October 2009 Archives

SRSLY.

Maybe I'll give this recipe a try.

This is an awesome option too. And the Fraters -- optissime.

FTC disclaimer: No bennies to me. I just like fruitcake.

There are things I have to do, that I don't want to do, but I must do. The first part is just the practicality of getting them done. The second is dealing with the initial repercussions, but later, well, I haven't got much of a choice.

This is SO COOL:

A third century Syrian text mentions a cloth that is associated with the miraculous cure of King Abgar V, ruler of Edessa (13-59 A.D.), now called Urfa, in southeastern Turkey. This story was translated almost verbatim by Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, in his Ecclesiastical History in 325 A.D.

...Thaddeus brought a cloth to Abgar [who was ill] bearing an image of the face of Jesus. Upon seeing this cloth, Abgar was cured, and the Christian Faith was established in the city.

RTWT. You know how St Jude is often portrayed holding an image of the Lord over his heart?...

"...it is important to reserve a certain time each day for meditation on the Bible so that the Word of God will be the lamp that illuminates our daily path on earth."

Novena to St. Jude: Desperate Cases and Hopeless Situations

Novena To St. Jude

Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult cases, of things almost despaired of, Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone.
Intercede with God for me that He bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly -
(make your request here)
- and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.
Amen

PRAYER

May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, and loved in all the tabernacles until the end of time. Amen.

May the most Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised and glorified now and forever. Amen

St. Jude pray for us and hear our prayers. Amen.

Blessed be the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Blessed be the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Blessed be St. Jude Thaddeus, in all the world and for all Eternity.
(say this prayer, followed by the Our Father and the Hail Mary)

1 Seeing the crowds, he went onto the mountain. And when he was seated his disciples came to him.
2 Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
3 How blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth as inheritance.
5 Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill.
7 Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognised as children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 'Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.

~Matthew 5:3-12

Very refreshing to read this in the Post (about all that creepy Obama art.)

From The American Catholic:

Today is the feast day of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, canonized by Pope Paul VI on October 25, 1970. These very brave men and women were martyred for the True Faith in England and Wales between 1535 and 1679, and they are representative of hundreds of Catholics in these countries who went to their death rather than to renounce their Catholicism.

Quoth my husband: "Bet they're happy this week!"

Damian Thompson:

This is astonishing news. Pope Benedict XVI has created an entirely new Church structure for disaffected Anglicans that will allow them to worship together – using elements of Anglican liturgy – under the pastoral supervision of their own specially appointed bishop or senior priest.

The Pope is now offering Anglicans worldwide “corporate reunion” on terms that will delight Anglo-Catholics. In theory, they can have their own married priests, parishes and bishops – and they will be free of liturgical interference by liberal Catholic bishops who are unsympathetic to their conservative stance.

I hope that many, many Anglican congregations take advantage of this.

That's how much it is at this writing!

Proceeds go to the Pansy Fund.

For the intentions of Pansy and her family, that God's will be done in this situation
For the repose of the soul of my great-aunt, and for guidance for her surviving sister
For a new job for my brother-in-law, who was just laid off

1. Make the Sign of the Cross

2. Say the Act of Contrition. Ask pardon for your sins and make a firm promise not to commit them again.

O my God I am heartily sorry for having offended you. I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell. But most of all, because I offended you, oh my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen

3. Say the first 3 decades of the Rosary.

4. Make the meditation of the day

Meditation for Day 3:

Meditating Mother, Queen of heaven, in whose hands the treasures of the King are found, turn your merciful eyes upon me today. I entrust into your holy hands this knot in my life...and all the rancor and resentment it has caused in me. I ask Your forgiveness, God the Father, for my sin. Help me now to forgive all the persons who consciously or unconsciously provoked this knot. Give me, also, the grace to forgive myself for having provoked this knot. Only in this way can You undo it. Before You, dearest Mother, and in the name of Your Son Jesus, my Savior, who has suffered so many offenses, having been granted forgiveness, I now forgive these persons...and myself, forever. Thank you, Mary, Undoer of Knots for undoing the knot of rancor in my heart and the knot which I now present to you. Amen.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me.

Turn to Mary, you who desire grace.

