"O Radiant Dawn..."

"Christmas is Coming" -- Why We Celebrate

Christmas is coming very soon. Even the Janaros need to think about getting our tree and decorations up. We will leave them up long after New Year's in keeping with the Christmas season.

Yesterday afternoon the sun was bright and the air was pleasant even though it was a bit windy.

I decided to do a "Front Yard" video about these final days of preparation for Christmas. I was actually pretty tired, and so the video is a little awkward. But I might as well share it.

We always have reason to rejoice and reason to hope.  .

The Root of Jesse is the Hope of Everyone

I tried to design a graphic presentation of the "O Antiphon" for December 19 (on the Roman calendar) and I came up with something like this :    .

He has come as a "sign for the peoples" of the whole world. The child whose birth we will soon celebrate is the ultimate hope of everyone, the answer to the human heart's searching, the center of all history: "to you all nations shall have recourse."  .

What else can we say? Jesus, "come, save us!!"

What Elephant??

Elephant? What elephant?

Hmmm.... What's going on here?

The reason we don't see the "elephant in the room" is because we are all inside the elephant!😮 #PerspectiveMatters  #MediaGeneratesEnvironment 

Amy Lee: A Great Artist Who Keeps Getting Better

Amy Lee's birthday was last week.

If you read this blog all the time (😉) you know that I wrote about her last Summer when I went with my kids to her amazing concert with her band and a full orchestra and Lindsey Stirling too.

Amy Lee is one of my favorite people in the contemporary music world and she is a whirlwind of creativity in more ways than people realize. What we see up front with Amy is a striking, talented performer who has had a variety of stage personae over the years but who always pours all her energy into giving a powerful, dynamic show. But...

WAIT. STOP. Some of you, no doubt, are thinking, "Who is Amy Lee?" I must say that I am proud of her for the fact that she is not ridiculously famous. She is certainly well-known among the significant circles of people who value her music.

Amy Lee is an extraordinary musical artist, and I want to write something more about her.

I am aware of the fact that the world of contemporary music and art is a deeply ambivalent domain, but there is much good and much beauty in the work of artists today. There are also admirable resources of humanity in artists who live and endure their psychologically complex creative personalities—sometimes under enormous external pressures and expectations—and try to bring together sounds into original forms of beautiful expression.

Artists are peculiar people. That is a fact that is not always pleasant or comprehensible to others. Creativity pushes the limits of human energy, and it takes its toll on those who are called to it.

I am particularly concerned about the overwhelming, overheated tension that envelops a creative person in today's world when they enter the strange space of intersection between art, communications media, and celebrity status. It's like a vortex that often opens suddenly and unexpectedly, where it is all too easy for the creative person to lose their footing and be sucked down.

Amy Lee was a celebrity in this wildly artificial way, once upon a time, as the frontwoman of a rock band that sold an avalanche of CDs and "blew up the radio" (and also the nascent digital streaming world) with their first industry labeled album and several major hit songs in the year 2003.

"Ah!" ... some of you (late millennials, mostly) are thinking, "you mean Amy Lee from Evanescence. Oh yeah, I remember her! I loved that band when I was 12 years old. Way back in the early Aughts, 'Bring Me to Life' and 'My Immortal' and all those desperate, sad songs, and those videos where Amy Lee is drowning or falling from a skyscraper in a big billowy Victorian dress. Yeah. I still have that album ... somewhere. Whatever happened to them, or her? Didn't they do something recently?"

The short answers are "they have been around and active in music the whole time" and "yes, they sure did."

The hard rocking band Evanescence made a huge splash in 2003. A group of young people from Little Rock, Arkansas, some of whom had been playing together since 1998, caught the trend of the times which was swinging away from highly produced glitz and glamor and toward a loud edgy sound and more fringy fashions. But Evanescence had a unique factor that remains the defining feature of their sound: the brilliant, intuitive, visionary, persistent, wildly talented, relentless musical volcano named Amy Lee.

In those early days she was a diminutive oddball kid with long hair dyed black-as-night, and a variety of mixed outfits that ranged from Gothic dresses to calf-length black boots. She had brooding eyes with a stud poking through one pierced eyebrow. You could be forgiven for wondering if she even knew how to smile.

But behind all of that costume was a very nice, intelligent, determined girl who dreamed of making great music. She was a classically trained pianist and the student leader of her award winning high school choir. Intensely artistic and melancholic, she wrote sad, introspective songs as an outlet for her emotions. She had begun studying composition at a music conservatory when Evanescence was offered a record deal.

Amy could write music using actual music notation. She could arrange music for choir. But Evanescence put her under the spotlight as a lead singer. A female-fronted heavy rock band was an unusual thing back in the early Aughts. But Amy absolutely "killed it"! She made history.

From the start, her voice soared over crunching guitars and heavy drumbeats with a haunting beauty, and then it would suddenly dive down into her rich lower register. People were "shook" by it.

And her voice continued to develop as she continued to challenge it with the increasingly complex songs she was writing. It's hard to describe the unique sound that Any Lee has developed over 15 years. It's not operatic or choral but it's not exactly like any contemporary style, though she draws on elements from all of these.

