Favorite meatless recipe to share?

Company's coming.

Next Friday, the 8th, we have a special dinner guest. I can not serve Father meat, obviously.

I'd like to serve him something that doesn't smell up the house like salmon does...unless, maybe, it's a salmon quiche with a lovely salad?

Or perhaps a pasta dish?

Dear Reader, would you be so kind as to share some of your favorite meatless meal ideas?

Cutest blog on the block

That's the name of the service, actually.

Thank you Ashley at http://www.thecutestblogontheblock.com/ for guiding me to just the blog face I wanted! Great customer service!

Readers, let me know what you think ...

Simple Woman's daybook - July 27th

I'm participating in A Simple Woman's Daybook carnival. Visit Peggy to see all the other daybooks of participants.

Outside my Window...a terrific thunderstorm complete with hail, love it, so cooling!

I am thinking of...our friends who invited us over for dinner.

I am thankful for...all the caring people, family & friends, who wrote letters to my son on his 13th birthday.

From the kitchen...nothing, we're invited out!

I am creating...a pile of homeschooling materials to share with my friend

I am going... to do an extreme blog makeover! Stayed tuned....

I am wearing....denim capris and a lilac v-neck t shirt

I am reading... my camera manual, again. I find I have to, often, to remember how to do things and expand my usage of it.

I am hoping....to finish organizing my scrapbook room, there are photos everywhere! What a mess...but, it's been a lot of fun too. I am hearing...thunder booms and the odd tinkling of hail balls on the house and deck, excited children.

Around the house...some roses just cut from the bush out back and also hydrangea and sunflowers! This has been a lovely flower year and I have been able to fill the house with cuttings from my own home. The squirrels actually are owed some thanks as they made the sunflower seed mess that produced the sunflowers!

One of my favorite things...this wire photo collage from Expressions. I've had this for many years and I enjoy updating the collage.

Quilts and ... My new bedroom night table lamps.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...prepare for First Friday, My husband's birthday and First Saturday.

Here is a picture/thought I am sharing.... my 13 year old

Choo Choo pancakes

Hope you had a lovely weekend.

This was supposed to look like a train...yeah...and that's smoke coming out of the stack....

And so it begins....he turns 13 !

My eldest turned 13 today...

So hard to believe in many ways, so evident in others.

Soon he'll be taller than me. He's really quite remarkable and I so admire who he is. It is my prayer that he exits the teen years certainly with the confidance only experience can bring but with much the same goodness and character that he has today!

Stay true to yourself, son.

If you were reading last year, you'd know how we celebrate birthdays. (You'd also know what I mean by the title..."and so it begins." We're about to get slammed! Four birthdays will be celebrated under this roof in a span of 17 days.)

This year he chose....

Birthday Breakfast: Reese's puff cereal (a once a year treat)

Birthday Lunch : French dip toaster sandwich from Arby's

Birthday activity : Ice hockey

Birthday dinner : marinated, grilled, frenched lamb chops with corn, caesar salad, baguette's with bruschetta followed by make-your-own-Sundaes! (He'll never have room for it all!)

Presents: Just about every training item from HockeyShot.com and the Words of Wisdom Box.

I think the real treasure will be the Words of Wisdom letters. I asked our families and special men in my son's life to write to him with their advice, or favorite quotes or memories of the teenage years to mark this milestone. When he opens this box and sees how he has been honored I am sure it will be very meaningful to him! I have seen some of these letters and they are all so exceptional, a few...unforgettable! I suspect that every time he revisits the box, these words of wisdom, support from those he loves and admires, will mean more and more to him...


Birthday Verse - Matthew 7:24 Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock.

