Arfink Gets Random.

[arfink]

So yes. Things are insane here in the Finky Lair. I am needing some more time and space for... stuff. Yeah.

[AnneLine]

I have this mental image of a lair of Finkies.    Now if we only had an artist in the house....

[arfink]

Well, Christmas is nearly here, and I still have nothing wrapped and some of the presents haven't even been gotten or made yet. I don't really want to do it either, but I probably should. I guess I just waited too long. Phooey. :(

[arfink]

OK, I was thinking about sci fi, as any geek is wont to be doing, and the thought occurred to me: how in heck would one do mass in zero g, in space? Wouldn't the consecrated wine pose rather a sticky (literally and canonically) problem in zero g, what with not staying in chalices and generally being undrinkable that way?

Fortunately the Church thinks of everything: In the GIRM it says "the Blood of the Lord may be received either by drinking from the chalice directly, or by intinction, or by means of a tube or a spoon."

Straws are totally legit.

[AnneLine]

Well... this is proving to be an interesting Christmas!  

 

Was woken up EARLY this morning by a friend with a death in her family.  Prayers please....

 

Spent the day doing stuff and resting around the house... needed a couple of naps!!!!! and fixed a good meal for my husband early afternoon....

 

I ended up at the 9PM mass tonight (beautiful candle lit Mass... nice!)  My poor husband was working (rental car place is crazy this time of year.... but I remind him that IF Joseph and Mary had a problem with their rental donkey, HE would be the person they would come to for help.....)

 

So, the 9PM was only one I could make... and returning home with M. at work means a walk, a bus, a lightrail train AND a cab after Mass to get home by myself... but worth it for Mass.  Absolutely worth it!!!!!!   :)

 

However, 3/4 of the way through tonight's Mass AnneLine -- who can be dense when a lot is going on -- realized that my husband is scheduled to have Tuesday through Thursday off this week... which means he'll be going to work at 3:30 Monday afternoon --- and will be working until about 7 AM on Christmas morning.  

 

Humph. 

 

I hadn't figured out that he will be working Christmas Eve!  

 

So... I guess I will be heding off to spend some time with my husband's Mom in the rehab hospital (she has Stage 4 cancer and is recovering from chemo) in the late evening, grab some dinner on the run, and then if the timing works well, see if I can find an 9 or 10 pm Christmas Eve 'midnight' Mass somewhere..... returning home by walking, bus, lightrail train and a cab around Midnight tomorrow.  (I'm afraid if I try for a Midnight Mass, I might run out of transit....)

 

I suspect it will feel very much like the First Christmas.  Bus shelters are probably a whole lot like barns.... and riding on public transit can certainly make one feel like a herd of animals or travelers in transit..... hopefully it won't rain!!!!   I'll try to remember to pray for all I encounter as I movethrough the system...  especially if I start to feel sorry for myself.  Then I'm going to put on some Christmas Music and make 90 minute cinnamon rolls so there will be something nice for Rentacar Man when he gets home!  And just spend some quality time with the baby Jesus.. I dunno... maybe I'll even stick my nose into Phatmass... we'll see!

 

We'll sleep in late.... Find a day Mass somewhere...  and then probably go have Christmas dinner at the rehab with his mom. 

 

All in all, will make for an interesting Christmas... one for the books!

 

And I'll be cooking Christmas Dinner for St. John's Day!!!

 

What are the rest of you doing?????

Edited December 24, 2012 by AnneLine

[arfink]

I made a little reflection for you all:

 

His eyes were heavy. It had been a long night. The man who was supposed to be on watch had been sleeping for hours, that lazy lump. It was so late he wondered, "Are even any wolves awake at this time of night?" But no, he knew better than that. He remembered the week before, when he had dozed for only an instant, and started awake to see several pairs of glittering eyes just out of the reach of his small fire's light. He had got off easily that time, considering there were 5 of them.

 

He looked up. A few thin clouds trailed across the sky, their edges standing out against the velvet dome. Soon, he told himself, the warm wonderful sun would come and with it his rest. Yes, rest. Sleep. How his every particle longed for that bliss! Rest...

