Weather or not

UPDATE SATURDAY, JAN. 23 — They say, if you don't like the weather in Florida, just wait 10 minutes. It's true. We're having some glorious weather with highs near 80 the past couple of days. Yes, that's the ticket.

Getting ready to go to an outdoor fundraiser food-fest. Catch ya later!

POSTED EARLIER — Here we are into the middle of January!

I went away for Christmas, for the first time in many years. I spent the holiday in North Florida, with Mr. T and his parents. It was a lovely Christmas.

We went to a Christmas Eve service in a little Methodist church. A cold front was moving through, and it poured down rain while we were in the service. Lightning illuminated the stained-glass windows. It made it feel even cozier inside.

Most of the New Year has been devoted to fighting the cold - we had almost two weeks straight of freezing nights. Now, lest you Yankees laugh at the idea of a panic over a low 27 degrees, we're just not meant for it here. It kills the valuable ferns and citrus trees.

I'm on a well and have to worry about the water pipes freezing up. Some of the pipes run aboveground to the water softener. I was out at midnight turning the hose to dribble mode to keep the pipes open. Sigh.

We're just not used to freezes. But I repeat myself.

Getting ready

It's almost Christmas, and the Saintly household is almost ready. Not that we will actually be ready, but Christmas comes anyway.

Saint Pat and Molly wish you a Merry Christmas









The Saintly social secretary does, too



And Shamu (AKA Elvis) says, "Peace on Earth, Baby!"



We should have an interesting Christmas. More to come ...

When a cat and a dog meet: forbidden love

He walked into the house. Their eyes locked, then so did their lips. It was love at first sight.

That was more than five years ago, and they're still in love — Jack the Brat cat and Molly McGuire, the Best Dog in the Whole Wide World.



She was an older woman who cared for the injured young cat, like in a Hemingway story. He vowed to stay by her side forever.

His kin sniffed at the relationship. Her kin would have liked to have him for breakfast. Society frowned. The church refused to bless their union.

Yet, here they are, still together, after all these years. They are a bit older now. Molly's face has grown whiter. Jack is entering middle age.

Their love remains steadfast.

Cattitude

"What? Are you talkin' to me???"

Jack the Brat

St. Matthew tells it like it is

You go, Matthew.

That's one saint who sometimes went on a rip.

The hypocrisy Matthew talked about is still alive today. Shockingly, some can even be found in pulpits. Yes. Our parish is fortunate that the poor matter, and not just the people who can make the big contributions.

For, it's not the tithe or the gold or the check that's brought to the altar that is holy. Those things are not to be worshipped. It is God, who inhabits the sanctuary, who is holy. He will sanctify us and our offerings.

Meanwhile, we strain out a gnat, but swallow a camel. Yes, our priorities are skewed.

Hypocrisy is alive and well these 2,000 years later. I see it on the dais at city council meetings - the council member who delights in telling the audience how he is there for "the people," but treats people badly and makes it nearly impossible for them to contact him with their cares and concerns.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Here's today's reading from the Gospel of Matthew:

Matt. 23:13-26 (NRSV)

13 'But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them 15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves 16'Woe to you, blind guides, who say, "Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath."

17You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? 18And you say, "Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath." 19How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

20So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; 21and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; 22and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.

23'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!

25'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

The Word of the Lord.

Waiting in faith

Yesterday, I lit the second Advent candle.

This is another version of "O Come Emmanuel," with some beautiful art to remind us of the magnitude of the promise.

My soul sings; my soul waits in silence

Yes, my soul does both in the span of a day.

Zeph. 3:14

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!

Canticle 15 The Song of Mary
Magnificat Luke 1:46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; *
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed: *
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him *
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm, *
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, *
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things, *
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel, *
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
The promise he made to our fathers, *
to Abraham and his children for ever.


From Psalm 62 Nonne Deo


1 For God alone my soul in silence waits; *
from him comes my salvation.

2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, *
my stronghold, so that I shall not be greatly shaken.

Christmas parade

It's the annual small-town spectacle of tradition: the Christmas parade. Molly (AKA Betsy, the Best Dog in the Whole Wide World) and Saint Pat were ready for it.


Saint Pat and Molly: ready to roll


Molly loves parades - especially being in them, but she likes the spectacle in any manner in which she can participate.


We met Mr. T at his office, and fortified with a shot of expresso fortified with antifreeze to ward off the unusual chill, headed to the Boulevard.



Mr. T heart Molly, too:


You won't see huge balloon-animals or hundred-thousand dollar floats. It's no Macy's parade. Instead, you see kids, kids, kids - school groups, bands, gymnastics classes, ROTC, you name it.. And politicians. And church and civic groups. Veterans. Animal groups. Dance groups. Just about anybody with a pickup truck and a flatbed. Or a big convertible.
It's a lot of fun.


