Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week we begin our readings with a look into the book of Deuteronomy, or “second law”. The book itself is like a summation of the previous four books and most scholars believe it written after the Babylonian exile as a how are we supposed to live our faith in a post exile world. Today we hear from the writer that Moses said that the Lord said to him that “I, the Lord, would raise up a prophet like you, Moses and will they will be my mouthpiece to the people.” Many have thought that this is about how the Lord will send some prophet at the end times, Early Christians and Jesus thought this was about Jesus. However, I see this as a statement that the Lord will bring forth prophets for us throughout time to act as his mouthpiece on earth and it is a reminder for all of us that we are called to be a prophet to the nations. We are all like Moses he didn’t even want to be a leader and continually made excuses but when the time came he stepped up and took the lead.

As we turn to the second reading we pick up where we left off last week in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Last week Paul was saying that the Kingdom of God is coming soon and we should be ready. So this week we hear about how marriage make men and women anxious at pleasing the other where as those that are unmarried only are anxious about pleasing the Lord. I am not sure where Paul got this reasoning but it feels a bit off in the world today. I understand to fully understand what Paul mean you’ve got to read the entire chapter as he wrote earlier about married individuals and the concerns that the people in Corinth were having, so Paul isn’t trashing to idea of marriage but caution the unmarried or something.

Finally we make it to Mark’s Gospel and we continue from last week as well. Andrew, Simon, James, John and Jesus made their way to Capernaum and on the Sabbath Jesus went to the synagogue and taught. Mark notes that the people were amazed by his teaching as Jesus taught with authority. Jesus teaching is accompanied with a possession and exorcism as well, a man in the synagogue had an unclean spirit and Jesus commands it to leave, again the people were amazed and the story of the exorcism and his preaching spread throughout the land. We can only imagine what it was like to hear Jesus preach and then exorcise a demon; we are left with priests who try to inspire us with a homily which most of the time aren’t memorable. We are reminded this week to keep our ears open for prophets and those preaching with authority

Winter Television

I realize that many of the major networks have not brought back many show yet, mostly having to do with sweeps and getting the most viewers for their shows means more money or something. But there really should be some good programing on during the month of January I mean most networks use it to drop the rest of the episodes of shows they cancelled from the fall, or to do miniseries events, or the most obnoxious of them all the reality show with two hour long episodes airing multiple night.  Thankfully most of these settle down before the new Sweeps period begins in February and the networks realize that they can air their regular programing.  On cable networks they really don’t care when a show is aired as they are now typically aired as split seasons in like the spring/fall or summer/winter or they could also just be shorter seasons.

Does this break make people want to watch a show more,  I don’t really know. It just seems foolish especially when a lot of the new shows that are premiering in the spring don’t come until March. But since February 1 is just around the corner the spring season on television will actually begin, I like what the folks over at the CW did, they didn’t bring anything back until the middle of January, but they brought all their shows back at the same time and they are exciting as ever. Sure other networks brought back shows this last week of January but that’s the beginning of the February Sweeps period.

Musicals and Religion

So this is an idea I’ve been toying with for some time now, for a couple of years that if you look hard enough you can find religious elements in some of the most exciting things, including theatre.  Theater is awesome, from the very beginnings the plays written are crazy, filled with double entendre, and huge phalloi.  I’ve got a large collection of musical theatre cast recording in my music library, I think that theatre and musicals are something that everyone should have some relationship with. I mean even Jack Kennedy liked musicals, Camelot to be precise. The really cool thing is that when we look at theatre today we still see crazy plays that are filled with double entendre, the only thing that we are missing is the huge phalloi used to celebrate Bacchus.

It all began while I was listening to Sweeney Todd several year ago during lent and I was struck by the song Not While I’m Around and how it fits with the season. As you can have Toby’s part being something said to us by Jesus.

Nothing’s gonna harm you, No, sir, Not while I’m around.
Demons are prowling Everywhere  Nowadays.
I’ll send ’em howling, I don’t care — I got ways.
No one’s gonna hurt you, No one’s gonna dare.
Others can desert you —Not to worry —Whistle, I’ll be there.
Demons’ll charm you With a smile For a while, But in time
Nothing can harm you, Not while I’m around.