5. Say the last 2 decades of the rosary

6. Finish with the Prayer to Our Lady the Undoer of Knots:

PRAYER TO MARY, UNDOER OF KNOTS (Closing Prayer)

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.

You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.

Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life.

No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.

Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot...I beg you to undo it for the glory of God, once for all, You are my hope.

O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains.

Hear my plea.

Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

1. Make the Sign of the Cross

2. Say the Act of Contrition. Ask pardon for your sins and make a firm promise not to commit them again.

O my God I am heartily sorry for having offended you. I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell. But most of all, because I offended you, oh my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen

3. Say the first 3 decades of the Rosary.

4. Make the meditation of the day

Meditation for Day 2:

Mary, Beloved Mother, channel of all grace, I return to You today my heart, recognizing that I am a sinner in need of your help. Many times I lose the graces you grant me because of my sins of egoism, pride, rancor and my lack of generosity and humility. I turn to You today, Mary, Undoer of knots, for You to ask your Son Jesus to grant me a pure, divested, humble and trusting heart. I will live today practicing these virtues and offering you this as a sign of my love for You. I entrust into Your hands this knot (...describe) which keeps me from reflecting the glory of God.

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me.

5. Say the last 2 decades of the rosary

6. Finish with the Prayer to Our Lady the Undoer of Knots:

PRAYER TO MARY, UNDOER OF KNOTS (Closing Prayer)

Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine love and immense mercy that exists in your heart, cast your compassionate eyes upon me and see the snarl of knots that exist in my life.

You know very well how desperate I am, my pain and how I am bound by these knots.

Mary, Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of his children, I entrust into your hands the ribbon of my life.

No one, not even the Evil One himself, can take it away from your precious care. In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.

Powerful Mother, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son and My Liberator, Jesus, take into your hands today this knot...I beg you to undo it for the glory of God, once for all, You are my hope.

O my Lady, you are the only consolation God gives me, the fortification of my feeble strength, the enrichment of my destitution and with Christ the freedom from my chains.

Hear my plea.

Keep me, guide me, protect me, o safe refuge!

1. Got to talk to Pansy today. She's holding up.

2. Note to self:

3. Baking adventure this week: a Weight Watchers recipe for biscotti. Not a success.

4. Highlight of the day (besides going to Adoration and talking to Pansy): getting a new trash can for the kitchen.

5. Rosie O'Donnell is pretty controversial, what with her keen insight into metallurgy and all. If she wanted to buy into an NFL team, would she be allowed?

6. Dan Snyder reminds me of a kid who plants a bean and then digs it up every day to see if it's growing, plants it again in a different place, fertilizes it, and gives it a gallon of water.

7. Started a novena today for Pansy that I found at Adoro Te Devote: a novena to Our Lady, the Undoer of Knots.

Interracial couple denied marriage license in La.

"I don't do interracial marriages because I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves," Bardwell said. "In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer."

Yeah, like later when they grow up, and want to marry a person, of well, any race because if a mixed person marries anyone, it's automatically "interracial", and they meet this guy for a marriage license-yep, that'll be annoying.

I wanted to drop a note and say thank you for all your love, support and generosity...and PRAYERS! You cannot imagine how much it is helping me. There are times I just feel so. alone. going through all this and then I read your kind words...

I suppose I can't relay too many details, but the prayers are for discernment, strength and guidance and I still am not sure where I am supposed to be from one minute to the next. My family still keeps me just as busy as they did last week and that's always a given. There's more to come, that's for sure, but right here, right now, this second, I'm doing OK and that has a huge part to do with the kindness and support I have been shown. Not even exaggerating. Thank you.

Christians are in the world, but not of the world. We belong to God, and our home is heaven. But we‟re here for a reason: to change the world, for the sake of the world, in the name of Jesus Christ. That work belongs to each of us. Nobody else will do it for us. And the idea that we can somehow accomplish that work of changing the world without engaging -- in a hands-on way -- the laws, the structures, the public policies, the habits of mind and the root causes that sustain injustice in our nation, is a delusion.

1. Jen: 20 Things I learned in my week without my computer

2. Fr. Thomas Hopko: 55 Maxims for Christian Living

It's a cake!
With six layers!
It looks like a rainbow!

Notice how Ian marvels!

