Happy New Year

Again, the Grangram Fairy has stopped by once again to wish all a blessed new year. Picture courtesy of my wife Melisa (aka the Coppermouse).

I love this version of Auld Lang Syne. It takes me back to my roots. Here is a sung version.

A "Silent Night" solution?

In most of the churches I've attended (and both the churches I've served as a priest) there has been a custom of dimming the lights after everyone has received Holy Communion for the singing of "Silent Night" by candlelight. This was done either with or without the congregation having individual candles. At St Alban's, we don't pass out individual candles.

I suppose there are some people who really love this, otherwise, we wouldn't see such a widespread custom. I find it to be a bit sappy and unnecessary, but I realize that it might be important to others. I think it occurs at an awkward time in the liturgy. Especially with the dimming and then raising of the house lights just for one hymn, the flow of the liturgy seems interrupted by an outside element which is out of proportion to the ordinary of the Mass. In addition, the process of dimming the lights in the building can become a distraction itself if not done smoothly.

I have been thinking about a possible solution--to retain the custom for the people who love it while not interrupting the flow of the liturgy. My thought is to take an approach inspired by the Easter Vigil transition from light to dark. Many churches have a period of music and/or carol singing before the midnight Mass to give people who came early to find a seat something to occupy their attention. My thought was, Why not have the church dimly lit with people holding lighted candles during this period before the Mass?

Liturgically, this would represent the time during the darkness before Christ is born. It could end with the placing of the bambino in the manger (perhaps by a child) and the station at the creche. "Silent Night" could be sung by candlelight just before, during, or just after the station at the creche. The next element would be "Let us go forth in the name of Christ", beginning a solemn procession to the singing of "O come, all ye faithful" to begin the midnight Mass of Christmas.

I am interested in hearing feedback from priests/pastors and from laity. How does this strike you? Have you experienced it this way before? What have you found that works or doesn't work in the past?

For background information, here is the excerpt from Ritual Notes (11th Ed., p 278) on the visit to the Christmas creche:
It is a laudable and widespread custom at Christmastide to erect in churches a representation of the birthplace of our blessed Redeemer; or at least to exhibit a figure of the divine Infant. This figure is generally known as the Bambino; it may be placed in a prominent position on the altar or on a support nearby (but not in the throne of exhibition, or in place of the cross).

At the incensations, it is incensed by the priest standing, exactly in the same manner as, and after, the altar cross. The Bambino is usually laid in the Christmas crib immediately before or after the midnight Mass; or if there is no midnight Mass, then as near to midnight as many be convenient. If it is desired to make a ceremony of this by carrying the figure in procession (with or without lights and incense) there is no law forbidding it, provided that it is not done during the course of Mass.

It is a common custom after solemn services in the Christmas season for the priest in cope, attended by servers, to visit the crib--so many of the congregation can conveniently do so joining in--where popular devotions in honour of the Holy Child are said. If the Bambino is incensed it should be done by the priest standing, although the congregation may be kneeling.

Monkeying around

Just before Christmas, Kissy Missy took the kids to Taco Bell to grab a quick bite between overachievement events. And there, dressed as Santa Claus, was Magical Balloon Michael. He's in his 20s, and was putting together a balloon sculpture like I've never seen -- a monkey in a tree as tall as Katherine. Quite detailed, too. He gave it to Katherine, who passed it along to the mother of one of her friends who was in the hospital.
Magical Michael was handing out business cards. I suppose it's better than honest work, and certainly better than his previous career as a professional wrestler. But what do I know about that? I haven't done anything my dad would consider "honest work" in years.

Upscale pie

Kissy Missy and I have returned from the Great (not yet White) North. It's a quiet day, and we went to lunch at the Grand Traverse Pie Co. in Mount Pleasant.

The day the place opened up, it was packed. It opened up right near the corner of Mission and Preston, just off campus, but this isn't a student crowd. It's too expensive for the run-of-the-mill student, although I've seen some sorority girls hanging out in here.
No, it's become wildly popular with the upscale professor and educator types, the same kinds of people who hang around Frankfort on summer's days.
The coffee's good, the wi-fi is fast, the soup's excellent and the pie, well, it's fabulous.

My one complaint is that the place can get real noisy on a lunch hour. And, OK, I have another gripe: the background music is insipid. But other than that, it's done a lot to enliven the city stretch of Mission Street, and provides a cool hangout for former hippies who now are old, fat, smart people.

