Buddy

                     Buddy
                        by

Buddy by MEK

                     MEK

I wonder where you went my furry friend,
I remember days of my youth,
running through the woods
faster than anyone should,
my poor mother always thought
that I was up to no good...
Visions remain of days in the sun,
bursting through the canopy of green,
Maine pines so thick and cool,
it was nature's school,
Seeing you bound through the grass so high,
the scent of the apple orchards filled the sky,
mingled with the sounds of the dragonfly,
talk about a natural high...
Now I wonder why dog can't say goodbye
you live forever with the little boy inside...

*Source: Pencil in the Hole by MEK

Jesus Did Bring Heaven

Danny in my RCIA class was telling me about a book he was reading about Jesus and His mission.  He said that Jesus came down from heaven and wanted to bring heaven to us.  That's what He was trying to do.

I'm sure Dan was telling me this so that I would give him an argument.  I kind of knocked the wind out of his sails when I said, "Jesus did!"  Jesus did this when He gave us the Eucharist.  We see heaven in every Mass. Isn't our liturgy with its candles, altar, singing and incense what the angels are doing?  Aren't we kneeling before Jesus.

In the Mass we look up; we ask to be brought up.  Our hearts are taken up to the altar in heaven.  We sing praises to God.

God is so good to us.  Praise Him.  He does bring heaven to us.

My Consecration to Mary

St. Thomas Aquinas was profoundly devoted to Mary.  He taught that Mary should be given every honor.  It is she who helped make God one of us.  Because of Aquinas' great devotion to Mary, and because I am a Lay Dominican, I chose the feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas to make my formal consecration to Mary.

Unfortunately, I had intended to make my consecration to Mary in prayer group, tonight; however, the church is closed due to the blizzard.  I wanted to kneel in front of the Eucharist and consecrate myself.  This public post will have to suffice.

O Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom! O sweetest and most adorable Jesus!  True God and True Man, only Son of the Eternal Father and of Mary, always Virgin!  I adore Thee profoundly in the bosom and splendors of Thy Father during eternity, and I adore Thee also in the virginal bosom of Mary Thy most worthy Mother, in the time of Thy Incarnation.

I give Thee thanks that Thou hast annihilated Thyself, taking the form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil.  I praise and glorify Thee that Thou hast been pleased to submit Thyself to Mary, Thy Holy Mother, in all things, in order to make me Thy faithful slave through her.

But alas! Ungrateful and unfaithful as I have been, I have not kept the promises which I made so solemnly to Thee in my Baptism.  I have not fulfilled my obligations; I do not deserve to be called Thy child nor yet Thy slave; and as there is nothing in me which does not merit Thine anger and Thy repulse, I dare not any more come by myself before Thy most holy and august Majesty.  It is on this account that I have recourse to the intercession of Thy Most Holy Mother, whom Thou has given me for a mediatrix with Thee.  It is through her that I hope to obtain of Thee contrition, the pardon of my sins, and the acquisition and preservation of Wisdom.

Hail then, Immaculate Mary, living Tabernacle of the Divinity, where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men!  Hail, Queen of Heaven and earth, to whose empire everything is subject which is under God!  Hail, O sure Refuge of sinners; whose mercy fails no one !  Hear the desires which I have of the Divine Wisdom, and for that end, receive the vows and offerings which in my lowliness I present to Thee.

I, Faith, a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism: I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.

In the presence of all the heavenly court, I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress.  I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity.

Receive, O benignant Virgin, this little offering of my slavery, in honor of, and in union with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have to thy maternity, in homage to the power which both of you have over this poor sinner, and in thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity has favored thee.  I declare that I wish henceforth, as thy true slave, to seek thy honor and to obey thee in all things.

O admirable Mother, present me to thy dear Son as His eternal slave, so that as He has redeemed me by thee, by thee He may receive me!  O Mother of Mercy, grant that I may obtain the true Wisdom of God, and for that end receive me among those whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou leadest, nourishest and protectest as th children and thy slaves.

