This is why we remove the stain glass from closed parishes, as Father V. explained here.
[FYI: I actually like modern architecture. Much of it, anyhow. Although this happened to us this morning – Superhusband and I sitting in adjacent rooms, e-mailing each other. Smart man. It’s not that I’m not a morning person. It’s that I want the morning all to myself, and nobody else making noise in it.]
Free audio bibles, in about a zillion languages. Download as an MPS, or scroll down to the bottom and listen online. Mighty mighty handy if you are studying a foreign language. Or just wish to amuse yourself.
***
Funny story, and I can’t be the only one: So I found that link via Gwenn Mangine, the very down-to-earth evangelical missionary in Haiti. I go take a look at the bible site, click a selection to listen to, and then flip back to Google Reader to see what else she has to say. Click on the next unread post, and read this:
I once read a comment by Lady Abbess Benedict Duss, OSB to the effect that the chant in Latin was the most effective and most complete and transcendent prayer of praise outside of the mass. I don’t doubt it.
And I thought: Really? I had no idea she was such a fan of Latin Chant! What do you know?!
What you know, though, is that it was the Anchoress who said that. I had two different windows with Reader open, and I’d unwittingly clicked on the other one.
–> Happens all the time. I think I’m reading one blog, but I’ve actually clicked on a different one. They all look the same in Reader. And I’m thinking, “Wow, what an interesting thing for that writer to say . . .”
Really tests your ideas, when you don’t have the context of who is saying it, and you have to judge the ideas on their own merit. Google Reader needs a ‘shuffle’ button. Would help the brain, I feel sure.
Christian LeBlanc says in the combox on the grammar book:
Except for God, the most interesting thing in the world is grammar. Consider that grammar is the operating system for your brain; now speak another language for a bit.
That frisson you get is the brain imagining itself with a whole ‘nother OS.
Hmmn. Maybe so, maybe so.
But look here: Jimmy Akin links to the ASL version of Re: Your Brains. Which is maybe more appealing to certain boys than “Signing Time”. Great way to see the difference in grammar between English and ASL.
Enjoy.
Wednesday afternoon I think I accidentally used regular instead of decaf. Someone maybe should consider “reading the label” as a useful habit, hmmn. So about midnight I got out of bed, roamed around a little, and landed on what I was sure would be the perfect cure:
Diagramming Sentences. Don't Let It Keep You Up at Night.
It didn’t work. I read the WHOLE THING. And learned how to diagram, I might add. Nicely done book, highly recommended.
Then I skimmed the New Missal Latin book, also pulled from our box of Kolbe-ware, and then I was able to go to sleep. Sneaky coffee, causing me to be educated.
But here’s the worst part. So the next afternoon, I was writing up my little entry for the campground blog, and you’ll never believe what happened me: I felt compelled to put both a subject and a verb into every sentence.
You can see it has worn off now. But wow, for a while it was close. Careful what you read. It could mess with your grammar.
****
Funny grammar story: Once I refused to sign a petition, because it did not contain complete sentences. I couldn’t figure out what it was we were demanding. I inquired, but my fellow activist was strangely silent. I think he decided he didn’t need a rabble-rouser on his team after all.
Links Round-Up today:
John McNichol has up part 1 and part 2 of the Argument from Design for explaining God’s existence. The man breathes apologetics for teens. It’s as if he does this for a living or something.
Mrs. Darwin has a cautionary tale about writing. If it seems like people wrote better books in the past, it’s because you haven’t been made to read them all. I buy vintage books from thrift stores — I know. She tells the truth. (That said: I have found some absolute treasures in catholic non-fiction that are now out of print. Kills me.)
–> Mrs. D goes on to share Betty Duffy’s happy news, which is why Mrs. Duffy’s writing career is apparently again on hold for procreation. (Congratulations!). I’m so there. (Not pregnant, just educating people.) Ever used the expression, “Don’t you have anything better to do?” to criticize somebody? When I think about my vocation, that’s what I ask myself. Is there something better I could be doing? Well, I could put the kids in the school, any little ones in day care, and pursue a number of other more profitable and prestigious careers. They’d be fun. They’d be worthwhile. They would be good work. But none of them would be better. I’m doing the best one. The riskiest one, too. But worth it.
