The 365 Project continues.

I snapped some photos through the day, and the big things happening today were a fiesta for Fr. Bob, who is the alumni of the year at Holy Cross School, and the Saints game.

This red tree is down the street from a friend’s house where I watched the Saints game. Dunno why it’s red. Didn’t want to ask when they came out to marvel at my taking a picture of it. Didn’t have any other pics to post, even though I tried to make this a bit interesting and artsy. I tried!

I was tempted to use this. It’s a light bulb that reminds me of an old TV show from the 60′s called the Prisoner. There’s a huge white bulb type thing which comes up from the sea, and… that’s about all I remember because I never did like the show. For some reason it also reminds me of Dr. Who.

But, the Red Tree it is for today’s exercise.

Shalom.

Splash, out.

Sweet Petunia

Photo for the day, for my Project 365, wherein I post a photo a day for a year.

It’s a petunia out in the garden, taken as I was moving plants around for the cold weather blowing in.

Similar to the photo posted yesterday, it was taken the day before I actually posted it on my photo-a-day-photo-shoot-extravanganza.

But I’m guessing that’s OK, and that the project 365 police aren’t going to come after me for being a day behind on this. Because … I’m not really a day behind. I’m early, and have been planning ahead.

Tomorrow on the other hand, will find that I’ve taken zero pictures today, and will have it’s own photo of the day at which point we’ll be all caught up, and everybody can breath a sigh of relief and stop stressing out over this entire issue. (Not that anyone was of course.)

“Around here we’re always on the go. We don’t need caffeine bringing us down!” Name that commercial?

Splash, out.

Well we can see what happened here.

I took a picture Wednesday night, posted it Thursday on my 365project site, and am just getting around to posting it here tomorrow. That is, today, because yesterday today was tomorrow, but now it’s history. Of course.

Color Me Bronze

To caption or not to caption. (Shakespeare didn’t realize how easy he had it.)

Splash, out.

This morning I took to looking around the internet for images of masculine saints.

It kind of goes with the territory in Priesthood (I’d imagine,) as many images of male saints can kind of stylized, or even efete.

That led to some interesting blogs.

Prophetic Vision of Saint John of Kronstadt

Di Meliora, which has some beautiful pictures up.

And it led to a slew of women’s rights blogs, condemning the role of religion in putting women down, denying women their rights, and generally being ignorant. A prominent theme there is the speech given by Jimmy Carter on Religion as an Agent of Women’s Oppression. ::rolling eyes::

But I did find a few, before prayer beckoned me away.

For instance this picture of St. John of Kronstadt. A masculine image from another time, perhaps a more simple time, if the turn of the 18th-19th century could be called that.

For the record, I don’t consider that the Catholic Faith oppresses women. I often hear from women that they want to be Priests, but I have the feeling that if they were Priests, they’d quickly realize the Grass is Greener syndrome is, as usual, not all it’s cracked up to be.

Anyway, all of this also showed up the below photo of Mads Mikkelson, from the film Valhalla Rising. As far as I know he’s not a saint, and he’s not portraying one on film. But he is a current image of masculinity.

And all of this was spurred in the first place because I’m hitting the gym and the diet again, and wanted fit and holy role models for inspiration. (It’s not spurred in the least by the fact that I’m a complete internet nerd. Not in the least!)

Masculine imagery, like feminine imagery, changes through time in societies. Perhaps you need to hit the gym or do some diet correction today too?

Splash, out.

Today’s photo for the 365 Project is my stupendous capture of a coffee mug. Isn’t beautiful, noble and grand? Yes, I know. Thank you, thank you!

Today is actually the first day of the project. The photo I uploaded yesterday wasn’t actually taken yesterday, and the exif data clearly reflects that. There’s no fooling anyone over at the 365 Project with silly post dating of photos!

Splash, out.

I’m diving into the 365 Project, ready or not.

I call it “Progress, not Perfection.”

Winter’s been on the mild side and the flowers are loving it. A photograph a day will help develop some sort of skills aside from basic portraiture and snapshots (perhaps.) And it’ll be a fun little slice of priestly life on my sad little website.

Splash, out.

This.

This is the picture which brought me to cancel out my 365project.org account.

“What a completely awesome shot this is going to be.”

Fizzy mineral water catching the sun, against the dramatically smooth bokeh provided by the 200mm zoom and the mossy backdrop.

What a headache.

So, when I have a moment I’ll have to revisit that project. Until then…

Splash, out.

