face of the Virgin that is looking towards us is full of warmth and human comprehension, but also with deep sadness.

The icon of the Virgin of Vladimir is known in Russia since 1131 when she was taken from Constantinople to Kiev. In 1155, prince Andrei Bogolioubski took off to the North to found a new capital. That was Vladimir. He took with him the icon from Kiev. He was captivated by its splendor. It was in that period that the icon started to work miracles and attracted large numbers of faithful. In 1395, the icon was transported to Moscow. Up to three times when threatened by an invasion from the East, Moscow was saved by a miraculous intervention involving the icon.

Halloween Fun

Go play Halloween Hangman!

The Golden Compass

So far this week, I have received four e-mails about the danger of this book series and the upcoming movie. They even cite Snopes.com that has a report on the claim that "The 2007 film The Golden Compass is based on a series of books with anti-religious claims." This report states that the author is an atheist and various groups, including the Catholic League, have condemned the book for "selling atheism to kids."

Three of my children have read the entire series and enjoyed all three of the books. Almost 18 year old MJ is telling me (as I write this) that it's a fiction book taking place in another world with corrupt adults connected with a church too concerned with "original sin." MJ says it reminds her of stories she's heard of the Church in medieval ages. She also says it is a Dark vs Light story.

I remember getting flaming e-mails about the Harry Potter books in years past. I read those books and found nothing wrong with them. So I am reserving judgment about these books until I read them. I trust my children's opinions. (They are 25, 22, and almost 18 years old). Two adult friends have recommended these books to me, too. So I have started reading The Golden Compass (as if I have nothing else to read right now!).

Have you read any of His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass)? What is your opinion?

Snail Mail

I'm thinking of mailing addresses today, because I wrote new ones in my address book for my two sons. The pages in that category have many crossed out addresses, because of the numerous moves they have made since being in college. That also goes for my daughter in Seattle. I remember when CB and I moved a lot, even after getting married, and so we had various addresses. I always assumed my "permanent" address or connection would be that of my parents' in Bellingham, WA, but they died and so that address is not a way to reach me anymore.

I wonder how many people actually have paper address books now. Perhaps snail mail is a thing of the past and the way to stay connected is through e-mail addresses. The internet is much faster than snail mail, but the receiving of a paper envelope, holding it, seeing the handwriting, and opening it is a much more sensuous process than looking at an e-mail. Identifying someone's handwriting can bring their presence to mind vividly--that's what still happens to me when I happen to see either of my parents' handwriting on something long-forgotten.

I love receiving "real" letters and cards that I find in my mailbox attached to my house. However, I notice that both my husband CB and son BJ will leave a handwritten envelope lying around without opening it for days. They don't seem to value handwritten items as I do.

Maybe that's because I grew up moving around in the 1950's and 1960's as my dad was transferred to different military bases. It was cost prohibitive then to make long distance phone calls, and so letter writing was the way to stay in touch with friends and family. I remember my dad would sit at his black typewriter every Sunday and type a letter to his mother. After my mother died, I found a notebook of the letters that she had written home during WWII to her parents that her mother had saved. (Both my parents were Marines in WWII)

I guess I won't change and will continue to mail cards and letters to people, so I need my paper address book! (In fact, that's what I wrote about in a long ago standardized test for a TX teaching certificate--The question was what would I miss the most if I lost it, and I wrote about my address book!)

Peacemaking: Day by Day

Peacemaking Day by Day, Volumes I and II
Both volumes of daily quotes--$10.00.

If you have never seen the booklets published by Pax Christi USA, I hope you will consider buying them. I learned about them when I was taking classes at Oblate School of Theology and a professor would often read a very short meditation from these at the beginning of class.

Here is one day's thought from Volume I:

If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character;
If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home;
If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation;
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.
~Confucius

Here is another day's thought from Volume II:

O God, help us not to despise or oppose what we do not understand.
~William Penn

These little booklets, with a quotation or Bible verse for each day of the year, have been sitting ignored on my bookshelf for quite awhile. It's time to begin reading them again!

