what's going through my brain... 3 semi-related topics

3 things that you may or may not find interesting...

Thing 1—I’ve arranged to be on retreat this coming week, so please keep me in your prayers?—and I promise that I will remember you! 

I will be keeping silence, and will not be writing blog posts until next weekend. 

“Music is pleasing not only because of the sound but because of the silence that is in it: without the alternation of sound and silence there would be no rhythm. If we strive to be happy by filling all the silences of life with sound, productive by turning all of life’s leisure into work, and real by turning all our being into doing, we will only succeed in producing a hell on earth. If we have no silence, God is not heard in our music. If we have no rest, God does not bless our work. If we twist our lives out of shape in order to fill every corner of them with action and experience, God will silently withdraw from our hearts and leave us empty.”                                          ~Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

Thing 2—did you know that every year thousands of containers spill out from cargo ships traveling across the ocean? You could argue that it happens so often that residents of Kodiak, Alaska, have grown used to the weird sightings of items that make their way to their shores.

But a couple of years ago one was odd enough to make the newspaper... dozens of sports-themed fly swatters washed up on the beaches—representing both professional and collegiate teams. At first the Alaskans theorized the swatters were debris from the previous year’s tsunami, but it was later confirmed that they were, indeed, from another run of the mill cargo ship that had lost several commercial containers.

As much as I love to walk the beach, I’ve never given much thought to the bizarre things that wash up on shore.  But in case you're interested, here’s a list of other strange beach sightings.

And finally, thing 3—by request of our Archbishop—and in response to the black mass taking place in Oklahoma City next weekend, our entire Archdiocese has been praying daily (publicly and privately) the prayer of St. Michael.

All the Catholics in Oklahoma will continue to do this together until the feast of the archangels, September 29.  Would you consider joining us? If you've never heard it, here are the words to this powerful prayer:

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

going on a weekday drive... to Chauvigny

countryside Chateau on the way to Chauvigny

Today was mostly a driving day on our pilgrimage of the great French cathedrals, with one long stop at the medieval town of Chauvigny. 

Situated on a prominent high point over the River Sienne, the town was much bigger than I expected. Since we only had one afternoon there, we focused on one particular treasure of a church, Églesse St-Pierre, Romanesque in style, but with some (now-familiar) Gothic elements. 

I think we're all tired, but ending each day with great--and truly beautiful-looking--food and wine... I'll try to post soon some pictures of some of the beautiful plates we've been served so far! 

MEDIEVAL CHAUVIGNY:

St. Michael the Archangel!

There really are angels

¡feliz #24 cumpleaños Michelle Josefa!

Born 24 years ago today, we named Michelle after St. Michael, whose feast she shares. Not coincidentally, Michelle has always been close to angels, especially her patron St. Michael. As a preschooler, she assured  me that she could see his big wing covering her like a blanket as she slept.

When I once asked how she found the courage to defend a classmate in grade school, she smiled a toothless grin. “That’s easy, I just asked St. Michael to help me.” In high school she asked her guardian angel more than once to talk to her friend’s guardian angel to help them resolve misunderstandings.

And, obviously, it was St. Michael’s protection that I sought as Michelle and her siblings learned to drive!

I remember being surprised to find out that there are at least 17 New Testament references to angels, most of whom appeared to someone at a critical moment. But I also believe that God’s guardians are always with me, reminding me that I’m not alone.

In her poem, “Angels,” Polish poet and writer Anna Kamieńska seems to share this same conviction:

There are angels there really are angels

they catch every sound idea with the fishing-rod of intelligence

and from pails full of truth pour a bit for good luck

they bake cake poach fish in white wine

they like good jokes

the whites of their eyes shine with laughter 

and we don’t know whether in a moon-bound vehicle

one won’t on the sly squeeze into a space suit

Their calves are too strong as in Flemish paintings

they are corporeal like pale oxen at the stream

but a fiercely kind force is in them

a friendly breeze billows their robes

They sit quietly in a waiting room at the dentist

in an empty chair and are the last to enter

A long silence trails behind them

that’s how you can recognize there are angels

You can read here the entire poem, "Angels," and others in Kamieńska's collection, ASTONISHMENTS [pages 14-15] (Paraclete Press).