The Anchoress writes that she has bought, by hook, crook, and little miracle, this beautiful crucifix which I’d featured last week in another eBaywatch.
I am beyond delighted that something so beautiful has found such a good home. She’s promised to send me a photograph of it in her oratory once it’s arrived.
Meanwhile, she’s made my day again by sending me a list of current items of interest:
Altar cross and candlesticks: If your priest hasn’t replaced the altar crucifix and begun praying the Mass to Christ instead of to you, with meaningful eye contact, out there in the sea of faces, say Do it now, Father with this lovely set.
Bidding has ended on this item, and relics aren’t supposed to be sold (though there’s apparently no prohibition on buying them, which I can never quite get my head around), but this is stunning. Worth a look, at any rate.
Friends of ours have an altar stone in their bedroom. Their church had burned, and when the rebuilding commenced, the priest wanted the stone put in the dumpster. Our friends intervened, heatedly, and carted it home. A bedroom’s not exactly where an altar stone belongs, but it beats the county landfill by several long miles.
From All Souls Church in Brooklyn, a bargain at $110, 000.
And these are totally to swoon for.
Gorgeous altar cards for the east-facing priest in your life.
We won’t be seeing our east-facing priest today, alas: the big van’s in the shop, having comprehensively died right around the corner yesterday. I’d driven to the end of the block and turned onto Congress street, when without warning the engine quit and everything went dead.
I couldn’t work the power windows to put my arm out and wave the line of cars backed up behind me to go around. The steering went all stiff, though I did seem to have brakes, fortunately. I slipped the thing into reverse and parallel-parked as best I could rolling backwards down the gentle grade in the road — luckily the cars had gone around me, and no more came along for some minutes. Then I turned on the flashers and walked home to call AAA.
The mechanics rang this morning to say they’re still working on it. The fuel pump had blown, but when they put in a new one it burned up, so there’s a short somewhere in the electrical system, which would explain the failure of the power windows and the steering. They’ve apparently just bought some expensive new tool for tracing shorts; Dave the head mechanic said that he was up late last night reading the instructions that had come with it, and another mechanic was, even then, watching the instructional video, so eventually they’ll get it sorted out.
eBay beckons, but looks like we’re buying car parts instead.
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
