Gratitude for Hilton Head

She could feel the ocean fall and rise / She saw its raging glory...

I remember it like it was yesterday, those sea-dog days spent south. There was that quantitative difference of "being away from it all," being free of distraction, work around the house, phone calls, etc...

A Hilton Head day begins with morning prayer or Mass, then a cigar on the balcony with the word processor/books for reading/writing purposes, joined to the stellar view, and a leisurely breakfast either at the condo or out on the town, then onward to beach about noon or 1pm. Read a bit then swim, bike, run in the afternoon (1pm-3pm). Then happy hours (3-6) followed by dinner followed by movie. Nice. I think I'm a European on the inside, wont to long vacations and such.

Great Line...

From Fr. Rutler, concerning time management:

"Of course, it is best not to travel. But this can only be achieved if you live in New York City, since you are already there."

Beer Books!

Current Events

I've been remiss in failing to write an expository on the case of the flight attendant who flew the coop, a double-fisted drinker who took two beers with him down the career chute.

The act has resonated with Americans the way Johnny Paycheck's song "Take This Job & Shove It" resonated. It appeals because 99% of us lack fiscal independence, and so the specter of someone without that financial independence leaving his job in such a way as to seemingly preclude future employment in that industry, well, shall we say, that's pretty bold. Of course he'll probably land a reality show and make more in a week than he did in a year at Jet Blue. Such is life in these United States.

Like with Christopher Hitchens, who writes so well it's hard to stay mad at him, it's hard to get too outraged with a flight attendant who leaves his employ by grabbing two beers to go: Now that's what I call making an exit.
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I'm hyp-mo-tized by Congressman Charlie Rangel's take-no-prisoners approach to his approaching unemployment. His defiance rings of the San Patricios, albeit the latter had a much more just cause. If the stalwart 19th century captain goes down with his ship even if the ship goes down through no fault his own, Rangel chooses not to go down with a ship he wrecked. But that's human nature in action. It's a cautionary tale that testifies to the effect of power and authority and its corrupting influence, especially when propped up by an adoring press. Adoring until quite recently, although the beltway media takes not the sublime joy they would've had Rangel been a conservative. Still, I cringe at the thought of having less of the Fourth estate available to keep an eye on things.
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John Zmirak has an interesting column about religious liberty:

It is not the job of the state to repress religious error, defend the integrity of the gospel, or protect its "helpless" citizens from injurious ideas. In teaching this, the Church abandoned the intellectual protectionism Catholics had welcomed since the late writings of St. Augustine – when he called for Christian emperors to forcibly crush the Donatists. We went back to the writings of the early Augustine, when all he sought for the Church was liberty, a free market of ideas.

I'm always hypmo-tized when those intellectually brilliant AND holy, such as the great St. Augustine, get it wrong, assuming he did get it wrong. But whenever I feel that way I recall that that is a major difference between God and man. Even the holiest human doesn't bat 1.000.
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The theological continuum must be a very expansive thing. That's my hunch after once reading Fr. Neuhaus's minor criticism of the theology of William F. Buckley. And in another recent read, I think it was Rutler's book, I learn that Neuhaus wasn't a theologian and that was meant, presumably, as slightly pejorative (else why point it out?). I find it interesting because both Buckley and Neuhaus have surely forgotten more theology than I know.
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Presidential press secretaries are paid to be likeable. They are the lion tamers of the press corps, the snake charmers, the soothing voices that lie like rugs. But occasionally moments of truth emerge, gaffes as they are colloquially called, and so I rather enjoyed Robert Gibbs's comment on the "professional left".

My favorite press secretaries include Gibbs, Dee Dee Myers (hey she's cute), Dana Perino (hey she's cute), Marlin Fitzwater.

Jonah Goldberg...

