Peony Moss: August 2004 Archives

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with with confidence, I fly to you, O virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

Trimmers and tweens

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Yesterday I taught an album-making class for five young ladies (aged 8 - 12 ) and one mom (I didn't ask her how old she was.) What a blast! The girls did such a great job. They loved using the little trimmers (wee paper cutters) to crop their pictures and they quickly got the knack of focusing on the important parts but not cutting out too much. One young lady chose a photo of her dad holding her as a newborn; when she cropped it, she made sure to include part of the hospital bassinet to make it clear when the photo was taken.

If only I could fully describe the charm of the eight year old's album page with her careful printing: This is me when I was eight months old...

There was one part I wish I had handled a bit better. I was suprised by how afraid some of the girls were to write captions for their pictures. One young lady was just sitting and staring at her page... and staring... and staring... I started to encourage her to resist perfectionism but then it occurred to me to ask her if she knew what the word "perfectionism" meant. She didn't, so I explained it was being so afraid to make a mistake that you never get started. She kept staring at the paper. I was getting a little impatient -- the class was running way too long and I was getting a bit peckish. Finally, I invited her to just tell me about her pictures. At first she was hesitant, but as she warmed up she launched into a delightful tale about swimming with her dad in the deep end of the pool. I wrote down what she had told me and showed it to her, and soon she was happily writing away. So I guess now I am a creative writing teacher.

Literary Either/Or

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Hardback or Paperback
Highlight or Underline
Lewis or Tolkien
E.B. White or A.A. Milne
T.S. Eliot or e.e. cummings
Stephen King or Dean Koontz
Barnes & Noble or Borders
Waldenbooks or B. Dalton
Fantasy or Science Fiction
Horror or Suspense
Bookmark or Dogear
Large Print or Fine Print
Hemingway or Faulkner
Fitzgerald or Steinbeck
Homer or Plato
Geoffrey Chaucer or Edmund Spenser
Pen or Pencil
Looseleaf or Notepad
Alphabetize: By Author or By Title
Shelve: By Genre/Subject or All Books Together
Dustjacket: Leave it On or Take it Off
Novella or Epic
John Grisham or Scott Turrow
J.K. Rowling or Lemony Snicket (I plan to read Snicket soon!)
John Irving or John Updike
Salman Rushdie or Don Delillo
Fiction or Non-fiction
Historical Biography or Historical Romance
Reading Pace: A Few Pages per Sitting or Finish at Least a Chapter
Short Story or Creative Non-fiction Essay
Blah Blah Blah or Yada Yada Yada
It was a dark and stormy night or Once upon a timeBooks: Buy or Borrow
Book Reviews or Word of Mouth

Thanks to MamaT

I've got it!

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Mama Owl and Papa Honk should name their new baby Pio Goliath!

Alas, I was too late with this inspiration, and Davey's little brother has been named Thomas Matthew. Thomas and his mommy are back home now.

What TSO said

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...I said, "how do you explain how bad things are now compared to the way things were before the Council?". And she had a ready reply that I didn't expect - she said that Protestants were much better before the Council too, at least as measured by divorce rates and crime and other indicators.

It appears that it was the culture that swamped the Church and I've suspected that one way to have avoided the culture's devasting influence was not to blame the Council but to have avoided affluence. Affluence brought us the suburbs, which brought us out of our Catholic ghetto and into the larger culture. When JFK became president and Catholics were perceived as acceptable, we seemed to lose our way. We became influenced by the culture instead of influencing the culture. And the cost has been enormous.

A Novena for Terri: Day 1

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Father Johansen notes that August 31 is an important day for Terri: the Florida Supremes will hear arguments as to the constitutionality of "Terri's Law", and Judge Greer will face re-election.

He proposes a novena to Our Lady, Health of the Sick (whose feast day is August 28) for Terri's intentions. More details (including lots of important information on Terri's legal fight) at Thrown Back.

