Hobbit-Sense at OneFreeGarden.com

Well, I was going to facebook this, and then I realised it was waaaay too cool for a status where gazillions might see it and instead decided to post it here.  I’ve started reading Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To by Anthony Destefano which Jen F. recently did a Three-Minute Book Club post on at Conversion Diary.  Don’t worry, as Jen points out (as does the author), this is not a “name it and claim it” book at all.  Rather, these prayers come from the depths of the human experience- and so far I can’t see God saying “no” to a single one of them.

I have actually attempted to pace myself on this book.. but I’m already at Chapter Five, “Am I a Terrible Person? God Forgive Me.”  And I found this great gem there:

Remember, a good Chirstian is not someone who doesn’t ever sin, but someone who repents every time he does.  That means that, ultimately, the definition of a successful life is one in which we repent one more time than we sin.

…

Lord, I know I did something terrible, and I feel awful… I’m sorry.  I’m going to try not to do it again.  But if I fail, I’m going to get right back up and try again. I may break the world record for committing this particular sin, but I’m also going to break the record for repenting of it! (emphasis added; no page citations b/c read via iTouch Kindle)

Amen!  I think this is exactly the kind of good “guilt” we ought to have- not the famously ridiculed “Catholic guilt” or “Jewish guilt” or whatever variant of guilt out there that has a reputation of being all about making the sinner feel horrible.  We ought to feel bad about the things we’ve done.  And knowing how bad we really are shows us just how much we need a savior.  And knowing just how much we need a savior shows us just how incredible it is that we actually got one.  And knowing that- well, that should remind any sinner just how much God loves us– which is a whole heck of a lot.  I really like that prayer- I think I’ll try to say it when I commit sins, especially ones I commit regularly.

-theRosyGardener

Hurray for me- I’m being smart this time and actually starting a draft for this earlier so I can be on time.  The graphic to the right is a link so be sure to visit the other Quick Takes participants’ pages through the link list at Jen’s Conversion Diary host page.

I feel sooooooo prepared… I guess I might feel more prepared, however, were I writing lessons, lol, but I’ll do that next.

And this time, there are pictures.

1.

Okay, I know different places have different palates.  But never in my life did I imagine I’d see a US brand adapt so… enthusiastically.  I found this in my local grocery store Saturday night when I stopped by for some munchies on my way home:

For those of you who can neither recognise the picture nor read the Russian, Lays has red caviar flavored chips.  Yes, it does.

Then I looked around a little more.  They had a lot of versions with sour cream (no surprise to anyone who’s ever had Russian/Slavic food- we do love our sour cream).  However, they also had this flavor:

Yes, this one is a bit easier to decipher, especially since the Russian letters look pretty close to the English ones. Lays Crab Chips. Wow.  I wonder what the guys from Deadliest Catch would think of that.  Props to Lays for inculturation I guess? They weren’t actually pricey either, compared to other options, although that is in the more expensive grocery store (the one around the corner from me is cheaper… but then it doesn’t have gems like these, either).

2.

I think I may have alarmed the grocery store, however, when I took those photos.  Russian grocery stores take shoplifting very seriously.  I can only imagine that they must have a high instance of it, because at any grocery store there are always obvious precautions.  At the local places, they have lockers with keys in them for you to leave any large bags in.  At the bigger ones, they have guard guys at the entrance and exit and sometimes a person at a desk with large plastic backs in which they are happy to seal your large bag.  It is also very clear where one enters and where one exits- no way to mix it up without being caught by a guard.  Some also have cameras- obvious ones daring you to defy them (well I imagine they are).  I am a bit oblivious about these things, coming from such a small college with an honor system, and I also think of things I want or need in store, so I go traipsing about with an armful rather than a basket- or carriageful of the things I want to buy.  I think that putting down the three things I was actually buying and my umbrella to arrange two bags of chips and take my camera out of my purse, take a picture, put my camera back, and pick up everything BUT the chips must’ve caught somebody’s eye, because there was definitely a guard standing close to the checkout line when I did check out.  Thankfully, I must’ve looked hapless enough (I certainly was a bit brainless about change at 11 or so at night) that he didn’t ask me anything.. Whew.

3.

