Last week, I blogged about whether Sundays count as a day of penance during Lent. One thing I meant to talk about was the issue of when Sunday starts.
Catholics have it really easy to go to Mass on Sunday. A variety of Mass time are available Sunday morning; lots of parishes even have one or more Sunday evening Masses. You can even go on Saturday night to Sunday Mass. Some churches even have a Saturday "night" Mass as early as 4:30 p.m. Saturday. I've always heard that Sunday begins after Vespers (Evening Prayer from the Liturgy of Hours/Divine Office) on Saturday, which is actually called "Evening Prayer I for Sunday." I guess the earlier you say it on Saturday, the more Sunday you can get. After "Evening Prayer II for Sunday" it's still Sunday till the stroke of twelve. So I suppose you could argue that Sunday liturgically on Saturday night.
Back in my college days, a group called "The Letter of the Law Club" would go out on Saturday nights to 7-11 after midnight to partake in whatever goodies they happen to have given up, or just to celebrate the fact that it was Sunday. They'd even leave campus at 11:50 since it took about 10 minutes to get there. If they'd been wilier, they'd have left at 11:45 so they could finish their purchases at midnight and not waste precious time shopping. We, I mean, they weren't crafty enough to go with a post-vespers scheme.
Tonight if someone were to celebrate "Letter of the Law Club" style, they'd invoke a special penalty. Daylight savings happens tonight, which means the clocks jump forward an hour and we lose an hour of sleep. This change might work to their advantage if the clocks changed from 9:59 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. but the "real" change is from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning Mass is closer than you think!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Star Trek Trailer 3
Trailer #3 has come out for Star Trek, the new re-imagining/re-booting/re-tooling/re-etc. of the beloved franchise. When I first heard about the project directed by J. J. Abrams, I was cautiously excited. Alias and Lost are great TV shows, but Mission Impossible 3 was pretty mediocre and I heard that Cloverfield (which he only produced) wasn't really enjoyable until the story stopped trying to make the characters sympathetic or interesting and just got on with the monster. So it seems like he's better at doing action then developing characters when he's limited to a 2 hour movie production rather than 22 hours of a TV season.
The other trailers for Star Trek didn't give me any hope that this movie would be any different. They looked slicked-up and sexed-up with no hint of a story, plot or real interest in exploring the characters. As if they re-imagined it without using any imagination, just digital effects and crazy camera work. George Lucas has convinced me that great special effects do not make a great movie. So my expectations started plummeting faster than the stock market.
This new trailer is completely different. Sure, it still looks extra-slick but they've shown some story. Kirk has something to prove, a past to overcome. There's a bad guy who seems to be after Kirk for revenge. Sure, there's some sort of ice planet involved (or is it just Antarctica?) and they seem to have better technology than when they were on their five year mission, but at least I have some hope now. I just don't want to develop too much hope, because nothing kills a movie going experience more than high expectations that aren't met (not even close). Thanks again, George Lucas.
Hey, I thought of another reason not to be worried about the new Star Trek movie. George Lucas isn't involved!
The other trailers for Star Trek didn't give me any hope that this movie would be any different. They looked slicked-up and sexed-up with no hint of a story, plot or real interest in exploring the characters. As if they re-imagined it without using any imagination, just digital effects and crazy camera work. George Lucas has convinced me that great special effects do not make a great movie. So my expectations started plummeting faster than the stock market.
This new trailer is completely different. Sure, it still looks extra-slick but they've shown some story. Kirk has something to prove, a past to overcome. There's a bad guy who seems to be after Kirk for revenge. Sure, there's some sort of ice planet involved (or is it just Antarctica?) and they seem to have better technology than when they were on their five year mission, but at least I have some hope now. I just don't want to develop too much hope, because nothing kills a movie going experience more than high expectations that aren't met (not even close). Thanks again, George Lucas.
Hey, I thought of another reason not to be worried about the new Star Trek movie. George Lucas isn't involved!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Book Review: "The Apostles"
I just finished my first lenten reading, a slim volume by Pope Benedict XVI called "The Apostles." It is a conglomeration of the catecheses the Pope delivered during his general audiences from 2006 and 2007. He discusses the early church, the apostles chosen by Christ and the first co-workers with the apostles (those mentioned in the New Testament writings).
