Have I mentioned?

How much I love John Zmirak? Oh my goodness...here's another reason. You know the book that just came out? He says his editors only made him edit the section on wrath, and then told us where to find the unedited version. LOVE IT!!

Go read and laugh. Or, if you are of tender sensibilities, go suck your thumb in the corner. LOL. Joking. Mostly.

Divine Mercy Novena, Day Nine

Ninth Day

"Today bring to Me the Souls who have become Lukewarm,
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: 'Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.' For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy." 


Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen. 

I hate people...

...who don't have the balls to call you or email you and say, "Hey, I can't work on that project that I promised I would do for you because of [insert reason]. I hope you will understand, and will be able to still move forward. I hope I didn't cause too much of a delay on your project."

If you are over the age of 21, and you cannot do this simple thing, then go to the adult store, buy some big boy/girl pants and some suspenders, and put them on and act like an adult. Or, if you are just a big baby, go buy some adult diapers and wear them, if you refuse to grow up and be responsible.

Hell, if you can't return a simple text message within a reasonable time frame (within 2-4 hours, excusing valid reasons for delay), then you are a little too much of a weenie and need to join the adult world.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Don't Forget

Don't forget that since it's Friday in the Octave of Easter, the obligation to abstain from meat (or perform a sacrifice) is abrogated....meaning, you don't have to! Rejoice, Rejoice! Alleluia!

Divine Mercy Novena, Day Eight

Eighth Day

"Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory,
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice."   


Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Said at Bible Study

"Real books are to e-readers what the Catholic Mass (and/or the Sacraments) is to Protestant services," I said. (Yes, I am a book snob.)

Divine Mercy Novena, Day Seven

Seventh Day

Today bring to Me the Souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy*,
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death.

Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God:

Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.

*The text leads one to conclude that in the first prayer directed to Jesus, Who is the Redeemer, it is "victim" souls and contemplatives that are being prayed for; those persons, that is, that voluntarily offered themselves to God for the salvation of their neighbor (see Col 1:24; 2 Cor 4:12). This explains their close union with the Savior and the extraordinary efficacy that their invisible activity has for others. In the second prayer, directed to the Father from whom comes "every worthwhile gift and every genuine benefit,"we recommend the "active" souls, who promote devotion to The Divine Mercy and exercise with it all the other works that lend themselves to the spiritual and material uplifting of their brethren.

Drink Thursdays (Yahoo! It's Back!)

You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to today's Drink Thursday. Oh my goodness, it was a long Lent, wasn't it? But thankfully, it's Easter, and it's time for feasting! Before we even introduce today's guest, let's have a drink, shall we? How about a mimosa, since it's morning, hmmm?

That's better, now. If you're new to the blog, every Thursday (Lent not included, of course) I have a 'guest' here at the blog. Sometimes the guest is a celebrity or well-known persona, sometimes not. The guest is always someone that I'd like to sit down and have a drink with, shoot the breeze or discuss something specific. Because we're Catholics and not Puritans, that's why. If you'd like to catch up, click here and go read past Drink Thursdays. Go on. I'll be here.

You have no idea how hard it was to narrow down my list for the first guest back - but I have plenty of ideas for weeks to come! Anyway, this guest is someone who is so classy, in my opinion, not only in dress but also in manners. A private person, shaped by the experiences thrust upon her. A person who has taken on eclectic movie roles: teenage con artist, teenage prostitute, a rape survivor, a scared mom protecting her daughter, and a scientist on the search for E.T.

So excited!

I can't wait for tomorrow's Drink Thursday post!

Divine Mercy Novena, Day Six

Sixth Day

"Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of  Little Children,
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence. "   


Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Toothy Tuesdays Answer

Yesterday's word was scintilla (noun). 


Guesses:
Puff the Magic Dragon said, a scintilla is a miniscule amount of something


Jackie said, What he/she said ^^^ a small amount


love the girls said, Scin-Tilla

An uncommon nickname for sparklingly bright girls named Tilla.

Great (and funny) guesses this time around, everyone!


The definition: A barely perceptible manifestation; the slightest particle or trace.


In the two years he had known her, Blackford had never seen in Sally a scintilla of curiosity about anything scientific. (Courtesy of The Lexicon by William F. Buckley Jr.)