She has an "epic voice" that is compelling and cathartic to listen to, almost regardless of the words. She could sing from a grocery list and make it like bells ringing inside your soul. But Amy does more than sing. She plays the piano impressively. She is also a serious composer; she creates layers of bold, original vocal and instrumental music with texture and depth. She is authentic, passionate, and focused. She works very hard in the studio to record melody and harmony with precision and naturalness. Her voice and technique include idiosyncratic elements (one could even call them "flaws") but she integrates these into her overall vocal presentation to underscore the emotions of a song.

Evanescence was always something more than "just a rock band." Amy's vision was to make music on a grand and dramatic scale, to fuse the energy of rock with the intensity and seriousness of classical and film music and the expansive explorations of electronic music. Her aim was to weave these elements together with her own powerful vocals and the exquisitely written two or three part harmonies surrounding the melody line. And then, of course, sing all of it. The result has been a remarkable collection of songs crafted through an enormous amount of hard work in the studio.

It is also especially awesome to hear Amy present these ambitious compositions on a live stage. Amy the composer is perhaps "ahead" of Amy the singer, at least in live performance. She has some songs that I'm not sure anybody could sing perfectly in concert, but it's thrilling to see her try.... Sometimes in a live show she may strain or fall a little flat, but it's more than forgivable, and when she does nail it, it's stupendous.

But how much music has she made? With Evanescence, fame in 2003 brought a lot of pressures and some personal conflicts. The debut album, Fallen, sold around twenty million copies (and continues to sell even today). But Amy refused to be pushed by the record company into cranking out another album. She took her time and prioritized not only her own artistic pace but also her private and personal life. The second album (The Open Door) did not appear until 2006. It also went multi-platinum in sales, but more importantly (at least in my opinion) it was a significant creative advancement. Then, after extensive struggles with the record company, the third album (called simply Evanescence) came out near the end of 2011.

Through all this time (and even before it), Amy made music together with a variety of other talented musicians who were part of the Evanescence band at different periods in its history. They have also made very important contributions to the composition, sound, and virtuosity of the band's recordings and performances. The story of the band and its many lineup changes is long and complex; it's worth noting that the current group (most of whom were part of the 2011 record) may be the strongest lineup yet in terms of superior artistry and versatility. From the very beginning, however, Evanescence has been "Amy Lee's band"—her vision, her leadership, and her immense and multifaceted creative energy are pervasive throughout the whole catalog of Evanescence music, and are responsible for its consistent and distinctive character. Of all the many factors of Amy's central and defining place in the band, her inimitable soul-stirring voice is only the most obvious one.

When I finally stumbled upon their eponymous third album not long after its release, it was my belated introduction to the whole odyssey of Evanescence as a musical phenomenon and Amy Lee as an artist. I was very late to the game, but I had no trouble working my way backwards to their origins. The third album is underappreciated and never got the attention it deserved. But it got my attention. (What a solid, tight, intricate piece of work it is!) Just when the fickle tongues of American pop-culture-people were saying, "Whatever happened to Evanescence?" there was in fact a great album and a world tour happening in 2012. I had just begun to discover them.

From 2003 - 2017, they released "only" three albums. But the quality of the music on those albums is consistently excellent. This makes sense. Excellence requires time.

Human beings also require time to live human lives. Between those album recordings, Amy Lee became a wife and mother. She also moved to Brooklyn (where there's a thriving young music culture), learned to play the harp, and built a home recording studio.

It also became clear that something had to be done to wrest her artistic freedom out of the hands of an irresponsible record label. Amy sued the record company for financial mismanagement and won (thereby gaining ownership and rights over the whole catalog and taking the emerging "independent" path). Also during this time, she collaborated in writing and performing film music, and released a delightful children's album (which my daughter Josefina loves ... and so do I).

Then in 2017 came the project called Synthesis, which revisits old songs and adds some new ones in a different context, with the accompaniment of a symphony orchestra as well as 21st century electronic instruments. The result is a splendid recording that reached number 1 on the Classical Music charts, and an even more remarkable tour which we got to see and hear with our own eyes and ears. Synthesis remains a beautiful and very moving work, with an unusual level of musical richness.

It's exciting that Amy is now independent from the music "industry" and is working with gifted collaborators who understand her passion for making music. People are always impatient for her to do more, but she does her best work in her own time and integrated into the rhythm of her whole life. In any case, we should realize by now that her creative energy is very fruitful.

After the grand effort and success of this past year, no one should blame her if she just wants to take a break. Nevertheless we will no doubt see Evanescence do more music, and Amy will always be working on something at least in her home studio. I hope she keeps putting things out on the Internet, and that she can count on us to be perceptive listeners who recognize her gifts, encourage her freedom, offer constructive responses, and just generally enjoy sharing in her awesome musical explorations. I would say: "Amy, take your time! The music inside you is worthy of our patience. You are giving us works of enduring beauty."

On December 13, Amy Lee turned 37 years old. I want to wish a belated Happy Birthday to this musical genius and all around magnanimous lady. She is a mature artist who keeps growing and learning more, and she's in a position to be a real leader for the younger generation of emerging artists.

