Sisterly Joke

I have a running joke with my sister about how I can't take a decent snapshot. It's true. Professional photos - pretty decent but, boy do I have some doosies from the old Motorola. I just get caught in the most unflattering moments. Some of the photos are painfully funny to snicker over and other you just feel sorry for me. Last weekend didn't disappoint...another photo to toss in my horrendously large stack. This one is for you Tina!

Easy and Delicious Onion Soup

Every Day Italian Onion Soup
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large Vidalia onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
4 cups beef broth
4 slices ciabatta bread, cubed***
4 ounces sliced fontina cheese
Special equipment: 4 (1 1/2-cup) ovenproof ramekins

Directions
In a medium, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the thyme and broth. Simmer, uncovered, until the onions are soft, about 15 minutes.
Divide the soup between the 4 ovenproof ramekins. Divide the cubed bread among the ramekins. Top each with slices of fontina cheese. Place under the broiler, until the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

***Instead of using ciabatta bread, I make rosemary peasant bread from Make and Takes. I think it makes it even better.

Internet withdrawal.

I am in deep trouble...
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Hi! I'm at Kinko's, in disguise. Well not really, but I have a knit hat on, dark glasses and a high turtle neck type of neck warmer to cover my moustache. I know! It is hot. No one is near me. But listen...
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I brought my lap top in for diagnosis - the IT guy got the flu - he hasn't been able to work on it! This is like the 3rd day now - I have no Internet access at home. I do not know if this is a government plot or what - I'm suspecting it is some sort of conspiracy.
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I have no access to the outside world - which is why I sneaked over here. Sure I can call people on the phone - but it's a landline - and how the hell can you carry on a conversation with someone without a key board?
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Television is awful - no pop-up blockers for unwanted ads! I only have access to network news - no Drudge! Network news is biased and limited and you get only the news they want you to get.
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I don't even know what Fr. Zuhlsdorf had for supper last night!
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It is horrible - I was forced to watch The View, hoping for some type of news I guess - or maybe just to feel like I was watching something on my monitor. OH MY Gosh! But those women are really biased and superficial and just plain dumb. I think Joy Behar is senile - I love Whoopi but the other bitches do not let her talk. Condolezza Rice was on today and they asked her really stupid questions. Television is stupid! One has no control except the remote which leads you to even stupider programming. Television is nothing but advertisements for menopause medications and cleaning supplies.
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Okay. I'm running out of time. I just wanted to let everyone know what has happened to me. I'm okay - I have anti-anxiety meds - withdrawal is intense, but I should make it. I don't know when I'll be back - I don't know when the PC will be fixed. I'm in limbo till then. The not knowing is the worst.
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Is Fr. Z okay? Are the gifts still coming in? Is he eating? Does he have enough wine - moreover - is it good enough wine?
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Pray for me. I'm beside myself. I don't know what to do with myself. I thought of cleaning the house but if the vacuum is going I may not hear the phone and it could be Techs To Go calling about the repair.
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Okay - deep breath. I'll be back soon I hope. I hope!

1st grade writing assignment

Translation: Pencil Sharpener

The pencil sharpener is like a crocodile. Eating little fishes in the jungle. Watching up close good bye little crocodile and have fun in your pool don't get a stomache.

I Love February!

I am really excited to announce (wait for it) da da ta daaaaa.....starting February 1st thru Valentine's Day I am posting all things VALENTINES! I can't wait, who better than me to completely devote myself to Valentine's Day. Oh, how I love it. Remember to stop by often, if not everyday for fun, creative, inspiring, festive and lovely things all about Saint Valentine. (I am an authority, my husband served his mission in the citta Valentine's Day originated.)

Mrs. Rabitowitz

Trust.

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Last evening, as I went to the garden to put out dried fruit and nuts, as well as bird food for this morning, I noticed Mrs. Rabitowitz waiting for me under the back hedge - looking off to the side as if she couldn't see me. Of course she does see me, and I always greet her, "Hello Missie Wabbit!" I think she likes such familiarity.

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I believe rabbits prefer to eat more at sunset and into the evening, returning just before dawn, for breakfast. (I may be mistaken, but I think this custom is observed only in winter, and may be derived from the Jewish manner of fasting, as on the 17th day of Tammuz. Although some rabbits can snack on other things throughout the day, as food may be scarce this time of year. Naturally, during mating season and after babies are born, no fasting is permitted.)

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Of course, Mrs. Rabitowitz always leaves a goodly portion for the squirrel family, as well as the birds who arrive shortly after sunrise. Although by the time Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal return, much of the food is gone. (Not to worry however, they often stop by right at dawn as well. They are good friends with the Rabitowitzes.)
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Anyway, I placed Mrs. R's food on the little table, making sort of a racket by dropping the fruit and nuts, letting her know what a delicious supper awaited her, considering how Mr. Squirrel and all the birds were in bed at that time, a luxury not lost on the Mrs. since she is free to dine at her leisure.