...at the beach:

I am at the beach for much of August...The Delmarva coast has a lot going for it (Delmarva is not only a fitting name for a transvestite born with the name Del, it's also an abbreviation for the intersection of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, in case you didn't know). It's quaint. The people are nice. It's family oriented. What it doesn't have going for it is climate. In California, New England, etc., you go to the ocean and you cool off. But this is figurative. You can sit outside and have a sandwich without looking and feeling like the Wicked Witch of the East after Dorothy threw water on her ("Helios! Look what you've done to me, I'm melting!"). In Delmarva, or so it seems during this heat wave, you have to be physically in the ocean to cool off. Step out of the ocean and within seconds you feel like a forgotten order of fries under a Denny's heat lamp.

Goldberg said it far more colorfully than I did. But then a hot day at the beach is better than...

Devotionals

Mrs. Darwin has a beautiful post up about devotions near and dear to her. Here are my favorites:

1. Morning Prayer of the Office.

Scarcely a day goes by when I'm not lifted up, or challenged by, the Psalms and hymns and readings of the Morning Office. A line will always jump out, like yesterday's appealing note of confidence and certitude: "In the day of distress I will call / and surely you will reply, / Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord...". Sometimes I don't get around saying it until afternoon, but I figure "it's morning somewhere."

2. The Jesus Prayer.

Influenced by my Byzantine Catholic parish, which was influenced by the Orthodox, I'll repeat the prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me a sinner." Often I'll say the Tom of Disputations version: "Lord Jesus Christ, son of Mary, have mercy on me a sinner."

3. The Divine Mercy

Mrs. D says it better than I could:

"Well, to be fair, I don't know if I can say accurately that I'm devoted to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, since I rarely say the whole thing in its proper form, with the beginning and ending prayers attached. But I frequently find myself praying, "For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world," under my breath."

This devotional is so potent that I don't use it too often, for fear I weary of it. I like to have a arrow in my quiver. I also plan to say it on the deathbed of those I know who I fear may not be in right relationship with God.

4. The Rosary

I seem to be all over the place with the rosary. Sometimes I say it decently, some times exceedingly poorly. But I feel partial to it because of my gratitude to Mary for caring. I've been greatly influenced by her apparitions, most especially the on-going miracle that is Our Lady of Guadalupe, although admittedly I don't fast or do penance nearly enough (two of the three things she asks us to do in many apparitions). This is my oldest devotional, going back to those childhood days of the glow-in-the-dark rosary given to me by my aunt.

Tagging: Dylan, Job, Bill.

FYI...

Heather King is blogging. And saying true things.

Isak Dinesen and Catholicism

Interesting link on the author of Out of Africa and Babbitt's Feast by the blogger atTea at Trianon.

Spanning the Globe to Bring You the Constant of Variety of Posts

The man truly sounded like an angel as he ever so graciously assured us the population of the world will be Judeo-Christian. Incredulous, we asked how that could come to pass...He said: ‘When Christians realize who Christ is, all will come to know.’ - "Secrets of Mary"

I cannot speak for your age, Dear Reader, but already in our nineteenth century just approaching the two-thirds mark, tragedy was replacing comedy in the eyes and hearts and analytical minds of “serious readers.” Shakespeare’s tragedies were to be found on the stage more frequently than his brilliant comedies and they received more serious reviews and discussions. The sustained and profound humour of, say, a Chaucer or Cervantes was being replaced in the short list of masterpieces by the more serious tragedies and histories of both the classics and our contemporaries. - Drood: A Novel by Dan Simmons

[Robert] Frost gleaned his precise rhythms from the Puritan instinct to be parsimonious with words. His mother had been a Swedenborgian, which I think worsened things by mixing Puritan sobriety with unresolved mysticism. “Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on thee and I’ll forgive thy great big one on me.” A generation earlier that coyness had been Sturm und Drang: the background is hugeness and confusion, shading away into black and chaos. - George Rutler, "Cloud of Witnesses"

Dame Barbara [Cartland] knew that one can hardly be more lapsed than to have lapsed from the Church of England, as she threatened to do. “I know you don’t think our bishops are real bishops, but at least they used to be gentlemen and now they are not even that.” - George Rutler, "Cloud of Witnesses"

Let’s just hope we are...retired before this house of cards comes crashing down. - Corner author Kevin Williams quoting S&P structured-finance guy describing a deal he was working on

