I totally stole this from my sister's facebook - but it is funny!
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Monday, February 08, 2010
A funny super bowl ad
I totally stole this from my sister's facebook - but it is funny!
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Sunday, February 07, 2010
My Domestic Church Daily Clips 02/08/2010
The Auschwitz Album - Eretz Yisrael
Stunning pictoral history of Auschwitz
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Sunday Snippets - A Catholic Carnival
Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival is a weekly opportunity to share our best posts with the wider Catholic blogging community. To participate, create a post highlighting posts that would be of interest to Catholics and link to the host blog at This That and the Other Blog. Go to the host blog and leave a comment giving a link to your post.
Lots going on here this week -
Candlemas and scenes from our Candlemas celebration.
St. Agatha - patron of breast cancer patients.
My Comments on the passing of dissident, liberal, feminist Mary Daly.
Also a whole week's worth of good stuff over at Visits To Candyland!
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Lots going on here this week -
Candlemas and scenes from our Candlemas celebration.
St. Agatha - patron of breast cancer patients.
My Comments on the passing of dissident, liberal, feminist Mary Daly.
Also a whole week's worth of good stuff over at Visits To Candyland!
Please browse my eBay items!
Visit my new Amazon Store!
Saturday, February 06, 2010
The Flickering Flame of Catholic Dissent - time to blow it out.
Charlotte Allen writes about the death of Mary Daly and the significance of passing in Mary Daly and the Flickering Flame of Catholic Dissent - WSJ.com:
Mary Daly was roughly the same age as my mother, a Catholic convert.
How true, and as a youngster and teen during those years, my generation was lost in the shuffle. Our Catholic schools didn't teach the faith partly because they didn't know what they were supposed to teach under the elusive "spirit of Vatican II," or the influence of dissident thought made it uncomfortable to do so. The bishops of the day let it happen. As St. John Chrysostom once opined, the road to hell may very well be paved with the skulls of bishops.
In hindsight this is not surprising. The work of the dissident Catholic intellectuals was sterile and the results we see decades later are fruitless. They failed to plan for their own mortality and while they may have helped form a generation of Catholics who know little to nothing about their faith, that same generation was more likely to just drift away rather than take up the cause. Instead of inspiring more dissent, they brought about malaise and inspired boredom. American Catholics of my vintage came to see Catholicism as something their parents did, with a few nice customs that made us feel warm and fuzzy during our childhoods, but that we had no intellectual interest in pursuing as young adults. And to pursue elite intellectual thought on dissenting Catholicism was about as enticing as watching paint dry. We simply didn't care.
Charlotte Allen gives a list of Whose Who in the Aging Dissenting Liberal Catholic Crowd.
Edward Schillebeckx - 81
Rev. Charles Curran - 75
Sister Sandra M. Schneiders- over 65.
Ms. Allen goes on to surmise that perhaps Catholic liberal theology is dead because the church hasn't moved one iota on the causes such theology cried out for. She goes on to opine that the Catholics who grew up during the hay day of Daly et al simply didn't pass the faith on to their children. That's true. A generation that didn't know it's faith failed to pass it on. Didn't Hitler say "He who owns the youth, owns the future"? Ignorance of the Catholic faith owned the youth of my day, and the future was neither pious or progressive. It was milquetoast.
And although I think Allen is right that many Catholics today live a Progressive Catholic Ideal (birth control, abortion) I don't think it was because we were a generation of eager students lapping up Progressive Ideologies as fast as we could. But rather because there was no one to tell us why these things were wrong and a lot of secular thought on why they were good and even welcome, we just accepted them as the norm.
Ms. Allen ends with this:
But here is something I think Professor Daly never realized and that Ms. Allen overlooks - we were young and stupid but were only going to wander in the desert for so long. Even the Jews only did it for 40 years! Innumerable young Catholics in the 1980s and 1990s felt that gap in our formation and sought out the informationto fill it in, many times with a baby in our arms and children at our knee; those children are grown and starting their own families in the faith. Daly, Kuhn and the rest will be interesting footnotes that our children will gloss over. Their thoughts will be disappear and return to dust with them. And the Church goes on.
Mary Daly, a retired professor at Boston College who was probably the most outrรฉ of all the dissident theologians who came to the fore of Catholic intellectual life in the years right after the Second Vatican Council, died on Jan. 3 at age 81.
Mary Daly was roughly the same age as my mother, a Catholic convert.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, which might be called the golden age of Catholic dissidence, theologians who took positions challenging traditional church teachings—ranging from the authority of the pope to bans on birth control, premarital sex, and women's ordination—dominated Catholic intellectual life in America and Europe. They seemed to represent a tide that would overwhelm the old restrictions and their hidebound adherents.