America's best place name

Without a doubt, the best place name in America is Pine Stump Junction, Mich.
Yes, it's real. It's far from anywhere, about 25 miles north of Newberry. It is close to the Two Hearted River, of Hemingway fame, which hasn't changed much since Papa wrote about it decades ago. This year, it's pretty quiet because of lack of snow, but it's usually a snowmobile stop in the fabulous snow country west of Paradise. If you're looking for a place beyond the cell phones, beyond the Internet, somewhere close to the edge of the planet, this is your place.

Live from somewhere south of Pine Stump Junction

I’m still playing catch-up around the holidays. I’m writing this on Boxing Day at a restaurant in Newberry. I’m not sure when I can find a ’Net connection and post it.
The kids are at their mom’s; I’m glad to hear that all the kids were down there, along with Annie and Lexie. That’s something positive.
Kissy Missy and I came up to her mom’s on Christmas Eve, and got together with her brother, and his wife and kids. We had Christmas Eve dinner, then went to church at St. Gregory’s in Newberry.
Christmas Day was quiet and peaceful; Christmas dinner was meatball Stroganoff.
There’s almost no snow up here, and that’s got a lot of people worried. If there’s no snow, there are no snowmobilers. If there are no snowmobilers, there’s no winter economy.

Amazing display

One of the most wonderful things about Christmas in mid-Michigan is the holiday display at the Sheahan house.



The Sheahans did quite well as the owners of one of the local watering holes, and retired many years ago. Thirty or 40 years ago, the family began decorating the yard, and it’s kinda gotten out of control.



Now, people come from all over the place to see the decorations. There usually are cars on Kinney Street, slowly cruising past.



A giant snowman rules over the side yard



It’s perfectly OK to sit in the sleigh in the front yard. Kissy Missy was telling me she was cold.

Run away! Ski away!

Andrew’s eyes lit up when he opened his Christmas gift – a sweatshirt emblazoned with the killer rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the legend, “Run away! Run away!”

After spending four days skiing at Marquette Mountain, Andrew was glad to sleep in his own bed for a night. They had snow at Marquette, but it was rapidly going away, and one of the days was mostly slush. Yuck.
This year’s boys’ ski team seems as if it’s really, really competitive. That’s a good thing for the Oilers. Andrew’s new skis are fast, and he’s focusing on his need for speed.
Think killer rabbits on skis.

The Wicked Girl Returns

Katherine was ecstatic when she came back from Toronto.
She described seeing the musical “Wicked” as “beyond amazing” and “better than Broadway.” Of course, she’s never actually seen anything on Broadway, but I would imagine that any big-city musical production in Toronto would have incredibly high production values.
And I’m glad she’s seen them.
She and the other choir members had the opportunity to work with a couple of cast members the next day; one of them was highly complimentary to Katherine’s voice.
When I asked Katherine what she thought about Toronto, she simply answered, “Big,” as if it were a bad thing. It’s not; it’s just one of the coolest cities in the world.

Put the Mass back in Christmas

What a girl wants for Christmas

Hey, Barney's Girl and I are going to take a 2 week break from the blog. Both of us are going to be on family vacation, celebrating new year with friends and head back to college in Jan. But before the break, I'm going to leave you with a list of fabulous Christmas ideas -basically what I would like to recieve, and I'm sure many of you would at least like one thing on the list.

Girly beauty items. Girls always need eyeliners. Afterall, eyeliner is essential to some people's day looks and most people's night looks. And I absolutely love MAC's powerpoint eye pencil.

Brush cleaner is another (but not obvious) must to one's beauty collection. Please do remember to clean your makeup brushes regularly!

Speaking of brushes, my sister was just saying how she would love a set of brushes -another essential to one's beauty collection.

Moving onto other girly things, as inspired by BG's list of essential bags, the LV Speedy 25 is a popular and very practical bag for a girl to own.

Another cool bag is the Chloe Paddington clutch -good for day and night, and effortlessly chic.

I love classic jewelry, and the first that comes into mind is Tiffany & Co's basic silver collection. These Elsa Peretti earrings are so classic and versatile. Hmm... maybe I should get them for myself.

The MacBook is SO small and cute, although I don't quite like it's keyboard and function inside. For more a more impressive laptop, get the MacBook Pro -much sleeker and impressive. I stood in the Apple store playing with these Macs for two hours a few weekends ago when my old laptop died, but ended up opting for a regular laptop instead.

