Good Friday

I was at a standing room only funeral for a Catholic priest the day Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected to the Papacy. The deceased had been the pastor at my father's parish. Eight months before Father W.'s death from a sudden heart attack, he sat with us one late September afternoon at St. Mary's Hospital while my father lay dying from a stroke he had suffered just that morning. Father W. stayed with us until Dad died, a great kindness.

I never saw him again after Dad's funeral, but attending Father W.'s own funeral was a way of bearing witness to his gift of himself to our family that September afternoon. Just before the final blessing, a priest slipped a note to the bishop who was presiding at the Mass; Detroit's cardinal, of course, was in Rome for the papal election. The bishop broke into a big smile and announced, "Habemus Papam, we have a Pope! But we don't know who it is yet!" The congregation clapped and cheered, an odd occurrence at a funeral, but one that Father W. would have enjoyed.

Five years later, the arrogant behavior of the man who was elected Pope that day and the institution he leads has restarted the nightmares I suffered for many years. I have personally experienced the flabbergasting hostility and arctic chill of the Church closing ranks against children who were abused while in its care, particularly when those children return as adults to finally tell their stories. (In my case, two decades later.)

No wonder I feel that Christ's assertion, "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?" doesn't apply to me.

Spring Blizzard

The view from my desk

Home Decor?

When we were first married, we sometimes bought furniture at farm auctions in the countryside around Ann Arbor. As the years went on and we had more disposable income, we just went to furniture stores when we needed something for the house.

When we moved to Belgium, though, the exchange rate was too high for us to purchase new furniture anywhere other than Ikea, so we turned to secondhand stores--Les Petits Riens or the ubiquitous Troc--and brocantes.

To furnish our new Arvada house, I've visited furniture stores and consignment shops. I've also become addicted to perusing the furniture section of craigslist. In addition to furniture and accessories that I'd actually buy (e.g., the bars stools now sitting in our kitchen) recent offerings included the following hard-to-pass-up items:

Eiffel Tower Lamp Base

Driftwood Coffee Table

Elk Antler Lamps

Diorama Coffee Table
"Taxidermied Raccoon and 3 Blue Wing Teal ducks
in naturalized setting.
Lights at night for an elegant look."

As my friend Georgia commented, "Just think of the countless hours of entertainment it would provide your four-footed family members."