I am looking for someone in the Pasadena/Monrovia/Altadena area to email me. Looking for a Priest recommendation in that area...can you help?
Thanks so much! CatholicHomeEdatYahoodotcom
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
What places of darkness...
Read last night....
A Christmas Prayer
On that Holy night
Somehow,
It happened.
Somehow,
God took a handful of humanity:
Proud, petulant, passionate;
And a handful of divinity:
Undivided, inexpressible, incomprehensible:
And enclosed them in on small body.
Somehow, the all too human
Touched the divine,
And was not vaporized.
To be human was never the smae,
But forever thereafter,
Carried a hint of its close encounter with the perfect.
And forever thereafter,
God was never the same,
But carried a hint of the passion of the mortal.
If God can lie down in a cattle-trough,
Is any object safe from transformation?
If peasant girls can be mothers to God, Is any life safe from the invasion of the eternal?
If all this could happen, O God,
What places of darkness on our earth
Are pregnant with light waiting to be born this night?
If all this could happen, O God,
Then you could be, and are, anywhere, everywhere,
Waiting to be born this night in the most unbelievable places,
Perhaps even in our own hearts. Amen.
~ Ian Oliver
Merry First Day of Christmas and may each day be a joyous reminder to you of Christ's birth and its meaning.
A Christmas Prayer
On that Holy night
Somehow,
It happened.
Somehow,
God took a handful of humanity:
Proud, petulant, passionate;
And a handful of divinity:
Undivided, inexpressible, incomprehensible:
And enclosed them in on small body.
Somehow, the all too human
Touched the divine,
And was not vaporized.
To be human was never the smae,
But forever thereafter,
Carried a hint of its close encounter with the perfect.
And forever thereafter,
God was never the same,
But carried a hint of the passion of the mortal.
If God can lie down in a cattle-trough,
Is any object safe from transformation?
If peasant girls can be mothers to God, Is any life safe from the invasion of the eternal?
If all this could happen, O God,
What places of darkness on our earth
Are pregnant with light waiting to be born this night?
If all this could happen, O God,
Then you could be, and are, anywhere, everywhere,
Waiting to be born this night in the most unbelievable places,
Perhaps even in our own hearts. Amen.
~ Ian Oliver
Merry First Day of Christmas and may each day be a joyous reminder to you of Christ's birth and its meaning.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
HASTE, haste to bring HIM laud...
WHAT CHILD IS THIS? by Father Angelus Shaughnessy
This child is God.
Our Heavenly Father knows how hard it is for us to love somebody we cannot get our arms around. We are supremely happy because our God did become a little bundle of 7 or 8 pounds, so we could get our arms around His Divine Son, to hold Him tight and love Him right.
God is Love! Jesus is Love wrapped in flesh for keeps, forever, for all eternity...to teach us how to love. He came with the irresistible charm of a snuggling infant. His argument still challenges: I loved you first, love me back! He would do anything to get our love, to steal our hearts, even to sneak out of heaven to do so. The only thing this Baby-God would have done more to show His love happened 33 years later: those limbs now fully grown, pinned back to the wood of the cross. You see: He came into this world not to live (He already had life from all eternity) but to die -- for each one of us. He is Jesus, our Saviour.
For us who really believe this Christmas message, every other story about Him is almost easy to believe. Just think what Christmas means: God to become man, Heaven to come down to earth, eternity to invade time, God to take on the human condition (a human soul and a human body) and to keep it even after returning to heaven at His Ascension, in a glorified yet human state.
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." This is the giant step from Creator-status to creature-status. Everything else, even in the Bible, seems so much smaller. In the history of the world, the Holy Thursday Gift of the Holy Eucharist, St. Thomas Aquinas says, is the greatest miracle: that bread and wine become the Body and Blood, the Soul and Divine Nature of the Risen Lord, just as He is now with His glorified Risen Body in heaven. This Sacrament is but a continuation and extension in time and place of the enfleshment that took place 2000 years ago.