How true, and as a youngster and teen during those years, my generation was lost in the shuffle. Our Catholic schools didn't teach the faith partly because they didn't know what they were supposed to teach under the elusive "spirit of Vatican II," or the influence of dissident thought made it uncomfortable to do so. The bishops of the day let it happen. As St. John Chrysostom once opined, the road to hell may very well be paved with the skulls of bishops.
Now, 45 years after Vatican II concluded in 1965, most of those bright lights of dissident Catholicism—from the theologian Hans Kรผng of the University of Tรผbingen to Charles Curran, the priest dismissed from the Catholic University of America's theology faculty in 1987 for his advocacy of contraception and acceptance of homosexual relationships—seem dimmed with advanced age, if not extinguished. They have left no coherent second generation of dissident Catholic intellectuals to follow them.
In hindsight this is not surprising. The work of the dissident Catholic intellectuals was sterile and the results we see decades later are fruitless. They failed to plan for their own mortality and while they may have helped form a generation of Catholics who know little to nothing about their faith, that same generation was more likely to just drift away rather than take up the cause. Instead of inspiring more dissent, they brought about malaise and inspired boredom. American Catholics of my vintage came to see Catholicism as something their parents did, with a few nice customs that made us feel warm and fuzzy during our childhoods, but that we had no intellectual interest in pursuing as young adults. And to pursue elite intellectual thought on dissenting Catholicism was about as enticing as watching paint dry. We simply didn't care.
The trajectory of her life story is not unusual among Catholic dissidents. The Young Turk of Vatican II—and pet of the progressive Catholic media of the time—was Hans Kรผng. A Swiss-born, movie-star-handsome priest whom Pope John XXIII had made a peritus, or theological adviser, to the council, ... but he's 81.
Charlotte Allen gives a list of Whose Who in the Aging Dissenting Liberal Catholic Crowd.
Edward Schillebeckx - 81
Rev. Charles Curran - 75
Sister Sandra M. Schneiders- over 65.
Ms. Allen goes on to surmise that perhaps Catholic liberal theology is dead because the church hasn't moved one iota on the causes such theology cried out for. She goes on to opine that the Catholics who grew up during the hay day of Daly et al simply didn't pass the faith on to their children. That's true. A generation that didn't know it's faith failed to pass it on. Didn't Hitler say "He who owns the youth, owns the future"? Ignorance of the Catholic faith owned the youth of my day, and the future was neither pious or progressive. It was milquetoast.
And although I think Allen is right that many Catholics today live a Progressive Catholic Ideal (birth control, abortion) I don't think it was because we were a generation of eager students lapping up Progressive Ideologies as fast as we could. But rather because there was no one to tell us why these things were wrong and a lot of secular thought on why they were good and even welcome, we just accepted them as the norm.
Ms. Allen ends with this:
it is fair to note that when Prof. Daly died, she left behind no young Mary Dalys to continue waging her quixotic war against the faith that shaped her, whether she liked it or not."
But here is something I think Professor Daly never realized and that Ms. Allen overlooks - we were young and stupid but were only going to wander in the desert for so long. Even the Jews only did it for 40 years! Innumerable young Catholics in the 1980s and 1990s felt that gap in our formation and sought out the informationto fill it in, many times with a baby in our arms and children at our knee; those children are grown and starting their own families in the faith. Daly, Kuhn and the rest will be interesting footnotes that our children will gloss over. Their thoughts will be disappear and return to dust with them. And the Church goes on.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Small Successes
1. My oldest son, the first child that we loved and cared for, fretted over and worried about - the one we agonized over whether to homeschool or not, and the one who struggled to read, and to be on the local high school swim team, has been gainfully employed as an EMT for a year AND has made his own arrangements to move out. He found an apartment, has his utilities lined up, signed a contract and has a nice roommate. So I guess if this is a measure of successful homeschooling, we have to some degree been successful!
2. Sam the second son, a high school junior, successfully passed both of the soccer ref courses (two Saturdays - six to seven hours each!) and is now qualified to ref any soccer games this spring. This pooper scooping gig is going to be a regular weekly event as well - so he can pay for his own guitar lessons - it's all good!
3. A few weeks ago I got a request to put one of my blog articles in a homeschooling newspaper. The kind lady sent me a copy of the newsletter yesterday and it was fun to see my article on the front page. Thanks Catholic Homeschool Association of Omaha!