I know I’m bad and didn’t post pics of my umbrella but I will this week, because it’s still relevant.  See, I bought that umbrella, it got very cold and quite overcast, and the weather reports have been calling for rain, so I’ve been carrying it around with me.. and for three days I have had no need of it.  I have potential need when I leave, and unrealised need when I return.  But that’s okay– cold is enough without being cold and wet.  But it IS the cutest umbrella I’ve had.. and possible the cutest EVER.  See?

Folded up neatly:

And open:

4.

I just noticed I can schedule this to post on its own at a certain time!  Oh my goodness… I feel spiffy.

Update: Apparently it didn’t work.  But I don’t know if I did it wrong or it just doesn’t work the way I thought it would.  ”Ohhhh, WordPress…..”  I can still feel proud though that I actually put the link into this to Jen’s main page before she wrote it and had it just based off patterns from prior ones… okay, it’s easy to predict but still, nerd-victory.

5.

I admit it- I got some McDonald’s…  I really intended to go to the mall above my metro just for some free wifi for my iTouch… and then my stomach growling during my 5-7:15 class with the teens (I wonder if that’s what had them giggling… it’s hard to tell how loud your stomach sounds to other people, you know?.. but it did it more than once so that’s probably it… weird since that day I actually had lunch).  The funny thing is I was a victim of pronunciation differences… I wanted a chicken nugget meal, but I didn’t pronounce “kombinobanniy” or whatever it was for “combo-meal” very well or loudly enough- and then the strong Russian association between G and K (they are phonemically related- voiced and unvoiced) resulted in my getting a Gamburger (hamburger) along with my Chiken MakNaggets rather than a meal.. and the girl was going too fast and had already rung me up before I could try again.  If I eat a MickyD’s again (hopefully not, esp. with a blini place right there) I think I’ll just say “kombo” and be done with it… sometimes the American thing is more effective in Russia, lol.

On the bright side, I did get the wifi too and I downloaded that Ten Prayers book Jen recommended from Kindle.

6.

Apparently you can’t start with the principle of tea + honey + whisky + flannel pajamas to sweat out a cold and the not find honey and get vodka because it’s cheaper (the cheapest whisky was 5 times as pricey) and have flannel pajamas but not get to sleep and reasonably expect to sweat out a cold.  Too bad.  I even asked at the store– and I, a normally friendly person, become shier than shy when it comes to asking for information.  Me: Excuse me, where’s the honey?  Grocery store worker: Honey?  I don’t know. — this, after I wandered around the aisles 10 or a gazillion times feeling like an idiot.. at that point I was done.

Updated for Thursday: I do have honey now, and the local organiser at one of my schools gave essentially the same remedy, so I’m on attempt 2 and I definitely feel a lot hotter now.. I just need a scarf to keep my upper chest/neck warm!

Morning update: mixed results- my ears are better, my throat is worse, and I better get a scarf before it moves any lower.

7.

And finally… show up to a small English-language Mass in one of the few Catholic churches in Moscow more than once, and you become a lector.  Show up and sit near the singing alcove and actually sing… and you get on the music mailing list.  Gotta love it.

-Rosy (actually done on time! woo-hoo!)

A quickie added in here to make me feel productive.. and of course, another Chesterton quote.  Amazing what you can find on the Chesterton Society website.. one day I’ll have to become a member (probably when I can afford it).  This one is from a book of essays GK published in 1901, titled The Defendant:

Most probably we are in Eden still. It is only our eyes that have changed.

I hadn’t actually seen that one before.  I have PDF printouts now of both the Chesterton Society’s quotations page and now their bibliography page, where I found it.  I think it is a beautiful way to look at our separation from God and each other through sin.

In Genesis we encounter this notion of different vision- Adam and Eve’s eyes have been “opened” by sin to their own nakedness, but in result they have been closed off by sin from being able to look at each other in love without lust, from walking with God, etc., etc.  We are all in a marvelous world, but with sin’s effects, wouldn’t it be just like us to wander about in it unaware of its wonders?

I remember reading in a grade school history book that some industrial cities in the 19th century had such activity at the factories that they were in constant haze, even having ash landing on doorsteps daily and the like.  I wonder if that isn’t what sin’s done to us, but on an individual level- like a milky glaze over our eyes.  There are some clear spots, different for each person I think, just as we all have strengths and weaknesses corresponding to our virtues and vices.  But with sin, we never see things fully, not as God sees his world and his people.