If I can believe the Christmas story, the Easter miracle of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is not so hard for me to believe. If Jesus is God, I would almost expect Him to rise from the dead and also to give Himself to us in the Holy Eucharist as the memorial of His love and the re-presentation of that bloody sacrifice on Calvary. If the victim on the cross is God, that event would just have to be repeated and re-presented till the end of time. And it is by His design and His invention and His intention in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in the unbloody way He gave himself to us the night before He died. So in the thought of Father Faber, it shouldn't be too hard for us, as we contemplate His birth this Christmas, to hear the small inarticulate cries from His infant lips, to see the little limbs tremble with the chill of the cave, and Mary, the Virgin Mother, adoring profoundly the Eternity of Him who is but a minute old. We see Him in the manger, a feeding trough for animals, which foretold the wonders of His Altar, where He would become the very food of sinners. That manger was a foreshadowing of His Sacramental residence with men from the Ascension till the doom, till doomsday, until He comes again in Glory.
And He will! Count on it! Because this child is God! Christmas is Christ's Mass!
copyright Father Angelus Shaughnessy, Order of Friars Minor CapuchinSaint Clare of Assisi Friary, 622 Delaware Avenue, Clairton, PA 15025web site: http://www.fatherangelus.com/
One of my favorite Christmas songs...
What a great voice this singer has and I luv the pictures used.
This child is God.
Our Heavenly Father knows how hard it is for us to love somebody we cannot get our arms around. We are supremely happy because our God did become a little bundle of 7 or 8 pounds, so we could get our arms around His Divine Son, to hold Him tight and love Him right.
God is Love! Jesus is Love wrapped in flesh for keeps, forever, for all eternity...to teach us how to love. He came with the irresistible charm of a snuggling infant. His argument still challenges: I loved you first, love me back! He would do anything to get our love, to steal our hearts, even to sneak out of heaven to do so. The only thing this Baby-God would have done more to show His love happened 33 years later: those limbs now fully grown, pinned back to the wood of the cross. You see: He came into this world not to live (He already had life from all eternity) but to die -- for each one of us. He is Jesus, our Saviour.
For us who really believe this Christmas message, every other story about Him is almost easy to believe. Just think what Christmas means: God to become man, Heaven to come down to earth, eternity to invade time, God to take on the human condition (a human soul and a human body) and to keep it even after returning to heaven at His Ascension, in a glorified yet human state.
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." This is the giant step from Creator-status to creature-status. Everything else, even in the Bible, seems so much smaller. In the history of the world, the Holy Thursday Gift of the Holy Eucharist, St. Thomas Aquinas says, is the greatest miracle: that bread and wine become the Body and Blood, the Soul and Divine Nature of the Risen Lord, just as He is now with His glorified Risen Body in heaven. This Sacrament is but a continuation and extension in time and place of the enfleshment that took place 2000 years ago.
If I can believe the Christmas story, the Easter miracle of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is not so hard for me to believe. If Jesus is God, I would almost expect Him to rise from the dead and also to give Himself to us in the Holy Eucharist as the memorial of His love and the re-presentation of that bloody sacrifice on Calvary. If the victim on the cross is God, that event would just have to be repeated and re-presented till the end of time. And it is by His design and His invention and His intention in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in the unbloody way He gave himself to us the night before He died. So in the thought of Father Faber, it shouldn't be too hard for us, as we contemplate His birth this Christmas, to hear the small inarticulate cries from His infant lips, to see the little limbs tremble with the chill of the cave, and Mary, the Virgin Mother, adoring profoundly the Eternity of Him who is but a minute old. We see Him in the manger, a feeding trough for animals, which foretold the wonders of His Altar, where He would become the very food of sinners. That manger was a foreshadowing of His Sacramental residence with men from the Ascension till the doom, till doomsday, until He comes again in Glory.
And He will! Count on it! Because this child is God! Christmas is Christ's Mass!
copyright Father Angelus Shaughnessy, Order of Friars Minor CapuchinSaint Clare of Assisi Friary, 622 Delaware Avenue, Clairton, PA 15025web site: http://www.fatherangelus.com/
One of my favorite Christmas songs...
What a great voice this singer has and I luv the pictures used.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Mother Mary ~ I Shall Not Walk Alone
Following Mary's Magnificat
"The humility of Mary and her trustful awaiting everything from God is like a road sign for us who are TRAVELING on the path to holiness or following a program of interior life. [...] It is recommended that everyone imitate this attitude."(Open Wide the Door to Christ, pg. 195)
After reading this email this morning, it connected so amazingly to a song running through my head. I had been think of Mary and her journey...wanting to savor more of Advent. I was looking for and watching many of my favorite Christmas songs on YouTube. (I think I'll post them soon, too.) In doing so, I came back to a group that I had heard of a long time ago, when they were on 60 minutes.
