Throwing Down Both Gauntlets - Part 3 Surviving the Floods

When I read the back story of the Polysha Foundation, my heart warmed and at the same time it broke. It inspired me to write this story. This is not about Yves and Sharon Polycarpe, but their story did inspire this one. This is a work of fiction which is very loosely based on the true story of Yves Polycarpe's family, found on the About Us page of the Polysha Foundation's website. I have done my best, through research and looking at numerous pictures, to make Bronte Lamarre's story resemble that of a woman in the same situation in Haiti today. Information on the daily lives of the poor are hard to come by, and where necessary I let my imagination lead the way. I recommend anyone moved by this story visit their page, and like them on Facebook. This story is not to make anyone feel guilty, but to see just how much can be overcome by the human heart if we choose never to give up, like Mr. Yves Polycarpe's amazing mother.
The links in the story show you images, or at times videos, which I used to determine what my character's world was really like. They also serve as illustrations of the story. Enjoy!!

"Everything works together," Fredaline was saying as she bailed water out of the house. The rains had come with a vengeance this time. It was one the worst floods Bronte had ever seen. Luckily, The Lamarre home was on relatively high ground. Only a couple of inches puddled in this house. A few blocks away, Fredaline's home probably had at least four. "The rains are so heavy because there are not enough trees to drink it now, higher up on the mountains. Too many of the trees are cut down. So it comes here, and it pools and it stays and by the time it is dry, it has returned to the sky to come down again. It comes too fast, too fast down the mountains and too fast back to the sky, because we need more trees."
Fredaline had been involved with people who taught her to save seeds and taught her to grow food in her little space, and who taught her about how the earth and nature work.They told her why cholera comes, so Bronte knew this water was dangerous, and not to use the yard as a latrine. Fredaline had told her all about it. Soon, Fredaline was getting a toilet in her house. She was trying to help Bronte get one too. Now, Fredaline thought she knew why the rains were so heavy and how to fix it. It was getting a little old, and a lot ridiculous. But, maybe she was right? It did sort of make sense. The water went up to the sky if the sun touched it, and became clouds, and then made rain. The children learned this in school, and told her about it. Maybe enough trees would stop the floods. Either way, they were dealing with floods now, like they often did if it rained. Knowing the answers did not get any more water out of the house. Bailing it did.
The children tried to help, scooping up water into their cups, much to Bronte's dismay, and throwing it out into the street. The street was like a very shallow stream flowing between all the houses, at present. It would dry off later. The drains and sewers in the city were backed up and not functioning. Who knew what might be contaminating that water? Bronte found that it was hard to keep her attention on the task at hand, as she was worried the children might put the cups back into their mouths. She and Fredaline kept on bailing, with pushing the water toward the door with dirty clothes, scooping it up with fry pans and small buckets, and throwing it into the allay-turned-creek. Visions of her children struck with diarrhea, fever and cholera buzzed around in Bronte's mind like obnoxious swarms of flies. It put her in an ill temper. The gray and brown hues of the buildings and alleys blended together into one, big mass of solid color, rippling here and there with the putrid water. At least it was moving water. If it stopped moving, there would be far more trouble before long.
Carrefour had beaches all long the Northern edge, and Bronte's family home was closer to the beach than most of the houses in town, though it was still a long way from the ocean.
Several blocks North, well past Fredaline's dwelling, the highway bordered a steep drop in altitude, so that the houses nearby on the South side looked down on the road, but the road passed just above the roofs of the houses on it's North side. Life would be hard there today, for sure. All the water running off from higher ground, and all the garbage and pollution it carried with it, would be accumulating there in alleys and homes and streets. Bronte did not want to think about the dangers all that water probably brought with it, and what is must be like to live in those houses.She hoped this flood would not bring another round of cholera.
"DON'T DO THAT!!!!" she screamed, seeing Ritha raising her cup toward her mouth. She quickly tore the cup out of Ritha's hands. She looked around frantically, getting a head count of the other young children, making sure no one else was doing anything so dangerous. Guerda was sitting down on a table, playing with a spoon. Toussaint was asleep in a carrier on the counter. Stephane was gathering wet clothes into a pile so Stevenson could use it to push water their way. Stephenson was quite clumsy though, and was mostly just making a mess with the dirty clothes amid all the nasty water. Ritha darted over them, giggling and tried to help.
The older children had all left with their school books to find higher ground so they could bring dry books to school, and turn in at least reasonably dry homework. Stevenson's homework was done, Webster had helped him with it. Tears sprang quickly to Bronte's eyes as she remembered how Seydou had done this for the older kids, especially the boys. It had been nice to see Webster carrying on the tradition already, sharing with his little brother what their father would not be able to, now.
We're going to get through this she thought as she wrung the last of the water out of a soggy shirt, Things are going to get better. She turned her eyes back to Stevenson, as he helped his little brother wring out the laundry. Seydou would be very proud.
Soon the house was reasonably dry, as dry as they could get it. there were no puddles anywhere. Dinner was going to be very late, as it had not even been started. When the big kids returned, Bronte would send them to Fredaline's house to help purge the water there. Truly, they would all get through this.

