2022 Reads

So it’s been three years since I listed my annual reads.  I have felt very guilty on not posting them but I got out of the habit of tracking my reads.  After all, my guilt is exacerbated because this was the major reason for my blog.  I really want to keep a log of my reading whether for the blog or not.  I am going to try to track down to the best of my knowledge what I read for the years 2022 through 2024.  2022 will be the easiest because I still had most of that list.  But I have means of compiling the other lists.  I sometimes set aside the finished books in specific spots; I have my discussions on Goodreads; and I have what we discussed at the Adult Faith Formation class I lead at my parish.  If I don’t get the exact list, I will come close. 

These blog posts on my annual reads will not come with any analysis of what types of books I read or their genres.  Just a straight listing.

 

 

First Quarter:

Magnificat, January 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

“The Traveler,” a short story by Wallace Stegner.

“The Curtain Blown by the Breeze,” a short story by Muriel Spark.

Magnificat, February 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

“Chef’s House, a short story by Raymond Carver.

 “Petrified Man,” a short story by Eudora Welty.

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah, a non-fiction book by Brant Pitre.

Confessio, a short autobiographical testimonial by St. Patrick.

The City of God Books 11-16, by St. Augustine of Hippo, translated by William Babcock.

Magnificat, March 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

 

Second Quarter:

Magnificat, April 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art, a non-fiction book by Elizabeth Lev.

Magnificat, May 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

The Timeless Dominic: A Commentary on the O Lumen, a biographical devotional by Richard T.A. Murphy, O.P.

Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross, a devotional by Edward Sri.

Magnificat, June 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

 

 

Third Quarter:

Magnificat, July 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

The Early Church Was the Catholic Church : The Catholic Witness of the Fathers in Christianity's First Two Centuries, a Non-Fiction book by Joe Heschmeyer.

Magnificat, August 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

Apologia Pro Vita Sua, a confessional memoir by St. John Henry Newman.

Book of Genesis, a book from the Old Testament, RSV Translation.

Magnificat, September 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

 

 

Fourth Quarter:

Magnificat, October 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

Come Rack! Come Rope!, an historical novel by Robert Hugh Benson.

The Gospel of Luke, a book of the New Testament, RSV Translation.

Magnificat, November 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

The Quest for Shakespeare, a biography by Joseph Pearce.

Measure for Measure, a comic play by William Shakespeare.

“Ligeia,” a short story by Edgar Allen Poe.

The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity, a Non-Fiction Book by Taylor R. Marshall.

Desiderio Desideravi, an apostolic letter by Pope Francis.

Magnificat, December 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

 

Unfinished Reading:

The Intellectual Life: It’s Spirits, Conditions, Methods, a non-fiction work by A.G. Sertillanges, O.P.

Wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers: Ancient Advice for the Modern World, a non-fiction book by Philip G. Bochanski.

K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, a Non-Fiction book by Tyler Kepner.

Whose Body? A Lord Wimsey Story, a detective story by Dorothy L. Sayers.

The Dialogue, A Book of Spirituality by St. Catherine of Siena, Translated and Edited by Suzanne Noffke.

Blog Note: Tenth Year Blog Anniversary

December 29^th, 2022, today, marks the tenth anniversary of this blog.  Goodness, does anyone even read the blog?  I have one devoted reader.  Thank you Jan.  Otherwise I don’t know who even comes here.  I do send out links to friends when I have a particular post I think might interest them, but otherwise I live in relative obscurity.  I used to imagine the blog as being a monastery away from the world.  Now I think it’s a hermitage, and I’m the only hermit!

As I said in my seventh year anniversary post, the blog has become more of a way of documenting what I read, my thoughts on what I read, and sending out an evangelizing message or two to bring back faith.  What bothers me is that when I do a search from my own blog, “Ashes from Burnt Roses,” it comes up empty in Yahoo and in Bing search engines.  It does come up in Google though, but I would expect that since I use Google Blogger.  I wonder if my posts even come up in a search of a subject.  If anyone knows what I’m doing wrong, let me know. 

