The Sword of Surprise
by G.K. Chesterton
Sunder me from my bones, O sword of God
Till they stand stark and strange as do the trees;
That I whose heart goes up with the soaring woods
May marvel as much at these.
Sunder me from my blood that in the dark
I hear that red ancestral river run
Like branching buried floods that find the sea
But never see the sun.
Give me miraculous eyes to see my eyes
Those rolling mirrors made alive in me
Terrible crystals more incredible
Than all the things they see
Sunder me from my soul, that I may see
The sins like streaming wounds, the life's brave beat
Till I shall save myself as I would save
A stranger in the street.
Yep. That's pretty much it. Opinion Art at the Daily Pennsylvanian by Yifei Zhang.
Left to Do:
1) Final Exam: Econ 245 (Math for Economists), Thursday, April 28
2) Final Exam: Astro 001 (A Survey of the Universe), Thursday, April 28
3) Finish my Thesis, April 29 by 4:00 p.m.
4) Final Exam: Econ 022 (Development Economics), May 6
After I'm done with these, I'll be pretty much as good as graduated (though Commencement isn't until May 16). I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or explode from all the stress about what I have to do this week (add a long job application to the final exams and the thesis). Prayers are welcome, of course.
The End
Today is my very last day of class as an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania. Impossible. This cannot be happening. Being an undergraduate at Penn has become such a large part of my identity that I seriously feel like I'm beginning to leave a part of myself behind. And I really am. I can only hope it's just a layer of skin - though what wonderful skin it has been! I won't say I'm not excited about graduation, but sometimes growing up just breaks your heart.
That's all for now. Off to class I go...
VIVA BENEDICTVM XVI
From recent posts, it seems like Tremendous Trifles is turning into the Pope Blog, but what can I do? There is just way too much excitement going on these days. In any case, I'd just like to say that we should all be glad to have a man like Joseph Ratzinger as our new Holy Father, and I pray that all Catholics may really act like a family during this time and leave aside petty bickering. I also think that this is an important moment for orthodox Catholics to be humble, and reach out to those people that have strayed from Church's truth rather than gloat because our new pope is such a strong defender of the faith. Remember that love without truth is blind, but truth without love is nothing but "a clanging cymbal." Let us take these words seriously.
And now for the gloating... It turns out that now that Cardinal Ratzinger is Pope Benedict XVI, I have met TWO popes, and have the pictures to prove it! The best thing is that I met them both within one hour of each other! What an awesome grace! Now you can all look at the pictures below and wish you were as cool as me.
The Prince of Liechtenstein 2004 Fellows with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. I'm the second one from the left on the very back row! Yep, I am THAT cool. And you're not. Deal with it.
Now you can see the Holy Father from the back and my big head covering the left part of the picture!
Now you can see Pope Benedict and the top of my head (the one with the black hair)!
I'm the guy on the right edge of the picture. You can only see my hand, my gray blazer, and a bit of my face.
Are They Fans or Disciples?
A quote from Fr. Richard John Neuhaus's
Rome Diary:
I have seen several accounts, and heard worldly wise reporters, describing the "rock star" attraction of John Paul. In fact, the crowds, stretching more than three miles beyond St. Peter's, were wondrously solemn and prayerful. The Legionaries of Christ and other religious orders posted priests all along the way and there was a brisk business in confessions around the clock. One Legionary priest tells of his non-stop hearing of confessions--from five o'clock in the afternoon until six o'clock the next morning. The mayor of Rome said that not one serious crime was reported in the city during the days when millions were waiting up to 26 hours to view the body. That is hard to believe, but that is what he said.
John Paul went to the world and the world came to him, and they knew why they had come.
Subversive Virginity
A provocative little article at
First Things. Check it out.
On Amazon's Payroll? Perhaps...
I am on page 43 of Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. There is still a lot to go, but it is already apparent that this book is nothing less than absolutely brilliant. Indeed, it is so brilliant that it is funny (and the chain of causation applies in that order, not vice versa). If you have not read it, you need to go and get this book NOW. Here is a link to
Amazon.com. Do it. Trust me on this one.
John Paul the Great and the 2004 Compass Fellows (you can see half of my face in the upper-right corner!)
Opinion Art in the Daily Pennsylvanian by Pamela Jackson-Malik
An Echo in the Fields
by Ertandberni
The stage is set.
Shadows dance on a field of black and green under a restless sky.
Anxious leaves flutter in the wind; spinning, rising, diving
Onto fearful blades of grass.
Light, precious light, ever waning
As deadly darkness creeps, stalks, encircles and mocks
A lowly, broken band - an old and frightened clan -
That hastens through the valley.
Some hold candles, others shields, others symbols,
But all fear;
While the gloom swells with merciless pride,
And an icy silence speaks of their demise.
Someone screams and falls; others lose their wits.
Some only weep, looking down,
Staring at the ground: they see only their graves.
Others don't even see at all.
So the shadows move in as they laugh.
No mirth, only death, marks that hateful cackle.
They see a people weakened with forgetfulness
And a race now ready for its fall.
But then atop a hill blades of grass are enkindled.
Bright green they shine, as small flowers burst into a song of color.
Crippled men look towards the mountains and a figure rushes forth
Frantically waving joyful light.
His raiment is all white, he comes in haste
As shadows move away but don't relinquish their attack.
And yet the men no longer crawl, but stand.
For the pilgrim's voice now echoes in the fields,
And he has said
"Be not afraid!"Ioannes Paulus II, the sound of your voice in this field of sorrows will be missed but not forgotten. The echoes of your call linger on - and grow. Now we know we can stand. Now we know we can fight the good fight until we reach the Home on the other side of the mountains, where surely the King now greets you, His faithful servant, with the warm embrace of Imperishable Love. God bless you, Holy Father. Thank you, thank you so much.
John Paul II
We love you.
God bless you, Holy Father!
JPII going incognito...
Baby Pope
Awwww...
Goodbye Terri
I don't really have much to say right now. One of our sisters has been taken from us with violence, and it hurts us all. Let us pray for her, that she may rise to see the source of all joy. Let us pray for her loving family that never gave up, and loved her to the very end. Let us pray for all those anonymous men and women who have fallen victim to similar crimes in silence. Let us pray for all those who brought or wished death upon Terri, that they may break free from the lies of evil, and repent. Let us pray for the future of our society, that all those fighting for life may never give up. That we may always remember that death has already been defeated.
Give her eternal rest, oh Lord, and may Perpetual Light shine on her forever.
Goodbye Terri.
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rain fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