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After I finished serving, I noted she was no longer in the back hedge, "Ah, she must have run off, rabbits are so shy." I mumbled to myself, as I turned to enter the house. At that moment I noticed her out of the corner of my eye, two or three feet from me, beneath the south hedge, waiting to eat. I acted as she does, pretending not to notice, although I knew, she knew, I knew she was there.

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We had no need to speak, our trust said it all.

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The End.
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Note: I'm not sure if it is true, but I was told some people, as well as animals, fast and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. If that be simply a myth, perhaps people might begin to do so these days. Coincidently, today is also Holocaust Remembrance Day, as designated by Pope Benedict XVI.

Tony

Leslie Carole Johnson, Tony's mom.

My apologies, I forgot to let you know, Tony's mom Leslie died on January 17. I did not see Tony, nor do I get the newspaper, but a woman at church informed me of her death last Wednesday. I hope to see Tony this Wednesday. I will let him know of all of your prayers and good wishes. I'm sure he is very sad - so keep him in your prayers. Click here for a link to the obituary.

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Photo: Tony's mom Leslie. She was founder and publisher of Mississippi Rag, a world famous publication on jazz and ragtime.

Monday, monday.

Just thinking about terminology and stuff.

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I broke my own rule last night - and I had just been to confession too. I bashed Nancy Pelosi, and mocked her claim that she is an "ardent Catholic." I get annoyed when other people do that, and now you see, I'm just as guilty as the next person. "Lord, who will be admitted to your tent and dwell on your holy mountain? He who... does not slander with his tongue." - Ps. 15. I apologize to Mrs. Pelosi and all of my readers.

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Committee rule.

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Today happens to be the commemoration of one of the martyrs of the French Revolution, the legacy of which we continue to experience and celebrate. On this date in 1794 Blessed Marie De La Dive Du Verdier was guillotined. Blessed Marie was a 70 years old widow. She and her daughters, along with her sister-in-law who was a Benedictine nun, recently expelled from her abbey by the anti-Catholic Jacobin regime, were eventually arrested by the same. Imprisoned at Angers, Marie was the first to die, followed by the others in the days and weeks to come. An old lady and her old sister-in-law, along with her unmarried daughters. Can you imagine their shock and indignation over the government's invasion of her home, the confiscation of the madame's property, culminating in their heroic deaths? These and thousands more died simply because they remained faithful to the Catholic faith. (For some reason I thought of how old ladies today must go through security at airports, sometimes being frisked and all of that. I suppose old people can be rather threatening.)
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Protective custody.
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I watched 60 Minutes last night. One of the stories featured Bob Simon's exposition of the Israeli occupation of Gaza, including the settlements established by Jews who seek to take the land for Israel, and keep Palestinians restricted to an impoverished ghetto existence. The Israelis seem to function much as the Nazis had in Europe during WWII. Soldiers occupy homes and imprison the occupants for days on end. Palestinian freedoms are taken away; they cannot travel freely, nor get to their jobs, while Israelis have built modern hill towns and highways only Jews may use. A woman mayor of a Jewish settlement was defiant about remaining and using the settlement system to confiscate Palestinian territory, because the Bible says it belongs to the Jews. If Iran and Hezbollah get their way, she and the other Jewish settlers just might fry one day.
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Government intervention.
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Remember David Koresh and the Branch Dividians who lived in that compound at Mt. Carmel, Texas? The government rolled in and destroyed the complex and many people were burned to death.
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Marriage laws.
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Remember those fundamentalist polygamists? When the state came in and took all the children away because of allegations of sexual abuse?
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Change.
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I wonder if Catholic hospitals could be nationalized for refusing to provide contraception and abortion services?
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It could happen.

Collecting

I have started a small collection of knit and/or crochet blankets. The two burnt orange blankets I found at second hand retail stores. I love their different stitches and scalloped edges. The multi-colored blanket I found in Ventura, CA. with my sister, Tina at a thrift store. I think is going to be fun and challenging...trying to find unique and funky blankets to add to my collection.

Why do we keep doing this...

To one another?

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I watched the DiCaprio Romeo and Juliet once again tonight. A friend of mine recommended it a few years ago, and so I bought it. I appreciate it very much - in fact, my friend informed me some wonderful Shakespearean scholar felt it was one of the best modern interpretations of Shakespeare's work. It is the best I've ever seen - despite the fact I love Zeffirelli's version. My friend is sort of a genius... He knows Shakespeare by heart. He is a wonderful man.

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Yeah.

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So anyway...

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I'm having email and Internet problems right now, and I need to take my notebook in for a diagnostic. When that happens, I might be gone for awhile - but I'm not dead. Come back, okay?

Strega Pelosi

Well, in my Italian neighborhood, growing up, that is what we might have called her.