Sony cybershot DSC-N2 -it's got 10.1 mega-pixels and a huge 3.0 LCD touch screen. And very importantly, it's cute!

Get your friend a DVD set of your favourite TV show that your friend hasn't watched before. I totally recommend Veronica Mars -it's one of the coolest and most underated show on TV.

Lastly, with more than 20mil viewers in the States each new episode, you can't go wrong with a Grey's Anatomy calender, (unless you know your friend hates the show.) A new year of staring at the entertaining cast of GA and Mc Hotties!

Merry Christmas and have a stylish (refer to earlier posts) new year people! See you in 2007!

God with us

Latin translation of O Emmanuel
O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver, the hope of the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Advent Carol
O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lowly exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon today is based upon theme of the incarnation of the Son of God. St John wrote in his gospel, "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Likewise, Isaiah prophesied, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14), which name means "God with us" (see Matthew 1:22).

"Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance (homoousios) with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer (Theotokos); one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the Fathers has handed down to us." (Definition of the Union of the Divine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ, Council of Chalcedon, 451 A.D., Act V, quoted in the Book of Common Prayer, p 864.)

Although these antiphons and dates have been common throughout the western Church, an alternative medieval English usage arose of moving all of the antiphons forward by one day (commencing on 16 December) and adding an additional eighth antiphon on 23 December, as follows:

Latin translation of O Virgo virginum
O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be? For neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after. Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye at me? The thing which ye behold is a divine mystery.

The Church of St Nicholas

Take some time to visit holylandphotos.org for more of these fine pictures from the Church of St Nicholas. Those who attended my Sunday School class on Revelation will recognize many of the architectural features we discussed in class.

Some prayer requests for Christmas

* For the poor and homeless, as the Holy Family was also in need of shelter.

* For peace on earth and in our hearts, as the gift of the Prince of Peace.

* For an awakening of faith for those who will be visiting churches this Christmas or who only go to their own church at this time of year.

* For health and strength for those who lead and assist with worship--for no sore throats, achy hands, or tired legs.

O King of nations

Latin translation of O Rex Gentium
O King of the nations, and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay.

Advent Carol
O come, Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind; bid thou our sad divisions cease, and be thyself our King of peace. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon today is based upon the Lordship of Christ the King. The acclamation at his entry into Jerusalem is just as applicable to his birth: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord" (Luke 19:38). It was known that he would be born in Bethlehem, and the wise men sought him out, because he was the anointed heir to the throne of King David. He would be the Prince of peace. Of him, Isaiah prophesied, "He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4). St Paul noted, "He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (1 Corinthians 15:25).

Although he was arrested on the charge of being a blasphemer, Jesus was ultimately sentence under Roman law for treason--for claiming to be the "King of the Jews," as was ordered to be written on the titulus of his cross in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek.

When Pilate questioned him about this charge, Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my followers would have fought that I might not be delivered to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate therefore said to him, 'Thou are then a king? " Jesus answered, "Thou sayest it; I am a king. This is why I was born, and why I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice" (John 18:36-37). When he suspected Jesus of being born in Bethlehem (Jesus would no longer speak when interrogated about this), Pilate sought to release him, but instead ordered his execution in fear of the mob.

Our prayer in the antiphon today is that all would listen to his truthful voice and submit to his most gracious rule.

Christ is King in Poland (maybe)

From the Associated Press:

WARSAW, Poland—Lawmakers have drawn up a resolution naming Jesus Christ as the honorary king of Poland, but have failed to win support from the country's powerful Roman Catholic church.

Lawmakers for the ruling Law and Justice party and League of Polish Families as well as the opposition Peasants Party back the resolution, said Szymon Ruman, spokesman for parliamentary speaker Marek Jurek.

However, the proposal currently has the support of only 46 members in the 460-seat parliament, well short of the necessary 231 votes to pass. Ruman said the resolution would likely be voted on sometime after Jan. 1.

Backing from the church in this strongly Catholic country would be crucial for building support for the proposal, but on Wednesday several bishops criticized it, and said parliament should stay out of religious affairs.

"Let parliament deal with passing better laws that we need," Gdansk Archbishop Tadeusz Goclowski said. "This kind of action, although it may stem from good will, sounds a bit like propaganda," said bishop Tadeusz Pieronk.

