7 Quick Takes Friday

1.  A lot has happened since Friday, 2 weeks ago.  I went to my niece's wedding. It was very nice.  Brought back memories of my own wedding at about the same age and made me realize that, in spite of how very old I am now, that so many things don't change.  I continue to be in awe of my niece; her poise, her intelligence and her good choices.
2.  I also was able to go on a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  That was fun!  I had high tea instead of dinner and was able to view art as old as 2500 years before the birth of Christ to the modern art of today. 

3. The picture on the right is one of a Coptic prayer book made around 500-700A.D.  Imagine how long ago that was!!  People have been worshiping Christ for centuries!  

4.  The reason for my sparse blogging this week is that I've caught some sort of flu.  Thank God I was able to go to NY and to my niece's wedding! I've been sleeping for a few days and the fever just hangs on. 


5.  Unfortunately, I have to miss my friend's wake and funeral Mass.  But, God has a reason for everything.If it is His will, I will attend the memorial celebration the family has planned for 2010. 

6.  These guys to the left are medieval mourners currently housed at the Met.  I was blown away by their realistic rendering and the eerie atmosphere they convey.  As art, I think this is first class. 

7.  I also saw some breathtaking knights in shining armor, along with their horses, also in shining armor.  Its really humbling to actually be able to see these things with our own eyes that we only read about. 

Poem of the Week

rapturous delight

soft--in the afternoon

raw salmon

This is one I just wrote while eating a raw salmon sandwich that came with my high tea at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.  It is also published in my Karumi Garden Haiku Blog.  

Music Monday--In My Life

In honor of my niece, today's Music Monday is the Beatle's In My Life. My husband, son and I are performing this piece at her wedding this evening.

The Pre-Christmas Fast--some insights from Fr. Stephen

Beginning this Sunday, November 15, the eastern Church starts their pre-Christmas fast, lasting until Christmas Eve.  Father Stephen at Glory to God for All Things has a very insightful post on fasting, and its purpose.  You hear, in Christian circles that fasting is not a diet.  Yet, in our culture it is almost impossible not to think of it that way.  It is a bit like someone saying "don't think of a pink elephant".  Dieting is everywhere in our culture, as is eating.

Father Stephen has a different take on the "purpose" of Christian fasting.  First of all, he says, the cornerstone of fasting is inner silence and communion with God through ceaseless prayer.  It is about longing for God and hungering after Him in all humility.  If that is learned by a 'failed' fast, then that is a blessing.

Father Stephen had another correlation having to do with the spiritual purpose of fasting that I have never thought of.  A person who is near death often refuses all food.  This is a natural part of the process of letting go of this world and moving on to the next.  Studies show that the dying who are allowed to forgo food experience less pain.

Fasting, in the Christian sense, then, is about dying to self and dying to the world.  It is about moving on to the world for which we were created.  It is about living as though we were dying because in dying, we are born to eternal life.

Mourning

Another friend from high school died this morning.  She had cancer.   She is survived by her husband and four children.

Our group of friends is being hit hard right now--one right after the other in this month of the dead.

Again, words fail.

May she rest eternally in the arms of Our Lord.

Poem of the Week

black cat leading me,
half asleep, to the food bowl
midnight snack

Veterans Day 2009--Thanks to our troops!

Why have you shortened their days, oh Lord?

Today's Office of Readings included Psalm 101 (102).  Given that this is the traditional month we remember the dead, this psalm was appropriate.  On a personal level, many of my friends and I have been hit with one after another untimely death that has left us wondering why. 

Psalm 101 (102)

He has brought down my strength in the midst of my journey;

he has shortened my days.

I will say, “My God, do not take me away half way through the days of my life.

Your years last from generation to generation:  in the beginning you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

They will pass away but You will remain;
all will grow old, like clothing,
and like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed.

“But You are always the same,
Your years will never run out."

This psalm asks the age old question, "Why have you brought them down in the midst of their journey?  Why have you taken them 'half way through the days of their lives?'"

I think the answer is "They will pass away, but You will remain. All will grow old, like clothing but you are always the same, your years will never run out."

All will pass away.  Today, tomorrow, or the next day. 

But God is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

Music Monday--Dust in the Wind

This is another one of my favorites, Dust in the Wind by Kansas.  This video has some beautiful pictures to accompany the song.