Happy Birthday to...

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Hurricane Report

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Dear Mr Luse emerges from the rubble to tell us about his experiences with Hurricane Charley, complete with jaw-dropping photograph.

It's a boy!

I got a call from Papa this afternoon! Davey's little brother was born at 8:58 this morning. They haven't picked a name yet; I naturally suggested Pius but Papa wasn't sure he liked the ring of "this is Davey and his little brother, Pius."
But perhaps he will reconsider.

The little one weighed in at 8 pounds 4.3 ounces and is 21 inches tall. Mama's birth plans did not go quite as smoothly as she had hoped, but overall she and Papa are much happier with the way things went this time around.

They asked me to pass on their thanks for prayers; they do ask continued prayers for Mama's recovery and for their little one. Little Pius is in the neonatal step-down unit; there were some worrisome signs and they are making sure he doesn't have an infection. But hopefully he'll get to go home on schedule.

Meanwhile....

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there's something out there that's happening even as I write, and it's something really cool and exciting, and I don't have permission to blab. So I'll just have to end Friday on a cliffhanger.

UPDATE: Steven has the news, so now I can say it too: Davey's brother or sister is on the way!

Tale of a Friday

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Made it to the County Fair with Hambet today. He seemed to enjoy it, at least some of the time. I love fairs but I don't like crowds and I hate intense heat, which poses a bit of a problem because fairs tend to attract crowds and have this strange pattern of always being held in the late summer.

So I have developed a plan. I try to arrive very early and park close to the street that divides the agricultural part of the fair from the hated midway. First I take Hambet to see the fire engines (this year, three pumper engines, but alas, no tower engine or inflatable slide. Thanks to Firefighter Mike who let him sit in the cab.) That way I can get through the midway before it starts to open and avoid having to deal with it.

Then we start looking at the animals. We saw the goats and sheep, and then went to the petting area, where Hambet got to offer treats to the sheep and the greedy llamas, who snarfed up all the kibble in the cup and then ignored him as soon as they saw we didn't have any more. While we were there, we saw a small, gravid goat who was walking around loose and casually eating her fill of kibble out of the big barrel. It was uncanny watching her enormous abdomen -- it stuck out a good eight inches on either side, and she was a little thing -- dramatically change shape as her fetus changed position. It was like some kind of CGI effect.

A pony ride, which delighted Hambet, and then more animals. By now it was starting to get hot. Some Kerry lackey offered me a sticker; I probably should have exercised a bit more charity in my refusal, or used that line I keep thinking up and forgetting about but I'm an anti-choice extremist! The Republicans had a booth too -- this weird idea of having two political parties seems to be gaining a little traction in Maryland -- but they really need to get better doo-dads. The Donkey team had big boards of buttons, but all the Republicans had were lame bumper stickers.

Right to Life of Maryland had a great location for their booth this year, right on one of the main paths, and had a genial lady working the booth today, drawing in passersby by offering balloons to the kids. So I signed up for the mailing list.

Paul really liked the National Guard's booth and had a great time checking out the howitzers and the Humvee. He really wanted to walk the Boy Scout's rope bridge, but he got too timid at the top of the ladder leading to the end of the bridge. Maybe next year.

I could spend hours and hours at the fair just gazing at the quilts and the livestock. I'm always surprised that Hambet isn't more interested in the animals, but I guess when you're so little there's only so many sheep in pens you can look at and not get bored. He was a good sport about looking at the quilts, maybe because we were looking for a quilt that a friend made and exhibited. (It took third place!)

I was amazed at his interest in the antique farm machinery (my mother will be so proud.) The "Old-Timers" had a blacksmithing demonstration going, and he really liked that.

I love seeing the little displays that the 4-H kids make to go with their animal pens. I was surprised, though -- usually every year, every other pig has an elaborate spider web made of yarn decorating its pen, complete with "SOME PIG" woven into it. But no Charlotte's Web themes this year! Maybe the advisors were tired of it.

