Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Writing Goals for 2025
Monday, December 30, 2024
Spiritual Resolutions
More spiritual reading, 13-15 works, including at least 2 encyclicals, and Apologia Pro Vita Sua by John Henry Newman plus a biography/study of Newman
Reading the Bible daily
In the Woods ...
Sunday, December 29, 2024
Reading Tally for 2024 and Goals for 2025
More spiritual reading, 13-15 works, including at least 2 encyclicals WITH SOME OF THE NOVELS AND PLAYS, MADE THIS GOAL, AND ALSO MET THE ENCYCLICAL GOAL
Reading the Bible daily, including finishing all the OT books I have not yet read DID FINISH THE OT, BUT FELL SHORT ON THE DAILY READING
Read at least five Dorothy Sayers Wimsey mysteries READ SIX OF THEM
Read a couple of Agatha Christie mysteries READ TWO OF THEM
Read at least one Dickens novel that I haven't read before THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP
Read at least one Chesterton novel that I haven't read before READ TWO, THE FLYING INN and THE BALL AND THE CROSS
Read all of Emily Dickinson's poetry READ THEM ALL
Read another Michael D. O'Brien novel BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON
Read Winter's Child by Margaret Coel READ IT
Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) by Pope St. John Paul II
Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII
Casti Connubii by Pope Pius XI
Cross-Examined: Catholic Responses to the World’s Questions by Fr. Carter Griffin
The Rocking Chair Prophet by Matthew Kelly
Jesuit at Large: Essays and Reviews by Paul V. Mankowski, S.J.
Heroes of the Catholic Reformation: Saints Who Renewed the Church by Joseph Pearce
Heretics by G. K. Chesterton
Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales
St. Francis of Assisi: Passion, Poverty and the Man Who Transformed The Catholic Church
by Bret Thoman, OFS
A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching by Fr. Kevin McKenna -
Lead Thou Me On! Selected Sermons of St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, Volume 1: Themes
from the Old Testament
By the Rivers of Babylon by Michael D. O’Brien
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O’Connor
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
The Flying Inn by G.K. Chesterton
The Ball and the Cross by G. K. Chesterton
The Golden Key and Other Fairy Tales by George MacDonald
The Path to Rome by Hilaire Belloc
Looking for the King by David C. Downing
The Dry Wood by Carykk Houselander
Come Rack! Come Rope! by Fr. Robert Hugh Benson
One Poor Scruple by Josephine Wood
Signs and Wonders by Philip Gulley
Seaside Journeys of Faith by Jay Diedreck
A Cowboy in Shepherd’s Crossing by Ruth Logan Herne
Shepherd of the Highlands by Lily A. Bear
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells
The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers
Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers
The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy Sayers
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers
The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie
The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
Winter’s Child by Margaret Coel
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
The Sleeping Witness by Fiorella De Maria
In the Woods by Tana French
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
The Frogs by Aristophanes
The Children’s Crusade by Frances Chesterton
Sir Cleges by Frances Chesterton -
Piers Plowman’s Pilgrimage by Frances Chesterton
Abraham and Isaac by Anonymous
The Second Shepherd’s Play by Anonymous
Coldwater: An Eclectic History of the Hamlet by Donald G. Ionnone and John M. Robortella
Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory
Even Santa Cries Sometimes by Bruce McGuy
Twas the Evening of Christmas by Glenys Nellist
Sparks from Rainbows by Julia A. Blodgett
Words with Wings:
A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art selected by Belinda Rochelle
The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes
Voices by Lucille Clifton
The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, Edited by Thomas H. Johnson
Hauling the Tide: Haiku Society of America Members’ Anthology
T. S. Eliot: Collected Poems, 1909-1962
Prayerfully by Helen Steiner Rice
So what are my goals for 2025?
Read the two Dorothy Sayers Wimsey mysteries I haven't read yet (The Unpleasantness at the
Read at least 10 mysteries (in addition to the Sayers books)
Read Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
Read The Poet and the Lunatics by G. K. Chesterton
Reread The Lord of the Rings
Read Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Read a biography of St. Francis
Pax et bonum
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Friday, December 27, 2024
Almost ....
