A Scandal for Justice

Mercy is no fleeting sentiment, but rather the synthesis of the joyful Good News, a choice and decision on the part of all who desire to put on the “Heart of Jesus” and to be serious followers of the Lord who has asked us to “be merciful even as your heavenly Father is merciful” (Mt 5:48; Lk 6:36). In the words of Father Ermes Ronchi, “Mercy is a scandal for justice, a folly for intelligence, a consolation for us who are debtors. The debt for being alive, the debt for being loved is only repayable by mercy”. --Pope Francis' Christmas Greeting to the Roman Curia

By shadows they fed, below the wood's hood,
noses out of eaves, never straying from them.

Aware to the watcher, tranquility arrested;
they fled within, as disclosed fish strike for the depths.

Yet one walked out to watch the watcher.
Saplings from his head upon a raised neck.

The family now ensconced in the dark matter
he levelly stared like one not satisfied

until fully amending his unawares,
by reciprocating your eye for eye.

Mercy before Justice

"By experiencing the tenderness and pardon of the Lord, the penitent is more easily led to acknowledge the gravity of sin, is more resolved to avoid it in order to remain and grow in renewed friendship with him." --Pope Benedict XVI,  To The Confessors Who Serve In The Four Papal Basilicas Of Rome

Mark Mallett writes in a meditation entitled Just Enough:

"The same Jesus whose apologetics could silence the Pharisees suddenly became silent Himself. The Jesus who could pass through angry mobs now stood condemned before Pilate. The Jesus who raised the dead could now barely pick Himself up to carry His Cross. The Jesus whose hands healed the sick were now helplessly fastened to the wood. The Jesus whose tongue cast out demons was now soundly mocked by them. And the Jesus who calmed the roaring waves now lay lifeless in a tomb." ...

..."You, my dear brothers and sisters, are being called into this 'little flock of believers'. But if you are looking to the nostalgia of yesterday, the glorious Church of the past, the strength of yore, then you will not find it, for the glory of tomorrow will be as different as the wounds of Christ’s resurrected body were from His crucified flesh." --Mark Mallett, Just Enough

Sing to the Lord a new song for He has done marvelous things

"...We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God’s judgement will always be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love, of tenderness. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things. ..."

"...as we pass through the Holy Door, we also want to remember another door, which fifty years ago the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council opened to the world. This anniversary cannot be remembered only for the legacy of the Council’s documents, which testify to a great advance in faith. Before all else, the Council was an encounter. A genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time. An encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the Church to emerge from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed so as to set out once again, with enthusiasm, on her missionary journey. It was the resumption of a journey of encountering people where they live: in their cities and homes, in their workplaces. Wherever there are people, the Church is called to reach out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel, and the mercy and forgiveness of God. After these decades, we again take up this missionary drive with the same power and enthusiasm. ..." --From Pope Francis' homily on the inauguration of the Year of Mercy

Photo source

Setsuko Hara - RIP

Her family only released the news of her death recently. She died on September 5, 2015. She was 94.

It's not a "film crush". Her presence on screen was remarkable beyond that sort of thing. To use the words "pure" and the like would be useless cliche. There was just this amazing aura of quiet virtue and beaming joy she manifested. In Ozu's films it's both radiant and down to earth.

Two of Ozu's films that she was in are on my top ten favourite films list (yes, I'm compiling a 100 favourite films list, and being an actual rated list, 1 to 100, and not just randomly placed, it's a difficult task).

Those two films are Tokyo Story and Late Spring.

To talk about Yasujirō Ozu's films...right now I can only silently point to their place in my faves' list as the best articulation of praise.

Tokyo Story is number three and Late Spring is number 6. Their respective positions will not change.

Oh, what the heck, since I know that at least the first ten aren't going to change, here they are:

1. Stalker
2. Au Hasard Balthasar
3. Tokyo Story
4. Andrei Rublev
5. Diary of a Country Priest
6. Late Spring
7. Seven Samurai
8. Mirror
9. Rear Window
10. Ugetsu


If you wish to to see both Tokyo Story and Late Spring, you can watch them right now on youtube, while you have the chance:

Tokyo Story

Late Spring

I won't even bother raving about them.

And pray for the departed, yes?

Milkshake VI

Nothing like it

That "chest whistling" sounds awesome.


Time stamped:



I wonder if it employs the same "recycled breathing" that one does for the didgeridoo?







The piece is called Good Horses - for all you Herzog fans. LOL.

The Inuit do it too, but differently:

Ballpoint waiting in car - series 4