Two pens, though, were completely decked out in a purple-and-silver "Hoggy Potter" theme, with the pigs named Hermoine, Ron, and so on. In another barn, a delicate white goat bore the name Galadriel (complete with a rune-like decoration around her label, though I wonder if those were Dwarvish characters and not Elvish? I would have to look it up.)

I didn't haul home too much in the way of pamphlets and freebies -- just a couple of pencils and a coloring book. We did indulge in a little fair food -- just ice cream and lemonade. Call me a heretic, but I just can't get excited about funnel cake. And someone is going to have to explain to me what an Oreo gains by being dipped in batter and then deep-fried.

"Do-Nothing Feminism"

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Suppose your life a folded telescope
Durationless, collapsed in just a flash
As from your mother's womb you, bawling, drop
Into a nursing home. Suppose you crash
Your car, your marriage—toddler laying waste
A field of daisies, schoolkid, zit-faced teen
With lover zipping up your pants in haste
Hearing your parents' tread downstairs—all one.

Einstein was right. That would be too intense.
You need a chance to preen, to give a dull
Recital before an indifferent audience
Equally slow in jeering you and clapping.
Time takes its time unraveling. But, still,
You'll wonder when your life ends: Huh? What happened?

--X.J. Kennedy

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

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Converting sinners

Instructing the ignorant

Advising the doubtful

Comforting the sorrowful

Bearing wrongs patiently

Forgiving injuries

Praying for the living and dead

"Find yourself a cup; the

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"Find yourself a cup; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things." -- Saki; used as the banner quote for What's Brewing, the blog with an adorable URL.

Father Tharp on Overpopulation

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MUST remember this next time someone starts prating to me about overpopulation:

On the issue of overpopulation and starvation, I know an equally viable and more profitable way to bring that to a close. The world governments can set a mandatory death date of 60.5 years. On that day, the government agency will euthanize you for no charge in the presence of all your loved ones. Think of all the money we would save on medical care for you. Then after your loved ones leave, we will send your corpse to a rendering plant where it will be turned into a savory paste.

Actually, this used to be accomplished naturally, before the anti-smoking push and the advances in medicine and palliative care. Smokers would pay into society's coffers all through their working years, and then perish of cancer right as they approached their retirement years, never to draw a penny of their pension. But now fewer people smoke, and those that do live longer if they get sick. So perhaps a more expedient solution -- dare I say a modest solution -- to "overpopulation" is to subsidize cigarettes and ration health care for chronic illnesses. (That seems to be Russia's plan, anyway.)

Just think -- quitting those anti-smoking ads would free up additional funds for other public health projects, like persecuting the obese. This plan would also help to address the problem of urban sprawl, as it would make it more profitable to farm tobacco instead of selling the land to developers.

For once, it worked

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I actually remembered one of those blogged "notes to myself". Bach, coffee, crafts. Bach, coffee, crafts. But not sewing. It stresses me out too much.

When my day starts with demeanor somewhere between Lois from Malcolm in the Middle and that kid from The Exorcist...

yes! YES! That's me this morning! YES!

...sack time is not what is called for.

no, no, don't tell me that!

Time for a little spiritual readjustment.

Sigh. Pull myself together and act like a grownup. Do I hafta?

The one parenting resolution I try never, ever, ever, ever to break is Never Make an Idle Threat. I was going to take Hambet to the County Fair today, but he refused to come to breakfast, finish his milk, or get dressed. So we're not going.

But I don't get the impression that he cares -- he probably doesn't remember the fair all too well from last year. So I will be the only one sulking.

our condolences...

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...to Joshua Claybourn on the loss of his mother.

Search no more

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Every so often, we get a hit from someone searching for

Franklin + Jennings + blog

I'd been trying to come up with something amusing (it's been a while since I did a funny search string post), but I'm happier to be able to just supply the link at last.