As Bronte sat down to catch her breath, looking around her relatively dry domain as the waters trickled by in the street, she couldn't help but just be thankful. The children's dark blue uniforms were all over the floor,soaking wet,and this water did nothing to clean them. Yet she was thankful that they had those uniforms, and especially thankful that, this week at least, he children were attending school - the boys and the girls alike.
Maybe they would actually get a toilet in their house before long, like Fredaline insisted they could. Bronte watched her best friend playing "This little piggy"with Toussaint's toes, Maybe they would, Bronte chuckled at the thought, even go up onto the mountains and plant some more trees.

Adventures in RCIA: More on the Bible

I have been reading the notes in my New Oxford Annotated Bible, NRSV, with Apocrypha. It says on the cover it is "An Ecumenical Study Bible." It has the disputed books in between the Old and New Testaments, and gives a lengthy intro to the section. Here is what I learned so far today:
The books called Apocrypha by Protestants, some of which are called Deuterocanonical (while the rest of the OT is called "protocanonical") by Catholics, are as follows:
Tobit, Judith, the Greek version of the Book of Esther, The Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (or the Book of Sirach), Baruch, The Letter of Jeremiah, The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, 3 Maccabees, 4 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, 3 Esdras, The Prayer of Manasseh, and Psalm 151. 4 Maccabees is not, canonized by any present Christian church, but was included in the appendix of many of the first Bibles because of inspirational value.

The only Catholic doctrine I know of at this time which is founded on Deuterocanonical writings is Purgatory, with all the associated practices of offering prayers, masses, and sacraments for the dead. I will not offer my current, personal view on that here right now, because I am not sure if I even have one.

The word "Apocrypha" means "hidden things," and scholars only speculate at why this term was used. The early church included all of these works in the Septuagint. Early scholars, who usually did not know any Hebrew, quoted from the disputed works and the works found in the original Hebrew Bible without differentiation. This may, or may not, be solely because they did not know any Hebrew and the Greek Bible was the only one they had. Over time, people started questioning the parts that Protestants now call the Apocrypha. Perhaps this is because of exposure to the Hebrew, which it was all supposed to be based on, but I do not know at this time.

All of these works were included in the Latin Vulgate, which was complied in the fourth century. However, there were prefaces noting that these disputed writings were, despite being very valuable teachings, not to be treated as authoritative scripture. Over time, translators and scribes started skipping the prefaces for whatever reason(s), and the whole thing was again treated as infallible, doctrinal scripture. This was the status through most of the middle ages.

So when were these books written? What is in them and what was going on? Evidently, after the Perisan exile and the Jews' return to their homeland, Alexander the Great's campaigns took a lot of territory where Jews lived as ethnic minorities, and also took Israel itself. Later, control of Israel went back and forth between tyrants from Greece and from Egypt. In Israel, Jewish culture stayed pretty strong, but Greek and other polytheistic influences started to take root and create controversy among the diaspora. There were also intermittent attempts at deliberate ethnocide (that means the dominant culture actively forcing an end to the minority culture - or at leas trying to. This is like genocide except the people's genetics and physical presence is not destroyed) by some Greek rulers.

During this time, some new books were written and the established Hebrew Canonical texts were translated into Greek. Some of these translations contain parts that have never been found in any discovered Hebrew texts, including the Dead Sea Scrolls. For example, the Hebrew Bible version of Esther that Protestants use never mentions God's name at all, and it records no prayers or songs of worship. The Greek version contains prayers and songs of praise and does mention God's name several times. Other than than, the story is the same. The additions in the Greek versions of ancient Jewish canonical books, plus the books written about the trials and deeds of God's people in the Hellenistic age, compose the Protestant "Apocrypha". Major recurring themes in these Greek writings are the folly of idolatry, being faithful to the true God instead of mixing religious practice with popular pagan and unholy activities, and maintaining acceptable practices of worship and doctrine regardless of personal cost. These themes are becoming increasingly relevant today, and regardless of whether one views these writings as canonical or apocryphal, it is probably a good idea to at least look over many of them. I might add that these themes were probably very helpful/relevant to persecuted Christians in the Pagan Roman Empire, just as they were to persecuted Jews under the Greek empire.