He first discusses the origins of the church as described in the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters in the New Testament. The explanations are simple to follow and present lots of really good insights. My favorite from this section concerns the communion of the church: "we have a two-fold univesality: a synchronic universality--we are united with believers in every part of the world--and also a so-called diachronic universality, that is: all the epochs belong to us, and all the believers of the past and of the future form with us a single great communion." Of course, this the idea of the communion of saints, but for me it is a great expansion of the idea. I've always thought of the communion of saints as neatly divided into those in Heaven, those in Purgatory and those of us still slugging it out here on Earth. My silo mentality is completely knocked down in Benedict's description. We are a great, single communion with all the faithful from the past, present and future. It's just awesome.
The format for the apostles and co-workers is fairly straightforward. He reviews what historical information we have about them and then discusses their impact on the church then and now. Some apostles' chapters are longer because we know more (Peter, John, Paul). Others are put together (Simon and Jude share one chapter). Most interesting to me were the chapters on the co-workers. Not only did he include some obvious people like St. Stephen (the first martyr) and Timothy and Titus, but also a married couple (Priscilla and Aquila) and also the women who served to spread the Gospel.
I highly recommend the book. It is easy to read and full of wonderful insights about the foundation of our Church and the people involved.
My next reading will be to finish John Paul II's Theology of the Body, which my wife and I started back in our marriage preparation days. I am surprised to see that I only have about 70 pages left, but the text is a much more challenging read than Benedict XVI, so it may take me just as long or longer to finish.
He first discusses the origins of the church as described in the Acts of the Apostles and the Letters in the New Testament. The explanations are simple to follow and present lots of really good insights. My favorite from this section concerns the communion of the church: "we have a two-fold univesality: a synchronic universality--we are united with believers in every part of the world--and also a so-called diachronic universality, that is: all the epochs belong to us, and all the believers of the past and of the future form with us a single great communion." Of course, this the idea of the communion of saints, but for me it is a great expansion of the idea. I've always thought of the communion of saints as neatly divided into those in Heaven, those in Purgatory and those of us still slugging it out here on Earth. My silo mentality is completely knocked down in Benedict's description. We are a great, single communion with all the faithful from the past, present and future. It's just awesome.
The format for the apostles and co-workers is fairly straightforward. He reviews what historical information we have about them and then discusses their impact on the church then and now. Some apostles' chapters are longer because we know more (Peter, John, Paul). Others are put together (Simon and Jude share one chapter). Most interesting to me were the chapters on the co-workers. Not only did he include some obvious people like St. Stephen (the first martyr) and Timothy and Titus, but also a married couple (Priscilla and Aquila) and also the women who served to spread the Gospel.
I highly recommend the book. It is easy to read and full of wonderful insights about the foundation of our Church and the people involved.
My next reading will be to finish John Paul II's Theology of the Body, which my wife and I started back in our marriage preparation days. I am surprised to see that I only have about 70 pages left, but the text is a much more challenging read than Benedict XVI, so it may take me just as long or longer to finish.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Does every playdate end like this?
I've joined a stay at home parents' group here in Columbia, Maryland, called Parents AT Home or PATH. The group is made up of parents and other caregivers who have decided to stay at home because of the great value it has for the child's or children's development. One of the activities the group promotes is play groups.
Play groups are small groups of similarly aged children who get together once or a few times a week to play together. The group can meet at parents' homes or go out to activities. The group I was placed in is going to the library on Fridays for story time. Also, we met today at my home for a play date, where the kids play together and learn to interact socially, or even just get used to other pint-sized people playing with their stuff.
Our group is small, just three children: Jacob, Chloe and Caroline. We played in the family room since that had the most toys and is the most kid-friendly room in the house. Things went pretty well. The children played together mostly. Occasionally one would wander off to a different part of the room. The headless musical rocking horse was popular but only once did Jacob and Caroline want to ride at the same time. They played with the musical instruments. Chloe would have decapitated one of her playmates if they had been in the line of the cymbal she threw. Whew, no one suffered from separation anxiety this time!
But toward the end of the playdate, Jacob and Chloe were playing with the blocks by the window and we parents weren't paying attention. All of the sudden, Chloe was crying. Well, not at first. She had that open-mouthed, look-like-I'm-crying-with-no-sound-coming-out face for about 20 seconds and then she hit the high notes. I think Jacob might have whacked her with the block cart, but there was no real evidence. Her mom comforted her. Caroline came over to give Chloe a kiss and hug, but she tripped on the way. Then she started crying in pitch with Chloe. I watched for Jacob to fall next. He didn't. I picked up Jacob. Chloe began to calm down. Chloe's mom brought her over to Jacob to give him a kiss. I was bending over holding him. Chloe clonked my head and started crying again. We parents had a good laugh; I hope the kids understood. We decided playdate was over.
I hope all playdate don't end this way. I hope even more that it wasn't just this play date that ended this way!
