Tuesday, June 13, 2006

For the LORD, the God of Israel, says,
"The jar of flour shall not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth."
—1 Kings 17:14

The Lord has not sent rain to the Church in America, but the jar is not empty, nor the jug dry.

Men of rank, how long will you be dull of heart?
Why do you love what is vain and seek after falsehood?
—Psalm 4:2

May this not be applicable to the bishops meeting in Los Angeles.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
— Matthew 5:16

Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam

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John Harris on baseball today.

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I had been advised to visit the Pont-du-Gard; hitherto I had seen none of the remaining monuments of Roman magnificence, and I expected to find this worthy the hands by which it was constructed; for once, the reality surpassed my expectation; this was the only time in my life it ever did so, and the Romans alone could have produced this effect. The view of this noble and sublime work, struck me the more forcibly, from being in the midst of a desert, where silence and solitude render the majestic edifice more striking, and admiration more lively, for though called a bridge it is nothing more than an aqueduct. One cannot help exclaiming, what strength could have transported these enormous stones so far from any quarry? And what motive could have united the labors of so many millions of men, in a place that no one inhabited? I remained here whole hours, in the most ravishing contemplation, and returned pensive and thoughtful to my inn.
— Rousseau’s Confessions, Book VI

On my arrival at Nismes, I went to see the amphitheatre, which is a far more magnificent work than even the Pont-du-Gard, yet it made a much less impression on me, perhaps, because my admiration had been already exhausted on the former object; or that the situation of the latter, in the midst of a city, was less proper to excite it. This vast and superb circus is surrounded by small dirty houses, while yet smaller and dirtier fill up the area, in such a manner that the whole produces an unequal and confused effect, in which regret and indignation stifle pleasure and surprise. The amphitheatre at Verona is a vast deal smaller and less beautiful than that at Nismes, but preserved with all possible care and neatness, by which means alone it made a much stronger and more agreeable impression on me.
— Ibid.

I was convinced that the physicians (who understood nothing of my disorder) looked on my complaint as imaginary, and treated me accordingly, with their waters and whey. In this respect physicians and philosophers differ widely from theologians; admitting the truth only of what they can explain and making their knowledge the measure of possibilities. These gentlemen understood nothing of my illness, therefore concluded I could not be ill; and who would presume to doubt the profound skill of a physician?
— Ibid.