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St. Agatha
Saint Agatha is one of the early church martyrs. The governor of Sicily wanted to have her although it is unclear to me from all of the different accounts whether he thought he was in love with her or if he just lusted after her. Be that as it may, it seems that if he were living today he'd be considered an abusive man. Because Agatha preferred to be a virgin for Christ, he sent her to a brothel where she suffered humiliation. Reading between the lines there she was probably raped and abused, but she did not give in. The account of her persecution continues:
After being tortured, "Agatha went to prison radiant with joy and with head held high as though invited to a festive banquet. And she commended her agony to the Lord in prayer." The next day, as she again stood before the judge, she declared: "If you do not cause my body to be torn to pieces by the hangmen, my soul cannot enter the Lord's paradise with the martyrs. She was then stretched on the rack, burned with red-hot irons, and despoiled of her breasts. During these tortures she prayed: "For love of chastity I am made to hang from a rack. Help me, O Lord my God, as they knife my breasts. Agatha rebuked the governor for his barbarity: "Godless, cruel, infamous tyrant, are you not ashamed to despoil a woman of that by which your own mother nursed you?"
This is why she is the patroness of breast cancer patients. I was with SLO when she came out of surgery following her double mastectomy. Despite the miracles of modern anesthesia and pain killers, she was in a lot of pain. Seeing that gives me all the more respect for what Agatha endured.
The painting above illustrates the rest of the story.
In the night there appeared to her a venerable old man, the apostle Peter, with healing remedies. Agatha, ever delicately modest, hesitated to show him her wounds. "I am the apostle of Christ; distrust me not, my daughter." To which she replied: "I have never used earthly medicines on my body. I cling to the Lord Jesus Christ, who renews all things by His word." She was miraculously healed by St. Peter: "Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, I give you praise because by Your apostle You have restored my breasts." Throughout the night a light illumined the dungeon. When the guards fled in terror, her fellow prisoners urged her to escape but she refused: "Having received help from the Lord, I will persevere in confessing Him who healed me and comforted me."
Shortly thereafter she was martyred.
From Catholic Culture
St. Agatha is also the patroness of fire prevention.
Agatha is one of the saints mentioned in the first Eucharistic prayer.
Remember, Lord, those who have died and have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, especially those for whom we now pray, {names deceased loved ones whom the celebrant or parishioner wishes to offer before God}. May these, and all who sleep in Christ, find in your presence light, happiness, and peace. [Through Christ our Lord. Amen.]
For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, [Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia] and all the saints. Though we are sinners, we trust in your mercy and love. Do not consider what we truly deserve, but grant us your forgiveness. Through Christ our Lord.
St. Agatha, woman of valor, from your own suffering we have been moved to ask your prayers for those of us who suffer from breast cancer. We place the name (s) before you, and ask you to intercede on their behalf. From where you stand in the health of life eternal- all wounds healed, and all tears wiped away- pray for ____________________, and all of us. Pray God will give us His holy benediction of health and healing. And, we remember you were a victim of torture and that you learned, first hand, of human cruelty and inhumanity. We ask you to pray for our entire world. Ask God to enlighten us with a “genius for peace and understanding.” Ask Him to send us His Spirit of Serenity, and ask Him to help us share that peace with all we meet. From what you learned from your own path of pain, ask God to give us the Grace we need to remain holy in difficulties, not allowing our anger or our bitterness to overtake us. Pray that we will be more peaceful and more charitable. And from your holy pace in our mystical body, the Church, pray that we, in our place and time will, together, create a world of justice and peace. Amen.
St. Agatha links on del.icio.us
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Thursday, February 04, 2010
My Domestic Church Daily Clips 02/05/2010
Adult Sibling Rivalry | Psychology Today
Interesting study on sibling relationships
- Karen Kalish made a new commitment: "I'm going to keep the communication open between my sister and me," the 44-year-old media consultant told me. "I will follow the rules... do whatever it takes to make our relationship work. You can be on it!"
- I saw things the way they were and are, not the way I wished they were or could have been. Not long after, I resolved not to have anything to do with my sister or the rest of the family. I don't want it!"
- "The message is," Dunn said, "that children are far more socially sophisticated than we ever imagined. That little 15-month-old or 17-month-old is watching like a hawk what goes on between her mother and older sibling. And the greater the difference in the maternal affection and attention, the more hostility and conflict between the siblings." From 18 months on siblings understand how to comfort, hurt, and exacerbate each other's pain. They understand family rules, can differentiate between transgressions of different sorts, and can anticipate the response of adults to their own and to other people's misdeeds.
YouTube - Sweatin' With the Socialists
A real scream!
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
My Domestic Church Daily Clips 02/04/2010
but how will it affect sellers?
My Way News - Unemployment rises in most metro areas
WASHINGTON (AP) - Unemployment rose in most cities and counties in December, signaling that companies remain reluctant to hire even as the economy recovers.