Dorian reviews a nice Catholic music curriulum. My two oldest did Kindermusik one year, and it was great — huge help — and so I’m with Dorian. These things are good. But here’s what, and follows my plea: I listened to the sample tracks. They are quite musical. But my fifth graders would fall apart laughing if I played one of those in class. Yes they would.
Dear Music Publishers,
Please, please, oh please record a plain, boring, musically non-descript sing-along CD for use in catholic religious ed. Miniscule ranges. Transparent accompaniments. NO CHORAL VOICES. Sung by some lady (or guy) who sounds like a fifth grade teacher, not a Famous Musician.
Thank you.
Jennifer.
And if you haven’t bust out laughing like a 10 year old after listening the music samples (perhaps you are not a 10 year old?), read this review of the IC’s Communion of Saints book by Allen’s Brain. It is funny. The Communion of Saints series is even funnier. Highly recommended.
I’m outta here. Happy Thursday.
This post at Real Hope for Haiti is part of a larger series, but I think it stands on its own. The topic is: How do (rural) Haitians view God and the spirit world in general, and how does this impact their lives? It matters to Christian missionaries, because it turns out [I am told] that if you show up in Haiti expecting to evangelize the same way you did back home, there are going to be a few misunderstandings.
I like the article most of all because it makes me think about American Christianity. What are our spiritual assumptions? What is it, when we turn to God, that we are seeking? Or when we don’t turn to God, what keeps us away?
–> As I mentally run through the hypothetical scenario, How would I explain Christianity in a way that is meaningful to a rural Haitian?, it turns on a part of my brain that I need to use more. Because the people I actually know (none of whom are rural Haitians, as it happens), they have problems and assumptions and experiences that matter. Eternally matter. If I am to be of any use, I need to meet them with the Gospel where they need it most. And that’s probably a different place than where I am myself, or ever was.
***
The funny thing is that you can get a little nervous. We explain God this way ________. If I change how I explain God to someone else, am I changing the Gospel?
Always a risk, of course. But there is also this: God is immense.
–> I’ve never had anyone ask me, “I’m trying to figure out how to deal with the spirit world, because this Christianity thing is interesting, but there are these spirits I need to placate, and I need to make sure I’m not going to end up in more trouble rather than less. Can you help me out here?” So I suspect that conversation might go a little differently than my usual 5th grade CCD class.
But it would be the same God. An unchanging, logically coherent, morally watertight God. No relativistic your-truth-is-different-from-my-truth wishwash about it. The answers aren’t different because God is any different to a suburban American 5th grader and a rural Haitian farm. The answers are only different because the questions are different.
[And no, neither of them are allowed to remarry if they murder their spouse. Bet that question comes up both places. Sheesh. People.]
Ooh I’m so excited. Look what I got today:
Walked into church this morning feeling a little rumpled and not quite myself, and who had set up shop in the narthex? My favorite local catholic bookstore. Which is sort of like running into the ice cream truck, Santa Claus and your best friend all at once. Happy happy. Tons of cool stuff on display, but I had to stop looking after I spotted Manalive and Julie Davis’s book. Doesn’t do to spend too much on books when the spouse is so very nearby.
***
So, about the book. (Happy Catholic’s — not the other one by the other happy catholic, because I haven’t read it yet, plus probably you have):
Apparently I have this secret fear that my favorite internet authors will write bad books. I thought Eric Sammon’s book would be too hard for me, because he is so much smarter than me. Not so. I was sort of nervous about Julie Davis’s Happy Catholic book for the same reason.
I was double nervous about the Happy Catholic book because it is inspirational. And sometimes inspirational-genre books have heart-warming stories about boys named Johnny who teach their parents important lessons about The True Meaning of Christmas, and then the mother dog who sacrifices her life to save the puppies and three orphaned children . . . you know what I mean. One takes ones chances.
Julie, on the other hand, tackles questions like: Why does Han Solo deserve our attention? How shall we rank Oprah, Miss Manners, and Jesus? And is it possible Monty Python is more catholic than we realized? Even in The Life of Brian? Plus lots of Fr. Benedict Groeschel quotes, so that pretty well settles it.
Four-and-some reasons this one is a keeper:
What I like most: Julie grapples with popular culture head-on. Lots of quotes from popular books, TV shows, movies. And she doesn’t always agree! Sometimes, there’s a quote that sounds good, the kind of thing that someone says at a dinner party and everyone’s nodding and agreeing with it, and you want to say something very uncharitable because really even though it sounds so wise, it’s just drivel. Julie takes quotes like that and answers them directly: What’s the underlying truth? What’s the lie? What’s a catholic to do with that sentiment?