This is a very Polish bill. The dominant Catholic culture in Poland has traditionally acknowledged Jesus as the true and only King of Poland, along with Mary as Queen (or more accurately, Queen Mother). In 1655, in thanksgiving for peace, King Jan Kazimierz proclaimed Mary to be Quen of Poland. That proclamation promised special Polish fealty to Mary and reliance upon her saintly guradianship. The Polishness of late servant of God, John Paul II was a part of his geopolitical outlook. We see can see that throughout his pontificate--for example in a speech to the Vatican diplomatic corps in 1990, the Pope asserted, "Christ is the sole strength of Europe and the King of all nations."

O Morning Star

Latin translation of O Oriens Splendor
O Morning Star, splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Advent Carol
O come, thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadow put to flight. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon today is based upon the image of Jesus as the "Light of the world," so prominent in John's gospel. His first and second Advents are likewise described as dawnings. The morning star is a symbol of God drawing closer to his people (see Revelation 22:16). Isaiah prophesied, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined" (Isaiah 9:2).

Because we worship Jesus, the Dayspring, churches have been traditionally built with the altar at the eastern end, so that the faithful would worship the Lord toward the rising sun. John of Damascus explained, "It is not without reason or by chance that we worship towards the East. But seeing that we are composed of a visible and an invisible nature, that is to say, of a nature partly of spirit and partly of sense, we render also a twofold worship to the Creator; just as we sing both with our spirit and our bodily lips, and are baptized with both water and Spirit, and are united with the Lord in a twofold manner, being sharers in the mysteries and in the grace of the Spirit. Since, therefore, God is spiritual light, and Christ is called in the Scriptures Sun of Righteousness and Dayspring, the East is the direction that must be assigned to his worship. . . . And when he was received again into heaven he was borne towards the East, and thus his apostles worship him, and thus he will come again in the way in which they beheld him going towards heaven; as the Lord himself said, 'As the lightning cometh out of the East and shineth even unto the West, so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be'."

Decorating for Christmas

This week, parishioners and others have been decorating St Alban's for Christmas. I think all that is left is for the purple altar frontal and banner to be replaced by the white ones after the morning Mass this Sunday.

An alarming trend

Especially during the holiday break from school, I've been told.

Take a guess before you look.

This Week BG is Loving. . .

This gorgeously delicious rose buckle belt from McQ!
I love the beautiful and intricate design of the rose buckle. It is feminine yet cool. Matched with the perfect width belt, they will be just the thing to spice up and pull together an outfit. I’ve been looking for something like this for the longest time.
Although I might just end up with something even simpler this season. A black patent leather belt with a simple buckle and the perfect width, not too wide or too thin- like this one here from Shop Intuition. I saw something very similar the other day at Lafayette and I really wanted it because it would just match with everything, but alas they were 65euros. I’m not sure something so simple is worth that much. Thoughts?

A good ole fashioned church bashin'

The ad hominem attack seems to be growing both more common and more acceptable in today's culture. Yesterday's Washington Post carried Harold Meyerson's column "Episcopalians Against Equality", which exemplifies the current trend.

The church is called "God's country club." The faithful who uphold Christian teaching on marriage (in this case, the "Fairfax Phobics") are said to protest "the equal treatment of homosexuals." Meyerson then stangely begins a diatribe against a non-existent ecumenical organization founded by the late Pope John Paul II called the Orthodox International (OI), which "unites frequently fundamentalist believers of often opposed faiths in common fear and loathing of challenges to ancient tribal norms." For Meyerson, the Roman Catholic Church is best described with the phrase "inimitable backwardness." He's just outright inaccurate when he names the founders of the Episcopal Church as those who wrote the Declaration of Independence (Jesus and the apostles did not write the Declaration of Independence).

Of course, the criticism of the ad hominem argument is that it is usually empoyed when there is no argument to be made, when one just doesn't have the facts, or when one is too lazy to bother with all that anyway. In this editorial from the Falls Church News, the Falls Church in Falls Church, VA (I know, I know) is described as "a regrettable and despised bastion of bigotry, prejudice and hatred." I have come to expect such an approach, even within the church. One priest told me to more or less drop dead at the end of this exchange in which I commented on her seminarian's grammar in his sermon. (Of course, I suppose that correcting someone's grammer might be the last acceptable excuse for getting your teeth kicked in.) However, I'm happy to say that the seminarian felt no need for the ad hominem at all. Perhaps that bodes well for the future.

