#preaching the period drama gospel i am

[mercurygray]

GOD, I KNEW DEMARCO LOOKED FAMILIAR.

Everyone go watch Home Fires (ITV/PBS, 2016) immediately. His character, Jack, is in the RAF and is a total sweetheart.

[elstine-harboson]

Community, Opt-Ins, and Communication.

Most of you know I am not one to get involved in the drabble that can commonly occur through a community. However, I think it is finally time I make my peace and hopefully give the few people that read this something to think about. I hope some of you will see reason. I hope some of you will be reassured. I hope some of you feel better about your choices. I hope some of you learn empathy. I hope some of you learn patience; if anyone gets just a taste of such, taking the time to write this will worth it. First and foremost, I have been on server pretty much since day one. I have been on the Horde and the Alliance. I have seen many great and famous guilds, and people come and go. Most of all I have heard "This community is dying." The community will never die, I don't even think its damaged - in fact, it is a mirror image of what was a few years before, and will repeat itself again, and again. It is a cycle, like most things. There is no damage, there is no dying, there is nothing wrong - if anything, it is growing pains. I used to feel the same way, I used to talk in the same negative mindset. But one day, a switch just flipped - and now, I live and breath (While online that is) to help better and grow the community. Rather than preaching the end times, I recommend strongly to be the change you want to see - or simply be quiet; negativity has literally never in the history of any and all things been a helpful mindset. Help the new roleplayers - really help them. Take the time to roleplay with them, or just new people to the server/faction. Roleplay with ESL folks, oh no they missed a period in your own language, how dare they. Most ESL folks I have met have been an absolute joy and blessing and have been very eager to learn and to roleplay. No one ever walks up to me! - Then walk up to others, be the one to inspire roleplay, be a leader not a follower. If you want roleplay, 90% of the time it will not fall in your lap. You -must- look for it. "But I have anxiety" most of us do. Like, honestly every nine out of ten people I've spoken to has anxiety to one extreme or another; at least work up the courage to oocly whisper folks for roleplay, express an interest. For those of you without anxiety; be inclusive if at all possible. I think we all start working into a comfort zone of friends and unknowingly create a clique. It is natural. But please, take the time to simply have a five minute roleplay with someone you've never met. -------- Opt-In ------- I will be the first to say, I am not opted-in to anything thus far. Does that mean Opt-In is bad, good? Perhaps neither? The short answer is: Doesn't matter if we/I am or not. What matters is that you support every Opt-In that comes your way. Why should I support the Opt-In? It's an exclusive clique! Literally by definition, it is not. What an Opt-In is good for is things like the Stormwind Guard. Are you looking to be a guard? Want to be involved in the law - good or bad? Okay, great opt-in. But, Elstine... Okay, then don't and continue to roleplay a Guard, no one is going to tell you not to; you're not going to be excluded from the Guard roleplay because you are not opted-in. The only time someone should ever be upset with an Opt-In is when you are physically told that you cannot do X, or you must be in said opt in because you are doing X. Once that is said sure, be upset - but don't throw a fit, don't be a coward and run to tumblr to whine as an anon and make idle threats. Instead, let me introduce a ground breaking idea to you. Communicate with the leaders or some of the members of the opt-in and resolve the issue. Communicate. That simple, honest to Light it will make your life and others a lot easier and better. Rather than ranting on tumblr or sending hate mail that: 1. Does nothing. 2. Just makes the community 'worse' 3. Makes you a bad person. But El, you're not opted-in why should we listen to you. Because I am not opted in and still roleplay and communicate with the guards, and HoN at times. If you are not opted in that doesn't mean you can't roleplay with them, nor does it mean they won't roleplay with you. Even a poorly done Opt-In is good for the community, it is a learning experience. It shows new people that we are still alive and eager to work together, thrive. -------- Communication ------- Finally, lets talk about communication. Honestly, just straight up not enough of it. If there was anything that I could argue to be a make or break of a community, it would be the aspect of communication. Every day, I roleplay with people that I have had a negative OOC or IC experience with; and you know what? No issues arise, no drama, no smoking guns, no exchanged harsh words. We roleplay to roleplay, we roleplay to forget, most importantly we roleplay to have fun. Okay, but El there are super toxic people here. Right, you are right, there are simply just shitty people. Straight up, statistically some of you are here just to cause a bad time, just to cause issues, stir the pot, cause drama, and start shit. From spreading rumors and lies to manipulating people, it happens. It happens more than it should - best thing you can do is say, okay. OOCly this person is not healthy for me, they have metagamed, godmodded, done inappropriate things, stalked me, etc. Tell those around you your experience briefly, but do not speak it as the gospel. What you had was one experience, and you should share only what you have had as your experience, not what you have heard. Say your warning, your honest opinion, and allow those around you to make the opinion of their own. If they befriend so and so, let it be. Do not shame them, or harass them - be empathetic and understand that everyone has different opinions and that is okay. Not long ago, there was a dispute I and another party had. What could have turned into a bitter, ongoing distaste for one another ended in an OOC discussion speaking for both sides of the aisle to learn what we both thought of the situation; we came to a conclusion quickly, we did not speak ill of one another, we did not belittle one another. We met a middle ground, and understanding and now - hopefully still, we look forward to working with them again should time permit. It is really that simple. ------ Closing ------ Let people do what they want. Understand the world does not revolve around you, understand that it is 100% okay for others to have different opinions than you. Let people opt-in, opt-out, whatever. Let people roleplay as Nobles, prostitutes, demon hunters, 'edge lords', peasants, ass holes, good guys, so on and so forth. There is no wrong answer when it comes to IC. Don't like an adult theme? Don't do it; no need to rave and rant about it. Don't like an opt-in? Don't do it; no need to rave and rant about it. Don't like what I have to say? Don't listen; no need to rave and rant about it. ------ To those of you being bullied, harassed, excluded, manipulated, or simply in a situation you wish you weren't in. You have my support. To those of you that feel like the best option is to use anon hate mail, stalk people, etc. Well, I hope you find something in your life that can fill the void in your heart and make you happy. Thank you for the read, I hope this helps some of you; just one of you.

