The Friday Breviarium

Just some brief thoughts...

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Whatsabreviary anyway?

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Breviary - that is what the book containing the Divine Office was once called, and many still call it that. I'm not sure, but I think the origins of the word breviary denote the fact that the secular priest's office is shorter than the monastic office - at any rate, it must have meant that early on. You see, the monastic offices were much longer, and the priest's offices were abbreviated due to their diocesan schedules and so on.

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At least that is how Mr. Peabody explained it to me: "Yes Sherman, in brief, the diocesan priest's prayer book was called a breviary because it was the abbreviated form of the monastic Opus Dei, or Divine Office."

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A happy death.

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I wasn't going to write about Edward Kennedy, simply because everyone - from media personnel to taxi drivers to beauticians to their clients, carry on way too much about celebrities and famous people when they die. Emotions run rampant - I get like that too - but I'm trying to be wiser and keep my mouth shut, which is obviously impossible for anyone with a blog. But I digress.

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Anyway. I hope I can die like Teddy. I read an interview with a priest who assisted at his deathbed, it certainly sounds as if the Senator had a happy death. He had the consolation of the sacraments and a priest - in other words, Christ himself was there assisting him as he prepared to die. Kennedy said he was ready - what more can one hope for?

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Venomous attacks.

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I haven't been a fan of the Kennedy's for decades - the last one I cared about was John Jr. - otherwise I think I saw the family for what they were, most of us did, in a way that wasn't possible when John was president and who for many became a 'martyr' in his assassination. Years later all the skeletons came out of the Kennedy closet and the world knew... The dad was a philanderer, a crook, a Nazi sympathizer, and so on. I suppose it doesn't mean they were bad people since Rose went to Mass everyday. But the family was obviously screwed up, and many people were not quite as enamoured with them as they had been.

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Nevertheless, reflecting upon the reaction of many bloggers to Ted Kennedy's death and eternal judgement, I have to say once again - accusing myself first, we are quite a mean lot. I know, I know, people have been genuinely scandalized by Catholics in public life supporting anti-Catholic policies such as abortion and gay marriage, but many of us really went for the stake in the heart with the dead senator. I know, it happens, as Howard Beale always said, "We get mad as hell and we are not going to take it anymore!" We all have our faults and prejudices and make our mistakes, and hopefully we can all die like Teddy - with all the means at hand for repentance and forgiveness, assisted by the sacraments and a priest - indeed, to die in the presence of Christ.

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Hecklers and gossips.

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It struck me however, that we civilized people on the web are frequently little different than the crowds who followed the wagons of the condemned to the guillotine, or the audiences in Shakespeare's time who hurled garbage at the actors whose performance they didn't like, or even the Roman spectators in the Colosseum screaming for more bloodshed. Yes, the most respectable amongst us who discreetly hide their nasty little criticism and rumor mongering behind their elegant painted fans, facades of piety, or most deeply enclosed closet; everyone takes their swipes from time to time. And none of us are without sin.

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Woe to us, hypocrites. We cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside we are full of plunder and self indulgence... we are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside but inside are filled with dead men's bones; envy, greed, lust, and every kind of filth. Outside we appear righteous, but inside we are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

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"Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour." - Matthew 25:13

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Let's pray for one another's conversion and happy death. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Learning how to compromise.

Archbishop Sheehan decries 'combative tactics' of a minority of U.S. bishops...
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“I believe in collaboration,” he said. “I worked under Cardinal Bernardin and he taught me how to collaborate, how to consult. So I am very committed to the concept called shared responsibility. I think involving people in the process all the way along – my priests, my lay people, I am open to talking to them, working with them. Consultation, collaboration, building bridges not burning them. And you can get so much done when you have collaboration and you build the bridge with other people, whether it’s priests or laypeople, deacons, whoever.” - Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan
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In an interview, Archbishop Sheehan said the Catholic community risks isolating itself from the rest of the country and that refusing to talk to a politician or refusing communion because of a difference on a single issue was counterproductive. He described such actions as a “hysterical” reaction. - Story

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I seem to recall collaborators with evil regimes were never treated very well after the fall of those regimes. I think of the Nazi collaborators, and the silence of various clergy... Hopefully the Archbishop knows the definition of collaboration.

nothing compares

Teddy and the free pass to pro-choice.

So if priests and theologians and maybe even a cardinal or two tell you something that is a sin is not a sin, and you take their word for it and go ahead and do it, is it still a sin? And whose sin is it? Most of the Kennedy's were at one time pro-life - even when one of them forgot and left a woman in the car to drown - but it turns out some of the better minds in the American Catholic church were able to convince them otherwise.
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"Even Ted Kennedy, who gets a 100% pro-choice rating from the abortion-rights group Naral, was at one time pro-life. In fact, in 1971, a full year after New York had legalized abortion, the Massachusetts senator was still championing the rights of the unborn. In a letter to a constituent dated Aug. 3, 1971, he wrote: "When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception."
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But that all changed in the early '70s, when Democratic politicians first figured out that the powerful abortion lobby could fill their campaign coffers (and attract new liberal voters). Politicians also began to realize that, despite the Catholic Church's teachings to the contrary, its bishops and priests had ended their public role of responding negatively to those who promoted a pro-choice agenda.
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In some cases, church leaders actually started providing "cover" for Catholic pro-choice politicians who wanted to vote in favor of abortion rights. At a meeting at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, Mass., on a hot summer day in 1964, the Kennedy family and its advisers and allies were coached by leading theologians and Catholic college professors on how to accept and promote abortion with a "clear conscience."
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The former Jesuit priest Albert Jonsen, emeritus professor of ethics at the University of Washington, recalls the meeting in his book "The Birth of Bioethics" (Oxford, 2003). He writes about how he joined with the Rev. Joseph Fuchs, a Catholic moral theologian; the Rev. Robert Drinan, then dean of Boston College Law School; and three academic theologians, the Revs. Giles Milhaven, Richard McCormick and Charles Curran, to enable the Kennedy family to redefine support for abortion.
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Mr. Jonsen writes that the Hyannisport colloquium was influenced by the position of another Jesuit, the Rev. John Courtney Murray, a position that "distinguished between the moral aspects of an issue and the feasibility of enacting legislation about that issue." It was the consensus at the Hyannisport conclave that Catholic politicians "might tolerate legislation that would permit abortion under certain circumstances if political efforts to repress this moral error led to greater perils to social peace and order."
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Father Milhaven later recalled the Hyannisport meeting during a 1984 breakfast briefing of Catholics for a Free Choice: "The theologians worked for a day and a half among ourselves at a nearby hotel. In the evening we answered questions from the Kennedys and the Shrivers. .
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Though the theologians disagreed on many a point, they all concurred on certain basics . . . and that was that a Catholic politician could in good conscience vote in favor of abortion." - NYT (January 2, 2009)
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Some Catholics today seem to be bending over backwards trying to excuse the Kennedy's for their erroneous beliefs regarding faith and morals, blaming instead the bad priests the family surrounded themselves with. Perhaps covering up the bad stuff just because they are Catholic.

