Sorrowful: The Pathos Is Palpable

I find it highly appropriate when it rains on Good Friday as it did today. It feels like the Father weeping at the death of his dearly beloved Son.

When I go to the Church on this day and see the tabernacle open and empty, and the light of the Presence gone out, I feel the agony of being without Christ.

The pathos is palpable.

Here is a haunting rendition of the Sorrowful Mysteries by Point 5 Covenant, expertly interleaved with scenes from The Passion of the Christ.  Watch if you can.



Sorrowful
(J. Caderao, K. Werking)
Beat Production by Moses The Black

The 1st Sorrowful Mystery:
The Agony in the Garden


As I venture toward the blessed Lord
He’s torn, mourning,
Praying to see morning
Without the death at dawn
He’s weeping, pleading “Not Me!”
Soon Saints dreaming and sleeping
He’s asking for passing,
Of Life Everlasting,
He knew this time would come
Here comes Judas
Who’s this? It’s the scariest sight to God
Lucifer Himself leads Iscariot’s entourage
All these flaws involved revolve
Around Christ’s life, tonight
The fight, the sight,
The sound of a kiss
To dismiss, assist the Roman fist
He’s the one kissed, the Prince
Of pure innocence, my God…

Chorus:
My God, all Glory to Thee
Father, Son, and Spirit
All Glory to Thee
As it was, is now
And ever shall be
My God, All Glory to Thee

The 2nd Sorrowful Mystery:
The Scourging at the Pillar


They mocked Him and flogged him
And suffering dropped Him
To his knees, and reasoning won’t stop them
The pain starts now, and they wonder how
Any man can withstand the beatings He’s found,
And the loud rings,
The crowds scream seem silent
To the shrieks of white lamb
Caught in the violence
“Stop!” is the cry from the tear that drips down
The tear that rips down the cheek of His Mother
And she watches in fear as her son gets scourged
All the countless wounds and crowd wants more
And they get it
They beat and beat and repeat
And the bleeding won’t stop
And the bleeding won’t cease, My God…

Chorus

The 3rd Sorrowful Mystery:
The Crowning of the Thorns

Unconscious and lifeless,
His body tries to fight this
Despite this, the Romans
Take hold of Him and entice Him
And they recite Him,
Cruel curses and verse the first sin honestly
There’s no end to this mockery
They strip Him down,
Dress Him up as their puppet
They, curse and spit out the view of the public
They, fashion it, a crown fit for a king
They’re advocating racial hating
And the pain that it brings
So sing, songs of sorrow
From the sorrow heart of Mariam
It’s scary that the very God
Had thorns crushed in his cranium
It’s her son, the first One, in verse one
That was crowned for our sins till Kingdom come
My God…

Chorus

The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery:
The Carrying of the Cross

Battered and broken, these cowards have chosen
To force Him to carry
The cross that will choke Him
Two wooden beams never dreamed
That they’d be
The scene for the final sacrifice of the King
And He starts up the hill,
Cursed at by the soldiers
Body getting’ colder, cross making him older
Cross breaking His shoulder
tearing right to the bone
Needing light,
Cause tonight the cross will be His home
But He’s not alone,
His mother’s right by His side
As their hearts reunite
And their sufferings collide
Suffering inside,
He presses on toward the prize
Three nails in His body and a sword in His side
My God…

Chorus

The Fifth and Final Sorrowful Mystery:
The Crucifixion

Now the time has come, the Righteous One
Cries wrung from the lungs of the rising son
Some couldn’t bear to watch
As the nails caught flesh ripped
Locked to the Cross
Cross raised up with the weight of the world
Fate of the world slate
Laid patiently still and spill
Another drop of the Blood, unlocking the Cov
Of the New, unleashing the love
Love, love of the One King, hung He
From the one tree setting us free, and we
We nailed Him to His death, took His last breath
Passionate acts for the masses
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
Let this dust settle down as my soul erupts
But let my soul go up
Just a soul in love
And I will bow down in Mercy
As He holds the Cup

Chorus

http://www.point5covenant.com/

Painful Job #7

Hey! Just discovered another career I never want to have -- piano mover.

