Family Pictures

+JMJ+

This is the last sweet image you will see in this post

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. Usually (although not traditionally), this feast is celebrated on the first Sunday within the Octave (8 days) of Christmas. Sunday, however, is the first of the year which means we celebrate Mary, Mother of God. Her feast day, a Holy Day of Obligation, trumps the feast of the Holy Family. In such case, the Friday before the Sunday is reserved for the Holy Family. That's why we have it today. I know, sort of took me by surprise, too. I mean I got up and opened the Ordo and BAM! there it was. This. Morning. I think there should be some alert system for this. 

Anyway...

In honor of the many beautiful depictions of the first Christmas portrait, I give you the HOLY MAGOLY WHAT IN THE NAME OF FRESH HELL IS THAT FAMILY DOING? family portraits...

How come the dog is the only uncomfortable one in this pic?

Mom used Christmas as a cry for help during mid-life

This is why Santa smells like cough syrup

In a family of men, the mulleted one was called "Sugar"

"No, I'm just clumsy and if she hits me, I deserve it. Really."

Hey, Dad, this isn't time for the Facebook photo!

Merry Christmas, LSU!

Happy patronal feast day, St. John's!

Today is the feast day of St. John - the evangelist and the apostle. The only of the disciples who authored a Gospel (which is why we call him the evangelist, or "Gospel-writer"), St. John was also known as the disciple whom Jesus loved, and he is the one who Jesus chose to take Mary into his home after the crucifixion - another sure sign that our Lord held him in the highest regard. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, John seems to have traveled and preached the Gospel before finally settling in the city of Ephesus. He is, of course, the patron saint of our Catholic parish here in Oxford, Miss.

Symbols of St. John

There are two main symbols that have come, over the centuries, to be associated with St. John. One of the symbols is the eagle. In the Bible, the Prophet Ezekiel described a vision of heaven where, around God's throne, were seraphs with the faces of a man, a lion, an ox and and an eagle. Over time, each of the four Evangelists (Gospel writers) became associated with one of these four symbols: Matthew with a man, Mark with a lion, Luke with an ox and John with an eagle. It is said that John became associated with the eagle because his Gospel (especially in the prologue) is so theological in nature, soaring, as it were, towards heaven - like an eagle.

The other symbol of St. John is the chalice. This association with the Evangelist comes from John's presence at the Last Supper (he was the only Gospel-writer who was also a Disciple of Christ), and from Jesus' words to John and his brother James: "My chalice, indeed, you shall drink." (Matthew 20:23). Often, St. John's chalice is depicted with a serpent crawling out of it. This image comes from a story about St. John in his latter days. The story says that someone tried to kill John by offering him a poisoned chalice of wine. Before drinking, John made the sign of the cross in blessing over the chalice and, when he did so, the poison took the form of a serpent and slithered out of the chalice. John then drank the remaining wine, unharmed.

St. John's Love

Because of the story of the poisoned chalice, it has become a tradition for priests to bless bottles of wine on St. John's feast day (today). In fact, in our parish, we have the blessing of wine after the Mass, in honor of St. John. Wine that has been blessed on St. John's feast day is often called the "Love of St. John." This blessed wine may be used for special occasions throughout the year.

Here is a traditional way of drinking "Love of St. John" with your family and friends. It comes from fisheaters.com.

When it is drunk on his Feast Day, we drink it before dinner as a toast to St. John. The Father of the house lifts his glass toward Mother and says, "I drink you the love of St. John." The Mother replies "I thank you for the Love of St. John" and then turns to the oldest child, lifts her glass, and says, "I drink you the love of St. John..." -- and on it goes down the line until each has been toasted.
The wine may be drunk as is, out of the bottle, or may be prepared as in this recipe:
St. John's Love (serves 8)
1 quart red wine
3 whole cloves
1/16 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 two-inch cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
Pour the wine into a large saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients. Boil for 5 minutes (this pretty much evaporates all of the alcohol). Serve hot, clinking glasses with the toast "Drink the love of St. John!" I suggest doing this in front of a roaring fire!

Family life: A vehicle for God's grace

Today, on the Feast of St. Stephen - the first deacon and the first martyr for the Christian faith - I'll pass up the opportunity to write about the diaconate or martyrdom. Heady and important topics both, I'll concede, but I have been consumed lately with a draw to reflect on the blessings of family, on the vocation of marriage and on the graces that God provides in the still-small recesses of our homes.

Many of you are or will be called by God to the vocation of marriage and family life. But nearly all of us have families - even if only extended ones. And during the holidays, most of us are spending more time with our families than we have been accustomed to for some time.

Perhaps it's the Christmas season, with its inherent sentimentality; or maybe it is the reflective nature of the reality that yet another year is quickly drawing to a close, but whatever it is that seems to be drawing me in to prayerful reflections on these beautiful but often hidden spiritual truths about family, I am grateful because it has led me to some profound readings and reflections on the goodness and holiness of family life. One such reflection is found in the writings of St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. One of his published homilies is entitled: "Marriage: A Christian Vocation." His words, which are very appropriate during this Octave of Christmas, read, in part:

At Christmas our thoughts turn to the different events and circumstances surrounding the birth of the Son of God. As we contemplate the stable in Bethlehem or the home of the holy family in Nazareth, Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus occupy a special place in our hearts. What does the simple, admirable life of the holy family tell us? What can we learn from it? 