Classical Music 101 and 102

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“I’d like to learn more about classical music but haven’t any idea how to go about it. What would you suggest?”

I would suggest heading straight over to Vociferous Yawpings, where Mark Windsor has started a great series of posts answering precisely that question

Classical Music 101
Classical Music 102

Julia Child dead at age 91.

What a remarkable life!

Erik's tribute is up. I eagerly await his tribute menu.

Whenever leg of lamb's on the menu, I pull out The Way to Cook. I use the mustard rub for the butterflied roast, and use her Scotch Broth recipe for the shank meat and the bones.

Assumption Novena: Day 8

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Please join us in this month's novena for the Assumption. Intentions will be listed in the extended entry; please feel free to add your own intentions in the comments box.
Nathan is also doing a novena for the Assumption.

National Shrine : Assumption Novena

Novena Prayer in Honor of the Assumption of Mary

Mary, full of grace, all generations rejoice to call you blessed and to acknowledge the great things that God your Savior has done for you. In preserving you from the stain of sin, God already prepared you to be taken to the place that had been readied for you in heaven. As we commemorate this Assumption of your body and soul into heaven, we recall that you intercede for us powerfully in your reign as Queen of the Universe and that you remember us tenderly as Mother of the Church. Seeking the help of your power and the consolation of your gentle compassion, we ask that you join us in praying for the intentions that we now entrust to your loving attention.

As you join in presenting these petitions to our Father in heaven, pray too that we may accept God's response to our petitions with the spirit of joy that marked your life on earth and which now fills your soul in heaven. Help us to long for our own heavenly inheritance, so that we might join with you in praising God's goodness forever. Amen.

For protection for those threatened by the hurricanes.

Happy Anniversary to...

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Kathy the Carmelite and her husband!

Darn!

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We had a gully-washer of a thunderstorm yesterday afternoon. In my neighborhood, there was a lot of rain, but it came and went quickly. The sun was actually coming out when my husband called, wanting to know if we were okay.

I told him, yes, we'd had a little rain, but nothing terrible. He didn't seem to believe me so I told him again, yup, just some heavy rain.

That was when he told me that in his office in downtown DC, he couldn't see across the street (and the Smithsonian museum across the street is hard to miss) for the wind, the rain, and the marble-sized hail. That must have been the same storm that took out Zorak and the OO's car.

I need to run some errands this afternoon, and then plan to lie low as we get a taste of Bonnie. I've added intentions for those in the paths of the two hurricanes to the Assumption Novena.

Assumption Novena: Day 7

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Please join us in this month's novena for the Assumption. Intentions will be listed in the extended entry; please feel free to add your own intentions in the comments box.
Nathan is also doing a novena for the Assumption.

National Shrine : Assumption Novena

Novena Prayer in Honor of the Assumption of Mary

Mary, full of grace, all generations rejoice to call you blessed and to acknowledge the great things that God your Savior has done for you. In preserving you from the stain of sin, God already prepared you to be taken to the place that had been readied for you in heaven. As we commemorate this Assumption of your body and soul into heaven, we recall that you intercede for us powerfully in your reign as Queen of the Universe and that you remember us tenderly as Mother of the Church. Seeking the help of your power and the consolation of your gentle compassion, we ask that you join us in praying for the intentions that we now entrust to your loving attention.

As you join in presenting these petitions to our Father in heaven, pray too that we may accept God's response to our petitions with the spirit of joy that marked your life on earth and which now fills your soul in heaven. Help us to long for our own heavenly inheritance, so that we might join with you in praising God's goodness forever. Amen.

For protection for those threatened by the hurricanes.

Not much going on here.

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Just household stuff. I've been occupied with my little venture (which is proving to be a lot of fun), with guiding Hambet through the most recent developmental tasks, and with some other household projects. I took some pictures of the garden to post, but now the garden has grown so I'll have to take some more! I've harvested my first white eggplant and my first grape tomatoes. I've also made something like eight double batches of pesto with all my basil.

