Sad News

Last night, Fr. James, OSB, one of the 'Adopt a Religious' on the sidebar, died in his sleep. He was 87 years old.



I had the honor of knowing Fr. James while we lived in Michigan. I recall one Ash Wednesday, while I was in residency and on call, he invited me to serve at his Mass at 5:30 in the morning. It was such a blessing to celebrate Mass with such a good priest. I recall working all day long, knowing that I had started the day by receiving Our Lord, and wishing I could do that more often.



Fr. James was one of the few people who called me for medical advice. On one occasion, he shared with me some of the thoughts he had about suffering, giving me a better insight into what the sick experience. He mentioned that, along with the physical suffering, there is a certain amount of humiliation that comes with pain. I had never thought how my patients' sufferings extended beyond the physical aspect. Perhaps that comment from a priest in pain has given me an added bit of compassion for those who suffer.



Fr. James always referred to me as 'his doctor' after that.



Please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. James, OSB, a good priest and our friend.



Eternal rest grant unto him, Oh Lord, and may Perpetual Light shine upon him.



May his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.

Reading Material

This week I have started reading Beau Geste, by P.C.Wren, to the pre-teen and teenaged boys, along with anyone who is in the kitchen while they are cleaning up after dinner. Reading the book also forces me to stay nearby, keeping the boys from wandering away before the work is done.

I will never forget when my father read this book to us - back in 1972 - while we lived in Switzerland. This book remains one of my favorite adventure books, with mystery, romance(very little of the yucky details boys detest), robbery, brotherly love, cowboys, and the French Foreign Legion.

The final battle in the desert is just riveting.

As always, SKIP THE MOVIES! READ THE BOOK!

Ven. Charles de Foucauld lived in a fort similar to the one in the book:

Love Token

I stubbed my toe
chipping a nail
cutting it off
I give to you
this little chip
as a token
of my true love

SMD
1.26.2008
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

How about a little BAD POETRY?

Trust

Can't look down
walking a tightrope
blindfolded

SMD
1.26.2008

Composed while attending a meeting, post-call, with less than three hours of sleep.
Bad poetry at its best.




How about a little natural science moment from Youtube?

Here is a neat one with a sperm whale - recall what sperm whales can do to a ship, as I relate in this book review HERE.

Watch this:







And here we have a bear and whale squaring off:



Nature sometimes seems cruel to us human beings.

I present this candidate for the President

I am toying with the idea of endorsing a candidate for the President of the United States of America. This will serve as a 'test' run to see how my loyal reader(s) will respond to it:



Hat tip to Cosmos/Liturgy/Sex.

Another Noisykid Video

From the Christmas Season

More bad poetry

I need to save it somewhere, cuz' what the world needs now is more Bad Poetry!

 

 

Rhyming bad poetry:

 

Christmas time has come and gone

At least the world says so

Those who seek Him by the star

Just wanted us to know

 

Christ's birthday was just the start

Of Heaven here on earth

The celebration of His life

Began with His humble birth 

 

 

Haiku: 

 

Christmas is over

Not for those who celebrate

The Epiphany

 

 

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Climb to the top of the charts! Play the word scramble challenge with star power. Play now!

What have I Been Doing?

Kindly refer to the previous blog post if you find this video confusing.

What have I been doing? I have been very busy with work, writing, and in general doing things that make me have to decide between blogging and sleeping. Sleep, what little there is, has won out.

Despite this, Wifeofdadwithnoisykids and my oldest daughter have been reading a book called Christian Courtship in an Oversexed World by T.G. Morrow. It is an excellent book for young men and women, and we have found it to be quite good. My wife has read parts to me,but I would like to read all of it in the future.

T.G. Morrow makes a good point in one part of the book, where he argues that one should marry one's best friend. The purpose, therefore, of courtship is to get to know one another without getting too emotionally or physically attached. In that way, if the friendship does not lead to its ultimate end, it can be stopped without either party giving away one's self to the other.

Even secular folk can appreciate the importance of this lesson - although usually it is learned in retrospect. Let us examine this next video clip, paying special attention to the lyrics of this song-poem, and see how an old relationship can still cause distress in a man:

What's Up?

Cute parody of a beer commercial:



Here is the original:

Christmas Season Continues....

So enjoy the following videos from our house to yours!




Enjoy this pastoral tune sung my Noisykid #8:



This is why we call them Noisykids.

Trees!

Today, while I worked, some folks came by and planted ten pecan trees on my property - pictures to follow....

These are a variety of pecan trees called 'desirable,' and I tried a sample at the store. Heck, anything can be desirable to me if it is coated in brown sugar.

More on my trees later.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry