Art and Beauty Tuesday--Andre Kohn

Andre Kohn has a series of paintings titled "Vintage Chanel" (and one similar that I found called "Vintage Valentino". ) His work is indicative of another era.  He paints black dresses and red raincoats, white umbrellas, red umbrellas, red dresses and hats.  This one is my favorite because of the pearls and the side-view of the woman showing her Jackie Kennedyesque hair.  The white umbrella is so pristine against the grey, almost slushy surroundings.

The red raincoat--ah, the red raincoat!!  It brightens up the day and shows the confidence of the woman who wears it.  The painterly style beautifully illustrates the rainy atmosphere--the constant wet that you can't get away from.

The entire series is an homage to an era of class long since passed.  You can almost get a whiff of the Channel perfume as the woman hurries by.

Music Monday--Brahms

Today's Music Monday is Brahms' beautiful "How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place", Psalm 83 (84), from today's Morning Prayer.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.

In the weeks since I've posted a Sunday Snippets, I have posted a book
review on Mrs. Kennedy and Me: an Intimate Portrait, and a mother's day poem by the author of the blog, Journey Towards Epiphany.

I  also posted poetry, art and music on the theme The Good Shepherd.

I also pointed out some important posts by other blogs.  One was "What if God Were One of Us", a post referencing Frank Weather's piece about the abominable way we Christians often treat atheists in the com boxes.  The other was "Aren't You Supposed to Hate Me", which talks about Fr. Andrew's post pointing out how putting people in categories of "the saved" and "the damned" causes us to demonize entire categories of human beings.

Much food for thought in both.

I Remember Mama--A Mother's Day Poem by the author of the Blog, Journey Towards Epiphany

Even though my mother most definitely did not fit the description of the woman in this poem, it took me back to the days of bell-bottoms, John Denver glasses and guitars. Enjoy.

I Remember Mama

You were a gypsy queen
who sat cross legged on golden oak floors
guitar on lap, singing about being His “Flower Child”.

You wore bell bottomed corduroys
and wire rimmed John Denver glasses
making even Chicago a “country road” to home.

Your hair was straight
and long and brown, no curly grey
to interrupt its beauty. And you were just that…a beauty.

You made bean soup and corn bread
a special event, ironed cloth napkins
and all with a side of fried okra.

You were crazy in love with Daddy
treating him like the great man
that He was because of the great woman you are.

You hid behind trees, until certain
that I could walk to school
alone. We laughed about it even then.

You exude femininity and womanhood
because you make everything you touch more beautiful.
The world is a much better place for having had you.

You walked out your grief
when you lost your man to the world beyond
with grace and beauty and dependence upon Him.

You hungered and thirsted for more of God,
making all the spectators in the stands
want to join in the race so they could drink and be satisfied.

Because this is who you were,
this is what you are:
treasured friend, confidant, and mentor to all who take time to watch in wonder.

And it has been you and your shadow all along
The two of us being stretched
like the image in a circus mirror.

Like a sundial, the shadow of who you were
encircles the reality of who you are,
because His light shines on you, and He is illuminated

to a lost and dying world
who watch us with eagle eyes.
They watch not for uncommon greatness, but for what you have in the every day:

Jesus made real.
And you do that so well.
We need you and your reality with Him. May I follow in your footsteps like Elisha with Elijah.

Double portion of Jesus
made real.
In private belonging to Him, to the world proving His existence.

"Aren't You Supposed to Hate Me?

There is an excellent post on Orthodox Fr. Andrew's blog entitled "Aren't You Supposed to Hate Me?" which explains the Calvinist roots of the "hater" rhetoric in the same sex marriage debate that is currently going on.  As usual, there is a more nuanced truth than either side of this debate is willing to admit.  The following quote seems to sum it up nicely and, to my mind, is the *true* Christian position.

I do not in any sense believe that I am better than someone else just because the set of temptations I have and those I succumb to are different from someone else’s. How can I hate someone else for his sins or his temptations? I have so many of my own.

The debate in this country over this and other controversial issues is such that it is difficult not to feel personally insulted when we are seen not just as on the wrong side of the issue, but truly as "haters" and worse, as being called to hate by our own religion. It is difficult not to join in the vitriol that surrounds and passes for reasoned debate. Staying in a place of prayer is one way to avoid volleying back the negativity that is sometimes flung our way. It is also an excellent way to focus on what really matters--the human person as having innate dignity.

The quote that begins the article is apt:

...the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either, but right through every human heart, and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years.  
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn, “The Gulag Archipelago”

Poetry Wednesday-- Mary Van Nattan

The Good Shepherd

A silent pool, a deep refreshing draught,
The purest water from the purest Rock -
These shall be yours,
Oh, thirsty flock of Jesus.

A pasture green of richest grass so rare,
That all abide in satisfaction there -
This shall be thine,
Oh, hungering sheep of Jesus.

A quiet resting place, a cool retreat,
A shield and shadow from the burning heat -
These shall be yours,
Oh, weary flock of Jesus.

A strong Deliverer, a faithful Guide,
A tower of refuge, a wall on every side -
These shall be thine,
Oh, fearful sheep of Jesus.

A Shepherd kind, a Friend forever true,
A gentle touch, a comforting word to you -
These shall be yours,
Oh, suffering flock of Jesus.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Lee Hodges

This painting is entitled "I am the Good Shepherd" by Lee Hodges and beautifully illustrates the concept of Jesus as the Good Shepherd in John 10:11.   The face of Jesus looks down at his lost sheep, with the cross in the background.  I even see a sort of human face on the bottom left of the painting next to one of the sheep.

The Good Shepherd is not just an gently idealized pastoral shepherd.  No--he lays down his life for the sheep; and sheep are stupid animals.

When I think about this, I realize how amazing Jesus' death really was.  He laid down his life for us.  The longer I live on this earth, the more I realize that we, like sheep, are "stupid animals"; yet, Jesus not only loves us, he loves us so much, that he gave up his life for us.