I would like particularly to comment on one of the many considerations that we might make on this theme. As we read in holy Scripture, the birth of Jesus means the beginning of the fullness of time. It was the moment God chose to show the extent of his love for men, by giving us his own Son. And God's will is fulfilled in the simplest, most ordinary of circumstances: a woman who gives birth, a family, a home. The power of God and his splendour come to us through a human reality to which they are joined. Since that moment Christians have known that, with God's grace, they can and should sanctify everything that is good in their human lives. There is no human situation, no matter how trivial and ordinary it may seem, which cannot be a meeting-place with Christ and a step forward on our journey toward the kingdom of heaven. 

It is only natural that the Church rejoices as it contemplates the modest home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We read in the hymn from matins on the feast of the Holy Family: 'It is pleasing to recall the lowly house at Nazareth and its slender resources, it is pleasing to tell again in song Jesus' hidden life. Jesus grows up in hidden seclusion, to be trained in Joseph's lowly trade. The loving Mother sits beside her dear Son, the good wife by her husband, content if her loving attention can ease and comfort them in their weariness.' 

When I think of Christian homes, I like to imagine them as being full of the light and joy that were in the home of the holy family. The message of Christmas is heard in all its forcefulness: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.' 'And may the peace of Christ triumph in your hearts,' writes the Apostle. It is a peace that comes from knowing that our Father God loves us, and that we are made one with Christ. It results from being under the protection of the Virgin, our Lady, and assisted by St Joseph. This is the great light that illuminates our lives. In the midst of difficulties and of our own personal failings, it encourages us to keep up our effort. Every Christian home should be a place of peace and serenity. In spite of the small frustrations of daily life, an atmosphere of profound and sincere affection should reign there together with a deep-rooted calm, which is the result of authentic faith that is put into practice.

During these days of the Christmas season, most of us are blessed to be able to spend a little more time with our families. See this time for what it is: a blessing. Sometimes that can be a difficult task. But God asks us to look not for reasons to complain, but for reasons to praise and to number our blessings, not our difficulties.

Find those reasons. Count your blessings and praise and thank God for all of them - especially for your families. Remember always that the family is the oldest of human institutions and is God's most basic building-block for the building up of his Kingdom. Furthermore, as Bl. John Paul II taught, the family is a "school of love." Learn to love in your family. If necessary, love to learn your family.

Finally, I'll leave you today with a prayer for families by Bl. Theresa of Calcutta:


Heavenly Father,
you have given us the model of life
in the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Help us, O Loving Father,
to make our family another Nazareth
where love, peace and joy reign.
May it be deeply contemplative,
intensely eucharistic,
revived with joy.


Help us to stay together in joy
and sorrow in family prayer.
Teach us to see Jesus in the members of our families,
especially in their distressing disguise.
May the eucharistic heart of Jesus 
make our hearts humble like his
and help us to carry out our family duties
in a holy way.
May we love one another
as God loves each one of us,
more and more each day,
and forgive each other's faults
as you forgive our sins.
Help us, O Loving Father,
to take whatever you give
and give whatever you take with a big smile.


Immaculate Heart of Mary,
cause of our joy, pray for us.


St. Joseph, pray for us.


Holy Guardian Angels,
be always with us,
guide and protect us.


Amen. 

A very merry Christmas

To you and your families from Southern Fried Catholicism and the Catholic Campus Ministry at Ole Miss, we wish you a blessed and happy Christmas!

Now here's something incomprehensible to Catholics

This is from the Wall Street Journal, yesterday. I always joke that Christmas is the only time each year that many Protestants even mention Mary. Looks like many will totally miss out on hearing Our Lady's name at all this year because Christmas falls on a Sunday. How inconvenient!

No Church This Sunday - It's Christmas
By DAVID GIBSONEvery few years Christmas is on a Sunday and suddenly believers face a dilemma: Stay home hanging stockings and opening gifts, or upend those cherished domestic traditions and go to Sunday church services. That is, if their church is even open. 

Nearly 10% of Protestant churches will be closed on Christmas Sunday this year, according to LifeWay Research, and most pastors who are opening up say they expect far fewer people than on other Sundays. Other reports suggest that churches across the board are scaling down their services in anticipation of fewer worshipers. 

"We have to face the reality of families who don't want to struggle to get kids dressed and come to church," Brad Jernberg of Dallas's Cliff Temple Baptist Church told the Associated Baptist Press. Similarly, Beth Car Baptist Church in Halifax, Va., is planning a short service featuring bluegrass riffs on Christmas music. "I'll do a brief sermon, and then we're going home," said Pastor Mike Parnell. 

Even in denominations organized around the liturgical calendar and sacramental worship, like the Catholic, Episcopal and Orthodox churches, kid-friendly Christmas Eve services (actually held in the late afternoon) are proliferating—the "Jingle Bell Mass," one Catholic priest dubbed them—while "Midnight Mass" is often a term of art, ending rather than starting at the stroke of midnight.Enlarge ImageAssociated PressIn the centuries after the Reformation, some Protestants, notably the Puritans in England, sought to ban Christmas celebrations as pagan bacchanals, which they often were. In colonial America, Christmas was celebrated more widely but still as a church-based holiday, with more festive celebrations tending to follow after Dec. 25. Gift-giving was a minor part of the traditions. 