Today is Ian's 14 birthday! Happy Birthday, Ian! I am so proud of you!

The cake is "white" cake with a lemon buttercream frosting. Ian said it reminded him of Froot Loops.

Recipe stolen from this very fun blog!

Prissy moralism as a weird kind of sumptuary law:

...[L]ife is soft enough that our over-educated upper-middle classes are able to do away with moral codes that serve a purpose, and adopt more byzantine ones which demonstrate their freedom from concern. I see this as a form of conspicuous consumption, a status marker for viewing themselves above the lower orders....

The idea that “brains” will make a better world is deeply ingrained. The problem, of course, with higher education is that it is a world removed from consequence. You can believe any fool thing you like if you’re an academic.

Well, it's out.

Pansy: "My 36-year old husband has been cheating on me with a 22-year old girl. He is leaving us for her (we have been married 15 1/2 years and have seven children). If that isn't bad enough, he is home now and is berating me and telling me why it is all my fault. I found conversations between he and this girl where they laugh at me behind my back. I knew it was going on for some time, but I found the evidence and it all came to a head a few hours ago. I have to change my life in the next few hours practically, financially, deal with this emotionally and all the above and I don't know how I can take my next breath."

Please, please, please pray for Pansy and her family.

And, to answer a question, if you wish to help Pansy temporally:

If you want to do your Amazon shopping through our referral link (right sidebar), every penny of that goes to Pansy as well.

If you think the name "Jesus" continually, it purges your sin and kindles your heart; it clarifies your soul, it removes anger and does away with slowness. It wounds in love and fulfills charity. It chases the devil and puts out dread. It opens heaven, and makes you a contemplative. It puts all vices and phantoms out from the lover.

Richard Rolle

HT Julie

1

Is it bad to be fond of shopping when it's for someone else's benefit? Our parish is a little lacking in attractive platters and bowls for receptions and other social events. So I've started trolling thrift stores and online auctions, and have gotten a little carried away in the cheap silverplate department. But I really, really love china and silver and all those pretty things, and since I don't need anything for myself, it's so gratifying to be able to take advantage of these bargains for a good cause.

Why yes, I do subscribe to Victoria magazine, why do you ask?

His Serene Overlordship has a post that somehow wandered off into coarse language and when and whether it's sinful. My own thought on this (and of course you want to hear it) is that letting loose with the Anglo-Saxon four-letter words can be a sin against charity. I made a very conscious effort to break the habit of four-letter words of any kind when I was doing bedside nursing. An orderly happened to come in the med room when I had my back to the door, concentrating on something; I was startled and burst out, "Oh my --" and managed to shut my mouth. The orderly just shook his head and said, "I know what you were going to say."

Well, I was embarrassed, and I started working hard to root "Oh my God" and the four-letter words out of my personal promptorium, just as a matter of professionalism; having an "oh s#!t" slide out when you drop something or see something inconvenient on the telemetry screen doesn't do much for the nurse-patient relationship. Losing the habit has served me well. And if I sound like a prude when I come out with Dagnabbit! or That stinks, well, so be it; it's easier than constantly watching my mouth and worrying about exactly when four-letter words and saying "Oh my God!" when surprised becomes sinful.

Clone Wars! I like Bane's hat and that long duster thing he wears. My husband likes Asoka about as much as he likes Hermione in the Harry Potter movies -- not much -- and predicts that the Admiral is going to turn.

Jen notes that Fertility, Cycles & Nutrition 4th Edition">Fertility, Cycles, and Nutrition is out in the 4th edition! I see Amazon is cross-promoting it with Optivite. I was doing Optivite for a while but I had real trouble gagging down those horse pills; maybe I should try it again. Virginians might be able to order Optivite and all those other super-vitamins from the DMC Pharmacy.

Can I do only six quick takes and still have it count?

If you can spare a couple of prayers tonight, please send one up for Pansy's intentions (because I'm thinking of her) and for the soul of my paternal grandmother, God rest her querulous but well-meaning soul. October 2 is my grandmother's birthday. The first holy card I ever owned was a gift from my grandmother; I was attracted to the pretty flowers on the card and Grandma was extra happy to give it to me because St Therese was her patron saint.

See where you stand at http://www.globalrichlist.com/

HT: Jen