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi boldly defended a move to add birth control funding to the new economic "stimulus" package, claiming "contraception will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government." - Source

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In my neighborhood, the strega - witch - performed all the abortions.

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So like watch out for those people who title themselves "ardent Catholics".

Points of recocognition.

Things I find annoying - no matter who does it.

Matthew

Friends.

When I was younger I regularly took note of the few solitary figures dotting an otherwise empty church, praying, long before Mass and long afterwards. They were a comfort to me, realizing I wasn't all alone, while their example encouraged and edified me. Those were the days of my early twenties, I considered these folks to be old people, and indeed, I suppose they were - usually retired men, often a bit shabby looking, or occasionally I'd notice a blind or handicapped man. (At that time, I rarely noticed young people at church, especially at adoration - they weren't to be found.)
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It was very lonely for me when I first returned to the Church back in 1972. A few churches had adoration of the Blessed Sacrament way back then, but few people filled the pews. As a result of my conversion, I pretty much abandoned my former friends who didn't understand what it meant for me to return to the sacraments along with the renunciation of vice, much less my desire to spend as much time as possible in the atmosphere of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Hence I developed a "spiritual friendship" with the very few solitary souls scattered throughout the church.
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One or two guys in particular became such friends. Of course we never spoke, except for an occasional, but rare acknowledgement of a nod or a smile. I went to Mass and adoration specifically to pray, not to make friends - that is what I told myself at least, trying to deny the deep loneliness I experienced in the initial stages of my conversion process.

Matthew.
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One friend I've thought about lately is Matthew. I never knew his full name, perhaps some readers may. He regularly attended the novenas at Assumption, and the church of St. Louis in downtown St. Paul, as well as St. Agnes. In fact he may still be alive. Matthew was a Native American gentleman, blind, and I think a bit lame, since he used a cane. He was very friendly, as were other parishioners, who often led him up to communion during Mass or lit candles for him. Naturally I noted all of these little attentions he received. Being blind, he would never have known of my presence, and I never approached him.
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I'm not entirely sure why I kept a distance. I surely admired his faithfulness to prayer and daily Mass, taking the bus at night and walking so many blocks to St. Agnes, but I think I was afraid of him. At that age I didn't know how to relate to ordinary people. I don't mean that in a snooty sense either. In addition, I wasn't sure how to deal with his blindness; Should I help him, or ask him if I can help him, or will he get angry? More deeply, there were other fears and apprehensions I didn't quite comprehend at the time, or was unable to recognize. Most Native Americans wandering around the downtown churches were pan-handlers and drunks. Simply by being a Native American with disabilities and rumpled clothing, Matthew appeared to share in that stigma.
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One day, Matthew and I happened to be leaving the church together. He was just a bit ahead of me seeking the railing on the great staircase outside the church. My conscience commanded me to take his arm in order to help him down the stairs. He asked my name, we spoke haltingly, and then he requested I help him to the corner. My first thought was, "See, this is what happens when you help someone, they ask you to do more." I'm not at all kidding - there is jerk who lives inside me. Again my conscience corrected me, "If a man asks you to go one mile with him, go with him two."

As I walked arm in arm with Matthew, he sensed I was shivering, "You cold", he asked?.

"Kinda." I answered with a laugh.

Then Matthew felt my arm and my waist and he said, "You gotta eat boy, you're too skinny."

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"Oh, I do. But not today."

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"You're fasting," he realized aloud. Then giving my hand a squeeze, "That's good. But you be careful about that stuff."

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We parted ways. Later, if I ran into him, the only thing we ever said was "hello" or "how ya doin'?". I regret that today. I kept my distance. I'm not good at friendship. I know that is a poor excuse.

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Matthew and I could have been good friends I think.

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There are folks who are disabled through blindness, or some sort of physical malady; while others can be disabled by things unseen; ignorance, shame, fear, spiritual pride... any number of disorders. Overtime I started to believe the physically disabled may mirror our own spiritual and psychological disabilities, as well as our need for friendship. I also think they have much to teach us on how to live with our defects, how to cope with loneliness... and even more stuff I'm still learning about.

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Some people are just slow learners... And conversion is a process that can take a lifetime.

American Arrogance?

Bigger than ever.

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The opponents of George Bush accused he and his Administration of arrogance for eight years. Yet supporters of President Obama seem unable to admit or recognize the cold calculating arrogance that is starring them in the face... One of the very first acts the President of the United States did was to overturn a ban on state funding for family-planning groups that carry out or facilitate abortions in other countries. Why is that so important? Fans of the move insist that countless women and girls will no longer have to die because of restricted access to abortion. Such nonsense. What about the countless children who are sacrificed in the ongoing holocaust? It is estimated the world suffers 50 million abortions every single day as it is.

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The honeymoon is over.
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Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, had this to say about our new leader:

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His actions demonstrate "the arrogance of someone who believes they are right, in signing a decree which will open the door to abortion and thus to the destruction of human life. What is important is to know how to listen... without locking oneself into ideological visions with the arrogance of a person who, having the power, thinks they can decide on life and death," he added.