I did update the blogroll with A Call to Adventure's new address and with Dale and Heather Price's Domestic Bliss Report, which replaces their previous blog. I've also updated my reading list.

I am honored beyond words that Southern Appeal has honored us with membership in the Order of Pope Pius IX.

Haven't heard from Pansy for a while, I'll have to track her down.

This morning I am eagerly awaiting the UPS man -- greetings to the TSM reader who knows why! Hambet needs more fiber and vitamin A in his life, and I've been itching to bake something, so maybe I'll fire up the oven and bake some pumpkin muffins.

UPDATE: Made the muffins; nothing but the sound of contented munching from the kitchen. I made some "healthy" substitutions, including subbing whole wheat and white wheat flour for part of the all-purpose, and subbing flaxseed meal and canola oil for part of the melted butter. The muffins taste good, but then there's not much that pumpkin and chocolate can't transform.

And the UPS man came! Yay Mr Brown! So he got a muffin too.

For your idea file

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Sparki has all the details about Zooey's awesome Pirate Birthday Party! Arrrrr! And may ye be havin' a happy birthday, Zooey!

Our dear hobbit neighbor Zelie Bramble (formerly known as Jordan of A Call to Adventure) posted that recipe for Lemon-Herb Crock-Pot slow cooker chicken I asked for. While you're over there, perhaps you'd like to update your bookmark to her new spot?

Assumption Novena: Day 6

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Please join us in this month's novena for the Assumption. Intentions will be listed in the extended entry; please feel free to add your own intentions in the comments box.
Nathan is also doing a novena for the Assumption.

National Shrine : Assumption Novena

Novena Prayer in Honor of the Assumption of Mary

Mary, full of grace, all generations rejoice to call you blessed and to acknowledge the great things that God your Savior has done for you. In preserving you from the stain of sin, God already prepared you to be taken to the place that had been readied for you in heaven. As we commemorate this Assumption of your body and soul into heaven, we recall that you intercede for us powerfully in your reign as Queen of the Universe and that you remember us tenderly as Mother of the Church. Seeking the help of your power and the consolation of your gentle compassion, we ask that you join us in praying for the intentions that we now entrust to your loving attention.

As you join in presenting these petitions to our Father in heaven, pray too that we may accept God's response to our petitions with the spirit of joy that marked your life on earth and which now fills your soul in heaven. Help us to long for our own heavenly inheritance, so that we might join with you in praising God's goodness forever. Amen.

Assumption Novena: Day 5

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Please join us in this month's novena for the Assumption. Intentions will be listed in the extended entry; please feel free to add your own intentions in the comments box.
Nathan is also doing a novena for the Assumption.

National Shrine : Assumption Novena

Novena Prayer in Honor of the Assumption of Mary

Mary, full of grace, all generations rejoice to call you blessed and to acknowledge the great things that God your Savior has done for you. In preserving you from the stain of sin, God already prepared you to be taken to the place that had been readied for you in heaven. As we commemorate this Assumption of your body and soul into heaven, we recall that you intercede for us powerfully in your reign as Queen of the Universe and that you remember us tenderly as Mother of the Church. Seeking the help of your power and the consolation of your gentle compassion, we ask that you join us in praying for the intentions that we now entrust to your loving attention.

As you join in presenting these petitions to our Father in heaven, pray too that we may accept God's response to our petitions with the spirit of joy that marked your life on earth and which now fills your soul in heaven. Help us to long for our own heavenly inheritance, so that we might join with you in praising God's goodness forever. Amen.

Assumption Novena: Day 4

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Please join us in this month's novena for the Assumption. Intentions will be listed in the extended entry; please feel free to add your own intentions in the comments box.
Nathan is also doing a novena for the Assumption.