The blogging world has certainly changed over the years.  I don’t know many who blog any more.  Podcasts, and now vlogging, are the new rage.  I’m probably not suited for either, especially not video.  And my reads would not adapt well to audio or video discussion. 

So you’ll have to bear with me.  I will continue to blog here.  I still put out over 100 posts per year.  That’s at least two per week.  My thousandth post was about a year and a half ago.  I still like my wall paper.  I would try something different, but changing it would change the wall paper for all the past blog posts, and that doesn’t seem right.  It would feel like Cancel Culture! 

So what has changed over the years?  Well, now I have almost a complete head of grey hair!  My son is now thirteen—a teenager!—and I wonder if that has anything to do with my grey hair. 

This started out as a secular blog, but now it’s almost completely a Catholic blog.  That’s because of the increased importance of faith in my life.  I still don’t opine on politics, though I have put out a political post or two in recent years.  Not much really, and it’s not because I don’t have political opinions.  Oh I definitely do.  I still want this blog to be a refuge from the ugliness of political battle.  I probably post less music lately.  Most pop music doesn’t suit my increased religiosity.  In the last year or so, I’ve gotten into the habit of providing a meditation the Sunday Gospel reading.  I’m not sure there is all that much that I’ve changed over the years.

Some highlights of the blog.  I always think the Matthew Mondays are a highlight.  I’m proud of my son.  Certainly the Dante links to my thoughts on the Divine Comedy are something I’m proud of.  My poetry and short story analyzes I hope are highlights. 

Ten years shows perseverance.  Is perseverance a virtue?  God bless, and we’ll see how long keep doing this.

Manny

 

Matthew Monday: Chanukah

I haven’t had a Matthew Monday in a while.  He’s growing so, and he’s thirteen years old now.  Yesterday he woke up and said, “I think I grew overnight!”  And by golly, I think he did.  He’s going to be taller than me

Yesterday was the first night of Chanukah, and we celebrated at my mother-in=law’s house.  His grandma helped him light the first candle in the menorah.  Here are a couple of pictures.

 

 

Now, being the first night, only one candle is lit.  But the shamash, or “the attendant” candle, used to light the nightly candles.  In the most iconic menorahs, the shamash is usually in the middle.  In this menorah it’s over to the right side.

Here are some basics on how to light a menorah.

Personal Essay: To a Superb 2022 Season for the Baltimore Orioles

If you haven’t noticed, my blogging had been reduced the last few months.  It was baseball season!  I just don’t have the free time to do both in a constructive manner.  This year I had resolved to keep up with the blog at all costs but my favorite team made this season so enjoyable that the resolution went down the drain.  For those that may remember, I happen to be a Baltimore Orioles fan.  A very long suffering Baltimore Orioles fan.  Sure they had their glory years from 1966 to 1983 when I was a kid and got hooked on the team, but since then it’s been way more losing seasons than winning.  And the last three of four years they lost over 100 games each year, having the worst record in all of baseball all three of those years.  The only exception was 2020, which was Covid shortened.  But they would have lost 100 games then too.

So it’s been tough.  But this year they became the first team in history to have a winning record after losing over 100 games the previous season.  In fact they nearly made the playoffs, just falling short by three games.  They started that first month just like the previous years, pathetically losing, but after April they started to have winning month after winning month.  They didn’t have any star pitchers.  Their ace (John Means) was actually injured from April on and out for the season.  They really didn’t have any superstar hitters either.  A couple of their young prospects (Adley Rutschman especially) were promoted to the majors and that turned it around.  They won with really good defense and an exceptional bullpen and a lot of hustle.  The starting pitchers would hold the opposition in the early innings; the defense would pull out plays to save the game; the bullpen would shut the opposition down in the late innings; and the team would amazingly pull out quite a number of late inning victories.  What a joy!

