Sand before Castle

I usually try to share things worth reading or otherwise experiencing. There's a pretty apparent theme in what that means to me, but there is no rule. If you get something out of my little blog, I am glad.

[wyrdfell09]

River

When I am burned by sun or stung by thorns, your cool waters do I seek. When I am weary and dirty do I seek you to wash me clean. When I am troubled, your movements are my lullaby.

But more than that, my Lord, my God, I thirst for your living water; I need you to persist.

And in fact, as often as I journey to your shore, the truth is that I never leave. I am adrift in you, your currents pulling me, your presence surrounding me.

[wyrdfell09]

My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ was given to me as a Christmas gift a few years ago and I finally finished it. I loved the blend of well-measured biographies of saints and autobiography of the author. The chapters are easily read one at a time, making this book easy to pick up and set down. I took so long reading it because I would do just that—finish a chapter and set it down rather than gulp down one saint after another. I’ll echo my dad’s critique that it gets a little slow toward the second half: there is more commentary and less biographical material (admittedly, there is very little known about some of our most celebrated saints).

I really liked My Life with the Saints. I haven’t done a lot of scholarly Christian reading and still prefer science-fiction to non-fiction, but this was a great, approachable, relatable introduction to many saints. I was thrilled when I finished the conclusion and found a little treasury of further reading, because throughout the book I was making mental notes to read more about this or that saint. Pope John XXIII is near the top of that list, competing with all the free Matthew Kelly books I have and the Robin Hobb trilogy I am halfway through.

[wyrdfell09]

Happy Feast of Corpus Christi! I saw this image of the Sacred Heart years ago on this holiday and it has stuck with me. If I got a tattoo today it would be this. I hope your hearts are on fire for God the way his is, has always been, and will always be for you.

[wyrdfell09]

My sister added this to my stack while I perused a used book sale, and I have relished every chapter. The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis, is a collection of letters written by a devil named Screwtape to his nephew, an inexperienced devil whose assignment is the corruption of a human soul. The advice Screwtape gives is sinister and insightful, timeless in its capture of human strength and weakness. C.S. Lewis’s prose is laconic yet graceful, and I enjoyed the letters one or two at a time the better to digest them. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially Christians who want a clearer view of the fallacies that lead us away from God. The small size of this book and fairly independent nature of the short chapters make it a great for travel. I look forward to many rereadings.

[wyrdfell09]

My grandfather handed this to me to read, so I did. His fascination with it was the way the election described in the book mirrored the election of President Trump, despite the book having been written in 1935. I got maybe twenty pages in and then set it down for several months before building myself up to read it through. I would call It Can’t Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis, a political dystopia/disaster novel. It about as ridiculous as the natural disaster movies I love, albeit without the corny ending. It has a reasonable premise followed by a mixture of realistic and unrealistic events. I enjoyed some of the political fantasy and most of the scant plot, but for the most part this was about as enjoyable as listening to an old fart laugh at his own jokes and complain at length. It has been a few months and I am still upset by the remorseless justification of an (utterly unjustified) extramarital affair, not to mention the suggestion that rape isn’t that bad and the steady implication that the purpose of religion is to comfort sheeple rather than to glorify God. If you like the author and his beliefs, you might enjoy it.

[wyrdfell09]

[thevoluntaryist-deactivated2018]

If I ran the mafia, I would use some of the money I expropriate from my victims to fund free schools that teach about the legitimacy, usefulness, and necessity of my mafia organization in the geographic area where I operated. After all, it’s a model that’s worked well for government.

[wyrdfell09]

I picked this up at a used book sale in Chicago over a year ago. I wanted to start reading more nonfiction, and this little hardcover seemed both interesting and unintimidating. I recently cracked it open to discover that I was right. Mawi’s narrative is captivating and motivational. The people in his life—at least, as he describes them—are beautiful. Mawi is the kind of person who restores your faith in humans without denying our imperfect nature. His writing style is easy to read and he breezes through his life-story (up until graduation from Harvard) in fewer than 130 pages. I recommend Of Beetles and Angels to anyone, especially Christians and other humanists. It is a captivating autobiography and an uplifting encounter.

[wyrdfell09]

I found this while browsing at the library and decided to make it the first of several related books I plan to read due to its small size and inviting character. It turned out to be wonderful. This small book is actually a novel (I apparently did not read Zig Ziglar’s review) which efficiently yet genially explains four principles, all tying back to this:

“‘One of my favorite quotes comes from Thomas Jefferson. He said that there is a ‘natural aristocracy among men, the grounds of which is virtue and talent.’ You know what that means?’ ‘What?’ ‘It means anyone--anyone--can rise to the highest levels if they have virtue and talent or, as I put it, character and skills.’” I would recommend this book to anyone. It is so easy to read that you have no excuse, and its message is thoughtful, easy to remember, and motivating.

[wyrdfell09]

Taylor Swift’s 7 and God’s 7x7

When I receive the sacrament of Reconciliation, I am usually burdened by the thought of how many times I have confessed the same sins. It wearies me to acknowledge and struggle with the same failures week after week, month after month. Yet I understand that God’s forgiveness never wearies, his love never tires. We are made in his image, but the converse does not hold true. This past Friday, as I sat before the Blessed Sacrament while in line for the confessional, Taylor Swift’s song “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” came to my mind. The reasoning of the song is very simple. The singer’s boyfriend has crossed the line too many times, and she is done accepting his apologies. In fact, she should have done so long ago! You almost feel scorn that she has been such a pushover for so long.

Isn’t it wonderful, then, that God’s love is different? That no matter how we betray him, he always wants us back? The idea of God acting according to human logic is terrifying. Considering this reinforces the awe and gratitude I feel for his infinite affection and incomprehensible love.

[wyrdfell09]

I love it when the song sounds great and the lyrics are just as good. Listen to the whole piece.

[wyrdfell09]

Sometimes I think about what I’m giving up for God. But it’s nothing when I think of what I gain :)

[wyrdfell09]

The Language We Use to Talk About Dog Fighting May Do More Harm than Good

Are we helping dogs or reinforcing stereotypes?

I agree with the author so much. I also think this logic can be applied to other awareness campaigns - once awareness has been achieved, I think awareness campaigns start to bog us down instead of letting us roll forward.

[wyrdfell09]

Happy Corpus Christi! Happy feast of the Body and Blood of Christ! I am humbled by the love Jesus had for us and the way God takes care of us and nourishes us through the Eucharist. What a gift.

[wyrdfell09]

Father Michael Schmitz has one of the most effective campus ministries in the country at the University of Minnesota. He tells a story about back when he was in the seminary in the late 1970s. Th…

[wyrdfell09]

[wyrdfell09]

I’m early in the book, in which Chesterton is giving historical context. He’s referring to the ancient Greek and Roman religions, which caused life to become “sodden with sex.” If you’re a little familiar with ancient Greek and Roman culture, you’ll probably agree. Yet this is a concern for contemporary people as well. I see the same pattern occurring among my peers, especially from my college campus: to use Chesterton’s metaphor, sex is released from servitude and abused, and then it becomes tyrannical and soon permeates nearly every thought and aspect of the young person’s life. It is not healthy, and it sure isn’t Eden. It is disheartening, how modern atheism, agnosticism, and apathetic Christianity are leading us back into the same pitfalls the pagans made when they were living in darkness.