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"I do not believe that those who voted for him took into consideration ethical themes, which were astutely left aside during the election debate. The majority of the American population does not take the same position as the president and his team," he added. " - Source

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As I wrote in an earlier post: Now it begins. I thought I picked up on the arrogance thing as he made his way down the hall to emerge onto the inaugural stage.

Will the real Roman Catholic please stand up.

Who is really Catholic?

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Today from Rome - Pope Benedict XVI Saturday revoked the 1988 excommunication of four clerics who lead a breakaway ultra- traditionalist Catholic group, the Vatican announced. The pope signed a decree lifting the excommunication of the four Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) bishops who broke with Rome over Church reforms introduced in the 1960s through the Second Vatican Council. - Source

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Reunited.

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Concerning the matter of lifting the excommunication on SSPX bishops, one blogger wrote:

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"In both Rome, and in chanceries and in the rank and file of the SSPX, people must open their hearts and not just their minds.

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It is possible for people of good will to disagree on very hard questions and still be in union." - Fr. X

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I think I know what the blogger meant. But I have to wonder if dissidents other than those sympathetic to the SSPX would?

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What about the so-called Obama Catholics? Or the alleged statement by the President to the Holy Father in regard to abortion 'rights'; "We have to agree to disagree." Are they in union?

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What about couples who practice contraception, or are divorced and remarried? Can they be in union?

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What about homosexuals who are sexually active, or want to 'marry'? Are they in union?

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What about married priests or those who oppose celibacy requirements and keep a mistress - or a mister? Are they in union?

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What about women who claim valid ordination to the priesthood? Are they in union?

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It begs the question.

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See what I mean? Dissidents all say the same stuff, traditional or progressive. Their focus seems to be locked in on their own issues, personal ambitions and goals. It seems to me when Catholics of influence publicly enter these debates, they may not always be helping the cause they support. They may simply be adding to the confusion.

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Consider the source.

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After all, there are people in Rome who are appointed and authorised to deal with such matters. Of course that doesn't mean one is not permitted to express an opinion - but consider the source as well as the subject of those opinions. Especially since before today's events, as the excommunications are reported to be officially lifted, some bloggers had posted information claiming the excommunications had been invalid from the start - for whatever reason, and that they never included the "rank and file". Confusing, don't you agree?

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Now, on the other hand, Bishop Fellay of the SSPX came out with a statement concerning one of the 'formerly' excommunicated bishop's beliefs regarding the Nazi holocaust. I was struck by the following statement in the communique:

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"The Society of St. Pius X will not renounce its intention to bring the true Catholic faith and sacraments to Swedish Catholics who have a right to both." - Bishop Fellay

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The bishop's statement strikes me as a bit rash and raises some rather divisive issues. Had the Catholics in Sweden been offered a false Catholic faith before the SSPX came along? Were the Catholics who remained faithful to Catholic teaching as taught in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, under the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI in error? Have Catholics in Sweden been living without licit sacraments since the liturgical reforms of Vatican II? Are the Catholic bishops of Sweden heretics? Is the Chair of Peter vacant?

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As for me and my household...

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But I'm just a simple guy, I don't know much. Although I have to admit that SSPX people have always been better Catholics than I am - many may be more Catholic than the Pope, as some were wont to say. Indeed, the ordinary TLM Catholics are much more devout than I am, as is any daily Mass-goer. I know many progressive Catholics are far better Christians than myself because of their charity and generous efforts promoting the works of peace and justice. I know the Catholics who belong to groups such as Opus Dei, or religious third orders and the like, are way better than I am in the practice of virtue and piety. I also know pro-life Catholics can rightly condemn pro-choice Catholics, and other public sinners. I honestly know this.

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As St. Francis DeSales, whose feast it is today, wrote: "It is our duty to denounce as strongly as we can heretical and schismatic sects and their leaders. It is an act of charity to cry out against the wolf when he is among the sheep, wherever he is." Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, Chp. 29 Slander.

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Nevertheless, I'll continue to listen to the Holy Father and the bishops in union with him. Please pray for me as I prepare to make my confession today.

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Thank you.

Everyone crying out: Blood on their hands!

And now it begins.

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Art: Keith Perelli "Spangled" oil, metal, paint, wood, glass, 2004-05.

Kind of like Hyacinth's candlelight suppers...

I wonder if Sheridan is invited?

You Deserve It!

This week has been quite the week, between dealing with the claim adjuster, the total Trooper, buying a new car, and the loan....I thought we deserved a little treat.

Banbury Cross is my favorite doughnut shop in Salt Lake City. Everything there is delicious from the maples bars to the apple fritters to just plain old glazed. Before I was married I lived down the street and drove to work everyday smelling doughnuts. For me, that was heaven.

The hills are alive with the sound of Nazism...

