St. Andrew

Happy Feast Day!!!

Just a quick post in honor of St. Andrew; brother of St. Peter, Apostle and the Patron Saint of Scotland (among other things). St. Andrew is most famous for the manner of his death...crucified on a "X" shaped cross. This is why the national flag of the Scots depicts a white "X" shaped cross on a blue field. This flag is known as the "Cross of St. Andrew" and is one of the flags incorporated in the national flag of Great Britain.


So happy feast day to all you Scots out there, as well as all my friends in general.

St. Andrew, Pray for us!

An Ancient Muse

I just received the newest recording of my favorite Celtic musical artist, An Ancient Muse, by Loreena McKennitt. As soon as I saw it in my mailbox I rushed upstairs and popped into into Aiden (my notebook friend, desktop companion and personal musician, he can play all sorts of music, and does great voice impersonations), and was soon carried off by the rhythmic sounds of this ethereal and ancient sounding album. A particular favorite is the track entitled The English Ladye and The Knight, a sad poem by Sir Walter Scott that Loreena set to music. Another lovely ballad of longing and earning for the return of a loved one is the track entitled Penelope's Song. The song is about the steadfast loyalty and heartfelt sorrow of Odysseus' wife in Homer's Epic tale. Altogether I loved this new album. Loreena McKennitt introduces many unique musical sounds beginning with the first track Incantation that has an unmistakably eastern tone to it, and translates the mysterious harmony of that culture exceedingly well. I hope that you all will have a chance to hear some of the songs on this new CD...and I know that Joe will definitely want to get this album!

Change of Scenery

Coming home for Thanksgiving was a welcome change from the usual. Not only did I get plenty of rest, but I also had a great time with my sweet little niece, brothers, sisters, sister-in-law, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and the parental units. Reflecting on the pleasant differences of home and Detroit, I thought that I would list a few of the things that were most strikingly different about the weekend.

• First is that I heard more gunshots at home then in Detroit. I call it providence, but I have not heard one gunshot while I have been here (although I have been informed of there existence on many occasions). The big difference being, however, that the gunshots at home ended in dinner on the table rather than an empty seat at someone's table.
• Racial diversity at home is basically non-existent. The closest thing we have to racial diversity at home occurs within the burgeoning squirrel population. We have red, black, and grey squirrels...Dr. Izzo would be in paradise...or out of crustuli!
• Traffic was basically non-existent! I could travel 30 miles in 40 minutes, as opposed to 5 miles in 30 minutes as it often is in Detroit...ugh, thank God for the country, where ne'r a traffic light is seen!
• One final thing, which is always good for the ego...I actually impress the folks at home with my knowledge. I know what you all are thinking, and yes it is scary, but hey, I get my perks where I can!

Now starts the countdown to Christmas!!!

Go West Young Man!

I love it everytime I begin to leave the city behind me and the cornrows and pasturlands of Michigan begin to flash past my windows as I cruise down the I-96 corridor. It means that I am on my way home, and I will soon be able to breath the free air again and know that I can go anywhere I want without traffic jams, red lights, ambulance and police sirens, construction issues, or be afraid for my life everynow and then. I actually saw the stars last night...and not just the really bright ones on Orion's belt, but the ones that you would have to have a doctorate in Astronomy to name.

Thanksgiving was great! Family was crazy, loud, tiring, but wonderfully fun! Not to mention Grandma, Mom, Aunts and Uncles all in the kitchen working their culinary skills to perfection! I love food. So I have been having a great time this weekend...and just a few more weeks of School to go before Christmas! I am ready for it already.

Peace to you all!

Thanksgiving...

And the break is almost here folks! I have no more classes from now until break begins (after evening prayer, 5:30pm Tuesday) and will be more or less doing nothing in the meantime. All my papers are done for the semester! Done! I can't really beleive it...its crazy! And wireless internet is coming the seminary's way soon! Deus Bonus Est!

Stay tuned...will post something a little more interesting tomorrow...promise!

