ANCILLARY READING, RESEARCH

These are records of the items I looked up either at the direction of the author (Sheed is quite good about this!) or just because I didn't understand the context or the background necessary to appreciate a passage fully.  Like most things I endeavor, however, as you'll see, this grew from merely recording scripture passages that I looked up, to full-blown observations based on items I was reading at the time.  When the items become analyses and not just records, I placed them in the page titled "OBSERVATIONS."

1.    Is 26:19

2.    Ezek 37: 1-4

3.    Daniel 12:2-3

4.    Mac 7:9

5.    Psalms 110, 8

6.    Thais, by Menander:  An early hedonist.

7.    St. Fulgentius, On the Faith, I bought the text, have it in my Google Library.

8.    Gen 2:7

9.    Is 25:8

10.  Hosea 13:14

11.  Stephanas, Fortunata, Achaicus

12.  Aquila, Prisca

13.  Didache 10, 6

14.  Ezekiel (biography, etc.)

15.  Tertullian:  History, Moses gives us law and consequences; Christ gives life, morality, and offers         help to follow Him.

16.  St. Ephrem (Ephraim)

17.  Origen:  Hermeneutics; the OT is literal; filled with types waiting to be fulfilled by Christ's spirit.        The NT is full of LIFE, and was foretold by the OT.

18.  Arianism:  Denied Christ's consubstantiality with the Father.

19.  St. Athanasius:  (b. 296-298)  Expert on incarnation; Alexandrian, promoted the Divinity of                Christ.

20.  St. Basil:  Major proponent of the Nicene Creed; early developer of Christian Monasticism; one          of the "Cappadocian Fathers"; Doctor of the Church; his spiritual awakening was in some ways          similar to that of St. Augustine--embedded in the world (classical literature, law, rhetoric,                    oratory)--then awoke to see this was ephemeral, worthless--literally; his Rule was more moderate        than most of those at his time, and it influenced Benedict.

21.  Romans 3:8:  I was reminded of an early heresy wherein adherents would intentionally sin as              much as possible, because in their thinking, the greater the sin, the greater the grace is required to        overcome that sin.

                Heresies:  In general.

                Jansenism in particular:  This heresy involved an emphasis on original sin, human depravity, predestination, divine grace.  Jesuits, especially, attacked Jansenius as a near-Calvinist.  They saw him as nearly heretical because his teaching diminishes the role of free will in the "acceptance and use of grace."  (Wiki)

22.  Romans 4:2--John Chrysostom, Saint:  Archbishop of Constantinople, Church Father, asceticism, Sept. 13, wrote against "the Judaizers"; Wikipedia entry [salt, large grain], claims that St. Chrysostom's writings may have been the impetus behimd "periodic bouts of Christian anti-Semitism" [but, remember, whenever Paul came to a new community, he first approached the Jewish leaders, and focussed his preaching in the synagogues.  Also, Paul's was not an anti-Jewish message, rather, he stood strong against the Jews who attacked the early Christian communities, NEVER Jews in general.]  Chrysostom was a hermit, and a severe ascetic--he STOOD for almost two years, 375-377, almost never slept, and memorized the Bible; this resulted in lifelong poor health; he was an eloquent speaker; he died in exile for speaking out against the financially wasteful ways of (among others) Eudoxia, the wife of Eastern Emperor Artcadius.  

I read Chrysostom's Homilies on Romans 8 and cannot believe what a prolific writer he was!  His writing is tough to slog through, however.  Speaks of justification, faith, works, and grace.

Been a long time, huh?

Well, I've been focusing my energies elsewhere, even though I have continued writing, it has been in a different manner than ever before.

First, some background.  About two years ago, I asked my local pastor, Father D, to be my Spiritual Director.  Since then, we've had pretty regular meetings wherein he lets me ask questions about things I have come across in my reading, or through meditation or prayer.  He is a very thorough listener, and his responses are intelligent and directed to the question.  Unlike mentors I've had in the past, the goal in his answers to my queries is to help me, rather than to hear himself speak, or to impress me with his knowledge.

[Isn't it true that whenever someone opens a sentence with this phrase:  "To make a long story short," he has usually just told you a bunch of stuff you didn't need to know?!]