What Hurts the Most

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house
That don't bother me
I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out

I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while even though
Goin' on with you gone still upsets me
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay
But that's not what gets me

What hurts the most
Was being so close
And havin' so much to say
And watchin' you walk away

And never knowin'
What could've been
And not seein' that lovin' you
Is what I was tryin' to do

It's hard to deal with the pain of losin' you everywhere I go
But I'm doin' it
It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone
Still harder gettin' up, gettin' dressed, livin' with this regret
But I know if I could do it over
I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart
That I left unspoken

What hurts the most
Is being so close
And havin' so much to say
(Much to say)
And watchin' you walk away

And never knowin'
What could've been
And not seein' that lovin' you
Is what I was tryin' to do, oh
Oh yeah

What hurts the most
Was being so close
And havin' so much to say
(To say)
And watchin' you walk away

And never knowin'
What could've been
And not seein' that lovin' you
Is what I was tryin' to do

Not seein' that lovin' you
That's what I was trying to do, ooo
Copied from MetroLyrics.com 

Not much else to say. I miss my mom. 

Toothy Tuesdays

Wow! Sorry this is late! I totally spaced out that it was Tuesday.

Our first Toothy Tuesday. If you are just joining us, I will post a word from The Lexicon, ask you to give your best guesses in the combox; then I will reveal the guesses and the correct answer the next morning.

The fifteenth word is scintilla (noun).

Naptime

Silent.
Still.
A turn.
A rustle.
The drip
            drip
                 drip.
A creak.
A cough.
The humming.
The soft purr.
A twittering.
Naptime.

A Perfect Example

This is a perfect example of humans thinking that previous generations didn't know anything and were not as "enlightened" as we are today. (The link is from cracked, so NSFW.)

Divine Mercy Novena, Day Five

Fifth Day
"Today bring to Me THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO HAVE SEPARATED THEMSELVES FROM MY CHURCH, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion."

Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.

I figured it out

Why I don't like Brad Pitt. It's the way he talks. I just can't stand it, for some reason. In my opinion, he's the only thing about "Megamind" that stinks. Whenever I hear his voice, I can't get his smug little face outta my head and it annoys the hell outta me.

Watch Your Head...and Your Chest

Energy saving light bulbs contain cancer causing chemicals.

Effects, so far, include:
-higher breast cancer rates
-disruption of production of melatonin
-migraines
-exacerbation of skin problems

Awesome. I hate these things. My husband likes them, but I love the old-fashioned light bulbs. I hate how bright the energy saving ones are.

h/t to Chicks on the Right

Bibliophile

I was reading mental floss today, and they have some interesting stats about people's reading habits. It made me incredibly sad!

• One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

• 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.

• 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.

• 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

• 57 percent of new books are not read to completion.

I mean, yeah, I buy books and then not read them for awhile, but only because they are pretty in-depth books and they're a little hard to get through. But still, I hope I am raising children who love to read, because if they didn't, I would be even sadder.

Git 'r' Done ("Be Done")

"Be Done" ("Our Father" series)

Thy will be done, he says. And then he is abandoned, betrayed, ridiculed, tortured and nailed to a cross.

This is what always makes me a little nervous about the subject of God’s will: Though God never actively wants suffering for us, sometimes it is his will to permit it to happen. Sometimes it’s even really, really bad suffering. And so how can we ever get up the courage to say honestly, “Thy will be done”?

Divine Mercy Novena, Day Four

Fourth Day

"Today bring to Me THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD AND THOSE WHO DO NOT YET KNOW ME. I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy."

Most compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and of those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.

Divine Mercy Novena, Day Three

Third Day

"Today bring to Me ALL DEVOUT AND FAITHFUL SOULS, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought Me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were that drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness."

Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It. We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.

REJOICE!

Christ is Risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! 

God bless you! May you have a wondrous Easter celebration with your family - I plan on it, myself!

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Divine Mercy Novena, Day Two

Second Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious,

and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind."

Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service, that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard -- upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.

Divine Mercy Novena, Day One

First Day
"Today bring to Me all mankind, especially sinners,

and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me."

Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.