[favoriselovealina]

Be About Your Father’s Business

“And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke‬ ‭2:49‬ ‭NKJV)

I enjoy watching period dramas, partly because they remind me that I am royalty in Christ.

In these shows, you will see the regally-dressed crown prince (the chosen heir to the kingdom) being super wealthy, having no lack. That’s us. Our God supplies all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

But besides the material blessings, the crown prince usually has to lead and fight conquests if the emperor commands him to.

This is our main responsibility here on earth today. We are sent to destroy the rebel forces of darkness, dismantle their spiritual strongholds and set up a strong, secure presence of our Abba God’s kingdom here on earth.

As a benevolent King, our God’s will is to save mankind through the preaching of the Gospel, so that many will be saved through Christ Jesus.

We are equipped with the very best spiritual gear for this huge task. Our offensive weapons are: prayer (especially praying in tongues) and God’s word. Our defensive armor pieces are: our eternal salvation, the gift of righteousness, our faith, the Gospel and the truth of God’s word.

These things may seem foolish and weak into the natural, but they are mighty because they are blessed by God and backed by His power.

Many times we feel like we’re fighting fires on a daily basis, in survival mode, hardly feeling like royalty.

However, amidst all the demands of each day and the strong temptation to just focus on seeking material blessings, we should look up and remind ourselves that we are children of the Most High God.

As joint-heirs with Christ, we have a vested interest in conducting our Father’s business with excellence. Everything that is His also belongs to us. We are going to inherit the kingdom and many who run with this revelation are going to become honored rulers of cities and respected leaders during the Millennial Reign of Christ on earth, and beyond.

It is eternally rewarding to be going about your Father’s business. He will surely supply everything you need and lead you by His Spirit to demolish the presence of evil around you.

Remember—you are a king and priest to God, with angels commissioned to fulfill your prayer requests. Your Father loves you, so if you love Him too, bring Him great joy by prioritizing His business. Ask Him, “Abba God, how can I serve Your purposes today? I am available—empower and use me for Your glory.”

There’s much more revelations about eternal rewards that I want to share with you, but it will take whole book for you to understand and digest these truths.

If you have a strong desire to fulfill your God-given calling in life and experience the joy of doing exactly what you were designed and anointed to do, I want you to read my book “Sandcastles Don’t Last Forever”.

Order a paperback (hardcopy) copy of the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Sandcastles-Dont-Last-F…/…/172671327X

Get the digital (eBook) version of my book here: https://www.miltongoh.net/…/sandcastles-dont-last-forever-m…

- written by Milton.

[mercurygray]

Oh, pish, you're an authority!