Mosaic Meme

click mosaic to see larger

The Questions (and The Answers):

1. What is your first name? Mary A. 2. What is your favorite food? Mexican 3. What high school did you go to? The Academy 4. What is your favorite color? Denim Blue 5. Who is your celebrity crush? Paul Hewson 6. Favorite drink? Margarita 7. Dream vacation? Vatican 8. Favorite dessert? Brownie A La Mode 9. What you want to be when you grow up? To serve God as He sees fit. 10. What do you love most in life? Faith and Family 11. One Word to describe you? Blessed 12. One hobby of yours? Blogging

So...now it's your turn. I hope, like me, you learn how to do new things and enjoy your creation.

Here's how: a. Type your answer to each of the questions above into Flickr Search. b. Using only the first page, pick an image. c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker. d. Save image to hard drive and post to blogger. e. Copy HTML code for flickr photo credits and paste into blogger at the bottom of the post.

Please let me know if you play along! I'd love to see your mosaic! And so would Jessica, where I found this meme.

CREDITS
1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackcustard/472413139/">Yashica: Allison On The Beach,

2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/codebleu/5858596/">Covet My Lunch,

3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/24928487@N02/2653151959/">Germantown Academy,

4. Denim*, 5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/threelunaticdevils/8567416/">Bono (paul hewson),

6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ensee/1214371965/">Frozen Margarita, 7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramonduran/79506942/">San Pedro, 8. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lainers/2577794015/">triple chocolate brownie a la mode,

9. http://www.flickr.com/photos/9943678@N04/1562646057/">Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven,

10. faith_family., 11. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dark-o/408532292/">bless from above, 12. http://www.flickr.com/photos/aqui-ali/34964321/">Yet

Hold the applause on liturgical abuse

It's not a SHOW, it's the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass...

Hold the Applause: Confessions of a Conflicted Clapper
July 22nd, 2008 by Mary Anne Moresco

Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment.

The above words were penned by our Holy Father Pope Benedict the XVI, (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) on p. 198 of his book entitled The Spirit of the Liturgy. I first read this book before our Holy Father became pope. The book did three things to me. First, it made me acutely aware that there was much about the meaning of the liturgy to which I was blind. Second, it deepened my love for the liturgy. Third, it put me in conflict with respect to how I needed to approach Mass. One area of conflict was in clapping at Mass.

Having read Cardinal Ratzinger’s words on clapping, I wondered how I could continue to clap at Mass in good conscience. As one who has been to Masses where there was clapping for just about everyone, from musicians, lectors, altar servers and church decorators to priests giving homilies and lay people giving testimonies, I began to wonder why we clap at Mass at all.

Some liturgical clapping proponents claim we clap because Psalm 47:1 tells us to clap: “All you peoples, clap your hands….“ But we Catholics do not interpret scripture independently. We look to Holy Mother Church, and her 2,000 years of teaching, to ensure our interpretation is authentic. The documents on the liturgy (the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, Liturgiam Authenticum, and Redemptionis Sacrmentum) do not call for clapping at the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They call for reverence.

Rome wants irreverence at Mass to a stop. “…let everyone do all that is in their power to ensure that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist will be protected from any and every irreverence…” (Redemptionis Sacramentum 183). [ Why such disobedience to Rome? Why **so much liturgical abuse**? - my comment] The key question is this: is clapping a reverent action, or does clapping break the liturgical spirit of reverence which Rome is calling us to protect?

Cardinal Francis Arinze is prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome. When His Eminence speaks about the liturgy, our ears should perk up and listen. He stated that “…when we come to Mass we don’t come to clap. We don’t come to watch people, to admire people. We want to adore God, to thank Him, to ask Him pardon for our sins, and to ask Him for what we need.” [Adoremus Bulletin; Vol. IX, no.7, Oct. 2003]

I am a Roman Catholic. I don’t make up the rules for my faith or the Catholic Mass as I go along. I receive them from God, through His church, as a gift. I have faith in God, His church and its teachings. I believe God reveals His truths through those teachings. For that reason I want to honor them.

To honor those teachings, and thus honor God, I had resolved at Mass to hold the applause when I was there. Yet, I must confess that sometimes when everyone around me is clapping, or when someone stands up at Mass and asks me to applaud for someone else, I still succumb to clapping — albeit half-heartedly.

In the midst of the applause, our Holy Father’s words spin sadly around in my head, thus causing me grief and making for conflicted claps. The hands that clap at Mass these days are distracted and bewildered hands that would find a sublime joy if only they might be permitted to simply fold themselves in prayer to our God on that one special hour of the week devoted to Him. This is an ongoing struggle in my life that revisits itself often on Sunday. But please don’t clap for me. Instead, I ask “you my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.”

© Copyright 2008 Catholic Exchange
Mary Anne Moresco writes from Monmouth County, New Jersey.

There is no clapping at The Latin Mass...

** There is some inflammatory language at this link, however the table of violations with links to the relevant church documents and Canon Law citations are straightforward and unemotional facts.

Catholics United for the Faith has also discussed this, as has the entertaining StuffCatholicsLike.

Prayer Rock Craft

Here's a birthday gift we recently made, a fun and easy craft for kids.

We found some pretty, round edge stones and painted them.


On them, we will write PRAYER ROCK.

Then we'll cut a circle of fabric with pinking shears, wrap our rock in it and tie it with a pretty ribbon.


This little note will go along with the Prayer Rock gift......

I'm just your little prayer rock

And this is what I'll do:

Just put me on your pillow

until the day is through.

When you turn back the covers
and climb into your bed,
Whack...your little prayer rock
will hit you on your head!


Then you will remember
as the day is through
to kneel and say your prayers
as you had wanted to.


Then when you are finished
just dump me on the floor.
I'll stay there through the night
to give you help once more.


When you get up in the morning,
Clunk! I'll stub your toe
so that you will remember
your prayers before you go!


Put me back on your pillow
when your bed is made
and your clever little prayer rock
will continue in your aid.


Because you heavenly Father
cares and loves you so
He wants you to remember
to talk to Him, you know.

Handkerchiefs

I find handkerchiefs charming.

I even like the word, handkerchief.

My mother had a drawer just for hankies in her dressing room, which she called her "boudoir". :) So many handkerchiefs! Each design was different and lovely.

She admitted that they were no longer used as much as once and allowed me to take quite a few that I liked best. Fascinated with their loveliness and gentility, when it came time for my wedding, my mother and I decided to make handkerchiefs our gift at the guest's place setting.

For every man attending the reception he had on his plate a masculine white hanky with his name embrodiered on it. For each lady, the same,but her hanky was very feminine with beautiful flowers embroderied into it as well. It was a very personal touch and not a common gift. My hanky from our wedding, along with my husband's has been under the glass top of our bedroom bureau. I hope our guests have kept them.

To continue this tradition, I have also continued to have hankies monogrammed for my sons. They make a great stocking stuffer at Christmas. My daughter shares some of my mother's lovelies with me, and I am holding aside a few with my mother's monogram on them for all her granddaughters.

Another way I have found to enjoy the hankies daily is as a window treatment. Above my kitchen sink

and in the 1st floor powderroom

they grace and soften my windows although I am sure there is a more creative way to do so. They do get noticed by visitors and I enjoy telling them that they were my mother's.

Transcendence.

I do love the connections...to the past...to gentility...to family legacy. It's a reoccuring theme for me...to be the one that captures, retains and celebrates the legacies. I wouldn't want it any other way. Thanks, Mom.

Scenes from a Summer's Day, 3 - By the light of the silvery moon

Renee's SCENES FROM A SUMMER'S DAY ~ THE SUMMER MOON

The moon coming in the centerhall window. I *was* heading up for bed when Mr. Moon asked me to spend some time with him.

Just me...and the moon....By the light of the silvery moon

Irena Sendler saved 2,500 jewish children

Thank you Shelly at Partyof9 for this amazing story!

Watch Video

The Nobel Peace Prize - awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

Irena Sendler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, but lost...

to Al Gore's film.