Are You There God? It's Me. ("Will")

"Will" ("Our Father" series)

We can feel like the tiniest speck of dust in comparison to the vastness of Creation – like God isn’t even noticing our little lives, isn’t listening to our prayers.

That gives us lots of time to fear for the future and imagine all of the possibilities that may befall us. Jesus asks us in Luke 12, “Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest?”

And he doesn’t mean that those details are left to chance, but that God is intimately involved, ever-present, in each of the “small things” in our lives. The Lord isn’t off in some remote corner of the universe or sitting with his feet propped on his desk, surveying us from afar – he is “near to all who call upon (him)” (Psalm 145:18.)

Since we already touched a little upon the importance of this word, let's continue.

Who knew that within this seemingly simple and easy prayer, we would find such implications for our lives? We know how important God's will is for our lives. From the intricacies of our daily lives to the obvious of "if God didn't will that you were breathing, you wouldn't be": God's will is vital. Just most of the time, we tend to try to ignore it, or see it and disregard it. We see, though, from just these two words - THY WILL - that His will, not our will, reigns supreme.

Damn Hippies

WTF?

From the video description:

Humans! is a 60 second global awareness PSA sensationalizing the excessive, all-consuming nature of the human being. This cute and na?ve [sic] Earth stands no chance against such an insatiable parasite. Witness its utter demise in a fun and sickening kind of way.

 Okay, stuff like this just pisses me off. Humans aren't parasites. Mother Earth isn't an entity to be defended in court. Usually ideology like this ends up being: everyone should be sterilized and die so the earth can go back to its native and innocent state. Well, you go off yourself first. ;-)

Just to let you know where I stand, as a Catholic (from the Catechism of the Catholic Church):

Do as I say

I've been tagged by New Toronto Catholic blog. Now usually, I don't do memes, but I thought I'd make an exception this time. I'm not tagging other people, though if you want to do this, let me know so I can check out your answer.

I need to pick a saint I was most like in my youth, who acted like me or me them, when I was young.

Well, here's the thing. As you may have noticed, I have a bit of a temper. It's something that I've struggled with, literally, all my life. I can remember being very little and losing my shit, as it were. I'm also an idiot, which I don't think I'll ever get over. I would think that St. Peter, or St. Thomas the Apostle, who both struggled with saying the wrong thing at the wrong time; or St. Jerome or St. Vincent de Paul, who both struggled with their tempers.

All of these are my models, that someday, my temper/anger may be purified through their example.

The Earth Still Spins

Last night, I had a leg-ache pretty bad so I took an ibuprofen P.M., and went to bed before 10. It was amazing! The world didn't stop spinning, life on teh interwebz went on without my exalted presence. Weird. If only I could get to sleep so easily every night without taking a pill.

This is also my 500th post! Woohoo!! Since I've started in September, I have 500 posts, I have 38 followers and over 10,000 pageviews. Thank you to everyone who keeps coming back. God bless everyone who stops by.

Divine Mercy Novena starts tomorrow

The Divine Mercy Novena

(starts tomorrow, Good Friday)

Jesus asked that this Feast of the Divine Mercy be preceded by a Novena of Chaplets to the Divine Mercy which would begin on Good Friday. He gave St. Faustina an intention to pray for on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said:
     "These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.' The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy."


In her diary, St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her: 
     "On each day of the novena you will bring to My Heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy... On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls. By this novena I will grant every possible grace to souls." (Diary 1209, 796)

The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are:

Day One (Good Friday): All mankind, especially sinners

Day Two (Holy Saturday): The souls of priests and religious

Day Three (Easter Sunday): All devout and faithful souls

Day Four (Easter Monday): Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him

Day Five (Easter Tuesday): The souls of separated brethren

Day Six (Easter Wednesday): The meek and humble souls and the souls of children

Day Seven (Easter Thursday): The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy

Day Eight (Easter Friday): The souls who are detained in purgatory

Day Nine (Easter Saturday): The souls who have become lukewarm

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy may also be offered each day for the day's intention, but is not strictly necessary to the Novena.

Shackin' Up

So the newest video making the rounds:



My opinion: I think it takes the wrong tack. Yes, my husband and I lived together before marriage. Looking back now, I wish we hadn't, but put wishes in one hand and shit in the other and see what fills up first, right?