The unemployment rate rose in 306 of 372 metro areas, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The rate fell in 41 and was unchanged in 25. That's worse than November, when the rate fell in 170 areas, rose in only 154 and was unchanged in 48.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
The Biggest Loser Budget Family Cookbook
I usually stay away from fancy diet cookbooks or online recipes because chances are they use a lot of fancy ingredients, or ingredients that are too expensive for my pay grade, or they are too complicated to make while I am juggling so many other things. So I was excited to see that the Biggest loser FINALLY put out a family cookbook that was also budget friendly.
I got my copy over the weekend and so far I have made baked ziti and sweet and sour chicken and they were both well received and delicious! The sweet and sour chicken was especially well loved and even though I tripled the recipe, I didn't have a crumb left! Works for me!
My lame attempt at food photography!
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Tuesday, February 02, 2010
My Domestic Church Daily Clips 02/03/2010
Backdoor taxes to hit middle class - Yahoo! News
More hope and change?
In the 2010 budget tabled by President Barack Obama on Monday, the White House wants to let billions of dollars in tax breaks expire by the end of the year -- effectively a tax hike by stealth.
While the administration is focusing its proposal on eliminating tax breaks for individuals who earn $250,000 a year or more, middle-class families will face a slew of these backdoor increases.
The targeted tax provisions were enacted under the Bush administration's Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. Among other things, the law lowered individual tax rates, slashed taxes on capital gains and dividends, and steadily scaled back the estate tax to zero in 2010.
If the provisions are allowed to expire on December 31, the top-tier personal income tax rate will rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent. But lower-income families will pay more as well: the 25 percent tax bracket will revert back to 28 percent; the 28 percent bracket will increase to 31 percent; and the 33 percent bracket will increase to 36 percent. The special 10 percent bracket is eliminated.
Investors will pay more on their earnings next year as well, with the tax on dividends jumping to 39.6 percent from 15 percent and the capital-gains tax increasing to 20 percent from 15 percent. The estate tax is eliminated this year, but it will return in 2011 -- though there has been talk about reinstating the death tax sooner.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
By Sun and Candlelight: The Loveliness of Candlemas
By Sun and Candlelight: The Loveliness of Candlemas:
"'If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.'"
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"'If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.'"
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My Dearest Daughter
In 1958 my mother got married and moved across the country. These are the letters written to her, mainly by her mother, between 1958 and 1960. Others in the series are in my del.icio.us file.
The delightful thing about this letter is that I don't remember my mother ever ever ever sewing a stitch when I was growing up! Grandma was the sewer!!?? Funny thing that.
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February 4, 1959
Dearest Maryrose:
Happy Birthday Darling. We couldn't find a sewing basket like the one you saw with Calvin, but we saw a lovely singer portable, so we bought that. It is going out today and you may not get it before your birthday, but it is supposed to come right to your house as singer said they would send it by truck. Now it may come from Santa Fe or Espaniola and therefore be delivered by their regular truck. Of course we are anxious about how and when it gets there. You'll let us know eh?
It is a brand new machine not one with a log of stuff on it, but it does have attachments and does sew back and forth. It also sews over pins. One thing I liked especially, the bobbin is reached from the top instead of having to get it after lifting the head. I'm hoping you like it.
I looked at used ones and there was only one that looked good for $159.95 but it was so big and heavy. This one was $40 chaper and brand new and so neat! Hope you like it.
How are you feeling? Mrs. Lang called this morning asking about you. Everything is fine here. Dad has about two more weeks of work. Out of paper so I" close and write more a little later.
God love you both.
Mother.
The delightful thing about this letter is that I don't remember my mother ever ever ever sewing a stitch when I was growing up! Grandma was the sewer!!?? Funny thing that.
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Monday, February 01, 2010
My Domestic Church Daily Clips 02/02/2010
Study finds focus on abstinence in sex-ed classes can delay sexual activity - washingtonpost.com
- Sex education classes that focus on encouraging children to remain abstinent can convince a significant proportion to delay sexual activity, researchers reported Monday in a landmark study that could have major implications for the nation's embattled efforts to protect young people against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
- n the first carefully designed study to evaluate the controversial approach to sex ed, researchers found that only about a third of 6th and 7th graders who went through sessions focused on abstinence started having sex in the next two years. In contrast, nearly half of students who got other classes, including those that included information about contraception, became sexually active.
- The Obama administration eliminated more than $150 million in federal funding targeted at abstinence programs, which are relatively new and have little rigorous evidence supporting their effectiveness. Instead it is launching a new $114 million pregnancy prevention initiative that will fund only programs that have been shown scientifically to work. The administration Monday proposed expanding that program to $183 million next year. The move came after intensifying questions about the effectiveness of abstinence programs.
