Today we honor Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor (died 1622). And today is the Seventh Day of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, with the overall theme for 2012 is “We will all be changed by the Victory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Cor 15:51-58); for today, we highlight Changed by the Good Shepherd.
Born in 1567 at Château de Thorens, Savoy (part of modern France) to a well-placed Savoyard family, the parents of today’s Saint intended that Francis become a lawyer, enter politics, and carry on the family line and power. He studied at La Roche and Annecy in France, was taught by Jesuits, and attended the Collège de Clermont in Paris, France at age 12. In his early teens, Francis began to believe in pre-destination, and was so afraid that he was peremptorily condemned to Hell that he became ill and eventually was confined to bed. However, in January 1587 at the Church of Saint Stephen, he overcame the crisis, decided that whatever God had in store for him was for the best, and dedicated his life to God. He then studied law and theology at the University of Padua, Italy, and earned a doctorate in both fields. He returned home and found a political position as Senate advocate. It was at this point that he received a message telling him to “Leave all and follow Me.” He took this as a call to the priesthood, a move his family fiercely opposed, especially when he refused a marriage that had been arranged for him. However, he pursued a devoted prayer life, and his gentle ways won over the family. Becoming a priest, in 1593 he was appointed provost of the diocese of Geneva, Switzerland, a stronghold of Calvinists. His simple, clear explanations of Catholic doctrine, and his gentle way with everyone, brought many back to the Roman Church. He even used sign language in order to bring the message to the deaf. Becoming Bishop of Geneva in 1602, he travelled and evangelized throughout the Duchy of Savoy, working with children whenever he could, and was the friend of Saint Vincent de Paul. He turned down a wealthy French bishopric to continue working where God had placed him, and with Saint Jeanne de Chantal he helped found the Order of the Visitation. A prolific correspondent, many of his letters have survived; he is also the author of Introduction to the Devout Life (still in print), addressed to Christians in all walks of life, not just to those in a professional religious vocation. Besides being the Patron Saint of the deaf, he is also the Patron Saint of authors and confessors. And today is the Seventh Day of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity; for today, we highlight Changed by the Good Shepherd, and we pray, “Father of all, You call us to be one flock in Your Son, Jesus Christ. He is our Good Shepherd who invites us to lie down in green pastures, leads us beside still waters, and restores our souls. In following him, may we so care for others that all see in us the love of the one true Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.”
While I was blow-drying my hair this morning my hair dryer died, and I had to finish drying my hair with my travel hair dryer. On our way to work I did my Devotional Reading, and Richard’s truck reached 250,000 miles on the odometer. Once at work, we signed the Early Out list as the #1 and #2 dealers on the A side. Richard was on Mini-Baccarat, and I was the relief dealer for Pai-Gow and Mini-Baccarat. To our surprise, we got out at 4:00 am.
We arrived home at 5:00 am; I started the Weekly Computer Maintenance, finished reading The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany by Susannah Heschel, and took a nap from 5:45 am to 10:15 am. When I woke up I read the morning paper, then finished the Weekly Computer Maintenance. I then did my book review for my weblog and for my Goodreads and Facebook accounts for The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany by Susannah Heschel, requested The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien (the next Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Club book, even though I won’t be able to attend the meeting) and The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton (our next Third Tuesday Book Group at Barnes & Noble book) from the Lafayette Public Library, did some Advance Daily Update Drafts through Friday, and worked on the photos for my Daily Updates.
I left the house at 1:15 pm and ate lunch at D.C.’s Sports Bar and Steakhouse, where I read in By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions by Richard Cohen while eating my lunch. I then went to Wal-Mart, where I got a new umbrella for the truck, a new hair dryer, and a large cuff for my blood pressure monitor. I arrived home at 2:30 pm and did more photo work and Advance Daily Update Drafts (through next Monday) for my weblog; I also got a call from the pharmacist at Wal-Mart letting me know that they now have the large cuffs for blood pressure monitors in stock.