Some of the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical works contain serious historical errors, like the book of Judith. The book of Judith has Nebuchadnezzar as king of Assyria, and his invasion taking place after the Jews' return from exile, so pretty extreme historical flaws. In theology class at SLU, I was taught that the book of Job is a work of fiction, but it is still viewed by all Christians and by Jews as inspired. The lessons of the book of Job are understood to come from God and to be revelatory, just like Genesis and Revelation and everything that is consistently found in between. Likewise, the Deuterocanonical works contain historical fiction: Judith, Tobit, 3 Maccabees, and Bel and the Dragon. These cannot be accepted as fact, and cannot be treated the way my fundamentalist family, and church acquaintances over the years, read the Bible. If you cannot adjust to hearing historical fiction stories that present precepts and truths to you, sort of like parables, then it is probably best for you to leave these works alone - at least for your study of Scripture.

Many of these writings have quite disputable authorship. The Wisdom of Solomon is not written in the Hebrew style, but with the Greek style and also is perceived to have some Greek philosophy mixed in with it. That would indicate pretty strongly that Solomon did not write it. The Song of the Three Jews records the story of Daniel's three friends being delivered out of the furnace with more detail, and consists mostly of a worship song sung by them as they went through the trial and came out of it. Scholars believe it could have been written during the time of the Persian empire. The Catholic Bible has this writing in between Daniel 3:23 and 3:24. For some reason, scholars doubt that Daniel actually wrote it, perhaps because they think it was written too late. Psalm 151 is clearly supposed to be David writing about Shepherding his flock and how God gave him victory over Goliath. Copies of it were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, however, scholars think it was written during the time of the Persian empire, or possibly as late as 3  B.C. If that is the case, David couldn't have written it.

May of the Greek texts contain noticeable Hellenistic influence. Tobit even includes a popular Greek fictional character in the narrative. 4 Maccabees is not really connected to the family of the Maccabees, and neither is 3 Maccabees. 3 Maccabees is about the dispersed Jews suffering extreme persecution under the Ptolemies and, I believe, being delivered from genocide (I have not read it yet, just a synopsis). All of the Orthodox Churches canonize 3 Maccabees, but the Catholic and Protestant churches do not. 4 Maccabees is a Greek philosophical diatribe aimed at Jews, citing from the stories of 1 and 2 Maccabees, and trying to convince them of the supremacy of reason over the body and soul. The trouble with this is, I note, reason is also part of the soul realm, and is fallen. 4 Maccabees is not canonized in any Christian Bible now, evidently for very good reasons..

The Roman Catholic Deuterocanonical works are: all the additions to Daniel (Bel and the Dragon, Susanna, The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews), the Greek version of Esther, Tobit, Judith, The Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (also called the Ecclesiasticus, not to be confused with Ecclesiastes), 1 and 2 Maccabees, Baruch, and the letter of Jeremiah (Which appears as ch.6 of Baruch).

Some of the Septuagint books were left out of both Protestant and Catholic canons, but included in others. The Eastern Orthodox churches canonized all the Deuterocanonical works of the Catholic Bible, 3 Maccabees, Psalm 151, the Prayer of Manasseh, and 1 Esdras but not 2 Esdras. The Russian orthodox churches canonized all the Catholic Deuterocanonical works, 3 Maccabees, Psalm 151, and both the books of Esdras (though they call them 2 and 3 Esdras instead of 1 and 2), but not The Prayer of Manasseh. Esdras is seen as trying to write like a prophet, using the figurative imagery and such, and his writings include  an apocalypse. Nevertheless, Esdras never says,"Thus saith the Lord," not even once. No one of his time called him a prophet, and his works were not part of the Hebrew canon, nor do the Protestant and Catholic canons The Prayer of Manasseh is believed to have been written during the second temple period. It is an extremely passionate and skillful prayer and worship piece, comparable in theme to Psalm 51 but without the complaints about God's seeming inaction. I have no idea why it was rejected by both Luther and the Council of Trent.

