Easter: Alleluia, Alleluia!

Christ is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

Now, what?*

* I've started a Pinterest board to help me explore this question.

Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

These images of St. Paul always cheer me up. 


I'm wondering if this makes me a good Jew and a bad Christian . . .


Or a good Christian and a bad Jew. . .


Bad Christian and bad Jew? 

October 15: Feast of St. Teresa of Avila

"To reach something good 

it is very useful to have gone astray, 

and thus acquire experience."

For this and other wisdom,

I thank God for St. Teresa of Avila

kick-butt Doctor of the Church

Image: St. Teresa of Avila by Francois Gerard

Summer Beauty

Simply Divine

Don't miss a lot about living in New Jersey but do miss my gardens. I'd devoted over a decade to perennial gardening that included many varieties of day lilies. While there are day lilies in Baltimore, they're tough to find and see from a 10th floor apartment.

When these images from the garden of Twitter-found friends, Melissa and Eric Guarsh, I asked for and received copies. Am I blessed or what?

July 22: Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

A Gal and Her Risen Lord, Thanks Be to God...

Easter: Alleluia at Last!

Christ is Risen! 

He is Risen Indeed!

February 10: Memorial of St. Scholastica

c. 480-543

For the inspiration
this super smart woman still delivers,
I thank God for
St. Scholastica

Picturing God: Faces & Traces of the Divine

My dear photographer friends who excel at seeing the Divine in all things:

Loyola Press has rolled out a daily photo blog to which you should definitely subscribe and might want to contribute:

"Each day, we’ll share a picture that evokes the presence of the divine. Picturing God is informed by Ignatian spirituality, but we welcome seekers from all walks of life to explore the inspiring and sometimes surprising ways of encountering God in the everyday."

Check out the site for more information and to see what has already been posted. I was thinking of sending in a picture of Eugene, but I don't want him to get overexposed in the media.

October 15: Feast of St. Teresa of Avila

"The feeling remains that God
is on the journey, too."

For this wisdom and the red petticoat incident,
I thank God for St. Teresa of Avila,
kick-butt Doctor of the Church

Image: St. Teresa of Avila, Marilyn Moyes

Fuzzy Cross -- trademarked, no less!

Yeah, I know, I should probably be ashamed of myself or filled with the kind of self-loathing that should be confessed, but I like this "plush, collectable [sic] cross available in a number of patterns and colors." I especially like that it comes in pink.

Through the ongoing miracle that is Twitter, I discovered Fuzzy Cross (TM)* when an elder in the Presbyterian church posted it earlier today as an example of something...wrong.

But then, after making a case (in 140 characters) for so-bad-it's-good kitsch, she came over to the fuzzy side ─ but only for crosses. My dear sister in Christ (and Twitter) thinks fuzzy dice are "overdone."

Me? I'm easily captivated by this stuff and stopped everything to tour the website.

I could not agree more that fuzzy crosses would be "great for accessorizing your vehicle." So much safer than rosary beads which, if not well hung from the rear view mirror, practically guarantee a St. Lucy experience for reckless drivers.





*TM = trademark not Transcendental Meditation (in this instance)

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

A Gal and Her Risen Lord, Thanks Be to God . . .

Featuring this image for the 3rd year in a row!
Recommending this brilliant, lusty trilogy about Mary Magdalene
by Elizabeth Cunningham: The Maeve Chronicles

To Tatt or Not to Tatt...Ew?

To commemorate (What a) Year for Priests, Paul Brian Campbell, S.J. has offered readers of People for Others the opportunity to ask any question they might have about priesthood. My immediate question for him was, "are you nuts?" Still, I admire his willingness to serve the PoG* this way.

Turns out I needn't have worried much because the ten questions that will be reduced to five via voting are predictable and lacking in luster, with this exception: "Is it ok to get a tattoo?"

According to my calculations, at least four people want this query to be in the final five ─ not enough to rate an entire blog post by Paul, who has nevertheless confessed an "occasional urge to get A.M.D.G. inked on [his] upper arm."

Maybe it's the factoid of being raised Jewish, but I view tattooing as something of much more interest and significance to Jews, especially those who are Torah observant. (And, ok, Christians who might be a bit too fond of quoting Leviticus.**) In other words, I have difficulty wrapping my brain around why anyone would ask a Roman Catholic priest about tattoos.

Jews of a certain generation (mine) were raised to believe getting tattooed guaranteed exclusion from a Jewish cemetery which, as it turns out, isn't true. Also, we grew up around Shoah survivors whose arms had been brutally tattooed by Nazis.

Is it ok to get a tattoo? Can a Roman Catholic priest say getting a tattoo is okay without sounding like a supersecessionist? Probably ─ if he's up on the debates among Jews on the matter.

GenY and Millennials have come up with creative interpretations of Leviticus 19:28, my faves being from Punk Torah, especially this "Ask the Alterna-Rebbe" video about body piercings and Judaism. I also recommend Monica Rozenfeld's article in Busted Halo, "Tattooed Jews" for an overview of arguments about body defilement, idolatry, and self-expression.

I was keen on "body art" for myself during the 1980s. Alas, by the time I'd decided what I might want and where I might want it, my skin had lost enough collagen to ix-nay the project. Since that sorry skin slide continues, a tattoo is not in my future, although if I had the skin tone, pain tolerance, money and time I'd want one that looks like this:



*People of God
** Especially, Leviticus 20:13

When Liturgical Calendars Sort of Collide: The 6-7 of Sivan 5770 & May 22-23, 2010

Images: Shavuot by Moskowitz: Mexican icon

Meanwhile, here in Suburban Captivity. . .

Behold the glory across the street:

And what's happening
right in front of my hermitage:

Easter Blessings & Easter Joy

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples
with the news:
"I have seen the Lord!"
John 20:18

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Image: Giovanni Savoldo (16th c.)

Lent, 2010: How About Now? (V)

Lent, 2010: Do You See What I See? (IV)

Lent, 2010: How About Now? (III)

Lent, 2010: Do You See What I See? (II)

When Liturgical Calendars Collide: The 14th of Adar 5770 & February 28, 2010