An Aid To Memory

Recently a young lady in our community named Lisa passed away. She was in her mid-30s, and died of Leukemia. She had two young children and a loving husband. I looked at some of the photos of her at the funeral, and I realized what her maiden name was, and that she had been homecoming Queen at our school in the mid-1980s. I remember looking at old yearbooks when I was younger and seeing her as kind of a symbol of the 1980s, and to know that she is gone is pretty shocking, even though I didn’t know her that well (except in prayer). My dad knew her very well towards the end of her life, as he made many pastoral visits to her home. I know it sounds weird, but since I grew up in the 1980s I kind of hold on to things from that decade in a strange way, and I am not talking about Devo records or paint-speckled sunglasses really. It is hard to put into words.

It reminded me that time does march on, whether we like it or not. These photos I took symbolize that I think. Summer and Fall give way to winter, but then faithfully moves on to the Spring. C.S. Lewis once said something to the effect that after the resurrection, the world has been in a perpetual state of Spring. We have the promise of new life. They call the later years of our life the "autumn of our life," but we Christians have faith that the autumn and winter are not the end, but that a perpetual Spring awaits. Lisa never got to the autumn of her life, but I guess going from summer to spring works well just fine (with some purification in between of course). I have always imagined heaven in the way the ancient Romans did, as a kind of Elysian Fields. C.S. Lewis in the great divorce, and St. Irenaeus imagined heaven in a similar way. The song "Wild Mountain Thyme" always makes me think of a kind of idealistic afterlife. I know the song is about earthly love, but I believe the words can certainly be applied to heaven.

Oh, the summertime is comin’,
And the trees are sweetly blooming,
Where the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather
 

Chorus:
Will ye go, lassie, will ye go?
And we’ll all go together to pick wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather.
Will ye go, lassie, will ye go?

I will build my love a bower
By yon pure crystal fountain
And around it I will place
All the flowers of the mountain.

Chorus… 

If my true love e’er should leave me
I would surely find another
Where the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather.

Chorus… 
 

Oh, the autumn-time is comin’,
And the leaves are gently falling,
Where the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather

Chorus…

If you’re not busy, please join us tonight at 9:00PM EST for an online voice/text discussion about Christian Unity. We will be having this discussion on the Paltalk Network, in our “Catholic Building Bridges: Sane Ecumenical Dialog” room. For more information click here.

Ok…Oil is approaching $70.00 a barrel, which is what it was around the time of Hurricane Katrina. Iran is trying to use oil as leverage against possible international sanctions. Oil money is clearly funding terror, and since oil costs under ten dollars to extract and process, most countries are making over 50 dollars profit per barrel of oil. People are having trouble paying their heating bills.

Now, knowing all of this, why haven’t we seen any leadership from our president and Congress on this issue? Where are the calls for Americans to conserve energy, drive less, buy more efficient cars, and turn down the heat, since we are at war after all? Where is Congress to tell automakers increasing fuel efficiency is a national security issue? Where is the huge push for alternative fuels? What about bio-diesel? In past times, we Americans would have banded together, rolled up our sleeves, and conserved energy so that our enemies (terrorists and the states that support them) would have been choked off financially. These days we are so materialistic that we demand access to every expensive status-symbol we want, regardless of the effect on our country’s well-being. If every driving American even saved 2 gallons a week, and turned down their thermostats a few degrees (from 68 down to 66 for instance) we could make an impact. I am no radical environmentalist, but I am sick of high energy prices, and sick of our oil habit funding our enemies. Let’s get a little common sense folks…making corrupt nations and oil company executives richer does not benefit the average American. It is high time a common-sense populist movement developed around the energy issue!

I subscribed to Yahoo Music Unlimited a week or so ago, and I have been enjoying having access to over a million songs. Here is what I am listening to (you’ll see that I truly enjoy a wide variety of music):

Red is the Rose - The Chieftains
Sky Pilot - Eric Burdon and the Animals
Railroad Earth - Railroad Earth
The King of Love my Shepherd Is - Various
Wild Mountain Thyme - The Chieftains
Cross the Green Mountain - Bob Dylan
Remember When - Alan Jackson
Give Me Jesus - Fernando Ortega
I Don’t - Danielle Peck
Red is the Rose - Makem and Clancy
Pange Lingua - Craig Furkas
Kyrie - Craig Furkas
Girl From the North Country - Dylan & Cash
I Threw it all Away - Bob Dylan
Pass it On - Gary Richards
My Song is Love Unknown - Robin Mark
Arlington - Trace Atkins
Raglan Road - the Chieftains
If I Don’t Make it Back - Tracy Lawrence
Moon River - Jim Reeves
Jimmy Grove and Barbara Ellen - New Christy Minstrels
All Creatures of Our God and King - Ashley Cleveland
Christ the Lord is Risen Today- Ashley Cleveland
Come Thou Fount- Ashley Cleveland
Anything But Mine- Kenny Chesney
The Long Black Veil- Chieftains and Mick Jagger
Long Journey Home- Chieftains and Elvis Costello
Sing Me Back Home- Byrds
Close Up the Honky-Tonks- Byrds
Since I Don’t Have You- Manfred Mann
With God on Our Side- Manfred Mann

Check out the "Bigots Go Home," and "Keep your laws off my body and I’ll keep my hands off your throat" signs. Is it just me, or has the loony left become the depressive and angry left?"