And what a great year of music she has given us! Over nearly two decades, the name "Evanescence" has become somewhat ironic for a group that has made such solid music, and then expanded it into a genre-transcending rhapsodic adventure and brought it to opera houses and concert halls all over the world. Synthesis has blazed a trail and opened up new creative possibilities. What can we say? "Amy Lee, thank you so much!!"

Yes, Virginia...😉

Yes, Virginia... there is a Santa Claus, and he lives right here in the midst of your rolling hills, which is about as close to the North Pole as he wants to get! .

Christmas will be here soon. Ho, ho, and ho!😉🌲And we anticipate the joy on this Third Sunday of Advent. The Rose color means it's Gaudete Sunday. Be of good cheer! .

Rockin' Those Waters on Video

The people at Google want me to turn my videos into... well... videos! So they offer me different options for styling things I store or back up on my Google account. .

Okay, what the heck. Here are a few clips of our local felicitous stream backed by some prefabbed music (one of many possibilities I could have chosen). .

One of these days I'll let them give me a loop like this and just jam over it on my guitar. Then you'll get a real music video. .

Meanwhile, I'll just be lazy and go with the flow. .

This video does not contain the natural sounds of flowing water, but the images of water joined to the ever-more-pervasive sounds of "canned" electronic music. .

Don't judge me, man! .

At least this has an old-school sound to it. This stuff is getting easier and easier to do. If I can do this in five minutes, making real music and sharing it on YouTube might not be as daunting as this aging 1970s rocker thinks. .

Meanwhile, here's Rockin' Waters, a brief "experiment" in easy-peasy multimedia that goes beyond my generation's wildest dreams when we were growing up, way back in the era of corporate-controlled television (untouchable for us) and the only media we could make and share: muffled cassette tapes. .

You youngsters should not take your vast opportunities for granted!😉 .

La Fiesta de San Juan ... de ★Noche★🔥

Yesterday was light and today is ... DARK!?

San Juan de la Cruz. Saint John of the Cross. Today is his feast day. He is the great sixteenth century Carmelite reformer and mystic who is famous for his teaching about "the dark night of the soul." He is also one of the great poets of the Golden Age of Spanish literature.

San Juan's explanation of the periods of experiential "darkness" that occur at various times during the growth of our relationship with God is intended to encourage us. We need not "be afraid" of the darkness. Or, even if we do feel afraid, we can recognize that this kind of disorientation should not cause us to give up loving God and seeking to draw closer to him.

"In general the soul makes greater progress when it least thinks so; indeed, most frequently when it imagines that it is losing. Having never before experienced the present novelty which dazzles it, and disturbs its former habits, it considers itself as losing, rather than as gaining ground, when it sees itself lost in a place it once knew, and in which it delighted, traveling by a road it knows not, and in which it has no pleasure... But inasmuch as God Himself is the guide of the soul in its blindness, the soul may well exult and say, 'In darkness and in safety,' now that it has come to a knowledge of its state" (Saint John of the Cross).

These precise observations of spiritual theology probably apply in a broader sense to much of the strangeness of ordinary human life. We must continue to trust in the wisdom and goodness of God throughout all the seemingly incomprehensible twists and turns and jolts and failures we experience, all that tempts us to question whether or not God really cares about us.

Of course he cares about us. But he has made us for himself; he has made our hearts for a fulfillment inexpressibly greater than we can understand or achieve by our own power. We won't reach the God who is infinite, transcendent Mystery, the God who is Infinite Love, until we have really endured something like these dark nights.

I spent some time today with Spanish verse of this great saint and poet. Some of the words are antiquated, but in general they are very accessible and certainly more concise, more rhythmic, more beautiful in their original form. I don't speak Spanish and I don't understand much of the many variations of spoken Spanish found throughout the Hispanic world. I do aspire to read, and with the many new and continually improving linguistic tools available to us, I hope to learn to read a bit better. Language is a wonderful thing in itself.

Here are the first six verses of the Song of the Soul that Knows God by Faith by San Juan de la Cruz:

Cantar de la Alma
que se huelga de conoscer a Dios por fe

Que bien se yo la fonte, que mana, y corre
aunque es de noche.

Aquella eterna fonte esta ascondida
que bien se yo do tiene su manida
aunque es de noche.

Su origen no lo se, pues no le tiene;
mas se que todo origen della viene,
aunque es de noche.

Se que no puede ser cosa tan bella
y que cielos y tierra beuen della
aunque es de noche.

Bien se que suelo en ella no se halla
y que ninguno puede vadealla
aunque es de noche.

Su claridad nunca es escurecida
y se que toda luz de ella es uenida
aunque es de noche.

With Santa Lucia Comes the LIGHT (Literally)

Santa Lucia!💖🌟

In medieval times, this day (more or less) marked the Winter Solstice (which, given the accumulated lag over the centuries of the Julian Calendar, was pretty accurate back then).

"Lucia" of course comes from the Latin for "LIGHT." She's an early Christian martyr from Sicily who, according to accounts, got her eyes poked out.

Wow!