Another buddy and I just helped my brother get a "free" piano from a lovely couple who are retiring to someplace warmer.

Lifting a piano up stairs and into a pickup truck without benefit of a ramp was ... horrible to say the least. A quick trip to Home Depot to get some forearm forklifts and the wrong kind of ramps  brought it down from outrageously dangerous to merely painful.

Happy piano plinkering, Outpost 2! Never again -- the piano conveys.

Seriously, look at this picture. There is NO good way to do this, only worse ones.

What's Up With That?

I haven't exercised seriously in three years.

Today, I went on a three mile walk and the BACK of my knees hurt? I could understand my feet hurting, my quads hurting, or even my calf muscles ... but the back of my knees?

This exercise thing is overrated. Pulled muscles are overrated. You never heard of anyone "pulling a fat".

Overheard In My House

Kids say the darndest things.

Nib: Is Daddy the leader because he likes beer the most?

Ouch.

Dab: I'm frustrated because I'm 4 years old!
Me: You're not the only one!

When Your Water Heater Doesn't

So here's a blast from the past, a trip down memory lane, a blip from the Wayback Machine: remember back in 2010 when my water heater showed signs of failing?

Being the pro-active kind of guy I am, I investigated a few options and then promptly did nothing about it for 5 more years. And I got away with it, too.  Sure, I had to endure shorter and increasingly colder showers during that time, but that just makes me more efficient in the suds bucket.

But the time has finally come to get serious about it or face some kind of WaterWorld armageddon -- or Kevin Costner which might be worse.

And the Big Guy is looking out for us because I just found out that the DoE efficiency standards are changing as of April 15, 2015. After that date you will no longer be able to purchase an 80 gallon electric water heater. (The only gas in my house comes from beer or chili.)

Because regulations. Or heating efficiency. Or Kevin Costner.

After that time you can buy two 50 gallon tanks and water heater/heat pump (mandatory) combo for $4000. Eh, no thanks.

We got the name of a plumber from the church bulletin and put in our order. So far we've been rescheduled 3 times because we are in the worst cold snap since 2010 and everyone's pipes have been bursting.  The kids can't go to school because neither the school or the church have heat -- their pipes burst too!

The plumber is mortified that he keeps having to put us off. By the time he gets to us, he may have to give us a hefty discount. (I can dream.)

First thing I'm gonna do when we get that smoking 80 gallon water heater is jump in the hot shower and let it run, and run, and run ...

Happy New Beer

Or is that year? I vote for both: new year and new beer.

Somewhere between my birthday and Christmas the incredible duo, Mrs. Nod and Grandma Nod, got together and gifted my inner geek with some nifty Beer Gear.

I was searching for something other than the plain beer tap handles my kegerator came with, when I chanced upon these magnificent stained glass windows with the symbols of the Four Evangelists from St. Ignatius Parish, San Francisco: Matthew (Winged Man), Mark (Winged Lion), Luke (Winged Ox), and John (Eagle).  h/t CatholicResources.org

Right then, I knew these would combine two great things I love: beer and Catholicism. Plus, it's a winged lion and and eagle -- how cool is that!?

Through the talented hands of Jerry's Wood Works, these became two very swanky hand-made beer taps in African Mahogany and Tiger Maple with painstaking pyrography, chrome tips, and Celtic knots on the handles.  Ain't they grand?

Also in my stocking was a Blichmann Floor Burner so I can make all-grain beer. This thing puts out 72,000 BTU/hr with clean low-flame combustion (won't blacken the bottom of your kettle) which can boil 5 gallons of water in about 24 minutes -- that's some serious heat!

So we took our new burner for a spin and made an all-grain IPA beer called Kama Citra. Northern Brewer describes it as:

"Pouring a tantalizing golden-amber, the seductive hop aroma gently gives way to a sturdy, yet flexible malt backbone with a delicate touch of silky caramel that supports the highly suggestive combination of juicy tropical and citrus hop flavor that follows, leading to a satisfying finish."

It's currently happily fermenting away in my basement giving off the most delicious tropical fruit aromas. Six more weeks to liquid bliss!

So let's start off 2015 by raising a glass: here's to you!