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Friday, December 20, 2024
Leather Research for Christmas Story
Sheepskins
From ancient times to modern days it has often been customary for pastoral people to make for themselves coats out of the skins of the sheep with wool still adhering to the skins. The Epistle to the Hebrews tells of the persecuted heroes of faith, saying of some of them that they "wandered about in sheepskins" (Heb. 11:37). The skin of sheep was at times tanned and then used as leather, but the skin of the goats was superior to that of sheep for this purpose.
Use of goats' hair and goats' skin
The hair of the goat was considered to be of great value to the Hebrew people. When the materials were brought for the construction of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, only the finest and the costliest that could be obtained were accepted; and goats' hair was included in the list of materials the children of Israel offered unto the Lord. See (Exod. 35:23). Tabernacle curtains were made of goats' hair (Exod. 26:7). The tents of the Bedouin Arabs are made of goats' hair, just as were similar dwellings in Old and New Testament times. Goats' skins have been used widely in Bible lands for leather, and are considered to be better for this purpose than the skin of sheep. This leather is used in making the Oriental "bottle" for carrying or storing water or other liquids.
LEATHER.
Skins of animals were employed for clothing as soon as man felt the need of covering his body to protect himself against cold and rain. With the advance of civilization such clothing was everywhere replaced by products of the loom. The same was the case among the Hebrews. The "coat of skins" was regarded by them as having been the first kind of clothing, given to man by God Himself (Gen. iii. 21); and the mantle of skins was still worn in the time of the Patriarchs (Gen. xxv. 25). In historic times the use of the mantle of skins is mentioned only in the case of the prophets Elijah and Elisha, who, in intentional contrast to the people of their day, wore the ancient, simple garb (I Kings xix. 13; II Kings i. 8; ii. 8, 13 et seq.); indeed, the hairy mantle came in time to be the distinguishing feature of a prophet's garb (Zech. xiii. 4; Matt. iii. 4, vii. 15).
After the Hebrews had acquired the art of tanning, which must have been at an early date, leather came to be used for a number of other purposes. Among articles of clothing it was employed chiefly for sandals. Leathern girdles are also mentioned (II Kings i. 8 et al.). The warrior had a leathern Helmet to protect his head, and his Shield also was usually of leather. For utensils in daily use leather is principally employed among nomads, as it was among the ancient Israelites, since receptacles of leather are not liable to be broken and are easily carried about. The original form of a table, as the word indicates, was a piece of leather, which was spread upon the ground. Pails and all other vessels for holding liquids were made of leather. The leather bucket for drawing water out of a well and the leather flask—consisting of a single skin removed from the animal's carcass as intact as possible—for holding wine or for transporting water have remained in common use in the Orient down to the present day. Skins of goats and sheep were generally used for these various purposes; more seldom, those of oxen. Concerning tanning, although it was probably familiar to the Hebrews from the oldest times, nothing is said in the Old Testament. Not once is a tanner mentioned.
—In the Talmud:The Talmud speaks of many articles made of skins (); and, as tanning was practised in Talmudic times, it is possible that such articles, or at least some of them, were of leather. The strap ("reẓu'ah")is mentioned as serving various purposes. Asses were hobbled with straps; and cows were led by means of straps tied to the horns (Shab. 54b). Women used to tie their hair with leathern straps (ib. 57a); and by similar means shoes and sandals were fastened to the feet (Neg. xi. 11), and the tefillin to the head and arm (Men. 35b). Flagellation ("malḳut") was performed by means of three straps—one of calfskin and two of ass'skin (Mak. 22b); straps are frequently mentioned as instruments of punishment, especially of children (Yer. Giá¹. i. 43d, et passim). It would appear that straps were used to tie up certain objects, as the untying of the strap is often used to designate relaxation (Yer. Bik. i. 64a, et passim). It is very probable that sandals generally were made of thick hide; for wooden sandals are indicated as such (Yeb. 101a, et passim). Besides shoes, the Talmud speaks of leather hose ("anpilia"), and of a kind of glove and foot-wear of skin for a cripple who was compelledto use his hands in order to move from place to place (ib. 102b).