The Blind Boys of Alabama.
In cycling through many of their YouTube videos, I came upon their collaboration with another artist, Ben Harper. The following song is just one of the ones stuck in my head from their collaborative videos. The Bob Dylan cover of Well, Well, Well is another. I REALLY like Ben Harper... and with the Blind Boys....a spiritual connection explodes forth.
The soul-fullness just entrances me. I don't think you can watch this without being moved...
I'll be singing about Mother Mary today, knowing that I Shall Not Walk Alone on this journey.
"The humility of Mary and her trustful awaiting everything from God is like a road sign for us who are TRAVELING on the path to holiness or following a program of interior life. [...] It is recommended that everyone imitate this attitude."(Open Wide the Door to Christ, pg. 195)
After reading this email this morning, it connected so amazingly to a song running through my head. I had been think of Mary and her journey...wanting to savor more of Advent. I was looking for and watching many of my favorite Christmas songs on YouTube. (I think I'll post them soon, too.) In doing so, I came back to a group that I had heard of a long time ago, when they were on 60 minutes.
The Blind Boys of Alabama.
In cycling through many of their YouTube videos, I came upon their collaboration with another artist, Ben Harper. The following song is just one of the ones stuck in my head from their collaborative videos. The Bob Dylan cover of Well, Well, Well is another. I REALLY like Ben Harper... and with the Blind Boys....a spiritual connection explodes forth.
The soul-fullness just entrances me. I don't think you can watch this without being moved...
I'll be singing about Mother Mary today, knowing that I Shall Not Walk Alone on this journey.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Woweeeeeeeeeeeee
...and more to come! Predications are for 18 to 24 inches. We're enjoying a real blizzard, which we don't get very often. Hope you're having a great weekend!Friday, December 18, 2009
Visiting the Elderly at Christmas
Our Homeschool group visited a local Catholic nursing home today. The children made cards to give out and...perhaps a bit to their surprise....unrehearsed... we sang a half dozen or more Christmas Carols to an audience!It was very sweet.
I needed that moment and will save it in my heart and memories for this Christmas...a time of Christmas spirit, of giving.
In the ornament you can see us somewhere IN the glow of Christmas
Singing their little hearts out
Handing out our homemade cards...
These homeschoolers ROCK!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Christmas countdown ~ making memories
They finished their schoolwork and Christmas vacation has officially begun!
They heralded it in with Christmas crafts.
Such sweetness watching the littles chatter about their excitement. I remember well the fun of being off from school and the specialness of Christmas projects.
They heralded it in with Christmas crafts.
Such sweetness watching the littles chatter about their excitement. I remember well the fun of being off from school and the specialness of Christmas projects.
I hope they too have memories of special traditions that create a family legacy for them.
People, Look East
People, Look East
Eleanor Farjeon
People, look east. The time is near of the crowning of the year. Make your house fair as you are able, Trim the hearth and set the table. People, look east and sing today:
Love, the guest, is on the way.
Furrows, be glad. Though earth is bare, One more seed is planted there: Give up your strength the seed to nourish, That in course the flower may flourish. People, look east and sing today:
Love, the rose, is on the way.
Birds, though you long have ceased to build, Guard the nest that must be filled. Even the hour when wings are frozen God for fledging time has chosen. People, look east and sing today:
Love, the bird, is on the way.
Stars, keep the watch. When night is dim One more light the bowl shall brim, Shining beyond the frosty weather, Bright as sun and moon together. People, look east and sing today:
Love, the star, is on the way.
Angels, announce with shouts of mirth Christ who brings new life to earth. Set every peak and valley humming With the word, the Lord is coming. People, look east and sing today:
Love, the Lord, is on the way.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Gift of A Mass ~ My husband's Christmas ritual
For the last handful of years my husband has delighted in his yearly visit with our parish secretary. It's something special to him, his Christmas ritual and his way of celebrating this Holy season.
They sit down together one morning after daily Mass and have coffee together and chart out several dozen Mass dates for our intentions.
He arranges a Mass for every member of our family, both immediate and extended, and those who have died. The Mass is prayed on or around their birthday. He has cards made for each person and distributes them at Christmas.
Do they KNOW what they are receiving??