In some ways,this is a very discouraging topic to study, because it reveals the depth of the division in God's church. Nevertheless, it is a good study and a profitable study. So many beautiful worship songs, and stories of triumph and commitment in the face of opposition and persecution are revealed - "hidden things" no more.

Godspeed

~ Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA - Ecumenism

For those who want to know, Catholicism and Protestantism are essentially the same. The things that unite protestant churches also unite them to Catholicism.
There are people within every sect that have notions outside of the precepts of that sect. There are also misunderstandings and mistakes that people sometimes assume are a reflection of the beliefs of a sect or determine whether or not the whole sect is Christian or not.
This is where prejudice often comes from.

Calvinists and Pentecostals have HUGE differences between themselves. Larger, I think, then between Pentecostals and Orthodox or Pentecostals and Catholics. There are also Charismatic Catholics. Pope Francis is one of these , He has addressed several Charismatic conventions. It was upon reading this I decided it was time to join the Catholic Church. It was something I though seriously about for along time, and that is what did it. I note that this Pope is extremely interested in unifying Christians from everywhere, and emphasizes ecumenism.He feels the Charismatic movement plays a vital role in this, and I agree.

So, in the spirit of unity and ecumenism, I present some of my thoughts about ecumenism, and how it could be practiced. I do intend to resume volunteering and activity with the local A.G. church after my RCIA class ends, provided my services are needed and accepted and the demands of making a living allow it. It will not interfere with Mass, as I go to Mass on Saturday afternoons and can attend any day of the week - that was actually another reason for making the move now, I had a work schedule that made Sunday morning service hard to get to and the A.G. church stopped having service on Wednesday nights.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Adventures in RCIA: The Bible

Well, I am in the process of joining the Catholic church. I am looking for the first time at these "new" books, which my protestant brothers call "The Apocrypha." The book of Sirach, which I read from in the video, was not canonized by Jews, but the earlychuch canonized it. I do not know when, and do not yet know whether the original apostles like Peter and St. Paul the Great considered it the inspired word of God or not. I doubt it. I donot think it is, though I do think parts of it are anointed and that is has some value. I just do not believe it has the divine authority of Scripture. Sirach was openly misogynistic, he did not just have a differentiating view of gender roles, he came out and said having a daguhter was a curse, not a blessing. El Shaddai spoke to Moses and said to give daughters land,justliek was customarily done with boys, and many other things that indicate a respectful and valuing attitude toward women. Lady Wisdom was not sexualized in Proverbs like she was in Sirach. This may be why the ancient Jews never considered him insired. In any case, they didn't and I don't either. Most of these were written during the time my protestant brethren call, "400 years of silence," the ideabeing that godjust shut up the wholetime and did not send any important prophets or offer any guidance. Then, I was taught, God started talking again like crazy. Well, maybe so. But we talk a lot about the early church and how the early church did tis ad that. The early church cannonized alot of this, and the oldest churches there are still use some or all of it. So, I am beginning my journey through "the Apocrypha" if indeed that is what it all is.



I will post more about this when I know more. I am excited to read about Bel and the Dragon, and Judith, and Susanna. The Song of the Three Jews is beautiful. I just do not have a clue about whether it really was sung by Daniel's three freinds when they were thrown into the furnace for being faithful to God. Their names may have been put in later, when people shoved it in with Daniel's writings, but maybe not. SOMEBODY wrote an annointed worship song, I just do not know if it was really written by who it is attributed to.

 I hope everyone has a wonderful day.
Goodnight and Godspeed.

~Mother Star

Not cool at all! Parents be aware! #dangerous toys #alert #parental advisory

Ok,

This is not a cool toy. This is especially not a cool toy for three year olds.

Please parents, be aware, people devoid of common sense are making toys this year.




Take care

~M. S.

More on How to Save the World

Continuing the vein of using real estate investment to turn communities, neighborhoods and spaces around, it is time to consider some of the social aspects.
In America, classes have been segregated from each other. There are poor communities and wealthy ones. There is truth to the statement that when generations of people do not find work, they come to see the welfare state as a means of living. Sadly, when people do not have to invest anything in what they have, they often fail to appreciate it. This, in America at least, leads to destructive levels of neglect that lower property values and people's self-worth and helps produce things like ghettos.

Students in Florida who receive scholarships to attend private schools often report that being surrounded by the middle class, where work and college is just expected and value routinely been placed on education, changed their thinking and helped redirect their lives. An environment where poverty is expected and hope is limited or non-existent plays a big role in numerous social problems.