Novena to dear Saint Anne

She is the saint I chose this year from the saint basket. Today is the day to begin her novena to end on her feast day, July 26th.

She has been a saint dear to me for many years! Please join me in the novena prayers. As St. Anne is the grandmother of Jesus my request of her will be for my grandmother.

I highly recommend the little TAN book, Good St. Anne.

Dying Wish

A friend of mine has a father with Lou Gehrig's disease and a dying wish. She and her family also have a hero...

His courage even made Laura Ingraham cry during the Fox News interview. ( <-- watch)

Please pray for this hero and his cause, the DIGNITY OF LIFE!

From USA TODAY...."There isn't much John Peyton can do on his own except speak, and soon he'll lose even that.

The former Boeing computer programmer has Lou Gehrig's disease, which progressively paralyzes its victims. His doctor gives him three to six months to live.

He is using his last months to oppose a ballot initiative that would allow physicians in Washington state to help terminally ill patients end their lives. Only Oregon has such a law. Read the rest....

"What we're really doing I believe, is attempting to eliminate the sufferer so we don't have to deal with them," Peyton said."

Our Lady of Mount Carmel ~ Scapular medal

This is our house scapular. See how enormous it is? I saw it on Mother Angelica's shopping show and ordered it!

We are enrolled in the scapular and, like most families, have a stash of personal scapulars for all the ones that break. Interestingly, I came across this from Father Hardon ....

The Scapular Medal

In 1910, Pope Saint Pius X introduced a scapular medal which may be substituted in most cases for any of the various scapulars. Valid enrollment in the scapulars must, however, be made before the substitution.

The decree, in translation, reads thus:
"For the future all the faithful already inscribed or who shall be inscribed in one or other of the real Scapulars approved by the Holy See (excepting those which are proper to the Third Orders) by what is known as regular enrollment may, instead of the cloth scapulars, one or several, wear on their persons, either round the neck or otherwise, provided it be in a becoming manner, a single medal of metal, through which, by the observance of laws laid down for each scapular, they shall be enabled to share in and gain all the spiritual favors (not excepting what is known as the Sabbatine Privilege of the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel), and all the privileges attached to each.

"The right side of this medal must show the image of Our Most Holy Redeemer, Jesus Christ, showing His Sacred Heart, and the obverse that of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. It must be blessed with a separate blessing for each of the scapulars in which the person has been enrolled and for which the wearer wishes it to suffice. Finally, these separate blessings may be given by a single sign of the cross , whether in the act of enrollment or later at the convenience of those enrolled, it matters not how long after the enrollment or in what order they may have taken place; the blessing may be given by a priest other than the one who made the enrollment, as long as he possesses the faculty, ordinary, or delegated, of blessing the different scapulars- the limitations, clauses, and conditions attached to the faculty he uses still holding their force. All things to the contrary, even those calling for special mention, notwithstanding" (Holy Office, Rome, December 16, 1910).

The Scapular Medals
Since 1910 and the regulation of the Holy Office of 16 December of that year (Acta Apost. Sedis, III, 22 sq.) it is permitted to wear, instead of one or more of the small scapulars a single medal of metal. This medal must have on one side a representation of Jesus Christ with His Most Sacred Heart and on the other an image of the Mother of God. All persons who have been validly invested with a blessed woollen scapular may replace such by this medal. The medal must be blessed by a priest possessing the faculty to bless and invest with the scapular or scapulars which the medal is to replace. The faculties to bless these medals are subject to the same conditions and limitations as the faculties to bless and invest with the corresponding scapulars. If the medal is to be worn instead of a number of different scapulars, it must receive the blessing that would be attached to each of them, i. e. as many blessings as the number of scapulars it replaces. For each blessing a sign of the Cross suffices. This medal must also be worn constantly, either about the neck or in some other seemly manner, and with it may be attained all the indulgences and privileges of the small scapulars without exception. Only the small (not the large) scapulars may be validly replaced by such medals.