Since with Jesus not much can harm us, the demons are sent away. Jesus just wants to protect everyone from any problems that fall upon them. From this revelation I started looking at other musicals where I could do this with and realized that anything will do. If you look hard enough at anything you can find some faith. That’s something special about theatre as well as everyone bring their own personal experiences into the show so the same play or musical can have a different meaning to different people.

Should I develop this idea any further and perhaps one day get a book deal for it, or just leave it as is. Since this all could just be me putting to much meaning into musicals where there is no meaning to be had, like the green light in Gatsby.

News Roundup

Movies: The female Ghostbusters movie has a cast,  sure it has the box office draws of Melissa McCarthy and Kristin Wigg and we get two newcomers in Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. Many people are cautious about this casting as Melissa McCarthy is again in a movie so we all know that she will be playing the same character. With the casting many people have already picked out which parts they are playing, I hope that they go in a completely opposite direction from the original movie or at least have it set in someplace other than New York.

History: Over in England there is a to do about Richard III, as we known he will be reburied later this year. Thousands have signed a petition asking for Richard III to be given a Catholic funeral, since he was a Catholic. Current plans have him being buried in the Anglican Cathedral in Leicester where he was found under a parking lot. I have no clue as to what will become of this, it sounds like the plans are set, but will it be a state funeral or what? I am hoping that this gets televised or something so people in the United States have the opportunity to see this happen.

 

 

 

Proclamation of the Kingdom of God

Hey, look at that it matches up with the reading from Sunday yet again. If we remember Jesus said “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. ”

This message can be seen as a cliff notes version of the faith and the billing that the Kingdom of God is at hand is still the same today as it was 2000 years ago. The Lord is not at one time but at all times, this is a concept that some struggle with. The Kingdom of God is and will always be at hand until it is established here on earth. We must make it our goal in lives to make the world a better place.

However we can’t forget about the repenting part, for many myself included the sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation or Penance, whatever you want to call it, is the one that we barely want to think about. We think that just by going to Church on Sunday there is that confession bit at the beginning is enough, but it isn’t. Even the Holy Father has gone out and expressed the need for a revival\renewal in this sacrament.

Windows 10

One of the biggest news stories last week was that Microsoft was going to be giving Windows 10 for free to anyone who had Windows 7 or 8 for free. As it seems like they will begin to treat Windows like a service sort of like how Apple has done with the OSX updates. The consumer has already paid for the OS why charge them over again the 100 or so dollars for the same thing. I think this also has to do with the number of people on tablets, and the updates that they get for free as well since I doubt that many people are going to go out and get a new tablet just because the android OS or IOS has a new version.

When Windows first announced that it was working on a new Operating System I was set to get a new computer whenever it came out. My computer is the one I got for college and it still has Windows XP on it, so I was waiting patiently for that summer release for all the colleges to make the new system a requirement for computers, if they still do that? My computer is over a decade old so it doesn’t match the minimum requirements for either system by a long shot.  But since the news came out I might actually go and get a new computer earlier than that, just because I know that I won’t be left with an older OS in a matter of months since Windows 10 will be a free update. It all boils down to should I get Windows 7 or 8.1, any suggestions? Sure, I doubt that I will be rushing out to get a new computer in the next couple of weeks, but the price watch has begun in earnest.

Lesser known Saints

Dwynwen (c. 5th century)
Dwynwen is the Welsh Saint of love. it is believed that her father was King Brychan Brycheniniog and lived in Anglesey. Every January 25 Dydd Santes Dwynwen or the day of Saint Dwynwen is celebrated and it is considered Welsh Valentine’s Day. According to the story Dwynwen fell in love with Maelon Dafodrill. They both loved each other but for some reason they couldn’t be together. So Dwynwen prayed to fall out of love with Maelon, after she falls asleep or while in the woods she is visited by an angel who has a potion that will erase all memory of Maelon and turn him into a block of ice, she drinks. Dwynwen was also given three wishes as well, her first was that Maelon be thawed, the second was that God meet the hopes and dreams of true lover and the third is that she would never marry. All three wishes came turn and Dwynwen became a hermit in Llanddwyn for the rest of her days.