So, I started a 365 Project, which consists of documenting your life with one photo a day. I thought this would be easy.

Things started out with this one.

See, the A/C was out, and with the cooler north wind starting to blow in, I opened the doors before Mass to help cool the Church and to air out the tepid, damp, stale air of the day. The air was only tepid, damp and stale since the A/C was out, and the air outside was tepid and damp, and so so humid, as well.

It’s not a great picture, but it more or less sums up the day; and I like our Church. It’s homy and it’s comfortable. Well, it’s more comfortable when the A/C is not out, but that’s a separate story. And while purists may argue that a Church should not be homy and comfortable, but should be grand and regal, well…God bless them.

But I’ve noticed over at 365 project, that people are into taking these really cool photos, like, an awesome photo of the day project. And, if airing out the Church sums up my New Year’s Day, then I should probably rethink the whole issue and get out with my camera a bit more often. But on the other hand, I’m a Priest, and saying Mass is a highlight of the day. I did after all celebrate New Year’s Eve by concelebrating a midnight Mass.

Today, this was my photo.

It didn’t turn any heads. The only other possibility for today would have been this one.

It’s a mossy tree which I snapped during the 10 to fifteen minutes I had my camera with me.

Well, it’s part of the tree.

It’s… it’s… well…

This could go absolutely nowhere, I realize. I think the issue at hand will be, obviously, to find better subject matter.

I’ll keep you posted.

Today, right on the heels of the Nativity of Our Lord, we remember the horrible massacre of children who have come to be known as the Holy Innocents.

“When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.”
Matthew 2: 16

I might add, that after doing an exhaustive google image search (well, truth be told it only took a minute,) for public domain images, I noticed that almost all of the ones currently in use are available over at the Holy Innocent’s Gallery, a project of the Star Quest Production Network, and Fr. Roderick.

Fr. Roderick and I go back a looong way on Facebook, and I know he won’t mind my linking to his site and his wonderful image library.

Hey Fr. Roderick! Merry Christmas!

Er… Fr. Allen, Fr. Ken, Kenny… Priest, USA, Facebook? OH. It’s not ringing any bells? Erm….

Well. Life goes on. Lord knows I’ve faced worse rejection.

But nothing as bad as the Holy Innocents had to deal with. Look at these artworks… and the cruel, vicious fate awaiting these poor souls.

Often in Sacred Scripture we’re faced with a great moment of salvation history, and somewhere around it we’re confronted with a great sadness, a cruelty, an injustice.

For instance, look at the Sorrows of Mary. The Flight into Egypt is seen as one of the sorrows, and yet it’s right on the heels of several of the Joyous Mysteries: The Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity …. then the portending of the Seven Swords which shall pierce her heart, followed by the Flight into Egypt.

We can also look at the time when Jesus was lost and who knew where he was? One can only imagine the grief of a mother losing her only child, and there was no doubt some of the hyperbole in her mind that he was the son of God; no doubt there was a bit of the reminder that people had already tried to do away with him via the Massacre of the Holy Innocents as well. A great sorrow indeed for Mary.

And right on the heels of that, we have a joyous mystery: Jesus is in the Temple teaching the scholars a thing or two about the nature of God.

So, the sorrows are always found limning the joys in Scripture, and we know that to be true in our own lives. Sorrow and joy often live side by side in the heart.

Scholars debate the authenticity of the Massacre of the Innocents, since the historian Josephus does not mention it. But being as Bethlehem was at the time a small town, it’s usually considered that the atrocity of Herod’s deeds was so terrible and awful, that the small town massacre of children did not make the books of heinous deeds which he had commanded.

I often wonder how long Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem. Herod killed the babes from 0 – 2 years old, based on the story and travel of the magi.

Perhaps people of the modern age should take a clue from Joseph and Mary. Herod listened to magi and was a model of self will run riot. Mary and Joseph sought to do God’s will, and listened to the visitations of angels, who sometimes spoke to them in dreams.

Today’s world, filled with horoscopes, omens and oracles, war, famine, abortion and the encouragement of self will above all other considerations, sees the evil of Herod amplified on a scale probably unimaginable in the days of Herod.

Lord, take our lives and our wills, and show us how to use them to do what you will. Lead us to peace, so that our loves may be examples of your power and might shining through us. Have mercy on the holy innocents of our day, and show us the power and joy awaiting behind the sorrows of our times.

Help us O Lord. We surely do need it.

Amen.