Because of my background in literature, he started me on a reading schedule; we began with the Life of St. Therese of Lisieux.  I finished that one before our next appointment, and so I created a schedule for myself.  At its core, the reading schedule is based on reading the Bible, beginning with the New Testament and then reading most of the Old Testament.  Father D and I have met several times again since I arranged this schedule and he approves of it.  Here it is in its most recent form:

I.  Alternate between Frank Sheed's Theology for Beginners (TFB), and the New Testament (NT).  [I should add that when I constructed this schedule, I also began to record instances when I stopped to research a concept, historical movement, person, etc. at greater depth because a better understanding of these would lead to a deeper understanding of the primary text.  I labelled these "Ancillary Readings."

NT:    Acts
TFB:  1-11
NT:    1, 2 Thessalonians
TFB:  12
NT:    Galatians, Philipians
TFB:  13
NT:    1, 2 Corinthians
TFB:  14
NT:    Romans, Philemon
TFB:  15
NT:    Colossians, Ephesians
TFB:  16
NT:    Matthew
TFB:  17
NT:    Mark
TFB:  18
NT:    Luke
TFB:  19
NT:    John
TFB:  20
NT:    Revelations


II.  Then, finish the NT sections that are not yet read, alternating with chapters from Father Barron's Seeds, and Augustine's Confessions.

NT:         1 Timothy, Thomas
SEEDS:  18, 19, 20
CON'S:   1, 2
NT:         2 Timothy
SEEDS:  21, 22, 23
CON'S:   3, 4
NT:         Titus
SEEDS:  24, 25, 26
CON'S:   5, 6
NT:         Hebrews
SEEDS:  27, 28, 29
CON'S:   7, 8
NT:         St. James
SEEDS:  30, 31, 32
CON'S:   9
NT:         1 Peter
SEEDS:  33, 34, 35
CON'S:   10
NT:         2 Peter
SEEDS:  36, 37, 38
CON'S:   11
NT:         1 John
SEEDS:  39, 40, 41
CON'S:   12
NT:         2 John
SEEDS:  42, 43, 44
CON'S:   13
NT:         3 John
SEEDS:  45, 46, 47


III.  Finish Seeds; chapters 48--84


IV.  Finish Being Catholic; pages 79--198


V.   Read in Bede's In Marcum


VI.  Read in Didache


VII.   "     "   Lives of the Saints


VIII.  "     "   Imitation of Christ


IX.     "     "   Benedict's Rule


X.     Alternate between books of the OT and "Lessons" in Father Barron's "Priest, Prophet, King."
         [The order of OT readings below is taken from CatholicCulture.org's "Chronological Reading              of Sacred History."]


OT:    Genesis/Exodus
PPK:  Intro Video and Lesson 1
OT:    Numbers
PPK:  Video & Lesson 2
OT:    Joshua/Judges
PPK:  Video & Lesson 3
OT:    1,2 Samuel; 1, 2 Kings
PPK:  Video & Lesson 4
OT:    Ezra
PPK:  Video & Lesson 5
OT:    Nehemia, 1 Maccabees
PPK:  Video & Lesson 5 (continued) and Appendices

XI.   Remaining OT.  Search for additional guides to important OT books for Catholics.  Ask Father.

"Spaghetti Night"

One of the most important events in my family is our "Spaghetti Night."  About once every other week, we bring as many of the kids and their friends home and I cook an enormous pot of meat sauce and pasta.  We haven't had one in some time, because we usually shut things down over  break.

Basically, "Spaghetti Night" is an opportunity to bring as many people home as we can get--especially our children.  After the kids, we try to get as many of their friends as possible, then maybe some extended family.  It's great to have as many folks to cook for as possible!

The Spaghetti Sauce recipe I use is from my grandmother.  It's very easy to make--but it's a secret!  When we have many friends and family over, I triple the recipe so that I can put leftovers in tupper-ware and send home with poor college students.!!  I make gallons of the stuff!  I don't even have a pot big enough to hold the sauce, so I cook it in my turkey roasting pan and spread it over two stove top burners!

As the kids begin to file in, I make sure that the sauce is boiling, and that the bread is scheduled to be done at the time everyone said they'd be there (but never are!).  After the bread's done, I put it in an oven-safe dish with towels wrapped around  the bread and keep it in the oven about 200 degrees until it's ready to be served.

So that leaves the pasta.

And I'm sorry, but I AM a bit of a pasta fanatic.  When it's about three minutes from being done, I gather everyone into the kitchen for grace.  When that's eover, I tell everyone to grab a plate (or bowl), a fork, a drink, and to be ready.