Returning to astronomical concerns: the Gregorian calendar pushed everything back on track in the late 16th century. But it's still true that sunset starts getting later today. Technically, we will still lose a couple more minutes before the days start getting longer, but all the loss from now until the 21st (which is not much) is on the sunrise side of the day.

This means that we have passed the nadir of "afternoon darkness." (For the morning, at least there's coffee.☕)

Therefore, in the spirit of this traditional martyr's feast I wish you all a HAPPY MIDWINTER!❄⛄

... okay yeah, for Argentine and Australian peeps, of course, "Happy Midsummer" and stop-making-me-jealous-with-all-your-BEACH-pictures (I'm joking! 😉).

Saint Lucy, pray for us!

Guadalupe Touches People One by One

Our Lady of Guadalupe, seen from walkway behind the main altar.

On this beautiful day of celebration for all the peoples of America and for the whole world, we rejoice in the very special companionship that Jesus has shared with us. That companionship was dramatically reaffirmed nearly 500 years ago, in the gift that the "little Mother" gave to a poor indigenous man in Mexico.

To put it another way, on December 12, 1531, the Virgin Mary took the world's first "selfie," which she shared with Juan Diego, and all the rest of us. But the pictures we take are only shadows compared to this uniquely vivid, mysterious, enduring, scientifically inexplicable image.

I have made three pilgrimages to the Basilica in Mexico City that holds the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Though it's great to have high resolution color photographs these days, no secondary picture can reproduce the original in all its facets. The image seems to have a vitality, powerful yet gentle; a presence that a superficial observer can easily ignore, but that reaches out in a personal way to those who spend time with her with open hearts. Of course, like any good mother, Mary is able pick up her children even when they are distracted, if she has something for them that they really need.   .

Everyone's experience with her there is different and personal; most of the time it's not something dramatic. Real motherhood is mostly an ordinary thing, an everyday thing. It is always a loving thing, a gift of love that shapes the lives of those who receive it. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe has remained with us through the past five centuries, through the whole unfolding of modern history. Her image is connected with various peoples, events, and worthy causes. But the reason she came, and continues to stay in this place by means of this unique "supernatural media event," because she wants to touch people one by one, to draw us into her tenderness.

She wants us to give her our burdens and sorrows and to listen to her so as to discover in a new way that each of us is loved, personally, intimately, by her Son Jesus.

Each one of us matters. Each one of us has a purpose.

Above all, each one of us is the child of a good God who will not fail us in time of need.

Our Merciful Mother gives us Jesus her Son and our brother. And she knows and cherishes each of us as his brothers and sisters, as her own children, and she attends us with great compassion throughout our lives.

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, pray for us. .

For many years this print of the image has presided over our dining room table

So much symbolism, but also much that is intimate and personal. When I posted this on Instagram today, it appeared on my page right next to my previous post, which was a picture of a young woman who also has her hands folded and her head bowed, full of gratitude, who also shared herself with others and even said (in the accompanying text) "I feel like a mother to you." Obviously this is a coincidence, and not much of a coincidence at that. For all that, I didn't plan it, and it surprised and struck me personally. Behind the big theological term "spiritual maternity" there is a great reality which some are called to live in special ways. And they can share in the pattern of Mary's maternal solicitude for us even if they don't have explicit knowledge of the full scope of it. Why not? Really, nothing is a "coincidence" in God's good providence. God is good, all the time. (Btw: That same picture is directly below this blog post.)

Christina Grimmie: "God Gave Me Each of You for a Reason"

Today marks two and a half years since Christina Grimmie's life was taken. On the night of June 10, 2016—during an open meet-and-greet after her show in Orlando, Florida—she opened her arms to welcome yet another person, another face she'd never seen before, another stranger she was called to meet with love...

The stranger shot her four times, once in the head and three times in the chest, before turning his gun on himself. She was 22 years old.

Human reason reels in trying to make any sense of this horror. Even now, we still have no words... But consolation for Christina Grimmie's murder—and even a glimmer of a different kind of light that we cannot ignore—still reaches us from the most unexpected of places, from Christina Grimmie herself.

Two years prior to that fatal night, she wrote a special note to "Team Grimmie," her frands. She said some extraordinary things in that note, and she would repeat many of them again. More importantly, her life was true to these words, right up to the very last moment...

Helping One Another to "Discern What is of Value"

"And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless
for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God."

~Philippians 1:9-11  .

This beautiful New Testament text is rich in meaning for daily life, and also gives broader indications for the Christian vocation in the Church and in the midst of the world.

Saint Paul prays that the love of the Philippians might increase "ever more and more" with knowledge and, indeed, with "every kind of perception" so that they might carry out a very crucial task: "to discern what is of value" in life and thereby bring forth "the fruit of righteousness."

There is much to be learned from meditation on this text. Jesus tells us, "Do not judge" and this is crucial, because each person belongs to God, and God alone knows their heart, their degree of moral responsibility, and His own plans to draw them to Himself.

But it is something different to practice "discernment." By the grace of the Spirit, and reason enlightened by faith and vivified by love, we can engage concrete realities in our own lives and give guidance to others (above all those entrusted to our care in various ways).