 

Snapping suddenly wide awake, he looked hastily about the fringes of his flock. No menacing fangs or hungry eyes were on the prowl. There was nothing. Then what was that sound? Was he just dreaming? No. He heard something again. It was... a voice? "Damn, so it's thieves tonight." In a moment he kicked out his small fire; the warmth would not be needed as much as his sight if he had to fight. "Or run," he thought, remembering his previous encounter. His eyes adjusted to the darkness as he once again turned to survey his sleeping flock. He saw no one. The stars had barely moved. Even if he had been dreaming he couldn't have dozed off for long. Breathlessly he waited, hoping the intruder would give himself away by some accidental sound.

 

There were at least a couple more hours before dawn, but the sky was bright with stars and moon. Eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see every detail of the land around him. If anyone tried to sneak up now, he'd surely be seen. "A thief would have to be pretty stupid to go out on a bright night like this, in the middle of a field with no cover. Huh... it is kinda bright... is the sun coming up already?"

 

There was a faint glow on the horizon, but not where the sun should be. It was coming from the direction of town! "What? It's getting brighter. I have to be dreaming!" And there was that sound again! Yes, a voice. A clear voice, quiet as a forgotten memory yet quickening like the rays of the sun: "Arise!"

 

The voice began to sing, and the light grew with the song. "Shine now, for your Light has come!" The light grew brighter, the voice was joined by others, and both light and song rose. "Your Light is here! Rejoice at His coming!" A bright star, far brighter than he had ever seen, popped over the horizon and flooded the valley with light. The sheep began to stir. "Come! Follow us!" He stood up. What was he doing? "I'm going crazy!" He walked a few paces and looked back at his sheep. They were looking at the light too, and already moving. "Glory to God in the Highest!" He was walking briskly now, and yet the sheep were getting ahead of him. "Rejoice! He has come for you, and for many! Now run! RUN TO HIM!"

Edited December 25, 2012 by arfink

[To Jesus Through Mary]

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.

[AnneLine]

That was... simply amazing!   Thank you!   

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

 

1 minute later....

 

 

There are no coincidences.   A friend just sent this to me....

 

 

 

O Little Town of Bethlehem by Lucy Neeley Adams

 

"It seems strange, but singing the same Christmas carols year after year is delightful. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is one of them.

It never ceases to be meaningful as I picture the many visual images in the words. I accept its beauty with joy in my heart and the simple beat of its music.

 

However, there was a day when I sang the carol and tears flowed. I dabbed my cheeks with a tissue, as I sang with new enthusiasm and greater joy.

Something had changed. It was the first time I had ever sung this endearing hymn in a very special place - the REAL little town of Bethlehem...

My husband and I sat with friends who had traveled together from our home church in Tennessee. It was evident that everyone was deeply touched by the Spirit of God.

We sat in the Church of the Nativity that is built over the spot where it is believed that Jesus was born. Hearing about Bethlehem was not the same as being a part of it.

Reading about the birth of Jesus was not the same as worshiping in Bethlehem.

 

This was probably the same reaction experienced by Phillips Brooks, the composer of this famous Christmas carol.

He was the minister of Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia and had visited Bethlehem in December of 1865.

Several years later, when he wanted a new song of Christmas for the children to sing at his church, he reached back in memory for inspiration from his Holy Land visit.

 

The poem he wrote painted in words the sights and sounds of that little town of Bethlehem he had visited.

What came from his pen was a Christmas carol that has lived to become a worldwide favorite:

"O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie.
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by..."

 

Then he asked the church organist, Lewis Redner, to compose a simple melody for the children to sing on Christmas Eve. Mr.Redner sat down at the piano to find

just the right tune to carry the descriptive words. But nothing he wrote seemed to fit. On the night before the Christmas Eve service he felt defeated, so he went to bed.

During his fretful sleep it seemed that he heard music. Immediately, he got up and wrote down the melody just as we sing it today.

When he joyfully presented it to Rev. Brooks he said: "I think it was a gift from heaven." The children sounded like a choir of angels as they sang the new carol written just for them.

We are blessed to continue singing it over one hundred years later.

 

The minister of Holy Trinity, Phillips Brooks, was born in Boston, in 1825 and educated at Harvard. He was a beloved and respected evangelist. After serving several Episcopal churches in

Philadelphia and Boston, he was appointed Bishop of that area. This giant of a man, who stood 6-feet 8 inches, also had a big heart that endeared him to old and young alike.