Kids and manger scenes:


The middle-school band


One float featured the barking dog version of "Jingle Bells." Molly woofed along with it. She also barked at every dog she saw. She got loose one time, and ran out into the parade. The spectators weren't good disciplinarians — they applauded her.
Molly had a great time. So did we.

The Christmas holiday season now has begun officially.

Waiting ... o please come, o Lord

Here's an interesting version of my favorite piece of Advent music.



From this morning's Daily Office reading, Amos 5:

For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: Seek me and live ... The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning, and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name ... Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

I know you, oh Lord who made the Peiades and Orion. I wait for you with joy building in my heart and hope fluttering like a bird in my soul. I know you will be gracious, o lover of souls.

Giving thanks for the Earth, and mending our ways?

From today's morning prayers, a reminder that the Earth belongs to God — all of it, from the seas to the deep caverns of the earth.

We're gonna have some 'splaining to do about the way we're treating the Divine Real Estate, I think. Can we mend our ways?

And let's give thanks for his goodness and mercy:

Venite Psalm 95:1-7

Come let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

Midnight music

"I want a shot at redemption."

Paul Simon

The advent of Advent

Now we're in the season of Advent. Advent means a coming. In the liturgical calendar, it's the season preceding Christmas. We're awaiting Jesus' coming or birth. It's a time of expectant waiting, of anticipation and preparation.

It's a time of affirmation, too. Of saying "Yes!" to God.

Mary did. The first chapter of the Gospel of Luke tells us of Gabriel's visit to Mary. He told her of the child she would bear:

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Some translations use "hover" instead of overshadow.

I picture the Holy Spirit hovering over Mary, as a parent hovers over a child at a crucial moment, tenderly tending to her, preparing her body and strengthening her spirit for what was to come. Then, the divine reaches into Mary, who inmost being is well known, and touches something. There! It begins. This new life on Earth, planned since the beginning, begins.

And we read the parallel in the first chapter of Genesis:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

The Spirit hovered over the deep, preparing it. Then, the Spirit moved. Divine power touched the void. The Earth was formed, the dome of the sky separated from the deep, and life began to bud.

Two beginnings, closely allied, and a God who calls forth new life.

Back to Mary.

I wonder what she thought, as the next months passed. She must have hugged her secret to herself, marveling. Anxiety and excitement must have mixed in near equal portions, though Gabriel told her not to fear.

She was expectantly waiting for a miracle she knew would come. She didn't know just how the future would unfold after she gave birth to the child she was told to name Jesus, but she raced toward it, eagerly.

We now push toward Christmas, eagerly, expecting the miraculous.

Sign of the time

Ah, we are foolish, always seeking signs and wonders, when they're all around us, if we but look.

Look at my Christmas cactus, for example, loaded with buds that are beginning to bloom, heralding the approach of Christmas:

Giving thanks for a good Thanksgiving

I sit here full from the third Thanksgiving dinner in three days and say, "Thank you Lord."

Thank you for good friends. Thank you for the hearty affirmation to a call to ministry from my parish family, especially some wonderful vestry members and Fr. R. What will happen is up in the air, as the Bish is alarmed by my advanced age. Whatever happens, I will remember the affirmation I got, even and especially from a person or two from whom it came as a surprise.

Thank you that I'm feeling well.

Last year, I was sick and spent the day alone, sacked out on the sofa coughing. I had a virus that got hold of me and didn't let loose for a couple of months. Now, I'm not only not sick, I have more energy than I've had in a while. As a result, my house is cleaner, and I'm blogging more often.

Thank you, Lord for everything. For, all good things come from you.

Here's how Thanksgiving went down: I came home from work Wednesday and cleaned up the house. I cleaned out and baked two pumpkin squash, so they'd be ready to cook with the next morning.

I got up Thanksgiving morning and made pumpkin pies and spicy pumpkin soup. (Yes, I love pumpkin.) I was afraid the thinner pie overcooked, so of course, I had to taste test it. It was delicious, and so was the other one.






Mr. T. brought over a fresh turkey. He wanted to cook it on the grill, so he went at it on the patio, while inside, I started mashed potatoes, dressing, green beens, and a broccoli-peas-and-carrot mixture.




Smokin'




My charcoal kettle-grill was a little small for the turkey. The lid wouldn't close over it properly. We brought it inside after a while; I wrapped it in aluminum foil and baked it in the oven to make sure it cooked through. The turkey came out wonderfully — with the smoky taste from the grill, done through and juicy and tender.

We ate leftovers Friday night.

Today, I spent the afternoon/early evening with friends who always do a big-family Thanksgiving get-together on the Saturday after. More feasting and fellowship. Then, home to my snug house.