O faithful Virgin, make me in all things so perfect a disciple, imitator and slave of the Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ thy Son, that I may attain, by thine intercession and by thine example, to the fullness of His age on earth and of His glory in heaven.  Amen

After all this, do you understand why I complained during the five weeks preparation of the consecration, of St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion Consecration to Mary? The imagery, the language, and written expression, are so outdated, one is tempted to dismiss the entire idea.  That's why I'm updating it.  I'll write my own for Lent.  Watch for it.

My Prayer for the 2015 Blizzard

Snow up to my mailbox.

Father James Martin, s.j. wrote a prayer that inspired me to write my own.

Lord, God Almighty, You Who created all; Lord of all the elements; God of Refuge, hear my prayer.

Turn the path, Merciful Lord, that causes the snow to blizzard, the rain to fall, and the wind that blows. Send this dangerous storm out sea where it will do no harm.  But if Your plans, which I am too simple minded to comprehend, are not in alignment with my wishes, then at least keep my electricity on, my computer usable, my cell phone viable, my heat operational, and my TV working.

Also, I think you'll need to bless me with the grace of humor.  I need to keep my spirits up to cope with this horrendous weather.  You will also need to help those most vulnerable: the elderly, the sick and homeless.  While you're giving out blessings, Lord, bless my mailbox so the snow plow won't knock it down, again.

And Lord, please listen to St. Anthony.  He's interceding for me to locate my shovel.

Thanks, Lord.  You always come through for me--one way or another.                  Amen.

Call to Prayer

The United States Council of Catholic Bishops ask you to pray for families, marriages, and yourself.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Well, here we sit, again.  I'm posting my week's activities on the net, along with my fellow bloggers, on the blog, This And That And The Other Thing.  This week was fun, most of the time.  Come read:

Monday  --  Funeral

Tuesday  --  Thanks be to God, I am finished!

Wednesday  --  Msgr. Moran's homily.

Thursday  --  The why of "Through Christ Our Lord..."

Friday  --  A "cloistered brother's" poem.

Saturday  --  My personal experiences inspired this post.

Hey!  At least I'm never boring.  Click here for some more interesting posts from my friends.

Ten Tips for Confessors

Very often I read Tips for Confession, How to Make a Good Confession, etc.  I haven't ever seen tips for the confessor, at least in my experience, because I certainly hope there are discussions for priests regarding how to better the sacrament of reconciliation.

Ten Tips for Confessors

1.  Don't yell.  As a child, I often heard stories about "Don't go to Father So and So, he yells at you."  There was a confessor at Arch Street who did do this.  He's infamous about his yelling.  A priest told me that he went to confession to him, (as a priest), and was yelled at.  Thankfully, that was not my childhood experience.  However, as an adult, not too long ago, the confessor, in the middle of my laundry list of sins, yelled, "This is not spiritual direction!  This is not the time for spiritual direction!"
     "Oka-a-a-y"  I have no idea what set him off.  I was so shocked that I don't know which one, or all of my sins caused him to say that.  So I just continued with my list.  He gave me absolution and I went on my way.  Strange.

2.  Give reasonable penances.  Don't get too creative.  You would think that I, for one, would appreciate different penances.  But in this penitential circumstance--I'm not in the mood.  In the confessional, I don't have pen and paper to write down scripture verses.  One time, in particular, comes to mind.  I was given particular verses in Colossians.  When I read them, I didn't see any relevance to my sins.  I began to doubt that I remembered correctly.  So I read Galatians because it kind of, sort of, sounds like Colossians?  Again, no reference to my confession.  So I read 1 & 2 Corinthians.  I couldn't see any references that would help me.  I gave up, besides I certainly satisfied my penance requirement.
    Another time, I was in a church that was new to me.  I wanted to pray my penitential prayers in the Adoration Chapel, which was in a different part of the building than the confessional.  I got lost trying to find the place.  When I finally found the Adoration Chapel; I knelt in front of the monstrance; I blessed myself; and I couldn't remember what my penance was.  !!!!!!!!!!!  Pray for me.