By the early decades of the 19th century, however, Christmas began to change. A growing middle class reacted against the custom of poor people knocking at their doors requesting Christmas handouts, so they started shopping for special gifts that would be given as treats to children and loved ones. At the same time, popular stories by Washington Irving, Clement Clark Moore and Charles Dickens provided ready-made traditions—Santa Claus, stockings, flying reindeer, decorated evergreen trees—that would undergird the notion of Christmas as a holiday focused on home and gift-giving more than church. 

Today, polls show Americans are much more inclined to put up a Christmas tree and decorations or go to a party than to attend religious services, even though they tend to see Christmas as a religious holiday. 

Perhaps it's a bit puritanical to insist that believers dump their cherished family traditions to march off to church on Christmas morning. But it's also self-defeating to complain about keeping Christmas holy when churches close on Dec. 25. 

When he preached at Christmas, Saint Augustine acknowledged the associations between the still-dominant pagan rites and Christianity's Feast of the Nativity. But the bishop of Hippo said that such associations should spur the faithful to deeper observance, not to downplaying the holiday altogether or tailoring it to the prevailing culture: "So, brothers and sisters, let us keep this day as a festival—not, like the unbelievers, because of the sun up there in the sky, but because of the One who made that sun." 

Mr. Gibson is a national reporter for Religion News Service.

12 Days of Christmas as Comics

12 Lords a Leaping. Get it?
More here.

For the more traditional take on the 12 Days (which are "codes" for the days between the Feast of the Nativity until Epiphany), check out this explanation:

“The Twelve Days of Christmas” celebrates the official Christmas season which starts liturgically on Christmas Day and ends twelve days later on the Feast of the Epiphany. “My true love” refers to God, “me” is the individual Catholic. The “twelve lords a leaping” are the twelve basic beliefs of the Catholic Church as outlined in the Apostles Creed. The “eleven pipers piping” are the eleven Apostles who remained faithful after the treachery of Judas. The “ten ladies dancing” are the Ten Commandments. The “nine drummers drumming” are the nine choirs of angels which in those days of class distinction were thought important. The “eight maids a milking” are the Eight Beatitudes. The “seven swans a swimming” are the Seven Sacraments. The “six geese a laying” are the Six Commandments of the Church or the six days of creation. The “five golden rings” are the first five books of the Old Testament called the Torah which are generally considered the most sacred and important of all the Old Testament. The “four calling birds” are the Four Gospels. The “three French hens” are the Three Persons in God or the three gifts of the Wise Men. The “two turtle doves” represent the two natures in Jesus: human and divine or the two Testaments, Old and New. The “partridge” is the piece de resistance, Jesus himself, and the “pear tree” is the Cross."

http://catholic.net/index.php?option=dedestaca&id=3465 

But the idea of Darth Vader leaping? Still cool.

 

Vaclav Havel RIP

Dagmar Havlova, the widow of Vaclev Havel, mourns in procession

Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram of condolence to the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, on the death this past Sunday of former president Vaclav Havel, whose funeral was celebrated this morning (Friday)  in the Cathedral of St Vitus at Prague Castle. President Havel was 75 years old.  In the text, the Pope expressed his nearness to those attending the funeral, joining them in "commending the soul of the deceased to the infinite mercy of our heavenly Father" and recalling Vaclav Havel's courage in the defence of "human rights at a time when these were systematically denied to the people of your country". He paid tribute to his "visionary leadership in forging a new democratic policy after the fall of the previous regime" and gave thanks to God "for the freedom that the people of the Czech Republic now enjoy".  The Holy Father concluded by imparting the Apostolic Blessing as "a pledge of spiritual strength and comfort" to all those mourning the deceased, "in hope of resurrection to new life".
http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=19553

Havel was an artist at heart but it would appear his muse was justice. He was a self-admitted non-practicing Catholic but had the respect of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Havel would even admit that he was compelled to go to confession when meeting John Paul II and did so: "I suddenly realized I was in fact confessing in front of him, even though I'm not accustomed to going to confession, since I'm not a practicing Catholic. I felt the need because of the great will to understand the other person that emanates from the person of the pope".

Looking for Direction? Spring Retreat is coming!

"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths." Psalm 25:4

The spring semester is just around the corner. Time to start thinking about the ever-popular Statewide Campus Ministry Spring Retreat!

This year's retreat will be the weekend of February 24-26, 2012 at Holmes County State Park in Durant. The theme for this year's retreat is discernment: "The Voice - Discerning God's Call." Always a popular weekend, we'll be on retreat with other Catholic students from Mississippi State, Delta State and other campus ministries throughout the state.

To guarantee your spot (and you know you want to go!), complete this sign-up sheet and turn it in by February 14, 2012. You can turn it in at the St. John's parish office. The cost is $40.00 for the weekend, which covers housing, food and a t-shirt. Checks should be made payable to St. John's Campus Ministry. Scholarships are available for those who need them.

El Caganer: A Lovely Spanish Creche Tradition

You gotta love off-the-wall holiday traditions. The Swedes have their day-long Donald Duck TV show marathon on Christmas Eve (no, seriously) and the Germans and Austrians have the Krampus. But one of the most unique just has to be el caganer of the traditional Spanish nativity scene.

"Merry Christmas! Sh*tter was full!" 

What is the caganer you might ask? Well, quite literally, it is a person... ummm... (how can I put this delicately? - Oh good, my nine-year-old son looking over my shoulder as I type this helped me out: "Just put it's a guy taking a poo.").