There are nice little sayings about seeing through heaven’s eyes or as God sees, and there is a lot of truth in those sparse words.  It seems to me it is only too likely we are in Eden and simply can’t see it, much like the heaven in The Chronicles of Narnia had a England that was somehow more England than the one they knew back on earth– in fact, everything was simply more itself.  If our eyes could return to their pre-fall state, perhaps we would all be able to walk through walls as Christ did, simply because we’d see that they aren’t really there.  It’s almost like the sci-fi/science idea of being “out of phase” (only I could find a Stargate connection with a Chesterton quote, lol).  The idea is that entire worlds, natural wonders, buildings, and lives may exist comingling with ours but without a trace to either of either because they are 180° out of phase with our own– exactly distinct enough to be invisible.  If sin wasn’t a 180° turn I don’t know what was.  We turn our backs on God all the time.

But Christ heals vision- the cross, a glorious “paradox” as GKC says, becomes the intersection of the world we live in and the world we left.  Such a grace this is to us!  Such a God to love us so, eyes unfettered and ungilded, unlike our own, to see past our infirmities to the children he loves.

(Before I get into anything, I’d just like to say, Catholic alphabetically precedes Orthodox in English, hence the order.  When there could be contention, refer to the alphabet is my rule.  Also, a heads up that all links open in a new window.)

Just a quick post because I just read Zenit (Catholic world news update email thingie) and it had what I consider astonishing news.

Christ wants us to be one.  Although every schism is heartbreaking, to me in some ways the most tragic one is the split between Catholic and Orthodox.  Why?  I know why it happened (and I appreciate the upset- I’m actually not a big fan of the filioque clause myself, though I do understand what the western Church was trying to do).  But I also know we BOTH have the fullness of the faith, and anything that separates us can only be evil.  It’s not the same as the Protestant churches, where they went into heresy along with schism (as many Protestants consider Catholics heretical or, even worse, not Christian at all, please know I mean no offense- it’s a factual statement from my perspective).  And we did have some unifying agreements in the what, 15th century?  They fell apart, yes, but we had that potential.

I have had the great joy of going to Eastern Rite Divine Liturgy (Ukrainian Catholic Church) a number of times, and I love it- in fact, I want to change Rites.  So to me this is an issue of particular tenderness.  I will not become Orthodox because I believe in the rock of Peter’s supremacy- and that no body is united without a head (not talking about Christ as the head of the Church entire here).  But while I am not as familiar with the Greek Orthodox Church, I have had many doubts about the Russian Orthodox Church actually wanting to be reunited.  It has a history of caesaro-papism of sorts, and Russia culturally and geographically and politically has been very distinct from, well, everyone else.  In the years since Communism fell, the Russian Orthodox Church has not been very pleased at Catholic efforts in Russia in general, considering our priests to be almost “stealing” those who would otherwise come under their aegis.  I’ve also noticed there can be a bit of competitiveness in other areas, regarding even such things as which tradition a saint “really” belongs to (I’m generally a fan of sharing, lol!)

While I deeply want Catholic-Orthodox unity, I’m quite skeptical in general, especially regarding news out of Russia.  Then I read this at Erin Manning’s blog And Sometimes Tea:

In an interview today in Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi said the miracle of reunification “is possible, indeed it has never been so close.” The archbishop added that Catholic-Orthodox reunification, the end of the historic schism that has divided them for a millennium, and spiritual communion between the two churches “could happen soon, within a few months.” (from the National Catholic Register article)

I don’t comment on many blogs, but I do keep several in my RSS feed, including Erin’s, and I did actually reply the following (slightly truncated):

Until such statements come from the Orthodox Patriarch, I think the good archbishop is being overly optimistic. From the interactions between our Churches, I don’t see much evidence that our hopes for unity are shared.

Well, I’m happy to say, I MAY HAVE BEEN WRONG– and I certainly hope so.  Russian Orthodox Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev, visiting Rome has said the following in an address to members of the Community of Sant’Egidio:

“Therefore, the time has come to move from a failure to meet and competition, to solidarity, mutual respect and esteem; I would even say, without a doubt, that we must move to mutual love,” he stressed. “Our Christian preaching can have effect, can be convincing also in our contemporary world, if we are able to live this mutual love between us, Christians.” (see the Zenit article for the full, wonderful report)

I can only hope this signals the end of the great division between our Churchs, a division which is unlawful and offensive to God.  Perhaps when we, Andrew and Peter, are united, our younger brothers will return home.  I can only pray it will be so.

