Flos Carmeli

Business Trip Forthcoming Later this

Business Trip Forthcoming

Later this week I'm off to Philadelphia. Any tips, hints, or advice on Restaurants, things to do/see, churches in the Downtown/Historical Area. (Naturally being a colonial/revolutionary history buff I'll be visiting the main historical sites and due to the nature of my business probably the Franklin Science Center. But other ideas are welcome. )

Before You Go to Mass

Before You Go to Mass Today

Please check the Carmelite Chapel for prayer requests in and around St. Blog's and by Saint Blog's Parishioners. Please join us in praying for all of these requests.

I Am Delighted to

I Am Delighted to Announce the Opening of

Our Lady of Loretto Carmelite Chapel. A place to come to request prayers and to learn more about the Carmelite way of prayer, contemplation, and life. I promise--none of my usual long-winded stuff. That will remain here. But I hope that we will post prayers, writings, meditations, and thoughts from the great Carmelite Saints, as well as be at your disposal to pray for your intentions and needs. I'm hoping that I can lure some of the other Carmelites hereabouts to contribute to this effort. But your hosts for the time being will be Steven, Kathy, and Melissa--a T. O. Carm. and two OCDS.

Prayers Needed For Dylan for

Prayers Needed

For Dylan for rapid recovery and return to St. Blog's.

For Katherine for much needed rest and time to gather resources.

For Katherine and Franklin continuing to pray for the succcess of the present employment venture.

For Gordon who is still seeking employment.

For all the members of St. Blog's that they may continue to experience a fulfilling and uplifting Lent.

For the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States and the Coalition of the Willing that they may be preserved, protected, and guided in the pursuit of justice for the Iraqi people.

For the families of those same people that they may be comforted in the absence of their loved ones and may soon see them again, and for any financial, emotional, psychological, or physical burden they may be bearing that they receive release and respite through the persons of caring Christians and other members of the community.

For the people of Iraq that they may accept their liberation from the oppression they have experienced and that they may be protected from all harm as that liberation proceeds.

Thank you all for praying.

The High Cost of Free

The High Cost of Free Speech

Talking with a dear friend yesterday as I was leaving work, I found myself ruminating over the conversation. I had reported that there had been a great deal of backlash against the Dixie Chicks for some ill-considered statement or another one of them had made. My friend responded, "Nothing like free speech," implying that those who were burning Dixie Chicks CDs were somehow infringing upon the right of free speech. This notion offends me--profoundly. Free speech is not entirely without restrictions or accountability. If you say something that incenses those who used to be your friends, you will experience (and depending on what is said, should experience a backlash.)

It is a liberal trope that any reaction against speech you don't like infringes on that speech. Nonsense. All "free" speech must be paid for. Some pay in blood for all, others pay personally. But I don't see anyone crying in their beer when a Ms. Schott (is that the right name? Former or present owner of a Cincinnati ball team) is fined for speaking racial slurs. Isn't speech free? Shouldn't she be allowed to say what she wants? The way I see it, the proper response to something like this would have been for all persons of color to boycott, picket, protest, and petition all ball team players to strike, or exhibit some overt protest against the statement and the intent. I personally do not care to consort with those whose notions of human dignity and value are bound up inextricably with a sense of color, creed, or sex. When people who hold these notions exercise their right to free speech--persons of sensibility rightly shun them or attempt to correct them--they do not continue to encourage them in their speech.

So too with the Dixie Chicks. It is not censorship not to buy an album. It is not censorship to burn their work. It is not censorship to advise others not to buy their albums. It is not censorship to boycott their concerts. Censorship is a governmental work that prohibits the free dissemination of ideas or facts. By the fact that the work is already published, it is clearly not censored.

If people wish to hold unpopular ideas, they must be willing to pay the price for them. Heaven knows, as Catholics we pay that price on a nearly daily basis, and I am happy to pay it. But I also don't expect the world to suddenly curtail every utterance they might make against me. I attempt to correct these mistaken notions, and when that proves impossible or unlikely, I abandon the project, avoid the person, and pray.

So, free speech isn't about an unrestricted license to say whatever one wishes and expect that all will accept it with joyful open arms. Free speech IS about saying what is on your mind in full knowledge that some will disagree with you--perhaps vehemently. That is the price we personally pay. And if it is worth saying, it is worth paying that price. Otherwise, one would do well to follow the advice in the letter of James.

I Will Probably Have to

I Will Probably Have to Change the Template

But the Catholic Bookshelf is open for business. I'm hoping to get more interest and diversity and make this a little place to come to when you're looking for something to read. Let me know if you'd like to join us. I'm hoping to have the prayer chapel open soon. Still soliciting the assistance of a few more Carmelites--given how many hover around St. Blog's, I shouldn't have much difficulty.