Fine then. It is a guy taking a poo. There ya go.

Yep, really. Merry Christmas, huh?

No Spanish creche is considered complete without the caganer. They say it first appeared in the Catalan region of Spain in the 17th century. There, the creche traditionally depicts a miniature of many buildings in Bethlehem (not just the stable/cave). There are also many villagers depicted going about their day-to-day activities (washings clothes in a stream, selling goods in a market, etc.) And somewhere, tucked away in the bustle, usually hidden discreetly, is the caganer, pants down and doing his business.

I know many of us would find it a bit distasteful, but it's a long-standing tradition in Spain and even in some areas of Portugal and Naples. It's traditional for children to try and find the caganer. The classic caganer is dressed in traditional Catalan folk attire, complete with a red barretina, but in some families, they've moved to having the caganer based on a modern celebrity (If you wonder what I'm talking about, just google "Barack Obama caganer.")

So, as you trudge through these last couple of days of holiday madness, just remember that it could be worse: you could be el caganer, bottom bared for the world to see, performing the one bodily function that could even despoil the serenity of the birth of our Savior. Maybe the lesson to take from this post is that you want to make the holidays as easy as you can for your family: don't complain, don't moan or whine - just be pleasant and helpful. Because, all in all, no one wants to be the caganer in the creche.

364 Days Left Until End of World!

December 21, 2012: Mayans predict a lizard will vomit on us.

I totally missed that yesterday was also supposedly the beginning of the last year...ever! For a couple of years, there has been a lot of talk and hand-wringing about the date of December 21, 2012. This date is reportedly the predicted date of the end of all things. It has been foretold by the Mayans, and some say the Aztecs and even Nostradamus has predicted the same date.

The Mayans also predicted that sacrificing virgins would appease the gods and that eating the hearts of your enemies will give you advantages in future wars. Nostradamus, thanks to bad spelling and prosaic writing, has either been totally right on, lucky or off base in his predictions.

Meltzer will scare you. He also kills superpeople.

One of the nail biting shows I watch from time to time, in case I don't have enough paranoia in my diet, is Brad Metlzer's Decoded on the History  Channel. Last night they aired the second investigation on December 21, 2012. The carefully chosen experts they gathered to interview concerning the ticking time bomb that is civilization spooked me. But I think some of them are spooky anyway. There was this Floridian scientist predicting the flooding of the country in like two days. There was a survival guy who nonchalantly talked about dehydrated zombie-like animal minded people. He skeeved me. Not just because of his theories but that this guy is out there. Thinking this up.

Here's a link to the episode. The cool thing is the last word Meltzer has to say. The Church, by the way, doesn't have any stake in the end of the world predictions. I figure some of the more evangelical of us will use the opportunity to make some waves (bucks) but mainstream Catholicism believes that we cannot know the day nor the hour. We also believe that hope is a virtue that laughs in the face of destiny. So  despite the dire predictions, the coincidental crises in the world and the possibility your neighbor will kill you for your food, don't give in to despair. HOPE!

Sure is raining hard today....haha. HOPING!

Ok, now Beiber has finally made parents mad...

Nevermind the quasi-squicky love affair with Selena Gomez when he was a minor and she a legal adult. Nevermind the haircut that every boy had to have to get a girl's attention, preferably an age appropriate girl. Nevermind even the pregnancy accusation.

Justin Beiber...doesn't...believe...in...Santa. Never did. He's done it now.

My mom always told me there wasn't a Santa," Bieber says in a new interview with AOL Music. "This was her logic: She thought if I grew up knowing about Santa then finding out he wasn't real, that it would be like she was lying to me. And then when she told me about God, I maybe wouldn't believe her."
Applauding his mom, Pattie Mallette, and her decision to be "straight-up and honest with me all the time," Bieber insists he kept the holiday spirit alive for his childhood pals. "I didn't tell my friends or ruin it for anyone -- I was a good kid!" he tells AOL.

Unbelieberbeiber

 Hrmph...My mom told me there was a Santa and I went along with it. Now I don't believe in Santa. The story goes that if you're good, Santa will give you some swag. If you're bad, you get nothing. Well, when I was a kid, the bad kids got racing cars, dirt bikes, bb guns and dogs from Santa. I got cool stuff too but never a motorcycle. Santa gives bad kids great stuff.
So I don't believe a word of it.
God, on the other hand, gives us what we ask for.
Maybe I shouldn't be so comfortable with that....

Hobbit Trailer ONLINE NOW!

Get in line now. Only 365 days away.

Solstice, man

Winter Solstice at Stonehenge. Wow, that's funny cuz it's "STONE" henge.