Paper Week

This week I am immersed in writing papers. Hence the obvious lack of posts for this week and the latter half of last week. Paper writing is much better here though. This week is paper crunch time, but unlike Ave paper crunch time (which always coincided with finals) I have only 10-11 pages of writing to do for all my papers due this week. After this week there will be no more papers due. What a breeze! I can hardly believe it...plus I am getting to the papers earlier than usual...I think I am sick or something, I am becoming far too disciplined in my schedule (as apposed to my former schedule...or wait...it did not exist). So don't go looking for posts this week...unless I am feeling ambitious (unlikely) or procrstination sets in (likely).

Peace Dudes!

Metaphysics: the Black Hole of Philosophy

I thought my brain was going to burst! The pain from trying to keep up with the strange abstract concepts that the professor was trying to crame into my brain seemed to fly right over my head. What I did end up getting into my head just confused me and seemed to bounce around inside until I was going crazy...so I doodled in the margins of the page (nothing new I confess).

A good priest once told me (in his unmistakably gruff British accent) that the student of metaphysics is like a "Blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that is not there." I couldn't agree more on that score, and today I think that the point was very apt. Metaphysics reminds me very much of a black whole; trying to cram everything that we know about into one all encompassing category and trying to figure out what we can say about it once it is in this mega category. Ugh...

...in better news though, and for some strange reason, I am doing quite well in the class, despite my ineptitude.

All Soul's Day

May the souls of the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

All Soul's Day puts me in mind of what we owe to our ancenstors. We are indebted to them for handing down the faith to us, and so it is right that we should honor the glorius patrimony that they have given us by doing the same for our descendants. Edmund Burke says that "People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors." In that spirit of thanksgiving, I dedicate this blog to my ancestors, in particular my paternal Irish forefathers, for I am nothing but the bones of my ancestors.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

May the rain fall soft upon your fields,

and until we meet again,

May God hold you

in the palm of His hand.

Dedicated to the repose of the soul of my grandfather,
Clayton T. Heffron (1930-2005)

Of sealing wax...and other things...

Two weeks ago (how long ago that seems) I went home for an off-campus weekend. I get one of these a month and this month I went home to see the family (last OCW I visited Fr. Ed and the Awesome friends of A2 with Mark) out on the farm. Fall was past her prime, but I still took some pictures of the farm to share with you that still show the remnants of the fading glory of the woods on the country roads of Strotheide and Ashley. Hope you enjoy the photo post!
I always enjoy coming home in the fall. Nothing makes me long for home more than that changing of the leaves in Autumn...for I know that heralds the Harvest, Apple Pie, Cider, the musty smell of the decaying leaves and the cool, usually moist weather that is perfect for a long walk in the woods, followed by a hot shower, a steaming mug of spiced cherry wine, and a good book to curl up with by the fire.

Speaking of fires...Here is a new one by me (and all my family...and maybe you too!). When I went home, the house was cold and there was no fire. The reason, as my father explained to me, was that he had tried to make a fire in the stove earlier, but had to give up because the smoke refused to go up the chimney. Perplexed, my dad scaled the roof of the house to the top of the chimney and looked down the flue with a flashlight. There...plugging the flue, was a nest of bees, completely filling the flue. To make matters worse...they are honey bees and a probe of the nest (its too cold for them to be active now) revealed that the chimney was filled with their summer's labor...honey...four feet deep! So...no fires until we get that cleaned up...and that will happen when I go home for Thanksgiving break (a farmboy's work is never done it seems)!!!
Apples are coming in a plenty, and it is a bountiful harvest this year! In fact we have so many, we have been scrambling to find enough boxes in which to put them all! They are full of flavor this year too...as I found out when I took a walk with my sister, Maura (who strikes a glamour pose to the right), and picked one fresh off the tree...you have never tasted an apple until you eat it right off the tree (well, pick it then eat it).

So...from Detroit Michigan, this is Brendan...wishing you all a blessed Feast of All Saints! Over and out.