- "This new study is game-changing," said Sarah Brown, who leads the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "For the first time, there is strong evidence that an abstinence-only intervention can help very young teens delay sex and reduce their recent sexual activity as well."
Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds)
- All our days vanish in your anger,we use up our years in a single breath.Seventy years are what we have,or eighty for the stronger ones;and most of that is labour and sadness –quickly they pass, and we are gone.Who can comprehend the power of your wrath?Who can behold the violence of your anger?Teach us to reckon our days like this,so that our hearts may be led at last to wisdom.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Candlemas
Since reverting back to my Catholic Faith, this is one of my favorite feasts. First of all, I am a sucker for candles and candle light. I use to make candles when I was a kid. I just love the look and feel of candlelight! Secondly,it is a feast of hope. It comes halfway between winter and spring. It gives me hope that the long cold days are almost over. Thirdly, I love the connection to Jesus through his Mother Mary. I have found this connection to be even more poignant since the loss of one of my own children. Every birth and new life is full of joys and sometimes sorrows. Even our Blessed Mother experienced this.
Below are some things I have written in years past. As a re-vert to Catholicism there are many things that I have tried to learn or re-learn on my own and I continue to learn!
Candlemas is the time of year that the garlands from Christmas are taken down, because they are dry enough. I have an artificial garland but I have been recalcitrant to take it down because - well because I hate putting ALL of the Christmas stuff away! But I love having a symbolic, liturgical, historical, and practical reason to do so! It will come down tomorrow.
I also have some links to what some other wonderful Catholic Mommy bloggers have done to keep the live the liturgical year during Candlemas alive!
It's also Groundhog's Day tomorrow. I love the Bill Murray movie on Groundhog Day
I love the fact that he had as many chances as he needed to make his life meaningful and worthwhile. What a gift that was! So if you haven't seen that movie, I recommend it!
Also on a personal note - tomorrow is my best friend's birthday.She is always there for me, always. Happy Birthday T!
*********
February 2 is an ancient, special day as it marks the halfway mark between the winter solctice and the spring equinox. (Which is why the other holiday - Ground Hog Day is also celebrated on this day!)
It also is a very scriptural day for all Christians. It is the 40th day after Christ's birth and the time for Mary, as a good Jewish mother, to be purified.
Chapter 12 of Leviticus is the law concerning purification of women:
And if her hand ind not sufficiency, and she is not able to offer a lamb, she shall take two turtle doves, or two yhoung pigeons, one for holocaust and another for sin; and the priest shall pray for her and so she shall be cleansed.
Note the significance again of the lamb, with Jesus as the Lamb of God.
The ceremony cleansed ceremonial uncleanness, not sin. The prescribed period before the ceremony signified that the mother was leaving a period of weakness and recuperation and utter dependence on God (The Year & Our Children: Catholic Family Celebrations for Every Season
). As anyone who has ever had a baby can attest rest after childbirth is very important and I suppose one could argue even prescribed by God. Funny that our culture tends to honor the "drop that baby in the field and pick up the plow again" attitude instead of calm and rest.All of the ceremonies before mass and during mass speak of Light, because Jesus is the light of the world, People come to mass and candles are distributed and blessed.
I love the point Mary Reed Newland makes in her book, The Year & Our Children: Catholic Family Celebrations for Every Season
that the old Mass of Purifiation is an "eloquent meditation for mothers and wives, occupied so constantly with washing, whether their laundry of their children, their dishes or their floors. These are purifications. Malachias has said that Christ will purify us the same way, refining us by the fire of our trials, purifying us of self-love by the washing of our wills. He would have us in the wedding garments, clean and bright."Today I am planning a candlelight dinner for my family and we will be using the good china which is always a special treat for us. I will use the candles that we have blessed this morning at mass.
I found this fascinating article on today's feast of Candlemass!
In modern life many people may not be aware that on February 2 we celebrate an ancient feast, common to the Church of both East and West, which is mentioned clearly in Leviticus and Luke.
February 2 is "Candlemas" in many churches and is the day for observing the ritual purification of Mary forty days after the birth of Jesus as well as the presentation of Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem (see Luke 2:21-40). The day has pagan roots and was a Christian adaptation of the older practices for this midwinter festivity from which we get our "Groundhog Day." Since the presentation was also the purification of Mary (40 days after childbirth), the church developed ritual practices known as the "Churching of Women" (see additional notes at bottom of page) or "Thanksgiving of Women after Childbirth." The following is an explanation
Seven days after Christmas, January 1, is the feast of our Lord's circumcision
Thirty three days after that, February 2 is the feast of his being offered in the Temple, the purification of the Virgin Mary. So Candlemass is fourty days after the birth of Jesus.