We need to mix up the pot. Raising rent to levels only the middle class can afford in school districts that are beyond undesirable in not a solution, it is financial suicide. So how so might we shuffle the deck?

Using my own city as an example, let me paint a picture of my proposal.
Decatur, IL is one of the most declined economies in the USA. In 2013, only Detroit was going down worse. The homeless population is high, as is vacant housing. It has been this way for a long time. Decatur is home to Archer-Daniels Midland's headquarters, a Caterpillar plant, two heavy polluters similar to ADM, and a very good private University. The Decatur Public schools are barely worthy of being called schools. There are two private high school options and three private elementary school options.

The adjacent towns of Forsyth and Mount Zion are predominantly white and middle class. Their schools are very good, as U.S. public schools go, and they serve several small farming communities nearby as well as Decatur's elite classes residing on the outskirts of town. So there are good schools around, if you live in the right place.

Thanks to House Hunters for this photo

Starting as near to Milikin U. as possible but in the low income neighborhoods, begin a project that will have a food forest and renewables. Plant the trees and start making the food forest as soon as possession of the house is secured. If possible, so a quicker flip of another property to make a lot of money faster, and start adding the renewables a.s.a.p. Advertise with the campus rooms in a community house that has renewables on low utility bills. When the fruit and nut trees are producing, start mentioning that in the ads. Pay the house off, or perhaps refinance for lower payments, as soon as possible in order to offer students discounted rates over summer if they will help with the garden. When more than one property is secured, estimate the man-hours required and try to meet it by helping impressionable young tenants get through school - and give them some permaculture school in the process. This creates a captive audience of sorts, for permaculture classes. After the houses have generated enough income to pay for the improvements - especially the renewables - and the projects are complete (both, which may not happen at the same time) it is time to think about selling.

Thanks to permaculture for this cool photo

Wait until someone who likes the house and understands/appreciates the permaculture finds a good-paying job locally. Offer the house to them a little below market value, or right at it if you expect housing values to go up, on a rent-to own basis. Draw up paperwork that locks in that price. Half the rent every month goes into the price while you retain landlord status and fix things and help solve garden problems if they should arise. They will still be responsible for damages caused by neglect or abuse. After a certain number of years (perhaps 3-5?), according to your contract, the buyer needs to pay the balance. This will give them time to reduce student loan debt and get in a position to take on a mortgage. The renewables and the food forest will help facilitate that, especially since they will be allowed to sell surplus production of the garden.

 These just-starting outs will not likely need to send children to school before they get into a position to be able to send they kids to the private schools, and avoid the appalling district 61 public schools. They will be incentivized to stay because of the food forest and the renewables and the affordability of the house. Their good job will allow them to handle the real estate taxes. Your continuing to reproduce this pattern nearby will create a mixed-income neighborhood, with college students, career people, Young middle class families and people who have been on assistance for generations. The higher property values will feed real estate taxes into the local schools, hopefully helping solve the problem. The relationship with the tenants could create opportunity to tell them about the issues with the local schools so they will be a.) aware they should not send their kids there when they have them and b.) hopefully inspire them to hold the local authorities accountable.



On the other side of the coin, getting the low-income children OUT of district 61's mess and into a place where they are actually educated and prepared for life will take a different approach. Use section 8 to do this. In this area, section 8 does pay enough to cover the more expensive houses, because Decatur is zoned with a larger town that has higher housing costs than any of the neighboring towns. It is more likely to require some quick flips with very few changes made in order to jump start or speed up the project. Houses in low-income areas of Decatur are very cheap. Houses in Mount Zion or Forsyth, or areas of Dectur zoned for Mount Zion or Argenta-Maroa schools are NOT.

Thanks to House Hunters for this photo

During the summer, if you have students staying over summer, they can help work on putting in the food forest in order to cover the part of their rent. If you are certified to teach permaculture, they can put in extra time and get extra education there for free if they want the extra education; it would then be a work-study situation or an apprenticeship or something. This could alo open doors for people who just wantto study permaculture, they can work their fees off helping to change the town.