...and I wear it constantly, I never want it off me after reading Garment of Grace. Try reading that at a holy hour, interrupting your children's holy hour so they can read it,and not coming out as a family changed!

He shoots, he scores!

Eldest took his team to victory...

Exciting game, back and forth

He told his visiting, adoring cousin he'd make a goal for her

And when he did, he pointed to her in the bleachers!

Scenes from a Summer's Day, 2

Renee's SCENES FROM A SUMMER'S DAY and here are my 2nd entries from a recent summer's evening.

A dramatic sunset

Sunflowers I'm hopeful will bloom

One word meme

Kimberly said I would and I faithfully comply.

1. Where is your cell phone? ...Purse
2. Your significant other? ... DH
3. Your hair? ...curly
4. Your mother? ...Driven
5. Your father? ...Relaxed
6. Your favorite thing? ...family
7. Your dream last night? ....forgotten
8. Your favorite drink? ...Coffee
9. Your dream/goal? ...conversions
10. The room you’re in? ...schoolroom
11. Your church? ...Catholic
12. Your fear? ...loss
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? ...improved
14. Where were you last night? ...outside
15. What you’re not? ...disciplined
16. Muffins? ... thanks!
17. One of your wish list items? ... Monster1200
18. Where you grew up? ...luxury
19. The last thing you did? ...soothed
20. What are you wearing? ...usual
21. Your TV? ....vortex
22 Your pets? ...memories
23. Your computer? ...disappointing
24. Your life? ...undeserved
25. Your mood? ...quiet
26. Missing someone? ...sister
27. Your car? ....dinged
28. Something you’re not wearing? ...makeup
29. Favorite store? ...internet
30. Your summer? ...sweet
31. Like(love) someone? ...Many!
32. Your favorite color? ....Navy
33. Last time you laughed? ...Today
34. Last time you cried? ...Yesterday
35. Who will re post this? ... Cecilia?

One word, not easy, truly goes against my nature!

My thorn-crowned Captain

I came across these quotes today...they're the kind that stick with you...

"Woe betide me if I should ever prove myself but a half-hearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned captain!"

~ Fidelis of Sigmaringen

"I would like to be sufficiently good that people would say, 'If such is the servant, what must the Master be like.' "

~ Blessed Charles de Foucauld

Simple Woman's daybook

I'm participating in A Simple Woman's Daybook carnival.

Outside my Window...
My eldest, taking shots on his hockey net, my husband's car disappearing for his ice hockey game.


I am thinking of...
my to do list, places to go, making the week fun.

I am thankful for...

my brother and sister-in-law letting me have their daughter for the week. My daughter is enjoying the pretend of having a sister, sharing a room. I love listening to them all interact, there's a lot of love.

From the kitchen...

the 3 little ones, including my niece, eating dixie cups.

I am creating...

pretend dollar bills for my niece to put in a wallet.

I am going...

to have my Dad over for dinner on Thursday to share our photos and video of our trip to the Northern Neck. My Dad gave me my love for all things film. He will collect everything of mine, add it to his, and make awesome, edited DVDs of the whole experience for every family!

Cecil B. de Pops!

I am wearing....

the prettiest blue, long, cotton skirt. It is predominantly dark blue but with a vine pattern all over it in a lighter, almost lavender blue...A white, elbow length T with a notched neckline... Blue denim ballet flats with a gold buckle toggled with leather and wood.

I am reading...

through my "in" bin....finding all sorts of treasures..."Ah, so that's where that is!"

I am hoping....

that my niece doesn't get homesick and that I can do a better job with her hair. This morning she came downstairs and said," I couldn't brush my teeth! I looked in the mirror and just hated my hair. I was shocked at how I looked!" Uh-oh.

I am hearing...

Spongebob and giggles.

Around the house...

are more shoes...a new set of crocs from a visiting cousin,

the whirlwind that is the "Cub-a-dub", as we call her.

A Favorite thing...

