This is beautiful

A Carmelite on Profession Day

 

HT Brides of Christ tumblr blog

Contemplation

This crucifix gives us a tiny idea of what Mary saw when she looked at her Son, her precious baby, on the cross. I was sitting in church one day and thought of the image on the Shroud and it hit me how horrible Our Lord's beaten, bloodied face must have looked. And this was all for me and you that we might be saved.

The storm

I find talking about weather boring. Living in Northern Virginia where people completely freak out if there's two inches of snow on the ground I look at weather hysteria (which is NOT the same as prudent concern), with contempt. Freaking out does not help anything and makes the situation worse for people who depend on you or who have to be stuck listening to you. My rules for bad weather are simple and don't take hours of discussion.

 *If it's raining too hard for an umbrella, take shelter.

* If its snowing go make grilled cheese.

*When it's hot go inside and turn on the air conditioning.

*When it's cold, go inside and turn on the heat.

*Check the insurance policies BEFORE the storm hits.

*Move the priceless antiques and yourself to the upper floors BEFORE the storm hits if your basement and first floor usually flood.

 *If the weather is life threatening grab the pre-packed emergency bag and get the heck out. That's about it. 

Please pray for all those people sleeping on the streets tonight. May someone coax them into shelters and please pray for those who may loose their lives or property to Hurricane Sandy... flood clean up is stinky, miserable and in this wrecked economy a lot of people won't have the money to do it. Oh and one more thing, hurricane season usually goes on to early November so this may not be the end.

Hmmm. I wonder what this means?

Now that they've kicked Bishop Williamson out does this mean that the SSPX talks aren't dead afterall? I think that this thrust and parry dance is going to go on for decades but it's interesting to watch.

Oh Sacred Heart of Jesus..

 

 

Have mercy on us!

Vigil Mass at St. Rita

Bishop Loverde came to celebrate Mass today at St. Rita's. I'd forgotten how tiny he is. He and Cardinal McCarick are about the same height and the cardinal is as we as a leprechaun. It was a beautifully celebated Mass. Our choir sang pieces from Thomas Thalis and Fr. Eagle and Fr. Bear looked really exicted. The Mass was for the intention of the late Fr. Watkins who was once pastor of St. Rita's.

methods of hearing the Tridentine Mass

Lady Lucy befor her entrance into
the convent

Did you know that you aren't required to follow the missal at at TLM? A priest, and I can't remember if it was a young Archbishop Sheen or not once told a story about asking an old Irish woman what she was doing at Mass because he never saw her with a missal. She replied with some asperity, "Father, I sits and I loves." He thought about it and concluded that she was doing just fine. Some people follow the Mass  by praying suggested prayers as the priest hits different parts of the Mass and others follow by meditating  on the Agony and death of Our Lord or the sufferings of the Holy Souls.

 Mother Teresa Joseph (Lady Lucy Herbert in the world), an English  Augustinian nun who died in 1744,  wrote a book called Several Excellent Methods of Hearing Mass which spells out how to do this. I tried a couple of her  methods and they were  not for me. I think it takes practice to do the meditations and stop at the right time so that you are moving along roughly at the priest's pace instead of being surprised with the consecration bells ring. It is HARDER for me than following along in the missal ---but it was interesting and I'm glad I read the book. No matter how many degrees you have or even if you're a papal knight there is ALWAYS something more to be learned about the Faith, devotions and Catholic customs. Holy Mother Church has inexhaustable treasure in wisdom for those who are willing to study.

Agony in the Garden

Carl Bloch did multiple versions of this, his most famous painting. I think I like this one the best.

every now and then the devil shows his face

 A  big money donor to the Democrats who is also either a P.T. Barnum without the charm or  kin to the Weird Sisters of Macbeth facme, has some nasty things to say about Catholics. Among them was this statement, “We will come on you in a terror."

A terror? Now where have I read that before? The devil and his children play the same basic game over and over. Call it Communism, call it New Age…whatever. Look at the martyrs of Rome, Spain, Mexico, France and Russia and realize what this stuff is and that it will go on until the end of time.   

St. Francis in Prayer

As I've said before the seraphic Saint Francis was so

different from the icky Brother Sun Sister Moon movie version of him that it's

almost comical...almost.

Why are there no Catholic fashion sites?

