And Now I’m Behind Again.

Work’s been exceedingly busy this week, it was hard to read the lyrics last night at choir practice (much less sightread!), and I’m exceedingly pooped. So I’m taking another early night tonight. I will try to get Nebuly done tomorrow morning (and maybe Fanny too), and then catch up with Gerusalemme and Ascent tomorrow night.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

Okay, Now I’m All Caught Up.

The lovely people of archive.org have restored the details pages of Book III of Against Heresies and Pastoral Care to mortal view! Yay! So you’ll find the concluding chapters of Book III below. (I’ve been saving them up since October.)

But don’t let all those posts make you miss out on O. Henry, “The Brazen Android”, and Andre Norton from earlier this week, okay?

#574: Homily 12 on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews, by St. John Chrysostom

Just a taster, I’m afraid: Homily 12 of a series. This one talks about Melchizedek and Christ, so it’s appropriate for the week after the Sunday of Christ the King.

Homily 12

26:15.

One of these days I’d actually like to wade through one of the Fathers’ homily series, reading a little every Sunday. It must have been neat, back in the old days, to have the priest do Bible study every week during his homily for the length of a whole book. (Not that there’s anything wrong with homilies referring to the readings of the Sunday. But a couple of times, our parish priests worked up a three or four Sundays’ homily series from the readings of each Sunday, and they were Very Cool. Songs are nice, but there’s something about an album, eh?)

#573: Ch. 12, Part III, Pastoral Care by St. Gregory the Great

Pastoral Care continues. Sorry it’s just one chapter. As you may notice, archive.org fixed this details page, too.

Ch. 12: How the healthy and the sick should be admonished.

14:04.

#572: Chs. 24-25, Book III, Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Book III of Against Heresies concludes with a recap of Gnostic arguments, and the reaffirmation of Christian belief in an infinitely good and just God who lovingly made the world of matter and cares about it and its inhabitants. (Only two more books to go! I’ll start posting Book IV next week.)

Chs. 24-25

14:14.

#571: Chs. 22-23, Book III, Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Against Heresies continues. Now that Irenaeus has shown how the apostles believed that Jesus really was born under miraculous conditions, and that Jesus was both God and man, it’s time to defend Jesus’ human side from the Gnostics who think all that flesh stuff is just plain icky. Then he must defend Adam’s right to be saved along with the rest of the human race.

Chs. 22-23: Christ assumed actual flesh, conceived and born of the Virgin. Arguments in opposition to Tatian, showing that it was consonant to divine justice and mercy that the first Adam should first partake in that salvation offered to all by Christ.

22:51.

#570: Ch. 21, Book III, Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus of Lyons

Against Heresies continues. This chapter (just in time for Advent!) refutes several different heretical beliefs about Mary and the virgin birth of Jesus.

Ch. 21: A vindication of the prophecy in Isa. vii. 14 against the misinterpretations of Theodotion, Aquila, the Ebionites, and the Jews. Authority of the Septuagint version. Arguments in proof that Christ was born of a virgin.

18:06.

#569: Chs. 19-20, Book III, Against Heresies by St. Irenaeus of Lyons

October 17 was the last time I was able to post a chapter of Irenaeus here. But finally, Against Heresies continues, courtesy of those nice people at archive.org. (Btw, if you feel like making a donation or getting a bit of tax deduction, the Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg, and CCEL are all good causes you might consider!)

Chs. 19-20: Jesus Christ was not a mere man, begotten from Joseph in the ordinary course of nature, but was very God, begotten of the Father most high, and very man, born of the Virgin. God showed himself by the fall of man as patient, benign, merciful, mighty to save. Man is therefore most ungrateful, if, unmindful of his own lot, and of the benefits held out to him, he does not acknowledge divine grace.

17:11.

#568: Part 4, “The Brazen Android” by William Douglas O’Connor

Our 1891 medieval science fiction story, “The Brazen Android”, continues. (Sorry I didn’t post it earlier. Totally forgot.)

When we last left our scientific hero, Friar Roger Bacon, and our engineering hero, Friar Thomas Bungy (known to literature as Bungay), the Italian scientist and magician Malatesti (who inspired Bacon to design the Brazen Android) had just come to call. He makes for an uncomfortable guest.

Part 4

40:56.

#567: Ch. 6, Star Hunter by Andre Norton

Star Hunter continues as “Rynch” and Ras Hume have a little talk — with Ras Hume as Rynch’s captive audience.

Chapter 6

16:44.

#566: Ch. 5, Star Hunter by Andre Norton

It’s Science Fiction Tuesday, so it must be time that Star Hunter continues!

When we last saw our young hero, he had only bits and pieces of his memories and was trying to figure out what the heck is going on. But now we join him again just after he sees something that he does remember — something frightening — or rather, someone….

Chapter 5

15:13.

#565: Ch. 10, Cabbages and Kings by O. Henry

Cabbages and Kings continues, as we learn more about the spotty past of Clancy the tintype maker. Sometimes it’s a very bad idea to try and join a revolution….

10:  “The Shamrock and the Palm”

41:11.

The Podcast Is All Caught Up!

So if you missed the fun of Fatherless Fanny, the perils of Gerusalemme Liberata, or the instruction of St. John of the Cross, simply look below this post! I hope all my fellow Americans had a very good Thanksgiving. I know I did! Sorry that the revels kept me away from posting.

#564: Ch. 16, Book III, The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross

The Ascent of Mount Carmel continues, and tells us about the dark night of the will.

Ch. 16: Which begins to treat of the dark night of the will. Makes a division between the affections of the will.

7:52.

#563: Ch. 14-15, Book III, The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross

The Ascent of Mount Carmel continues with a look at spiritual knowledge and the memory.

Chapters 14-15: Which treats of spiritual knowledge in so far as it may concern the memory. Which sets down the general method whereby the spiritual person must govern himself with respect to this sense.

8:37.