29 January -- St Blathnaid of Kildare

St Blathnaid,  or Blath, was the cook in St Brigid's monastery.  She is one of Ireland's hidden and little-known saints although her name is still occasionally in use.

There is a page dedicated to her here.

You know how you can read a bit of scripture a thousand times . . .

. . . and it's, well,  nice?  And then the thousand and first time it explodes and "nice" doesn't even come close?  Eternity makes its presence felt.

Well, today it's the first bit of the 37th psalm (or 36th, depending on how you count):

FRET not thyself because of the ungodly; * neither be thou envious against the evil doers.
2  For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, * and be withered even as the green herb.
3  Put thou thy trust in the Lord, and be doing good; * dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4  Delight thou in the Lord, * and he shall give thee thy heart's desire.
5  Commit thy way unto the Lord, and put thy trust in him, * and he shall bring it to pass.
6  He shall make thy righteousness as clear as the light, * and thy just dealing as the noon-day.
7  Hold thee still in the Lord, and abide patiently upon him: * but grieve not thyself at him whose way doth prosper, against the man that doeth after evil counsels.
8  Leave off from wrath, and let go displeasure: * fret not thyself, else shalt thou be moved to do evil.
9  Wicked doers shall be rooted out; * and they that patiently abide the Lord, those shall inherit the land.
10  Yet a little while, and the ungodly shall be clean gone: * thou shalt look after his place, and he shall be away.
11  But the meek-spirited shall possess the earth, * and shall be refreshed in the multitude of peace.
12  The ungodly seeketh counsel against the just, * and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
13  The Lord shall laugh him to scorn; * for he hath seen that his day is coming.
14  The ungodly have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, * to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be upright in their ways.
15  Their sword shall go through their own heart, * and their bow shall be broken.
16  A small thing that the righteous hath, * is better than great riches of the ungodly.
17  For the arms of the ungodly shall be broken, * and the Lord upholdeth the righteous.

An Historical Note on a Public Board

This was taken down the same day after outraged protests from people who apparently hate facts.

140 years ago this week on the 22–23 January 1879 in Natal, South Africa, a small British garrison named Rorke’s Drift was attacked by 4,000 Zulu warriors. The garrison was successfully defended by just over 150 British and colonial troops. Following the battle, 11 men were awarded the Victoria Cross.

Women's "Ordination" -- what follows

Sometimes the slippery-slope argument is just bafflegab to distract the opposition.  Sometimes the logic of it is inescapable, videlicet Dr Kirk's essay here.

Not Me . . . alas

Because I could've put that $9 million to very good use.  Instead, it's somebody named Trevor whom Mr Moreno is hoping will be a knock-out right-handed starter.  I do have a nephew named Trevor.  But it isn't he either.  So no $9,000,000.00 anywhere in the family.  (It looks like an even bigger pile of cash when I put in all the zeros, doesn't it.)

Does Trader Joe's Know Me, or What

Of all the cardboard boxes in Trader Joe's the other day, the clerk chose to put my groceries in this one.  Not actually a bishop, to be sure, but that doesn't stop me from pontificating rather regularly concerning both church and state.

(French wine seems to have come in it originally.  I wonder if it was from Avignon?  Delighted to see they kept the triple-crown tiara . . . especially since Somebody Else didn't.)

Here Comes in a Guid New Year

"Get up, goodwife, and shake your feathers, 

And dinna think that we are beggars; 

For we are bairns come out to play, 

Get up and gie’s our hogmanay"

For we are bairns come out to play, 

Get up and gie’s our hogmanay"

~ Traditional

The above is lifted from this excellent site, which promises a new Scottish country dance for almost any occasion or, indeed, day of the year.   January 1st is here, wherein you can learn about first-footing and more.