Various and sundry small thoughts
It’s one of those days where I don’t feel like doing the tasks right
before me, but I think I can get them done. I have my independent
study student coming in a bit under two hours, and I need to read her
assigned book so that we can talk about it over lunch. The West Wing paper is coming along VERY slowly.
I had a fantastic coffee with my friend Brad last night, after having attended a Latin Sarum-rite mass in Emmanuel Church’s Historical Liturgies
series. I’ve never been to a full Latin Mass before, and, per the
bishop’s authorization, this was not a recreation but an actual
Eucharist, and so we had some of the feeling that a fifteenth century
English person might have upon going to Mass. Which will make
next month’s introduction of the English Reformation liturgy all the
more dramatic. Then Brad and I had a good two hours discussing
religion, friends who are dating, our childhoods, work, and whatever
else might come up.
I feel a need to mention that a professor in my old department at UC
Berkeley has recently been diagnosed with inoperable brain
cancer. Lots of people here and there have been praying for
her. She’s jewish, but I know of Jewish, Christian, and Buddhist
prayers that have been said for her. BF’s priest-boss even
offered Mass for her, her family, and my friends who work with her last
week. One of the first things I thought of when I heard the news
was the line from the New Testament, “The prayer of a righteous person
is powerful and effective.” I don’t know any righteous people,
but as a good social scientist, I figure that if we get enough people
praying, we’re bound by random selection to hit at least one righteous
person…. *wry, somewhat sad grin*
BF and I leave for a weekend in New York tonight, to stay with my friend Kjrste, the opera singer, and her husband, Rob.
Right. Back to work.
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