National Shrine : Assumption Novena

Novena Prayer in Honor of the Assumption of Mary

Mary, full of grace, all generations rejoice to call you blessed and to acknowledge the great things that God your Savior has done for you. In preserving you from the stain of sin, God already prepared you to be taken to the place that had been readied for you in heaven. As we commemorate this Assumption of your body and soul into heaven, we recall that you intercede for us powerfully in your reign as Queen of the Universe and that you remember us tenderly as Mother of the Church. Seeking the help of your power and the consolation of your gentle compassion, we ask that you join us in praying for the intentions that we now entrust to your loving attention.

As you join in presenting these petitions to our Father in heaven, pray too that we may accept God's response to our petitions with the spirit of joy that marked your life on earth and which now fills your soul in heaven. Help us to long for our own heavenly inheritance, so that we might join with you in praising God's goodness forever. Amen.

Assumption Novena: Day 3

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Please join us in this month's novena for the Assumption. Intentions will be listed in the extended entry; please feel free to add your own intentions in the comments box.
Nathan is also doing a novena for the Assumption.

National Shrine : Assumption Novena

Novena Prayer in Honor of the Assumption of Mary

Mary, full of grace, all generations rejoice to call you blessed and to acknowledge the great things that God your Savior has done for you. In preserving you from the stain of sin, God already prepared you to be taken to the place that had been readied for you in heaven. As we commemorate this Assumption of your body and soul into heaven, we recall that you intercede for us powerfully in your reign as Queen of the Universe and that you remember us tenderly as Mother of the Church. Seeking the help of your power and the consolation of your gentle compassion, we ask that you join us in praying for the intentions that we now entrust to your loving attention.

As you join in presenting these petitions to our Father in heaven, pray too that we may accept God's response to our petitions with the spirit of joy that marked your life on earth and which now fills your soul in heaven. Help us to long for our own heavenly inheritance, so that we might join with you in praising God's goodness forever. Amen.

Assumption Novena: Day 2

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Please join us in this month's novena for the Assumption. Intentions will be listed in the extended entry; please feel free to add your own intentions in the comments box.
Nathan is also doing a novena for the Assumption.

National Shrine : Assumption Novena

Novena Prayer in Honor of the Assumption of Mary

Mary, full of grace, all generations rejoice to call you blessed and to acknowledge the great things that God your Savior has done for you. In preserving you from the stain of sin, God already prepared you to be taken to the place that had been readied for you in heaven. As we commemorate this Assumption of your body and soul into heaven, we recall that you intercede for us powerfully in your reign as Queen of the Universe and that you remember us tenderly as Mother of the Church. Seeking the help of your power and the consolation of your gentle compassion, we ask that you join us in praying for the intentions that we now entrust to your loving attention.

As you join in presenting these petitions to our Father in heaven, pray too that we may accept God's response to our petitions with the spirit of joy that marked your life on earth and which now fills your soul in heaven. Help us to long for our own heavenly inheritance, so that we might join with you in praising God's goodness forever. Amen.

Assumption Novena: Day 1

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Pansy and I have long wanted to do a monthly novena on TSM. We made it in June, but I missed last month. Please join us in this month's novena. Intentions will be listed in the extended entry; please feel free to add your own intentions in the comments box.
Nathan is also doing a novena for the Assumption.

National Shrine : Assumption Novena

Novena Prayer in Honor of the Assumption of Mary

Mary, full of grace, all generations rejoice to call you blessed and to acknowledge the great things that God your Savior has done for you. In preserving you from the stain of sin, God already prepared you to be taken to the place that had been readied for you in heaven. As we commemorate this Assumption of your body and soul into heaven, we recall that you intercede for us powerfully in your reign as Queen of the Universe and that you remember us tenderly as Mother of the Church. Seeking the help of your power and the consolation of your gentle compassion, we ask that you join us in praying for the intentions that we now entrust to your loving attention.

