Saturday, December 3, 2005

I done posted a lot

It's the weekend; I am glad to get a lot of this out there so I can focus on my real life with a clear blogger's conscience. In the order I can remember them: A post on my new student-status, on my pre-WYD "crisis", on Prayer with the Cogitator, and on mind indigestion. (New neologism day? Yes: 'mindigestion'!)

Also, before I go, a great freebie from the Tradition:

Notice the Sinaitic icon just under my profile in the sidebar. It's been there for almost the whole life of FCA, but I have forgotten to mention one very cool thing about it. While I do mention under the icon how it expresses both the mercy of Christ the Savior and the sternness of Christ the Judge, I have failed to explain how you can see this duality most vividly. So, now, it’s time for a little icon-appreciation lesson.

Get a piece of paper or some other opaque even-edged object. Hold it to the screen and cover the right side of Christ's face: you should see the left side of His face as having a softer, gentle texture. Now slide the card over to cover the left of His face. At which pint you should see -- with a slight chill, if I may say so myself -- how his right side is much darker, gaunter, more skull-like and more ominous than the left. On the left, Christ has a suppler, smoother, more human face, crowned by an alert, glowing eye. On the right, He has a more angular, shadowy face, riven by a gaping black eye. On the left He gazes upon your wounds, anointing them with the healing blood of His own love. On the right, He peers into your soul, scouring for sin, ready to pronounce the truth. This dichotomy is also expressed by His hands: the right hand clutches the book of truth and judgment, while the left hand forms the sign of benediction.

I read about this enchanting old icon in Frederica Mathewes-Greene’s (name? names?) book, At the Corner of East and Now, and have always loved it. You?

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