I agree with all of the points TS has outlined above - while it is not great history (by Hollywood standards, which are already low) it did accomplish, for me, anyway, the objective of making me want to learn more by other means.

It also has a cast that is very nearly equal between leading women and men, and the women are all fascinating.

But, that said -it is an 1860s hospital drama, and they are doing 1860s surgery. If you don't do well with blood, this is not your show.

Anyway, I loved it for the two short seasons it was on the air, there were several other dedicated folks who did the same, and there's a not-inconsiderable amount of fanfic on AO3 now because of it.

As I'm someone who hasn't seen Mercy Street yet, can I ask if you would recommend it and if so why?

Depending on what you're looking for in a period drama, but generally: yes! With some caveats?

Pros:

It's a show that tends to signpost Big Historical Moments (the Battle of Antietam, President Lincoln's visit) in the middle of the US Civil War for ease of keeping track of the context, even as it dabbles in speculative history (a fairly ridiculous assassination plot)- there really was a Union Army Hospital in the former Mansion House Hotel in Alexandria, Virginia; many of the named characters (Mary Phinney von Olnhausen, Henry Hopkins, the Green family, Frank Stringfellow) are based on real people mostly.

There are so genuinely great (and genuinely, bafflingly bad) costumes, so you'll have something to look at - and even laugh at.

The cast is largely very good even when some of the writing decisions are. hmm. a lot. Seriously - half of the cast are established actors who just get to go ham. There's a fair amount of scenery chewing on the way to Performances.

Mary Phinney von Olnhausen is a great outsider character who is thrown/throws herself headfirst into the butcher's shop of a Union Army Hospital in the US Civil War, and purely in the sense of having a narrative thru-line, she's a great POV character on the chaos (medical and moral) she finds there. Also, she's played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (who is entertainingly described as 'sufficiently plain'. which. okay. I wish I were as plain as MEW.) She has a belligerent into romantic dynamic with surgeon Jed Foster (Josh Radnor, proving he can act) who is an absolute tire-fire of a human being, but who tends to follow her pretending very ardently that he would not lie down in a puddle if Mary asked him to, because he can afford to have his fancy waistcoats laundered while she's living out of a carpet bag. He's an ass and cannot help but stick his foot in his mouth constantly, but he gets Character Development and enjoys very little of it.

I personally really enjoy the soundtrack, especially this cover of "Johnny Has Gone For A Soldier". If you're doing something about the US Civil War there's got to be at least one haunting camp song, dammit.

Cons:

If you're more squeamish than not, you'll be at least a little uncomfortable - any way that someone could die in a mid-19th century war, they will. The sound design for amputation and trepanning is weirdly good, for whatever that's worth. I'm not sure that last is a con, but it seems worth mentioning.

The writing is breakneck. Nothing gets to breathe. Jed gets over a morphine addiction in the space of two episodes. Chaplain Hopkins has a crisis of faith that's resolved in two episodes. Emma Green, the oldest daughter of the Confederate owners of the hotel, pulls a near total about-face on her politics in - you guessed it - the space of about two episodes. And this is what gets screentime! Offscreen, we have allusions to major fights over Charlotte Jenkins' school run in the freedman's camp adjacent to the hospital, Mary Phinney von Olnhausen's tragic widowing, Jed Foster's Divorce Plot, Samuel Diggs' application to attend medical school ... there's always something world-ending going on, but there is not time to dwell when the fate of a nation and certainly the fate of whatever poor soul who caught a minie ball/typhoid/gonorrhea hang in balance for the episode.

At best, the show dabbles in the political/cultural dimensions of the US Civil War: it's primarily concerned with the Case(s) of the Week and the relationships between the main and minor characters - in a world where US popular cultural depictions of the US Civil War have been largely dominated by Confederate apologia from the late 19th century through to the late 20th, it left me wishing that Mercy Street (while being the first period drama I'm aware of where the romantic lead almost certainly voted for the Constitutional Union party in 1860) had been more interested in discussing race and slavery and the US Civil War. It suffers by comparison to other series which were explicitly about race and slavery and the coming war (Underground, for example).

Pursuant to these last two points: I think, sometimes, the show doesn't know what it wants to be - or isn't allowed to be what it wants to be. Is it a straight hospital drama complicated by no one knowing what antibiotics are? Is it a romantic drama? Is it a political thriller? An espionage thriller? Is it a War Is Hell war story? Is it a coming of age story? Is it a treatise on 19th century masculinity (and, conversely, womanhood) as determined by race, class, and region? It's got a runtime of less than 12 hours total and it tries very hard to be all of these things. Stuff falls to the wayside.

