Monday, February 3rd
Good Monday morning, citizens of the last few weeks of Epiphanytide. Okay, so many among you will argue that there's no such thing as The Epiphany Season much less Epiphanytide. You will want me to say that this is "Ordinary Time."
Nay, nay, say I. I think we must resist with every single last damn fiber in our being, slapping the label "ordinary" or "normal" on anything that is happening these days. I think we have to cling to the last rays of light in everything, everywhere, all at once.
The days are growing darker. The gathering storm clouds are more ominous. After attacking an Episcopal bishop who had the temerity to preach the gospel and plead for mercy for those who are afraid right now, the first public volley on a mainline Christian denomination has been made.
An ELCA a faith-based charity that has been providing social services to refugees has been accused of "corruption and waste" and is having its payments "rapidly shut down" by Elon Musk, who is not an elected official and was born in South Africa.
ELCA Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has responded to these accusations, speaking the words of the Good News of Jesus with calm clarity, intelligence, and eloquence.
Oh, there'll be hell to pay for that.
The POTUS ordered the secretary of the Treasury to provide Musk with unlimed access to the government's checkbook, so now Musk has access to Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, and payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk’s own companies, all of it.
I need to say this loud and clear: This is unconstitutional. As such, it is grounds for impeachment. I know. It's too soon to take action. We need to make sure our elected representatives understand that we understand this. Resistance and pushback and the general outcry from the citizenry are our most effective tools right now. Old King Donald hates to be unpopular.
The Tariff war has officially begun with the announced punitive tariffs of 25% to Canada and Argentina and 10% to China. The long-term strategy of tariffs on Canada is to weaken their economy so that he can make them the 51st State.
Guantanamo Bay is going to be reopened to be able to house 30,000 immigrants who have been waiting and hoping and dreaming to be granted asylum and begin the long process to obtain US Citizenship. They'll do this with the money they save from paying the ELCA and other religious organizations for their services.
I could go on but you'll understand, please, and forgive me for wanting to hold onto The Light, even if it offends the liturgical sensibilities of some of the more, shall we say, "stiff-necked" among us.
I'm warning you right now, don't even ask me what I'm giving up for Lent. You don't want to hear my response. It won't be pretty.
Today is the Feast of St. Blaise. I looked him up by date and name in the Lesser Feasts and Fasts of TEC and he does not appear there. Pity. He used to. He's been replaced by Anskar, or Oscar, who was the first Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen, and patron saint of Scandinavia.
St. Blaise was a physician and bishop of Sebastea, Armenia in 316, who "worked hard for the spiritual and physical health of his people." Due to religious intolerance, Blaise was apparently forced to flee to the backcountry. There he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer, but he made friends with the wild animals.
One day a group of hunters seeking wild animals for the amphitheater stumbled upon Blaise’s cave. They were first surprised and then frightened. The bishop was kneeling in prayer surrounded by patiently waiting wolves, lions, and bears.
The legend has it that as the hunters hauled Blaise off to prison, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise’s command, the child was able to cough up the bone. The Germans and Slavs hold him in special honor, and for decades many United States Catholics have sought the annual Saint Blaise blessing for their throats.
Indeed, one of the scariest memories of my childhood was being hauled off to mass by my grandmother once a year on February 3rd to have my throat blessed.
The priest had a Very Scary (well, to a young child) . . . thingy . . . which was made of metal and looked like a huge pair of scissors. At the end of each "arm" were two lit candles, crossed. Kneeling at the altar rail as if for communion, the priest would bring the apparatus close so that your throat was in the middle of the crossed, lit candles, say the blessing prayer, and VOILA! you were safe for another year from choking on fish bones, tonsillitis, sore throat, or strep throat.
Blaise is the patron saint of relief from Throat Ailments and, for whatever reason, English Wool Combers.
Mariah Carey is heralded for her whistle register, which is the highest the human voice is capable of reaching. But Riperton perfected the singing technique years before and was best known for her five-octave vocal range. The whistling can be heard on her biggest hit, “Lovin’ You.” The infectious ballad was originally created as a distraction for her daughter, Maya Rudolph (of Bridesmaids and Saturday Night Live fame).
In 1969 Riperton, along with the group The Rotary Connection, played in the first Catholic Rock Mass at the Liturgical Conference National Convention, Milwaukee Arena, Milwaukee, WI. Several of the songs were co-written by Richard Rudolph, who married Riperton in August 1970. Together, they had two children, Marc and Maya.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1976, but she did not initially disclose that she was terminally ill. In 1977, she became a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. In 1978, she received the American Cancer Society's Courage Award, which was presented to her at the White House by President Jimmy Carter. Riperton died of breast cancer on July 12, 1979, at the age of 31.
I pray that we are able to take these two bright lights into the darkness of the day in these last few weeks of the Epiphantide.
I hope something good happens to you today.
Bom dia.
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