Thanks to Pushing through the Pavement: A Permaculture Action Tour for this photo

Again, start the food forest as soon as possible. Addrenewables as soon as possible. Pay attention to the Section 8 Guidelines. Baby-proof the place or design it with infants, pre-schoolers, and elementary school children in mind. Ideally, the house will have a space that can be turned into a bedroom, easily so that if another kid comes into the picture, the family is ready. If you can find one the housing authority will approve, put in a swingset. You want people incentivized to stay where their kids get better education and ther are more jobs available when the kids become teens.
You might have to make a summerstudent-house out of this for a few years. If they have a job they do not want to give up (in Decatur area, jobs are precious! You might not be able to get another one when you come back in the fall), being able to stay in the area over summer will help a lot. (The rent goes back up to full price forthat vicinity as of September 1st. That will almost certianly get the students planning to move out by the time school begins.) Obviously, you need to have flipped another house to about pay this one off in order to afford going with no tenants or discounted tenants until the food forest is ready!

Thanks to Permaculture for this photo


After the food forest is ready, and the students are back in school, get it section 8 approved if you haven't already. Advertise through the the foodbank, and local homeless or battered-woman shelters, not craigslist or the newspaper. This one is not likely to be sold for a long time.
If a tenenat family becomes upwardly mobile to the point where they no longer qualify for section 8, you can, at your discretion, work something outwith them to rent to own the place, like in the case above. You might also accept work for part of the rent, in which case you can teach permatulcure to more people. Be creative. They might not, or probably won't though, if nothing else because minimum wage went up and low-skill jobs can be expected to be scarcer. Sadly...

The end result of these practices is facilitating change through permaculture education and utilization, and by improving opportunity for education.

On Criticisms of Catholicism - expensive buildings

High, arched ceilings. Exposed beams. Carvings. A choir loft. Statuary. Stained glass on every window. What comes to mind when you think of a Catholic church? Does this sound expensive? Like a waste of kingdom resources? Like an outward show that must be hypocritical? Something else?

Electric lights. Video walls. High ceilings, many windows. Images of clouds, or of a cross, or of weather, or of roads, or of the sun shining. Ever changing images, on the big movie screen, and contemporary music thumping from the PA system to go along with the images, or else the images go with the song. Power point presentations or short, professionally shot videos to update you on announcements for church. Sound familiar? Does your church do any of the above?
That sounds a bit expensive too.

I am currently in RCIA, which is the class you take to join the Catholic church. My last protestant church was big, They were doing a lot of good things and coming up with innovative ways to pay for it. I was pleased with it.
They also paid for a TV spot on the local station and put their services and sermons out on webcasts and post the recordings online. This led to people with all sorts of problems contacting them for advice and answers, and they started a support group for people recovering from various addictions.
Another large church in town ran a school and two daycare centers. All of these things were expensive, but productive. I have no issues with that (A.G.) church, I did not leave out of any big disagreement or bitterness whatever.

Some people who have serious issues with Catholicism - or who at least think that they do, some people have only ever heard of it through people who seek to discred it - make snide comments about how much it cost to build or maintain cathedrals. Some protestants point fingers and pass judgments, acting like or saying, "WE are not like that, we are better." I grew up exposed to such things.

When catholic churches started building cathedrals and doing stained glass, mosaics, and statuary, there were no printing presses mass producing Bibles and almost nobody could read. Nowadays we have "picture bibles" for non-literate tribes. In the middle ages, the picture bibles WERE the stained glass and the statues. The Vatican and surrounding buildings are designed to be a Bible for people who could not read. Obviously, this artwork was expensive too, so having it on the church building, which was shared with the whole community, helped get the stories and messages to everyone around it. Having little pieces of such work at home, and using the original rosary, helped people get their spirits fed at home. The original use of the rosary was recitation of the Psalms. You can look it up, if you like.

Its funny how we hear those criticisms from people who's churches have purchased expensive PA systems and musical instruments but have no one to play them, or who have video walls behind their pulpits, and every bit as high of ceilings as the cathedral down the block. None of that stuff is cheap, and it actually serves the same basic purpose. People in modern protestant churches usually do not need picture stories of the Bible, but images that "minister," or bring about prayerful or hopeful attitudes, or that evoke emotions matching the sermon or theme are very common. There is nothing wrong with this, ever. Nevertheless it costs money. In modern Catholic churches, the architecture serves the same purpose as the powerpoints and videos in so many protestant churches that I have been fortunate to visit the last several years. I also find it helps me feel connected to earlier Christians and brings the depth and size and timelessness of the family of God to the forefront. Catholic churches in ornate buildings continue to help the poor in many regions, and in many ways, to protest abortion and offer alternatives to it, to shelter the homeless and minister to the sick and the dying in local communities and across the world, just like protestant churches usually do.

Disagreeing with doctrine is one thing, slandering people is another. Please check yourself if you have been judging others.

Godspeed.

~Mother Star