A former drunk myself, I have always believed the blackout to be a crude form of mystical union. I have come to prefer being (mostly) awake. But being awake is not for the faint of heart. In fact, a drunk, trying to imitate a pilgrim searching for the lost city of Kitezh, being shot by Werner Herzog, to create a film I am going to watch, alone, from a darkened Hollywood apartment, embodies almost more ecstatic truth than I can handle... - Heather King of "Shirt of Flame" blog fame

One of my chief goals in the coming year is to learn to have a meaningful online presence that doesn't involve debating issues. Online "debates" don't just hurt the social fabric, but also the selves who depend on the adrenaline jolt of disputation. - Alan Jacobs

Hearing live music was different. We did not have stereo cassettes in our ears all day and your compact discs to capture any kind of music in the history of the world. When music was difficult to find, it was very powerful. And the Gypsies themselves were men of fire, rustic gods who could enchant you and make you dizzy. - Prague: A Novel by Arthur Phillips

You should not look a gift universe in the mouth. - GK Chesterton

Drink Every Time Media Says, "Gov't is Broken"

I'm amused and bemused by how unfailingly the MSM sounds the government-is-broken siren concerning the failure of a given piece of liberal legislation the media favors. It's high-laire how we never heard the "Gov't is broken!" (sing to tune, "Morning Has Broken") meme when Bush was trying to sell the privatization of Social Security. Rule number one for liberal media: Government is only broken when liberal legislation fails to get passed.

Irishfest Recapture

"If found, please return to pub." - T-shirt spotted

Twas a sunny Sunday and after a brief misfire (a lost credit card that was eventually found behind the seats of the car), I traveled towards the great state of Irishdom, the festival in Dublin, Ohio. I drove to Red Roof & then got out the bike and pedalled to the front gate, tethering my bike to a large light pole. Fortunately it was still there eight hours later when I was heading home.

Met M. & S. outside the Dublin stage where the Clancy Legacy was playing. They mentioned the acts they had seen, the most moving being Mossy Moran who sang "Four Green Fields", handed down from the late Tommy Makem. Just before one pm, we headed towards "Two2Many", an amusing and eclectic group of musicians featuring a father and her lovely daughter and a manic fiddle player who looked like he'd be equally happy doing stand-up comedy. They were entertaining and played good music as well. There's something about a plugged-in fiddle that I really appreciate, the one thing the Hooligans lack.

I managed to talk M & S into going to the Celtic Rock stage, and I realized how much I missed that sort of act, the sort of unabashed, Pogues-like force of nature music. Barley Juice was the act, and there was a fine tune called "Song for Sinners". I was surprised by at least two things: one, that the crowd had more gray hair than expected, men much older than me swaying to the beat and overly loud sound, and second, that the hits of Barley Juice were barely tolerable but the other songs inspired.

I was glad to learn that Fr. Stephen Hayes was here again this year, and Mark amusingly pointed out that he (Fr. Hayes) was teaching leather works and something called "fingerloop braiding." Around 3:30pm we headed to Mossy Moran but the mellow balladeer prompted a return visit to the Celtic rock stage, to "Enter the Haggis," whose CD I'd bought a couple years ago at the recommendation of Robert of Hokie Pundit despite having never seen them play.

I wasn't fooled by the girls wearing t-shirts that said, "Kilt Inspector." Promises, promises.

Soon it was time for the Hooligans, playing at 5:30pm, and even though the venue was hot and airless and we were far from the stage, I still enjoyed the songs, especially the famous "Dead Set".

At 6:30 Bridget's Cross: they consistently produce a high energy, highly-entertaining show. We groaned when the father was called on the stage, infamous for his "Rooster" song, but were pleasantly surprised when instead of the Rooster we heard an impassioned version of "Danny Boy". They ended the set with lovely renditions of the Irish & American national anthems.

Interesting Word Among Us Column

Particularly the bullet-point not seeing medicine as a way God heals:

Some Reasons Why People 
Are Not Healed
By: Francis MacNutt

For the most part, we need encouragement to believe that God does heal people. But after we do summon up the courage to launch out and start praying, we may get discouraged when we realize that people are not always healed through our prayers. This is especially puzzling to those who have been exposed to a very simplistic approach to healing: “All you have to do is claim your healing.”

The best point of view, I think, is to see that God’s ordinary will is that people be healed. We need to believe in God’s healing power and pray for healing, while at the same time realizing that there is a mystery involved and that this particular person may not be healed. In my ministry, I have discovered a number of these reasons, some of which are given below:

A False Value Attached to Suffering. While it is true that some suffering is redemptive and is for a higher purpose, we must balance this statement by saying that most sickness does not appear to be redemptive. I have been asked to pray for people who didn’t really want to be free of their suffering. It seemed to me that their sickness was destructive and was not a blessing sent by God, but they had been so conditioned by their training that they felt guilty about asking God to take away their suffering. When you see a person depressed and unhappy under the weight of disease, you can be fairly sure that he is not being blessed by God.

Not Using the Natural Means of Preserving Health. Although most of us have a high estimation of the medical profession, many of us neglect the ordinary means of keeping balance in our lives. If we neglect these, we should not be surprised if we fall sick and prayer does not cure us. It’s as if the body needs a rest, and God is telling us: “Put more balance in your life. Unless you take ordinary care of yourself, do not expect to be cured of your sickness through extraordinary means. You are sinning against your own body.”

Not Seeing Medicine as a Way God Heals. I firmly believe that physicians and medicines are the instruments that God ordinarily uses to bring about healing. The Book of Sirach explicitly says that after we pray we should “give the doctor his place lest he leave; for you need him too. There are times that give him an advantage, and he too beseeches God that his diagnosis may be correct and his treatment bring about a cure” (Sirach 38:12-14). Time after time, enthusiasts set up a kind of opposition between the world that God has created and the “supernatural.” This false opposition further damages the sick person and sets up a needless controversy with physicians that results in mutual suspicion between religion and science.

Lack of Faith. When the disciples could not cure the epileptic demoniac, Jesus upbraided them for their lack of faith (Matthew 17:14-20). I believe that this is still the reason we do not see more healings; there is a general skepticism that looks at healing as nothing more than a natural psychological process. But even for those of us who do believe, we need to grow in faith. I find that I have more faith than I did a few years ago. We need to grow in faith—even those of us who have seen miracles of healing—in order that God can use us still more.

Not Praying Specifically. Several times I have prayed for inner healing and I thought we were praying about the right problem, and yet nothing happened. It was only when we went back and found the root incident, which had been forgotten, and prayed for Jesus to enter into that moment and heal it, that the healing finally took place. Some evangelists teach that the reason why people who have been healed and later regress is that they lack the faith to hold onto their healing. That is one possible reason. But another reason may not be in the sick person but in the person praying for healing. It’s possible that he or she has prayed only for the healing of symptoms. We should never be too hasty in accusing people of lacking faith.

More from George Rutler

"As the last of the post-World War I academic poets, flashing sestinas and villanelles, he read Ginsberg to us, with the unction of an anthropologist unveiling a howling curiosity. Professor Eberhart took another tack, and in a pleasant house now marked with a tablet as though the house itself had died, he read to teenaged scriveners of a “Mystery made visible / This lyric mortal loveliness / The earth breathing, and the sun.”

From Rutler's "Clouds of Witnesses"

"The first impression really was the lasting one in my instance with the Rev. Stanley Ladislas Jaki (1924–2009). More than twenty years later, I vividly see him sitting me down on the porch of a house in Princeton and telling me that religious freedom was the most important teaching of Vatican II."

Interesting Peter Kreeft piece...

On "liberals" and "conservatives" in the Church:

"Liberals prioritize personal freedom; conservatives prioritize objective truth. Liberals absolutize persons and see truth as relative to persons. Conservatives absolutize truth and see persons as relative to truth. (Both are right in what they affirm and wrong in what they deny. Both persons and truth are absolute.)"