Paula of Rome (347–404)
Paula was an early Desert Mother, we hear a lot about the Desert Father but not much about the Desert Mothers. Paula was born into one of the richest senatorial families it is said that they were descended from Agamemnon himself. In her teens she was married to a nobleman and had four daughter and a son. At 32 Paula became a widow and turned her focus on religion. She became associated with St. Marcella and the brown dress society through this Paula met Jerome. Some suspect that there might have been something going on between Jerome and Paula. She was instrumental in helping with the creation of Jerome’s Vulgate.  Palladius, a contemporary, believed that Paula might have been hindered by Jerome as he wrote “For though she was able to surpass all, having great abilities, he hindered her by his jealousy, having induced her to serve his own plan.”

Alberic of Cîteaux, O.Cist. (died 26 January 1109)
Alberic was a hermit who together with 5 other hermits formed a monastery in Molseme. As the monastery grew gifts and money came along with the attention of new monks who were more lax about following the Rule. Several times Alberic and others left the order but they eventually came back sometime at the urging of the pope. The brothers who wanted to follow the rule more stricter left and formed a new monastery in Citeaux and they became the Cistercians.

Brother Juniper (died 26 January 1258)
Although not a saint, he is only a Servant of God, Juniper get mention since he was “the renowned jester of the Lord” and fit the overall tone of this blog. Juniper was one of the original followers of Francis of Assisi. The most famous of the stories about Juniper has to be the tale of the pig’s feet. While visiting with a poor man Juniper asked the man if there was anything that he could do for the man. The man replied that he longed for a meal of a pig’s feet so Juniper ran off to find one, captured a pig cut off a foot and cooked it up for the man. When the pig’s owner found out about this he was angry and came to Francis and the other Franciscans calling them thieves. Francis went to Juniper and ordered him to apologize to the pig’s owner and make amends. So Juniper went and told the pig’s owner what had happened the owner was still mad so Juniper repeated himself and embraced the man begging him to give the rest of the pig for charity as well. The Pig’s owner had the pig slaughtered. This story and several other make up the Roberto Rossellini film Francesco, giullare di Dio.

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week we begin with hearing a reading from one of the most popular short books of the Old Testament, Jonah. Jonah and his whale (big fish) are not featured in the reading at all. The story goes that the Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh and “preach the message that I will tell you” but Jonah doesn’t do this he gets on a boat and runs from the Lord. Jonah gets swallowed by a big fish and when we reach chapter three Jonah is finally listening to the Lord and goes to Nineveh. Jonah went through the city announcing that in 40 days Nineveh will be destroyed. The people of the city when they heard the message repented proclaiming a fast and putting on sackcloth. Now the Lord saw this and did not carry out the plan. The big thing in Jonah is all about how no matter how far we run from the Lord, we will always be found. As we hear in the reading as well even if we are about to be destroyed the Lord is always looking for repentance.

Turning to the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians we hear Paul go on about how the world is going to end, Parousia is coming and we must be ready. The Impressions and a handful of other artist echo Paul’s words in song saying People get ready. Sure the world didn’t end with Paul but he makes a good point as the world as we know it is passing away and will be replaced by a new creation, the Kingdom of God here on Earth. Our main goal in this lifetime is to build the kingdom here on earth. Also if we want to look at this as each and every day in a new creation each day and hopefully the world is getting better over time.

In the Gospel this week we have another account of Jesus calling the apostles this time from Mark. John the Baptist has been arrested and Jesus comes on the scene saying “This is the time of fulfillment; the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel” Jesus passes by the sea of Galilee and sees Simon and Andrew casting nets into the sea and Jesus says to them “Come and I will make you fishers of men.” They left their nets and followed. A little down the say they saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Jesus called them and they followed. Andrew, Simon, James and John unlike Jonah get up and follow the Lord leaving everything behind to do the will of the Lord where they are needed. So all three of the reading tells us to repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand, and believe in the Gospel. Let us listen to the Lord this week and see what we are being called to do and help us be able to be like the apostles and be able to leave everything behind but if we struggle like Jonah help us to recognize that the Lord is directing us to where we need to be.