Thanks to Ellie at Child of Illusion for this cartoon.

Desmond Tutu: God is Not a Christian

Ann Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote an article about Desmond Tutu's words when he received an unprecedented dual honorary doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University today: "A Grand Reception for Archbishop Tutu." Various opinions about his words are being circulated on the internet, both for and against his belief that God is bigger than the Christian idea of God.

Rodgers writes:

"In his sermon, he poked fun at the belief that only those who accept Jesus as their savior can enter heaven.

"Can you imagine that there are those who think God is a Christian?" he said to laughter from a mostly appreciative audience. "Can you tell us what God was before he was a Christian?"

As Ken Wilber writes in his book Up from Eden, New Edition: A Transpersonal View of Human Evolution, as do others such as Joseph Campbell, those in early humanity worshipped Nature and the Great Mother. It took growth in physical and mental development and development in consciousness for humanity to come to fuller and fuller understandings of God. "Who can understand the mind of God?" How can we even now? It seems like we each have glimpses of the Divine, which we share to know more and learn to love more.


Tutu also asked, "Can anyone say to the Dalai Lama, 'You are a good guy. What a shame you are not a Christian'?"


Read the entire article A Grand Reception for Archbishop Tutu.

Thanks to Susan Russell at An Inch at a Time for directing me to this article. Go to her blog and read her reflections, too.

Fun: Carve a Pumpkin!

Purpletologicall... Speaking for the Friday Five/Six suggested the easiest and most fun way to carve a jack-o-lantern, with no messy pulp to dig out!

Go to Carve Your Pumpkin! Thanks, PS!

Friday Five/Six: Pumpkin or Apple Friday

From RevGals, here's another Friday Five, thanks to Singing Owl:

1. How did you celebrate this time of year when you were a child?

I would go trick-or-treating in a costume my mother had made for me. I remember being a pink ballerina and an American colonial woman best of all.

2. Do you and/or your family “celebrate” Halloween? Why or why not? And if you do, has it changed from what you used to do?
We celebrated more when we had younger children who dressed up. Now we don’t do much except hand out candy to kids who come to our front door.

I like to send friends and family Halloween cards!

3. Candy apples: Do you prefer red cinnamon or caramel covered? Or something else?

Caramel covered apples.

4. Pumpkins: Do you make Jack O’ Lanterns? Any ideas of what else to do with them?
We usually make jack-o-lanterns, but haven’t done that yet this year. My daughter and her partner made one: Almost Halloween

5. Do you decorate your home for fall or Halloween? If so, what do you do? Bonus points for pictures.

No.

6. Do you like pretending to be something different? Does a costume bring our an alternate personality?

I’m pretty boring and stay the same.

Bonus: Share your favorite recipe for an autumn food, particularly apple or pumpkin ones.

I just made apple muffins for MJ a few days ago, when the cold front got here. They’re not fancy, but are good.

Apple Cider Muffins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin pan with non-stick spray or use paper liners. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine:

1 ¾ cups flour (or 1 c. flour and ¾ cup whole wheat flour)

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. ground allspice

1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

(optional ½ cup raisins)

In a large bowl, beat 1 egg lightly

Stir in:

¼ cup oil

¾ cup unsweetened apple cider

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar

Blend well.

Add flour mixture and gently fold together until dry ingredients are moistened.

Fill 12 muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Celebration!

I am celebrating this day with friends and family, near and far. (Thank you!) The sun is shining and it's beautiful and in the 70s F. in south Texas. Two friends took me out to lunch, and MT gave me a new book I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky. Here is a poem from there:

A Golden Compass

Forget every idea of right and wrong
Any classroom ever taught you

Because
An empty heart, a tormented mind,
Unkindness, jealousy and fear

Are always the testimony
You have been completely fooled!

Turn your back on those
Who would imprison your wondrous spirit
With deceit and lies.