You can get a summary of the Orioles' 2022 season here.

They ended the season with a record of 83-79.  But they also played in the toughest division in baseball, the American League East.  Sometimes referred to as the American League Beast.  Three of the five teams made the playoffs.  If the Orioles played in any other division I think they would have made the playoffs.  Was it a disappointment they didn’t?  Sure, but there were too many thrills that in the end it didn’t matter.  There were too many thrills.  What a thoroughly enjoyable season. Last year I complained the development was taking too long. This year they caught up. There was no stepping stone from 100 losses to .500, but so be it. This is where the development plan should be. In fairness, I think Covid did set everything back about a year. In the end, this became one of the most memorable of seasons. To go from a 100+ loss team to above .500 is great. Yes, I know there is always criticism, but nothing is perfect, except in heaven. Overall from the very top to the lowest ball boy, this team needs to be commended. Thank you 2022 Orioles.  Next year we’ll make the playoffs!

###

Some random thoughts on next year and the off season.

As to the off season acquisitions, I'm not sure this team needs that much. We're going to have Gunnar Henderson and Adley for a full year and more mature. Hopefully Ryan Mountcastle shakes the sophomore blues and hits his potential. Jordan Westburg at second base should be a plus. Austin Hays gets better and platoons with Kyle Stowers, who will be more mature. Grayson Rodriguez comes up and John Means returns. Tyler Wells, Kyle Bradish, and Dean Kremer improve. This looks like a very solid team.

I guess you could use a big bat at DH behind Mountcastle. A Trey Mancini type but the Trey of several years ago who hit 35 homers. Otherwise I don't think there is a lot to change.

We could use a backup first baseman.  If Westburg could play first base, that would solve a lot of problems. I wonder why Terrin Vavra hasn't tried backing up first base. That would put it over the top for him.

###

Thinking this over for next year, most teams will field 13 pitchers and 13 fielders. So other than the starting nine hitters, there are four backups.

Here's an assumption for the starting nine: Gunnar (3B), Jorge Mateo (SS), Ramon Urias (2B), Mountcastle (1B), Hays (LF), Cedric Mullins (CF), Stowers (RF), Anthony Santander (DH), Adley ©.

You need a backup catcher, Robinson Charinos or whoever they pick up.

A fifth outfielder, Ryan McKenna.

A back up infielder who can play first base.

A utility player, perhaps Vavra.

Out of the starting nine, I would think Urias may be the weakest argument for starting but he might be a better choice for utility player over Vavra. Maybe. I think the rest of the eight are definite unless they get traded.

McKenna is probably not guaranteed. We have a few outfielders waiting in AAA.

Rougned Odor is probably not picked up, especially if Westburg is ready for the majors. But, and I may be in a very small minority on this, if it comes down to picking two between Vavra, Odor, and Urias, I would pick Odor and Urias.  Remember Odor drove in over 50 RBIs. It's not how high you hit but what you do with the hits you get.  Plus Odor was the heart and soul of the team this year.

I have to say, the bullpen is really solid.  I hope they all come back, but you can never have too much pitching.  Hopefully we can pick up another top relief pitcher.

We'll see where General Manager Michael Elias goes. I can see Elias trading one of our outfielders, but remember no one is going to want your weakest outfielder. If they are going to trade value, they will want value back.

Here are some of the great highlights of a remarkable year.

Now can you blame me for being glued to the Orioles the past few months?

###

It will be an interesting off-season, but I really can’t wait until next seasons starts!

2022 Reads, Plans and First Quarter

This is probably the latest I’ve ever put out my plans for the year.  It’s so late I’m going to include my first quarter reads, even though the first quarter isn’t complete yet. 

First there are a couple of re-reads.  Brant Pitre’s remarkable Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary and Elizabeth Lev’s How Catholic Art Saved the Faith.  Both books were read last year but I will be leading the Adult Faith Formation class at my parish going through these two books.  So I am reading them again along with the class. 

