5769

5769...
Shofar, so good!

L'Shana Tova! Pass (on) the Taiglach

My mother recently went on and on about the Rosh Hashonah honey cake she's baking for the Korean women she's teaching to read and speak English. "It's a real gooey mess to make," she told me. Proudly.

And my first thought? Good thing she's not baking taiglach for them. Taiglach, a pile of fried or baked honey-coated sticky tooth-cracking dough balls studded with nuts and candied cherries is dental work waiting to happen.

As I write this I'm wondering if anyone has checked the correlation between pushing taiglach and having a dentist in the immediate family. Bet there is.

Happy 5769!

Touched by an Archangel

My thing for the Archangel Gabriel, whose feast day we celebrate today, began over a decade ago during an iconography workshop with Vladislav Andrejev.

I'd already painted an icon of Michael the Archangel and the traditional Byzantine image for Gabriel is essential the same, only the colors are flipped. Gabriel has a green outer garment and red inner garment. Michael's outer garment is red and his inner garment is green.

Maybe I developed this affection for Gabriel because of the spiritual and temporal transitions I was experiencing at the time. Or maybe because several layers into the experience, I realized the board was cracked down the center?

Vladislav offered me the option of starting with a new board, but not after wondering if I might also be a little torn (cracked). I opted to keep the board and continue painting. That icon is in my office where I can see it every day.

Five other iconic images of the God's holy messenger decorate my office. I use the ones in this post as desktop image on various computers. I wore a Gabriel medal while writing my book about church communications. I kept wearing it after that book was published.

I'm always hoping to God that the Angel of the Annunciation will deliver some wisdom from God to me.

Free Shipping from The Catholic Company for Blog Readers

Got an email this morning from Chris Cash, Director of E-Commerce at The Catholic Company extending the offer of free shipping to readers of this blog (and others who are on his roster of product reviewers). When? From today, Tuesday (9/23) until midnight on Sunday (9/28).

This is a great deal because the offer is good on any sized order and not just books, although that's what the postal carrier will be lugging up to my front door.

Here's how it works:

1. Simply place an order through their website, by phone (317-663-4566) or fax (206-312-0069).

2. Use the coupon code: BLOG

If you order online: you'll be asked to type the coupon code into a box at the bottom of the payment page during checkout.

If you order by phone: announce the coupon code, BLOG, to your customer service agent.

If you order by fax: include the coupon code BLOG on your order form.

The fine print for this fine offer: This offer cannot be combined with any other offers. Applies to U.S. delivery addresses only. Applies to standard shipping only. Cannot be used on orders already placed or on backorders. Offer expires at 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time on Sunday, September 28, 2008.

The God of 2nd Chances: Church Choir

While we may grow weary from granting one another yet another chance to get it right, I believe our God does not. There's plenty of scriptural evidence of God getting annoyed, but as the psalmist reminds us, God's love and mercy endures forever. And so I've come to believe -- and have seen in my own life -- how God always grants divine do-overs.

I've especially noticed this happening for me in the domain of church choir, starting last Advent and Christmas and then carrying forward to present time. I really shouldn't be surprised. The music ministry played a significant role in my faith formation as I considered entering into full communion with the Catholic church.

These days, my Inward Ho adventures continue at a venerable parish where I, a relative newcomer, have finally joined the choir. This morning, the guy who collects the music after Mass actually smiled, possibly because I waited patiently instead of shoving my hymnal at him or leaving it on the piano. Usually he seems exasperated, something I noticed because I was perpetually perturbed when it was my (volunteer) job to collect and refile hymnals and octavos.

Big deal? Surprisingly so. The way I see it, God is giving me another chance to be in harmony on oh-so-many levels.

A word about astrology...

Of course I dabbled in astrology. Is there anyone with my demographic profile who hasn't? This went on during the 1980s and because I'm a chronic over-achiever, my dabbling went well beyond reading horoscope columns. It went beyond Western astrology. My natal chart and transits were mapped by a Vedic astrologer.

This all came to a screeching halt after I was baptized. Within months of that blessed event I heard the proverbial Small Still Voice say, "I made the stars and planets. You want to know anything? Ask me." There's more to this story. When is there not? Basically, I never again looked at a horoscope or consulted an astrologer.

Still, I cannot help but think and feel (but not necessarily believe) there's something to being born a Pisces. And without naming names, I'll note that I've had conversations about the Pisces factor with devout Catholics who were also born under this sign. Viewing astrology as a bucket of hogwash doesn't stop us from saying at times, "must be a Pisces thing" or even, "is Mercury in transit or what?"

So this morning, when someone mentioned the current moon phase, I caught myself thinking, "that would explain this feeling of flopping around on the shore in not quite enough water." Maybe. Maybe not. At least I'm clear about who holds my safety net.

An Author's Life: Beginning Again (VI)

This is me, extending the pregnancy metaphor to announce that I'm expecting [to publish] another book in July 2009 while still recuperating from publishing [birthing] one in July 2008.

For years I've been thinking, researching, and giving public talks about how Judaism's legacy is revealed in the structure and substance of worship at liturgical churches. And for years I've been revising the book proposal. Morehouse, which just released The Word Made Fresh: Communicating Church and Faith Today, is publishing my next baby.