Come, join the honest company
Of the King's beggars--
Those gamblers, scoundrels and divine clowns
And those astonishing fair courtesans
Who need Divine Love every night.

Come, join the courageous
Who have no choice
But to bet their entire world
That indeed,
Indeed, God is Real.

I will lead you into the Circle
Of the Beloved's cunning thieves,
Those playful royal rogues--
The ones you can trust for true guidance--
Who can aid you
In this Blessed Calamity of life.

Why Those Who Love America Are Feeling Brokenhearted

by Andrew Greeley

I am ashamed for America. Note carefully that I do not say I am ashamed of America. Despite all its inherent flaws and all its tragic mistakes, the United States stands, however incompletely and with whatever imperfections, for the highest standards of freedom and democracy that the world has yet known.

I am ashamed for America because all the evil done in the nation’s name in recent years is turning off the light on the mountaintop.

1. The president urges Congress in effect to accept the Turkish protest against the attribution of Armenian genocide because it might interfere with Turkish logistic cooperation in the ill-starred and foolish Iraq war. That’s like silencing all congressional action on the Holocaust because we need Germany on our side. If Turks expect to become part of Europe and the West, they must acknowledge what their ancestors did. They could pass a resolution of their own accusing us of genocide against Native Americans if it would make them happy. How humiliating that the president wants us to ignore what happened to the Armenians so we can be victorious in the “global war on terror” (the current replacement for “weapons of mass destruction”). That’s called appeasement, and it was appeasement when President Bill Clinton did the same thing.

2. The government kidnaps, tortures and murders the way the Gestapo did in Nazi Germany. The president blithely dismisses these charges. The United States, he says, does not torture. But that deception is based on a memo from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defining torture, which the White House won’t let anyone else look at.

3. The government pays large salaries to 148,000 “individual contractors” in Iraq — more than the total American military there. A third of these are toting guns. They are mercenaries — often, it would seem, with very quick trigger fingers. Ironically, the most recent victims were two Armenian Christian women. These contractors are a kind of American Foreign Legion, like the notorious French and Spanish foreign legions. They may well be very brave people who do very tough jobs. They also compensate for Mr. Rumsfeld’s criminal underestimate of the number of troops required. If, however, the country is going to have a Legion Etranger, it should make sure that it works under tight control. An unrestrained security force quickly becomes a mafia. Humphrey Bogart, where are you when we really need you?

4. At a remarkably frank meeting of middle-range officers (majors and colonels) at Fort Leavenworth, the soldiers debated not whether there should have been a war in Iraq, but who was to blame for losing it. Was it the senior officers or the joint chiefs or the civilian leaders? The war is not even over yet, and already the officers who fought it and will have to fight its continuation have already given up hope. Too bad for them, because the president has made up his mind that we are still going to win the war and the Democratic presidential candidates speak about a 10-year presence in Iraq. Whatever the political leadership is or will be in 2009, no candidate seems capable of saying, “We’re getting out now!” And the rest of the world laughs at us because both parties are led by fools.

Anyone who cares about the United States and its legacies has to be brokenhearted at what has been done to our beloved country by the crazy people who are running it — people who have become so skilled at deception they don’t even realize anymore that they are deceiving. Just like the Democrats don’t realize they are again stealing defeat out of the jaws of victory.

Andrew Greeley is a priest in good standing of the Archdiocese of Chicago. for 52 years, a columnist for 40 years, a sociologist for 45 years, a novelist for 28 years, distinguished lecturer at the University of Arizona for 28 , research associate at National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago for 46 years.

