+JMJ+ Did I ever tell you about the time I recited the Creed in a coffee shop? I was talking with a young man about religion and belief and I do not remember how we got on the subject. Probably he saw that I was wearing a Catholic T-shirt and reading a Catholic book. A lot of my conversations get started that way. Eventually he said to me, “I don’t know what I believe, do you?”
Continue reading “Anotha cuppa and a few words about the time I recited the Creed in a coffee shop”
+JMJ+ I haven’t posted a rambling ramble in a while so here’s the first one of the new year. I’m sitting here by the virtual fireplace, listening to the crackling sounds of logs burning without having to worry about setting anything ablaze or cleaning up any ash or checking the flue. Miss Lucy Dawg is sleeping in front of the TV stand. I wonder if she imagine it’s the hearth. She’s been known to lie there near the fire–until she gets too hot after about a minute. Major Tom Cat is out back, doing his perimeter check or whatever he does out there. He’ll be back in here wanting to sit in my lap and smother me soon. Major Tom is not a little cat. He’s a big ol’ guy and he radiates heat. I won’t be cold this winter with him in my lap.
Continue reading “Anotha cuppa and some new used books”
+JMJ+ Welcome to part 23 of our weekly series on the soul. When I was a Buddhist, I could never quite accept the teachings on the soul, or, rather, the lack thereof. Not lack of teachings, but the teachings on the lack of a soul. Hinduism, in general, teaches that there is an atman (soul). Buddhism, in all branches with which I’m familiar, teaches that there is anatman (no soul).
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+JMJ+ Come on in and pull up a chair. If it’s too hot in here, just give it a second and I’ll be turning on the A.C. That’s how it is with sarcoidosis and Prednisone. It’s like going through the change every minute of your life: freezing one moment, burning up the next. Ah, well, enough about me. How do take your tea? Let’s sit and talk a while.
I wanted to say something about the Thursday evening posts (okay, a lot of them have ended up being Friday wee morning hours posts, but I digress) that are part of the weekly series on the soul. It’s not that I am a know-it-all about the soul or spiritual theology or any aspect of Catholic teaching. It’s just that I get interested in a particular subject and the first thing I wanna do is run show somebody what I’ve found, like a little kid.
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Thinking about a topic for tonight’s post I stumbled upon a great idea: How about ME? ;) I’ve been reading a lot of posts and tweets about what COVID-19 is like. Suffering from it, that is. And to tell the truth, it sounds a lot like what I go through every day with sarcoidosis, on steroids. (That there be an inside joke. Sarcoidosis. On steroids. Steroids being the main, if not the only treatment for it. Ha. Sigh. Ahem! Anyway…)
I am NOT making light of COVID-19, nor am I saying it’s no worse than sarcoidosis. It clearly is. I’m just saying that there are similarities. Here’s what I mean.
Continue reading “(More than) a few words and anotha cuppa”
Greetings! Good to see you! Well, I can’t see you see you, but—oh, you know what I mean. Tonight I’ve got a couple of quick personal updates and then I’ll share something I’ve found recently on the web while surfing the web doing important research for an important writing project. Ahem.
The updates.
First: If you follow me on Twitter, then you’ve probably seen my tweets about my sister. She’s been going through some rough times with some painful health issues. She’s doing better but still has a way to go to be fully healed. To those of you who have been praying, thank you. I appreciate it and so does she, very much. Twitter & blog family prayer warriors rock!
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I told the Lord I don’t know how to pray. I know, He said. Oh, right, I guess He would.
I told Him I’ve been busy doing and decidedly un-busy praying. Uh huh, He said. (You might not think that He would speak that way, but He does, sometimes, at least, to me, anyway.)
So I told Him, Look, I really don’t know how to pray and a whole lot of other things besides.
Finally, He said, Now we’re getting somewhere.
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I spent the day drinking tea and cuddling with (and cooking chicken for) Miss Lucy Dawg, and binge-watching a show I never got into when it was in its original run, Earth: Final Conflict. I’m on episode 15 of season one and I’m enjoying it. Especially the theme song, will have to look for the soundtrack. After I watch it all the way through once, I’ll go back and re-watch it, and maybe I’ll write something about it. We’ll see.
Have also been going through my library. Oh, if only it were a real library with books on shelves lining the walls and I could walk up and down and touch the covers and gaze upon them lovingly. Alas, I’ve had to pore over boxes and stacks of physical books and browse through digital books on a laptop screen. (My eyes! My eyes!) It’s just not the same. Plus the fact that I’ve got so many fascinating books, sometimes it’s difficult to pick one and settle down with it. No, that’s not true. It’s always difficult to pick one and settle down. For me, anyway.
Ruh roh, my cup’s empty. And an empty cup is a sad cup. Gotta getta anotha cuppa tea. Be right back.
Continue reading “A few words and anotha cuppa”
Catholic Heart and Mind 