Something I read

This morning at Adoration I was reading The Friendship of Christ by Robert Hugh Benson. He was talking about how the seven last words of Christ pertain to us. The first, "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do," was the one I read today and here is some of what he had to say:

"It is impossible to say that men do not know, at least in part, what it is that they do. They know that the whole of European civilization rests upon Catholic foundations -- that the Church fed the hungry, taught the ignorant, befriended the outcast, and made life tolerable to the sufferers, centuries before the State dreamed of doing so, before, indeed, there was anything that could be called a State, to do so. They know that she has been the mother of ideals, of the noblest art and the purest beauty. They use to-day, in every country of Europe, for secular or semi-sacred purposes, buildings which she raised for her own worship of her God. They know that the morals of men find their only ultimate sanction in her teaching -- that where dogma goes down, crime goes up. And here, again, the only charge against her is that she is no friend to Caesar -- no friend, that is, to any system that seeks to organize society apart from God.
But, thank God! Divine Charity can still plead for men that they do not know the full horror of what they do, that they still think that to cripple and torture the Church of God is to do God service. For they do not know that she is His Darling, and the Bride of His Son; that she is the Eternal City coming down from God out of heaven; that, further, in these very sufferings of hers, she is accomplishing and applying Divine Atonement for the sins of those who crucify her.
They know that they are outraging human justice, that they are dealing with a world-wide community in a manner in which they dare not deal with any nation; that they are severing the branch which supports themselves. But they do not know that in this instance human justice is a Divine Right; that in this instance a Society is a Body which incorporates, not the lives of men, but the Incarnate Life of God; that they are slaying, not a Prophet or a Servant, but an Only-Begotten Son."

Don't you wish everyone thought like that? He is an amazing writer.

The Mentor

In writing class this week we are talking about the Mentor archetype. The Mentor is the "wise old man or woman" who teaches and protects the Hero.
Usually, the Mentor prepares the Hero for embarking on his Journey. The Mentor may also help the Hero grow physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Usually he gives the Hero some special "equipment"-- a piece of advice, a weapon, a magical potion, a raggedy old book, a crucial piece of information. Often the Hero does not realize the importance of the gift the Mentor gives him until the climax, when it comes in handy.
The Mentor helps the Hero know more about himself. The Mentor can be a former Hero, still on his own journey, or a fallen Hero, but always has the necessary experience to help the Hero. There are, obviously, many different types of Mentors, but the most common is the "wise old man" figure. (Think Gandalf, Dumbledore, etc.)

Often the Mentor learns and grows in himself while teaching the Hero. (The best way to learn something is to teach it, right?)
The Mentor can be a Shadow (good? bad?) or a Shapeshifter (sometimes good, sometimes bad). Rarely the Mentor is one and the same with the villain, because the Mentor must be someone the Hero can trust. Who would take advice from their arch-enemy? Though maybe the Mentor can start out good and become evil as the story progresses...
There's a lot to know about archetypes. This kind of learning is fun!

October 1, 2014

This morning I came downstairs to this:

Aren't I lucky? 

I just happened to pick a really awesome confirmation saint...

And the roses are one of my favorite colors!

St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us. 

Thanks, Mom and Thomas!

Writing Class!

Among the several thousand things I've been doing, I started writing class! This year I'm taking Advanced Fiction Writing: The Hero's Journey and Mythic Structure from Homeschool Connections. My writing teacher is the same, and it's great to have a longer class with her. I have five classmates, so it's a nice small class size. (More teacher time!) So far we've learned about archetypes and the Hero's Journey, and then started looking at each archetype individually. We're doing the Hero first, naturally. We are using the book The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler. It's basically our "textbook," though it doesn't have textbook qualities (i.e. dry, boring, long...). It's a fun and fascinating book, and very informative.

So. Pretty much I get the best of the best. What could be more fun than a small class in which we study in-depth the nuances of fiction writing? Okay, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I definitely enjoy it. 

Patrick's Visit

Biggest brother Patrick stayed over for a week before heading back to Amsterdam! While it may not have been a very academic week, it was tons of fun.

We went to Oakwood Lakes State Park for the last day of summer:

We also went out for sushi, ice cream, and other such fun things while he was here!

At the SDSU Dairy Bar

They went to the art museum while I was at piano.

Patrick, Dad and Thomas came here to watch football. Notice I have a book. 

Miss you already, Pap!

Jane Austen

Have I ever mentioned Jane Austen before? I certainly hope so. Mom and I love to listen to the books and watch the different movie versions of her novels. We've listened to all seven of her novels. My favorite is Emma, because it's lighthearted and hilarious, but I think Mom prefers Pride and Prejudice, which is my second favorite. There's something so universal about Jane Austen's books. Even though they're very culturally specific, the themes and issues are close to home for everyone. That must be one of the reasons they're still read today. 

I watch Pride and Prejudice every once in a while as a matter of course. We own both the newer version and the BBC miniseries. While the BBC version is far truer to the book and therefore somewhat more enjoyable for someone who has read the book...

...the newer one is still delightful. I actually watched it last night. :-)

Two days ago Mom and I watched the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility, which we hadn't seen for quite a while. It's not one of my favorite Austen books, but still a great story.

BBC did a wonderful miniseries of Emma which I love. It's much better than the movie. 

Mom and I have also watched versions of Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey. The latter is a bit silly but an entertaining read. You can tell Jane Austen was young when she wrote it. 

Lovely, all this Austen stuff. I'm so glad there are good movie versions of the books. They're some of the best movies I've watched.

(PS is there some copyright thing I'm supposed to say when I use a photo from a movie?)

Debussy

I have not, in my experience of piano and voice, done much by Debussy. The only song I played by him was Clair de Lune:

But now--behold! I have three new pieces by Debussy at once. The first is one I'm doing in voice: Beau Soir.

The other two are piano preludes. La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin...

...And Minstrels.

Maybe after all this I'll take a break from Debussy for a while...