So far...

"The wind is rushing after us, and the clouds are flying after us, and the moon is plunging after us, and the whole wild night is in pursuit of us; but, so far we are pursued by nothing else."

--Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities

The green, green grass of home...

This photograph was sent to me by a friend. It is the picture of an American soldier in Iraq cutting the "lawn" in front of his tent with a pair of scissors. It's the green, green grass of home, grown from seeds and soil sent to him from the U.S. by his wife. He and his fellow soldiers walk on it from time to time, so the story goes, just to feel American soil under their feet and to smell the sweet scent of the grass. It's the little things which make our lives after all, and it's the little things which we so often take for granted. May God bless these brave soldiers, and may He bring them home safely to their own backyards.

Have to wait...

"Time and tide will wait for no man, saith the adage. But all men have to wait for time and tide."

--Charles Dickens

Assumpta est Maria

"By her Immaculate
Conception,
when her life here
had finished,
our Blessed Mother
was not subject
to the law of
remaining
in the corruption
of the grave,
but instead was
given glory
in her Divine
appointment
by her glorious
Assumption
into Heaven...,
body and soul."
--Pope Pius XII in
Munificentissimus
 Deus

A little spark...

“From a little spark may burst a flame.”

--Dante Alighieri

Listen...

"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence."

--Robert Fripp

Dance lessons

There were several lessons I learned/remembered at tonight's dance class. First of all, I wore my dance shoes which made every step so much easier and so much more enjoyable; they also made me four inches taller, which meant that my partner from Tuesday's lesson had suddenly become a few inches shorter than me. So I was given a new partner, a tall, former football player who knows how to lead and who dances very well. We glided across the floor and I knew that if I faltered, he'd bring me back to where I should be. This is the music which played while we waltzed over and over again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVyyfGSYEM8

I had almost forgotten how nice it is to dance with a man who knows where he is going; and how this translates into other aspects is one more lesson remembered. Lately, I have met a number of men who seem to have very little idea of where they're headed; they are still searching for a direction. But I know where I want to be when this life is over: and I know that I could only feel safe and secure with someone who knows the way. A man who will take my hand and confidently, joyfully escort me through the dance of this life to Heaven: he is the only partner for me. There are so many steps I'd forgotten; and these dance lessons are exactly what I need just now.