We are called, and given the grace, to discern "what is of value" as we journey through life. This is certainly important for our own lives. But it also suggests one important component of how we look at others and even the world at large. It's easy for us to fall into a pattern of looking at other people and trying to see what's wrong with them. We are inclined to search for their faults and for ways of behaving that are objectively sinful, then to reduce their identity to these negatives, and judge them rashly in our hearts (if not in our gossip-filled conversation).

Discernment, however, takes a different approach when looking at others. It is not blind to their faults and gives full weight to the hindrances of sin in their lives (knowing well enough how sin hinders all of us), but it does this within a larger perspective, as only one part of a broader focus.

Discernment seeks out "what is of value" in a person's life; it tries to discover (as much as possible, with great humility and respect for the person) where God is working to draw forth or enrich their heart's desire for goodness and beauty, their soul's search for truth and wisdom.

Discernment requires us to listen to the person, to allow them to talk about themselves and tell their story. It not only listens to their speech but also watches the way they treat others and the way that reality fascinates them and draws them beyond themselves. It looks for signs of how and where God is working. This is not to imply that such "signs" are going to be easy to find or to understand—God's action is essentially hidden, but by listening to a person's own words, to their story, and watching the way they respond in ordinary situations, discernment can at least gain some useful insights and learn something about "who they are" and "what matters to them" in life.

Then, in a crucial part of the process, discernment asks in prayer, "Lord, how do you want me to foster your work in this person's life? How can I be your instrument to build up the good, or at least to enliven and increase the desire for the good in them, so that they might draw closer to you?"

What kind of graces does a person hope to receive in this prayer? They seek graces associated with fraternal charity and the spiritual works of mercy, and for help in using the virtue of prudence elevated and further enlightened by the Gift of the Holy Spirit called "counsel."

Of course, some people may have a more particular gift, a "charism," for grasping the concrete good and helping others to see it more clearly and move toward it. A gift for discernment makes a person helpful to others. It is not a licence to be obtrusive, nor does it bestow psychic powers to read minds and predict the future.

Let me be clear: it is extremely rare for a person to have the extraordinary charism of "reading souls," and that is not what discernment aims for in any case. Ordinarily a person who claims such power should be avoided, especially in light of recent disasters in the Church caused by situations where the "cult of personality" dominated the interior lives of others. Genuine Christian relationships should enrich and deepen the experience of freedom as a gift from God that inheres in the inviolable core of every person.

The stories of a saint like Padre Pio "reading souls" have some measure of credibility in the context of his whole extraordinary life. Such stories are particular episodes that have been reported among many other remarkable occurrences. Padre Pio himself was a rare kind of saint, a wonderworker whose extraordinary charisms were bestowed on him for the good of the Church and the service of his brothers and sisters (and please note well: acknowledging the credibility of these remarkable gifts does not mean endorsing as true every story or rumor that circulates about Padre Pio on the internet).

Above all, Padre Pio was a saint, a man who loved God and human beings and whose holiness of life drew people to seek him out. He did not "advertise" his special gifts and he always humbly submitted to restrictions imposed by ecclesiastical authorities (even when they weren't fair). He called himself "a poor friar who prays," and his biggest "external" aspiration and concern was the building of a very special hospital called the "Home for the Relief of Suffering." He never wrote a book. He never went on a speaking tour. We have his own words from discrete correspondence. His humility was profound.

This digression about Saint Padre Pio (and certain misconceptions that might try to cite him as an example) is intended to point out that in seeking discernment we don't seek these kind of extraordinary powers. We seek to open our minds and hearts to the delicate breeze, the "still, small voice" of the Holy Spirit who works among us, and for a strengthening of practical reasoning informed by faith and assisted by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. With reference to others, discernment aims to serve them by helping them (without any kind of psychological manipulation, with profound respect for their freedom) to discern God's will in their life. Also, it entails helping to build up and nurture in them the love of whatever draws them closer to God, whatever is truly "of value" in them insofar as we are given to recognize it.

Obviously discernment is concerned with sinful behavior and never approves of evil. But by calling on God, being attentive, and loving what is good—what is "of value" here and now in a person's life—a discerning approach seeks to help the person in their particular struggle with evil, their need to resist sin. "Admonishing the sinner," even in the most basic rhetorical sense, requires attention to what might really be a useful or even comprehensible warning for a person. Genuine discernment will allow more space for God to shape a necessary admonition to the need of a particular person and to His grace.

Beyond that, however, a discerning approach can open us up to being instruments of God in building up, supporting, and serving one another on the journey we are making together toward our final fulfillment in Him. We are united as members of one Body in Jesus Christ.

He wants to give us abundant graces to help one another. There is no need for some artificial structure here, no need for special meetings where people sit around criticizing one another or making rash claims that "God told them that you need to do x or y." No, that quickly becomes a strange and manipulative situation.

The terms used to describe our relationship in Christ are "brothers and sisters." We can exercise discernment as we seek together "what is of value" within the connections and bonds that develop organically among Christ's members.

The relationships between brothers and sisters in Christ remain human relationships that grow in particular places and along the various and sometimes bumpy roads of human communities. They require the appropriate regard for the dignity of persons that allows space for the development of genuine and mature human friendships.