I received this happy news on Wednesday from my beloved editor [midwife] who called to say, "Congratulations, you get to work with me again." Indeed. We have a major mutual admiration thing going on.

Next order of authorial business: the Nail Clipping Ritual whereby my longish, well-shaped natural fingernails get cut down to sports length -- the sport being typing, of course.

Product Review: Faith Database

Faith Database
CD: $39.95
[1,646 MB]
Annual upgrades planned.

This review was written as part of The Catholic Company product reviewer program.
Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Faith Database CD-ROM.

Faith Database is the labor-of-love brain child of Tim Cooper who entered the Catholic Church in 2003. For five years, Cooper collected Catholic resources for his own study. Then, while leading a parish-based group on early church writings, he wrote a computer program linking doctrine to scripture and content in those early texts.

With encouragement and guidance from folks at Catholic Answers, the project evolved. Launched in August, Faith Database allows users to search through writings by the early Church fathers, Doctors of the Church, popes, and orthodox theologians (e.g., Chesterton, Newman); 10 different translations of scripture; Church Council documents; the Catechism of the Catholic Church, The Old Catholic Encyclopedia, the Baltimore Catechism, and the Code of Canon Law.

Via email I asked Tim to tell me more about his vision for the project. "My original intent was for all Catholics for wish to learn their faith better," he wrote. "As a former Protestant I can say with all sincerity that most Catholics don't know what they have and most Protestants don't know what they're missing." Yesterday I spent a lot of time wandering through Faith Database to see what was there and to evaluate the ease of navigation.

Mostly I used key words from research for my new book about the Jewish roots of Christian identity and religious practice. I greatly appreciated the convenience of having all church writings and scripture in one place. Normally I log on to several different websites to find this stuff. The database of art images and maps is a useful, inspiring addition.

While I didn't find everything I wanted, I did find material I needed and was pleased with that outcome. According to Cooper, he and business partner Jerry Suelzer plan to add approximately 10 new texts a month. Personally, I hope they either stick to agreed-upon classics or broaden their view of who is making important contributions to Catholic thought these days.

Technicalities: According to Tim, I'm not the only one who had installation troubles. He admits the install with Vista is very slow. They're working on a new installer program and encourage calls for technical support. I also found the navigation a bit cumbersome and hoping they add a spell check to their next iteration. I have every confidence these technical quirks will get worked out. Meanwhile, Faith Database is a good resource, one that does indeed introduce the Catholic faith.

Read *her* rant!

You don't have to be raising children to appreciate Ironic Catholic's recent post, "Theological Rant 5.0: Youth evangelization isn't rocket science." Any and every adult can serve as a role model; that goes double for those serving as pastoral associates. Of her many fine points, this is probably my fave:

"Stop using teens as volunteer fodder for every dang aspect of parish programming [so] they can check off the Confirmation checksheet. Because frankly, the Israelites didn't like being slave labor either."

And it should comes as no surprise that I loved her points about how what happens in the home generally has more impact on kids than what goes on in the building we call "church." Hope you'll click over to read her great rant.

No Religion Left Behind

All this religion in the news is captivating for everyone like me. Granted, I'm mostly focused on me but being deeply committed to small "c" catholicism, I thought I'd mention everyone.

In the category of everyone like me: sociologists of religion, religion scholars, theologians, and culture critics; Seekers with multiple spirituality disorders. The view from this latter perspective is particularly panoramic these days. No Religion Left Behind!

While this hasn't yet been reported, I'll bet at least one person running for political office has tried yoga or meditation. Maybe someone has a pranayama practice? I can think of at least one candidate who should.

Wounded Warrior Project

Over at LinkedIn someone asked what it would take to get 100 bloggers to mention the Wounded Warrior Project. Looks like the query was posted around noon. I wouldn't be surprised if, by now, more than 100 bloggers have posted about this nonprofit organization. From their website:

The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) was founded on the principle that veterans are our nation's greatest citizens...From the battlefield to their bedside, WWP is there to meet the needs of our wounded heroes:We provide them with unique programs and services.We raise awareness and enlist public support.We provide a means for veterans to help each other.

Wheelie Catholic has an even more extensive post. Check hers out! She's also providing extensive reporting about the paralympics.

Wagging Tongues in the News

While I've basically sworn off commentary about secular politics, I cannot resist alerting readers to this lead from an article in today's Wall Street Journal:

"At the Pentecostal church where Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin worshipped for more than two decades, congregants speak in tongues and are part of a faith that believes humanity is in its 'end times' ..."

Glossolalia? Hey, bring it on! Could it make any less sense than what currently passes for political discourse?

Sensual September

Martha's comment about sharpened #2 pencils transported me into a brief and welcomed work-avoidance reverie about scents of September, especially ones that conjure up memories of school.

While much of elementary school remains a blank, there are scents (and tastes) that never fail to transport me to a happy place. Here's my list. What's on yours?

• Crayola crayons (preferably the box of 64 colors)
• Play-Doh (available as spray cologne)
• Construction paper (freshly ripped)
• White paste (slathered onto arithmetic paper and crumbly-dry at the edges)
• Pencil shavings (from #2 pencils only)
• Kiwi shoe polish (in a drippy applicator bottle)
• Bologna w/mayonnaise on white bread (after ~ 3 hours in a brown paper lunch bag)