Dana Scallon

Dana and friends.
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Dana was on EWTN Live last evening, speaking about her new show on the network, as well as her new rosary recording dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. I think Dana is a wonderful woman, very talented, and an excellent Catholic witness and worker for pro-life issues - my goodness, she has been a member of the European Parliament. I'm just not a fan of her music style - especially in liturgical situations.
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Her new show will host a variety of singers and musicians - sort of like a religious variety show - from music ministries throughout the United States, with an emphasis upon good liturgical music I guess. I'm not fond of contemporary liturgical music, music ministries, or any performance up front and center at Mass. No piano bar players, jazz ensembles, stringed quartets - none of that for me. That said, I'm afraid Dana's new show will be an attempt to demonstrate how to do all of this right.
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How insipidly Protestant.
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Angela is back from her National Lampoon family vacation and mentioned that the music ministry in the church they attended for Mass last Sunday performed the Gloria to the tune of Eidelwiess. I know! Schmaltz-o-rama!

Bishop Tobin on Archbishop Weakland.

The Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church.
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"It strikes me that critics of Archbishop Weakland should be at least a little restrained in their umbrage, for after all there are many redeeming qualities of the Archbishop’s life and ministry. He responded willingly to the Lord’s call to the consecrated life; he has served the Church generously in a variety of difficult leadership positions; he has shown a determined commitment to the progress of the Church and the implementation of the Second Vatican Council; and he has consistently reached-out to the poor, the weak and the disenfranchised members of the Church and society. If his service has been marred by human imperfections, so be it. So is mine, and so is yours.
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On the other hand, supporters of Archbishop Weakland should also be able to recognize the self-serving inconsistencies and contradictions contained in his story.
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For example, although the Archbishop always took pride in his liberal theological tendencies and his public pronouncements on controversial issues, he seemed to be genuinely puzzled, even hurt, when others labeled him a dissident.
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He passionately promoted the dignity of the laity and their role in the governance and ministry of the Church, but had little hesitation about quietly using their money to cover-up his egregious sexual offense.
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He disparaged the secrecy of the Holy See but for twenty years hid his own indiscretions behind the walls of the chancery, indiscretions that were not just a matter of personal behavior but also profoundly affected the reputation and welfare of the Church.
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He railed against what he considered the authoritarian pontificate of Pope John Paul II, but clearly used his own persona and authority to impose his vision of the Church upon his own fiefdom in Milwaukee, easily dismissing those who opposed him as conservative, right-wing nuts.
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In short, like many dissidents in the Church, throughout his life Archbishop Weakland benefited generously from the support of the institutional Church, but never hesitated to criticize the Church whenever it served his own purposes to do so." - Source
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"Like many dissidents in the Church" - indeed.

Three days later

What?

Get this!

So anyway, I was checking out Fr. Z's blog - he has been having troubles you know - Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

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I know.
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Okay. So then I click back onto my blog and my computer crashed! No kidding! Now I'm scared to go back there! First you have to go through a security check just to comment, and now this? Save your computer and don't go near the bird feeder.
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Oh! Oh! And I'm not really a fan of Dominick Dunne. (Man, some days I just can't wait for the Year of the Priest to be over and I can get back to normal. Geez!)

Omigosh! Dominick Dunne died today.

The end of an era... the end of Camelot... the Lion is dead!

Dominick Dunne, a best-selling author and special correspondent for Vanity Fair, died today at his home in Manhattan. He was 83. In memorium.

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RIP

3 of 14-Francesco - Francis of Assisi -Mickey Rourke

I never realized Mickey Rourke played St. Francis until Western Confucian mentioned it in his post about the actor crediting his Catholic faith for his 'second chance'.

Fat naked kids.

Putti.

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Putti is the Italian word for little boys, putto singular, putta for little girls - although it is rarely used because it is also short for puttana - which means whore.
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Anyway - Christian art still uses putti, with or without diapers, to represent little angels, or cherubs. Proper Christian puritans have taken offense at their nakedness for centuries. Today is no exception. I think women especially are upset by poddies - as my brother and I called the male appendage when we were little. The fear isn't limited to women however. I once knew a Mexican fellow, a sacristan in Boston, who painted sashes over the naked crotches of the little putti rendering their assistance to the Madonna in a painting of her Assumption into Heaven. The pastor never noticed.
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The depiction of putti in art dates back to pagan times, as does Christian iconography in general - early inculturation accommodated representation of pagan myth to accord with Christian revelation. The pagans considered putti to be the souls of children who died in infancy - pure, chaste little spirits, rollicking in the eternal bliss of paradise, watching over men and inspiring love and pleasure, helping them in their needs. Christians used them much in the same way - those depicted with wings were angels and even saints - those without were the souls of the unbaptized. (As St. Therese once said, "little children are never damned".) Their bodies, uncorrupted by the sins of the flesh, are gloriously represented in the perfect innocence of little infants... even if they are sometimes mischievous little cupids.
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The French and Victorians are responsible for turning these little spirits into insipid, sweet, little sentimental Hallmark cards - all modestly covered up with pink and blue baby blankets, ribbons, or fluffy clouds - or - yuck - hearts.
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Nevertheless, putti are more than all of that... they represent the souls of little children - even those millions upon millions who were never allowed to be born - many people call them fetuses - no form or figure or sex or personality...

Leaving the Church.