There were toys in his office for the many children who visited him. It was a familiar sight to see the beloved bishop sitting on the floor playing a game with a group of children.

He never married but other people's children became like a family to him When he died unexpectedly in 1893, at the age of 58, everyone was overwhelmed with grief.

It was a child who put his death in a beautiful light. When told by her mother that Bishop Brooks had gone to heaven, she simply said, "Oh Mama, how happy the angels will be."

 

Within the beauty of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is one of God's promises from the prophet Micah: "Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the little towns of Judah, but from you I will bring a ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times." (Micah 5:2, GNB).

 

The last verse is a prayer. In fact, it is such an awesome Christmas prayer that we sing it with evangelistic fervor:

"O Holy Child of Bethlehem,
Decend to us, we pray.
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels,
The great glad tidings tell.
Oh come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!"

 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2012 by AnneLine

[arfink]

That's super cool! I thought about being a shepherd last night, at like 3AM, when I had got back from midnight mass but couldn't sleep. I was listening to a song called Kangaroo by Voyager, which has no words. The song is an instrumental piece of electronic ambient music, in the style of Jean Michael Jarre or Vangelis, and was released on Christmas eve, though it's not especially Christmas-y at first listen. Of course, since it was almost 3AM and we had gotten back from mass only a half hour before, my brain was going a million miles an hour while my body was totally tired out. Which means I was feeling pretty punchy. But I knew I just had to slow my mind down a bit before I would be able to sleep, so I was listening to this brand new song.

 

The beginning of the song starts very simply, so quiet it can barely be heard, but as it was my first time listening to the song I had the volume turned up pretty loud so I could hear it, not knowing it would get much louder. There is a series of chords played on a vintage modular synth which makes up the theme of the song, and they are played in a very grand, anthem-like style with lots of sustain and reverb, and of course, plenty of filtering. Some would say it sounds almost "spacey." Of course, looking outside I could see the sky was dark, and I was pondering how horrible I would feel if I were to stay up to watch the sun rise. (I didn't do that, BTW)

 

But as I was listening to this song, it seemed to be building very slowly along a moderate 4/4 beat pattern, like a march, but it was also getting louder. Slowly getting louder, so I was not concerned. But it just kept going. First the baseline chords playing alone, then the anthemic melody, then a descant-like line of high horns, then a heart-quickening pulsed vibrato, then softer percussion, then a heavier bass kick. All this time it got louder and louder, and rather than turn it down I found myself strangely reveling in it, and imagining the rising Son, as if I were that shepherd. But unlike the shepherd, I did not run off to Bethlehem, I stumbled the few feet to my bed, my heart full of joy, and fell asleep for a few hours. :)

 

If you'd like to listen to the song it has been made available for free here:

http://kahvi.org/releases.php?release_number=328

 

The song is track #4 of that album, and is called Kangaroo.

[arfink]

Of course then, after staying up all hours of the night with mass and my little imaginary jaunt to Bethlehem in the dark, I didn't get to sleep in long. I was up a little before 9 AM so my siblings could tear into their presents. Mom made us a lovely breakfast of hashbrown-egg-ham-cheese squares, which were superb. We went to my aunt's house for the Fink family thing in the afternoon, where we had a nice ham dinner and in usual Finky style they just had piles and piles of food, which they spread out over the various tables for everyone to munch as we played games. The party was, as usual, noisy and boisterous and fun, but we were there until a little after 8PM, so by the time we got out of there I was really very tired.

 

Now I'm laying in bed with my headphones on and my laptop open. Sigh. Good day. :)

[arfink]

http://www.gnr8.biz/product_info.php?products_id=943&products_name=Full%20Moon

 

From the website:

 

A striking credenza, with a photo-realistic, luminous image of the moon printed on its surface.

Coated with ELI (Eco Light Inside), an eco-friendly material developed by the designer, which creates a realistic, glowing effect when the lights go out.

Ships with an accompanying CD of original music designed specifically for this piece.

 

 

The website says "Price Available on Request." I don't think I can afford to even ask. :hehe:

[AnneLine]

Not an angel, but not too far off....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOadqDBgN_M&NR=1&feature=endscreen

 

Will come back after EP/OR time with my friend... ."I'll be baaaaaaa...." said the little lamb....