But no one....no one said anything. Yes, I was aware that my parents disapproved, but they never said anything and several of my siblings had also lived with their spouse before marriage and they didn't say anything. Nothing was said even during our marriage prep or by the engaged encounter people we met with for 6 sessions.

No one told me that rates of divorce go up for those who live together before marriage. No one told me that dissatisfaction with your spouse goes up if you lived together before marriage. No one told me that couples who delay having sex until marriage have stronger relationships.

Toothy Tuesdays Answer

Yesterday's word was centripetal (adjective).

Guesses:
Patrick Button said:
Of central or primary importance?

The definition: moving, preceding, or acting in a direction toward a center or axis. 

When stopped and everyone turns his eyes on me, I experience that mortification I always feel when I am the center of centripetal shafts of curiosity, resentment, perplexity.
(Courtesy of The Lexicon by William F. Buckley Jr.)

One of My New Favorites

I found through stumble, is soundcloud. This mashup is awesome....go listen. Right now. Go!

http://soundcloud.com/dj-dain/dont-worry-im-yours-mashup

Abortion vs. Smoking - UPDATED

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences." –C.S. Lewis

I know I've talked a little about abortion and smoking before, but that was more about graphic images being used. This time, I want to talk about the law, and restrictions, and minors.

There's a movement in many states banning the use of any tobacco product (including smokeless tobacco) on any hospital or state college campuses - anywhere on the campus, not just in the dorms or in hospitals or by the doors, but anywhere on the campus. I understand that somewhere in Canada (I think), they are banning tobacco use on certain streets. Proponents say, "We're helping people quit that want to quit", and "We haven't had one complaint", and "We're doing this to cut down on secondhand smoke, to encourage tobacco users to quit and to discourage nonusers from taking up the habit."

How many tyrannical practices can you spot in that last paragraph?

It constantly amazes me that a society which is becoming more restrictive in smoking (and fat, calories, sugar, etc.), is simply laissez-faire when it comes to abortion. A society that actively fights against any restrictions being placed on abortion (including on minors having an abortion) is totally complicit in forcing more regulations through the system when it comes to any other part of your body. They say: "We're only trying to help." They say, "People don't realize how destructive this habit(s) are!"

*Ouch*

Okay, God, I get the hint. I'm being an idiot this week. Do you have to keep smacking me upside the head?

H/T to Mark Shea:

A Poem of Peace and Brotherhood

Oh, how I love the Catholic Church

With pure, damp fronds of hyssop--

And how I hate the Vat. II types,

Especially the bishops!

I wish for the reform’s reform

And pray for all the many,

But scorn the local parish priest,

And won’t give him a penny.

I show my charity each time

I write a scolding letter

That I’m ignored is proof that Father

Won’t try to be better.

My parish is too full of people

I’d kick out tomorrow;

Their faults drag my perfection down

Their follies are my sorrow.

Yet, still, I love the Catholic Church!

In her, all men are brothers!

(But only if they’re just like me:

She should toss out the others.)

If you "love the Church" but can't stand 99% of her members, something is wrong. He who does not love his fellow parishioner whom he has seen cannot love "the Church" he has not seen.

Go check out the poem by Chesterton too.

Toothy Tuesday

Our first Toothy Tuesday. If you are just joining us, I will post a word from The Lexicon, ask you to give your best guesses in the combox; then I will reveal the guesses and the correct answer the next morning.

The fourteenth word is centripetal (adjective).

A promise I make to you

I will never, ever, never ever, have music playing automatically when you come to my blog.

For one thing, I don't know how to do that. But besides that, if I did, I still wouldn't add it on. It's annoying, and usually I forget that my sound is turned way up and so I scare the shit outta myself....or it's nap slash bedtime for the kiddos and loud music blasting through my speakers is sure to wake someone up. Plus, usually the way to stop the music is hidden somewhere on the blog, and I frantically scroll through the website trying to stop the music, whilst at the same time trying to turn the sound down. It's a sure fire way to make sure I never stop by your blog again....so I will never do it to another person.

Unless the music playing is rock.

Then, I say 'hell yah!!' and rock out.

(BTW, this is not towards Subvet, whose blog I love - because guess what? His music player is conveniently at the top of his page. Plus, it's usually music I like.)