-theRosyGardener

So, I’m back… mostly? Kind of? Calling in from another place? If you see an update on this later, chances are I’m just adding in a link to Jen’s.. because even if she does it in the middle of the night, I’m still 9 hours ahead of her now… oh my… I wonder if that makes me the farthest quick-taker? Let’s compare… I’m in Moscow now…

1.  So I’m in Moscow and have been for about two weeks- I’ll be here till next July.  I can’t possibly go into everything that means in one point, so I’ll leave it at that.

2.  No matter whether it’s for a few weeks or months, the minute I go far enough from home is the minute I forget my umbrella and don’t bring a raincoat.  This is why I have an umbrella from Poland… gotten of course the last week of the trip after being rained on intermittently for about 3 weeks.  It’s a lovely umbrella, opens all the way with the push of a button.. Of course, the next day it stopped raining and didn’t rain for the rest of my trip.  On the bright side, the Uber-Brella has come in handy a lot.

3.  Did I remember that umbrella, that handy-dandy, little fold-up for Moscow?  No.  And it’s fall.. which meant that the light drops I encountered going into the metro station tonight after work had turned into rather large raindrops when I got out at my station… I walked out of the metro, I saw the rain, I considered: 1. I could postpone getting an umbrella, and just get wet;  I have gotten wet in heavier rain than that for longer times, to be sure, and payday is next week, but being here for so long, I will need an umbrella; 2. I could go back to that little kiosk in the metro station and pick out a cute umbrella, like the black and white checkered one with the ruffle.  So I bought the cute one.. maybe I’ll take a pic tomorrow.  Here’s how awesome this umbrella is, though: Push the button, and it opens all the way, and this one’s heavy-duty (the Polish one did suffer a bit in the winds).  Push the button again, and the umbrella collapses!

And I got it in RED (to match my winter coat and also because I am bold and cool like that…) AND it made me think of Irish step dancing.. why?  Because, as those of you who know the world of competitive Irish step dancing may be aware, sparkles and glitz are a must- and this has little plastic gems in the polka-dot pattern!  So this, you may say, is the SUPER-DUPER-UBER-BRELLA… I know, “uber” is just “super” in German- but it is Just That Awesome.  (If you have ever been soaked to the skin like I have, you will appreciate a good umbrella.)

4.  I’ve actually been reading again.. I mean, I had been more this last year, but it seemed like college robbed me of all my recreational reading.  Well, take away a TV (and even with internet!) and add in classics on an iPod Touch and a couple of books brought with me (courtesy a great friend and a great sister!) and I’m through 4 in a week and a half.  Plus Stanza assures me I’m about 88% done with Heretics by GKC and I have made excellent progress in the World Encyclopedia of Flags and Heraldry.. well, the heraldry part, which is why I bought the book (on sale for $10!).  And you know what?  At one point in Chesterton’s The Man Who Was Thursday (the shortest of the 4), he actually used blazonry to describe a shield and I knew what it was… I had a huge moment of geeky triumph.. it was awesome.

5.  Piece of advice: don’t argue with the metro.  Just don’t, esp. if you’re in Russia where trains are usually less than 3 minutes apart.  I don’t know what addled my brain to think that rushing onto the train last minute was a good idea, but I can assure you that if the doors close on you, they do automatically open again.. I’m still trying to figure out how I ended up with a bruise low on my leg in front, high on my calf on the right, and honestly the metro’s the only way I can explain the one on my derrierre… but they don’t really hurt, the just look bad.. Thank goodness for pants, lol.

6.  I miss making the Ukrainian eggs (pysanky).. and I did forget my kit after all…

7.  I am totally Narnia obsessed.  Like, I love it.  I want to write for the movies.  Over the summer, not only did I buy the whole series audiobook from iTunes, when I saw a good deal on the radio plays, I got those, too, and brought all 19 CDs here with me.  I have song lyrics I started inspired by The Silver Chair.  Why do I get into things like this?  Oh well… atleast I enjoy the ride!

thanks and hopefully be up more regularly…

-Rosy