And since I mentioned kicking, the picture at the top of this post (which I nonetheless can't help but find quite humorous) comes from a website where people submit photos of themselves or their friends kicking local churches, synagogues, temples, or mosques (but no mosques so far). The church in this picture is Grace & St Stephen's Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs. (I don't want to link to the site because some of the material is not family-friendly.) Sometimes the kicking is because the building is ugly or just for kicks, but more often the kicking is an expression of outrage against that church's moral values. Sometimes certain requests for photos (called "hits") are put out in response to a local church being in the media for upholding Christian values.

O Key of David

Latin translation of O Clavis David
O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel; you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Advent Carol
O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on hig, and close the path to misery. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon today is based on the image of Jesus as the Savior, a reconciler between God and man, who reopens the gates of paradise which were shut after the Fall (see Genesis 3:23-24). The work of the Savior was to release those who were held captive by sin (see Isaiah 42:7). Isaiah had also prophesied of the Messiah that God would "place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open" (Isaiah 22:22). And that, "His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore" (Isaiah 9:7).

Skiers, singers and buses

Christmas break, two different kids, two different buses, two different countries. Holy Wa!
Tuesday night, Andrew and the ski team got on a Hartzler bus bound for Marquette Mountain. It's the annual team-building and high-intensity training session, this year extended to four days.
The sense I got as the team loaded the bus was electric! I haven't had that sense before, but this group has the horses to do something really terrific this year, and I think they have the want-to.
It's been an uncharacteristically warm late fall, but at last report, Marquette Mountain was able to make snow, and had three runs open.

After the skiers took off, Katherine performed in the annual Holiday Collage concert (more on that later) then went home to try to get some sleep.
Wednesday morning, 4 a.m., alarm clock time. Katherine is out of bed, ready -- she's going on the trip she's been anticipating since August -- Toronto! Wicked, the musical, at the Canon Theatre!


The bus was to leave at 6 a.m.; we got there at 5:38, the first ones in the parking lot.
Passport in hand -- she does want to come back to the United States -- she was ready, excited, practically glowing.
Part of the trip is a workshop with the cast members, and, of course, shopping!
I suspect before the trip's over, she will have fallen in love with the musical theater, as well as Toronto.

Travel Essentials: Shoes

One of the things that take up the most space in a suitcase is footwear. Seriously, when I packed up my dorm room, I literally had a whole box full of shoes and I didn't even realised I owned that much footwear. So what are the essentials one packs for a holiday?
A must have are nice comfortable sneakers. Shown here are Hogan (left) and Puma by Alexander McQueen (right) sneakers. I personally am loving my black patent Hogans, because not only do they look good and are comfortable, they're waterproof too! No wet feet-ever.
As a girly girl, I must also have a pair of comfortable pretty shoes to go with everything. What better than flats? For winter, I am loving flats, whether is it ballerina style or loafer style (as the one shown above from Tod's). For summer, I have my metallic RL thongs, although these one shown are Musa from net-a-porter.
Then of course there is the fashionable and not neccessarily comfortable shoes. For winter, I bring classic ankle boots (they also save space!), like these ones (left) from Steve Madden. For summer, I love my Miu Miu platform sandals from last season. These ones shown here (right) though are much more seasonally versatile and they're from Burberry.

Last but not least, there are the party/evening heels that one simply MUST bring. Bring black pumps (pointy or otherwise) for winter (these adorable ones are from Dior) and bring silver sandals (like these sexy Jimmy Choo's) for summer. That way, they match all color outfits. Every girl needs a pair of smashing heels right?

So these are my footwear essentials (I know, I don't live lightly!), what are yours?

O Root of Jesse

Latin translation of O Radix Jesse
O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign among the peoples; before you kings will shut their mouths, to you the nations will make their prayer: Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Advent Carol
O come, O come, thou Branch of Jesse's tree, free them from Satan's tyranny, that trust thy mighty power to save, and give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon today is based on the lineage of Jesus as the Messiah from the house of David (see Romans 15:12). Isaiah prophesied: "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." And, "In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples." (Isaiah 11:1, 11). The ancestry of Jesus, "Son of David" and thus also a shoot from Jesse (David's father), is recorded at the begining of Matthew's gospel and in Luke 3. He was born in Bethlehem, the David's home town, as Micah prophesied, saying, "Out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Micah 5:2. And Jesus is be beloved (the name David means "beloved"). Isaiah foretold of the Messiah, "So will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand" (Isaiah 52:15).

See this page from Fisheaters for information about the custom of making a Jesse tree during Advent.