The Mishnah, Kelim xxvi. 5, enumerates the following articles made of leather: a covering for the mule or ass; aprons worn by muleteers and by surgeons to protect their clothes; a cradle-cover; a child's breast-piece to protect it from the scratching of a cat; aprons by which wool-carders and flaxspinners protected themselves from the waste of the wool or the tow of the flax; the pad placed by the porter under his load; and skins used for various purposes by individuals not engaged in any business or trade ("'orot ba'al ha-bayit"). In mishnah 8 of the same chapter, tanners' skins are spoken of; but certainly untanned skins are meant, similar to those referred to in Shab. 49a as having been spread by the tanner for people to sit upon.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Clerihews for Christmas
Clerihews for
Christmas
A Selection of Clerihews about Biblical and Holy Individuals
By Lee Strong, OFS
slapped a naughty Arius.
Since then he's found a list does fine
to help keep those who stray in line.
St. Thomas More
wandered into a Denver marijuana store
where he was chagrined by the cornucopia
of products labeled "Utopia."
When he was young St. Polycarp
religiously practiced the harp.
When a musical career proved a non-starter
he instead became a martyr.
Too sick to attend, St. Clare
miraculously saw the service as if there.
Because of that vision
she's now the patron saint of television.
That holy doorman Solanus Casey
was someone whom people flocked to see.
Folks say that his only sin
was the way he played the violin.
In his early life Thomas Merton
was often uncertain.
He ended his consternation
through contemplation.
Lot's wife
ended her life
when she came to a halt
and proved her salt.
After that day in Moriah, young Isaac
developed many a nervous tic,
and was tempted to run for his life
whenever Abraham picked up a knife.
Ezekiel
was full of prophetic zeal.
He was only wrong when it came to bets
on the Jets and the Mets.
St. Francis of Assisi,
joyfully grateful for the Nativity,
created at Greccio a stable display
that’s imitated world-wide to this day.
St. Rose
was plagued by earthly beaus.
To discourage their thoughts of marriage
she used pepper to spice up her visage.
St. Thomas Aquinas
was noted for his reticence and shyness.
But crack open a bottle
and he’d expound at length on Aristotle.
Irascible St. Jerome
was justly noted for his biblical tome,
but he was upset that no one would look
at his vegetarian cookbook.
Methuselah
was one long-lived fella.
It wasn't because longevity was bred in his bones,
he was just determined to pay off all his college loans.
St. Dominic
considered using a sword or a stick,
but found that rosary beads
worked quite well for his demon-battling needs.
The replacement Apostle Matthias
was chosen by lot, not by bias.
Alas, except for his selection.
he's eluded all other historical detection.
We can probably assume Saint Blaise
is in Heaven these days.
Martyrdom likely led him to eternal glory
and not just some fish story.
The prophet Amos
became justly famous
not for his cookie baking skill,
but for proclaiming God's will.
St. Paul,
by modern standards wasn’t tall,
but he did go from guarding the coats
to being one of the Church’s GOATs.
St. Robert Southwell
sat musing for a spell,
then sadly said, “It does seem a shame
Americans don’t properly pronounce my name.”
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Santa Book Update
Prayer of Peacemakers
The Prayer of Peacemakers
Reflect
In a world of violence, hatred, and division, Jesus implores us to work for peace. As we hope against all odds, believing that Divine love will one day have the victory, may we pray the prayer of peacemakers.
Pray
God of love,
bring your peace
to this earth,
to every country
that is war-ravaged,
to every family torn apart,
and to every community
plagued by injustice.
Make me a peacemaker
in my own spheres.
Show me how
to not give way to despair,
but to repair the breach
that is mine to restore
as I follow th
e Prince of Peace.
Amen.
Act
What is one relationship that God is calling you to make peace in? Take one small step to do so today.
Written by Shannon K. Evans.
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
More 2025 Reading Thoughts
The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, and Have His Carcase - by Dorothy Sayers
A Dickens novel (Little Dorrit or Our Mutual Friend)
Lord of the Rings (reread)
Kristin Lavransdatter
Apologia Pro Vita Sua (reread)
Bio/Study of Newman
The Poet and the Lunatics (Chesterton)
A Michael O'Brien novel
A biography of St. Francis
Some Mystery novels
Some Encyclicals