Idiocy

I didn't go to Mass yesterday, not even the 'late' Mass. I'm not gonna justify me not going...I just didn't want to - feeling tired and depressed, I crawled into bed about an hour before the 'late' Mass started and slept until about 15 minutes before it was scheduled to end. Don't wanna go anywhere, don't wanna see anyone....just want to feel sorry for myself.

Then, I see this video this morning.

I'm an idiot. I mean, I've always known this, but sometimes I'm more of an idiot than usual. I don't understand why God puts up with my idiocy. Guess there is still time for confession (again) before Easter, right? sigh.

Blah-de-Blah

Oh, who gives a rat's ass? Who, I ask. Blah blah blah. So some people are pissed off about someone's tone....whoop-de-doo. Oh well. Might as well be pissed off about my tone...for all its sarcasm and mean-spiritedness.

Thy (In Triplicate)

Up Close and Personal

"Thy" (Redux)

So, I thought for this "thy", I'd do a little digging on the significance of the number three in the Bible. I looked at a couple different sites (one recommended by a Catholic friend, another found through Google). Using both sources, a couple of things jump out at me.

In sacred Scripture the number 3 represents that which is solid, real, substantial, and something in its completeness.  This number usually indicates something of importance or significance in God's plan of salvation by identifying an important event in Salvation History.  This number operates as a "sign-post" in Scripture study for the reader to "pay attention" to the significance of the next event.

And also:

     Another of the numbers where we can readily see God use it in a spiritual sense to signify something, is the number three. It is used of God to signify His Purpose or His Will!....

      These places where the number three is found is numerical symbology which is putting forth spiritual truths, that we can learn from as we consider them. For in three, God works out His purpose and His will. 

 Yes, all of these examples are where three is blatant: three years, three Patriarchs, three divisions of time, etc. So this 'thy' from the 'Our Father' is going to have a meaning that is more subtle. But I think that again, there are no coincidences, especially in a prayer that is from Jesus (God the Son) to God (the Father).

What struck me most after reading the above was this: three signifies His will - and this is the third 'thy' before the word 'will'. Umm, woah. Three signifies: "Pay attention!", and three also signifies God's will. This must mean that His will is particularly important (who'da thunk it, huh?) for us and in our lives; and also the fact that His Will is completeness for our lives.

Since the next word is 'will', let's sit up and pay extra attention.

Sunday Feast

The focus every Sunday is to feast with my family, to truly make Sundays a day of rest; which means to refrain from the internet and other technology as much as I can. I'm going to be putting up the previous Wednesday's general audience with Pope Benedict XVI, and I encourage you to read and to study. 

What are you reading today? What are you talking about this morning?

I am remiss

Because I forgot the Holy Father's birthday.

Happy Birthday, Papa! Here's to you!

Baby Daddies

If men aren't allowed a say in the abortion issue (or a say if their unborn child gets aborted), then men shouldn't be forced to pay child support.

I mean, secular society should be consistent, right?

I Submit

So, I was stumbling around the blogosphere, and came across this blog, Barefoot and Pregnant. I really am enjoying it, and enjoying her writing. Reading one of her older posts, in which she talks about wives being submissive to their husbands, a thought was triggered in me about my own marriage.

Barefoot and Pregnant: In Which I Intrude On a Blog Conversation I Have N...: 

"'A woman stands with her back to the world, facing her family. A man stands with his back to his family, facing the world.

 I think this is a fantastic way to look at the idea of wifely submission. It isn't that her ideas, thoughts, and opinions are worth less. As women, we are simply consumed with the work of the house. We often get caught up in the day-today, the spilled milk, dirty diapers, homeschooling, baking, moral teaching, spiritual instruction. It's so hard for us to back up, to get an objective view of our family and its place in the world. And, lucky for us, we don't have to! That's our husband's job; we keep order and peace in our family while our husbands make sure that our family is ready to meet the world. He makes a place in the world for us and prepares us all to take that place, while protecting us from the world when we need protection. We women are often so consumed with the world of our family that we don't see the greater dangers that lay beyond it. That's our husband's job, and that's one of the reasons why it's so important for us to submit. His vision is clearer. "

Oh Poor Baby!

Did you know the President dreams of long walks by himself?