Mercy Street put Patina Miller, Norbert Leo Butz, Donna Murphy, & Bryce Pinkham in one lousy hospital and there was no musical episode.

I'm not really much of a Mercy Street authority, though - I hope no one minds if I tag in @jomiddlemarch, @sagiow, @fericita-s, & @mercurygray? who are all longer-standing fans of the show than me.

i just run around in the background with absolutely batshit crossovers.

[romancatholicreflections]

4th June >> Sunday Homilies & Reflections for Roman Catholics on Pentecost Sunday.

Pentecost Sunday Year A Gospel text : John 20:19-23 vs.19 In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, “Peace be with you,” vs.20 and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, vs.21 and he said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.” vs.22 After saying this he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. vs.23 For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” ****************************************** We have four sets of homily notes to choose from. Please scroll down the page for the desired one. Michel DeVerteuil : A Trinidadian Holy Ghost priest, Specialist in Lectio Divina Thomas O’Loughlin: Professor of Historical Theology, University of Wales. Lampeter. John Littleton: Director of the Priory Institute Distant Learning, Tallaght Donal Neary SJ: Editor of The Sacred Heart Messenger ******************************************************* Michel de Verteuil Lectio Divina with the Sunday Gospels – Year A www.columba.ie General comments The Mass of Pentecost has two accounts of the sending of the Holy Spirit, one from the Acts and one from St John’s gospel. Don’t combine the two accounts in your meditation. Each in its own way is true, in the sense that it helps us recognise moments when God sent his Spirit into us, as individuals or as a community. Sometimes it happens in extraordinary ways, and at other times it happens in quite ordinary ways. I am inviting you to meditate on the gospel account. It is less spectacular than the one in the Acts, but no less true. – In verse 19 imagine well how the disciples felt as they gathered in the room on that Easter Sunday evening; you will feel then the drama of Jesus’ entry. Read it as a sending of the Spirit. – In order to interpret verse 20 let your memories explain for you the meaning of Jesus’ showing his hands and his side. – Verse 21 has very little for the imagination, so you must make an effort to enter into it. It speaks of two sendings: – Jesus sent by the Father, which we know from the New Testament ;- we sent by Jesus, which we know from experience. Let the two shed light on each other. – Read verse 22 by itself, entering into the symbolism of Jesus’ breathing on the disciples. – Verse 23 in our Church tradition evokes memories of the sacrament of reconciliation. You might like to remember other times when we have forgiven or retained one anther’s sins. Prayer Reflection Lord, we celebrate today our personal Pentecosts: we were going through a difficult time – – a relationship had broken down; – a movement we had given ourselves to disintegrated because of internal conflicts; – our prayer life was totally dry. We turned in on ourselves, afraid to meet others lest we had to relate with them. Then quite suddenly something happened: – friends came and shared their journey with us; – we went on a retreat and had a deep sense of being loved; – we were invited to join a group who shared our values. It was as if Jesus had come through the closed doors of the room we were in, stood with us and said, “Peace be with you.” “The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out.”….James Baldwin Lord, humanity today is deeply divided. Groups of people have cut themselves off, afraid to mix with others lest they lose their identity. Send us people like Jesus who will pass through the locked doors, stand among others, share their own humanity, and say “Peace be with you.” “Why can’t Christians see the poor wounded part inside themselves? Can they not see Jesus there?”…..Carl Jung Lord, we spend so much energy denying our hurts, hiding the marks of the nails in our hands and the deep wounds in our sides. Give us the grace to look with compassion at the truth of ourselves, like the disciples letting Jesus show them his hands and his side, so that we may be at peace. “It is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin.” ….Hebrews 4:15 Lord, you sent your Son Jesus as one of us. He shared the weaknesses of the human condition, he knew uncertainty and anxiety about the future, he was limited to living in one culture and in one period of history. Help us, Lord, to accept that as you sent Jesus so he sent us. Lord, the modern world knows many ways of influencing others: – advertising; – the power of weapons; – aggressive argumentation which forces others to agree. Forgive us, Lord, that we followers of Jesus use these methods in preaching his message. Teach us to trust in his power – love, gentle as breath, the kind that leaves others free and creative, and comes from the very depths of our selves. One day St Catherine of Siena had a strange experience: Jesus came to her and removed her physical heart saying: “I am giving you my heart so that you can go on living with it forever.” Lord, lead us to deep union with your Son Jesus, let him breathe into us, so that when we breathe he is breathing in us, and when we love, he is loving in us. Lord, we remember with gratitude the times when a priest of the Church forgave our sins and we knew that they were forgiven. Lord, we remember parts