As you join in presenting these petitions to our Father in heaven, pray too that we may accept God's response to our petitions with the spirit of joy that marked your life on earth and which now fills your soul in heaven. Help us to long for our own heavenly inheritance, so that we might join with you in praising God's goodness forever. Amen.

Prayer request for M'Lynn...

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Happy Birthday to...

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Mark Shea
and
Papa Honk! (aka Davey's Daddy)

Thank you, Curt Jester

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Courtesy of Erik, of course.

Erik presents these as a "belated" Friday Five at the end of a reflection on current politics. (Why admit to "belated" when one could present them as "early"?) Don't miss his notes on Alan Greenspan, jazz man, and Senator Clinton, embodied alien. The whole entry reminded me of a cocktail that somehow involved gin, a memoir, and the Weekly World News.

So here we go:

1. List in the comments' boxes seven people who should be held up to God as reasons not to smite Massachussetts.

Dylan. Dylan's mom, Mary Lou. Dom Betenelli. Kelly the Pew Lady. The nice people at Orchard House, Concord who let us use their phone again and again when our car got stuck there.

2. Help! Harvard lost some of the biggest fruitcakes on its faculty to Princeton. In honor of the occasion, create some sort of award for Cornel West.

Wachowski Prize for Cinematic Dilettantism Presented as Pompous Post-modern Profundity

3. Write an all-rhymed acceptance speech for Professor West.

When we learned he was the One
The good part was done.

More later if I have time and inspiration

4. Earn a chance at being a sportscaster for a day! California and Massachussetts seem locked in a fanatical battle to lead the world into complete moral decay. In your best adrenaline-charged voice, narrate events. C'mon. Give it your all! Give it all you've got! Give 110% and don't forget the basic fundamentals. Remember the goal of this football game is to get the football, to move the football over the goal line, and then to kick it between goal posts. It all boils down to the team that does this the most, wins the game. Any comment, Pat?

I'll have to get back to this one. Is almost complete ignorance of football going to hurt me? My husband's true love is shown by how, in each and every one of the six football seasons we've been married, he patiently explains first downs and second downs and third-and-goal without getting testy.

5. Describe an experience you had with Moxie or fiddlehead ferns.

I saw fiddlehead ferns in the woods once, and in the freezer section another time. Oh, and I learned about them in Botany 103.

Bach to basics

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Must remember next time I slide into one of those weeks-long Eeyore ruts that an effective remedy is lots and lots of coffee and lots and lots of music, particularly Bach.

A few months ago I blogged about Catholic Relief Services' partnership with Equal Exchange, a program that markets fairly traded coffee grown by small farmers. If you're interested in purchasing this coffee for your home, your rectory, or your parish (think how well it would taste with donuts!), here's where you can order. On the same page, there's a link to Work of Human Hands, a program that brings to market fairly traded "traditional, high-quality, handcrafted products" made by artisans around the world. CRS also has information on having a Work of Human Hands sale, either as a stand-alone event or as part of a parish event.

If I were a Summa Mama...

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I'd say something like, "Well shet mah mouth!"

But I'm not, so I'll say something like "Holy Cow!"

I just got one of those freebie magazines for nurses in the mail, and what do they have on the front page but a story on Cyclebeads!

I know I've had hard words for Georgetown in the past, but my hat is off to them for landing an article about NFP on the front page of even a freebie local nursing magazine! (Of course, in the article they never allude to the immorality of contraception; they just present it as an addition "to the contraceptive methods routinely offered to patients.) But to me this still seems like a step up.

Interestingly, the article never uses the phrase "NFP" but refers only to "fertility awareness based methods." Perhaps they're trying to avoid tripping that anti-NFP brain alarm that cripples so many secular health journals. In the past, I've only seen mainstream nursing publications refer to NFP/ fertility awareness methods with a sniff, disparaging them (incorrectly) as ineffective and something of interest only to ignorant Catholic zealots. (Some of them are still referring to "rhythm!")