And he wishes that we were like China - because the President of China doesn't have to worry about people scrutinizing his words (in public).

One Month In

There is no grief like the grief that does not speak. 

(H.W. Longfellow)

It's been one month today that my mom died. It'll be quiet here today.

My grief lies all within,/ And these external manners of lament / Are merely shadows to the unseen grief / That swells with silence in the tortured soul. 

(Shakespeare)

Preparedness ("Come")

"Come" ("Our Father" series)

When I think about these passages from the Scriptures, I no longer see that beautiful maranatha prayer as a request that requires God to act while I sit around and soak up the goodness. It is indeed beautiful, but it carries with it a weighty question: Am I really ready, right now, for God’s Kingdom to come?

My mom's death may have been unexpected, and sudden, but it was also a happy and holy death. She was anointed two days before she died, and a priest was in the room with her and my dad and many of us kids when she died. She went to Mass almost daily, receiving the Eucharist often. I didn't make it my business to ask how often she went to Confession, so I don't know that. My mom prayed the rosary almost every day, she prayed morning & evening prayer, she prayed the Bible a lot. One of our last conversations was about the Bible; I was trying to help her find a commentary on John.

I am happy that she had a holy death, and perhaps it sounds strange to say it like that, but she was afforded an opportunity that not everyone is: to receive anointing of the sick, to have a priest (and her husband and children) pray over her dying body, to have many many Masses and prayers said for the repose of her soul.

Movie Trailers Galore

Cars 2 looks stupid.


Dylan Dog: Dead of the Night looks good.


Hesher looks....interesting.

Toothy Tuesdays Answer

Yesterday's word was hermetically (adverb).

Guesses were:
Archaeology Cat said:
What comes to mind is something being hermetically sealed, which I think is a way of ensuring something remains preserved. But I can't give an exact definition without looking it up. I'm tired today. ;-)

The definition: So as to be impervious to outside interference or influence.

His brown eyes were either sound asleep (that was when Rufus was given over to analysis, parting company with his surroundings as though hermetically insulated from them) or fiercely active. (Courtesy of The Lexicon by William F. Buckley Jr.)

Heal Thyself

One thing that irritates me about people of Christian faith sometimes: the belief that if you only had a stronger/better relationship with Jesus/God, then all your problems would go away. For instance, I read in my paper's religion section the other day, about a Christian speaker saying she used to have agoraphobia until she started having a better relationship with God.

Give me a freakin' break.

It's this whole 'health and wealth' gospel going on. The speaker talks about how God 'brought her to a place of greater soundness and stability' (and it goes on, and on, and on).

Now, I realize that I wasn't there in person to hear this malarkey, but this is another reason I'm so glad I'm Catholic. A friend and I were talking about this the other night over drinks. She brought up the fact that she's so glad she is Catholic because when she was fighting depression over a year ago (at her Protestant college), she would get this "If only you had a better relationship with God, you'd be healed" garbage, and that made her feel only worse about herself. Then we had this discussion about how, with the Catholic faith, we're like, "Dude, go get that checked out. Something's physically wrong."

I'm not saying that miraculous things don't happen, and I'm not saying that medicine has all the answers. But usually with your health, don't you think it kinda makes sense to get a physical (and start praying too, but that's a side deal) - before you start the good ole-fashioned guilt trips on yourself?

Toothy Tuesday

Our first Toothy Tuesday. If you are just joining us, I will post a word from The Lexicon, ask you to give your best guesses in the combox; then I will reveal the guesses and the correct answer the next morning.

The thirteenth word is hermetically (adverb). I hope we get some good guesses, and no cheating!

Obedience School ("Kingdom")

"Kingdom" ("Our Father" series)

Citizens of countries like ours likely find it easier to understand Jesus as the President of Presidents in the Democratic Republic of God rather than the King of Kings in the Kingdom of God. We prefer to subvert authority rather than appoint it; that’s why most elections end up being more about firing people than hiring them.

There can be no kingdom without a king, and no king without subjects. It may be easy to look at Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God as a sort of “power to the people” manifesto, and indeed, many have taken such a view. Justice for the downtrodden is a key tenet of our faith, but it is not the ruling tenet. The ruling tenet is obedience to the kind of king that can secure that kind of justice.