On the 11 On My Own blog, the author was wondering why there aren't a lot of Catholic fashion sites. Mormon women have modest yet attractive fashion blogs---Thread Ethic is the absolute best, and lots of clothing stores online and in brick and mortar. Orthodox Jewish women do a fantastic job of creating beautiful clothes that fit their code of dress. It doesn't work for Catholic women because we've been taught for so long to to look and live like everybody else.. I don't think a Catholic designer who was interested in making good looking, adult modest clothing  could make enough money to keep the business going.

demonic

A few days ago I read a story about a school bus driver who told an 11 or 12 year old boy that his mother should've aborted him. The driver was harrassing this child becuase his parents had a Romney sign in their yard. The driver, who thankfully, was fired,  is reportedly, in her 70s. My first thought was that perhaps this is a case of dementia in the early stages because it can cause even a sweet natured individual to have downright nasty episodes, but no, apparently this woman is just really committed to abortion on demand. 

How messed up do you have to be to take your political views out on a kid? I mean, I may like Obama, Romney or the Governor from The Walking Dead for president but it would never occur to me to discuss politcs with anybody else's child much less make a vicious personal attack. Abortion meant more to this woman than her job, basic human decency, and even the the appearance of normalcy. Hard core, day in, day out abortion advocates are different even from the lazy or just thoughtless pro-abortion people you may know at work or in your family. All the hard core true believers give a damn about and live for is to kill babies.  You can't reason with them. They're like Dracula on a drop of blood. Whatever it is that holds them is simply demonic.

 Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

Zombie babies: a sign of the times?

My boss is insisting on throwing  a Halloween cupcake party this year. I'm not thrilled and said so but I don't get a vote so.........I headed to a party store to pick up table cloths and a couple of decorative items. Five seconds afer stepping into the place I began to feel sick. The big thing this year is zombie babies.  Rows and rows of   undead infants dripping with blood.  Vampires, ghouls, ghost and witch costumes were also there once you walked further into the store but the dead baby figurines, and life sized statues  were up front. The party store owner knows what's hot and what his customers want and must have gone all out. I had no idea this was considered cool and I'm pretty sure it's says something about our culture. I didn't buy anything and left as quickly as I could.

Presented without comment

random thoughts

*Don’t knock yourself out trying to get your kid into Harvard. It meant something once but really the students are no better than you are. In fact, there’s a lot of filth and corruption hiding in that ivy.

*The Holy Father said something very interesting about Vatican II.


*Well I guess the other shoe dropped.


* If you want to do something about the talking and disrespect for the Blessed Sacrament in your parish try this: Refuse---gently to chat with people in the pews, Genuflect or bow if your knees can't take it anymore, EVERY SINGLE time you pass Jesus. Say a thank you prayer after Mass unless you have small explosive children and if you do try stopping just for a minute and saying bye bye to Our Lord before you go out. Genuflect or bow your head before receiving Communion. You may think this is all pointless because nobody notices. Nonsense. Jesus notices and you'd be surprised but other parishioners do to.


*John Zmirak is an interesting man. I don't know what to make of him.  I read Bad Catholic's Guide and found parts of it distasteful but serious Catholics who I respect, raved about the books.I'm completely unsure of where he's coming from or what team he's really playing on but oh my, can he write.

* To celebrate the Year of Faith the faithful have been granted a plenary indulgence. The Vatican News service has the details.  

 

 

 

I thought this was a joke at first.

 Warning. Do not look at this video if you have high blood pressure, deep melacholia, or are quick to anger. Pray and sacrifice for the Holy Father. Fixing stuff like this spectacle at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, Brazil is so hard and huge a job that it can only be done with holy help. I keep hearing that Latin American Catholics will revitalize the Church here in the States because they have a superior grasp of the Faith. Umm. No, bad teaching and tolerance of stupid stuff has had its way there just as it has here. HT Rorate Caeli and WDTPRS.

I look upon Him Whom my sins have pierced...

The San Damiano Crucifix

The Catholic vote

I read Dr. Mirus' comments on why the Catholic vote is apparently in the bag for Obama.  He chalks it up to a failure in teaching. I think it's actually a triumph of the teaching we've been getting for decades. We have been told from the pulpit and in Catholic books, diocesan newspaper editorials, and by the lay leaders of the parish not to be embarassing, parochial, Catholic ghetto unsophisticates and to be cool like everybody else. And so, you have Catholic men and women who, except for the one hour they shuffle into church are exactly like everyone else.

God help us.

St. Faustina

Pray for us, dear saint.

Silence? Nope.

 

 

The real St. Francis is more interesting than the sentimental bird feeder version

St. Francis was not a hippie or a wimp. Father Rutler says it better than I could.

St. Therese, I love you

She's been my loving, protective, and encouraging  friend for a long time now.