A "snack" Mass. After Mass on the 2nd Sundays of the month, our Latin Mass society has refreshments afterwards and the children play and the parents talk. My husband was sharing with me the funny way the husbands tease each other. Our substitute priest sat down and just about led a catechises for the families. One of our 20-something men was asking some great questions, he is so on-fire for his faith. I was so glad my eldest was sitting there listening to these soldiers for Christ. This week was just lovely, thank you Lindsay & Paul for such a beautiful spread of fruit and treats elegantly prepared. I forgot to ask you how your 4th of July party went...if you're reading this. :)

Plans for the coming week...

Get the hair, all the hair, tight and flat and into the right pony-O and wet it just the way her Nannie does!

A Picture to share... 3 year old art work

She had created another picture, the "this is me when I turn into a boy" with exaggerated anatomy. Not postable, really....

I prefer this "happy" art!

Be "ONE LESS" manipulated by marketing

First in the news for the controversial GARDASIL was...

1. the violation citation of Merck WestPoint PA, makers of Gardasil, for "failing to follow proper sterility" practices,
2. then all the deaths and suffering started being reported....
3. It's not even being marketed to the right age group as " Infectious disease specialists and cancer pathologists say the incubation period for HPV becoming cancer is 10 to 15 years -- meaning the average cervical cancer patient, who is 47, contracted the virus in her 30s and would not be protected by Gardasil taken as a teen." (Article continued....)
   
   And now this....
   
   MERCK MADNESSBy Judie Brown
   Call it a hunch, but those of us at American Life League who have been studying pharmaceutical giant Merck's marketing plan for Gardasil, commonly known on television by its "one less" mantra, have been suspicious for some time. Apparently, we were right to be less than ecstatic about this latest scheme for "protecting" young women from the human papillomavirus. Just yesterday, Judicial Watch, a public interest group that investigates government corruption, exposed the findings in new documents they obtained from the federal Food and Drug Administration pertaining to the vaccine's adverse effects. What have those adverse reactions included?Here is a partial list:
   
   10 deaths have been reported since September 2007.
   
   The total number of death reports is at least 18 and as many as 20.
   
   Just since January 2008, the following incidents have been reported:
   
   140 "serious" reports, 27 of which were categorized as "life-threatening,"
   
   10 spontaneous abortions and
   
   six cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
   
   For those with a keen interest in this matter, the complete 25-page document prepared by Judicial Watch is online at http://www.judicialwatch.org/documents/2008/JWReportFDAhpvVaccineRecords.pdf. The Alliance for Human Research Protection has been on the case for at least the past 18 months and is equally concerned about the possible jeopardy that children will be in if parents don't take this matter seriously and become familiar with this vaccine's side effects.
   
   But perhaps the best resource for parents, and without a doubt the most comprehensive collection of information on this out-of-control situation, is Children of God for Life. They specialize in vaccine news and have not overlooked the Gardasil mess. Among all the excellent articles you can find, there is one that exposes the truth about cervical cancer and the effect Gardasil actually could have on cervical cancer prevention. Remember that Gardasil is designed to protect a young woman from the human papillomavirus, which is alleged to be a cause of cervical cancer.
   
   But what Cynthia Janek uncovered in her research is that "…the FDA knew back in 2003 that a HPV is not the actual cause of cervical cancer. The actual cause is a 'persistent HPV infection that may act as a tumor promoter in cancer induction.'"
   Further, she examines the statements on record at the FDA and tells the reader,
   What we have here is proof that there is scientific evidence that has been published in the past 15 years that states that HPV infection does not bear a direct relationship to the forming of cervical cancer. It also tells us that HPV, if allowed to will be taken care of by our own body's natural processes. . ."most infections are short-lived and not associated with cervical cancer." With this being said, why do we need Gardasil when our own body is more than capable of eradicating HPV? What we need is a government policy to assist women with the cost of getting follow-up tests when persistent HPV infection is present. This would make more sense and our government would save so much money on these types of programs instead of $360 each for the Gardasil vaccination.
   