The Pope on those who reject Catholic teaching.
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"The fourth Evangelist - explained the pope - relates the reaction of the people and disciples, shocked by the words of the Lord, to the point that many, after having followed him until then, exclaim: ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?' (V. 60). And from that moment on ‘many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him' (v. 66). Jesus, however, does not lessen his claim, indeed, he directly addresses the Twelve saying: 'Will you also go away?' (V. 67).
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"This provocative question - continued the pope - is not only addressed to listeners of the time, but to believers and men of every age. Even today, many are 'shocked' by the paradox of the Christian faith. Jesus’ teaching seems too 'hard', too difficult to accept and put into practice. As a result there are those who reject and abandon Christ; those who attempt to 'adapt' his teachings to the fashions of the times distorting its meaning and value. 'Will you also go away?'. This unsettling provocation resounds in our hearts and awaits a response from each one of us. Jesus in fact is not contented by a merely superficial or formal belonging, an initial and enthusiastic adhesion is not enough for Him; on the contrary, we must take part in 'his thinking and his will' throughout our entire life. Following Jesus "fills hearts with joy and the full meaning of existence, but it also brings difficulties and sacrifices because very often it means going against the trend”. - Source

The Secret

I painted Sunday.
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You aren't supposed to work on Sunday, you say?
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It isn't work.
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In fact it is prayer,
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which is why the painting will never be any good.
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I woke up during the night - several times - as if I was painting.
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Blood all over - in the dream.
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Other stuff I see but can't describe or account for - not in words or images.
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My thanksgiving after communion is enveloped in the painting...
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the painting is absorbed in communion.
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I have no control over it,
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which is why the painting will never be any good.
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No one understood before
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or after the secret was revealed...
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and they won't understand the painting.
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"And he took up his position by the shore of the sea." - Revelation 12: 17

Not dealing with a full deck...

What blogger am I referring to? (No not me.)

Live at home nun...

Or hermit in a garden.

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St. Rose of Lima was a third order Dominican, who like St. Catherine of Siena was a lay contemplative who lived her religious life at home. See, I always have to eat my words when it comes to criticizing contemporary hermits and nuns and monks who do not enter established religious orders but do their own thing - in a house, a cottage, an apartment - there were saints who did the exact same thing.

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I better get to the doctor - that log in my eye is getting bigger every day.

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August 23 is the feast of St. Rose of Lima. Read about her here.

Good habits...

There.

Bad habits...

What?

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David S. - This one's for you! ;) Also, I have a new email: tj.nelson@hotmail.com

Before Gay Adoption...

Notice the book on the bookshelf.

Memories

Where I get it from.
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As some readers know, I come from a really crazy family. No big deal. Many times random memories just seem to pop-up into consciousness and they are really quite funny. It's like living in my own sitcom.

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Anyway, my parents loved to drink, a lot. And they frequently got into fights. One night, as I was laying in bed, trying to sleep, violence erupted. My mother had a way of needling my dad - almost daring him to hit her - which he usually did. That particular night was no exception.

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My mother hurled some insult my dad's way which forced him to leap out of his chair at the kitchen table, lunge towards my mom, grabbing one of her arms, ready to strike her with his other hand. My mother caught his arm and dug her nails into it and in a very controlled voice of quiet, yet stern authority, speaking through her teeth, commanded: "Unhand me my man!"

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It was incredible. Dead silence, both of them were frozen in mid-action staring at one another ferociously... Then suddenly my dad burst out laughing, as did my mom. They laughed and laughed, my dad, hardly able to speak, tears rolling down his cheeks, repeating, "Unhand me my man!".

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She tried the same thing at other times, but it never worked as well. I think it was because she added "little" to the phrase: "Unhand me little man!" - my dad hated to be called "little man".

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Guys don't like that.

St. Pius X

August 21 is the feast of Pius X. I am continuing to work on my Fatima painting, "The Secret". As I was looking for some images online related to Our Lady's words, "...the Holy Father will have much to suffer..." I happened upon the following story concerning Pius X. The author, whom I respect very much and often agree with regarding some of his views on the revolution of our times, relates this anecdote suggesting Pius X could have been murdered. The only modern pope I knew of rumored to have been murdered was John Paul I, so you can imagine my surprise when I read this.
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The mysterious death of Pio X...
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The magazine La Critique du Liberalisme [The Critique of Liberalism] published an article about the death of St Pius X. The author sustains the thesis that St. Pius X was murdered on the order of Masonry. He affirms that St. Pius X caught a simple cold, but suddenly and inexplicably that cold would cause his death. One morning when he awakened, he could no longer speak, which was not proportional to that cold; he tried to write in order to communicate something, but also found himself unable to write. Soon afterward he died.
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The author also tells about a young, brilliant naval officer in Prussia who became a Jesuit. After being ordained, he became a nurse and was named to take care of the Pope during that cold. On that final night of the life of St. Pius X, he was closely attending the Pope. After the Pope died, the Jesuit returned to Prussia, left the Order, and returned to a brilliant career as a naval officer. During the war he became a submarine commander. The author affirms that St. Pius X was killed on the order of the German Masonry, and therefore, would be a martyr. I repeat the thesis of this article without having formed my own opinion on it.
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In his memoirs Cardinal Merry del Val confirms that St. Pius X could not speak or write, and he adds: “No one will ever know what happened that night.” It is a mysterious phrase. - Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
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I wonder if there is corroborating evidence or similar stories to support this theory? Maybe Dan Brown would know. ;)
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[By the way - enemies of the Church have made up many things about JPI and stuff he was supposed to have said, just as they have about JPII, Paul VI, and so on - therefore I sincerely doubt Pius X or JPI were murdered. I do like a good conspiracy theory however.]

On pilgrimage...

Or vacation?

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Did I tell you I stopped reading Weakland's memoirs, A Pilgrim In A Pilgrim Church? I lost interest, I'll probably finish it some other time. The idea of pilgrimage and monastic observance - two things Weakland ought to know about - frequently captures my imagination and attracts me spiritually. In our day the austere realities of both seem to be nearly lost from the Western consciousness. Recently I came across an interesting treatment of the ancient practice of pilgrimage and what it entails - it isn't a vacation. Read on:

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"A pilgrimage is not simply a matter of getting to a particular shrine or holy place. It is a deliberate sundering and surrender of one's habitual conditions of comfort, routine, safety and convenience. Unlike the tourist, whose aim is to see things and travel around in conditions which are as comfortable, secure, familiar, convenient and unchallenging as possible, the pilgrim breaks with his material servitude, puts his trust in God and sets out on a quest which is inward as much as it is outward, and which is, in varying degrees, into the unknown. In this sense he becomes the image of the spiritual seeker. He removes himself as far as possible from the artificiality within which he is enclosed by his life in society. Of this spiritual exploration, inward and outward, walking is an essential part. His feet tire, his body aches, sweat drips from his head and trickles into his eyes and down his neck. He tastes rigour and hardship. But through all of this, through prayer, dedication, and confidence - slowly an inner change is wrought, a new rhythm grows, a deeper harmony. The pilgrimage is at work.