Published on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 by the Chicago Sun-Times

Oct. 25, 2001

The last birthday I had before my dad died in 2002, he sent me an email telling me about my birth. I treasure it and was afraid I would not find it in old folders, but did. I saw a man driving a truck while smoking a pipe today and thought of my father. He smoked a pipe until he had growths in his mouth when I was newly married and stopped. I guess I'm remembering my parents as I face another birthday. (My mother died in 1992) I still miss them at times, odd moments like this. Maybe I miss them more because I have no siblings, but I do have my dear CB and four wonderful children.
Here's my dad's email from his webtv:

Hope this is one of your best ones and you have many more.
I can remember October 25, l950, very clearly and will tell you again a little about it. Your mother and I were living on Ohio Street in Bremerton, Wa., while I was an out patient at the USNH recuperating from a wound I recd in Korea. It was approx thiis time of day when there was a ripping sound from your mother's stomach. She then said I had better take her to the USNH. We arrived at the hospital and could not find a parking place. So your mother said she would go in and see the Doctor and be right out so I could double park. After waiting a few minutes in the car,a Navy Corpsman ran out to me and said your wife is having a baby. What a suprise because you were not due for a month or so. Your were born premature a few minutes later and had to remain in the hospital where we visited you daily for several weeks. When they let us bring you home they gave us boxes of food etc for you but did not tell us until we found out later that the nurses were playing with you all night and you would be sleeping all day thus you would be doing the same after we got you home.
At any rate it was one of the most wonderful things that could happened to your mother and I. I know she would be just as proud of you as I am. Just wish she could be with us today.

~~~~~~~~~~This was the only time I ever remember my dad telling me about my birth. I'm very glad he did before he died.

How could depression lead to a richer spiritual life?

I can answer this question only after the fact, because in the midst of severe clinical depression I have never felt anything redeeming about it, spiritually or otherwise. But when I emerge back into life, several things become clear. One is that the darkness did not kill me, which makes all
darknesses more bearable—and since darkness is an inevitable part of the cycle of spiritual life (as it is in the cycle of natural life) this is valuable knowledge. Two, depression has taught me that there is something in me far deeper and stronger and truer than my ego, my emotions, my intellect, or my will. All of these faculties have failed me in depression, and if they were all I had, I do not believe I would still be here to talk about the experience. Deeper down there is a soul, or true self, or "that of God in every person" that helps explain (for me, at least) where the real power of life resides. Three, the experience of emerging from a living hell makes the rest of one's life more precious, no matter how "ordinary" it may be. To know that life is a gift, and to be grateful for that gift, are keys to a spiritual life, keys that one is handed as depression yields to new life.

--Parker Palmer, Ph.D.

Possible Advent Reflection

I haven't even seen this in its physical form yet, but I am thinking of ordering copies, sight unseen. The Advent of the God of Peace can be found at the Pax Christi site. I learned about it from Fr. John Dear's latest post at NCRcafe.org for his "On the Road to Peace" column, which is entitled "Women, Peacemaking and the Church."

Fr. John writes in that article:

"I hope and pray that women will not give up, not give in, and not walk away, that they will celebrate their calling to follow the peacemaking Christ, and that they will keep on working for justice and peace. Few men are interested in creative nonviolence; most of us men cling to old patterns of control, domination, and violent power, the methods that have brought us racism, war on Iraq, executions, violence against women and children and nuclear weapons. I hope peacemaking women will wear us men down with their creative, Gospel nonviolence so that one day soon we will together abolish war, poverty, racism, patriarchy, nuclear weapons and violence for good."

And then he lists several new books by women about non-violence.

Soup

Even though we have leftover spaghetti from last night, I decided to make a pot of soup today, with the cool wind blowing in through the windows. From the good old La Leche League cookbook Whole Foods for the Whole Family, I made hamburger soup, with lots and lots of vegetables. It's simmering on the stove right now.