 Some of the hairy, dred-headed, white kids who work at the bakery or are working on their degree in advanced harmonics may wish you a "Happy Solstice" today. It's not "Merry Christmas" but close. Take this very long article from ask.com for example:
The time around December 21 or 22 is a very important day for our planet and its relationship with the sun. December 21 is one of two solstices, days when the rays of the sun directly strike one of the two tropical latitude lines. In 2011 at precisely 12:30 a.m. EST (05:30 UTC) on December 22, 2011 winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere and summer begins in the Southern Hemisphere.
The earth spins around its axis, an imaginary line going right through the planet between the north and south poles. The axis is tilted somewhat off the plane of the earth's revolution around the sun. The tilt of the axis is 23.5 degrees; thanks to this tilt, we enjoy the four seasons. For several months of the year, one half of the earth receives more direct rays of the sun than the other half.
The earth's axis always points to the same point in the universe. When the axis points away from the sun from December to March (because of the relative location of the earth to the sun), the southern hemisphere enjoys the direct rays of the sun during their summer months. Alternatively, when the axis tilts towards the sun, as it does between June and September, it is summer in the northern hemisphere but winter in the southern hemisphere.
December 21 is called the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and simultaneously the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. On June 21 the solstices are reversed and summer begins in the northern hemisphere.
http://geography.about.com/cs/calendarsseason/a/winter.htm

Most liturgical texts will tell you that the two solstices are the basis of the dates set for Christmas and the Birth of St. John the Baptist.
For Christmas, this may be coincidental with the "birth of the unconquerable sun" (natalis invicti), a feast commemorating the birth of Apollo the Sun God who will overcome the darkness with his birth. The shortest day of the year, the darkest day, will be overtaken by the sun. The connection to the "Son" of God is obvious. Pope Benedict has written that the date of Christmas, December 25th, is due to the Annunciation being set at March 25th thus not falling on the date of solstice.

Sol Invictus/Apollo rising

For St. John the Baptist's birth (June 21), the feast falls on the Summer Solstice or the longest "day" of the year, harkening to John's saying: "He must increase while I must decrease" (John 3:30) speaking of Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom and the end of the darkness.

Ineffable: It finally happened

From back in 2008:
(Erie Bishop Donald) Trautman said the draft (of the Roman Missal) includes words such as "ineffable" that would not be in the ordinary vocabulary of people.
"This should be the prayer of the people," Trautman said. "I'm not for having street language. ... We should certainly have elevated tone, but words like that are just beyond the common comprehension."
Catholics coming out of a lunchtime Mass at Erie's St. Peter Cathedral weren't familiar with "ineffable."

Welp, today I finally got to use the word that lunchtime Massgoers in Erie, PA cannot understand. The collect reads:


O God, eternal majesty, whose ineffable Word
the immaculate Virgin received through
the message of an Angel
and so became the dwelling-place of divinity,
filled with the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant, we pray, by her example
we may in humility hold fast to your will.
Through Our Lord Jesus Christ....

No complaints. No worries. No confusion. The early Massgoers in Oxford, MS listened to the collect probably about as closely as they have in the past.

"Beyond common comprehension"? Ineffa-believable!

Saints of the States

Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha

A 17th-century Native American woman who cared for the sick and elderly, and a Catholic nun who worked with lepers in Hawaii, are on the verge of becoming the newest American saints, after Pope Benedict XVI certified miracles due to their intercession, the Vatican announced Monday (Dec 19).


Here's an inspiring tale concerning Blessed Kateri's latest miracle:

Kateri's supporters submitted evidence of miracles but believed Kateri's chances of sainthood died with Pope John Paul, who bestowed sainthood on more people than all other popes combined.

Jake Finkbonner with his mother in front of a statue of Bl. Kateri

Then, in 2006, a 6-year-old boy cut his lip during a basketball game in Washington state.
Overnight, Jake Finkbonner's face swelled up and he developed a high fever, according to an NPR report. Doctors at Seattle Children's Hospital said a flesh-eating bacterium called Strep A was attacking the boy's face. Over the next few weeks, it destroyed his lips, cheeks and forehead. Doctors told the family the boy was going to die.
The family's priest asked his congregation to pray to Kateri on Jake's behalf. The priest chose Kateri because of her facial scars and Indian heritage – Jake is half Lummi Indian.
The prayers started coming in from around the world, and a representative from the Society of the Blessed Kateri went to the hospital to place a pendant of Kateri on the boy's pillow. The next day, the infection stopped progressing and Jake recovered.
Investigators from the Vatican researched the incident for three years, and on Monday, Pope Benedict approved it as a miracle attributed to Kateri's intervention.

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Kateri-gets-miracle-she-needed-2412929.php#ixzz1h51cOAPT

The Liturgy as P.F. Chang's

The Hispanic Mass. The multicultural liturgy for Pentecost. The diversity of song and dance for the contemporary Mass. Catholics in America have become used to "festive" liturgies and other ways that highlight the global family we are.

Danza! Danza! Danza!

When I was in seminary, it seemed that monthly we'd have a cultural Mass with afterwards, no kidding, a dinner highlighting the central culture's food..Among the kultur-Masses was an African Mass (which is a continent, by the way), a German Mass, a Chinese Mass, and a very ill-advised African-American Mass which had our rector intoning the Mass parts in a vaudeville baritone.

Hip young priest celebrates Mass in Kinte Cloth reflecting his heritage...emm...broadmindedness.

I'm not a fan of multicultural. It's silly. But I usually don't say much about the silliness because it's sort of the thing to do and I may come off as sort of a xenophobe. Which I may be. But the silly?

I'm more confident in the silliness now after reading this article Sunday.

Professor Haley's book

This USM professor, Andrew Haley, provokes the reader to think of how all this multicultural food appeared and what does it say about our tastes (pun intended) as a culture? Well, it says we're middle class! Which is not a bad thing to be culturally. But awful as THE BRIDE OF CHRIST! The Church should not be reflective of any social  "taste" or "trend" nor should she  be "middle" anything. But I am afraid we have become very middle (and slipping).