Play groups are small groups of similarly aged children who get together once or a few times a week to play together. The group can meet at parents' homes or go out to activities. The group I was placed in is going to the library on Fridays for story time. Also, we met today at my home for a play date, where the kids play together and learn to interact socially, or even just get used to other pint-sized people playing with their stuff.
Our group is small, just three children: Jacob, Chloe and Caroline. We played in the family room since that had the most toys and is the most kid-friendly room in the house. Things went pretty well. The children played together mostly. Occasionally one would wander off to a different part of the room. The headless musical rocking horse was popular but only once did Jacob and Caroline want to ride at the same time. They played with the musical instruments. Chloe would have decapitated one of her playmates if they had been in the line of the cymbal she threw. Whew, no one suffered from separation anxiety this time!
But toward the end of the playdate, Jacob and Chloe were playing with the blocks by the window and we parents weren't paying attention. All of the sudden, Chloe was crying. Well, not at first. She had that open-mouthed, look-like-I'm-crying-with-no-sound-coming-out face for about 20 seconds and then she hit the high notes. I think Jacob might have whacked her with the block cart, but there was no real evidence. Her mom comforted her. Caroline came over to give Chloe a kiss and hug, but she tripped on the way. Then she started crying in pitch with Chloe. I watched for Jacob to fall next. He didn't. I picked up Jacob. Chloe began to calm down. Chloe's mom brought her over to Jacob to give him a kiss. I was bending over holding him. Chloe clonked my head and started crying again. We parents had a good laugh; I hope the kids understood. We decided playdate was over.
I hope all playdate don't end this way. I hope even more that it wasn't just this play date that ended this way!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Library story time
In case you didn't know it, I am a slave to my 16-month old son Jacob. His will is my command. He rules me with an iron pacifier.
One way to keep him placated is to take him to the library, where a toddler section has fun toys and books to play with. The library also has the advantage of having lots of room to run around in and no stairs to climb up or fall down. The other major advantage at the library is story time. One of the librarians comes in a presents about half an hour's worth of stories, sing-a-longs and games to keep the most tyrannical toddler preoccupied. Today was Toddler Tales and Tunes at the East Columbia Branch!
Jacob and I arrived at the library about 15 minutes early. We returned some books and a toy (yes, this library even loans toys!) and as we headed to the toddler section, I noticed that Jacob's shoe was missing. He wears these slipper-boot hybrids that don't tie, so they've slipped off more than once. So we walked back out to the car and found his right shoe. By the time we got back in, we were only 12 minutes early. Still some time to play in the toddler room before the start of story time.
In the toddler room, we ran into Miss Ellie, one of the librarians from the Savage Branch of the library who hosts the story times there. She was there on her day off with her son Alex, also going to Toddler Tales and Tunes. We caught up a little bit and then headed off to the storytime room.
Toddler Tales and Tunes is a fun month-long program for those aged 12 to 24 months. It focuses on various important aspects of a toddler's life such as being in the kitchen and potty training. Today was kitchen day. Songs were about food (including Humpty Dumpty sung to the tune of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall; I guess he's always depicted as an egg, though the only egg-like characteristic in the rhyme is that he can't be put back together) and cooking and pots and pans. For the pots and pans song, the lady handed out little plastic frying pans and pots for the kids to bang on or bang together. It was a lot of fun when the kids would actually share.
At the end, Jacob wandered over by the shelves and latched on to a large, slim book about the weather. Assuming he wanted to check it out, I let him keep it. We said our thank yous to the librarian and our goodbyes to Miss Ellie and Alex. At the checkout counter, we picked up our reserve copy of Twilight for Mom. All was running smoothly.
Often, I go to Giant (a local grocery store) after a visit to the library since it is fairly close by. Jacob did not want to come out of his seat without his newly acquired book. Figuring it couldn't do any harm, I let him bring it into the store with him. He's in the shopping cart so he won't be able to subtly drop it somewhere without my noticing (unlike his shoes). As we walked the aisles, we ran into Miss Ellie and Alex again. Miss Ellie had a good laugh when she saw us. At first I could not figure out why. Then I realized she saw Jacob with his book. Whoops! I hope she doesn't report us to the library authorities!
One way to keep him placated is to take him to the library, where a toddler section has fun toys and books to play with. The library also has the advantage of having lots of room to run around in and no stairs to climb up or fall down. The other major advantage at the library is story time. One of the librarians comes in a presents about half an hour's worth of stories, sing-a-longs and games to keep the most tyrannical toddler preoccupied. Today was Toddler Tales and Tunes at the East Columbia Branch!