3.  Don't be snippy.  Can't you tell by my demeanor that I'm serious and humbling myself before you?  This isn't easy for the penitent.  Even if you don't perceive that I'm in the correct disposition to come to confession, just presume that I am.  Why else would anyone come?

4.  Don't cut the penitent off.  If I'm taking a long time, can't you tell me, and make an appointment for me to come at another time?

5.  Don't tell me to NOT to confess so often.  I'm getting the opposite advice from everything I read.  Besides, if the penitent belongs to a lay religious organization, he may be obligated to go to confession often.

6.  Don't tell me you can't give me absolution because you don't see any sin.  Can't you give me absolution for the sins in the past?

7.  Compliment.  Isn't there anything good that you see that offers hope that the penitent will attain sanctity?  Even if it's just "Your sins are abuses of your gifts."

8.  Offer suggestions.  Help me amend my ways.  Do you see a propensity--a path that is wrong?

9.  Pray for me.

10.  Grace received in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is in proportion to the disposition of the penitent, I understand.  I'm sorry if I bore you.  Please try to be attentive.  Pretend this is the first time you are hearing confessions.  You are acting in Persona Christi, after all.  

Where is the Stork?

This is an interesting poem because it is written in two languages.  The author, Francisco Wills intended them to be just like that, in English and in Spanish.  The poet does not consider them translated.  Together they are one.

Dónde estàn las cigueñas?                                               Where is the Stork?

Los bebes los trae la cigueña                                        The stork delivers babies,
de niño me dijeron.                                                       I was told as a child.

Hoy, recuerdo en mi tierra                                            Today, I remember in my land,

De guaduas y azaleas,                                                   of bamboo-canes and azaleas,
robles y palmas,                                                            oaks and palms,
acacias y plataneras,                                                      acacias and plantain trees,
a jóvenes madres,                                                          young mothers,
que a diario,                                                                  that every day
en los arboles del bosque,                                              in the forest trees,
vieron sinsontes y canaries;                                             saw mocking-birds and canaries,
azulejos y Ruisenores;                                                    blue jays and nightingales,
golondrinas y gorriones,                                                  swallows and wrens,
pero nunca jamàs una cigueña.                                        but never ever a stork. 

Son las mismas que                                                        They are the same ones that
en sus brazon llevan,                                                       in their arms cradles,
sonrientes y triunfantes,                                                   smiling and triumphant,
infants sonrosados.                                                          red-cheek babies.

Ask Away

Bishop Fulgentius of Ruspe, in this morning's Reading for the Thursday in the Second Week in Ordinary Time, explains why Catholics often end their prayers with "through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord."

Through the mystery of the Incarnation, Jesus Christ became man, the mediator of God and man...This then is the reason why we offer prayer to God our Father, but through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The good bishop talks about the exalted position we should place Jesus.  He is the great High Priest.  He became an offering for us, to the Father.  But I have a better reason for ending my prayers with "through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord."  Jesus told us to.  Read John 14:13.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. 13"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

From Ba-a-a- to Yoke

Msgr. Moran related the story of the lamb's significance on today, the feast of Saint Agnes.  St. Agnes was a young girl in the fourth century who was martyred.  Her name in Latin means lamb, and since Jesus is called the Lamb of God, and since lambs were the animals that were usually sacrificed to honor God, the church uses the lamb in an interesting tradition.

On the feast of St. Agnes, January 21, lambs are brought to be blessed by the pope.  The lambs are then cared for until it's time for them to be sheared.  The wool taken from the lambs is used to make palliums.  Palliums are cloth yokes.  New bishops will take on the yoke of Christ (Matthew 11: 30) on the Feast of Peter and Paul, June 29.

There are five crosses on the pallium, which is white.  The crosses represent the five wounds of Christ.  There is one cross on the back and two on the front.  Crosses are also on each shoulder.

Finis St. Louis de Montfort

I finally finished True Devotion Consecration to Mary, by St. Louis de Montfort.  Actually the book is a compilation of de Montfort's writings: The Love of Eternal Wisdom, The Secret of the Rosary, The Secret of Mary, Letter to the Friends of the Cross, and the True Devotion Consecration.  These were all arranged by Fr. Helmuts Libietis.