of the world that are torn by civil strife – the Middle East, Northern Ireland, Sudan. So many sins of the past are being retained because they are retaining them. We pray that they may forgive one another and so their sins may be truly forgiven. ******************************* Thomas O’Loughlin Liturgical Resources for the Year of Matthew www.columba.ie Introduction: Vigil Mass Today, most unusually, the Missal supplies a ‘Mass for the Vigil’ of the feast, and a ‘Mass for the Day’ of the feast, each with its own readings and prayers. This vigil Mass is understood as the vigil in preparation for the day, and so it assumes that those who take part in it, will also take part in the Mass during the day, ‘when the day of Pentecost [has] come’ (Acts 2:1). However, in most communities where there is a Saturday evening ‘vigil Mass/ this is not understood as the beginning of a real vigil which would end on the day with another celebration, but it is the Sunday’s Mass anticipated for the convenience of the assem­bly- Hence, those people who participate in the Saturday evening Mass in lieu of a celebration on Sunday morning will not hear the basic Pentecost readings nor experience the basic liturgy of this feast, if the Mass of the vigil is used on Saturday evening. Since that Saturday is really just ‘Sunday early,’ it is best to use the Mass of the day and its readings on Saturday evening — and leave the formal Mass of the vigil for those occasions when a real vigil (the Eucharist followed by the Liturgy of the Hours and concluding on the day) is being celebrated. Introduction:Day’s Mass Today we are celebrating a feast that was celebrated by many of the Jews who lived at the time of Jesus. Many of his early follow­ers continued to celebrate it after the resurrection, and so it be­came part of the annual celebrations of all Christians. However, over the first few decades of the church, this feast took on a new meaning: Jesus has risen and ascended to the Father, but he promised us his Spirit. So today we rejoice that the Spirit is moving in each of our hearts making us a people, inspiring us to understand the mystery of our faith, and strengthening us to fol­low Jesus the Anointed One. Homily notes The focus of Pentecost for Christians is as a celebration of, and a thanksgiving for, the presence and focus of the Spirit in our lives as Christians. The Spirit is the one who brings unity – unity with one another and with Christ, and so the church is ‘his’ work. Today is a thanksgiving for this gift, member- ship of the church, which we profess in the recitation of the Creed: ‘we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church’. Significantly, it is this gift of belonging to the People that made Christianity so attractive in the early centuries of its life where the emphasis was not on a set of peculiar doctrines which were shared by a group (e.g. the eastern mystery cults), but on belonging to a new community which had doc­trines peculiar to it. We see this concern with belonging to the church in one of the simplest creeds that has survived from that time: ‘I believe in God, the almighty Father and in his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Spirit and in the resurrection of the flesh in the holy catholic church,’ Belonging to this universal (i.e. catholic) group that cut across social, ethnic, linguistic, and political boundaries was central to their self-understanding and was the ongoing work of the Spirit. Luke wants us to use a festival fifty days after our Passover to recall the fundamental belief that the presence of God,the Spirit, dwells within and activates the church how does he imagine that presence? It is with this question we should look at his carefully crafted story in Acts 2. The Spirit is the one who gathers us – all the different ‘nations’1 are brought into contact with one another. Then the Spirit unites them into one church gathered around Jesus – so the followers of Jesus everywhere are linked through the apostles. The Spirit then inspires them and sends them forth to be the witnesses to Jesus to the ends of the earth. As Luke writes he has in mind the many individual churches where his work will be read and wants to ensure that each individual church recognises itself as a node in a great web that stretches not only across the empire (the oikumene) – ‘visitors from Rome’ – but even beyond its borders (Parthians and Medes) and so is universal. 3. We tend to think of ‘the church’ firstly as the worldwide in­stitution and then of the local church as only ‘the local office’. Hence we have tremendous concern with making sure that everything is the same universally – just look at the old argu­ments for a single liturgy in Latin or the present arguments over translations. This attitude blinds us to much of Luke’s ecclesiology. He did not see unity as a unitary glut: but rather that the gospel could adapt itself to each nation – hence they did not hear the message in the lingua franca (in which he himself wrote) but in their own tongues. Unity between the churches is a gift of the Spirit, not a function of uniformity of practice. This reflected the real situation in which Luke wrote, where Christianity was already present (and this is pointed out in Acts) in, at least, four major linguistic areas; Greek (Asia and eastern Europe) and so Latin, Syriac (the spread of Christianity eastwards from Palestine), and the vernaculars of Egypt/the Nile valley. He assumed that they would each be different but would be bonded together not only by common rituals and books, but by a vision of themselves that was larger than their own Eucharistic group, region, nation, or any political boundary. While they would live and act locallyy. they would think globally, and so testify that the new covenant meant Christ through them was offering his risen life to every human. ******************************************* John Litteton Journeying through the Year of Matthew www.Columba.ie Gospel Reflection Gospel reading (Vigil): John 7:37-39 & Gospel reading (Mass during the Day): John 20:19-23 Jesus did not abandon his apostles, even when departing from this world to return to his Father in heaven. .Ten days later, at Pentecost one of his most significant promises – the promise to send the Holy Spirit in abundance on them – was extraordinarily realised. After Pentecost the apostles were never again the same. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit impacted dramatically on their convictions and on their enthusiasm to carry out Jesus’ wishes. The effects were immediately noticeable to the watching and listening crowds. The apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and given the gift of speech. As they spoke, their listeners – many of whom were foreigners – could hear and understand them in their own languages. The apostles now acted as members of a united and committed community. Although Christ had established the Church while still on earth, at Pentecost it became manifest in the world for the first time. It became obvious that God was working powerfully through the Church. At Pentecost the Church earnestly began its mission to the whole world. This mission centres on preaching about the saving name of Jesus and about the wonders of God. God’s greatest wonder is that, through the suffering and death of Jesus the Messiah, people are saved from the consequences of their sins: alienation from God. Jesus’ fundamental promise to his apostles was that they would never be without his presence and his help. He knew that they would be unable to contribute successfully to the universal mission that he had given them unless he sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would bring courage to his disciples, and restore unity and harmony between people. There is evidence of this in John’s Gospel when Jesus, after rising from the dead, said to his apostles: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained’ (Jn 20:22-23). Significantly, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church at its beginning corresponds to the earlier coming of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry when he was baptised in the River Jordan. In the same way that Jesus was always accompanied and guided by the Holy Spirit during his earthly life, so too is his Church as it brings repentant sinners to him. Repentance is necessary for salvation. The feast of Pentecost celebrates a promise realised. It acknowledges that the Holy Spirit is at the heart of the Church’s life. Because that is so, the Church cannot ultimately fail in its task of witnessing to Jesus’ death and resurrection. It will eventually succeed in communicating the message of God’s salvation to everyone in the world. The sacrament of confirmation, which celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives and is the sealing of the graces, given in baptism, is our personal Pentecost experience when we are transformed into witnesses to the teaching and example of Jesus and his Church. We willingly take on the responsibility to share our Catholic faith with others. The Feast of Pentecost is a wonderful celebration of the missionary Church. Let us reflect on our missionary efforts in our homes, schools and workplaces. How are we willing to demonstrate that we are serious about our confirmation (Pentecost) responsibilities? In what ways do we explain the authentic teaching of the Church? How do we experience Pentecost as a promise realised in our lives, leading us to make the urgency of the gospel message of salvation a reality for everyone we meet? For meditation As the Father sent me, so am I sending you. (Jn 20:21) ******************************************** Fr Donal Neary, S.J Gospel Reflections for the Year of Matthew www.messenger.ie Spirit Alive Someone dies and we say he kept his spirit alive to the end; or we say that ‘his spirit lives on’. A word we talk of easily. It’s something elusive, you can’t pin it down. It comes from somewhere. Maybe from parents, a spirit of endurance or being able to make it through tough time; or from our prayer and faith. We talk of good team spirit, or of a person who kept joyful and courageous to the end. Today is the feast of the Spirit of God, alive, active and joyful. The flame of the Spirit of love is the flame of God. The tongues of fire over the apostles and the followers of Jesus were flames of love, the Spirit of God that would burn on the inside forever. Pentecost is the flame of God’s own love, given to his followers to mark the birth of the community, the body of Jesus, the church. It is the spirit of forgiveness always, a gift of the first Pentecost. Did this blow in our own country during the visit of the British queen, when the Good Friday Agreement and other peace agreements were Signed, when the call came for a new reconciliation among people hurt badly in the times of the troubles? Compassion, mercy, forgiveness and a hope for justice for all are gifts we ask from the Spirit who blows among us strongly today. On each inbreath, pray ‘Come, Holy Spirit’. Holy Spirit, live in me and in all of us as you lived in Mary and the apostles.