The love of all things diverse is obvious. Just look at the excitement "anglos" have over the Guadalupe Fiestas of last week. That's not about our faith. It's about being entertained culturally. Or feeling very cosmopolitan but not having to travel. Haley says this in the article that has some good value to the way we think of our Liturgies and Mass:

"I would argue that in the 19th century American culture is shaped by upper class elite taste, whereas in the 20th century the middle class has come to define how we eat, the music we listen to, the way we dress," Haley said.It's also changed the food landscape of places like our very own Hattiesburg. Ever wonder why you have your pick of Thai, Middle Eastern, Japanese, Chinese and Italian restaurants in the heart of a Southern city?"

Haley goes on to say that the restaurants don't exist for the cultures that produced the food but for the middle class, largely white people, who desire the exotic tastes. Sound familiar?

The book is called "Turning the Tables". Interesting title in context. Maybe our tables need to be turned..back and our culture as Catholics be put in the class we deserve.

SARCO RE

So, just revisiting the "ERO CRAS" article (below), I got to thinking, "What if the code was supposed to be read as it is sung instead of working backward?" Donning my Tom Hanks Mini-mullet and doing some DaVinci coding, the words appear "SARCO RE". Since I have a seminary education from the 90's, I know no Latin or Greek (but have learned gathering hymns in Hawaiian and Vietnamese!) so with that unknowledge at hand, the mystic term appears "FLESH AGAIN" by using bad Greek scholarship.

SARCO RE, SUCKAS!!!

Which, if we believe Christ is coming again, presumably in the flesh, then that works out.

CARNIVAL! It's not racist if it's in South America.

 Also, since the Christmastide ends with the celebration of CARNIVAL ("farewell to the flesh" in loosely based Latin that I did not study) then it works there too.

But wouldn't it be cool if it also meant this?

ZOMBIE SANTA! SARCO RE! BRAINZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

(Probably none of  this page would be here had seminaries listened to canon 249.)

Merry Nonspecific Occasion Where We Give Gifts for Unspoken Reasons.

I am a conscientious objector to the WAR ON THE WAR  ON CHRISTMAS. To sum up my non-enthusiasm to be mad about people not using the proper greetings at the Shell station, I give you these non-joyful cards from someeecards.com.

Ero Cras

Graphic from Bethany Twins Blog

Before there was "LOL" and "OMG" and "BRB" there were anagrams and acrostics that had deep meaning (not to say that a well placed "LMAO" in a text isn't meaningful) in liturgical and theological circles.

The "O Antiphons" also possibly share in this conspiracy of symbols and signs. A few publications have written about the hidden message in the traditional chant. Take this article for example:



What a great treasure the liturgical tradition of the Roman Rite has left us in the O Antiphons of the Advent season. These are the very antiphons, still used in the current Liturgy of the Hours, which surround the Magnificat at Evening Prayer (Vespers) from December 17 - 23. They are seven titles for Christ, the Messiah, drawn from Hebrew Scripture, representing a "mosaic" of the Old Testament.

• O Sapientia [Wisdom]
• O Adonai [Lord]
• O Radix Jesse [Root of Jesse]
• O Clavis David [Key of David]
• O Oriens [Dayspring]
• O Rex gentium [King of the Nations]
• O Emmanuel [God-with-Us]

C.J. McNaspy in the Paulist publication, New Catholic World, tells us:

Their themes are broadly messianic, stressing the brightness of hope. Jesus is invoked under a series of titles, drawn largely from Isaiah, but in a sequence that must be intentional. They move historically from the beginning, before creation, to the very gates of Bethlehem. It seems more than coincidental, too, that the titles given to Jesus make an acrostic in Latin, which when read backwards means: "I will be tomorrow" ("Ero Cras") -- an obvious (at least to the medieval mind) allusion to Christmas eve.

Pretty cool.

O: The Antiphon

Beginning today (December 17), the Church counts down the week toward the celebration of Our Savior's birth. Each day has a special acclamation attached to it that tells of the many roles Christ fulfilled in His coming. We call them the "O Antiphons" and you probably most likely have heard them all in one shot in the popular Christmas carol "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". Here's a sweet version of the song:

I was impressed with Youtube while digging up the "O"'s. Seems that some people have made just one antiphon per day so you can listen each day for a different antiphon. These antiphons, by the way, are also the Introits before the daily Mass (although not in the order in the chant) so you can double check on our (or youtube's) liturgical correctness!

A Calvin and Hobbes Christmas

Calvin and Hobbes is sorely missed. Many of our target readership may not even remember the adventures of a boy and his (maybe) imaginary tiger but thanks to the internet, the spirit still lives on. Above is one of the great tropes of the strip: Calvin's macabre display of snowmen in very inappropriate positions and situations. This made any Southern boy jealous for snow. Who wouldn't want to make a snow murder scene? Huh? WHO???

Ahem..

This is one of the best tributes of the snowmen I've seen and apt for the season:

Fungus Among Us

Ew. Looks likes something you'd see in a restroom off 55-S

" A communion wafer that fell to the floor at a South St. Paul church and turned blood red is not a miracle. Twin Cities archdiocese officials said Wednesday that the discoloration was instead caused by a fungus.

While the Catholic Church fully recognizes the possibility of miracles and remains open to their possibility, it does so with extreme scrutiny, investigation and care. This incident was the result of natural biological causes and should not be considered in any other way."http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/135632408.html

In seminary, a professor of Biblical studies told us to be cautious against Eucharistic miracles. He said that even though they may be compelling, he didn't see them as his Risen Lord. The Church herself warns the faithful to not make miracles a reason for believing. Jesus even said, "Blest are those who have not seen yet believe  (Jn 20:29)."