"Every valid Mass has an Infinite value. Why? Because it is the unbloody renewal of the bloody Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Since the value of a gift is proportionate to the dignity of the Giver and the cost of the gift, it is easy to see how the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the only gift worthy and fitting for Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. "
Why should you have Masses offered? (make sure you scroll towards bottom)
http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/liturgy/masspower.htm
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0812.html
http://www.rosarychurch.net/answers/qa012007a.html
It is a reminder and a joy to know that all year long we will be hearing The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass said for our loved ones and we are there to pray it for them.
Of great consolation are the promises of the Gregorian Masses for the dead. Gregorian Masses have been around since the first centuries of the Church; more than thirteen hundred years. The value of these Masses is that once completed, the person for whom they were intended to benefit would be released from Purgatory. The name "Gregorian" refers to Pope St. Gregory the Great who reigned from the year 590 to 604. He related in his Dialogues that when he had finished a series of thirty Masses for a departed monk, he received a visitation from this monk who told him he had been released from Purgatory and entered heaven. In Europe this practice became popular and was approved by the Church as a "...pious and reasonable belief of the faithful." (Sacred Roman Congregation on Indulgences)
They sit down together one morning after daily Mass and have coffee together and chart out several dozen Mass dates for our intentions.
He arranges a Mass for every member of our family, both immediate and extended, and those who have died. The Mass is prayed on or around their birthday. He has cards made for each person and distributes them at Christmas.
Do they KNOW what they are receiving??
"Every valid Mass has an Infinite value. Why? Because it is the unbloody renewal of the bloody Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Since the value of a gift is proportionate to the dignity of the Giver and the cost of the gift, it is easy to see how the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the only gift worthy and fitting for Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. "
Why should you have Masses offered? (make sure you scroll towards bottom)
http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/liturgy/masspower.htm
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0812.html
http://www.rosarychurch.net/answers/qa012007a.html
It is a reminder and a joy to know that all year long we will be hearing The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass said for our loved ones and we are there to pray it for them.
Of great consolation are the promises of the Gregorian Masses for the dead. Gregorian Masses have been around since the first centuries of the Church; more than thirteen hundred years. The value of these Masses is that once completed, the person for whom they were intended to benefit would be released from Purgatory. The name "Gregorian" refers to Pope St. Gregory the Great who reigned from the year 590 to 604. He related in his Dialogues that when he had finished a series of thirty Masses for a departed monk, he received a visitation from this monk who told him he had been released from Purgatory and entered heaven. In Europe this practice became popular and was approved by the Church as a "...pious and reasonable belief of the faithful." (Sacred Roman Congregation on Indulgences)
Monday, December 14, 2009
My 5 yr. old's Poetry Recitation
She's been working hard and it is a delight to us all!
It's one of the things that I love so much about Mother of Divine Grace curriculum, the time given to poetry.
It's one of the things that I love so much about Mother of Divine Grace curriculum, the time given to poetry.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Virgin Mary's "Choice" ?
She was conceived WITHOUT sin.
An Angel - which means "messenger of God" - delivered a message FROM God calling her FULL OF GRACE.
How full is full?
Mary knew she could be STONED TO DEATH if found with child by someone other than her bethrothed, Joseph.
Mary was about 14 at the time.
Joseph could have left her (and in fact he thought about divorcing her).
And her CHOICE???
Fiat. "Be it done unto me according to thy word." YES.
She was chosen, predestined, the new Eve. Full of Grace, without sin and handpicked by God the Father to be the perfect vessel for God the Son to dwell in...
AND SHE CHOSE LIFE within her, no matter the cost.
God's will.
God's plan.
The RIGHT CHOICE.
She seems pretty blessed by God to me, very honored...certainly someone whose example we should follow!
Thankful Thursday
Thankful for this quote from my Saint for the year....
Think well.
Speak well.
Do well.
These three things, through the mercy of God, will make one go to heaven.
~St. Camillus de Lellis
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Reveal - Playroom to Living room
Before Nana died, it was our playroom.
There were colorful numbers on the wall (from my childhood nursery) and also the alphabet. There was a cozy chair for reading. A kid size table for the doll house, again from my nursery and shelves for toys made this a much lived-in spot. (And now has a lovely home in the basement.)
It was a place to be wild and play carpet hockey. It suited us well.