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The way of the pilgrim is a process which must not be hurried. The bonds of routine, dependence on material comforts, on the familiar and the settled, have a far stronger hold on one than one is aware of. The conditions of modern life have so blunted the senses that it may take days or weeks even, until they begin to respond truly to the beauty about them. If the aspiring pilgrim attempts to speed this process up, or refuses to face the conditions, including the hardships, which are essential for the development of the pilgrimage, then he becomes a mere tourist. - Philip Sherrard; Athos: The Holy Mountain
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I think it is extremely difficult for moderns to escape the world's web (www) - not only for the sake of pilgrimage, but enclosed monastic life as well. Solitude and spiritual life is inevitably compromised.

Monastic vigils and grand silence.

Enclosure.

Years ago, as a novice in a contemplative monastery I got up between 2:30 AM and 3 AM and made my way to my place in choir as soon as possible - the Office of Vigils began at 3:30 AM. After the Office, I had coffee and returned to my cell for Lectio. I loved vigils and still relish early morning prayer. It is such a wonderful time for Lectio, adoration and silent prayer. Wrapped in the silence of the night, one snuggles close to God in a secret, intimate embrace. Nothing is like it, except perhaps the thanksgiving after Holy Communion. Prayer is the life of the monk or nun.

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Which is why I wonder about some of the time stamps on a few of the posts and comments I notice on blogs by religious. (People outside the U.S. excepted.) I cannot help but notice that some people may actually post during the grand silence - the time normally set aside for vigils. Unless of course they post-date their entries for publication at a later time - I do that frequently - I will write a post before bedtime and time it to publish shortly after midnight. (Like this one.)

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Yeah, I bet that's what they do.

Minneapolis Central Lutheran Church

Christianity without the Cross.

Minneapolis tornado interrupts Lutheran synod.

How's that for a headline?
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It's true. Today the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America was scheduled to vote on a 34-page document that reportedly would establish a theological framework for differing views of homosexuality, that critics say would liberalize the ELCA and possibly open the door to the ordination of lesbians and gays in homosexual relationships. Voting on the document was scheduled for today, the decision on allowing clergy in same-sex partnerships is forthcoming. - Story
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That said, this afternoon a freak tornado came out of nowhere amidst a heavy rainstorm - no warnings, no prediction of severe weather. It began in South Minneapolis, not far from the Central Lutheran Church (pictured) which happens to be a stones throw from the Minneapolis Convention Center, where the ELCA is holding its convention. The tornado nicked the church, taking a bit of the steeple, tore up tents for the Convention and evidently lifted just after it past the Convention Center - no injuries and just minor damage - but lots of scared people downtown.
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My first thought was, "the finger of God..."! I know, people don't believe in that kind of stuff anymore. It's just a coincidence, I'm sure.
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Or is it?
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UPDATE: So another blog Orate Fratres picks up this story and it gets put on Spirit Daily this morning. Shouldn't I have gotten credit? I posted late yesterday afternoon. Oh! Oh! But what if other people understood the significance of the event in the same way I did? I still feel snubbed. Maybe it's because I make fun of Spirit Daily that they never pick up my stories? Maybe I should change my name to Terry Mary Nelson? Maybe I should start promoting Medj? Nah!
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Whatever - I'm told the resolution past - the ELCA is now a gay church.
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NEW UPDATE: No one stole this story from me - I was being dumb, stupid, silly, inappropriate. I'm sorry.

Cyberbullying

Watch your mouth - text.
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People say things in emails and comment boxes - yes, and on blogs - stuff they may otherwise never say to someones face - kind of like screaming obscenities at drivers from the safety of your car. Insult to injury. I've done it - I try really hard not to. Although I wouldn't hesitate to say the same things face to face - been there done that. Bad dog anyway!
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Somehow many of us think public figures, even fellow bloggers we disagree with, are fair game - on some level they may be. But there may also be consequences. No one is really anonymous online - we can be tracked. Happily I post my real name and real email address, so if anyone wants to sue me, fight with me, kill me, they can find me - the only thing phony about me is my profile photo - which looks nice, doesn't it. Anyway, I haven't gone so far as to warrant a lawsuit, and hopefully I never will. However, I've had people drop me from their links, ceased following me, wrote and told me they will never read me, and so on, but that is about it. (I'm not making any money or winning any awards for this blog, so I don't care.)
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We all know detraction and calumny is not only sinful but unlawful - so none of us want to do that sort of thing - but what if you call someone a skank? Though perhaps uncharitable, is that a crime? I have to doubt it - BUT. News today is that a model, Liskula Cohen won a lawsuit forcing Google to reveal the identity of a blogger who insulted the model on one of his blog posts.
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The blogger wrote: “I would have to say the first-place award for ‘Skankiest in NYC’ would have to go to Liskula Gentile Cohen,” the blogger “Anonymous” wrote in one posting. The blog, since removed, ridiculed the former Australian Vogue covergirl as a “40-something” who “may have been hot 10 years ago”, when she was actually 36.
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Justice Joan Madden rejected the blogger’s claim that the blogs “serve as a modern-day forum for conveying personal opinions, including invective and ranting”, and should not be treated as factual assertions." - Story
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Ms. Cohen wants the identity of the man for her attorney - so that she can sue him for defamation of character.
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Charges of defamation of character are difficult to prove, but this case may be a good reminder for everyone online to watch what they call Sr. Chittister from now on.

On this date in history...

Imagine - 90% of the vote.

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On August 19, 1934, about 95 percent of registered voters in Germany went to the polls and gave Hitler 38 million votes of approval (90 percent of the vote). Thus Adolf Hitler could claim he was Führer of the German nation by direct will of the people. Hitler now wielded absolute power in Germany, beyond that of any previous traditional head of state. He had become, in effect, the law unto himself.

As good as it gets.

"It is only recently that I have come to understand the meaning of the cross. It is at once prodigious and atrocious: prodigious because it gives us life, and atrocious because if we do not accept to be crucified all life is denied us. This is a great mystery, and blessed are the persecuted." - Jacques Fesch

Please turn the Mass back to God...