Jacob and I arrived at the library about 15 minutes early. We returned some books and a toy (yes, this library even loans toys!) and as we headed to the toddler section, I noticed that Jacob's shoe was missing. He wears these slipper-boot hybrids that don't tie, so they've slipped off more than once. So we walked back out to the car and found his right shoe. By the time we got back in, we were only 12 minutes early. Still some time to play in the toddler room before the start of story time.
In the toddler room, we ran into Miss Ellie, one of the librarians from the Savage Branch of the library who hosts the story times there. She was there on her day off with her son Alex, also going to Toddler Tales and Tunes. We caught up a little bit and then headed off to the storytime room.
Toddler Tales and Tunes is a fun month-long program for those aged 12 to 24 months. It focuses on various important aspects of a toddler's life such as being in the kitchen and potty training. Today was kitchen day. Songs were about food (including Humpty Dumpty sung to the tune of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall; I guess he's always depicted as an egg, though the only egg-like characteristic in the rhyme is that he can't be put back together) and cooking and pots and pans. For the pots and pans song, the lady handed out little plastic frying pans and pots for the kids to bang on or bang together. It was a lot of fun when the kids would actually share.
At the end, Jacob wandered over by the shelves and latched on to a large, slim book about the weather. Assuming he wanted to check it out, I let him keep it. We said our thank yous to the librarian and our goodbyes to Miss Ellie and Alex. At the checkout counter, we picked up our reserve copy of Twilight for Mom. All was running smoothly.
Often, I go to Giant (a local grocery store) after a visit to the library since it is fairly close by. Jacob did not want to come out of his seat without his newly acquired book. Figuring it couldn't do any harm, I let him bring it into the store with him. He's in the shopping cart so he won't be able to subtly drop it somewhere without my noticing (unlike his shoes). As we walked the aisles, we ran into Miss Ellie and Alex again. Miss Ellie had a good laugh when she saw us. At first I could not figure out why. Then I realized she saw Jacob with his book. Whoops! I hope she doesn't report us to the library authorities!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Snowday--a day off
As luck would have it, we live just north enough to get the occasional big (relatively speaking) snow storm but far south enough that the local and state governments really don't invest properly in snow removal resources. Last night's 5-6 inches of snow gave us the day off today. It is a good news.
We aren't quite sure if where we live is a suburb of Washington, DC, or a suburb of Baltimore. We live closer to Baltimore but more commuter buses go south to DC. Either way, it is a suburb and our local street didn't get plowed out till well past noon. Long after most of us had shoveled out our driveways and sidewalks. As I was clearing off mine, I saw the next door neighbor with her two kids cleaning up theirs. Naturally they finished before I did. They got out the toboggan and did some runs down the front lawn. Angie and I waited till the afternoon to take Jacob out in the backyard. We have a well-sloped backyard that makes it tough when the badminton set is up, but it works quite well for our little sled. Jacob enjoyed his first run more than subsequent runs. Both Angie and I had our own individual runs, too. I'll be posting video to our YouTube account later on.
He also seemed to enjoy walking around in the snow. Anytime it got on his hands, though, he'd come to us and hold them out to us to take care of it. If only he would wear gloves! We tried to get mittens on his hands, but each time one hand was mittened, he'd use the other to take it off. It quickly turned into a fun game. A fun game for him, that is. After one or two stumbles in the snow, Jacob was starting to look more like Frosty. By the time we got inside, he was very rosy-cheeked. And very happy. I look forward to many other snow storms in the coming years.
We aren't quite sure if where we live is a suburb of Washington, DC, or a suburb of Baltimore. We live closer to Baltimore but more commuter buses go south to DC. Either way, it is a suburb and our local street didn't get plowed out till well past noon. Long after most of us had shoveled out our driveways and sidewalks. As I was clearing off mine, I saw the next door neighbor with her two kids cleaning up theirs. Naturally they finished before I did. They got out the toboggan and did some runs down the front lawn. Angie and I waited till the afternoon to take Jacob out in the backyard. We have a well-sloped backyard that makes it tough when the badminton set is up, but it works quite well for our little sled. Jacob enjoyed his first run more than subsequent runs. Both Angie and I had our own individual runs, too. I'll be posting video to our YouTube account later on.
He also seemed to enjoy walking around in the snow. Anytime it got on his hands, though, he'd come to us and hold them out to us to take care of it. If only he would wear gloves! We tried to get mittens on his hands, but each time one hand was mittened, he'd use the other to take it off. It quickly turned into a fun game. A fun game for him, that is. After one or two stumbles in the snow, Jacob was starting to look more like Frosty. By the time we got inside, he was very rosy-cheeked. And very happy. I look forward to many other snow storms in the coming years.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sundays in Lent--day off from penance?
