The song is “Kuchnia Śląska” from the Polish television show “Kuchnia po Śląsku” (Silesian Kitchen). The video was filmed at the restaurant Chata Polaka in Gliwice.
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New blog post: Daily Digest for June 22nd http://bit.ly/vSuWm [#]
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New blog post: Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B http://bit.ly/10myxm [#]
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New blog post: June 22 – To Mme. Kossowska in Dance by Stanisław Trembecki http://bit.ly/M3Yaj [#]
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What is this nature’s delightful display
Which with a graceful step sets out to dance?
Who is this goddess that began to play
And charm the world with her fine appearance?People draw around, all of them wide-eyed,
Seeing the wonders of beauty and charm,
While Cupid, sighing silently aside,
Tightens his strings, unable to do harm.Of beautiful figure, quick as a doe,
Her eyes like the dawn, lips of ruby red,
She is running along the swift wind’s flow,
She captures each heart that passes ahead.From here her fine legs can barely be spied
And only at times they’re touching the ground,
All her limbs at play in harmony glide
And Zephyr frolics with soft robes around.Zephyr who himself is deserving spite,
For all his desires met with full success,
Can see the places hidden out of sight,
Kissing her lips in a gentle caress.When during a turn to some small extent
Her light apron or skirt will get askew,
The greedy eye will suffer a torment
In its attempt to spy at least a shoe.Your glory, Graces, is truly in vain,
When you amaze Olympus with your dance,
For our Kossowska can well entertain
Mortals of this world in their existence.To paint with skill the picture truly grand
Of beauty and charm of her countenance,
I pass the pen into Krasicki’s hand,
Leave the brush for Smuglewicz’s talents.But in doing so, I feel a great fear;
Before this work is brought to conclusion,
I have to give an early warning here:
Beware the destiny of Pygmalion.
Translated by Michal J. Mikos
Cóż to za lube natury dzieło
Wdzięcznym się zrywa w tany podskokiem?
Cóż to za bóstwo igrać zaczęło
I świat czarownym bawi widokiem?Lud się zgromadza, cały w zdumieniu,
Widząc piękności i wdzięków dziwy,
Kupid, wzdychając z dala w milczeniu,
Próżnie zaostrza swoje cięciwy.Śliczna z postaci, żywa jak łania,
Oczki jak zorza, usta w rubinie,
Z rączym się wiatrem w tańcu ugania.
Chwyta za serce, kto się nawinie.Nóżki się ledwo widzieć pozwolą
I tylko czasem tykają ziemi,
Wszystkie w niej członki razem swawolą,
A zefir igra z szaty wiotkiemi.Zefir, który sam godzień zazdrości,
Bo wszystkie jego chęci spełnione,
Najtajemniejsze widzi skrytości,
Całując zawsze usta pieszczone.Gdy się na zwrocie nieco zawinie
Lotny fartuszek albo spódniczka,
Ledwo z chciwości oko nie zginie,
Żeby obaczyć chociaż trzewiczka.Daremna chluba, Gracyje, wasza,
Że Olimp swymi pląsy dziwicie,
Ta to na ziemi Kossowska nasza
Umie śmiertelnych zabawić życie.Do malowania widoku tego,
Jaka jest kształtność i wdzięk oblicza,
Pióro zostawiam dla Krasickiego,
Pędzel malarski dla Szmuglewicza.Lecz to im zdając, słuszną mam trwogę,
I ta robota nim jest skończona,
Uczynić muszę wczesną przestrogę:
Bójcie sią losu Pigmalijona!
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New blog post: Daily Digest for June 21st http://bit.ly/Vzkn8 [#]
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Listened to 10 songs.
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First reading: Job 38:1,8-11
Psalm: Ps 107:23-26,28-31
Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Gospel: Mark 4:35-41
The LORD then said to Job:
Will we have arguing with the Almighty by the critic?
We don’t know:
The verse taken from Job 40:1-2, or, according to Warner Brothers and Tweety Bird, “We don’t know Him very well, do we?”
