"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
“I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.”
– Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
Over the next few months I’ll be writing some more about ancient Christian symbols (the fish, the anchor etc), but I thought I’d reboot my Symbolism Series by talking about something which caught my eye at Liturgy this morning.
In my parish, around the inner portion of the dome, we have paintings of the Twelve Apostles (with St. Matthias replacing Judas). This morning I ended up sitting next to the following painting of St. John:
It occurred to me that, while I know the book he is holding is symbolic of his Gospel, I had no idea of the symbolism behind the chalice and snake. When I got home I needed to satisfy my curiosity, so I did some research…
As I said last week, we’ve got a couple of weeks of an artist I recently came across, Danny Gokey. This week it’s “More than you think I am”:
If you like this, I’d also strongly recommend you check out the acoustic version here.
You always think I’m somewhere on a mountain top
But never think behind bars
You’d be amazed the places that I’d go to be with you
Where you are
So forget what you’ve heard
What you think that you know
There’s a lot about me
That’s never been told
I’m more than you dreamed
More than you understand
Your days and your times
Were destined for our dance
I catch all your tears
Burn your name on my heart
Be still and trust my plan
I’m more than you think I am
More than you think I am
Rumor has it there’s a gavel in my hand
I’m only here to condemn
But let me tell you secrets you would’ve never known
I think of you as my best friend
So much has been said
Even done in my name
But I’m showing you now
Who I really am
Let me open your eyes to see the heart of me, differently
Come closer than you’ve ever been
Let me in like never before
Bring me every broken part
The wounds and scars of who you are
And hide in me and you will see
Last year at about this time I wrote a review of Alanna-Marie Boudreau’s album “Hints & Guesses”. Well, Alanna-Marie has clearly been busy since her next album, entitled “Hesychasm”, will be coming out through LoveGoodMusic.com very shortly:
If you’ll indulge me, today I’d like to do a little bit of a PSA. This week I ticked off a long-standing item off my To Do List: Take a CPR course.
As a teenager I achieved the Bronze Medallion, a test which is taken by anyone who wants to be a lifeguard. It involves an extended series of challenges in a pool (swimming with your clothes on, picking up bricks from the bottom of the pool etc) but it also involves a practical and written exam concerning CPR. I did all this back in the early Stone Age, so for quite a few years I’ve been meaning to do a refresher course…
If I wanted to do a CPR course in England I would talk to the St. John Ambulance. However, in America I wasn’t sure to whom I should speak. I’ve since found out that the American Heart Association are the people to contact. However, as good fortune would have it, on Monday I drove through the Industrial District on my way to a coffee shop and passed a sign for CPR classes with the group called One Ounce of Prevention. So, as I was drinking my morning latté, I fired up Google, tracked down their contact details and gave them a call. By the time I hung up I was booked in for their class the following day.
The course itself was four hours long and covered CPR for adults and infants, the use of an AED, as well as basic First Aid (burns, breaks etc). Although the recommended ratio of breaths to chest compressions had changed (it does this practically every year) and there are fewer recommended checks prior to starting CPR, I was quite pleased that I remembered a good deal from the training from my teenage years.
For me though, the real benefit of the course was the simulated emergencies. It’s really quite terrifying how your mind can go completely blank when confronted by an unconscious body, even if it’s just a mannequin! “Wait, what did I need to check? What’s the next thing I have to do?” It’s really good to run through a few scenarios and get the routine more established in your head.
So, here’s my PSA… 88% of cardiac arrests occur outside of a hospital. What would you do if you were confronted by someone unconscious and not breathing? Our instructor told us that nationwide there’s an average 9% chance of survival, but that around Seattle more people know CPR so that number rises to 19%. In Detroit, however, fewer people know what to do and the number is basically 0%… Would you know what to do?
For the last few weeks in the Roman Rite, we have been hearing the “Bread of Life” discourse from John 6. As a result, I am sure many of you have been singing “I Am the Bread of Life” by John Michael Talbot. Well, good news! It turns out that there’s been a new verse released for the classic song:
(I do actually quite like the song, but this was too funny not to share)
One of the first books I read when my sabbatical began was Yes Man by Danny Wallace. Although altered considerably, the book was turned into a movie back in 2009, starring Jim Carey. I had actually read this book before. In fact, that book had played quite a significant part in my final decision to move to America!
In the book, Danny resolves, for the rest of the year, to say “Yes” to every question, suggestion or invitation given to him, in the hope of becoming more open to what life sent his way. As you can imagine, this led to all kinds of adventures, such as when he received an email from the prince of Nigeria asking whether he could have Danny’s bank details… 😉
I’ve been a huge fan of Danny for years and I’ve read all the books and seen the shows chronicling his various adventures. These have included a bet with his friend Dave Gorman to find 54 other people also named “Dave Gorman”, converting his apartment into its own sovereign nation, as well as starting his own cult…albeit a nice one 🙂
If you have read any of Dave or Danny’s books, you will know that Danny’s (now) ex-girlfriend Hanne, referred to his escapades as “Stupid Boy Projects”. Well, September is just around the corner and I have a stupid boy project for you, dear reader! You won’t even need to send your bank details to the crowned sovereign of any nation…
In September I will be working through the PDF guide from one of my favourite blogs, Art of Manliness. The eBook is called Thirty Days to a Better Man and each day you will read just a couple of pages and then set about given the task for the day. For example, on the first day the task is to “Define your core values”. The following day you will “Shine your shoes”. On Day 7 you will “Reconnect with an Old Friend”, on Day 10 you will memorize the poem “If” and on Day 30 receive a straight razor shave.
So, if you’re interested in joining me on this Stupid Boy Project, please download the PDF and I’ll see you on the journey next month to becoming a better man!