   It could well be that the vaccine may not do a thing to protect anyone from cervical cancer, regardless of the claims being made by Merck Pharmaceutical. What the vaccine is causing is death and immense suffering among those who have been vaccinated.
   
   When I read the Judicial Watch report, it occurred to me that the Food and Drug Administration might already be having second thoughts about this vaccine. Just one week ago, federal regulators advised Merck that they would not approve Gardasil for expanded marketing to an older group of women.
   
   The news report tells us that Gardasil is currently approved for preventing cervical cancer and genital warts in females aged 9-26. It also tells us, as if this is any surprise, that Gardasil "has been one of Merck's most successful newer products and has helped the company recover after the 2004 withdrawal of its Vioxx arthritis treatment."
   
   Remember the Vioxx recall? The announcement went like this:
   On September 30, 2004, Merck & Co., the manufacturer of the blockbuster arthritis drug Vioxx (rofecoxib), announced the voluntary, worldwide recall of Vioxx after a recent clinical trial confirmed previous studies linking Vioxx to serious cardiovascular problems, including heart attack and stroke. The withdrawal of Vioxx marks the biggest drug recall in history. The three year trial was originally aimed at showing Vioxx's effectiveness at reducing polyps in the colon, however the study revealed an increased risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular problems. Merck stopped the study after it discovered that participants taking Vioxx had twice the risk of heart attack than other participants taking placebos. The study showed the increased risk of heart attack began 18 months after patients started taking Vioxx. Medical experts advise Vioxx users to consult their doctor about alternatives.
   Imagine it! And now that we know that young women are dying and suffering a host of side effects from Gardasil, we can only hope that, as it did for Vioxx, Merck announces a recall and that Gardasil will soon be just a memory.
   
   Judie Brown is president of American Life League and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Summer brain workouts

We're trying to do a lil' sumpin' everyday...every other day...we're trying.

Each boy has a list from which to chose "something" to keep his brain active.

(click photo to enlarge)

For your viewing pleasure...

There are some GREAT YouTubes out there in the blog world.

Here's a few that I've enjoyed and recommend.

With thanks to Jennifer, see Taylor Mali label us the Aggressively Inarticulate Generation. He is dead on!

From Ginny, see Christian the Lion reunited with his humans.

Last, but by no means least, visit the awesome Ken at Hallowed Ground for this video of monks. Their effect on this gentleman documentarian will move you.

Scenes from a Summer's Day

Well, several days actually.... We've just returned from a memorable and glorious mini vacation! These photos are my first entry in Renee's SCENES FROM A SUMMER'S DAY.

Novena for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI

CatholiCity suggests....

May we be bold enough to suggest that you offer a novena of prayers for the spiritual and temporal needs of the Holy Father, and that you plan on attending Mass and offering Holy Communion when the novena ends next Friday, July 11th, for the intentions of Pope Benedict XVI.

Prayer to Saint Benedict for the intentions of Pope Benedict XVI, and for your own intentions (remember, ask for miracles!).

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...

"Dear Glorious Saint Benedict, sublime model of virtue, pure vessel of God's grace, I implore you in your loving kindness to pray for me before the throne of God. To you I have recourse in the dangers that daily surround me. Shield me against my selfishness and my indifference to God and to my neighbor. May your blessing be with me always, so that I may see and serve Christ in others and work for His kingdom. Graciously obtain for me from God those favors and graces which I need so much in the trials, miseries and afflictions of life. Your heart was always full of love, compassion and mercy toward those who were afflicted or troubled in any way. You never dismissed without consolation and assistance anyone who had recourse to you. I therefore invoke your powerful intercession, confident in the hope that you will hear my prayers and obtain for me the special grace and favor I earnestly implore. (Mention your intention.) Help me, oh great Saint Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God, to run in the sweetness of His loving will, and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven. Amen."

Crafty tongue biters

Their indian names would be Painters with Poked Tongues!