Since when does disagreeing with you make someone a bigot? What good does threatening the other side do? I guess the good news is that most pro-life folks I know could take that girl if she did go for the throat ;). Why the democratic party panders to the angry left is beyond me. There will never be a democratic president again if this is the face of the democratic party. And just so you know, I am opposed to conservatives using the same sort of angry silliness.

First, Ancient and Future Catholics is having another online event tonight at 9:00 PM EST, in order to kick off the Octave of Christian Unity. We will be recording this event for a future podcast. We hope to have discussion about ecumenism (how to do it, etc) and end with Night Prayer. For more information please check out: Catholics Building Bridges Room Events and Guidelines.

Second, Dave Hartline over at Catholic Report will be speaking at a parish in Powell, Ohio with Amy Welborn and Michael Dubriel. Powell is near the Columbus Zoo for those familiar with the area. I am going to try to attend this event, so maybe I’ll see you there! Details below:

Attention All Those Within Driving Distance Of Columbus, Ohio.  Amy Welborn, Michael Dubruiel And Me (Dave Hartline) Will Speak At St Joan Of Arc Church In Powell, Ohio (Near Columbus) Tuesday, January 31, 7 PM. The Event Is Open And Free To All Those Interested.  Unlike Pastor Joel Osteen, Who Will Be In Columbus In A Few Months, We Won’t Make You Go To Ticketmaster And Pay Money. Just Come In The Door At St Joan’s.  Everyone Is Welcome!

Do you want to see a popular evangelical leader speak in North Carolina? Get ready to pay out. The cheapest tickets left are $55.00, but the average is $85.00, all the way up to $550.00! Visit the site and check out some of the prices for yourself! What ever happened to speaking in churches for a donation? I guess that doesn’t fit the secular business model many churches have embraced. Too bad.

Thanks to Dave over at Catholic Report for reporting this.

Today, Jonathan and Jennifer and I went to The Maria Stein Center Shrine of the Holy Relics. We all had a three-day weekend, and hadn’t taken a road trip for awhile, so it seemed natural to take off for an afternoon.

We thought we would look for a new shrine, and we found the one mentioned above. Maria Stein is actually the name of a town, meaning Mary’s rock. It is a small-town in Western Ohio settled by German-Catholic immigrants. I prefer visiting shrines in small towns, simply because of the scenery surrounding the shrine, and the drive is often easier.

This particular shrine has around 1,000 relics. For those unfamiliar with relics, they are bones or other body parts of saints, or items that have touched a saint’s body. If you want to see the incarnation in action (God becoming man and its implications), relics fit the bill. In fact, many people are a bit squeamish at the idea of even looking at the relics of saints, let alone touching them. I am even a bit weirded out by them at times. However, I just keep reminding myself that they are gritty reminders of the enfleshment of God in Christ, and that just as apostles’ shadows and handkerchiefs performed miracles, so too may God use relics for miraculous purposes.

The photos show a few of the statues from the grounds. The upper left is photo is of  the Blessed Virgin Mary. The right photo is of St. Robert Bellarmine. The photo on the lower left is of a relic of St. Hilary, my patron saint. To give you an idea of the size, the glass case is about the size of a quarter. Whether or not this is an actual relic of Saint Hilary I don’t know. It is possible. I am not sure what body part it is. The relics are all so tiny that it is hard to get close to them to see what they are, even if you could make it out once you got close. I suspect it is a piece of bone.

Well, we had yet another great shrine visit. The good things about being a Catholic, is that your road-trips double as meaningful spiritual moments.
It is always better when shared with friends.

I am always complaining that I cannot find any Saint Hilary holy cards or icons. I guess that is the price you pay for choosing a patron saint who isn’t popular. Oh well…quality above quantity I guess. I am not implying other saints aren’t worthy, just that most Catholics probably give little thought into choosing confirmation saint names, and if they did, there would be more variety.

Anyway…Jennifer surprised me and made me an icon! While she didn’t write it in the classical sense, she did a great job. She got the Latin from a picture describing St. Hilary, so the Latin reads "sancti hilarii," instead of "sanctus hilarius." That’s okay though: since it is an icon of Saint Hilary. From what I understand, it’s a fairly easy process to do. The photo is of the icon itself. These little acts of kindness are why I love her

Today, January 13, is the feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers. Hilary was a 4th century bishop in France. He was known as an irenic, but effective defender of the Nicene faith. He was deposed multiple times by Arian emperors, but returned to his diocese after popular outcry. He even showed an Arian bishop the error of his ways. He has been called "the Athanasius of the West." He also had a strong connection with Eastern Christianity, and reported Eastern theology and councils to the Western Church. Interestingly, Hilary didn’t even know about the Nicene Council until years after the event, but he insisted the Western Church already held to the Nicene faith, council or no council. For his contributions to the Catholic faith, Pope Pius IX declared him a "doctor of the universal Church" in 1851. There are currently 33 saints bearing this title, including Athanasius himself.

I chose Hilary as my confirmation name because of the reasons I listed above: the Eastern connection, his irenic orthodoxy, etc. This is why his feast is special to me. The only problem is that very few people know who Saint Hilary is, so finding St. Hilary medals and holy cards is impossible. Happy Feast of St. Hilary.