"Lift up your hearts!"

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This photo - FOR ME - illustrates who Mass facing the people is often all about. Don't you see it? It is about the Celebrant and the people - and in this case a homecoming.

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Please. At least bring ad orientem back.

It's been a long time coming...

And I almost think I deserve it!

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Larry awarded me this: The Anti-Muffin Award is for "bloggers who are decidedly "Anti-Muffins". Bloggers who promote what they believe without hesitation and without fear of possible negative feedback. Bloggers who don't conform to the world's standards."

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Thank you Larry. Visit Larry every day, even several times a day, at Acts of the Apostasy and be sure to comment... leave lots of comments... people like comments.

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I suppose I should pass the award on, but I don't want to.

Asian Bishops and false inculturation

Can they learn from the mistakes made in the West?

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Addressing the Asian Bishop's Conference, Cardinal Arinze had this to say regarding certain elements of false inculturation:

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"Cardinal Arinze exhorted the continent’s bishops to follow the Church’s norms for liturgical inculturation, so that “the local Church will be spared questionable or downright mistaken innovations and idiosyncracies of some enthusiastic cleric whose fertile imaginations invents something on Saturday night and whose uninformed zeal forces this innovation on the innocent congregation on Sunday morning.”

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The way in which Holy Communion is distributed should be clearly indicated and monitored and individual idiosyncracies should not be allowed. In the Latin Rite, only concelebrating priests take Holy Communion. Everyone else is given, be the person cleric or lay. It is not right that the priest discard any of the vestments just because the climate is hot or humid. If necessary, the Bishop can arrange the use of lighter cloth. It is altogether unacceptable that the celebrant will opt for local dress in the place of universally approved Mass vestments, or use baskets, or wine glasses to distribute the Holy Eucharist. This is inculturation wrongly understood.

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“It is the tradition of the Church that during the Mass the readings are taken only from Holy Scriptures,” Cardinal Arinze continued. “Not even the writings of the Saints or Founders of Religious Orders are admitted. It is clear that the books of other religions are excluded, no matter how inspiring a particular text may be.”

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“Dance in particular needs to be critically examined because most dances draw attention to the performers and offer enjoyment,” he continued. “People come to Mass, not for recreation but, to adore God, to praise and thank him, to ask pardon for their sins, and to request other spiritual and temporal needs. The monasteries may be of help in how graceful body movements can become prayer.”

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Adoration manifests itself in such gestures in genuflection, deep bow, kneeling, prostration and silence in the presence of the Lord. Asian cultures have a deep sense of the sacred and transcendent. Reverence in Asia to civil authorities sometimes shows itself in clasped hands, kneeling, bows, prostration and walking away while facing a dignitary. It should not be too difficult to bring and elevate this cultural value to honour our Eucharistic Jesus. The fashion in some parts of the world of not installing kneelers in churches should not be copied by the Church in Asia." - Catholic Culture

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I don't know - will they even pay attention?

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Link:

Asian Bishops on inculturation.

Two steps forward

...one step back.

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That is Obama-speak, an inversion of the old Leninist saying, 'one step forward, two steps back'. Anyway, it looks as if Obama is backing down on pushing health care so hard - the protests at local town hall meetings must be working - the President also pulled the flag website for informants spying on opponents to Obama-care. It pays to protest - loudly. Or is he just regrouping?

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Interestingly enough I just watched a piece on network TV about the French state-run health care system - considered the best in the world - but getting overloaded. In today's news, Canadian Medical Association is saying the system is imploding: "(Canadians) have to understand that the system that we have right now - if it keeps on going without change - is not sustainable." - Source The French were saying the same thing.

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What up? Does this mean Nationalized health-care will never be implemented in this country?

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Who knows? At this point it may look as if it isn't going to happen any time soon - but the Trojan horse is already in the square...

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Whatever develops, I'm willing to bet some final solution will come down the pike one way or another, sooner or later. You know, addressing the cost of treating the disabled, the mentally ill, the elderly, the poor, the underclass.

What if...

What if we are living - right now - in the era of peace Our Lady promised at Fatima? What if this is it for the New Springtime?

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What if this is as good as it gets?

Not the Assumption

I haven't registered or applied for clearance to comment at Fr. Z's - but he posted this image as an image of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin - it is not. It is St. Mary Magdalen in ecstasy.

Danielle Steele

Larry's gettin' all literate over at A of A.

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I'm kinder intimerdatered.

Waking up at Woodstock.

Letting my freak flag fly.

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I was never at Woodstock. Believe it or not I actually thought it was disgusting - what I saw on the news at the time that is. I was busy trying to be respectable at the time - I wore suits to work and wanted to be taken seriously. My friends from school were the ones who kept trying to make me turn on. I thought drugs were sleazy and I worried about them that they used marijuana, LSD, Mescaline, speed, and just about anything else. My drug of choice was scotch and Benson and Hedges. (To be sure, not everyone at Woodstock was a hippie - most people were there for the music, albeit most of them were high. Woodstock really just changed the cultural landscape. But I digress.)

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Eventually my old friends managed to drag me out to a few concerts locally. I tried grass and other drugs, and really enjoyed them. Amazingly my attitude changed and I began to let my hair grow, wear jeans and neon colored t-shirts with my suit jackets, pierced my ear and quit my job before they fired me for coming in late on days I showed up at all. Then, once in awhile for fun, my friends and I would go to the drive-in to watch Woodstock - the documentary - and pretend we were there. Naturally we did attend other outdoor concerts that Woodstock popularized, where everyone was high and nice and huggy. I looked the part - but I never fit in - story of my life I guess.

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There were always limits I wouldn't, couldn't pass. I always, always carried around within me a sense of oblivion, annihilation, doom, fear, what have you. I mixed my drugs with alcohol, which was more fun for me, and it allowed me to ignore the gnawing fear. Waking up on Sunday mornings was always the worst. I never found peace until I returned to the sacraments, until I encountered Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I've told that story before however.

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Now days I usually only experience those old fears when I look back on things like Woodstock and recall the hippie-wanna-be-avant garde and cool artificial life I had constructed... or when I stray too far from Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

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I'll admit it, I'm special-ed, retarded, incapable of life on my own, totally dependent - which is why I cling to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament...

