J as in Hieronymus

I was looking for St. Hilary in the multi-volume Fathers of the Church series, and noticed that the volumes go from Gregory to Jerome, and Hilary comes after Jerome. I stood puzzled by this, even looking to see whether the volumes had been improperly shelved. Then I remembered, Jerome in Latin is Hieronymus, which would of course come before Hilary. Still, it seemed odd, since these volumes are all in English. In a nod to this Catholic geekery, I think I will place Jerome among the aitches in my own library.

On a similar note, it's sort of like how in some alphabetical lists of states, Alaska comes before Alabama, and it took me 30 years and my friend Brittany to realize it was because AK comes before AL. Hmm...

Talking to Children

I was in a restaurant today and overheard a mother talking to her son. She was in her late twenties, wearing a white tank top, and tattoos covering her arms and legs. Her son, an angelic blond three-year-old, picked up the plastic number card the restaurant used to bring food to the table, and began playing with it. I imagined a parent might allow the child to play with it, or calmly order the child to put it down if he was starting to cause trouble. 

The boy, however, was just holding the card and quietly looking at it from both sides. His mother said this as the first thing that came out of her mouth: "You better put that down. That's stealing. They're going to call the cops and you'll go to jail and never see mommy again. Do you want that?"

I though this response from the mother was interesting, and also that the little boy just quietly handed over the card. 

97 Years Ago

Today is my grandmother's 97th birthday. On this day in 1919 in rural Shelby County, Alabama, this beautiful woman was born.

Wild

Over Christmas break, lightning killed my uncle's horse. I sensed something missing when I came back in January. It was the horse, though I didn't find out for a few weeks. Dad said there was a loud bolt and a flash, and the next day they found the horse dead in the barn. In the corner of the pasture, there was a dirt mound where they buried her.

In August, the pasture is covered with little yellow daisies. Butterflies, wasps, and bees hover about. The grass reaches my knees. Unmowed and ungrazed, it grows wild.

Music on my mind

This has been on my mind for a few days now. I wake up and it is already playing in my head. I love the combination of this prelude from the Well Tempered Clavier with one of the French Suites.

Fish on Fridays Solidarity

On Fridays my dad asks me to bring lunch back from town for us. I noticed that he started always asking for fish on Fridays.

Today, when he asked for fish, he said, "Catholics eat fish on Friday, don't they?"

I explained how abstaining from meat on Fridays is now an option. He said, "Oh, well when I was a kid in school we always had fish on Fridays for the Catholics."

It surprised me that rural schools in Alabama in the 50s would make such an effort for Catholics.

In any case, I'm happy my dad shows solidarity with me in my Catholic Friday penances.

I was just reading the Didache yesterday, and came upon this line: "Let not your fasts be with the hypocrites, for they fast on Mondays and Thursdays, but do you fast on Wednesdays and Fridays" (VIII, 1).

I remember my Armenian/Georgian coworker at the nursery always fasted and abstained on Wednesdays and Fridays, even though she was Catholic.

Thoughts on Catholicism and Homosexuality

Jesus knows better than we do what to do about messy issues, so better to go to him continually in prayer, and read and live the Gospel message.

St. Thomas is Cool

I will be grateful throughout my days to Josef Pieper for opening the door to St. Thomas Aquinas for me. Before reading his introduction to Aquinas (which I highly recommend), the Angelic Doctor seemed so dry and impenetrable. Chesterton made me admire St. Thomas, but I still was unable to read him.

Lately I have run to St. Thomas as a thirsty man to a well. In our world of excess, deficiency, and overall insanity, St. Thomas provides the cool and refreshing voice of sanity, balance, and reason. In any distress of my mind, I can go to the Summa and not only be consoled, but ready and moved to action.

Family

My sister and brother-in-law have taken me into their home during the 12 days before I move in my new place. It is strange to live in with family after a number of years on my own. When with a family, we do things together and not merely on our own. With my roommates, I felt quite free to come and go and do as I pleased. Being in a family, and in somebody else's house, I have to say what my intentions are: when I plan to leave or come home, what meals we will have together, how we will divide and share things in common. I can't just go to my room and shut the door and be in my own world while others expect company. We have to communicate boundaries. Staying here makes me a more considerate and communal person. I would like to carry what I learn here into my future living plans.

The Image of God

I am in the image of God. This is the fruit of prayer. God sees in me what I fail to see. I am grateful for the man I am, because God chose to bring him into existence from nothing, and declared him very good. I am grateful for the man I am becoming, because Christ died that I might become him.