So what's the story on that wacky SSPX Bishop Williamson anyway?

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"He is an Englishman, received into the Church in 1971, immediately sought to join the London Oratory, after a few days he was asked to leave. He then went to the SSPX seminary at Econe, was ordained priest in 1976 and has spent the rest of his life denying the holocaust and denouncing the Sound of Music, inventing conspiracy theories, slagging off the Pope and appearing on Youtube. I suspect this man, who has increasingly been pedalling a sede vacantist position, will end up leading the rump of the SSPX into a complete break with Rome." - Fr. Blake

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How curious.

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Photo credit: Mass grave from Nazi concentration camp.

Always Christmas... A secret location near Wausau.

ROFLOL!

Day of prayer and penance.

For Catholics in the U.S.
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Evidently not everyone is aware that today is a day of prayer and penance in the United States. This day of prayer and penance is in reparation for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through the sinful acts of abortion. The Church asks us to pray for the reversal of laws permitting such acts and for the legal guarantee of the right to life.
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There are Catholic groups, foundations, and websites for the consolation and support of the so-called other victim of abortion, that is, those women who submit to the process. It is one of the wonderful things about the Catholic Church, providing a healing place for women who have had abortions. Repentance and forgiveness is always possible.
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The victims of abortion.
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I agree that a supportive arm is needed for someone who has committed the grave sin of abortion, murdering their own offspring. Many times these women are coerced into making such a dreadful choice because of emotional trauma and difficulties, economic circumstances, family pressure, or even a boyfriend/lover's influence. The act of abortion remains a choice however. In China, the government forces women to abort, in order to hold to their one child per family policy. Although in this country, few people if any would use that type of coercion to force a woman to abort her baby.
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Do unto others.
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Catholics have an amazing tolerance and understanding for those women, most always repentant, who had once made the choice to abort their child, or in the case of multiple abortions, killed their children. We are welcoming and affirming, and that is as it ought to be as Christians. Too bad we are not always like that with other repentant sinners who once "chose" a sinful lifestyle, although possibly with less freedom: Perhaps coerced into it due to emotional trauma or difficulties, family situations affecting psychological development, maturity and identity, or even cultural influences offering an enticing alternative lifestyle, guaranteeing acceptance, inclusion and affirmation.
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Damned if you do... damned if you don't.

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In some instances, after certain types of sinners have renounced former behaviors, and strive to live in accord with Church teaching, some claim they feel as if they remain under suspicion or labeled because of their former lifestyle. I've heard it said they sometimes feel as if they retain a sort of invisible scarlet letter in the eyes of fellow Catholics. Not infrequently they can find themselves shunned, avoided or dismissed by Catholic society, barred from Catholic employment opportunities, in addition to lost friendships from their former lifestyle; all this despite their conformity and fidelity to Catholic teaching. Many accept such treatment as a penance in their desire to sanctify their lives.

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Enduring the shame. (Hebrews 13:13)
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That said, I think the concept of penance and reparation is often lost on our culture and in our Church. I don't think people believe the consequences experienced as the result of one's sins can be a form of penance, or that exercising mercy and charity towards our neighbor is a form of reparation, especially when it involves sacrifice or suffering.

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This reminds me of another point; I think some of the effects of the sin of abortion on our society is a certain mean-spirited attitude, even cruelty, in our dealings with one another. Hating both the sin and the sinner. That can't be right.

The train has left the station.

Just some thoughts.

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In 1917, Our Lady gave this message at Fatima: "If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated." I often refer to these words in reference to the sins of contraception and abortion. Few people today, aside from some faithful Catholics, admit to the fact that contraception was the first sin - in other words, it was widely accepted and practiced a good 10 years before legalized abortion.

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Today, statistical studies are telling us that the population of most European nations has declined to such an extent they will no longer be able to replicate themselves. The emerging population is Middle-Eastern and Islamic. In effect, these European nations may be annihilated; the French, the Germans, the Dutch, Swedes, and others may indeed die out. This is not racist conjecture, it simply means European culture, as we know it, may vanish as various nationalities die out. (I'm not bothering to link to the data - these things have been published numerous times elsewhere.)

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My point is this, the contraceptive mentality, which ushered in abortion as a contraceptive alternative, has been so ingrained in global popular culture, it seems only a miracle is able to reverse the trend. Considering the stats dealing with populations in recession, I find it interesting that the so-called third secret of Fatima was to be released no earlier than 1960; the explanation given, it would be more understandable at that time.

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As everyone knows, it was in the very early 1960's the first contraceptive pill was introduced and widely used. The pill changed sexual morality entirely. Men and women could freely use sex for recreation rather than procreation, without consequence. I believe it is no coincidence that non-reproductive homosexual sex gradually became accepted, or at least tolerated as an indirect result.

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Consciously or unconsciously, heterosexuals would come to understand the non-generative sex they engaged in was for all practical purposes, not much different from same-sex sexual relations. Thus, as any armchair cultural anthropologist can figure out, sex was an activity one could participate in for pleasure - not just reproduction - and one need not be married or straight to enjoy it. I'm not implying that people didn't engage in sex for pleasure before the pill; however, it is a fact the pill generated widespread promiscuity and a general decline in morals. I'm not unaware that couples "making love" while practising artificial contraception, may also be in love with one another. Nevertheless, straight or gay, their sexual activity is disordered. .

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Indeed the pleasure principle endures today, and more or less dominates contemporary attitudes toward sex and reproductive rights.

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Yep. That train left the station.

Cat fight

Wow! The nasty comments are really flying today.
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The poor old Reverend who had the final prayer at the Inauguration is accused of racism. And poor Mrs. Obama is being roundly scorned for what she wore. Seems to me there is a lot of mean spirited stuff being thrown around the blogoshpere. (I wonder if St. Agnes, whose feast we celebrate today, shouted insults at her executioners? I have my doubts Sr. Aloysius.)

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Anyway. Recently, I mentioned to someone, "I get sick of all this religious B.S." Whenever I make statements like that, I seem to offend religious people, especially "those who are convinced of their self-righteousness." Part of what I was referring to in that outrageous statement was the use of pious platitudes like this, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." It seems to me what most people mean by that is "Love the sinner, yes, but only in some flowery, abstract state of prayer or something, in the meantime, rip him to shreds while hating the sin, and brow beat him so he knows you hate that awful sin." I know - I've done it too - that's how I know all this stuff.

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I read the following at adoration today:

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"A true disciple of Christ will never mistreat anybody. He calls wrongdoing by its name, but he corrects those at fault affectionately. If he does not, he will neither help or sanctify others. We must get along, we must understand, we must forgive, we must be fraternal. St. John of the Cross tells us to 'put love where we find no love and we will draw out love.' The advice is for any occasion..." - St. Josemaria Escriva

The Purse

I think that there are three types of Purse People.

1) The first type of purse person is: Functional Purse: Someone who considers a purse totally functional. It serves a purpose, it holds money, stamps, keys, sunglasses etc. When they have kids they may even use a diaper bag instead - total functionality.
2) The second type of purse person is: Anti Purse: Someone who hates purses, maybe they prefer a wallet attached to a chain that fits in their back pocket or they just use their back pocket to hold necessary items. This person thinks purses are not for them.
3) The third type of purse person is: Purse Lover: Someone who LOVES purses and they have many. A different purse for different needs, or outfits, or social engagements. They may even considered a purse an mandatory accessory.

What is funny about my purse theory is I have run the gamut of all three purse people. I started out as the Anti Purse - I dare say I hated purses....what was the point? I bought a old post office letter pouch that was 6 inch by 4 inches that I kept things in. My mom finally took it from me saying I was going to ruin the pouch and I needed to buy a purse.From there I stumbled through a few wallets here and there. Holding up lines everywhere I went trying to find necessary items. About ten years later I actually bought a purse. For $2.00 at Down East Home with my niece who subtle urged my that I probably needed it. See Below:

But.... Last week I went

to Anthropologie (my favorite store) and Adam saunters over twirling a purse on his own wrist trying to entice me. Now, I have to admit I am just starting the Purse Lover stage, but I am enraptured with this one. It is big and bulky and holds all my fun stuff - camera, gum, sunglasses and wallet. I love the colors and embroidery and the leather handle is soft and smooth. When Adam hands me the purse he says: "Please buy this! Look it is on sale" (which he knows is a dead ringer) I thought to myself....I have been eyeing alot of purses lately that I would just love to have, it is from my favorite store and on sale. Maybe I need to embrace my new love of purses and grow-up and be a Mom with a purse that can hold everything she needs. We'll needless to say.... that purse has a happy home.

Saying Goodbye

For those who are not aware on December 23rd our beloved Trooper was totaled in the parking lot of Del Taco in SLC. Luckily no one was hurt, because no one was actually in the car. The driver ran straight through a major intersection flying over the 4 foot snow embankment and smashing the front of the Trooper. Adam saw most of what happen from the inside of the Del Taco while eating dinner.

The boys and I wanted to pay are last respects and say goodbye. So we drove up to Co-Parts in N. SL where the Trooper was being stored and what I thought was going to be a major bawl fest actually turned into a lot of fun. The boys pretending to smash and create all the dents with their own fists into the trooper and we laughed instead of cried about not having the trooper around anymore.

We had a pretty major attachment to the trooper -- we had owned it for almost 7 years and bought it when Jack was a baby. Until the boys saw the Trooper they just didn't understand why the Trooper couldn't be fixed.

Detail

" The Apotheosis of Father X" T. Nelson
Crayon on paper. Detail.
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I had hoped Kinko's could scan this piece (16"x20"), but the largest item they do is 11"x17", otherwise it would have to go through a roller process, which could damage the piece. Therefore I did my own scan. This detail of a full figure, smoking a cigar, floating away in the sky with inflated balloons, is the result. (That actually happened to a priest.)

Now, for a change of pace.

The day after.

More popular than Joshua.

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What Christian denomination do some of the black celebrities belong to any way? Someone once said that in our modern age all of the ancient heresies have re-emerged, not only in New Age superstitious cults, but in various religious sects as well. It seems to me that many of the pop stars of contemporary culture are willing to embrace any cult that comes along, under the guise of a universalist form of Christianity of course, although Islam and Buddhism are popular favorites too.

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Many people, not just black people, and not just Americans either, seem to regard President Obama as something of a Messiah for the new age. Sometimes it appears to be an adulation that borders on idolatry. And there is a contingent of entertainers, perhaps blinded by the glamour of their celebrity, working to solidify this belief amongst their very impressionable, star struck fans - young and old. This could be dangerous.

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Kind of like the blind leading the blind.

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(I'm not inviting criticism of the President with this post - I'm simply a bit incredulous at what comes out of the mouths of some of his supporters.)

Rejoice today, repent tomorrow.

This just in:

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OK - for all you good Catholics, I am writing this with blood red because you are all responsible for this - you who voted for Obama. This is not a day you should be proud of.

Midway through his acceptance speech, now President Barack Obama, in firm, cool calculated words, stated the following:
" . . . and for those who choose to nurture a child . . .." nc

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I received the above email after I posted a couple of things on the inauguration today.

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FYI: I did NOT vote for Obama.

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(Funny the Pope's message of congratulations didn't mention that.)
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That's all.

I am so worried about Oprah.

I have watched the Inauguration all day long and I have not seen Oprah. I wonder if she went into convulsions too?

This is the day the Lord has made...

Pope Benedict sends his greetings and prayers.
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Vatican City, Jan 20, 2009 / 10:31 am (CNA).- This morning Pope Benedict sent a telegram welcoming Barack Obama as the new President of the United States and assuring him of his prayers.
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The text of the telegram is below:
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On the occasion of your inauguration as the forty-fourth President of the United States of America I offer cordial good wishes, together with the assurance of my prayers that Almighty God will grant you unfailing wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high responsibilities.
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Under your leadership may the American people continue to find in their impressive religious and political heritage the spiritual values and ethical principles needed to cooperate in the building of a truly just and free society, marked by respect for the dignity, equality and rights of each of its members, especially the poor, the outcast and those who have no voice.
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At a time when so many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world yearn for liberation from the scourge of poverty, hunger and violence, I pray that you will be confirmed in your resolve to promote understanding, cooperation and peace among the nations, so that all may share in the banquet of life which God wills to set for the whole human family (cf. Isaiah 25:6-7).
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Upon you and your family, and upon all the American people, I willingly invoke the Lord’s blessings of joy and peace.
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Benedictus PP. XVI
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So let us too pray for the new President.

Toffe Bar Squares

For those of you who love my Toffee, try it as a cookie!

• 1 cup of Butter - softened


• 1 cup of brown sugar


• 1 teaspoon vanilla


• 1 egg yolk


• 2 cups of flour


• 3/4 cup of chocolate chips - melted


• 1/2 cup of crushed walnuts


• Bake in a shallow 9x13 pan @ 400 for 8-10 minutes

In your Mixer, combine softened butter, brown sugar, egg yolk and vanilla - mix thoroughly add flour.

Cook at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes just until the dough is a little brown in top. It goes by fast.

While the cookies are still warm, drizzle and spread melted chocolate all over surface of cookie. After the chocolate is spread, sprinkle crushed walnuts over chocolate. Cut into 2 inch by 2 inch squares. I like to Eat the cookies immediately, but they are also delicious after the cookies have cooled.

President Barrack Obama

Proud to be an American.

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Asked for a comment at the inauguration ceremonies, the actress Cicely Tyson responded with this Scripture; "This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice!"

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Amen.

The Inaugural

The significance of the inauguration of Barrack Obama is not lost on me.

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I am very impressed by the tributes, accolades, celebrations, speeches, and raw emotions being expressed over the inauguration of President-elect Obama. I get all of that. I can't help but be thrilled to be a witness to history; To watch a man of African-American descent, elected to our country's highest office, as he readies himself for that responsibility, to be inaugurated tomorrow at noon. I came through the 1950's and '60's - I went to Catholic school, nuns and priests marched in Selma - therefore I was pretty much educated by the Civil Rights Movement. I'm just saying. I get this.

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However, one things most Americans do not get is this: To date, since 1970, 50 million abortions have been performed in this country. That statistic means that more babies have been murdered since abortion was made a 'right' than the sum total of soldiers killed in all the wars the U.S. has ever fought in. United States citizens have chosen to murder 50 million persons since 1970. (Oprah never tells her audience to think about these things.)

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A sobering reminder as we celebrate the victory of the Civil Rights Movement in the inauguration of a black man. President Obama is the most radical pro-abortion politician in history. I think the idolotry is too much. (See, Polls show Americans believe, 'He can save us!")

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That's all.

Keep praying for Oprah.

Stalker unleashed.
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She is even starting to scare the Secret Service.

False alarm.

There is no new document on the discernment of apparitions forthcoming.

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Wasn't it just last week I posted about a soon-to-be-released-from-the-Vatican set of criteria for discerning visions, locutions, miraculous weeping images, and assorted phenomenon? So cancel that. I'm posting a note on top of my monitor, "Whenever anyone announces, 'The Vatican said this' or 'the Vatican is clamping down' or 'the Vatican is coming out with a document' - don't believe it until you see the actual documents with the authorized signatures and seals, and all of that."

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From National Catholic Register.

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"According to a Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith official who spoke with Register correspondent Edward Pentin, there is no truth to these reports. The official stated emphatically that no work is underway on a vademecum or on any other type of document regarding the question of how to handle claims of apparitions." - NCR

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No need.

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Doh! And that actually makes more sense, especially since criteria for the discernment of spirits and claims of supernatural phenomenon has really not changed much over the centuries. Scholarly theologians such as Garrigou-Lagrange, Fr. Marie Eugene, OCD, and untold others associated (or not) with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose names escape me right now, have pretty much codified such norms already. This is what the Church does. In fact, as recently as 1978, "Norms of the Congregation for Proceeding in Judging Alleged Apparitions and Revelations" was promulgated.

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Enough is never enough for some people.

Keep Oprah in your prayers.

Public stalker.

Catholic Schools

The heroism of women religious.
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This photo of nuns was taken at the funeral for the numerous victims who died in the tragic fire that consumed Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, December of 1958. The nuns proved heroic in rescuing the children who survived. Sadly, as I was told at the time, one entire class was found, dead from smoke inhalation; the trapped Sister and students seated in prayer. I read that another Sister repeatedly rolled down the flights of stairs with children clinging to her habit, to evacuate as many as possible beneath the heavy smoke.
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Those Sisters exemplified the heroic charity every School Sister in the United States daily exercised in their vocation to teach and guide Catholic students in the faith, arts, and sciences. People my age may claim all the nuns were mean or disgruntled, but that type of religious was really the exception. Most of the priests, nuns and brothers who taught school, though strict, were generous, loving, and devout men and women dedicated to their vocation and educating the young.
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Catholic schools in crises?
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That is what the NY Times says. Many are closing due to lack of enrollment. However, laity, clergy and religious alike are beginning to come together to correct that - as much as they are able to at this point. Yet I believe the bishops are the ones who really need to promote Catholic education, just as they did in the beginning. Up until a decade or so ago, the Catholic school system seemed to be an institution that was pretty much taken for granted - something that would always be there. Religious vocations may have diminished, but lay teachers took their place - albeit at much greater expense. Hence the increased cost of education - and the sad realization we may have taken the nuns for granted as well.
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A local priest reopens his school.
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I went to Mass at Holy Family parish this morning. It is a strong parish situated in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The pastor, Fr. Thomas Dufner is a very solid, spiritual, and dynamic priest. He seems to be an excellent administrator as well. I believe he made it his personal goal to reopen Holy Family Academy, which he did, and it is prospering. While the parish is growing, it is also very active, and they need to expand and build a parish center. Which points to the obvious fact, the care of souls is Fr. Dufner's number one priority.
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He also has a crowd of altar boys who serve Sunday Mass. A church full of young families with lots of kids - who kneel and follow Mass attentively, reverently, and quietly. It is so edifying to be there early on a Sunday morning and see Father in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament two hours before Mass, one hour before he hears confessions.
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Likewise, every Saturday morning Fr. Dufner stands outside an abortion facility in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, praying the rosary with a group of other pro-life people - he has done this for years. He is also very active with the youth in his parish, and nourishes his entire flock with solid spiritual instruction and direction, while providing for fun, wholesome recreation. He is one of the most dedicated priests I have ever seen, and I think the parish loves him and supports his initiatives.
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Bishops, priests, and religious like Fr. Dufner is what the Church in the United States needs to revive Catholic identity, Catholic education, and Catholic morality in our culture.
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Photo source: Life Magazine. When I came across the photo I thought it was a photo of rows of television sets. This particular photo demonstrates why habits needed to be modified.

Cardinal Cushing, chaplain to the Kennedy's.

Cardinal Cushing of Boston, praying at the John F. Kennedy Inaugural.
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Somehow I get the impression Obama is not a religious man. It seems to me that the clerics chosen to 'speak/pray' at his Inaugural may be more political choices than religious.

Pray for Oprah.

Stalking Obama.
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I hear she is beyond hysterical these days leading up to the inaugaration.