Thank you Lord, for so many good things.


And the animals, who got turkey and more attention than usual with me at home for the holiday and Mr. T visiting, said, "Amen."

Wet dog day

Speaking of dogs, somebody in the Saintly household really needed a B-A-T-H. (It's the word we dare not utter here.)






Luckily for me, the Best Dog in the Whole Wide World isn't one to carry a grudge.

















And often, I find, forgiveness is K-9.

Amen and Bow Wow

Thanks to my friend Patricia, who sent me a link to this — GoD And DoG. Take a look:





Molly/Betsy is my canine daily reminder of God's love and presence in my life. She is a true source of unconditional love:

Of war and peace; Armistice Day and Veterans Day

Armistice Day (Veterans' Day) (11 Nov 1918)

Today, we remember Martin of Tours, who traded his sword for a Bible. May we follow his example:

Martin of Tours, 11 November 397
written by James Kiefer

Martin was born around 330 of pagan parents. His father was a soldier, who enlisted Martin in the army at the age of fifteen.

One winter day he saw an ill-clad beggar at the gate of the city of Amiens. Martin had no money to give, but he cut his cloak in half and gave half to the beggar. (Paintings of the scene, such as that by El Greco, show Martin, even without the cloak, more warmly clad than the beggar, which rather misses the point.) In a dream that night, Martin saw Christ wearing the half-cloak.

He had for some time considered becoming a Christian, and this ended his wavering. He was promptly baptized. At the end of his next military campaign, he asked to be released from the army, saying: "Hitherto I have faithfully served Caesar. Let me now serve Christ." He was accused of cowardice, and offered to stand unarmed between the contending armies. He was imprisoned, but released when peace was signed.

He became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers, a chief opponent in the West of the Arians, who denied the full deity of Christ, and who had the favor of the emperor Constantius. Returning to his parents' home in Illyricum, he opposed the Arians with such effectiveness that he was publicly scourged and exiled. He was subsequently driven from Milan, and eventually returned to Gaul. There he founded the first monastary in Gaul, which lasted until the French Revolution.

In 371 he was elected bishop of Tours. His was a mainly pagan diocese, but his instruction and personal manner of life prevailed. In one instance, the pagan priests agreed to fell their idol, a large fir tree, if Martin would stand directly in the path of its fall. He did so, and it missed him very narrowly. When an officer of the Imperial Guard arrived with a batch of prisoners who were to be tortured and executed the next day, Martin intervened and secured their release.

In the year 384, the heretic (Gnostic) Priscillian and six companions had been condemned to death by the emperor Maximus. The bishops who had found them guilty in the ecclesiastical court pressed for their execution. Martin contended that the secular power had no authority to punish heresy, and that the excommunication by the bishops was an adequate sentence. In this he was upheld by Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. He refused to leave Treves until the emperor promised to reprieve them. No sooner was his back turned than the bishops persuaded the emperor to break his promise; Priscillian and his followers were executed. This was the first time that heresy was punished by death.

Martin was furious, and excommunicated the bishops responsible. But afterwards, he took them back into communion in exchange for a pardon from Maximus for certain men condemned to death, and for the emperor's promise to end the persecution of the remaining Priscillianists. He never felt easy in his mind about this concession, and thereafter avoided assemblies of bishops where he might encounter some of those concerned in this affair. He died on or about 11 November 397 (my sources differ) and his shrine at Tours became a sanctuary for those seeking justice.

The Feast of Martin, a soldier who fought bravely and faithfully in the service of an earthly sovereign, and then enlisted in the service of Christ, is also the day of the Armistice which marked the end of the First World War. On it we remember those who have risked or lost their lives in what they perceived as the pursuit of justice and peace.


Prayer

Lord God of hosts, who clothed your servant Martin the soldier With the spirit of sacrifice, and set him as a bishop in your Church to be a defender of the catholic faith: Give us grace to follow in his holy steps, that at the last we may be found clothed with righteousness in the dwellings of peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.


From the Daily Office:

Canticle 11 The Third Song of Isaiah
Surge, illuminare Isaiah 60:1-3, 11a, 14c, 18-19

Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.

For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.

But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will appear upon you.

Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.

Your gates will always be open; *
by day or night they will never be shut.

They will call you, The City of the Lord, *
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Violence will no more be heard in your land, *
ruin or destruction within your borders.

You will call your walls, Salvation, *
and all your portals, Praise.

The sun will no more be your light by day; *
by night you will not need the brightness of the moon.

The Lord will be your everlasting light, *
and your God will be your glory.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

As for me, give me single-payer insurance any day

Health care should be a right in our country

Visit http://Wormwood's Doxy. She has a terrific post on the scummy tactics the health-insurance industry is using in the fight over health-insurance reform.

