That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis

This book is the third book of C. S. Lewis’s Space Triology (which has, as I’ve noted in my reviews of the previous books in the Trilogy, less to do with Space, and more to do with Christian Theology); but while the first book took us to Malacandra (Mars), and the second book took us to Perelandra (Venus), this book essentially splits the difference and remains right here on Planet Earth, where an apocalyptic struggle is going on between Good and Evil.

Daily Update: May 2, 2009

Today we honor Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor (died 373). Born in Alexandria, Egypt, he studied the classics and theology, and became the deacon, secretary, and student of Bishop Alexander of Alexandria. He attended the Council of Nicea in 325 where he fought for the defeat of Arianism and acceptance of the divinity of Jesus. At that council, he formulated the doctrine of homo-ousianism which says that Christ is the same substance as the Father; Arianism taught that Christ was different from and a creation of the Father, a creature and not part of God. He himself became Bishop of Alexandria c.328; he served in that capacity for 46 years. When the dispute over Arianism spilled over from theology to politics, Athanasius was exiled five times, spending more than a third of his episcopate in exile. A Confessor of the faith and Doctor of the Church, he fought for the acceptance of the Nicene Creed. We also honor Saint Wiborada, Religious and Martyr (died 926). Born to the Swabian nobility, her brother, Hatto, was a priest and provost of Saint Magnus church. Wiborada turned her home into a hospital for the sick poor people that her brother brought to her. After a pilgrimage to Rome, she became a Benedictine nun at Saint Gall’s monastery, where she worked as a bookbinder. The victim of virulent criticism, she eventually withdrew further from the world, becoming an anchoress first near Saint Gall’s, then near her brother’s church. Noted for her austerity, and for a gift of prophecy, she drew many visitors and would-be students. One of her prophecies involved the Hungarian invasion of her region; her warning allowed the priests and religious of Saint Gall and Saint Magnus to escape to safety (and to bury the books of the monastery library for safekeeping before leaving), but Wiborada refused to leave her hermit’s cell, saying she would pray for them. When the priests and religious returned, she had been axed to death. She was canonized in 1047 by Pope Clement II, becoming the first woman formally canonized by the Vatican; and in Switzerland she is the Patron Saint of books and libraries. Today is also the First Saturday of the Month, dedicated to devotions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Today is the third day of the last weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. And, finally,the LSU Concentrated Study Period ends, with this being the last day of classes for the spring semester.

Daily Update: May 1, 2009

As the fires of Walpurgisnacht die down into embers on this first day of May, we honor Joseph the Worker, honoring the spouse of Mary (and foster father of Jesus), who was a carpenter in Nazareth. Pope Pius XII established this feast in 1955 to coincide with the celebration in many countries of Labour Day (May Day). But the relationship between Joseph and the cause of workers has a longer history. In a constantly necessary effort to keep Jesus from being removed from ordinary human life, the Church has from the beginning proudly emphasized that Jesus was a carpenter, obviously trained by Joseph in both the satisfactions and the drudgery of that vocation. Humanity is like God not only in thinking and loving, but also in creating. Whether we make a table or a cathedral, we are called to bear fruit with our hands and mind, ultimately for the building up of the Body of Christ. Since not every country celebrates May Day as Labour Day, the Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker was made optional in 1969. Today is also the First Friday of the month, when Catholics make devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The LSU Concentrated Study Period continues, and today is the second day of the second (last) weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (Jazzfest).

Daily Update: April 30, 2009

On this last day of April, 2009, we honor Saint Pius V, Pope (died 1572). Born Antonio Ghisleri to impoverished Italian nobility, he worked as a shepherd as a boy, and received an excellent education in piety and holiness, including a scholastic education from a Dominican friar; he joined the Order in 1518, taking the name Michele. He then studied in Bologna, Italy, was ordained in 1528 in Genoa, Italy, and was appointed teacher of philosophy and divinity in Genoa. Professor of theology in Pavia for sixteen years, and Master of novices and Prior of several Dominican houses (where he worked for stricter adherence to the Order’s Rule), he was ordained Bishop of Nepi and Sutri against his will in 1556 and Bishop of Mondovi in 1560. As bishop, Michael worked to lead his flock with words and examples, and served as a continual messenger encouraging personal piety and devotion to God. Upon his ascension to the papacy in 1556, Pius V immediately faced the task of enacting the reforms of the Council of Trent. New seminaries were opened, and a new breviary, new missal, and new catechism were published; foundations were also established to spread the Faith and preserve the doctrine of the Church. Pius spent much time personally working with the needy; he built hospitals and used the papal treasury to care for the poor. Pius faced many difficulties in the public forum, both in the implementation of the Tridentine reforms and interaction with other heads of state. At the time of his death he was working on a Christian European alliance to break the power of the Islamic states. Today is also the first day of the second (last) weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival; and the LSU Concentrated Study Period continues. Finally, tonight is Walpurgis Night, or Walpurgisnacht, when bonfires were built in Roman Catholic Northern European countries to keep away the dead and chaotic spirits that were said to walk among the living then. In Sweden, Finland, and Estonia, bonfires are still lit, but more for celebration and the imbibing of potent spirits, rather than to keep away evil spirits.

Daily Update: April 29, 2009

Today we honor Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor (died 1380). Born the youngest child of a very large family in Italy (she was number 23), at the age of six she had a vision in which Jesus appeared and blessed her. Her parents wanted her to marry, but she became a Dominican tertiary. She was a mystic and a stigmatic (bearing on her body the marks of the Passion of Christ); she received a vision in which she was in a mystical marriage with Christ, and the Infant Christ presented her with a wedding ring. She wrote letters to kings and prelates, and was a counselor to Pope Gregory XI and Pope Urban VI. Canonized in 1461, she was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1970, and she is the Patron Saint of Europe, firefighters, and nurses, and her aid is invoked against fire and temptation. Today also begins the Concentrated Study Period at LSU, when no extracurricular activities are scheduled (finals are next week), and today is the birthday of Richard’s Sister in Iowa (1946).

Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor is the originator and host of A Prairie Home Companion, a radio show that has been running more or less constantly since 1974; he also hosts The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor, a five-minute radio segment (usually heard on NPR stations) that is also reproduced in written form on the Internet (via a link on my weblog, if you want to see it). As part of each episode of A Prairie Home Companion, he gives the comedic storytelling segment, “News from Lake Wobegon.” In 1984 he gathered up a lot of his Lake Wobegon material from the radio show, added to it, and produced his first book, Lake Wobegon Days, which I am now reviewing. (Ja, I liked it.)