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BTW - I went to confession last night - another encounter I need regularly, as well as a remedy for those fears of pointless annihilation that can creep up on me when I realize I spend way too much time online.

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Finally, to be perfectly honest, I have no fond memories of Woodstock or those days - the emotions some of the music evoke are melancholic and meaningless. Purification of the memory can entail a certain amount of suffering comprised of disgust and revulsion - its a good thing.

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Photo: Some guy at Woodstock.

Hold that thought.

"We should all take time to ponder our own martyrdom, because the time may come when we are called to give up absolutely everything for the sake of Christ." - Catholic Eye Candy Blog

Goin' to work.

I knoooooooooooooooooooooow!
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Photo credit: The Sartorialist

The culture of dissent.

WDTPRS: What the Pope really says... Or: Why do we need his Definitions defined for us by amateurs anyway?

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The culture of dissent seems to have been born of the spirit of Vatican II - not from the Council itself - the Council did not call Catholics to a state of perpetual questioning of authority. Just as the irregularities and novelties associated with the Novus Ordo were developed after the Council. It is very easy for us to read the documents - or better put - other's interpretation of them, and assign blame or praise to the Council itself. This is what many traditionalists have done, as well as those of us who find some of the post-Councillor reforms to have been implemented badly. On the other hand, dissidents have made an idol of personal freedom, conscience, and dissident theory - convinced the Council set some sort of revolutionary standard.

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Blessed John XXIII, revered by dissidents and faithful Catholics alike, never intended the Council to overthrow the authority of Church teaching. In his opening statements to the Council Fathers the Pope said:

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"In calling this vast assembly of bishops, the latest and humble successor to the Prince of the Apostles who is addressing you intends to assert once again the Church's Magisterium [teaching authority], which is unfailing and perdures until the end of time, in order that this Magisterium, taking into account the errors, the requirements, and the opportunities of our time, might he presented in exceptional form to all men throughout the world.15
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The greatest concern of the ecumenical council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously." 17

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The Holy Father will have much to suffer.

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Every successive Pope has suffered and labored to not only safeguard, but promulgate all that accords with the perennial teaching of the Faith. Many traditionalists like to say the Council did not formulate any dogma, or promulgate any specific teaching, or condemn any heresy, and therefore one is not obliged to accept the documents as infallible. Of course, the cafeteria Catholic also seems to think dissent was declared an infallible right, calling anyone and everyone to dissent from any Church discipline or teaching they happen to disagree with, or that doesn't accord with popular culture. So in essence - the culture of dissent, a corruption of the concept of sensum fidei, has infected every aspect of the Christian life - bearing similarities to the confusion which was the result of the Protestant Reformation.

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That said, as faithful Catholics, we are called to submit to the Pope, Christ's Vicar.

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"This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given in a special way to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra, in such wise, indeed, that his supreme teaching authority be acknowledged with respect, and that one sincerely adhere to the decisions made by him, conformably with his manifest mind and intention, which is made known principally either by the character of the documents in question, or by the frequency with which. a certain doctrine is proposed, or by the manner in which the doctrine is formulated." 25

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It is indeed true that within the Council debates heated discussions took place, cardinal was against cardinal, theologians and periti proposed this or that, but in the end, when all the votes were counted and the final draft of the documents were agreed upon and signed, they were then promulgated by the Pope - hence the documents are binding. This is what our current Holy Father is emphasizing in seeking to implement the authentic teaching of the Council and not simply the spirit of Vatican II.

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As Ralph McInerny said:

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"Unfortunately, some theologians, particularly moral theologians, for reasons we will examine in subsequent chapters, have simply rejected this clear teaching of Vatican II. They have come to see their role as one of criticizing, passing judgment on, and even dismissing magisterial teaching.

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There is no surer protection against this attempted usurpation than the documents of Vatican II themselves and particularly the passages just quoted from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium.26

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There is, of course, something odd in the effort to quarrel with what are obviously teachings of the Church and therefore require religious assent from Catholics. It is almost as if the aim were to discover how little one need believe. But surely, as Vatican II urges, it should be the mark of Catholics that they take on the mind and heart of the Church and show gratitude for God's great gift of the Magisterium.

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...to advise Catholics to ignore clear magisterial teachings is to advise them to reject the clear teaching of Vatican II. How ironic that the council should be invoked as warrant for dissenting from the Magisterium when it is precisely the council that rules this out.

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To accept Vatican II is to accept what the council says about the Magisterium and the Catholic's obligation to obey it. - What Went Wrong With Vatican II - Ralph M. McInerny. (All quotes in italics have been taken from his essay.)

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Therefore, all things considered, I think it goes without saying that Humanae Vitae is infallible teaching. Even though dissenters have said no since the document was promulgated, which in my opinion accounts for much of the immorality we see today.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Terry at Idle Speculations has several posts with lovely art for the feast of the Assumption, accompanied by wonderful stories from tradition.

St. Maximilian

August 14 is the feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe.

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Fr. Kolbe is famous for establishing the Militia of Mary Immaculate and promoting total consecration to Our Lady.

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Consecration to Our Lady is not complicated.

Catholic tea party...

OH!!!! MY!!!! GOSH!!!!

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I just stumbled upon a blog with photos of a bunch of Catholic women at a tea party - in the middle of the day... I think the blog background was pink with lace and flowers and the women were kind of pre-20th century looking... all sweet and proper and... traddish?

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It was awful. Horrible. Dreadful. Stepfordish.

What does the priest really do when he is not online?

WDTPRS?

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I'm kidding! I love Father!

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Story here.

Hermits.

Idiorrhythmic monks.

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That is a term used in the East to describe Orthodox monks and hermits who essentially do their own thing. Well kind of - it is a bit more complicated than that however. Suffice it to say it generally implies laxity and some level of corruption of the monastic ideal - I'm not talking corruption as in vice, but deviation from traditional cenobitism... which in my book amounts to doing your own thing. Private, personal piety sets the tone - although in the generally unstable modern aspirant - one may prefer to say it evolves. Very smart, long term idiorrhythmic monks or nuns may therefore consider themselves to be highly evolved. And indeed they may be - only God knows.

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In the East monks can be distinguished by four categories; eremetic, semi-eremetic, cenobitic, and idiorrhythmic. I suppose one might say that idiorrhythmic observance came about by degrees and accommodation to modern life, though it dates back to the 14th century in Greece, a period of decline. However, there is no time like the present for decadence in religious observance. We live in unsettled and unstable times, when theology and liturgy is corrupted, therefore religious life itself will show signs of strain and corruption.