I love making soup. I remember when we lived in RI and NJ, the kids got tired of having soup so often for dinner. One of the last times my mother ever visited me (in RI), she and I took a cooking class in a kitchen store in little, charming Wickford and learned to make a peanut butter squash soup. The reaction of my children about that was not complimentary; they still talk about that "awful" soup I made back when DC was in 7th grade, AE was in 4th, and BJ was in 1st. (MJ was only 2 and doesn't remember it at all.) It's become a funny story in our family.

Cold Front!!

A cold front is blowing through south Texas! For the first time in a very long time, we have our windows open! Yay! It is in the 60s F. outside. Finally, autumn has arrived.

Plumpy'nut and Malnutrition in Africa

Ever since I was in Zambia in June 2006, my heart has been aching for the starving and suffering children I saw there. Tonight I watched "60 Minutes" on CBS and found a news story about Doctors Without Borders feeding malnourished children plumpy'nut, which is either called "ready-to-use food" (RUF) or "ready to use therapeutic food" (RUTF). More scientific or "official" news articles use these acronyms for "plumpy'nut."

There is a news release from October 10, 2007 from Doctors Without Borders (MSF for its French initials) that cites the news program on CBS and gives much information about the use and effectiveness of plumpy'nut in Africa for malnutrition that is definitely worth your time and attention to look at.

"Project Peanut Butter was launched as a new approach to the treatment of malnutrition among Malawian children. The project has since been proven as an effective method with success rates reaching average recovery rates of 89.9% and even higher among some regions. The treatment centers on a peanut based paste rich in protein and fats with a complete complement of vitamins and minerals. This Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) can be manufactured locally with importation of only the additional vitamins and minerals. The paste is resistant to bacterial contamination under all climatic conditions due to its low water content and does not require cooking. This is a tremendous advantage because it removes the burden of having to collect firewood and provides an easy way to produce nutritious food. "

Again from Doctors Without Borders:

"Severe acute malnutrition in early childhood is common in large areas of the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and South Asia -- the world's "malnutrition hotspots." The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 20 million young children suffering from severe acute malnutrition at any given moment and MSF estimates that only three percent of them will receive RUF in 2007.

"Therapeutic RUF for only severely malnourished children, as current WHO, World Food Program, and UNICEF guidelines recommend, is too restrictive. Given its nutritional benefits, RUF has the potential to address malnutrition at earlier stages and is far more effective than fortified blended flour, which is normally distributed. MSF is piloting a program using a modified RUF as a supplement to prevent children from becoming acutely malnourished.

"Instead of waiting for kids to get gravely ill we decided to act earlier," said Dr. Susan Shepherd, MSF medical coordinator, Maradi, Niger. "We are piloting a program that gives RUF to all children under three in at-risk communities so that they get the nutrients that are missing in their normal diet."

This is hopeful, but something we all need to be supporting. So far away, I can continue to pray. But we can also participate in activities to alieve hunger like the CROP Walk and making donations to the organizations listed above and others that you research yourselves.

Remember:
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 20 million young children suffering from severe acute malnutrition at any given moment and MSF estimates that only three percent of them will receive RUF in 2007.

Unexpected Grace

Symbol of Divine Grace: Falcon in the eye of Udiet

Above is a picture of the Symbol of Divine Grace: Falcon in the eye of Udiet from "Cruising on the Nile from Aswan to Luxor."


Since presenting my spiritual autobiography at EFM last week, I have been newly aware of a grace in my life. Although I have written various spiritual autobiographies in my life (even at this blog under "Faith Story"), I was surprised at the insight I gained from this simple exercise.To do this differently, I thought I would look at unexpected guideposts to God.

One of the people I chose to consider was my paternal grandmother, Brunie. In the early part of the 20th century she was orphaned and forced to lived with her married sister in poor, rural Arkansas. To get away from that rigorous life, she married John K. when she was only 14. Soon after she had my dad, her only child. She had a difficult, impoverished life in a very tiny Arkansas town with its Baptist church. Her husband beat her until my dad was big enough to tell him to stop. I can see how hard her life was now, but as I grew up and periodically saw her every few years, I remember her as a bitter, complaining woman.

