#1694: Ch. 20, The Brand of Silence by Johnston McCulley

The Brand of Silence continues, as Jim Farland pokes his nose into the wrong dark corner.

Chapter 20.

16:26.

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My New Advent Header

Pretty nice, huh?

This is a picture of Our Lady of the O, aka Our Lady of Expectation or Our Lady of Hope. This is Mary counting down the last week of Advent, waiting for her baby to come. (You can see the position of the baby marked by the Sun of Justice over her womb.) She is shown singing or pondering the O antiphons of that week from her book, accompanied by an angel band; and she is wearing a belt high over her tummy, which was how pregnant women dressed in many countries around the world.

Here’s another picture of the Madonna del Parto (Our Lady in pregnancy) which shows another common style of olden days pregnancy wear — laced clothing that’s been loosened. It may be a picture of Mary walking around right before birth, as it was common to have companions to walk you around and the angels might be them. The expression seems to say, “C’mon, already!”

Happy new Church Year!

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#1693: Ch. 28, Bk. 3, An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales

An Introduction to the Devout Life continues, with a chapter on judging other people. (Don’t do it.)

Book 3, Chapter 28.

13:28.

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A Moment of Patristic Song.

Parody, that is. 🙂 “Chrysostom” is a nickname. It means “gold tongue”. (In English, we tend to talk of someone being silvertongued, instead.) Here’s a very short resume of his career.

To the tune of “Goldfinger”:

Go-oldtongue —
He’s the man, the man with the honeyed words —
Not moneyed words.
Heard
His old tongue
Beckon you to break from your chains of sin,
But will he win?

Golden words he will pour in your ear,
But what’s true has to move past your fear.
For the Golden Horn’s lord knows his hyssop
It’s the kiss-up’s death
From Bishop

Go-oldtongue —
Little men beware of his heart of gold —
Their hearts grown cold.

They don’t know real gold.
Lonely gold.
His word’s gold.
He speaks only gold.
Lonely gold.
His love’s gold!

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#1692: “A Colossians Thanksgiving” by St. John Chrysostom

All right, so St. John Chrysostom, patriarch of Constantinople who alternated between superstardom and exile, was not American and never wrote about Thanksgiving. And the Letter to the Colossians is not about Gobble Day, either.

But there’s a lot of applicable stuff about giving thanks in Chrys’ homily series on Colossians, so enjoy!

“A Colossians Thanksgiving”.

14:51.

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#1691: Part 8, On the Soul and the Resurrection by St. Gregory of Nyssa

On the Soul and the Resurrection continues, as we learn about the life of the soul after its initial separation from the body. We also learn that St. Macrina was of opinion that Purgatory and Hell were pretty much the same thing – the love of God drawing out what was good and destroying what was evil in the soul. I don’t think this is the current view (Hell is the absence of God is the usual view today), but I’m not really up on the theology of Hell. (Other than “Stay out of it.”)

Part 8.

22:47.

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#1690: Ch. 19, The Brand of Silence by Johnston McCulley

The Brand of Silence continues (finally), as Murk gets back to the hotel from durance vile, and morning brings a lawyer to call.

Chapter 19: Coadley Quits.

9:49.

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#1689: Chs. 26-27, Bk. 3, An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales

An Introduction to the Devout Life continues, with a discussion of how to talk with proper respect about God and one’s neighbor. We also learn that puns and jokes are saint-tested and saint-approved. 🙂

Bk. 3, Chs. 26-27.

8:32.

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Almost Ready to Get Back on the Horse

I’m still having some sinus trouble, but my voice, my nose, and my head all seem to be back somewhere close to normal. I will see if I can get back going this week.

Thank you for your patience. I’ve taken a lot of time off this year, I know.

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Stuff to Listen to While I’m Sinus-y

Yes, I’m still sinus’d up. I’m mostly better, but I just can’t shake this thing. I did manage to get through choir on Wednesday night, but my voice felt pretty shredded afterwards. I’ve been a little hoarse for most of a week and a half, although I’ve never actually lost my voice per se. There’ve been several days this week when my hoarseness did let up (which is why I went to choir), but the sinus headaches kick in when the voice starts feeling better. I love you guys and I love podcasting, but I’m not going to try to read with a hoarse voice or a headache right under my eyes!

If you’re on Audible, they’re having their half-price sale. You can get huge amounts of Bujold, Wodehouse, etc. One real gem is a collection of C.S. Lewis’ radio talks on The Four Loves. Obviously, this primary version is shorter and more generalized than the book. However, it’s also recordings of C.S. Lewis. On the radio. Does it get more awesome!? (It’s also proof that the BBC doesn’t always lose stuff and reuse the tapes… heh heh.)

If you want to listen to stuff free, you know there are tons of podcasts and free audiobooks and audio dramas out there. Sffaudio and Sonitus Sanctus are very good sources for finding what’s being produced, and of course Librivox is always a storehouse of good listening. Forgotten Classics is just starting a new one, too, so you can hop on that train.

With Anglican Use Catholics in the news as the new Anglican Ordinariate gets rolling, you might want to listen to the erudite and lively scriptural talks/classes given by the pastor of the Anglican Use parish of Our Lady of the Atonement. I know I’ve recommended these talks before, but there’s always new ones. (The Acts of the Apostles is ongoing at present.) It’s good stuff: educational, spiritual, and not at all dry. (Scroll down past the sermons to see all the selections — though the sermons are good too, if you’re in that kind of mood.)

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Yes, I’m Still Living in the Land of Sinusitis.

It’s not a good thing.

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Sinus-y Again.

Sorry for my absence again. When my voice is better, I’ll be back.

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