Nana was of a different era, a more formal one at that. In her words, it "burned her up" that I didn't have a proper living room. To which I would always say, "Someday, Nana..."
I wasn't ready for "someday" to come. She had planned, and I knew, that "someday" meant when she was gone. Then, I would have her living room furniture and items she had been showing me since I was little.
Suddenly she is gone, her Gregorian Masses began on the 4th, and life is in flux. Haven't felt myself to blog much and there are other things that need my attention. Like packing up her house, moving her things, crying, talking to my mother, missing Nana and bringing some of Nana's things here.
That feels better.
It feels like I can walk into a room and see Nana's things in it and almost feel her there....
We've been painting.
.
And now, it's time for the reveal...
Below is Nana's curio cabinet, a wonder-land.
The focal point, her Kittinger.
This dark, Williamsburg-ish blue color was suggested by our eldest son. Glad we followed the fearlessness of the 14 year old with this bold color that has given the room such richness.
More of Nana's things to come in later posts....
There were colorful numbers on the wall (from my childhood nursery) and also the alphabet. There was a cozy chair for reading. A kid size table for the doll house, again from my nursery and shelves for toys made this a much lived-in spot. (And now has a lovely home in the basement.)
It was a place to be wild and play carpet hockey. It suited us well.
Nana was of a different era, a more formal one at that. In her words, it "burned her up" that I didn't have a proper living room. To which I would always say, "Someday, Nana..."
I wasn't ready for "someday" to come. She had planned, and I knew, that "someday" meant when she was gone. Then, I would have her living room furniture and items she had been showing me since I was little.
Suddenly she is gone, her Gregorian Masses began on the 4th, and life is in flux. Haven't felt myself to blog much and there are other things that need my attention. Like packing up her house, moving her things, crying, talking to my mother, missing Nana and bringing some of Nana's things here.
That feels better.
It feels like I can walk into a room and see Nana's things in it and almost feel her there....
We've been painting.
.
And now, it's time for the reveal...
Below is Nana's curio cabinet, a wonder-land.
The focal point, her Kittinger.
This dark, Williamsburg-ish blue color was suggested by our eldest son. Glad we followed the fearlessness of the 14 year old with this bold color that has given the room such richness.
More of Nana's things to come in later posts....
Sunday, December 6, 2009
St. Nicholas vs. Santa Claus
Santa Claus and St. Nicholas from HERE.
Everybody loves Santa Claus. He embodies holiday cheer, happiness, fun, and gifts—warm happy aspects of the Christmas season. How do Santa Claus and St. Nicholas differ?
Santa Claus belongs to childhood;
St. Nicholas models for all of life.
Santa Claus, as we know him, developed to boost Christmas sales—the commercial Christmas message;
St. Nicholas told the story of Christ and peace, goodwill toward all—the hope-filled Christmas message.
Santa Claus encourages consumption;
St. Nicholas encourages compassion.
Santa Claus appears each year to be seen and heard for a short time;
St. Nicholas is part of the communion of saints, surrounding us always with prayer and example.
Santa Claus flies through the air—from the North Pole;
St. Nicholas walked the earth—caring for those in need.
Santa Claus, for some, replaces the Babe of Bethlehem;
St. Nicholas, for all, points to the Babe of Bethlehem.
Santa Claus isn't bad;
St. Nicholas is just better.
—J. Rosenthal & C. Myers
Now in Production!
Everybody loves Santa Claus. He embodies holiday cheer, happiness, fun, and gifts—warm happy aspects of the Christmas season. How do Santa Claus and St. Nicholas differ?
Santa Claus belongs to childhood;
St. Nicholas models for all of life.
Santa Claus, as we know him, developed to boost Christmas sales—the commercial Christmas message;
St. Nicholas told the story of Christ and peace, goodwill toward all—the hope-filled Christmas message.
Santa Claus encourages consumption;
St. Nicholas encourages compassion.
Santa Claus appears each year to be seen and heard for a short time;
St. Nicholas is part of the communion of saints, surrounding us always with prayer and example.
Santa Claus flies through the air—from the North Pole;
St. Nicholas walked the earth—caring for those in need.
Santa Claus, for some, replaces the Babe of Bethlehem;
St. Nicholas, for all, points to the Babe of Bethlehem.
Santa Claus isn't bad;
St. Nicholas is just better.
—J. Rosenthal & C. Myers
Now in Production!