"Friendship in Christ" must not be a label we misuse or devalue. It is real human friendship informed by Christian love. Friends can help one another in the work of discerning God's will, by a humble but very real charism of the Holy Spirit that takes shape within the friendship as a human reality—a reality that is all the more profoundly human in the measure in which it is imbued by grace. Christian friendship is the life of faith vitally realized within a genuine human friendship; it is warm and familiar (in different ways, and not without the flaws and quirks that characterize all human things); it is respectful, trustworthy, well grounded, open beyond itself, and inserted into the life of the local and universal Church. It is the foretaste of a communion of persons destined to last forever.

Indeed, such friendship is in itself a thing of great value.

"Full of Grace"

"Ave Maria,
Gratia plena..." 

God is Always Good, But He's Not Always "Easy"

God is good. All the time.

He really is. We can't even begin to imagine how wildly overflowing, diffusive, and gratuitous He is in His goodness.

This is the very reason why His ways can seem strange and difficult to us. He sees the whole fulfillment of His goodness in eternity.

We don't see it. We journey through space and time, often with anxious, faltering steps, sometimes through heavy winds and fierce storms, sometimes in a moonless night.

We can get pretty disoriented, and wonder what's going on.

God is good. And He is true to the promise He has whispered in our hearts, and to the fullness of His revelation of that promise through Jesus. But He didn't promise it would be "easy."

He calls us to follow Him on the narrow path. He wants us to trust Him.

God is not easy with us. Though I'm sure He's much "easier"—kinder, more patient, more merciful, and more just—toward us than we are toward ourselves, and toward one another.

Nor should we be surprised that we do not understand His ways. God Himself is beyond our comprehension. He is the Mystery. He is never captured or grasped.

But He is trustworthy, and if we stay with Him, we will begin to understand the meaning and value of life and created things and the world and the peculiar moment of history He has entrusted to us.

He is merciful. He is faithful. He loves us. Indeed, He is with us!

This is what we are preparing to celebrate during the Advent season: He has come to dwell with us.

He has come, the One who creates and sustains our very being, our intelligence, our freedom. He has come, the One who is the ineffable source of the miracle that manifests itself everytime one of these strange little material entities in the universe says, "I am a 'someone'" and when it sees another speck of cosmic dust like itself and says, "You are a 'someone'!"

He has come, the One who makes our mysterious, otherwise inexplicable personhood real, vital, and so intimate that it is truly "our own." He comes to be with us, to be close to us, to fulfill to the end His fidelity, His mercy, His love for us.

He has come: Jesus.

He, the Eternal Word, took flesh in the womb of a woman, the always-and-all-holy woman He chose and prepared to be His mother. Jesus born of the Virgin Mary.

He has come to dwell with us, to make us His brothers and sisters. He wants us to be with Him forever, to share with Him the fulllfillment of all things, and above all to share in His own inexhaustible life, His glory, His joy, His love.

This is not "easy," but we don't really want "easy"; we want to be moved, to live beyond ourselves, toward a reality that is mysterious and great and good.

He comes, who encompasses and surpasses all our aspirations. Let us take time, in these days, to make room for Him in the center of our hearts, of our lives. 

The Melody of a Creek

Tuesday was cloudy and chilly, but I felt a bit perkier than usual so I decided to hang out at a nearby natural body of water called Happy Creek.
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I got as close as I could to the water, and, I'm pleasantly surprised to say, did not fall in! (I have a long record of falling into water going back to toddlerhood, but not in a dangerous way, just inconvenient and klutzy.)

For many years I was an avid fisherman, and I even had a small boat I used to take on the Shenandoah River. I loved those days and I'm glad for all the experiences and memories of that time.

Now, I'm blessed to be surrounded by natural beauty all year long, and I have different kinds of adventures taking walks with my camera, or even just exploring the front yard.

Some days are better than others, of course. I only brought my phone to the creek, but I still took a few pictures. Then I decided to get a sustained bit of video footage of the creek. It's not high quality, but I'm too old to be picky.

Figuring there are a few other people who might want to watch a video of gentle flowing water and listen to the music of a creek, I posted it to my YouTube channel:
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Digital Scriptorum: Psalm 100 Variations

Near the Year's End: My (Late) "Mid-Life Crisis" Goes On

Hello December my old friend... #Dark!

It is finally December 2018. Some years seem to just fly by. Not this year. For me, it feels like last Christmas was ten years ago. So much has happened. In many ways, life has shifted into a new phase. It's a human thing, it's a natural phase as kids become adults who are suddenly much more independent, and parents become aged and infirm and much more dependent.

That's why it's called "middle age," I guess.

But I'm nearly 56 years old. With the body of a 96 year old (of course that's hyperbole, but there are days when it seems rather close to the mark). It's a bit late for middle age, perhaps. And on top of that, we still have an almost-16 year old and a 12 year old at home. We are by no means "done" with the full-on parenting gig. Eileen and I joke that we've finally become "the normal American family." That really is a joke; the other three are still in and out plenty. But John Paul is a Senior in college (i.e. "university") and in six months he graduates. More uncharted waters coming. Help! (Actually, I'm sure he'll be fine. He won't be rich—at least, not right away—but he'll do fine.)
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With my parents, I just hope they know how much we all love them, and that we're ready to do whatever it takes and deal with whatever comes. Well, I should say we're as ready as we can be; we have to trust God in front of the uncontrollable possibilities that may lie ahead. But that's true about all of life. We are not the masters of reality. But we are a family, and the Lord has given us a lot of grace to stick together through many unforeseen things. May He enable us to persevere.
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We need that grace and that trust every day, both for our parents and for our kids. Gosh, the adventure of adolescence has not even begun for Jojo. 

