CowPi Journal

A fable I once heard that seems appropriate to start Advent…
The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit held a meeting in heaven to discuss the terrible situation down on earth. Things had gotten very bad.
They discussed it among themselves and realized that there were three options. One, they could destroy the earth and start over. Two, they could walk away from it and let humankind fend for itself all alone. Or three, one of them could go down there to be among them and show them the way.
They chose the third option.
And the Son eagerly volunteered.

Holy Spirit, prepare our hearts to celebrate with faith, the hope which does not disappoint, in the love which seeks nothing in return.

Spirit of Truth, you who search the depths of God, memory and prophecy in the Church, lead mankind to recognize in Jesus of Nazareth the Lord of glory, the Saviour of the world, the supreme fulfillment of history.

Creator Spirit, hidden builder of the Kingdom, by the power of your saints guide the Church to cross with courage the threshold of the new millennium and to carry to the coming generations the light of the Word who brings salvation.

Spirit of Holiness, divine breath which moves the universe, come and renew the face of the earth. Awaken in Christians a desire for full unity, that they maybe for the world an effective sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the whole human race.

To you, Spirit of Love, with the Almighty Father and Only-Begotton Son, be praise, honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

— Pope John Paul II [via]

The first letter of the alphabet of Love:

On the last morning she was walking near the tents and huts of the desert dwellers, when in a lonely corner behind a wall she came upon a little golden-yellow flower, growing all alone. An old pipe was one tiny hole through which came an occasional drop of water. Where the drops fell one by one, there grew the little golden flower, though where the seed had come from, Much-Afraid could not imagine, for there were no birds anywhere and no other growing things [in this great desert].

She stopped over the lonely, lovely little golden face, lifted up so hopefully and so bravely to the feeble drip, and cried out softly, “What is your name, little flower, for I never saw one like you before.”

The tiny plant answered at once in a tone as golden as itself, “Behold me! My name is Acceptance-with-Joy.”

Much-Afraid thought of the things which she had seen in the pyramid: the threshing-floor and the whirring wheel and the fiery furnace. Somehow the answer of the little golden flower which grew all alone in the waste of the desert stole into her heart and echoed there faintly but sweetly, filling her with comfort. She said to herself, “He has brought me here when I did not want to come for his own purpose. I, too, will look up into his face and say, ‘Behold me! I am thy little handmaiden Acceptance-with-Joy.’”

— Hannah Hurnard, Hind’s Feet on High Places

Note: The image above is the same one on my cell phone. Last month I changed the caption from “Acceptance w/ Joy” to “Keep Hope Alive”.

Having “pi” in the name of my weblog, it is only natural that I would have to try out this nifty little website called Am I in Pi?. You type in your birthday to see where it appears within the inifinite sequence of digits in π.
So, my birthday is located at the 14,679th position in π. My oldest daughter seems to hold the smallest position in the family at 2582 and my wife the largest at 1,029,347.
Happy Thanksgiving!