This day also used to have great significance in the rural calendar, because the date lies half way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, so it marks the day upon which winter is half over! . It is a time of the year which naturally forms a transition period in winter - there is a sense in which thank God we are moving on into brighter and better days.
Like many Christians festivals, including Christmas itself, Candlemas has roots which lie deep in pagan roots and an understanding of nature.
Imbolc was an important day in the Celtic calendar. (pronounced 'im'olk' also known as Oimelc) comes from an Irish word that was originally thought to mean 'in the belly' although many people translate it as 'ewe's milk' (oi-melc). As winter stores of food were getting low Imbolc rituals were performed to harness divine energy that would ensure a steady supply of food until the harvest six months later.
Like many Celtic festivals, the Imbolc celebrations centred around the lighting of fires. Fire was perhaps more important for this festival than others as it was also the holy day of Brigid (also known as Bride, Brigit, Brid), the Goddess of fire, healing and fertility. The lighting of fires celebrated the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months. For the Christian calendar, this holiday was reformed and renamed 'Candlemas' when candles are lit to remember the purification of the Virgin Mary.
As Candlemas traditions evolved, many people embraced the legend that if the sun shone on the second day of February, an animal would see its shadow and there would be at least six more weeks of winter. Bears or badgers are watched in some European countries, but the German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania found an abundance of groundhogs and late in the 19th century a few residents in Punxsutawney began celebrating the groundhog as weather prophet. So we have Groundhog Day.
You may know the rhyme
If Candlemas day be sunny and bright,
Winter again will show its might.
If Candlemas day be cloudy and grey,
Winter soon will pass away. (Fox version)
If Candlemas day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas day be shower and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again. (Traditional)
But this time of year should not be a pagan festival it is a Christian feast which we celebrate and it can be traced to at least 543. The Feast of Lighted candles is mentioned by Bede and St. Eligius, who was bishop of Noyon from 640 to 648. The feast quickly became popular, the day is set aside to commemorate the presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus has been circumcised, marking him as a member of God's chosen people, through whom world salvation was to be achieved.
The background to the passage from Luke today is seen in the Book of Leviticus Chapter 12:1.
Other interesting links for the day.
All my Candlemas Links on Diigo!
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From my Prayer Journal
What stood out for me today in Morning Prayer
Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):
"All our days vanish in your anger,
we use up our years in a single breath.
Seventy years are what we have,
or eighty for the stronger ones;
and most of that is labour and sadness –
quickly they pass, and we are gone.
Who can comprehend the power of your wrath?
Who can behold the violence of your anger?
Teach us to reckon our days like this,
so that our hearts may be led at last to wisdom."
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Universalis: Morning Prayer (Lauds):
"All our days vanish in your anger,
we use up our years in a single breath.
Seventy years are what we have,
or eighty for the stronger ones;
and most of that is labour and sadness –
quickly they pass, and we are gone.
Who can comprehend the power of your wrath?
Who can behold the violence of your anger?
Teach us to reckon our days like this,
so that our hearts may be led at last to wisdom."
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Simple Woman
Outside my window...
Clear skies and cold.
I am thinking...
about the Duggar Family show premier on television last night, mainly because it reminded me of a discussion I had here where some insisted that because of extremely high blood pressure, having a cesarean to deliver a pre-term baby was too dangerous and only the abortion procedure could/should be utilized. I had a lot of questions about that then. However while watching this scenario play out for the Duggars, there was never a question of the surgery being anything but lifesaving for Michelle. In fact they showed her a few days later and she looked so much better! I think the difference isn't really risk to the mother, but whether or not an effort wants to be made to deliver the child alive, and of course the Duggars did.
I am thankful for...
the return of Mr. Pete! I really missed him while he was away. Now my household feels complete again.
From the learning rooms...
We continue with The Screwtape Letters
and A Philadelphia Catholic in King James's Court
with Gabe in preparation for confirmation. I am moving Gabe to the end of General Science so that he can study anatomy with us. I added the assignment of reading through the Bravewriter Help for High School Course and we are going to pick up American History from 1877. I also picked up Gettysburg / Gods and Generals
for the older kids and movie day this week. From the kitchen...
trying a bunch of new things from Biggest Loser Family Cookbook: Budget-Friendly Meals Your Whole Family Will Love
. Quite a few goodies in there!I am wearing...
Gray Sweat paints and a white sweatshirt
I am creating...
a candel light dinner for Candlemas tomorrow
I am going...
to try out all the FIRM tapes I got on ebay last week. Yesterday Izzy and Rosie and I did The Firm: Body Sculpting System - Cardio Sculpt
together. I don't know what was more aerobic- the actual workout or trying to get out of the way of Rosie's enthusiastic upper extremities holding on to 2 pound weights!I can remember when I was a little girl exercising with my mom while she worked out with the Jack LaLane show back in the 60s. I have come full circle!