Job lost everything, and was trying to figure it out.
Job’s loss wasn’t like loosing a 401k nowadays, however grievous that may be. Job’s loss was incalculable. His sons and daughters were dead. His flocks and herds were dead or stolen. His house and all his possessions were gone. He was sitting on a dung heap covered with sores. Three of his —friends— showed up and tried to find fault with Job. Certainly he did something wrong and God was punishing him for it! Job and his friends debated, calculated, argued, and looked. They tried to find the cause. Job lamented his losses. Finally God shows up and says: You do not get it. You can’t debate me, you can’t figure it out, you just cannot know because you have no concept of Me.
Debating God’s plan doesn’t work:
One human technique that is quite common is to debate with God. We think we are engaging in a back and forth. ‘God, why did you do this?’ We hear silence. ‘God, why can’t I?’ We hear silence. We think that we are having some sort of conversation with an almighty vending machine. We ask and the machine will dispense answers. The worst part of it all is that we think we can win the argument, especially when we try to interpret the silence.
It is a fallacy to think we can win the debate. Sure, we run about thinking we can change things. We justify it by saying that we debated God and we won. Church people do that a lot. We think we have an inside track in the debate. Why, why, why? ‘God, don’t you see how marvelousness my plan is, my logic?’
If God had wanted to form a debating team I am sure He would have fashioned us into a different sort of being. God isn’t looking for a debate, He is looking for something else.
Arguing with God doesn’t work:
Another human technique is to argue. When we ask and hear silence we begin to argue. We get really angry because we think we are being ignored, that God isn’t paying any attention to our marvelous plan. Our anger takes over and we blame God as we would blame a vending machine that stole our dollar. We all want to kick that vending machine, to push it over, to get our candy…
If God had been looking for a people who would argue everything, who would subsist on anger, I am sure He would have fashioned us into a different sort of being. God isn’t looking for our anger, nor is He going to respond to it. He is looking for something else.
Calculating God doesn’t work:
Here’s yet another technique, the calculation. God, here’s the deal — and it’s such a deal — if I am good and give to charity, and don’t say mean things about my co-worker who’s only half awake, then would You…
We’re back at the machine and we want to put our four quarters in. We know that if we pay the right amount something yummy will come out.
Our interaction with God is not a give and take, payment in, goods and services out. God’s not looking for a deal. If God had wanted a deal I am sure He could have arranged for a better one, one better than dying on a cross. God’s not looking for a deal, or for people who know how to carefully calculate rules and regulations that will get us from here to heaven, He is looking for something else.
Who shows up?
The only people who show up, most especially when we are at our lowest point, are our closest family members and friends. Think about how essential, how key just showing up is. Think of our children, the look they would have on their faces if we failed to show up for graduation or recital. Think of the husband being there for his wife when she gives birth. Think of the present of a person’s companionship. They could have sent a gift, but how very special when they come in person.
Love is the motivator for showing up, for being there. What happens when we show up? Sometimes nothing. Showing up is a quiet event. It is simply our presence, our being in proximity to those we love; offering support and encouragement. We need not say anything.
Relate that showing up to our ways of interacting with God. Debating, arguing, and calculating have nothing to do with showing up. That can all be done from a distance. We can mail the check. But showing up — that’s different. That’s a step above.
God showed up:
Interesting isn’t it, that God showed up. Job and his three friends could have gone on forever, and wouldn’t have figured out anything. No answers, only questions, only debating, arguing, and calculating. God showed up and put Job to the true test. God didn’t need to explain anything. He simply pointed out Job’s position relative to God’s position. ‘Job, were you there when I created the world, when I laid its foundations, when I gave existence to the creatures of the earth, sea, and sky.’ God gives three chapters of examples — showing Job to be unable to comprehend.
God did show up. He showed up for Job, so that Job would know the truth. What was Job’s loss, his disaster, all about?
The lesson for Job and for us is that we know nothing. Rather we learn that we must acknowledge God as God, and re-orient ourselves, our thinking, to focus on what God wants from us. It wasn’t about what Job had and lost, it was about what Job had to find.