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I'm not offering a critique of modern monasticism or religious life, but I've been thinking about it since my post regarding Br. Roger of Taize, wherein I mention monastic life and got a couple of replies which led me to once again review what I know about contemporary gyrovagues - as Benedict might describe them - or the idiorrythmic monks, nuns, hermits, what have you, that seem to abound today. I'm no expert of course, just a guy with an opinion - who happens to have known many characters who aspired to their own special form of monastic/heremetic life. Some persevere, others do not - and not a few are characterized by a noticeable lack of stability.

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Today anyone can call themselves a monk, a nun, a hermit, an anchoress, what have you, and remain living in their house or apartment, keeping their job or living off of donations or, as seems to be the case lately, supporting themselves through some online business. Nothing is wrong with that either. Others go off to a little piece of property and build a hermitage and a chapel and if they have the bishop's approval, they some times provide space for retreats. Getting the local bishop's approval isn't always that hard and does indeed provide a level of legitimacy to the hermit's life. After all, there are provisions in Canon Law for private hermits, consecrated virgins, and so on. It must be said that many modern hermits have responded to a call or spiritual direction indicating to them that they devote their lives to seeking God in solitary prayer. The bishop's blessing confirms the vocation and the Church recognizes it.

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Nevertheless, many times the religious observance can only be defined as idiorhythmic as opposed to authentic eremitism in the traditional sense - in fact it is usually semi-eremetic at best - but nearly always idiorrhythmic. Again - a personalized cell rule is necessary - although amendments frequently find their way in. "I need a juicer now!" Or, "I need a new blackberry." Life goes on, I know.

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I've known one nun in particular who has moved from diocese to diocese - perhaps unhappy with the former bishop, or to be closer to friends? I don't know. But she always has to set up new housekeeping and facilities. I've known monks like this as well - not you Father. To be fair, I also know generous lay people who have consecrated their lives and live an edifying life as semi-hermits, or full-fledged hermits - away from cities and towns - quite like genuine hermits. Nevertheless, most if not all, live quite comfortably - and even go on vacation from time to time.

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I might mention I also know communities who live an eremetic life in cities - much like the Little Brothers or Sisters of Jesus, whose life is inspired by the monastic example of Bl. Charles de Foucauld. One group I'm familiar with follows the Rule for Hermitages as written by Francis of Assisi - albeit added to with their own constitutions. I'd call their life semi-eremetic, although they consider themselves hermits and contemplatives - another term that may often be used in vain - I think.

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Please - don't get me wrong, all of that is fine, and the more recognition and approval by the Church one receives the better - one's life is regularized and legitimized through canonical status or diocesan approval. And for some, status is an issue. Some may think of themselves as finally having a job, a meaningful position, a status because they can identify themselves as a hermit or an anchoress. It all can sound and appear rather romantic, like a tiny, precious illuminated manuscript, the hermitage within looms in one's imagination like a tiny little cottage nestled in a clearing of a thick woods, self-sustained and contained... From which the hermit can come and go at will, watch TV, listen to music, surf the Internet, email friends, entertain guests - just like me in my little house. Wow! I could be a hermit too.

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I could be a hermit too?! I rarely go out except to the store and church for Mass and confession and adoration. I pray and study and paint icons and religiously themed works, I garden... I must be a hermit - right in the middle of a city. Of course - there are hermits everywhere and anywhere now days - in fact the man in the cubicle next to you may be a hermit - with a condominium of course - or a room in his parent's basement, and he may even have initials after his name... sosf, ocds, osbs.

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I realize third orders and pious associations are charisms provided for the sanctification of the faithful, as well as the edification of the Church. As most of my readers know, I am a third order Franciscan. Nevertheless, I don't know why it is so hard for some people just to be Roman Catholic - whether part of a group or not. I don't know how or why they miss the greatness of ordinary life. That is why I admire Opus Dei - they never sport an external sign of their spiritual affiliation or status - they simply blend into ordinary society.

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Pray for vocations though - we desperately need real vocations to the religious life and the priesthood.

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Please note: This post is based upon personal experience, observation and opinion. It is a generalization and not addressed to specific persons.

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Art: St. Onufrius.

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Link:

Start your own religious order.

All quiet on the Midwestern front?

'Catholic' Coalition for Church Reform?
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Not so fast Sr. Mary Michael.
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I thought things were a little too quiet locally, and I was right. This from the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis:
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It has come to the attention of the Archdiocese that a group calling itself the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR) is planning a 2010 ‘synod’ in the Archdiocese entitled, ‘Claiming Our Place at the Table’.
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While the agenda for the proposed synod purports to be an exploration of the role of baptized Catholics within the institutional Church of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it is not being conducted under the auspices of the Archdiocese, the universal Roman Catholic Church, or any entity or organization affiliated with the Archdiocese or the universal Roman Catholic Church.
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The Archdiocese wishes it to be known that the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, the 2010 synod, and individuals endorsing the same, are not agents or entities of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis or the Roman Catholic Church. Moreover, the Archdiocese wishes to lovingly caution those members of the faithful participating in the ‘work/study groups’ and intending to attend the synod of the potential that the issues on which CCCR will seek reform are magisterial teachings of the Church, and are therefore to be believed by divine and catholic faith. The Archdiocese also wishes to remind the faithful of its need to shun any contrary doctrines, and instead to embrace and retain, to safeguard reverently and expound faithfully, the doctrine of faith and morals proposed definitively by the magisterium of the Church. - Catholic Spirit
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It is good to know.

Painting Fatima

This is the icon I did of the Apparition of the Mother of God at Fatima for Fr. Frederick Miller who had been the Director of the Blue Army in New Jersey at the time (1991). I publish it now since I am working on a panel depicting the secret of Fatima, which as everyone knows, consists of three parts - not 3 separate secrets. I surprised myself having nearly forgotten this panel, to review the variety of experience by the seers I attempted to illustrate within the composition. My current work is much more surreal, although just as naive as this icon I painted so many years before.

I have no idea if the icon remains at the shrine in New Jersey. So much has happened there since Fr. Miller left. It was quite an odd place, rather cult-like I think. I knew a former nun from there who left because of irregularities within the community of the Handmaids of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - a group which has since been suppressed. The former religious told me how Fr. Miller had been disliked by the establishment at the Blue Army, and suspected of being a liberal.