Also currently reading is St. Augustine of Hippo’s City of God.  This is being read in my Catholic Thought book club at Goodreads.  We had read the first half (Books I thru X) last year and we are reading the second half (Books XI thru XXII) this year.

Two other books I started reading since January are Philip Bochanski’s Wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers and A.G. Sertillanges’ The Intellectual Life. 

There are a number of books that are half read and need to be completed: K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches by Tyler Kepner, How Dante Can Save Your Life by Rod Dreher, and The Divine Office For Dodos by Madeline Pecora Nugent.  Hopefully I can push through these and get them read.

My Lenten reads, which I’ve now started are Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross by Edward Sri and The Timeless Dominic: A Commentary on the O Lumen by Richard T.A. Murphy, O.P.  Both are devotional books with the Murphy book using the Dominican prayer “O Lumen,” a traditional prayer to St. Dominic, as the inspiration to walk through St. Dominic’s life.

The two fictional reads I plan on reading are Stendhal’s The Red and the Black, and Alice McDermott’s Charming Billy. 

My Biblical reads will start from the beginning again with The Book of Genesis since I completed the Bible last year.  This is Year C in the Church lexicon, so I will read The Gospel of Luke.  I would also like to read St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans and The Book of Revelation.

Of course I will read as many short stories as I can.  I’ve already read four.  And the monthly Magnifcat devotional magazine is a fixture.

I don’t know where else the book club will take me, but as you can see I have my hands full already. 

 

First Quarter:

Magnificat, January 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

“The Traveler,” a short story by Wallace Stegner.

“The Curtain Blown by the Breeze,” a short story by Muriel Spark.

Magnificat, February 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

“Chef’s House, a short story by Raymond Carver.

 “Petrified Man,” a short story by Eudora Welty.

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah, a non-fiction book by Brant Pitre.

 

Currently Reading:

 Magnificat, March 2022, a monthly Catholic devotional.

The Intellectual Life: It’s Spirits, Conditions, Methods, a non-fiction work by A.G. Sertillanges, O.P.

Wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers: Ancient Advice for the Modern World, a non-fiction book by Philip G. Bochanski.

K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, a Non-Fiction book by Tyler Kepner.

How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art, a non-fiction book by Elizabeth Lev.

 

Upcoming Plans:

Walking with Mary: A Biblical Journey from Nazareth to the Cross, a devotional by Edward Sri.

The Timeless Dominic: A Commentary on the O Lumen, a biographical devotional by Richard T.A. Murphy, O.P.

Dove Descending: A Journey into T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets, a Non-Fiction book by Thomas Howard.

The Divine Office For Dodos: A Step-By-Step Guide To Praying The Liturgy Of The Hours, a non-fiction guide by Madeline Pecora Nugent.

How Dante Can Save Your Life: The Life-Changing Wisdom of History's Greatest Poem, an autobiographical reflection by Rod Dreher.

March For Life, 2022

After not having a March for Life last year because of the pandemic, the pro-life people came back with a strong march this year.  I was there again, my sixth attendance.  Let me share some pictures and video clips.

The day for me started with Mass at St. Charles Catholic Church on Staten Island.  It’s not my parish but the trip coordinator’s parish and that is where we would meet the bus.  The priest—I never caught his name—gave a wonderful homily on how forty years prior a Fr. Walter Ciszek, S.J. described right there at St. Charles his experience incarcerated in the Siberian gulag.  He had been captured by the Soviets during WWII and sent to Siberia as a spy, all on trumped up charges and spent twenty-two years there.  Fr. Ciszek had written several books on his life before he passed away, but on that particular day forty years ago he explain to the gathered congregation how in all those years in the gulag he had not converted one soul in Russia.  But he had borne witness.  The point of the pastor’s homily at St. Charles the day of the March was that just like Fr. Ciszek we may not convert one soul with our March in Washington this day, but we would be there to bear witness to the injustice and evil of abortion.  He was quite inspirational.