Wonderful Insights from Mr. Serafin

Wonderful Insights from Mr. Serafin

It should come as no surprise that Mr. Serafin has some profound things to say about the conflict in Iraq. Naturally enough, I agree with almost all that is said.

Rejoice! Ms. Knapp is Back

Rejoice! Ms. Knapp is Back

Yes, Ms. Knapp is back. She still needs our prayers for continued recovery. But she has returned to us. Praise God!

Suggestions for Two New Group

Suggestions for Two New Group Blogs

I would like to suggest two new group blogs and invite either comments here or e-mail responses. The advantages to a group blog are (1) you needn't maintain the entire thing yourself and (2) the is a enormous diversity of personality. The groups I would like to begin have (1) a relatively exclusive membership, and (2) a completely open membership.

The first group I thought might be called "Our Lady of Loretto Carmelite Prayer Chapel." This would be open to those blogging and visiting Carmelites and would consist nearly entirely of Carmelite prayers, excerpts from Carmelite writings, Carmelite reflections on scriptures, and making ourselves (Carmelites) available for the prayer needs of our online community. Membership in this group blog I would ask to be restricted to Carmelites and those undergoing formation in Carmelite communities. It's primary function would be as a chapel for all to come and reflect and share concerns. Ideally we would have at least seven members so that if we chose, we could each take a day to mind the chapel, sweep up, and attend to the prayer requests of the day.

The second blog I'd like to start would be about literature with an emphasis on Catholic Writers. And by literature, I do not mean to confine myself to Catholic Classics or any sort of classics, but it would include all reading, classic, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, etc. with a religious theme or religious elements. (Yes, this could mean talking even about Dune or A Rose for Ecclesiastes. But I'd like to talk about this things from a Catholic perspective and predominantly from a religious/spiritual perspective--elements of the stories that bring us a sense of God, etc. (although this is not a requirement). One of the reasons for such a blog is that there are so many interesting and fascinating works out there, so many people read so many things, and it would be nice to bring them all together in one place so that people can look through recommended works. I would invite any St. Blog's Parishioner to join this group to post reviews and commentary, and perhaps we can even arrange an on-line book group or guided reading of some spiritual classics/fictional classics.

If either or both of these appeal to you, please drop me a line either in the comments or by e-mail. I would run both of these blogs, but I have my hands more or less full with the management of this site and these are both stops I think very important to the fostering of a lively and holy community at St. Blog's.

Prayers Urgently Needed Dylan of

Prayers Urgently Needed

Dylan of more last than star is in the hospital. Please pray for his rapid recovery and swift return to us.

Please pray for Karen Marie Knapp who is still recovering slowly from her recent trip to the hospital.

Please pray for the people of Iraq that the war end quickly and decisively with a minimal loss of life on all sides. Pray that this conflict brings a just and supportable peace to a land so long troubled by its rulers.

Please pray for Katherine and Franklin as they try to reach a very troubling decision in a very difficult time. Ask that God make especially clear His will for them so that their choice may be guided surely.

Prayer Alert!! I just received

Prayer Alert!!

I just received a note from a friend of Dylan's reporting that he is in the hospital. I had been concerned with no posts Monday or this morning. Please pray for him.

Please send up several rapidfire prayers. "Since the beginning heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by storm." Let us be violent (in a Godly sort of way) in our prayers for our blog-brother.

Also, as we're praying for those hospitalized, please do not forget Ms. Knapp, who seemed to be recovering well last I heard.

Blogger is Evil Or that's

Blogger is Evil

Or that's my excuse. I'm convinced that the moment I turn my back blogger changes my entries. I've just fixed typos that I swore weren't there when I proofed this morning. Ah well, perhaps it is simply God's gentle reminder that I am very, very far from perfect. I am thankful that it takes so mild a course.

Maggie, Lock the Door: Three Views

Maggie, Lock the Door:Three Views

I
That girl has life in her
oh yes, in the sparks in those eyes.

Witness to the endless
chain of human self-calamity
her heart is held in holy love,
love that embraces in its whiteness,
that warms in its purity.
We're through with lies
and yet we live one more
asking ourselves not to see it.

II
One long day of noneck monsters
and moving from sterility to
futility among the enemy,

Oh, you stand there resplendent
in white, fierce heart
spoken--now the only words.

III

White the cross
that woman has life in her.

No, she does not,
a simple removal turns a life
into a lie
and she has seen the world
of lies and longs
to see the end of them all--

an end to pain,
a birth from pain, a promise
of deliverance
in white. Oh the putrid smell
of mendacity
fills this room, drags her
white dress and all
to the edge of who she is and
a heart stands
arrayed and open lively

and bright. Oh yes,
that body has life in it
and longs for life
as what body does not no matter
what we say?

And when our door closes
will we see what
we love or what we would destroy?