The last couple of posts in this series has been about the intimacy that God is calling us to. And yet, we shouldn't forget that we are talking to (about) the Creator of the Universe. I think that sometimes we get so wrapped up in the idea that Jesus is our friend and God our Father, that we forget that fathers sometimes have to be fatherly (imagine that!) - sometimes fathers say 'no' to our requests, sometimes fathers need to punish us for breaking the rules, sometimes fathers have to be 'the bad guy' in order to teach us valuable lessons. God the Father has to do those things, too. He is mercy, yes; but He is also judge.

We often conveniently forget the 'obedience' part of the agreement in our lives as Christians. "Well, God, I'll go along with this plan for now because it fits into my expectations of life." But what about those times that His plans for us and our lives don't fit into our expectations and our plans? So many times we stomp and kick our fit (and generally throw a big temper tantrum) and tell God: "Oh no, God. Not Your way this time. This time, I'm gonna do it like a big girl!" (or big boy, lol) That obedience thing (along with that humility thing) can be so very hard to do. Yet, here's a reminder, smack dab in the midst of intimacy and having a relationship with God, that we are to be obedient to Him. *groan* Seriously, God?

Yes, seriously. For there to be a kingdom, there has to be a King (hint: it's not you or I or anyone else on earth we know). Thank God for that!

"Thy" (Redux)

"Thy" ("Our Father" series)

Now, I know I've just covered 'thy', but I want to talk about it again. It is no coincidence that the word 'thy' is said 3 times in the context of the "Our Father". (There are no coincidences, btw.)

Why? Why repeat it over and over again? I have a theory about it.

Remember that when I talked about 'thy' before, it was about being reminded (again) of the intimacy that our God calls us to.

My theory is that in the midst of this huge, amazing prayer, we get these touchstones of that intimacy with God. Think about it. That word is squished in between some pretty heavy stuff: God's name, God's Kingdom, God's will.

Woah! Back the train up a second here, God.

All these words that 'thy' is sandwiched between, we can get lost in. They can become abstract. But that little word gets stuck in there, and it calls to us. It reminds us that these words aren't abstract theories floating around, waiting for us to 'get' them. It tells us that these are realities of a Person, and it reminds us that our hearts are restless without God and without that intimacy with God.

It's not redundant, it's not boring (or shouldn't be), just because we repeat that word over and over. We have the opportunity to remind ourselves every time we say this prayer, of who is calling us and what He is calling us to.

Sure, Jesus, Let's Just Go Get Stoned

Remember back at the beginning of March when I commented on St. Peter's whininess? Well, I think I've found a new patron saint: St. Thomas the Apostle, or Doubting Thomas, or Didymus. The reason? Oh, this Sunday's Gospel:

Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?" ...... So then Jesus said to them clearly, "Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him." So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go to die with him."

Oh my gosh...can't you just see, in your mind,  Thomas turning to the other disciples, sotto voce, saying: "Let's also go to die with Lazarus." Snark alert! Add this to the fact that later he'd be telling the other disciples, "Yeah, right, Jesus is risen from the dead. I wanna stick my fingers in his wounds before I believe." Umm, Thomas, you may wanna re-think that statement. LOL. 

Sunday Feast

The focus every Sunday is to feast with my family, to truly make Sundays a day of rest; which means to refrain from the internet and other technology as much as I can. I'm going to be putting up the previous Wednesday's general audience with Pope Benedict XVI, and I encourage you to read and to study. 

What are you reading today? What are you talking about this morning?

Front Row Seats

This morning, I was visited by two 'missionaries' - not sure of which church they were 'evangelizing' (pimping might be a good word too) for, but it was for sure not a Catholic church (like Catholics would ever evangelize door-to-door, at least in this diocese!).

I didn't speak with them for long, because I haven't taken a shower in two days; nor did I invite them in - for two reasons, one being my house is a mess and two being I'm paranoid about strangers (and three because I haven't taken a shower in two days). I should add that I have a screen door on the front door which I did not open.

They knocked on the door, said 'hello' and then said "We would like to give you an invitation to Christ's death" and held out a postcard with the date of Sunday, April 17 (Palm Sunday) on it. (I did not open the screen door to take it. Told ya I was paranoid.)