One of the big points of interest for Catholics is the idea that Sundays in Lent are "days off" from giving up whatever you gave up. If you gave up chocolate for Lent, you can have some on Sunday and just abstain from Monday through Saturday, inclusive. I've heard and read a lot of different arguments about when we have to offer something up and when we can indulge.
The crux of all the arguments is that Lent is supposed to be 40 days long, in imitation of the 40 days of fasting and preparation that the Lord did before He started His public ministry.
One argument is the number of days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday is 49, so that in order to hit the magical "40 days" number, you can indulge on Sundays (of which there are six before Easter comes) and also on the Solemnities of St. Joseph (March 19) and the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and, if you are Irish, the greatest of all possible feasts, St. Patrick's Day (March 17, like I had to tell you!). So these are all days that you don't have to give up whatever it is you gave up.
Another argument is the number of days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday is 40, so you have to tough it out until Easter sunrise. No breaks for Sundays, St. Joseph, the Incarnation or even St. Patrick (though the local bishop may give you St. Patrick's day off anyway, especially if it falls on a Friday in Lent--we all know that corned beef and cabbage is too tempting and that no true blooded Irishman or Irishlass can refrain on March 17, though the legitimacy of the dish is another controvery I don't want to get into here. Look here instead.)
Another argument is that Lent is 46 days long and just Sundays are off from penance. This is what I grew up with, along with the practice of being "free" from what you offered up at noon on Holy Saturday. I've never really understood this "Saturday noon" thing so I can offer no justification for it except tradition with a small t.
Taking a calendar and actually counting the number of days starting with Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Saturday, the number is indeed 46. Since every Sunday is the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord, it makes sense that it is not a penitential day. Though nothing stops someone from continuing a Lenten practice. Clearly, the church doesn't fully celebrate on Sundays in Lent, since the Gloria and the gospel alleluia is dropped for those six Sundays.
I think that obsessing about the number of days that you fast, pray and give alms is really not conducive to receiving the benefits of penitential, prayerful and sacrificial preparation for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you just want to fulfill the law or hit the right number, you aren't really coming closer to Christ, trying to understand His will for you and being open to His influences on your life. Saying "I did 40 days just like Jesus did, so look at me!" is like saying "I have a beard and mustache just like Jesus did, so look at me!" You really miss the point of conversion to Christ that we all should seek and that we all constantly have to renew.
The crux of all the arguments is that Lent is supposed to be 40 days long, in imitation of the 40 days of fasting and preparation that the Lord did before He started His public ministry.
One argument is the number of days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday is 49, so that in order to hit the magical "40 days" number, you can indulge on Sundays (of which there are six before Easter comes) and also on the Solemnities of St. Joseph (March 19) and the Annunciation of the Lord (March 25) and, if you are Irish, the greatest of all possible feasts, St. Patrick's Day (March 17, like I had to tell you!). So these are all days that you don't have to give up whatever it is you gave up.
Another argument is the number of days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday is 40, so you have to tough it out until Easter sunrise. No breaks for Sundays, St. Joseph, the Incarnation or even St. Patrick (though the local bishop may give you St. Patrick's day off anyway, especially if it falls on a Friday in Lent--we all know that corned beef and cabbage is too tempting and that no true blooded Irishman or Irishlass can refrain on March 17, though the legitimacy of the dish is another controvery I don't want to get into here. Look here instead.)
Another argument is that Lent is 46 days long and just Sundays are off from penance. This is what I grew up with, along with the practice of being "free" from what you offered up at noon on Holy Saturday. I've never really understood this "Saturday noon" thing so I can offer no justification for it except tradition with a small t.
Taking a calendar and actually counting the number of days starting with Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Saturday, the number is indeed 46. Since every Sunday is the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord, it makes sense that it is not a penitential day. Though nothing stops someone from continuing a Lenten practice. Clearly, the church doesn't fully celebrate on Sundays in Lent, since the Gloria and the gospel alleluia is dropped for those six Sundays.
I think that obsessing about the number of days that you fast, pray and give alms is really not conducive to receiving the benefits of penitential, prayerful and sacrificial preparation for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you just want to fulfill the law or hit the right number, you aren't really coming closer to Christ, trying to understand His will for you and being open to His influences on your life. Saying "I did 40 days just like Jesus did, so look at me!" is like saying "I have a beard and mustache just like Jesus did, so look at me!" You really miss the point of conversion to Christ that we all should seek and that we all constantly have to renew.
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