© 2003 Steven Riddle

Winter White

Winter White
suggested by a title by Zelazny and Ellison

Our snow has wings.

When in winter's worst days
the temperatures plunge to sixty
or below, and all the fields and lawns
are burnt brown from lack of sun
and water--our snowfalls.

It falls in flocks and flurries.
It falls with the whiteness of winters.
It falls in feathers and frail bird bones,
and it lands lightly as its northern brother.

It lingers in patchy whiteness,
on the ground and in the trees, and
then when spring's wanton warmth
beckons, it too dissolves and all but vanishes.

© 2003 Steven Riddle

Woodstorks

Woodstorks

Black heads
bobbing and swaying
now here and now
under the water.

Feathers in a disarraay
blown apart by the
mysterious storms that
seem to buffet them

as they walk. Not the bird
I would choose to be
the symbol of what I hold
dear, and yet

for all their limbs-askew
awkwardness, for their
vulture-headed hideousness
I hold these visitors

dear, nearly holy
a gift that shows me

bright and beautiful
bold and brittle
awkward and alien
Loving God made us all.

© 2002 Steven Riddle

A Fragment

Background: The Oriskany Sandstone is a huge rock formation that crops out in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia. In some places it is highly fossiliferous. In Virginia these fossils consist almost entirely of "gaps" or holes in the rock called molds.

Oriskany Sandstone

This yellow once-beach rises at the crest
of an inland hill, reminder of waves
and storms reduced to grains and lines and caves
that once were living clams. These hollows pressed
tight by passing years, remind us
now of how the sea swept beaches clean and
forced the living water down through sand
that human feet had never known and rose
to swirl away again, new grains on old
each leaving traces in the lines that form
whisper-thin beds that mean years have worn
away. No shells for these fossils, these molds
are now empty, the wash of years having
wasted away.

                  We stand on the roadside
staring blankly at this beach where no wash
moves sand, no live sea thing is left to cling
to rocks against the battering assault of tide
and briny spray. And yet--these rocks do live
if you hear past hollowing years and dive
into the pulse that drives the ocean depths.

© 2002 Steven Riddle

Off Line Much of Yesterday

Off Line Much of Yesterday

Due to ISP problems mentioned before. Doesn't seem to matter though.

The Gift of Sacrifice The

The Gift of Sacrifice

The ability to sacrifice with ungrudging grace is a gift from God. Most of us practice sacrifice as an art form—we’ve not been given the natural talent or disposition required, but we are willing to work toward the goal.

Witness our approach to Lent. We sneak up on it, spring a sudden resolution that is never really meant to effect our lives in any substantial way and then wail our way through Lent having failed time and again to keep that promise. Now, this is the harsh view. What God sees are small children who, given a pair of scissors for the first time, attempt to cut out figures but can only cut out straight lines. Nevertheless, we continue cutting. And this is what God looks at--not at the failure to make a perfect razor sharp cut-out, but at our willingness to try, despite our lack of skill.

The true grace of sacrifice comes not from a Lenten promise or from a momentary thought that something may or may not be good for us. True grace comes from loving God above all else. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness." When God is first in our lives, all else follows. Sacrifice is not a labor, but a wonderful opportunity to show how much we love Him.

This Lent, while we keep our momentary resolutions, let us also pray for the grace to truly sacrifice all of our petty concerns. Let us pray for the grace to truly love God above all else and to be obedient to His commands so that our lives may be transformed into the image of Him that He needs us to be in the world today.

From Kathy the Carmelite I

From Kathy the Carmelite

I changed answers six or seven times in at least three different questions, and came up with this consistently. If one needs to be a book, I can think of worse.

You are Romans.


Which book of the Bible are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

An Afternoon at SeaWorld We

An Afternoon at SeaWorld

We spent the morning and the early afternoon at Sea World. Temps here hovering in the low to mid eighties, and a nice overcast so that the walking was quite fine. Samuel was the highlight of the tour. At first terrified to go and see the Shark Encounter, we almost couldn't pull him away afterwards--only with the temptation of gigantic horses and other treats did he finally budge. We went and saw the Clydesdales and the Polar Bears and the Beluga Whales. What incredible feats of modern engineering that we can create in Florida an environment habitable by these creatures of the Arctic.

Samuel insisted that he wanted to go on the Kraken, which is a floorless rollercoaster that looks like a great deal of fun. He is, of course, too short for it. However, he was fine for the Atlantic ride which is a combination roller-coaster flume. We both went on it and he shrieked the entire time. He seemed to enjoy it, but insisted that now it was time for the Kraken. When he finally realized he couldn't do the Kraken, he did ask to go on Atlantis again, but as we had sat in the front of the car, we were so waterlogged, that I didn't know we would survive another dousing, so it was homeward to all the various tasks of keeping house--none of which I have done.