They never stop to consider that even ignorant Catholic zealots might deserve health care consistent with their values, much less that other people might be interested in options beyond hormones and latex. This article cites several articles in secular journals showing the effectiveness of fertility awareness methods, so perhaps it will do some good in helping break down that anti-NFP prejudice.

At this writing, the magazine doesn't have a link up to the article. I'll try to remember to check back and see if they post one.

I have a friend who's recently started doing counted cross-stitch. She's completed a couple of projects and is itching to try a new one. She's envisioning linen cocktail-sized napkins.

Anyone have the 411 on a good source for the linen for this kind of project? We went to the craft store -- the pre-made napkins were too large (and had tatty lace around the edges.) There was some ivory-colored Irish linen (32 count); I think she's looking for something with a larger count (if that's possible) and perhaps a truer white color.

Recommendations for catalogs, websites, embroidery shops in the DC Metro area, etc would be received and passed on with gratitude.

Thanks in advance!

The WaPo (registration required) ran this review of Jimmy Breslin's book ignorant screed The Church That Forgot Christ in yesterday's Book World. I am astonished that this review even made it in the paper, given the WaPo's editorial policies, but I'm so tickled to see it. The reviewer, Kenneth Woodward, takes Breslin to school in a most satisfying way:

Ostensibly, this is a book about the clergy abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. But like everything Breslin writes, it is really about himself. Or rather, it is about him writing a book about clergy abuse. He wants us to know that he has lost faith in the church of his childhood. "I need no person wearing vestments to stand between God and me," he proclaims up front, as if that were the clergy's function. Still, he wants us to believe that writing this book has caused him considerable pain. Having been taught by nuns in grade school to believe everything the church says is true, he now finds he can believe nothing that the pope and the bishops have to say.

Who cares? Breslin has produced an incoherent rant that tells us nothing new about the abuse crisis, much that is demonstrably false and more than anyone would want to know about his loss of a very literal and childish faith...

"We have been ordered that at every liturgical ceremony, we must make a statement against abortion," the unnamed priest replies when questioned by one of Breslin's friends. I've covered the Catholic church for as long as Breslin has been writing, and I don't believe this ever happened. If a priest ever did make such a claim, a serious journalist would investigate whether such a policy existed, not simply tell a story. But there are no footnotes or identifiable sources in this screed, nothing that would suggest that Breslin has done much more than wing it...

The abundant mistakes in this book suggest that Breslin long ago lost touch with the Catholic Church. He complains that the church's anointing of the dying is no longer a sacrament. It still is, only the name has changed, from Extreme Unction to the Sacrament of the Sick and Dying...."

In refuting Breslin, Mr Woodward also brings up some very important points about the roots of the Situation (hint: they aren't celibacy or pedophilia) that don't get enough press.

Style Blog

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Thanks to Steven for this link to Notes From A Writing Coach.

It was interesting to read the author's critique of a lazy reporter's error-ridden article about guns. Yesterday, my husband mentioned an article from last week's Washington Post about the government's budget for a particular project. The reporter had apparently talked to a liberal lobby group's PAC and had dutifully written down their numbers (which, of course, showed how wicked and tight-fisted the Bush Administration is.) Apparently, she couldn't be bothered to give the goverment agency a call to check those numbers (or look them up on the Web); if she had, she would have found out that she either completely misunderstood what the group had told her, or that the group had played her for a fool. (My husband's department handles this group's funding.) The story was just plain wrong.

Remember when the Jayson Blair story broke? I remember seeing an interview with someone close to one of the events that he'd spun stories about (I think it was someone involved with the sniper investigation.) He was asked, didn't you suspect something when you saw this bizarre story in the Times? He replied, no, we're used to seeing stories in the paper that have nothing to do with what we saw with our own eyes.

Tom of Disputations wrote about the same thing in his old "Praying the Post" blog.

I don't trust newspapers, particularly the "leading" papers. Do you?

Another lost New Yorker, it seems.


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