Myers Briggs and Prayer.

This is for all of us who ever had to be cod-analysed by Myers-Bloody-Briggs fans during our training or selection.

At least we now have some idea of what to pray!

Yorkshire Saints and Nachos!

The obscure saint for today is St John of Bridlington (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Bridlington ) depicted above in the Parish Church of All Saints Thwing (his hometown).  If you know anyone having a difficult labour (no, not Ed Milliband!) he's your designated intercessor.  It's also The International Day of the Nacho. It began in the 1990s in the United States and Mexico to celebrate the invention of nachos by Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya in 1943 in Piedras Negras, Coahuila.  So that'll be a very traditional Mexican dish then?  To be fair, it was aimed at tourists.

Piedras Negras is just over the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. One day in 1943, the wives of ten to twelve U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Duncan in nearby Eagle Pass were in Piedras Negras on a shopping trip, and arrived at the restaurant after it had closed for the day. The maître d', Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, invented a new snack for them with what little he had available in the kitchen: tortillas and cheese. Anaya cut the tortillas into triangles, added longhorn cheddar cheese, quickly heated them, and added sliced jalapeño peppers. He served the dish, calling it Nachos especiale - "Special Nachos".

Anaya went on to work at the Moderno Restaurant in Piedras Negras, which still uses the original recipe. He also opened his own restaurant, "Nacho's Restaurant", in Piedras Negras. Anaya's original recipe was printed in the 1954 St. Anne's Cookbook^..  The popularity of the dish grew throughout Texas. The first known appearance of the word "nachos" in English dates to 1949, from the book A Taste of Texas^.  

^{Never minds nachos - after quiche for tea I want some real food before bedtime.  Ho to the Chinese!}

Of Arians and hernias!

How about a little Arianism?  This fine fellow is St Artemius of Antioch, martyr and patron saint of hernias whose festivals is today.  Funny how piety can drive people to acts of immense courage even if it is misguided.  That said, although during the reign of the Emperor Julian the Apostate Artemius was a fanatical Arian, hunting and persecuting monks, nuns and bishops (including Saint Athanasius), prayer and the horror of the persecutions, converted him to Orthodox Christianity. He became a strong supporter of the faith, and turned on pagans, including the Emperor Julian. He was accused by pagans of destroying idols, arrested, taken to Antioch, tortured and martyred.  Just goes to show that there is always hope for even the most aggressively inclined of us.  The enemy of Christ become the martyr willing to die.  Even Qaddafi?  Possibly - who knows?  Well, God obviously.  Judgement, grace and mercy are entirely God's prerogatives and it is not for us to prescribe the boundaries of God's love.  Do that and we might easily put ourselves beyond it's reach.

The first Pope in Scotland.

 

Never mind St Luke or much piety, tomorrow is the birthday of the 1st Pope to visit Scotland - Pius II aka Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini. In 1435 he was sent by Cardinal Albergati  on a secret mission to Scotland. The journey to Scotland proved so traumatic he swore that he would walk barefoot to the nearest shrine of Our Lady from their landing port. This proved to be Dunbar (where I will be today), and the nearest shrine was 10 miles away at Whitekirk (I'll drive through it en route to lunch at North Berwick). The journey through the ice and snow left Aeneas afflicted with pain in his legs for the rest of his life. In Scotland he had his second natural child, the other one having been born in Strasburg.  A rather lively lad, but actually a fairly competent medieval Pope.  It's also Martina Navratilova's birthday and the anniversary of the composer Gounod's death (he wrote some nice stuff  including his famous Ave Maria - including the National Anthem for the Vatican City!).  Bless 'em all for giving some fun to the world in various ways.  one as author, one through sport and one through music.

Teresa of Avila

My favourite woman saint is the wonderful Carmelite, Teresa of Avila.  Bernini's sculpture is a wonderful picture but is even more stunning in reality when you see it in the  side chapel in Santa Maria della Vittoria.  The French portrait of 1827 is magnificently romantic, but the one with the dove is probably the most life like, being a copy of a painting of the Madre made when she was 61.  Much could be said about her but I love this little poem of hers and will let her words give a taste of the strength, wisdom and humour of the lady herself.  Enjoy her!

LAUGHTER CAME FROM EVERY BRICK

Just these two words He spoke

changed my life,

"Enjoy Me."

What a burden I thought I was to carry -

a crucifix, as did He.

Love once said to me, "I know a song,

would you like to hear it?"

And laughter came from every brick in the street

and from every pore

in the sky.

After a night of prayer, He

changed my life when

He sang,

 "Enjoy Me." 

St Teresa of Avila