 

[AnneLine]

Hullo!   Technically no longer Christmas, but I don't think God is going to get too huffy about the details.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

 

We had a lovely day, a lovely few days considering everything.  Ended up being a little different than what I had expected, but then I suspect that was true of the first one, too...

 

No nice mystical experiences like you had, ARFInk, but I liked that music (does remind me of Vangelis), and I loved how it connected with your 'contemplation' of the angels.  Very awesome!.....

 

Last night went to Early Mass at 5:30 before heading off to my MIL's bedside.  Was not in any of the parishes we usually attend.... this one was near where my MIL's rehab place is. So I truly did feel like I was on a journey!.   I'd forgotten that they have a retired bishop in residence there, and he said the Mass.  It was the 'children's' mass so I saw what those little angels you heard looked like... they're about 3 feel tall, and they flapped fingers in place of wings.  They did indeed have heavenly voices, and they were very cute.... After Communion the parish lowered all the lights except the main altar and the manger scene, and everyone sang silent night.  It was a very beautiful postcommuion time....   

 

After that I went to visit my mother in law... but she slept through the whole thing...  Actually, I suspect "I" was that bad watchman in your story, ARFink, because I slept in a chair next to her bed when I should have been praying my office...  but I guess it was ok as you were on watch....  so it is only fair that YOU got the reward of hearing the angels!

 

I'd expected a long journey by walking, bus, light rail and cab, if you recall.   Actually it was a beautiful if crisp night, and I'd looked forward to it once I steeled myself to it.   Instead... a friend of the family who came to visit C insisted on giving me a ride home, which was sweet of her.   Got me home hours earlier than I anticipated!!!!   Can't say I used the extra time well... It was a nice quiet night, but I felt distracted.... wanted to pray, but was just out of it.  I suspect all the inspiration was going your way, Sir!

 

This morning got up early & fixed the cinnamon rolls I'd promised my husband, and then just kind of hung out.   Woke him up just in time for  breakfast, and then we headed off to the 1pm Mass.  (I'd have preferred a different one, but didn't have the heart to ask someone who came home from work at 6:30AM to get up before 12....)  

 

Mass with my husband was wonderful, and then we both kind of snoozed & hung out until it was time to get ready to go back to the rehab facility for the family feed in the late afternoon.  

 

At the last moment, I swear I heard the Holy Spirit tell me -- "YOU are the servant of this family --  'Bring your Advent Box' and prepare to serve the meal."   Say what?

 

Now considering that ARfink was called to be a shepherd,  that my Title has been stuck on 'It's Advent - Jesus is Coming' for weeks, and that I've been feeling a bit sorry for myself about being the 'servant' around the house recently.... I just had to laugh.  (I do see that I can now change my title again, and will do so tomorrow....  

 

But  I just had to laugh.  Because I DO have an Advent Box.  It is a box of small Christmas and Advent decorations, a plastic table cloth, battery operated lights, placemats & napkins etc....  I bring it when we have our Secular Order potluck each December.  I grabbed to box, pulled out the advent wreath (enough with Advent already!) and plopped it into the car to the amazement of my husband, with the stuffed penguins and other decorations under my arm..   When we got to the facility, I literally set up the table and the serving table in about 15 minutes -- and dropped the stuffed animals and other decorations around the room.   It lookd downright homey; everyone looked at me like I had just dropped down from the sky... and I had that odd feeling of being USED by God.  It's a very humbling thing... and indeed, it did feel like I was on holy ground.

 

We had a really nice Christmas dinner... and everyone forgot that we were there because we had to be there.... It just became.... welll, it became the Upper Room, in a sense, even though it really was the rehab facility break room.   Because there we broke bread together.  We were travelers on a journey, and we were giving thanks for this little One who was in our midst... and grateful that these two elderly ladies who almost certainly will NOT be with us next year... were sharing His Birthday with us.....  It was a very holy thing in its own way....  

 

All in all, it ended up a most remarkable day....One for the books, indeed.

 

And... I suspect it is giving me the glimmer of a story in the back of my brain, too, ARFink, but mine I suspect comes later....  the pieces haven't totally fallen into place yet..... but I hear God starting to talk.. I have a gut feeling about it.....

 

Blessed, indeed, are we to whom the Lord has come!!!!

 

Edited December 26, 2012 by AnneLine

[MissyP89]

Hi, Tony!

[arfink]

Ohaii! :)