I am reading...
The Divine Office for Dodos: A Step-By-Step Guide to Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
Going Rogue: An American Life
I am hoping...
to get to mass twice this week, once for Candlemas and one for St. Blaze. I am also wishing my good friend Twana a very happy birthday!
I am hearing...
The Printer.
Around the house...
quiet - time to get everyone up!
A few plans for the rest of the week:
finish cleaning my office, hit my goal for my typing and getting a lot of laundry done!
A picture I am sharing:
I watched this fascinating PBS special last night about the American Sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Towards the end of his life he was commissioned to do a cemetery piece for a friend whose wife had committed suicide. He was asked to look at some Buddhist art for inspiration. The best picture I could find of this beautiful piece was on Flickr.
Adams Memorial 1925
Originally uploaded by NCinDC
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Saturday, January 30, 2010
My Domestic Church Daily Clips 01/31/2010
Yesterday General Hospital finally gave us one of the best scenes ever! and who know that Maurice Bernard could really act! Love the music in the background for this too. The good stuff starts about two minutes in to the clip. Adorable baby girl in this scene too.
7 Quicktakes- the Saturday Edition
Join Jen and the other Quicktakers over at the Conversion Diary.
1. A very interesting discussion (albeit one sided) of the Tim Tebow ad that has been bought and paid for and will appear during the Super Bowl. Apparently Focus on the Family has sponsored the add that will present a very pro-life message. Mr. Tebow's mother was advised to abort him for medical reasons, but chose to continue her pregnancy. Tim Tebow today refers to his mom as a brave woman.
I found one comment so interesting in the discussion. It was made by a mom who had suffered a stillbirth, and didn't think she could to through delivering another dead baby, and so she chose to abort. I followed the link to her blog and she is of course still grieving for her loss. Abortion didn't ease that sting. She still advocates for it though.
Having lived through a stillbirth myself I remember how heartbreaking it was, but I received much solace from having my baby's remains and being able to give him a burial and to have a place to visit him. I just can't wrap my mind around how abortion would be more comforting than that.
2. Sam has been picking up some extra cash by helping a neighbor out with her pooper scooper business. They go to homes and clean up the pet droppings in the back yard. Sometimes they are even paid to give an animal a walk and Sam said one of their clients pays them to come in and play with the dog for a while after they feed it while the owner is at school. Sure it's not a glamorous job, but it is a much appreciated service that people pay for and Sam has made enough in the past two weeks to pay for his own guitar lessons and cover the costs of the soccer class he is taking again today.
3. Speaking of soccer reffing - Sam took one whole day course last week and is now qualified to ref U14 soccer games. He is taking the bridge course today that will allow him to ref older games as he gets more confidence and experience. I'm hoping he can get a lot of games and make his own money this spring so that we can really start socking it away in his savings account!
The thing about these reffing classes it that they are few and far between! When I saw this course offered I jumped on it and instantly paid the $65 for the course. It was offered in a little town about 40 minutes from here. Then last week, after he had already taken the first class, the powers that be offered another one - about 15 minutes from home! sigh... I just can't catch a break I guess. But at least he will be done this weekend.
4. This week has shown me however that I really, really, really need Sam to get his driver's license. Mr. Pete has been gone since Wednesday and the responsibility for everything has fallen to me. Lessons, activities, church, trips to the grocery store - all of it. Mr. Pete wants to hold off for insurance reasons, but as he takes a couple of these trips a year, and as our oldest is no help whatsoever, I think I'm going to take this matter into my own hands and help Sam get his license, even if it means that I cover the insurance by myself for a while.
5. As an example, last night Sam and Gabe were playing for a youth retreat at church. I took them and dropped them off, knowing that I was going to have to pick up Sam later because he had to go to his class in the morning. But Gabe, in all the excitement of getting his drum set packed into the van, forgot his sleeping bag and I was going to have to take it to him. So I asked my soon-to-be 21-year-old oldest child if he would be so kind as to deliver the sleeping bag, and then bring Sam home. Without any hesitation at all he literally told me no, "I have a life mom." and he left to join his friends for bowling. . I ended up having to leave my three youngest kids at 10 to pick up Sam. So many things went spinning through my head by first and foremost was that next year, Sam was going to be able to drive to this thing by himself!
6. The second thing was - I am really ready for my oldest to leave. I thought I would be sad about it and maybe even cry a little bit - and I still might, but I think for the most part I'm over it. Somehow, some way, this kid got it into his head that life is about him. It's his world, and we're just a part of it. I mentioned to him a few weeks ago that it seems to me that he sees himself as the center of the universe and his family as the satellites in his orbit.