Growing up, there was just me and my brother. My parents were only given the two of us (though we were a handful). When I turned 12 years old, do you know how old my Dad was? He was 39 years old.

Sheesh.

I wouldn't mind being a few years younger and a lot healthier and more energetic. But that's daydreaming.

And I can't live the daydream of become a quiet retired scholar, either. My own body and brain aren't even up to that. But, really, that's never what I wanted to be anyway.

For now the flood keeps coming. "God keep my head above water."

Charles de Foucauld in His Own Words

Blessed Charles de Foucauld's feast day is December 1, the anniversary of his martyrdom at the hands of a desert militia in Algeria in 1916. The man who called himself the "little brother" of Jesus and the "universal brother" of all people had lived as a contemplative and servant of the poorest of the poor, the nomadic tribes, their slaves, and anyone who sought him out.

Not only did his spiritual ideal become the basis for the founding of the Little Brothers of Jesus (and then the Little Sisters) within a generation of his death; he also was the first in a series of witnesses in Algeria who lived a mission of charity and solidarity with the people, as Christians living together with Muslims in dialogue and mutual respect. During Algeria's civil war at the end of the last century, many of these would also suffer martyrdom at the hands of radical Islamist factions.

A group of these martyrs in Algeria, including the seven Trappist monks of Tibhirine (whose story was so beautifully presented in the 2010 film "Of Gods and Men") and Bishop Pierre Claverie, will be beatified this coming week.

The spiritual family of Brother Charles continues to grow in so many ways, with the humble, quiet persistence that accompanies and signifies the transcendent power of Christ's love.

Quotations of Blessed Charles de Foucauld:

"Above all, always see Jesus in every person, and consequently treat each one not only as an equal and as a brother or sister, but also with great humility, respect and selfless generosity."

"Our entire existence and being should shout the Gospel from the rooftops. Our entire person should breathe Jesus. All our actions and our entire life should proclaim that we belong to Jesus."

“We do good, not by what we say and do, but by what we are, by the grace which accompanies our actions, by the way that Jesus lives within us, by the way that our actions are Jesus' actions, working in and through us."

"I want to accustom all the inhabitants, Christians, Muslims, Jews, and nonbelievers, to look on me as their brother, the universal brother. Already they're calling this house 'the fraternity' (khaoua in Arabic) -- about which I'm delighted -- and realizing that the poor have a brother here -- not only the poor, though: all men."

"What is there in common between heaven and me -- between its perfection and my wretchedness? There is your Heart, O Lord Jesus. It forms a link between these two so dissimilar things."

‎"Let us concern ourselves with those who lack everything,...those to whom no one gives a thought. Let us be the friends of those who have no friends, their brother."

"The love of God, the love of men, that is my whole life, that will be my whole life, I hope. When we can suffer and love, we can do much, the most that one can do in this world."

Prayer of Abandonment:

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands.
Do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you.
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me
and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul.
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands
without reserve and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.

Saint Andrew and the Unity of Christians

Happy Saint Andrew's Day!

In the classic icon, we see the two brothers embrace: Saint Peter and Saint Andrew. It is an especially meaningful embrace that represents for us today a hope for the healing of some very old wounds. Today, especially, we pray for unity between Christians East and West.

St. Andrew "the First-called" is greatly venerated in the East, especially by the see of Constantinople, which traces its origin to him. Since Andrew was Peter's brother, and the one who "introduced" him to Jesus, undoubtedly he prays for full unity among all who bear apostolic succession, in communion with the successors of Peter in Rome. Let us therefore also pray for unity, on this special day for churches West and East, Latin Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, and Orthodox.

Catholic Christians know that the successor of St Peter is specially entrusted with the ministry of unity of all the churches. But we want other Christians to understand that the Pope is only a minister. He represents Christ as the chief shepherd of the whole flock, and he is given the responsibility and the capacity to carry out this ministry. But he does not replace Christ or substitute himself, as though Christ was somehow "separated" from the Church after his Ascension, and the Pope considered himself to be another Divinely appointed authority, with some sort of weird power independent of Christ.

The Pope is a "vicar" (i.e. representative) of Christ whose ministry to "represent" the primacy of Christ extends properly to the whole Church. His office doesn't subtract from the authority of the other bishops in their particular churches; on the contrary he is called to strengthen and confirm his brother bishops in faith and communion.

The Universal Church remains under the headship of Jesus Christ himself, present and active in the power of his glorified humanity, in the giving of the Holy Spirit, in the sacraments, in the immense outpouring of graces of every kind that guide and gently transform our lives and that also work secretly in the heart of every person to draw them closer to him, and also through the ecclesial ministry of the Pope and the bishops in union with him—flawed, weak, sinful human beings who nevertheless are called to this particular service for the good of all.

