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Blog entry on 2 Peter

St. Nicholas, hold the tiller.

Consider adding to a list of pro-life prayers this short ejaculation:
“St. Nicholas, hold the tiller.”
Back home in New England, we often go to the Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro Massachusetts during Advent/Christmas season. The shrine is run by the La Salette Missionaries and well known to all for a display of lights. It's been there long enough to be a multi-generational family tradition, as well as serves as a reminder of a faith they may have misplaced.

One of the displays there are propped up pieces of 4′x8′ painted plywood done in a series featuring St. Nicholas. Among this series on St. Nicholas depicts the legend of how he came to be the patron of seafarers - and them praying in the midst of a storm “St. Nicholas, hold the tiller.” Due to my tendency to make mental associations, this struck me deeply. He is the patron of children. There is a doctor named George Tiller who was quite the enemy of those of us who are pro-life, performing abortions even to the third term. He's easily found in search engines.

From the moment I saw this artistic depiction of the saint and sailors, along with the short prayer, this has been one of my VERY favorites to pray.
EWTN includes this on their website:

In the West he has often been invoked by prisoners, and in the East by sailors. One legend has it that during his life-time he appeared off the coastof Lycia to some storm-tossed mariners who invoked his aid, and he brought them safely to port. Sailors in the Aegean and Ionian seas had their "star of St.Nicholas" and wished one another safe voyages with the words, "May St. Nicholas hold the tiller."

Ancient images

Since blogger has finally added this option of uploading images, I expect all sorts of artists shall finally have the opportunity of enjoying blogging.

As for me, I have a love of symbols and imagery having its source in Christ. As a Catholic, my first picture shows an early Christian depiction of He who made all. It says He is the Alpha and Omega -- He who gave His life for the life of the world, and God is life.

Perhaps one day I shall scan some brown paper with a chalk drawing in accordance with the second story in Tremendous Trifles! What a concept!


This way to the catacombs!

Worthy of admiration

Although the title, as of today, links to an article I want to excerpt from, it may not be available after a time. Some years ago, Francis Xavier Van Thuan preached the spiritual exercises to the papal household during Lent. Someone comes each year for one week to do this. The future cardinal of the Catholic Church reinforced for me that there are critical, vital seeds which continuously bear a harvest, drop more seed onto the ground, bearing a harvest again. The cycle continues.

This man, in my opinion, would have made a wonderful leader for such a large people. The Lord chose to call him to Himself a few years ago. He still leads, however. May God grant him glory among those of us who abide here.

Accused:

The Communist interrogator couldn’t stand it any longer. “Admit it!” he shouted to the priest, “You’re part of a Vatican plot! You’re nothing more than an
Imperialist lackey!” But the newly appointed archbishop of Saigon, Francis
Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, answered quietly and directly, “No. I will not admit
anything of the kind.”

Thuan was placed under immediate arrest. The date was August 15, 1975, the Feast of the Assumption. For the next thirteen years, he would be imprisoned and would undergo terrible suffering in body, mind, and spirit. But God would use that ordeal to transform Thuan into an apostle of hope, a man whose life proclaimed the triumph of the gospel of Christ over the despair and confusion of atheism and materialism.

_____

For his part, Thuan decided to serve others by becoming a priest. He entered the
seminary when he was only thirteen and was deeply inspired by the holiness of
the priests who taught him there. Reading the lives of saints like Thérèse of
Lisieux, John Vianney, and Francis Xavier also fueled his growing desire to
become like Christ.

_____

What helped him, he later said, was the example of his mother, whose courageous faith gave her the strength to accept these tragedies. Before Diem’s assassination, she told Thuan, “It is in God’s hands. We should pray for his safety, but we must also be ready to accept God’s will.” Her tranquility was a tremendous witness. Thuan was also deeply devoted to another mother—the Virgin Mary. While studying in Rome in 1957, he took a trip to Lourdes, France. There he reflected on Mary’s words to St.
Bernadette: “I do not promise you joys and consolations on this earth, but rather trials and sufferings.”

