I just heard today that Cardinal Bernard Law resigned. He tried to resign eight months ago and the Pope told him to stay: "Vatican insiders say when Law offered to resign this time, the Pope responded, 'Don't let the power of the Holy Spirit hit you in the ass on the way out.'" I love The Daily Show. It's a brilliant show on Comedy Central, and if I had to pick one place to get my news, that'd be it. They won a Peabody Award--a prestigious journalism award--for their coverage of the 2000 election. They beat CNN, Fox News, the broadcast networks. It's incredibly funny and intelligent, and I highly recommend it.
I leave tomorrow morning. I'm not packed yet, of course, although I did make a killer lamb curry and rice to take on the plane. I used Trader Joe's simmer sauces out of a jar, but with some advice from Rachel I added a browned onion, and made a roux by adding flour to the juice from the lamb, which thickened the curry when I added it. The onion seems to have catalyzed the spices to make the curry much hotter, and then I added some cream at the tail end of cooking which seems to have rounded it out to perfection.
Another slow day of everything stewing in my head--not happy, but with a sad and emotionally exhausted centeredness. Still tired of being the person the ex-girlfriends are mad at, and sad that I've created things as they are. I'm glad I'm changing, if a bit late on the draw.
Then one of them fell ill
And another went to see him.
"Great is the Maker," said the sick one,
"Who has made me as I am!"
(Chuang-tzu, translated by Thomas Merton.)
I am constantly amazed and fascinated at the degree to which spiritual intimacy can fail to translate into right behavior in one's life. Not just me, even.
I had something to say, but I've lost the focus, and I need to pick out books and finish packing. I can't wait to get out of here and be in my hills again.