Happy Saint Nicholas Day - Tuesday December 6th

Tuesday the 6th is the feast of our Father among the Saints Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra (345 AD)
courtesy of www.abbamoses.com
    Our beloved holy Father Nicholas is, along with St George (and second to the All-holy Theotokos), probably the best-loved Saint of the Church. His numberless miracles through the ages, on behalf of the countless Christians who have called on him, cannot be told.
      He was born in Lycia (in Asia Minor) around the end of the third century, to pious Christian parents. His love of virtue, and his zeal for observing the canons of the Church, were evident from his infancy, when he would abstain from his mother's breast every Wednesday and Friday until the evening. From early youth he was inclined to solitude and silence; in fact, not a single written or spoken word of the Saint has come down to us. Though ordained a priest by his uncle, Archbishop Nicholas, he attempted to withdraw to a hermit's life in the Holy Land; but he was told by revelation that he was to return home to serve the Church publicly and be the salvation of many souls.
      When his parents died, he gave away all of his inheritance to the needy, and thereafter almsgiving was his greatest glory. He always took particular care that his charity be done in secret. Perhaps the most famous story of his open-handedness concerns a debt-ridden man who had no money to provide dowries for his daughters, or even to support them, and in despair had resolved to give them into prostitution. On three successive nights the Saint threw a bag of gold into the window of the man's house, saving him and his daughters from sin and hopelessness. The man searched relentlessly to find and thank his benefactor; when at last he discovered that it was Nicholas, the Saint made him promise not to reveal the good deed until after he had died. (This story may be the thin thread that connects the Saint with the modern-day Santa Claus).
      God honored his faithfulness by granting him unparalleled gifts of healing and wonderworking. Several times he calmed storms by his prayers and saved the ship that he was sailing in. Through the centuries he has often done the same for sailors who call out to him, and is considered the patron of sailors and all who go to sea.
      He was elected Bishop of Myra not long before the great persecutions under Diocletian and Maximian (c. 305), and was put in prison, from which he continued to encourage his flock in the Faith. When the Arian heresy wracked the Church not long after Constantine came to the throne, St Nicholas was one of the 318 Bishops who gathered in Nicea in 325. There he was so incensed at the blasphemies of Arius that he struck him on the face. 

And St Nicholas says BOOM!

     This put the other bishops in a quandary, since the canons require that any hierarch who strikes anyone must be deposed. Sadly, they prepared to depose the holy Nicholas; but in the night the Lord Jesus and the most Holy Theotokos appeared to them, telling them that the Saint had acted solely out of love for Truth, not from hatred or passion, and that they should not act against him.
      While still in the flesh, he sometimes miraculously appeared in distant places to save the lives of the faithful. He once saved the city of Myra from famine by appearing to the captain of a ship full of grain, telling him to take his cargo to the city. He appeared in a dream to Constantine to intercede for the lives of three Roman officers who had been falsely condemned; the three grateful soldiers later became monks.
      The holy bishop reposed in peace around 345. His holy relics were placed in a church built in his honor in Myra, where they were venerated by throngs of pilgrims every year. In 1087, after Myra was conquered by the Saracens, the Saint's relics were translated to Bari in southern Italy, where they are venerated today. Every year, quantities of fragrant myrrh are gathered from the casket containing his holy relics. 

A Nostalgia Failure

     I have enjoyed over the last few years introducing my sons to the classic cartoons of my childhood. Wonderful Saturday Morning fare like Scooby-Doo, Johnny Quest, the Pink Panther, Bugs Bunny and the Laff-a-Lympics have provided plenty of terrific Saturday mornings. So I wondered whether I should try introducing them to another cartoon I watched with great devotion - G.I. Joe. This mid-80's afternoon cartoon probably had as much to do as anything with my decision to join the Army. I bought the 'action figures' and read the comic books. Hopefully this establishes that I liked the cartoon as a kid. So I recently had the opportunity to watch the mini series "The Revenge of Cobra" which served as one of the 'pilots' for the regular afternoon series.

[SPOILER WARNING]

     It was awful. Completely, cringingly awful. Oh, the animation was decent enough for a cartoon of the time, but in every other respect it was just plain bad. The plot of the mini-series was absurd, with improbabilities of all kinds and plot holes that a tank could drive through. The characters were either flat & interchangeable or ridiculously over-the-top. The leadership of Cobra was particularly susceptible to fits of insane laughter, which made them look dumb rather than threatening.  The laser bolts flew fast and furious, except that even Star Wars Stormtroopers could shoot with better accuracy. Characters on both sides shouted their sides' catch-phrases "Yo Joe" and "Co-braaaaaa" with disturbing frequency. The humor wasn't funny either. 

     Now look, I didn't expect that it was going to be classic theater or anything. But it just wasn't any fun anymore. All those other cartoons I mentioned at the top, they're still fun. They still make me laugh. I still root for the good guys. But GI Joe? It just doesn't hold up. Disappointing but true. At least I still have the comic books. 

Wisdom from the Fathers - St. Augustine

"Two criminals were crucified with Christ. One was saved - do not despair. One was not - do not presume."

To Lose or To Fail?

What is the difference between losing and failing?  I bring this up because my older son was bemoaning this afternoon of his 'failure' at A House Divided, the game I mentioned in a post on September 4th. Yes, we're still playing. Despite being an "Introductory Level" game in its complexity, it still takes a long time to play, like 40 turns. The game is still ten turns from over, and from my perspective, it could still go either way.

     Now I know that nobody likes to lose. The last two times my friends and I have played Axis & Allies, my side has lost. I admit that I struggled some with keeping my calm and not ruining the event by grousing. Being a sore loser steals the fun from everyone who played. So I sympathize with my son for feeling down. What I hope to teach him is how to lose without failing; and the biggest aspect of doing that is accepting the loss and being willing and ready to go in and play again. I say this to my fencing students a lot as well. Even if you lose, learn something from it so you can do better next time. Always give your best game and expect that your opponent will do likewise. Don't expect to be handed a win, you have to earn it or it doesn't mean anything. 

      I think that failing, on the other hand, is doing the opposite of this: not taking the game seriously, not playing by the rules, not doing your best, not learning anything, refusing to try again when not guaranteed a win. In short, self-centeredness. Even in a martial art where you are in effect trying to "kill" your opponent, you can still show respect by following the rules and giving your best - respect for the opponent's person and ability. Winners and losers can do this. Only Failures don't or won't.

Wisdom from the Fathers - St Gregory the Great

     Saint Gregory the Theologian commenting on Isaiah chapter 55: "The divine nature cannot be apprehended by human reason." 

     Saint Gregory and many other Church Fathers counseled against trying to use human reason to understand God's purposes, as the Jews did in Luke chapter 13. Jesus told them straight out that they were wrong in assuming that a massacre and a building collapse were God's judgement on those who died. Instead, Jesus told them such things are reminders that unless we repent we too shall perish.