After we watched Jeopardy! Richard and I left the house at 5:00 pm. At 6:00 pm we were at the Lafayette Public Library – Southside Branch, where I returned The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany by Susannah Heschel (and paid an overdue fine of $1.50), and took out The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien, and Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield, which were both on the Hold shelf for me. We then headed for Baton Rouge. Just as we parked the truck at Perkins Rowe, I got the text message that our LSU Women’s Basketball team was beaten by East Tennessee State by the score of 61 to 63. From 7:45 pm to 9:00 pm Richard and I had a very good meal to celebrate our upcoming 28th anniversary at Texas de Brazil. We got home just before 11:00 pm, and now I am going to go to bed.
Tomorrow I will do laundry and do filing; so I am planning a fairly low-impact day.
Our Tuesday Evening Parting Quote comes from Pernell Roberts, American stage, movie and television actor and singer. Born in 1928 in Waycross, Georgia, during his high school years, he played the horn, acted in school and church plays and sang in local USO shows. He attended, but did not graduate from, Georgia Tech. While serving for two years in the United States Marine Corps, he played the tuba and horn in the Marine Corps Band, although he was also skilled in the sousaphone and percussion. He later attended, but also without graduating, the University of Maryland, where he had his his first exposure to acting in classical theater. He appeared in four productions while a student, including Othello and Antigone, but left school to act in summer stock. In 1949 he made his professional stage debut with Moss Hart and Kitty Carlysle in The Man Who Came to Dinner at the Olney Theatre in Olney, Maryland. Roberts moved to Washington D.C. in 1950, supporting himself in a variety of jobs while performing with the Arena Stage Theater. In 1952 he relocated to New York City where he appeared first off-Broadway in one-act operas and ballets with the North American Lyric Theater, with the Shakespearewrights at the Equity Library Theater, and later on Broadway with performances in Tonight in Samarkand, The Lovers opposite Joanne Woodward, and A Clearing in the Woods with Robert Culp and Kim Stanley. He won a Drama Desk Award in 1955 for his performance in an off-Broadway rendition of Macbeth, which was followed by the role of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet. Roberts then moved to Los Angeles and made his television debut in 1956 in the “Shadow of Suspicion” episode of Kraft Television Theater, followed by guest starring roles in The Whirlybirds, Gunsmoke, Sugarfoot, and Cheyenne. He signed a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1957 and made his film debut a year later as one of Burl Ives’ contentious sons in Desire Under the Elms (1958). The film was nominated for a Best Cinematography Academy Award. He also landed character roles in such features as The Sheepman (1958). He continued to guest star on television shows such as episodes of Shirley Temple Storybook Theater (“The Emperor’s New Clothes”, “Rumplestiltskin”, “The Sleeping Beauty”, and “Hiawatha”), the live-broadcast Matinee Theater where he starred in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, and later in The Heart’s Desire, Trackdown, Buckskin, and episodes of Zane Grey Theater. in 1959 he continued his TV work and co-starred with James Coburn in the film Ride Lonesome. That same year he was cast in the television series Bonanza as rancher Ben Cartwright’s eldest son, Adam. Roberts, having been a highly trained stage actor, was not happy with the limited role of his character in the series, especially that his character, a man in his 30′s, had to continually defer to the wishes of his widowed father. Finally, after disagreements with writers and producers over script quality, characterization and Bonanza’s refusal to allow him to perform elsewhere while on contract, Roberts left the series in 1965, largely to return to legitimate theater. During Roberts’ Bonanza years, he recorded Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies, a folk music album for the Bonanza box set albums. The series ran until 1973, with his character’s storyline kept open in case he returned, which he never did. After Bonanza Roberts played the straw hat circuit, regional theaters, and episodic TV, which gave him the opportunity to play a wide variety of roles. He later returned to Broadway and toured with Ingrid Bergman in Captain Brassbound’s Conversion, in which he played the title role. He continued television work, and in 1979 starred in the television series Trapper John, M.D. (1979–86), receiving an Emmy nomination in 1981; and playing the character twice as long as Wayne Rogers had (1972–1975) on the CBS M*A*S*H series. In the 1980s and 1990s, playing off his Trapper John M.D. persona, Roberts acted as TV spokesman for Ecotrin, a brand of analgesic tablets (died 2010): “I feel I am an aristocrat in my field of endeavor. My being part of Bonanza was like Isaac Stern sitting in with Lawrence Welk.”