The Godfather Part III (1990)

Many people consider this the worst Godfather movie and sure they are not many that will disagree with this. For most is just seems tacked on with the other movies, since the book by Puzo was basically the first two movies that is what we get. Please be warned that there will be spoilers to follow so read with caution.

The movie begins with Michael Corleone being named an commander in the Order of St. Sebastian (This order does not exist in real life), basically being knighted by the Pope. Michael receives this honor because of generous donation to the Vatican earmarked for Sicily. At the event we meet a new member of the family Vincent Mancini, Sonny’s child with the bridesmaid from the first movie. Mary and Anthony Michael’s children are also in attendance,  with Anthony telling his father that he doesn’t want to be a part of the family business and want to become an Opera singer.  Vincent is fueding with Joey Zasa, who has become the defacto head of the family as Michael is trying to go legit after all these years.

Michael himself is trying to get the biggest deal of his life done that is taking over International Immobiliare by buying the Vatican shares of the company and bailing our the Vatican Back. Now Michael faces a problem here as the deal must be ratified by the Pope (Paul VI) and he is sick and without any word from the Pope the deal will go nowhere. Back in the US, Michael pays off everyone involved in the casinos and other dealings that The Family has done to make money, every one by Zasa get paid and Zasa is angry about this and storms out a few minutes later a helicopter comes and starts shooting up the room with Michael, Vincent and Al Neri among the lucky few to escape. This event isn’t great for Michael as shortly thereafter he suffers a diabetic stroke and is brought to the hospital. With no one really running the family Connie and Al tell Vincent to get revenge.

That’s the first half or so of the movie. In my opinion the film has some interesting things going on. Michael wanting to have a legitimate business and working with Sonny’s illegitimate child to do so, is sort of funny. The stuff with the Vatican is pretty cool as well, as there is that theory that the mafia killed John Paul I. Best of all Johnny Fontaine show up again and he plays a major part in the book. The film still has surprises and they were worth ti. All in all it is a decent film but it does drag and you are constantly wondering why you should care about the new characters.

If you have seen the first two parts and are desperate from more adventures in this universe that go ahead and watch the third one. However if you are given the chance it’s something that can be seem later on,  it isn’t at all necessary to the first two films, which Coppola have said is the series and this third one is only an epilogue.

March For Life

It is that time of year again, January 22, the anniversary of the decision of Roe v Wade and the annual March for Life in Washington DC. In 1973 the Supreme Court ruled that getting/having an abortion is a fundamental right under the United States Constitution, thereby subjecting all laws attempting to restrict it to the standard of strict scrutiny. If you want to know more about the case The Oyez Project has a cliff notes version of it Wikipedia and other site also have a bunch of information on it.

The annual pro-life gathering is taking place in Washington DC and sure there will be a counter gathering with pro-choice supporters and they will clash at some point. Let’s keep all of those who are Marching today in our prayers  It is a very civil rally they start at the National Mall and march up to the steps of the Supreme Court. The ultimate goal of the March for Life is to overturn Roe v Wade and cut back on the number of abortions that happen in the United States. They expect to have a large crowd many traveling for miles to get to Washington for the March, and it takes place no matter the weather. The March is typically not a news worthy event or it’s a little story that is briefly mentioned, but today is the day when we think about what is life, when it begins and who deserves it.

It is a far nuanced issue and it means more to some people than others. Sure I could call my self pro-life or pro-choice but I think that the terms are talking about two different things. I understand that many pro choice individual are advocate for abortion and a woman right to choose what happens to their bodies. You can also look at the issue as being that women and men have to make a choice about having sex in the first place so everyone should be pro choice. If they are responsible enough with this step that would stop most of the unwanted children wouldn’t it? The pro-life individual says that life begins as conception, but then there is the conversation about masturbation that needs to take place. Should individuals who spill their seed be able to call themselves pro-life? If we are talking about life then we also need to include the elderly and imprisoned as well since don’t they also deserve to live.