Yikes.

My life has been virtually miracle free. Well, as far as seeing anything miracle-y. I consider that to be a favor from God and not some kind of diss. At Our Lady of Lourdes, the nuns would tell the most gory tales of Eucharistic miracles and, personally, it creeped me out. I prayed God not send any apparitions, bleeding statues, hosts or walls or have anything burning yelling at me. I'll just pray, listen and obey. He, at least, held up his end of the bargain.

Happy Christmas (War is Over)

Rarely do I go full out all hippy-dippy but I am very thrilled that the US Troops are coming home from Iraq. It's been too long and there's plenty of living to do over here.

This NY Times photo shows a soldier packing up in Iraq

So, Happy Christmas, vets. War is Over. Welcome Home. Here's a hit of John Lennon:

A journey from Judaism to the Convent

Rosalind Moss takes final vows as a Benedictine nun in
front of Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The conversion story of Rosalind Moss is hardly the first of its kind. She was born a Jew and, as an adult, embraced the fullness of the Catholic faith, recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. Her journey of faith eventually led her into the Benedictine Order. Believe it or not, many others have had a similar journey of faith: from Judaism to Catholicism - and even to the religious life. Most famous of them is undoubtedly St. Benedicta of the Cross, better known by her birth name: Edith Stein.

But just because the story is not a new one, it does not make it any less fascinating. Rosalind - now known by her religious name, Mother Miriam - was recently installed as the prioress of a new community of Benedictine sisters in Oklahoma, known as the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel's Hope.

National Catholic Register's recent interview with Mother Miriam is below. You can read it on their site here.

Mother Miriam

When a young Jewish woman in the 1960s read of Catholic nuns receiving permission to shorten their habits, she was shocked. How could these women who were supposed to be influencing the world for God succumb to the influence of the world?

“I lost what wasn’t mine,” explained Rosalind Moss years later. Little did she know that she would eventually gain what was not previously hers by becoming a religious sister in full habit. 

On Sept. 8 of this year, Moss became Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, O.S.B. She is the prioress of a new religious community, Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope, which is based in Tulsa, Okla.

Mother Miriam spoke with Register correspondent Trent Beattie about her conversion, religious calling, and desire to meet the greatest need of humanity.

So, how did a Jewish girl from Brooklyn end up in a convent in Tulsa?In short, I grew up in a conservative Jewish home in Brooklyn, where we waited for the Messiah. Every year at Passover, we would announce that the Messiah had not yet come. If he had come, there would have been peace in the world, his kingdom would have been established, we would be living in Jerusalem, and life would have made sense.

None of these things had happened, I thought, so it would be insanity to think that the Messiah actually had come. I wasn’t aware of any Jew who thought as much. I was 32 years old the first time I heard that there were actually Jews who believed the Messiah had come.
I met a group of Messianic Jews who taught me that all the sacrificial lambs in the Old Testament, while not able to remove sin, were types of the one Lamb of God to come, who indeed was able to remove sin. After going through the Old Testament, I was shown only one verse from the New Testament — and that one verse shattered my world. It was John 1:29, in which John the Baptist announces Jesus Christ in these words: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”  I knew then that Jesus was the Messiah I had been looking for.

I entered the only form of Christianity I knew at the time, which was evangelical and anti-Catholic. For the next 18 years, I tried to “save” Catholics from what I thought was a false religious, even satanic, system. It was through a series of events in the summer of 1990 that I began a search into the claims of the Catholic Church, which culminated in my entering the Church at the Easter vigil in 1995. 

As a Protestant, I had come to believe the fact that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — the God whom no one could look on and live — entered time and history and became man.
Upon my entrance into the Catholic Church I was able to appreciate a second incredible condescension of almighty God — that of the Blessed Sacrament, or the Passover fulfilled. God become man remains with us to this day under the appearance of bread.

Once you had entered the Church, when did you first think of becoming a religious sister?Actually, my calling, unknown to me at the time, started many years before becoming Catholic. I was 20 years old when I read a story in the newspaper about nuns receiving permission to shorten their habits. It was at the beginning of the mini-skirt era of the 1960s. I believed that these religious women were in the world to affect the world for God, but, alas, I thought at the time, the world had affected them. 

Something physical ripped through me. What I assumed had nothing to do with me became my deep and immediate loss. I had lost something that wasn’t mine. Or so I thought. I did not imagine that years later I would find myself fully given to restoring those hemlines and longing to fill the world with religious in habits as the glorious sign to God that they are.

This dedication of yours officially began this year on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when your community was established as a public association of the faithful and you received the habit. Can you describe that day?If there were a more glorious day in my life, I can’t think of when it was.

I have always felt that I was made for another world and that I was a pilgrim in this one.  Giving my life to God through Christ from my Jewish background changed my life forever. Coming further into the fullness of Christianity 18 years later in the Catholic Church deepened my relationship with God more than I knew was possible.

Still, even after these life-changing events, there remained a longing in my heart for something yet beyond this world.

On Sept. 8, in the small Monastery of the Cenacle of Our Lady in Tulsa, heaven seemed to flood my heart as Bishop [Edward] Slattery received my vows and as, through that beautiful and holy shepherd of Tulsa, I gave myself to the Bridegroom of my soul.