I love the Kontakion for St Andrew's feast day in the Byzantine Liturgy:

"Let us praise for his courage Andrew the Theologian, first Apostle of the Savior and brother of Peter, for in like manner as he drew his brother to Christ, he is crying out to us: 'Come, for we have found the One the world desires!'"

Note: For the East, "Theologian" does not refer to just any blockhead like me who happens to have studied and taught and written stuff about Christian doctrine and ideas. A "Theologian" is someone with a profound knowledge of God that is founded on the special supernatural illumination and grace of the Holy Spirit.

The term, as a "title" used in liturgical prayer, is reserved for a very few extraordinary figures. But we can all be "theologians," in the sense of living by the light of the Spirit and his gifts, and letting that light deepen our faith and understanding.

The Mysterious Bond That Unites Us

Many times we've heard words like this: "We are all brothers and sisters. We are a family, living together on this small and precious planet, our little 'earth.' We all really do depend on one another."

We think we know what all of this means, but in fact we have barely scratched the surface of the profound concrete reality of existing as persons-in-relation to one another, called to the fullness of life as a communion of persons.

The "human family" is not a cozy, tame little idea. If someone hurts, we all hurt.

It's crucial that we learn to see real life more in these terms. The world today is full of crises, full of pain, and we cannot forget that this is "our" pain. However we may try, we cannot escape being affected by it. In this respect, today's world—even with all its intense and complex problems—does not present a radical departure from perennial human experience. In fact, the human family always shares a profound bond of suffering. We all share a common affliction.

We also share a common hope.

We share a source of unity that is greater than everything that divides us, and greater than every fear.

Advent approaches. For Christians this is a special season of preparation, of making room in our hearts for the coming of the One who is that Source, who has come in the flesh to dwell with us, to be close to us, to be close to every human person and the whole human race.

He loves us. How can we not love one another?

In the days to come, we would do well to pray and "fast"—i.e. voluntarily embrace some sacrifices within our daily routine—so that we might be more ready to receive His love.

Thus we will also begin to see truly our brothers and sisters in the one human family, to remember our common suffering, our existential poverty, our dependence on God, and the mysterious bond that unites us in our journey to Him and sustains us in a posture of compassion for one another.

We must beg the Lord to change our mentality and transform our way of looking at the world and all of the problems and the dangers, and all the evil that has already been judged and vanquished.

Tumbling Tumbling!

Nothing to panic about. Sometimes you just bump into one small, annoying problem after another, and suddenly it's evening!

It doesn't help that evening comes so early this time of year.

It's a haphazard feeling. But it's only a feeling, a rather "normal" one actually. It's refreshing to have a normal cognitive-emotional experience for a change (well, sorta normal...).

And LOOK it even inspired me to create this, ummm... art. ish. thingy....😜

Digital Fuzzing and Blobbing and Dabbing

We have been making a lot of graphics and digital art these days, while not doing much writing. The reason is probably that I'm just a little obsessed with it lately.

In any case, I'm trying to make the most of what's left of the seasonal color, before this sort of thing gets really old:

I must say I worked hard on abstractly sculpting that tree and its environs. Meanwhile, photography is capturing the last big yellow maple leaves. This was a few days ago. By now these are already on the ground:

Last week there were still a few trees where the leaves had more or less dried up into a rusty brown while still on their branches. Not very good for photos, but raw material for some fuzzing and blobbing and dabbing with digital tools. This is nice:

One evening we had an exceptionally pretty sky above the Blue Ridge. Even the phone camera could get this look:

Meanwhile, I'm catching up on correspondence, working on articles, reading, and -- of course -- MUSIC! Advent approaches, with time to prepare the heart for Christmas.

Jesus, the King

Music From Our Own Day...and Something More

I have extended my celebration of "Music Day" (the Feast of St Cecilia).

Regarding contemporary music, I cannot forget this amazing young woman who had such a great heart, so full of music and song and love that gave itself away to the end, who died doing what she had done so many times after her concerts: welcoming a stranger with open arms....

She sang, she loved, she didn't hide the reason why she did it all, the One to whom she belonged.
🎵💚💚Christina Victoria Grimmie (1994-2016).💚💚🎵

Happy "Music Day" AND "Thanksgiving" in the USA

For my friends in Argentina and other parts of Latin America, as well as in general Catholic tradition that honors Saint Cecilia, this is Día de la Música ("Music Day"). 

Even non-religious people in Latin America honor music and musicians on this day. ¡Feliz Día de la Música!



And, of course, we in the United States of America are grateful for EVERYTHING today (including music, though more attention is given to turkeys on the fourth Thursday of November😉).



Therefore, let us proceed without delay to pictures of FOOD!!! Below we have (1) my full plate; (2) serving dish with fresh green beans and mushrooms; (3) the amazing cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries and other fruits.

I don't deserve such a wonderful wife and family who have prepared such a feast, but I am grateful to God for them, and grateful to them beyond anything I can express. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! (There's still pies coming later.😉)

Aaaand then came the pies: