So I bought a new veil

I' ve been looking at this one for a year now but hesitated because it's brown. Once I got it I discovered that the color is beautiful. It's sort of mahogany. The maker was Catholic Traditions. You can find her on my links list or just go directly to Ebay.


Support Catholic business women!

Chick-fil-A

"Activists" (nosey bossy people who spend their lives and make their money trying to force the rest of us  to do what they want) are trying to force Chick-fil-A to give them money and to stop giving money to groups that are pro-normal-man-woman- marriage or be harassed. Well I say "nuts" to that.   I'm having nuggets for lunch and don't touch my waffle fries.

Treasures of the Church

Rocky and I went to the Treasures of the Church exposition at St. John the Beloved on Tuesday night.  The church was packed. There must have been over 400 people there and  and people kept coming in. There was a short talk by a Companions of the Cross priest and  after the talk the crowd walked quietly to the  parish school’s gym and we were able to spend time with over 150 relics. I found relics of my favorite saints and saints I knew nothing about. It was like a family reunion and it was amazing to be so close to the precious relics of God’s champions. I was so happy and felt such tender regard coming from the saints themselves. If you ever have a chance to go to a Treasures of the Church exposition I highly recommend this profoundly blessed experience. 

Saint Michael the Archangel,

defend us in the day of battle.

Be our safeguard against the

wickedness and the snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him we humbly pray

and do thou O Prince of the Heavenly Host,

cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits

who prowl throughout the world

seeking the ruin of souls. 

Amen

None of us knows the day or hour when our earthly life will be interrupted and we will be called before God to give an account for oursleves. Pray, go to regular confession and trust God. 

Assumption Church

Assumption Church, South East DC

We went to visit my uncle on Saturday instead of my usual Sunday and we took him to Mass at Assumption Church again. It is such a precious little church and the parishioners were so kind and friendly. The ushers were particularly perceptive and realized that my uncle is ill and they were so gentle. The new pastor Father Ivany is just a sweetheart. He's young and full of energy and he's a good preacher.  I think he came from youth ministry to his first pastorate at Assumption. Whenever we happen to visit the nursing home on a Saturday we will be sure to go back to Assumption for Mass.

Colorado talkers---have you no sense of decency?

All sorts of miserable wretches are attempting to make hay over the Colorado movie massacre. They are talking when they ought to be silent. People are dead. Mothers, fathers, spouses(?) are grieving and now must plan funerals.  This is not the time to ride a particular hobby horse. One blogger, whom I think is a poor excuse for a man,  blamed the victims for merely being there. Apparently going to anything more than a G rated movie makes you deserve to be gassed and shot down. Another blogger criticized the victims who brought their children.

I agree that Batman isn’t for little kids (and isn’t THAT a shame?) but mocking the dead and injured as they lie gray and cold in the morgue or their hopsital beds is obviously a failure of mercy and decency.

Still another Catholic blogger whom I used to respect and whom I won't be reading anymore, blamed the movie itself and most movies for somehow influencing the 24 year old killer. The political beat news personalities tried to whip the public into hysteria by claiming the killings were due to politics. Brian Ross of ABC implied that  an innocent man was involved and had to apologize.  The innocent man got threats and had to disconnect his phone. Ross sitll has his job. This is all simply obscene.

The Colorado killer is obviously a freak and a monster, a pest of among men but the commentators don't know why he is that way and I don't think they really care. They just want to take the deaths and injuries of people to prove their precious points. There are no pat answers as to what makes mass killer. With that in mind, allow me to introduce someone to you. His name was Jesse Pomeroy at14, he remains the youngest serial killer in American history.  Neither TV, movies nor the Internet had been invented when Jesse started torturing and killing younger children. None of the usual excuses applied to his behavior. Despite being observed for decades no doctor could say if Jesse was simply criminally insane or demonic. You can have a pet theory about the Colorado killings but the glee, the smugness, the unseemly haste of the reporters and commenters is appalling.

Our Lady of Silence, pray for us.

random Friday thoughts

•   Sometimes you need to know when to shut up or at least keep your thoughts to yourself. Here is a nice story about a recent FSSP mission trip to the Dominican Republic and a commenter had to go and ruin it by complaining that the priests were wearing sunglasses and undignified hats.  What this poor man(?) doesn’t get is that life at the Banica mission is rugged. There are spiders, and mosquitos fierce enough to make you run screaming. The roads are dirt, the priest must walk, ride a motorcycle or a mule up and down mountains and hollows to get to the people. The people live in deep poverty and most do not even have their own outhouses. This aint no cushy assignment. If the sight of a priest standing in a tropical climate wearing sun glasses offends you then I just don’t know what to say for you. I really don’t.
  
  

• I don’t read Patheos blogs except for Crescat but I followed a link from another site and it led to this post which really bothered me. Give this poor little girl some privacy. We don’t need to know where she goes to school or have a photo. I know it’s a matter of public record now but seeing it on a Catholic blog written by a member of the clergy just doesn’t seem right. Badly done, Deacon.
  
  
  
• I don’t why Bishop Loverde is doing this but it’s a good thing.. If a CCD teacher objects to promising that she or he won’t teach anything contrary to the Faith then they need to quit.

Hey ladies you don't speak for me

Lucreta Scaraffia has an opinion.  Melinda Gates also has an opinion and her husband's money to back it up. Both these women claim to be speaking for the rest of us. Well I reject them. Ladies you don't speak for me and Melinda, you are particularly foul. You are importing death to women in the Third World with the eugenicist idea that if only those black and brown women has less kids the world would be a nicer place for the fitter white kids in Jackson Hole, Manhattan and Silcon Valley.

Speaking as a formely poor kid I say go home and  ease your boredom by taking  up knitting or gardening  or join the board of a a museum but quit messing with people's lives!




Malficent Gates wishing very bad things on innocent babes

When you take the king's coin....

I read an astute observation on the Restore DC Catholicism blog.

If you take the king’s coin you are his servant. Whether that service is glorious or bitter is a combination of fate, your abilities and the king’s wisdom and whim. Our bishops need to understand that. You might be able to get away with saying “Yeah King, thanks for the money to run my soup kitchen but just give me the money and don’t ask me to do anything that goes against my religion,” with a benign king but what if your king is a malignant sort? Then you're in trouble. So the only thing to do is to stop taking Federal money!

Thomas Cromwell was King Henry's number one ace. It didn't work out too well... 

How to wear a mantilla

When I first started wearing a veil to Mass and Adoration I could never keep it on straight. No matter what I did I always looked a bit crooked or I had the Flying Nun effect. Through trial and error I got it right finally. Some women just toss theirs on and it stays perfectly. Not me. I need bobby pins and a quick mirror check. Rosa Mystica has excellent advice and I found myself wishing that I'd known all this years ago.


I recently found this video tutorial by a just adorable young lady who goes by the handle of She Is Catholic.

The Will You Mantilla With Me blog has some good advice as well.

I don't like this

I don't like this at all. By handing the Gospels to  his wife what is the newly ordained deacon saying? This is not part of the official ordination ceremony. It  took place in LA so I'm not surprised by novelty and I imagine that the liturgy organizers were trying to emphasize that a deacon can't do the job without his wife's support but this looks like the wife is getting an official role as well. It makes me feel uneasy.

4th of July thoughts

• Our power and water have been out since the great storm so we've been staying at my mother's. It's been a lot of fun and I can't complain. Today is the Fourth of July and I don't feel celebratory at all. I'm no Constitutional law scholar but I can't shake the feeling that something life  shaking has happened. It's like coming home with your friends from school and finding your dad drunk and unconscious on the porch. Your friends say nothing and never mention it again and the rest of your family carefully files the incident away in the memory hole but it happened, you all know it and it can't be undone... forever.
  
  I've been mystified by a couple of things: some people at work say that millions of poor people will now have free medical coverage. What poor people? The ones who already get free care? How will Obamacare help me? Since I go to work I take it that I make too much money for "free medical care". It sounds like more money will be going out of my pocket or the IRS police will come get me for something rather vague.  The bishops seem happy about the Supreme Court ruling. So does that mean that they think making me pay for other women's abortions is good? Is the Fortnight for Freedom just a clever dodge ala "I, Bishop X don't want to pay for some woman's sinful behavior but I have no problem with the Baptist/ Christadelphian/AME/whatever layman being forced to?" I don't get it. 
  
  
  
  On the other hand, I'm lying on the floor of my childhood home eating fried chicken and listening to my mother and husband telling jokes. The air is cool, the Washington Nationals baseball team is winning and my parish never lost power. God reigns. Amen.

• Katie Holmes woke up. Great.
  
  
• For the greater glory of God. Thank you Archbishop Sheen.
  
  

Treasures of the Church Exposition

The Companions of the Cross order is coming to Virginia in July with their Treasures of the Church. Pilgrims will have an opportunity to venerate over 150 relics of the saints. HT to Deo Volente at the TLM MD blog and to Gina at Broken Fiat.


 Monday July 23 at 7:00 pm
St. Veronica Church
3460 Centreville Road
Chantilly, Virginia 20151
(703) 773-2000

Tuesday July 24 at 7:00 pm
St. John the Beloved Catholic Church
6420 Linway Terrace
McLean, Virginia 22101
(703) 356-7916

Wednesday July 25 at 7:00 pm
St Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church
6720 Union Mill Road
Clifton, Virginia 20124
(703) 817-1770

Thursday July 26 at 7:00 pm
Our Lady of Peace Church
2 Allendale Rd.
Wheeling, West Virginia 26003
(304) 242 6579

Friday July 27 at 7:00 pm
St. Thomas à Becket Church
1421 Wiehle Avenue
Reston, Virginia 20190
(703) 437-7113

Saturday July 28 at 10:00 am
Our Lady of Angels
13752 Mary's Way
Woodbridge, Virginia 22191
(703) 494-2444
  

This is beautiful

Adoration at a prison in Nairobi, Kenya. HT Crescat blog

My Peace and My Joy by St. Therese

MY PEACE AND MY JOY.

How many souls on earth there are, Who vainly seek for peace and rest! With me, ‘tis otherwise by far; Joy dwells forever in my breast. No fading blossom is this flower, Of its decay no fear have I; Like fragrant rose in springtime’s bower So fair it is, yet shall not die.

Well nigh too great my gladness is, All things I wish are mine to-day. How can I help but show my bliss, Who am so light at heart, so gay? My joy I find in pain and loss, I love the thorns that guard the rose; With joy I kiss each heavy cross, And smile with every tear that flows.

When clouds the sunny skies o’ercast, And weary grows my heart the while, My joy it is that joy is past, And gone my Lord’s consoling smile. My peace is hid in Jesus’ breast, — May His sweet will alone be done! What fear can mar my perfect rest, Who love the shadow as the sun?

My peace,’tis like a child to be, That doth not plan, nor understand; So, when I fall, Christ raiseth me, And leads me gently by the hand. My childish love I manifest, And for His grace alone implore; Then, if He hide, my love to test, I only love Him all the more.

My peace, it is to hide my tears, Nor ever show my bitter pain. What joy to suffer through the years; To veil with flowers each galling chain! To suffer, yet make no complaint, Since this, my Jesus, pleases Thee! Could any trial make me faint? ’Tis Thy sweet cross is laid on me.

My peace,— it is with God to plead, In prayers and tears, by day and night; For many souls to intercede, And say to Him, my heart’s Delight: “O Little Brother, Heavenly King! For Thee the cross I gladly bear. My only joy is suffering, Since thus Thy earthly lot I share.”

I long would live an exile here, If that be Thy dear will for me; Or soon would flee from exile drear, If thou shouldst call me unto Thee. Since Love’s divine, celestial breath Is all I need, my heart to bless, What matters life, what matters death? Love is my peace, my happiness!

January 21, 1897.