Ummmm, okay......

I replied, "Thank you, but we're Catholic and we regularly attend church at St. ******* church."
     Then they said "thank you" and left.

First, I'd like to add that only one spoke, the other guy did not. The guy that spoke was noticeably nervous, and it took him three tries to get the above sentence out of his mouth. Here's a tip: if you are trying to evangelize door-to-door, you might want to have your 'pitch' down pat. I'm not saying you have to be the smoothest person, just that you might want to practice so you know what you're going to say and how you're going to say it.

Spit-Spot

If only the (local) altar servers were told any of this!

Heck, I'd be happy if they just wore nice dress shoes to Mass!

TradeMark Catholic Stationery

I recently ordered some items from TradeMark Catholic Stationery & Gifts. If you've never ordered from them, you should; or ask your local Catholic store to stock their items. Here's what I recently purchased:

Address Labels with design J2

Their Grab Bag Box, filled with all sorts of goodies.

Easter cards.

Holy Card Mary Assortment  (all the way to the bottom).

I could buy a ton of stuff from there, but I tried to not go overboard this time. I love their stuff, though, because the artwork is absolutely gorgeous, and they make some beautiful items. Plus, they're great to work with.

Dreams

I really had some whacked out dreams last night.

The first one was about a friend of mine who was getting an abortion, which all the friends were trying to prevent. Then somehow, she was forced to have this abortion, but the baby started crying. So some friends and I had recorded the event, and I was racing, trying to outrun the clinic staff who was trying to stop me from turning the evidence over to the police.

At the end of that dream, I had turned the evidence over, and then was in a giant arena and saw my friend with her baby.

What's really strange about this dream is that the friend who had the 'abortion' is a friend in real life, that is 50+ years old and just lost her mom.

The other dream was about my mom.

For some reason we were tandem bike-riding, except I was riding in a child's seat (I was an adult in my dream). We were riding this bike in her home town, to a store, and it was so lovely outside and smelled so good. Plus my mom looked like she did when she was younger - maybe in her 30s?

It was such a wonderful dream and I hated to wake up.

The Power of a Name

"Name" (Our Father series)

Names have meaning. I become my name, it becomes me. My name is who I am but that began with the origin of all things, with God — He has a Name, at once precious and holy. I, in a certain sense, am my name. I am Karen. But He — He is simply I AM. He exists in a way that I cannot and do not. But at the same time, He wants me to have a share in that existence, to be part of what He is. To be called by name.

I've talked about the power of names before, here:

But it did give me the though that we depersonalize when we refuse to give or use someone's name - I think of prisoners with numbers instead of names. Names are powerful, and to take away a person's name can take away part of their identity, part of who they are, making them less than.

I just think about God giving Adam the authority to name all the animals, God changing people's names all over the Bible (Abram-Abraham, Sarai-Sarah, etc.). Names mean something. 

And here:

If you can refuse to call someone by their name, refuse to meet them as a person worthy of dignity (God-given), then you can cease seeing that person as a person. They become lower than you, less than you. He (or she) becomes an it, a thing with no immortal, eternal soul, and so who cares whether he is dead?

And so this mentality pervades much of the horrors throughout history: make a group of people become less than, become objects for a dictator to dispose of as they wish and you have a recipe for disaster. 

A Little Behind

I'm a little behind on the "Our Father" series, so I'm going to be stepping it up a notch. I've almost caught up to where Jennifer at Conversion Diary is at - she just posted "Kingdom" and I just posted "Thy" (next up is "Name" for me). Sorry if this is a little overwhelming!

I also have posts coming up on abortion & smoking, beauty, and Sunday Feast. Towards the month of May, I'll be having a friend write up posts on the prayer "Anima Christi". Plus my usual snarky commentary on all things sundry.

I hope you're ready for this!

Politics B.S.

AP scrubs snarky comment by the President. Hey, I'm all about the snark...so just name it and claim it, Mr. President!

Truthful campaign poster....Fore More Years!

Taking a vaca...because there ain't nothin' else going on. (Like a war, or a budget crisis, or anything.)

Boston knows best what's for you.

Do you think that Obama's stomping his feet and taking his toys away now?

Trump pisses off Viera on Today Show (all the way to the end).