Last Things: Heaven and Hell

Notes on Heaven

How does the Church define heaven and everlasting life? "By heaven, we mean eternal life in our enjoyment of God." "By everlasting life, we mean a new existence, in which we are united with all the people of God, in the joy of fully knowing and loving God and each other." Book of Common Prayer, p 862

What is the experience we call the beatific vision in heaven? At death, the souls of all the saints—already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment—have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature. This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity—this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed—is called “heaven.” Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness. Heaven far surpasses our greatest expectations and needs for happiness and fulfillment. “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 Heaven is a state of happiness, first because of the enjoyment of communion with God, and second because of the knowledge, love, and enjoyment of creature. As with this life, the depth of beatitude in eternal life depends on the measure of grace utilized by the soul.

Heaven is described as the consummation of the marital union of Jesus and his Bride, the Church. “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready . . . And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ . . . And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 19:7, 9; 21:2

Heaven is described as a beautiful city, perfect in all its attributes, on a high mountain. “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed. . . . And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.” Revelation 21: 9-12, 22-26

Heaven also describes the eternal dwelling of the righteous—both body and soul—with God. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea
was no more.” Revelation 21:1 “I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:50-53

Heaven on earth is the ultimate realization of the Kingdom of God.
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever
and ever.” Revelation 11:15


Notes on Hell

How does the Church define damnation? "By hell, we mean eternal death in our rejection of God." Book of Common Prayer, p 862

Hell was created for the fallen angels, but ends up being used for lost souls as well. “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’.” Matthew 25:41

Hell, along with heaven, is one of the consequences of the choices we make in life. The affirmations of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an urgent call to conversion: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13-14 God predestines no one to go to hell; for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end.

Hell is described (or portions of hell?) with several terms:
1. The “Abyss” or “Bottomless Pit” (see Revelation 9:1-5; 20:1-3).
2. "Tartarus" or a bondage of chains is a place of confinement for fallen angels (see 2 Peter 2:4)
3. "Sheol" (in Hebrew) or "Hades" (in Greek) is the abode of the dead, where sinners await resurrection and judgment (see Luke 16:23; Revelation 1:18; 20:13-14)
4. "Gehenna," the burning trash heap outside Jerusalem was the word most often used in the New Testament for hell. It is the “lake of fire and brimstone” in Revelation, which is the final abode of the damned and consumes death and the abode of the dead after the general resurrection (see Revelation 20:14).

In the Revelation of John, the “second death” refers to the experience of the souls in hell who are forever separated from the principle of supernatural life. “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8

What do we know about hell?
1. Hell is a place of memory and awareness, as seen in the story of Lazarus and the rich man (see Luke 16:19-31).
2. Hell is a place of raging thirst. The rich man called out “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue.” Luke 16:24
3. Hell is a place of torment. The rich man says, “for I am in agony in this flame” and “this place of torment.” Luke 16:24, 28
4. Hell is a place of eternal fire. “Hell, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:48
5. Hell is a place of outer darkness and deep frustration. “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:41-42
6. Hell is a place of eternal separation from God. “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” 2 Thessalonians 1:9
7. Hell is a place from which there is no escape. “Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.” Luke 16:26

Who goes to hell? “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15

Travel Essentials: Bags

Having travelled a lot lately, I've constantly faced this dilema: Which bags should I bring??
It's been tragic. I always want to bring absolutely everything. When I went to Paris for 10 weeks, I brought with me my big Coach tote for school and since I'd just gotten it then, my Miu Miu leather Satchel. Function and style (like this YSL Muse bag here) is obviously high on my list.
Although during that 10 weeks, there were times when I wished that I'd actually brought a smaller size bag just to save my shoulders and for days out when I don't need to bring my school stuff and I don't want to use my super stylish bag. Something like this Longchamp bag (which is SO french) and this Vuitton bag (which I very smartly brought with me to Sydney this time) would've been nice.
The other bag I'd brought to Paris was a black Prada sparkly evening shoulder bag (which I'd "borrowed" from my mom's collection)that can barely fit anything. While these evening bags are nice, sometimes I just wished I'd brought something more casual that is not limited to nice evenings out. (above: LV (left) and Rodo (right)).

Something like these small shoulder bags/clutch would've been ideal. I really missed my blue LV shoulder bag (bottom). A simple black shoulder bag like the top one from Juicy would not have gone amissed. And come to think of it, I REALLY want that small Chloe Paddington Clutch (middle)!! Its stylish and can be both casual and formal. Dear Santa.....

So now that I've shared my travel bag essentials, care to share what bags you can't live without?