My father wrote to her every week on a typewriter. He was a good son, but one who was always angry when he was with her. They were better apart. In retrospect, I can understand that, too, as she ran around in that little town, while his dad drunk. How hard it was for him to grow up there.

My grandmother is an example of the adage my mother told me: Until you're in your 40s, you have the face you inherited. After that, you have the face you made. My grandmother had a pursed up mouth and looked unhappy much of the time, even though she lived comfortably in her old age (after my parents bought her a little house). She complained until she died. She "made" her face through self-pity and critical judging.

That unsavory picture of my grandmother was what I had stored in my memory, pushed to the back to be hidden from view. But looking at her again, I remember all the beautiful and elaborate cards she would send me, especially for Valentine's Day. They always came, and I loved getting mail. And even now, I am known for sending cards and notes (formerly letters) to people. I like to do that, and that's a gift from my grandmother--a gift of love.

That sounds like very little, but it's a part of me that I enjoy, and it is nice to appreciate my grandmother in some way. But I am feeling like I am grateful for her in a larger way, because I am feeling unforeseen love for her. It is a healing love that is reaching into the past to connect us.

What is surprising about all this is that I have not been seeking for healing or praying for such inner work. The grace of healing is just HERE. This is a perfect example to me of God's grace-- totally unearned. Divine Grace was working within me, without me knowing it, healing me in unknown ways. This is God, who is working in each one of us, loving us into the people he wants us to be.

I cannot take credit at all for this healing in a little part of my life; all I can do is thank God. This brings a new awareness of the Divine indwelling and as Julian of Norwich wrote, "Sin is necessary, but
all will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well."

Gay Dumbledore

Harry Potter author JK Rowling has revealed a big secret about Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore's past - he was in love with another wizard.

During her American book tour JK was asked if Dumbledore found true love.

"Dumbledore is gay," she replied, before adding that he'd fallen in love with his rival Gellert Grindelwald.

But she said Dumbledore was "terribly let down" when Grindelwald became more interested in the dark arts than good, and so he went on to destroy him.

Fans at New York's Carnegie Hall were initially stunned into silence by the announcement, but soon started clapping and cheering.

JK said: "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy."

The news should help to clear up lots of rumours about Dumbledore's mysterious past once and for all.

October 20, 2007

CBBC Newsround

And for Hillel Italie's AP article on "J. K. Rowling Outs Hogwarts Character" go here.

The American Inquisition?

This week's post by Joan Chittister at her column From Where I Stand at the National Catholic Reporter website is entitled "The American Inquisition?" She writes about the torture that has been conducted in the name of "national security," which President Bush called "enhanced questioning."

"The government says it's about "keeping the American people safe." But from what? From decency, from humanity, from morality, from law? Because by now, the stories of official U.S. atrocities are pouring out from all over the world. Just surf over to this page, skim the headlines. Surely that ought to be enough to tell us that we are up to our necks in tactics too close to sadism to overlook. Tactics that break the minds of innocents and decay the soul of those who call themselves victors."

This fear of safety goes along with John Cory's writing in the post below this: America, Land of Fear?

Chittister compares the way the U.S. has used torture with the way the Church used it during the Inquistion, citing the inquisition and heresy trial of the Knights Templar in 1307 and the maneuverings of PopeClement V and King Philip VI of France. There is an October 13, 2007 newspaper article about this: Vatican to tell true knights' tale.

The article is concluded with:

"But therein lies the lesson: Material gained under torture is simply not credible, a conclusion reached by Eyemeric, the Grand Inquisitor of Aragon himself in 1357, who said, information gained under torture "is deceptive and ineffectual." Which means that the torturer isn't credible either. Or, to put it another way, how can we ever hope to stop the school shootings and gang warfare we abhor while we're doing it ourselves? How do we tell our children that their violence is bad but our violence is good?

"From where I stand, torture is too unreliable an item to build the morality, the credibility, the integrity of a church -- or a nation -- on it. After all, we can't have it both ways. Either the Inquisition was good -- or it wasn't."

I always like the way Joan Chittister expresses herself. Go to her original article and read it!