Fencing Bear at Prayer

"When you look at all these things [clouds, winds, storms, rain, lightning, thunder, hail, snow] in our lower world you are struck by how changeable they are, how turbulent and terrifying and prone to decay.  Yet they too have their place, for they keep their appointed order and contribute in their own way to the beauty of the whole, and therefore they praise the Lord.  This is why the psalmist, turning to them and addressing his invitation to these lowly things too, began by saying, Praise the Lord from the earth, you dragons and all the depths [Psalm 148:7].  He wanted us to praise the Lord through our study of them, for, when they move us to praise God, they themselves are praising him. "Now dragons favor watery habitats.  They emerge from caves and take to the air.  They create major atmospheric disturbance, for dragons are very large creatures, the largest of all on earth.  This is probably why the psalm began its consideration of earthly creatures ...

It's a rainy old day outside. Not storming, just dripping gently, just enough to tantalize the puppy when we go out for her to do her business, but not enough to drive us back in without giving her some time to play. My husband is off to work and my son is at school. So now I'm here at home alone with the pets--and the memories. Today is the fifth anniversary of my father's death . It doesn't hurt as much to say that as I thought it would. Perhaps there has simply been enough time. Perhaps I am no longer feeling guilty for having spent the last week of his life finishing that article now that it is finally published and, even better, being well-received. Indeed, it may turn out to be one of the most important things I have ever written.* More to the point, in so many ways, I wrote it for him. I wish.... I was going to write, "I wish that he had been able to read it." But he didn't need to. I had been arguing over its argument with him for years....

One of my most loyal blog readers (who wishes to remain anonymous) sent me this comment on yesterday's post : "It was refreshing to have a fun, positive blog to read--maybe you should concentrate on similar items more often!" To which my not-entirely-charitable knee-jerk response would necessarily be: "I would love to, if only I weren't such an Eeyore and actually felt that happy more often." Okay, okay, I'm not being fair. Because, of course, in part at least, she's right. Maybe if I wrote about happy things more often, I would feel happier more of the time, although, again, of course, that's one of the reasons that I keep this blog: more often than not, it is only in writing about the things that are upsetting me (or, perhaps more accurately, that I am upset about) that I am able to see them in a clearer light and thus feel better. (As, for example, here , when I had a rather different experience taking my puppy for a walk than I did this ...

The Baby Dragon with her Hoard The Baby Dragon at the Roots of Yggdrasil

With fur With wings* 1) Every one knows dragons come from Wales . 2) And so do cardis . QED. We have a baby dragon! *University of Chicago, Special Collections Research Center, MS 343.

"The elephant symbolizes the Virgin Mary. According to [Aristotle], the elephant has many commendable qualities: it is more obedient than other animals; it is strong in sense; it is easily tamed and lacking in bile, and it is the enemy of the dragon: therefore, the blessed Virgin may be compared to the elephant. "Firstly, the elephant is very obedient, because it is always obedient to its liberator. For it is said that when it is captured, it is beaten severely by the hunter, such that when someone approaches who wants to buy it, it imagines that he is the one who has set it free, and thus the elephant always loves him, and is always obedient to him. Such obedience was excellently [found] in the Blessed Virgin, who was not only obedient to her superior, that is God, when she said: 'Behold, the handmaid of the Lord' [Luke 1:38], but also to her inferior, that is Elizabeth, with whom she stayed three months, and served her as she gave birth. [The Virgin] was also ob...

Overheard while sitting in Regenstein Library, following the attack of the Snailox ... click to enlarge What the dragons are saying: Praise the Lord from the heavens; Praise him in the heights. Praise him, all his angels; Praise him, all his powers.... Let them praise the name of the Lord. Because he spoke, and they were made. He commanded, and they were created. He established them in eternity, and for all ages.... Praise the Lord from the earth.... The answer to the last dragon's question is in the next line of the psalm: dragons are here, on earth!* *At least, according to the Vulgate. Modern translations turn them into sea-monsters or whales. I'm pretty sure this is why the dragons came to Chicago this evening, along with the hail, snow, ice and stormy winds, thus keeping me from fencing practice so that I could finish this post. See Psalm 148:7-8.** **And, yes, this is one of the reasons medieval Christians believed so firmly in dragons. They're in the Bible, after ...