In James' absence, you may have noticed, copious use has been made of his computer. Such is the situation with his books, so I find myself, reading Mark Shea's Making Senses Out of Scripture (sic) being informed that "Bethlehem" means "house of bread", and being reminded that Jesus was laid in a feeding tray. "Bethlehem"- fine - I don't expect to discern Hebrew word-play, but you'd have thought I'd picked up on the manger after hearing about it like two jillion times.

It's very good to be reminded that you don't "get" Scripture in it's entirety, not because you don't know "the original Greek", but because "As the heavens are higher than the earth, / so are [God's] ways higher than your ways / and [God's] thoughts than your thoughts." Which reminds me of the Rosary. Twice in Luke 2, it says something along these lines - "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." - about things she didn't "get". Mysteries, you might call them.

Pat at Christians Together &c. said she overheard some people walking out of The Passion saying they'd seen worse. For the record, I think Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange disturbed me more than Gibson's film did. And this is fine I suppose, granted that I don't equate art with reality, 'cos Alex and his victims just don't mean with the same force as the agony in the garden, the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the carrying of the cross and the crucifixion, or indeed today's (glorious) mysteries.

[So] God, whose only-begotten Son, by his life, death and resurrection has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life; grant, we beseech you, that meditating on the Mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may both imitate what they contain and obtain to what they promise, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Not that I 've prayed the Rosary today. It'd be pretty weird if I didn't, having said that...

Lot of rambling going on today, in my head at least. Wish haloscan was running, then I could read my comments...