[mercurygray]

Shameless retail therapy here Chez Gray this week.

[mercurygray]

Was obliged to watch The Gilded Age opener this morning instead of last night -

Raise your hand if you're getting excited about the Opera War!!

[mercurygray]

Well, you’ve got me wanting to watch SAS: Rouge Heroes and now I need to figure out how to go about doing that.

YESSSSSS!!!!

It's on MGM+ here in the US, and may also possibly be on Epix, and I've been assured it's on BBC iPlayer in Canada and the UK.

It is written by the same guy that wrote Peaky Blinders, it reads like a Guy Ritchie film, and the soundtrack is a delightful mix of 1940s British entertainers and punk rock. It's unhinged. It's great. You're gonna love it.

[mercurygray]

Started @pomprincesse on the first episode of the BBC's 2004 North and South, which she has never seen and only heard me gush over.

She hasn't tried to kill me yet so I think we're doing okay!

[mercurygray]

I'm trying to work my way through the 2019 adaptation of The Aspern Papers, which is based on a novel by Henry James. I'm really struggling, and I can't figure out whether that's because James is just dense and better on paper, or because Johnathon Rhys-Meyers' peculiar brand of intensity/the way he never seems to move his face is just...really not working for me.

[mercurygray]

I'm catching up on this year's PBS lineup, and

a) the Canal+ Marie Antoinette looks awesome, super excited for next week

b) the same actor who played Joffrey Lonmouth is playing Tom Jones, and I just don't think I'm gonna be able to do it, guys. Solly McLeod, I'm so sorry.

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Apple apparently dropped a couple of trailers yesterday - including one for their new The Buccaneers adaptation!

...so that's... happening, apparently.

(...😳😵‍💫🤢)

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Just watched the short film Little Bird (2017) on Kanopy. Lovely little film - highly recommend it if it shows up on one of your streaming platforms. It almost reads like a Blind Date OC.

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Chalk another one on the board, guys -

i love how my entire brand seems to be people going 'i don't go here but I just might start'

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Becoming Elizabeth. I have thoughts.

This show is delicious. 

I haven't done any serious reading about Elizabeth since sophomore year of high school, so I don't really have a horse in this race where historical accuracy is concerned. What I know could probably fit on the back of a notecard, but I have an idea of the players and how this is supposed to run. And so I'm really, really enjoying this.

This is a story about power, and who has it, and how they get it, and how elusive it is. And it's a story about the women, which I find fascinating so far. It's about Elizabeth, yes, but it's also about Catherine, who is trying, so hard, to find something to hold on to and also, at the same time, finding over and over that she has very, very little in her life she can rely upon. Her position as queen dowager means nothing as the men around the king move, the marriage she thought would bring her a meaningful partner looks shaky. She is a woman who is capable of things, if someone would only take her seriously. But this isn't the time period for taking women seriously, and so she's stuck. It's not hard to watch her, and think ahead to the woman Elizabeth becomes, the one who doesn't want to let men rule her life because she knows who she is and what she's capable of.

(Elizabeth needs a friend, guys. She needs a friend so bad, by the end of this episode - someone who will tell the truth and tell it straight. No one in her life is doing that and it’s so painful to watch.)

I know how this story ends, and I'm still riveted - I think the script has done a great job of creating and heightening tension, especially where Seymour is concerned.

Ah, Seymour. Now listen, Tom Cullen in a beard and a doublet is a tall drink of water, and every moment Thomas Seymour is on screen I want to MURDER HIM, because he is awful to every single woman in this story, including the one he's supposed to love. He is abhorrent, in every sense, and the only thing worse than watching him be a slimeball is watching Catherine in the background, because she can't believe what she's seeing either and I don't think she wants to. Cullen and Jessica Raine have both brought their A game and I'm here for all of it, moody lighting and all.

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Don't mind me, just crying over Call the Midwife, as one does.