"That's right mom. Except for Sarah (his girlfriend), she is in the innermost circle of that orbit," he said.
"That just means she has to move faster, and work harder. Been there, done that." I replied.
Anyway he has a move out date for next month and his siblings are excited about it. That says something.
7. Heard Dawn Stefanowicz, the author of Out From Under: The Impact of Homosexual Parenting
, on Catholic radio today. It was a fascinating discussion about her life and research. She has links to blogs of adult children who tell it from their perspective.
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Visit my new Amazon Store!
1. A very interesting discussion (albeit one sided) of the Tim Tebow ad that has been bought and paid for and will appear during the Super Bowl. Apparently Focus on the Family has sponsored the add that will present a very pro-life message. Mr. Tebow's mother was advised to abort him for medical reasons, but chose to continue her pregnancy. Tim Tebow today refers to his mom as a brave woman.
I found one comment so interesting in the discussion. It was made by a mom who had suffered a stillbirth, and didn't think she could to through delivering another dead baby, and so she chose to abort. I followed the link to her blog and she is of course still grieving for her loss. Abortion didn't ease that sting. She still advocates for it though.
Having lived through a stillbirth myself I remember how heartbreaking it was, but I received much solace from having my baby's remains and being able to give him a burial and to have a place to visit him. I just can't wrap my mind around how abortion would be more comforting than that.
2. Sam has been picking up some extra cash by helping a neighbor out with her pooper scooper business. They go to homes and clean up the pet droppings in the back yard. Sometimes they are even paid to give an animal a walk and Sam said one of their clients pays them to come in and play with the dog for a while after they feed it while the owner is at school. Sure it's not a glamorous job, but it is a much appreciated service that people pay for and Sam has made enough in the past two weeks to pay for his own guitar lessons and cover the costs of the soccer class he is taking again today.
3. Speaking of soccer reffing - Sam took one whole day course last week and is now qualified to ref U14 soccer games. He is taking the bridge course today that will allow him to ref older games as he gets more confidence and experience. I'm hoping he can get a lot of games and make his own money this spring so that we can really start socking it away in his savings account!
The thing about these reffing classes it that they are few and far between! When I saw this course offered I jumped on it and instantly paid the $65 for the course. It was offered in a little town about 40 minutes from here. Then last week, after he had already taken the first class, the powers that be offered another one - about 15 minutes from home! sigh... I just can't catch a break I guess. But at least he will be done this weekend.
4. This week has shown me however that I really, really, really need Sam to get his driver's license. Mr. Pete has been gone since Wednesday and the responsibility for everything has fallen to me. Lessons, activities, church, trips to the grocery store - all of it. Mr. Pete wants to hold off for insurance reasons, but as he takes a couple of these trips a year, and as our oldest is no help whatsoever, I think I'm going to take this matter into my own hands and help Sam get his license, even if it means that I cover the insurance by myself for a while.
5. As an example, last night Sam and Gabe were playing for a youth retreat at church. I took them and dropped them off, knowing that I was going to have to pick up Sam later because he had to go to his class in the morning. But Gabe, in all the excitement of getting his drum set packed into the van, forgot his sleeping bag and I was going to have to take it to him. So I asked my soon-to-be 21-year-old oldest child if he would be so kind as to deliver the sleeping bag, and then bring Sam home. Without any hesitation at all he literally told me no, "I have a life mom." and he left to join his friends for bowling. . I ended up having to leave my three youngest kids at 10 to pick up Sam. So many things went spinning through my head by first and foremost was that next year, Sam was going to be able to drive to this thing by himself!
6. The second thing was - I am really ready for my oldest to leave. I thought I would be sad about it and maybe even cry a little bit - and I still might, but I think for the most part I'm over it. Somehow, some way, this kid got it into his head that life is about him. It's his world, and we're just a part of it. I mentioned to him a few weeks ago that it seems to me that he sees himself as the center of the universe and his family as the satellites in his orbit.
"That's right mom. Except for Sarah (his girlfriend), she is in the innermost circle of that orbit," he said.
"That just means she has to move faster, and work harder. Been there, done that." I replied.
Anyway he has a move out date for next month and his siblings are excited about it. That says something.
7. Heard Dawn Stefanowicz, the author of Out From Under: The Impact of Homosexual Parenting
, on Catholic radio today. It was a fascinating discussion about her life and research. She has links to blogs of adult children who tell it from their perspective. Please browse my eBay items!
Visit my new Amazon Store!
Friday, January 29, 2010
My Domestic Church Daily Clips 01/30/2010
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