Anyway - I completely forgot I had painted this and laughed because I also painted the Trinity in my new panel in a rather similar fashion. The similarity ends there - right now I will tell you that the icon shown is better than my current work. Interestingly some folks thought the girls in the image presented above appeared to be Muslim, because of their prayer position and the veils - I never made that connection - although the name Fatima itself is Muslim - Mohammed's daughter in fact.

Anyway - the above panel illustrates two parts of the secret, the vision of hell and the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The background vignettes portray two of the preparatory apparitions of the angel which took place before the actual apparition of Our Lady on May 13, 1917.

Bark like a dog.

Maybe Chaz Bono could get turned on - but this cleavage shot is supposed to get Angela Merkel votes? Germans are kinky aren't they?

I'm worried about the Kat.

Crescat - AKA Carolina Cannonball - AKA Kat - needs prayers. She was hospitalized with a torn artery - I heard she is now home. She is a single mom with a small son - so she needs our prayers. I'm praying - please pray. Torn arteries are serious - but I don't know anything about Kat's.

Santa Chiara di Assisi

Today is the feast of St. Clare of Assisi, the protege of St. Francis, together they founded the Order of Poor Clares, at one time one of the most austere order of contemplative nuns in the world. Today many monasteries of strict observance continue to thrive - and I suspect the monastic life lived within those enclosures corresponds well to the original charism of St. Clare.

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In Clare's time their poverty was extreme and the nuns slept in dormitories. St. Clare's love of Jesus crucified was so intense, her asceticism seemed to know no bounds, to the extent that Holy Father St. Francis commanded her to temper it.

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Despite the arduous penances she imposed upon herself, the fasting and the vigils, amidst such extreme poverty, St. Clare was a loving mother to her nuns and exercised her duties as abbess with great tenderness and care, providing for her daughters in all of their needs. Her joyful demeanor and loving accessibility lightened the yoke of obedience and imparted to her nuns the gift of joy - a characteristic seen amongst all Poor Clares to this day.

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For me, the feast of St. Clare is always an occasion of joy. Happy feast day.

See - we can all snap occasionally.

"Whadya mean? I'm the Schecaterry of State, not that womanizing son of a bit - wha? Huh? Ask Bill if ya wanna know what trha hell he's doin' for his damn birthday! I'm the Schecaterry - Chelsea - get your mother another cocktail! An' make it a big one!"

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Mrs. Clinton got mixed up at a press conference in Africa.

"The Jews! The Jews!"

"So, a rabbi and a cop were walking..."
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This is a weird story - rabbis trafficking in human organs and money-laundering. It almost sounds like part of the Elders of Zion myth, or those medieval Christian horror stories of Jews sacrificing Catholic children and drinking their blood. So I have to question if these reports are perhaps exaggerated or even false... could such stories help to reignite anti-semitism? Remember how The Passion of the Christ unleashed such violence against Jews? (I don't either.) At any rate, the story appears to be an isolated incident - and if anything, it demonstrates how corrupt New Jersey is.
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The Brooklyn man arrested for organ trafficking in connection with a massive federal corruption and money laundering sting is described a "thug" who reportedly pulled a gun on kidney "donors" who were getting cold feet, according to a Daily News report Friday.
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Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum allegedly bought kidneys from impoverished people overseas for $10,000 and turned them around for $160,000 in the U.S., according to the newspaper. His operation was first brought to the attention of the FBI seven years ago by Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a University of California, Berkeley anthropologist who studied human organ trafficking.
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She described Rosenbaum to the Daily News as "the main U.S. broker for an international trafficking network." One of her sources, a man who worked with Rosenbaum, said he would pull a pistol on nervous kidney sellers, telling them "You're here. A deal is a deal. Now, you'll give us a kidney or you'll never go home."
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Rosenbaum became part of the federal corruption probe, which netted more than 40 people, including rabbis and elected officeholders from New Jersey and New York, after an FBI informant crossed paths with him and learned of his organ trafficking operation. - Full Story
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Yeah. I only bring it up because I found the story on Pewsitters and they link their story to the one on Catholic Forum - Fisheaters.com
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Whaddya willing to bet...

Rules for dissidents...

"There's another reason for working inside the system. Dostoevsky said that taking a new step is what people fear most. Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future. This acceptance is the reformation essential to any revolution. To bring on this reformation requires that the organizer work inside the system, among not only the middle class but the 40 per cent of American families – more than seventy million people – whose income range from $5,000 to $10,000 a year [in 1971]. They cannot be dismissed by labeling them blue collar or hard hat. They will not continue to be relatively passive and slightly challenging. If we fail to communicate with them, if we don't encourage them to form alliances with us, they will move to the right. Maybe they will anyway, but let's not let it happen by default." - Rules For Radicals, Saul Alinsky

Attention

My new email.

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With the new computer I haven't been checking my old email - I know! And that means I haven't read any - if any were sent. So anyway, if you want to get in touch, here is my new email: tj.nelson@hotmail.com

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If you would rather call and insult me, my phone number is 6-2-8-1-15-5.

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Update: Vincenzo was surprised I would post my #. I decided to take it down after Joe Biden called.

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(Just so you know, I rarely ever answer the phone, although I do pick up messages from time to time.)

Nagasaki

An account.

40 years ago.

The Haywain.

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Yesterday was the anniversary of the cover shot for the Beatles's Abbey Road album -no photos please - of the album that is. My blog is enough.

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This week also commemorates the Woodstock - 40 years gone.

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What it all means? Just that those who experienced it are now old. You people are OLD! Me - not so much...

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When I think of Woodstock I always think of Bosch's Haywain, as well as scenes out of a few of his other paintings - Garden of Earthly Delights, and so on. Many of Bosch's characters remind me of the hippies - as well as a good number of the people we see in entertainment and hip urban areas these days. One surely has to admit that the freak show of today makes Woodstock look tame, what with multiple piercings, bodies camouflaged by garish tattoos, multi-colored hair chopped mental-patient style, awful clothing accompanied by public nudity and sex. In this generation, vulgar has become the new bourgeois.

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The Sanger free-love movement from the early 20th century flowered into the Woodstock generation, and led to what we see today - abortion survivors.

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None of us are any good.