Let's face it. Insurance companies are not there to help you get needed health care. They exist for one reason: to make a profit, just like any other corporation.

Covering claims cuts into profit. It makes insurance companies unhappy, so they try to avoid it.

The whole idea behind insurance was the law of large numbers. The theory was, a lot of people could band together and put money in a pot. Then, there was money to cover rebuilding the house that burned down, for example.

The insurance companies like the "large number" parts. Only they want large numbers who don't file claims. That's why we have government insurance - Medicare - for the retired. They're kinda prone to needing health care. Never mind all the money they put into the pot without filing claims when they were younger. The insurance companies didn't want them, so it's ok for a single-payer system for them.

It's all about profit.

Even if you have insurance, it's a nightmare. File a claim, and find out about all kinds of co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses you never expected. Call the company to inquire, and get a different answer from each customer-service rep you speak to as to why something wasn't covered, or why you had to pay a lot out of pocket for something that was supposed to be covered.

Get hit with the unthinkable, a cancer that won't respond to any conventional treatments. Go to a respected cancer-treatment center in the U.S. to enroll in promising clinical trials, and find out your insurance covers zip, even though your doctors sent you there because it's your only chance. Doesn't matter - not covered.

Or, find yourself unemployed. Then, you lose your group health coverage, and can't afford to buy it privately. It's one more blow, and one more worry. I volunteer at a local faith-based free clinic for the broke uninsured, and I see them.

First, they got laid off. Then, they lost their home, then got sick. They're terrified.

According to statistics garnered by Associated Press, about 4 million Americans, many of whom never expected to find themselves needing these services, are expected to visit the nation's 1,200 free health clinics this year. At the same time, clinics are dealing with loss of revenue due to the economy.

Even if there's a free clinic for routine health care, you're SOL if you need to go to the hospital, or need treatments the free clinic can't provide.

In one of the wealthiest countries in the world, people can't get basic health care. There's no reason for this.

Health care should be a community service, just like law enforcement or public schools, which we should not allow to be handed over to private companies, either.

Private enterprise is a good thing, for the most part. Life and death and who gets medical care should not be determined by the profit motive.

There won't be serious reform unless we, the people, get mad enough to demand it and vote out of office lawmakers who only give it lip service.

Are you up for the revolution?

Amazing

In the summer, the Central Florida heat and humidity obscure the star field. On these cooler, clearer fall evenings, I get a gorgeous view of the night sky on the road home.

The sky hints at all the stars my Cousin Gary captured in this photo:


This night, the stars are scattered across the dark sky like diamonds on black velvet, large and clear, sparking light at me. Too many to count. So close I want to raise up my hand, like a child, to touch them.

I know a little bit of the science of the universe. The stars have been there for billions and billions of years. Tonight, though, it seems like the stars were put there for me to find.

I stop and sit quietly with God, taking in the beauty of his work.

How marvelous are your works, Lord. Though they are beyond our ability to fully understand, you gave us the ability to appreciate the skill and artistry of your hand. You want us to share in the pleasure you take in such beauty.

Genesis 15:5
And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them."

Job 26:7
He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.

Psalm 8:3-5
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.

Amazing. Thank you, Lord.

St. Pat takes a vacation

Yes, it's true! The first in a long time!

I finished up the environmental-stewardship Bible study, which went very well, and took a vacation. It was more of a stay-cation.

My friend Mr. T. had a gift certificate for a stay at a hotel on the beach, which he said he didn't have time to use. He gave it to me.

Delirious view: the sun rises over the Atlantic

It was deliriously wonderful to get up in the morning with nothing more pressing to do than sit on my balcony with a a cuppa coffee and watch the sun rise. Then, I went beach-walking, swimming and relaxing.

Now I'm back at the grind.

My Sandhill Crane friends continue to visit, and they're a treat. I can't complain. Life is feeling pretty good.

Betsy goes to the beach

Betsy is the best dog in the world, despite the fact she stays cooped up an awful lot while I'm away at work and play.

Sunday was her day. She got packed up into the car, and we headed for the doggy beach. It's only about 45 minutes away, but it seems hard to find time and/or energy to make the trip, and Betsy hasn't been in a good while.

Betsy scopes out the water.



She's not all that crazy about water. Sunday, however, she found a friendly Huskey who was playing in the water. I unleashed Betsy, and she splashed out to him.




She would run back to me once in a while, to make sure I wasn't leaving her, then it was back to her new friend. They ran around in the water.





Betsy met several other dogs, got lots of pets and compliments, and just enjoyed herself thoroughly.

She was a tired and happy camper when we got home.

We need more trips to the beach!!