By the way, do a search for “Bible quote bear witness” and see how rich a Biblical phrase “to bear witness” is.  But when I hear it my thoughts always rush to John 18:37 with the words of Christ, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.” 

Now this year we arrived earlier than the past and the rally speeches may have started later than in the past.  In the past I was never there to hear the speeches, but this time I was there and was able to hear about half the speeches.  They were fantastic.  The personal testimonies were so moving.  Several had me in tears.  If you have time, watch the speeches.  Here is the video for the entire rally.  The actual speeches start at just before the 36 minute mark, and make sure you listen to the National Anthem performed by Matthew West at the 37:30 mark.  Super performance.

 

The speeches end at around the 2 hour mark with a God Bless America beautifully again performed by Matthew West. I would say I was there for the last forty minutes of the speeches. 

I must embed the Keynote speech, Fr. Mike Schmidt’s speech.  If you’re only going to watch one speech, watch his.  It was terrific.  Now if you’re not familiar with Fr. Mike, he has one of the top podcasts in the country, the Bible in a Year Podcast.  I think everyone is amazed at how his podcast has zoomed to the top, but as you will see Fr. Mike is very charismatic.  And very smart.

 

It really was freezing.  Low 20’s and with a steady wind.  I was off camera, off to the left of the stage.

So at the conclusion of the speeches we were dismissed to March up Constitution Avenue toward the Capital Building, then pass behind it and in front of the Supreme Court Building.  Just like every year.

Here is a picture of my view of the stage.

 

And then our group from Staten Island collected itself and marched on. 

 

You may remember (or go back to my previous posts “March for Life” posts) the sign with the infant with the crown of thorns.  He’s our sign post for us to keep together. 

And we’re off.

 

I spoke to a young fellow with the group with that green flag up ahead.  They were from a high school in Savannah, Georgia.  It took them over 10 hours of bus ride to get to D.C. and they were going back later that afternoon.  It’s amazing the commitment of people that come.  I love the signs.  Here are a few new ones that I was able to photograph.

 

 

 

That last one is from a group from the Dominican Sisters of Mary in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  I didn’t ask but gosh that must have been a fourteen hour ride for them.  Obviously the young lady is still a novice since she is not wearing a habit.  There was about six in their group there and we got into a little conversation about me being a Lay Dominican. 

Let’s check out some sounds in a video.

 

“Sweet Caroline!”  Lots of singing along the trail.  I have to apologize.  My phone doesn’t take the best videos.  I did take my camera but unfortunately the batteries died early.  Here’s a very lively cheerleader group.

 

I have no idea what their chanting or where they’re from, but what an energetic bunch.  To be young again!

I always like to include a picture of the journey toward the Capital Building. 

 

No we were not like the Jan 6, 2020 riots.  We were peaceful. 

And here then from on top of Capital Hill looking back toward the rest of the marchers.

 

Then we turn the corner to behind the Capital.

 

And then the final destination in front of the Supreme Court.

 

Pray that the justices this year decide to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

There is always some sort of action by the Supreme Court.  Usually there are a handful of pro-abortion activists that station themselves there to attempt to counter the Pro-Lifers.  Though I don’t think I captured the pro-abort’s in the video, you can hear the Pro-Lifers overcome them with chants.

 

“Hey hey, ho,ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go. 

Hey hey, ho ho, Roe . Wade has got to go.”

It’s always nice to see a time lapse video of the entire March.

I try to look for something to tip me off of where I am in that mass of humanity, but no such luck.  We all bore witness.  They estimated the marchers to be at around 150,000 this year.  I think that’s a little down from other years, but with Covid and the cancelling of the march last year, I think that’s to be expected.  But that time lapse video sure makes it look impressive.  I didn’t feel it was less than other years.