God wants us to see and live clearly:
In the end Job gets it. He says (Job 42:1-6)
I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.
I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.
I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you.
Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.
God, I knew a lot of facts. I engaged You in transactions, through charity and sacrifice. Now I know that You are more than facts and transactions, more than something to be debated, argued, and calculated. I know that You are God and that You want me to know and love You. I now know that You are not a vending machine that dispenses sons, daughters, oxen, sheep, gold, and jewels.
We understand that God is wisdom but He is not about wisdom. God isn’t looking for us to challenge Him on His wisdom. Rather He wants us to set aside the notion of God as someone we debate, argue, and calculate and to come into a relationship with Him.
By example and word Jesus taught us these lessons. He told us to be like children (Matthew 18:3). He called us His friends (John 15:15). Most of all, as we see today, He asked that we trust in Him.
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.
I recently read a comment that said that the only time Jesus slept, He was busy of course, was when He was in the back of the boat during a storm. What a picture, a horrific storm and Jesus asleep through it all, peaceful.
The Apostles didn’t see it that way. They panicked. Do you think they were calculating the deals they were going to make with God before they woke Jesus. Perhaps they were angry with God, or were debating with Him.
He woke up,
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”
Relate this to Father’s Day. I can see the look on Jesus’ face, like an upset father being woken from a nap on his easy-chair. Jesus woke up and said what any father would say: “Quiet! Be still!” I wonder if He meant the disciples or the sea.
They were filled with great awe and said to one another,
“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
Poor Apostles… they still attempted understanding and calculation. They were trying to figure God out instead of relating to Him. They say “Who then is this,” but it isn’t who it is or why it is, it is simply being in the presence of God who is there, who is present to them. God showed up. He’s in the back of the boat. They should have trusted Him.
So for us? For us, it is time to set aside all the worry. The debating, arguing, and calculating have gone on too long. Rather, remember, we are in the presence of God. Our God is the God who shows up. He’s in our lives. He’s home, at work, in the car, in the public square, here in church. He is with us because He wants to be with us. Let’s smile like the child whose parent showed up for his recital, like the friend who was sad before you showed up. Let’s smile because God is with us and He wants us to know Him as He is: Full of love and kindness, rich in forgiveness and compassion (Psalm 86:15). That’s what God wants from us. We shouldn’t say that we don’t know Him very well, but rather that we know and love Him. Amen.
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New blog post: Daily Digest for June 20th http://bit.ly/YmOpY [#]
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New blog post: Lajkoniki in Krakow http://bit.ly/TyToi [#]
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New blog post: June 21 – The bench by Maria Magdalena Orłowska http://bit.ly/1uy3U6 [#]
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Once again, summer in the country,
A lark comes up from the field,
home hidden in the green,
the green grass.The scent of jasmine rising,
the green carpet growing,
Nightingale returns with song
loud and happy.Dad dreamed of a bench,
“O leave the house alone,”
the bench is already done,
sit back, relax on it …
Translation by Dcn Jim
I znowu lato na wsi,
skowronek przyjdzie z pola,
dom w zieleni ukryty,
trawa taka zielona.Jaśmin zapachem upaja,
zielony dywan rośnie,
słowik wrócił ze śpiewem
głośno i radośnie.Marzyłeś Tato o ławce,
“o tu niech przed domem stanie”,
ławka już jest zrobiona,
usiądź, odpocznij na niej…
The festival take place on the first Thursday after Corpus Christi every year as it has for 700 years.
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New blog post: Daily Digest for June 19th http://bit.ly/tamci [#]
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New blog post: June 20 – The Sparrow and the Jackdaw by Anon. http://bit.ly/zYhJN [#]
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New blog post: Father’s Day ideas http://bit.ly/lMKq4 [#]
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New blog post: Roman Catholic numbers http://bit.ly/BBaJq [#]
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From The Deacon’s Bench: 68.1 million, and counting… with my commentary interspersed.