–> For this reason, I think this is a great book to keep lying around in reach of teenagers. It’s a textbook on critical thinking in disguise. Oh and a sermon or 200. And a lot of Wizard of Oz. With an index.
I give it an I’ll-think-you’ll-be-pretty-happy-with-it Recommend.
Finally got the taxes in the mail. Summary of my thoughts for the 2010 season:
In all it was a pretty good tax year, probably my fastest one in the past ten years. No weird stuff to monkey with, so the spreadsheet was ready to go as-was from 2009. Our real federal income tax rate was about 4%. That’s not counting self-employment taxes, medicare or social security. Just the amount of income tax as a percentage of gross income.
Sounds low, but I don’t think it is. –> Taken as part of the larger tax picture, where you add in state income tax, the various social welfare taxes, property taxes, etc., that percentage seems okay to me.
Which tells me maybe the federal debt equation is better managed by spending less. Hmmn?
***
If anyone is game for comparing real federal rates, I’m curious. Please don’t post any income information! Just the ratio of the total federal income tax you owed (roughly, line 55, less any credits from lines 63-71) as compared to your gross income on line 22.
This will be a very individualized number, so kindly refrain from explaining it, since you may end up sharing more personal details than are seemly, even for the internet. Just the percentage. That’s what financial policy geeks care about most.
Prelude: How to get the people to eat lunch.
It’s one o’clock. The little people have lost momentum and scattered to various activities that are neither school nor chores. They seem unaware of the checklist.
“Okay, everyone, it’s one o’clock. Let’s do a clean up.”
“But I haven’t had lunch yet!”
Three more people surface, suddenly starving.
“Okay. Eat lunch and then we’re cleaning.”
***
Part 2: Purgatory.
I’m making my own lunch. (Well, I had breakfast at 11. Did I say I was organized? No I did not.) Female child squeals “Ow!” in the eating area. I look over to see what Mr. Usually Guilty is doing this time.
He’s just standing there. And there is no female child in sight.
I look under the table. Sure enough, eldest daughter is hidden among the chairs. Other two girls are down the hall. “What are you doing under there?” I ask. Still trying to find out what her brother has done this time.
“We’re hiding from the bomb!”
Ah. The bomb. That would be the microwave. Every time it beeps, it’s a bomb going off. You have to run down the hall to be safe. Don’t ask me how this one started. I have no idea.
Microwave beeps.
“Ahh! The bomb! You’re dead mom! You and Mr. Boy are dead!”
Death looks eerily like my kitchen. Well, the boy is right here with me. “I’m afraid we’ve died and gone to Purgatory.”
***
Things homeschoolers do. So the Kolbe lady calls me today, because she’s packing up the books I ordered, and everything is single copies except for two copies of the student workbook for Famous Men of Rome.
“Well, both kids are going to do Roman history next year, so I got them both a workbook.”
“Okay. Well I saw you also got the Greek history . . .”
“Umm. That was just because my history-nut child wanted to look at it for fun.”
A little more back-and-forth, confirming order is correct. Friendly lady tells me books will be shipping out this afternoon, should arrive late next week.
I have to tell you: It felt very weird yesterday, buying textbooks. For one, they’re expensive! I’m not used to having to by that exact book. I usually just get the one that someone’s selling real cheap and it looks pretty good. And then: A whole year (or more) of school in just one book? You mean I won’t have to go to the library? That’s the point, of course.
New experience for me. I guess it’s the way people feel about sending their child to kindergarten.You know it’s the right thing for right now, and you hope it will work out, and it’s exciting, but it’s . . . so much.
***
Children are dispersing again. They seem to have forgotten that whole “clean-up” thing we talked about forty-five minutes ago. Better strap on my dictator powers and see what we can do.
If you’ve been pregnant in the last decade or so, you’ve already figured it out, I hope. But here’s a good article at Public Discourse on the prenatal testing industry. Key point: 99% of babies who test positive for Down Syndrome are aborted.
The antidote is Be Not Afraid.net – support for parents with poor prenatal diagnosis. Take a look. Keep in the back of your head. Easy to remember. Useful. Good.