_____

One day, however, Thuan had a life-changing insight. He understood that Jesus, too had appeared “useless” as he hung on the cross. But it was when he appeared the most powerless that he achieved his most “useful” accomplishment: He saved the whole human race. Thuan heard the Lord say to him: “It is me you are supposed to be following, not my work! If I will it, you will finish the work entrusted to you.” This realization “brought me a new strength that completely changed my way of thinking,” Thuan later explained. Transformed by this experience, Thuan found the grace to bring hope into hopeless situations. (at the time, he was in solitary confinement.)

______

Pope John Paul II valued Thuan’s faith and experience and appointed him to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. He eventually became its president, working on behalf of oppressed and marginalized people everywhere.
In 1999, the pope asked Thuan to preach at the annual Lenten retreat
for Vatican cardinals. Thuan spoke on the theme of hope, reminding his listeners
that part of the Church’s hope is in the communion of believers: “Here is the
novelty: the other person is not an obstacle to holiness but is the way to
holiness.” By the time Thuan was named a cardinal, in 2001, he had already been
diagnosed with cancer. After almost two years of illness, he died peacefully on
September 16, 2002. Through the witness of his life and his writings, Thuan
continues his ministry as an apostle of hope. The triumphant prayer he composed
years ago in the gloom of a prison cell marks out a path that each one of us can
follow as we put our faith in Christ: I sing of your mercy in the darkness, in
my weakness, in my annihilation. I accept my cross, and I plant it, with my own
two hands, in my heart. If you were to permit me to choose, I would change
nothing, because you are with me! I am no longer afraid, I have understood. I am
following you in your passion and in your resurrection.

Things getting ugly?

If creating has greater appeal than deconstruction, there is a place where beauty and creativity are encouraged.

We can make a difference.

When the blast of war blows in our ear, and your beloved happens to decide to watch a favorite film, selecting Kostner in The Postman, tis a wonderment that there aren't more out there seeking to stir the soul. There are so many great lines in this movie.

Law One: No more killing.

Law Two: There's going to be peace.

Yes, the business we are supposed to be about is that of the Great Commandment. God send those who are able to depict it in life, in writing, in art, in love..

Holy Family

I'm just about to finish the final details on a statue of St. Joseph, and went to look at some images of him on the net. This one of the Holy Family quite caught my attention because I quickly noticed who is looking at whom, and I found that delightful.

In this depiction, I saw Mary looking at Joseph. Joseph is looking at Jesus. Jesus is looking at His mother. This touches me.

We have a law...

Due to some sort of internet overload, the original webpage linked in subject line is down. However, Yahoo maintains a cache of pages as others do. Should anyone find the list of Florida laws which have been and still are violated of interest, the link may come in handy.

In the meantime, that sentence which begins "we have a law" resounds in my mental ears. I wonder if my friend who spoke that sentence during a Passion Play we did years ago likewise has it ringing in her ears.

I am unsure whether this week, on all fronts including MN, Iraq, FL, and GA would be summed up as:

- week of irony

- week of mockery

or

-week of death.

The mockery and reversal of the "sentences" (pun intended) are unreal.

Gall and wine

Immediately upon reading the blog linked above, there is a link to the University of Miami and the CT scan of a woman who thirsts. I have yet to read other pages at this blog, but read them I will. This CSI type blog questions the shunt in Terri's brain, and the trauma visible in the CT scan.

There is a link to the bone scan report as well, but only the report and not attendant scan and x-rays. It is my understanding, and I may be wrong about the truth of this, that upon death cremation is to take place. That circumstance would effectively stop any investigation by the Department of Children and Families since it would not have the ability to verify anything that might turn up.

This link finally gave enough information for me to locate something on how a feeding tube providing nutrition and hydration became, as of summer 1999, added to respirators or dialysis machines as life prolonging. It was not until 1999 that a feeding tube was viewed in this manner.

I did a word search at the Florida Senate for the year 1999 using the word "hydration" - oh my. Lo and behold this actually is brand new.

Meningitis is in the news again.

Tampa Bay Online has a lot of coverage, and rather a few questions.

This gives a whole new dimension to the oft said prayer:
Bless us, o Lord,
and these Thy gifts,
which we are about to receive,
from Thy bounty,
through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.