"BECAUSE . . . "    (as all of the kids now can imitate!)  "PASTA WAITS FOR NO ONE!!'

When there's a special, or even minor occasion, we'll all crowd around our big dining room table.  If there's nothing special going on, and particularly if we don't have any older guests, we turn the kids loose to watch something like "America's Top Model," etc.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, the kids do the dishes and clean the kitchen.

All in all, I think it has been my best idea since Susan left.

Let me tell you about my day.

I was feeling poorly this morning--pain in my back and a bad nightmare involving a faceless doctor the night before.  When circumstances like this occur, I try to "hunker down" as much as possible.

So, I spent the morning watching the birds outside our family room window.  With Peggy's laptop on, well, my LAP--I learned:

That Ornithologists once thought there were 3 separate species of Junco, but now consider those to be merely races of the same species.

That Northern Flickers have two long bright yellow feathers on the underside of their tail feathers.

And, my most important discovery of the day?  Juncos have a light pink bill!

Yes, that's how my days have--I was going to type "degenerated"--but I don't think that's right, is it?

Maybe it is more accurate to say that that is how my days have "evolved."

After watching my birds for the morning, I got my coupons and grocery list together and went to pick up Girl 2 from school on my way to Meijer.

At the grocery, I saved $16.00 on a $58.00 grocery bill, I have to learn to hide my coupon enthusiasm from Peggy, she's beginning to question my masculinity!

Home from the grocery, I put everything away that wasn't and cleaned what needed to be cleaned.  As I was doing the dishes, my Peggy told me that she had heard from a dear friend of ours, D---, that the cancer she had so soundly beat in her Pancreas is now back in her liver.

There's a part of cancer that's just sort of inevitable, isn't there?  I mean it just keeps coming, and coming, and coming.  And it does so RANDOMLY!!  this person I'm talking about is a wonderful woman. By energy and example she has made a difference in so many lives.

I know that God has a purpose behind the further suffering my friend will have to endure.  He lets nothing go to waste, and it strikes me that all life is educational--to ourselves, and to others who look at us.

I know that God loves my friend, and one way or the other, sooner or (please) later, He will gather her into His loving hug.

                 She needs it, Father.

I know  that she is scheduled for an appointment next week to discuss/determine what she wants to do from here out, given the information she's been provided.

I DON'T know what her decision will, or even should be.

I DO know that I will be with her in praying my rosary for her, each day before that appointment. 

This friend, I wish I could mention her name, but that wouldn't be prudent, this friend has gone to bat for me so many times, has put herself in situations that must have been uncomfortable, just so that I could gain a degree of comfort I did not deserve.

I will say a rosary for her every day until she has her appointment and determines what course of action to follow from here.  I'll try to avoid being selfish, because I would always want her around. But more than most, I know the price of "just keep on keeping on."

My job will be to support, not to cajole, never to judge.

I love you, D--.

Hi. So this is another blog by and about someone you don't know and will almost certainly never meet. I am not as interested in gathering readers or advertisers (as if) than I am in telling a story. My story.

The next posts (I will try to keep those posts as short as possible, even in a blog they're not that interesting.)

I am aware in that I will alter or abbreviate events in the telling.  Many of the stories you'll read here have existed in oral stories that I have told, that my loved ones have told, and even that people who have no investment in me have told. Here, I will try to record the most accurate of those.

One of the problems with that goal, however, is that the very experiences I wish to narrate have led to me having a less than stellar memory.

From 1978 until 1987, I had surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation for an Osteogenic Sarcoma (and several recurrences) that was diagnosed when I was 19.  Though I remember these big dates and events, "Cancer Brain" or "Chemo Fog" is a real thing.  I have the kind of mental fog that many long-term survivors have reported.  In fact, researchers are finding that chemo/surgery/radiation patients suffer through many of the same symptoms as our brave soldiers who return from war with PTSD.  Even just knowing that there is a name for what is wrong with me makes me feel more hopeful.  The only problem with identifying it as somewhat similar to PTSD is that I certainly don't feel as worthy as those warriors who've done so much for our country.

My neurologist told me that he figured I have been battling these issues for a long time--probably since I was about 20--but that youth and mental energy allowed me to overcome them.  Recently, I have certainly noticed that I have "lost a step"--before I should've.