The 2009 Official [Roman] Catholic Directory is out, and the numbers are in:
The number of patients served in Catholic hospitals and the number of clients assisted by Catholic charitable agencies went up. Fewer baptisms, first Communions, confirmations and marriages were performed in Catholic churches last year. The number of Catholic parishes and elementary schools in the U.S. continues to decline.
While numbers are great, and I work with statistics and reports all day, you have to really understand what they mean before you can give them any credence.
The Directory speaks of Catholic hospitals and charitable organizations as if they are — Catholic. For the most part they are no longer so. Vasectomies, a tubal ligation — as available in a Catholic hospital as in any other — as well as other “services” that would fail to meet the standards of Catholic teaching. The hospitals play a game of “separating” sections of hospitals into Catholic and non-Catholic floors, or areas, as if this somehow justifies everything.
In the same way, institutes of Catholic charity have become less and less Catholic at the behest of government and large donors, who hold the purse.
Of course the Catholic hospital and charitable organization is a construct carried forward from the days where sisters, brothers, and a few lay people worked in these institutions, dispensing Christian charity. In our minds we see old films with sister and the priest bedside in the hospital. All very quaint, all from a better time. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. These organizations are completely tied to government and big donor funding; and he who pays the bill calls the tune — a tune distinctly non-Catholic.
By the way, that loss of dedication to ethics as outlined by the Roman Church plays out in the faithful. The contraceptive mentality and adherence to secular norms is chiefly responsible for “Fewer baptisms, first Communions, confirmations and marriages.”
The totals for priests, permanent deacons and diocesan seminarians each experienced a small increase in the 2009 book. There were more students in Catholic colleges and universities; in private, Catholic-run high schools and elementary schools; and in high school religious education programs.
A good sign in terms of vocations. Again, as to colleges and universities, I would venture to say that there is not even one, of any renown, left that is truly Catholic (Steubenville folks – you’re not on par with the big boys). The recent Notre Dame scandal is just one example (see here, here, and here for others). Universities gave up their Catholic character long ago.
And at 68.1 million, an increase of nearly 1 million over the 2008 directory, Catholics continue to make up 22 percent of the U.S. population.
Which seems odd in light of the statement in the first paragraph regarding the decrease in Roman Catholic parishes. If there are these many more people where are they going to church? The point is that while there are more people who self-identify as Roman Catholic, and go through the ritual of joining, the pews in many parishes are empty. The parishes that are full are more likely suburban and affluent — places where minorities don’t fit and can’t get to on a Sunday. See Church attendance studies by Hadaway, Marler, and Chaves at How many North Americans attend religious services (and how many lie about going)? from Religious Tolerance:
Hadaway, Marler, and Mark Chaves counted the number of people attending four Protestant churches in Ashtabula County, OH, and in 18 Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the U.S. In their 1993 report they stated that actual attendance was only about half of the level reported in public opinion surveys: 20% vs. 40% for Protestants, and 28% vs. 50% for Roman Catholics.
They later returned to Ashtabula County to measure attendance by Roman Catholics. They physically counted the number of attendees at each mass over several months. They concluded that 24% of Catholics in the county actually attended mass. They then polled residents of the county by telephone. 51% of Roman Catholic respondents said that they had attended church during the previous week. Apparently, most were lying.
The post goes on to say:
The more than 2,100-page Official Catholic Directory, also known as the Kenedy directory after its New Jersey publishers’ imprint, P.J. Kenedy and Sons, is due out June 17. Catholic News Service obtained an advance copy of the statistical summary compiled from annual reports provided by the nation’s 209 [Roman Catholic] dioceses and archdioceses…
The numbers reported are interesting but, the value of the numbers is compromised when they do not truly represent allegiance to the both the letter and the spirit of what it means to be Roman Catholic among all the elements in the report. Certainly, the number of parishes, clergy, and religious represents the face of committed Catholics. The number of followers, and the extent of conformity among hospitals, charities, colleges, and universities may not be accurately represented. Adherence to the call of faith is more than numbers, or as Jesus said (John 4:23-24):
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”