Bishop Slattery led the ceremony, with the assistance of Father Mark Daniel Kirby, O.S.B. About 15 people were in attendance, including priests, religious brothers and sisters. The Nativity of Our Lord was brought to mind, which, like our setting in the small oratory, was a private event, with even less than 15 people in attendance. Yet the seemingly humble, private and hidden birth of our Lord resulted in the world’s savation. Our prayer is that that same Lord in the manger would be pleased to grow the seed of our humble, private beginning into a means of salvation and hope for many souls.

What influence did St. Francis de Sales have on your entrance into religious life?My brother David, who converted to Catholicism 16 years before I did, had a small library of Catholic books. When I became Catholic, I “stole” some of his books. One of them was Introduction to the Devout Life, written by the great bishop of Geneva. At the time, I thought to myself, What need do I have for a book like this?  I’ve been a Christian for 19 years. Why read a book for beginners?

Well, I did read it — and could not put it down. I went on to read nine more books by St. Francis de Sales, who helped to bring 72,000 Calvinists back into the Catholic Church through his writings, which reveal a deep understanding of humanity and the answers to all of society’s ills.

I asked Our Lady to give me this great saint as my spiritual director from heaven. Five days later I was given The Spiritual Combat by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli. I read on the back cover that this was the book St. Francis de Sales gave to all of his spiritual directees. Our Lady had answered my prayer. I was ecstatic.

This spiritual master led me to another spiritual master, whose rule we’ve adopted. St. Francis de Sales led me to St. Benedict, the “Father of Western Monasticism,” and it is the Benedictine Rule which the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope will follow.

In addition to these two saints as co-patrons of the community, you also have a patroness in Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Yes, Our Lady of Guadalupe seemed to move in with us, and we are most grateful. I didn’t choose Our Lady of Guadalupe specifically as our patroness, but it seems that she chose us. We are grateful for her presence, especially in our parish in Tulsa, which has a large Hispanic population.

I delight in telling people that Our Lady of Guadalupe is Jewish. There is only one Mother of the Messiah, who appears all over the world “in different outfits.” She is indeed a mother to us and to all who will call upon her.

What is the specific charism of your community?We’re a contemplative-active teaching and evangelistic community. A religious community must be rooted in prayer, and we are as well. Our active apostolate, however, has two main goals: The first is to walk the streets in habits, reaching out to all we meet with the love of God and the truths of his glorious Church. The second goal is to help restore the stewardship of the home by helping parents to know and live their faith and impart it to their children.

We could write an entire book about the adventures we’ve had carrying out the first part of our charism in the short time we’ve been in Tulsa. A favorite incident occurred in conversation with a 6-year-old girl about God and Jesus. The little girl paused a minute and then asked me if I were Jesus’ mommy and if I lived “up there” (in heaven) with Jesus. So precious. There are so many wonderful stories. Many people — Catholics and non-Catholics alike — ask us for prayer. Several have tears in their eyes, telling us how happy they are to see nuns in habits again. 

What thrills me most, apart from being signs to God in the world and the freedom people have in approaching us, is the sense they have that they “own” us, so to speak. That is, they believe that they have free access to us, that we exist for them, that they have a right to expect us to pray for them, to help them, to be God’s arms to them in their need.  It is a beautiful expectation on their part, and, to my mind, that is as it should be.

We also wish to help restore the stewardship of the home by teaching parents and helping them to teach the faith to their children. The family is the primary vehicle God has designed to build his Kingdom. If we have any doubt about that, the enemy does not. All one has to do is look around at the destruction of the family to know that marriage and the family are the enemy’s targets. 

You’ve mentioned wanting to learn Gregorian chant because of its connection to “Old Covenant” worship. Could you explain that?I’ve said many times that the most Jewish thing a Jew can do is to become Catholic.  This is true not just in a general sense, but in a most detailed sense as well. There is nothing Catholic that is not rooted in the Old Testament. Our Catholic faith did not spring up out of nowhere, but out of the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This is true liturgically speaking, as we have a tabernacle, altar and priesthood in the New Covenant, similar to the Old Covenant. We also have Gregorian chant, which is rooted in Old Covenant worship. The Psalms were not merely read, but chanted in public worship of God, which Jesus himself participated in as a child. 

This chant was more fully developed in the Catholic Church and became what we now refer to as Gregorian chant. I’ve listened to many types of chant, but none quite as beautiful as Gregorian.

Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged the faithful to reacquaint themselves with this chant and use it liturgically; we want to follow our Supreme Pontiff’s lead.

You also value the Mass being offered ad orientem. Why is this?The No. 1 thing that attracted me to the Diocese of Tulsa was Bishop Edward Slattery’s decision to offer the Novus Ordo Mass ad orientem, that is, facing east, liturgically speaking. It is the posture of the shepherd leading the people to Christ and has been the case for centuries. 

You, in turn, aspire to bring Christ to the world, right?I’ve been blessed with the glorious gift of the Catholic faith, and I have no other reason to exist but to tell the world of Christ and his Church. The world is hungry for God, and we desire more than anything else to bring God to the world through the joyful presence of habited sisters who love God and who live to reach out to every soul — rich and poor, young and old — with “the faith once delivered to the saints.”

Register correspondent Trent Beattie writes from Seattle.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/rosalind-moss-unexpected-journey#ixzz1gcFFvcZC