It took me five weeks to finish.  I committed myself to make this consecration and I did, and will.  I finished the book, but I'm not officially putting myself in front of the Tabernacle and making the consecration, until January 28th -- the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Aquinas is a Dominican, as am I, and we Dominicans have Our Lady as our special patron.  So I thought the feast of the Angelic Doctor would be a good day to consecrate myself to her.

That being said, I hated this book.  It is so outdated as to be useless.  One would be committed to a mental institution nowadays if their thought process was aligned with the theme of this book.  Good grief, how many times did I have to tell myself that I was less than excrement and should wear chains as a sign of being a slave to Jesus and Mary?

Another thing that surprised me and led me to dislike Fr. Libietis' compilation.  Nowhere in the book, does Libietis mention that St. Louis de Montfort was a Third Order Dominican. That's a gross and grievous error.  In fact, if you didn't know that St. Louis de Montfort is listed in the Dominican Litany of Saints, you would have thought he was a Third Order Carmelite!  I kept checking to see if Libietis was a Carmelite, because he kept mentioning that Order. How could he ever omit that Louis de Montfort is a famous Dominican saint!

There is also a huge emphasis on the Brown Scapular.  A Dominican would point out the fact that wearing

the Brown Scapular, worthy devotion as it is, is no rabbit's foot!  It is not your ticket through heaven's gate.
Besides, St. Louis de Montfort would have also worn the Dominican scapular that Our Lady gave to St. Dominic.  In fact, the Dominican scapular is the only part of the habit, that is blessed, because it comes from Our Lady, herself.  Why would Fr. Libietis omit this?

I am thankful that in spite of  my criticism of the book, it did bring me closer to Mary.  For that I am grateful.  Also, it has inspired me to write my own consecration to Mary.  I'm in the process, with St. Louis de Montfort's guidance, to write a consecration for us who live in the 21st century. Watch for it.  It will be posted during the 40 days of Lent.

To Jesus through Mary.

Christ Embraces Us

Statue of the Risen Christ
St. Augustine Church
Millville, MA

St. Augustine Church in Millville, MA, was the venue for the funeral service I attended today.  It was a lovely.  The deceased was a  retired army colonel and the burial service was very ceremonial.  During the Mass, my eye was drawn to a statue on my right.  It's a statue of the risen Christ.


Note how the arms of the statue are up, as Christ ascends to heaven.  Now note the shadow's arms.


I like to think that the shadow is showing us Christ embracing us, the people, as He ascends to His Father.

Sunday Snippets -- A Catholic Carnival

It's time for Sunday Snippets -- A Catholic Carnival.  What do I mean?  I mean that on Sundays, I give my readers snippets of my week's posts.  Not only that.  I link here, with a blog, This And That And The Other Thing, where you will find this blog, and others, to read.  That's the Catholic Carnival.  So, what happened this week?

Monday  --  I did snag Alice for the Communion Breakfast in 2016.

Tuesday  --  A short story.

Wednesday  --  Another Mother Miriam Pollard poem.

Thursday  --  Hail Mary for the Pope.

Friday  --  Novena for Life.

Saturday  --  Joke.

Flea and Tick Collar

                                               Father John told us a joke I never heard before.

He was eating dinner with a parish family.  The little boy kept staring at the priest's roman collar.  He was just staring and staring.  Finally, Father asked the little boy, "I see you are looking at my collar.  Do you know what it means?"

"Oh yes, I do.  Our dog wears a flea and tick collar, too."

Novena for Life

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops invite you to join their annual novena, “9 Days for Life,” a period of prayer, penance and pilgrimage marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, from Saturday, January 17 – Sunday, January 25. 

Download an app or printable version of the novena or sign up for email or text messages at www.9daysforlife.com, or join on Facebook! Each day’s content (available in both English and Spanish) includes a different prayer intention, short reflection, supplementary article, and suggested actions.

We also invite you to participate in local events such as Masses, blessings for pro-life pilgrims, or a parish holy hour for reparation and healing for all affected by abortion. Visit your local parish or diocesan website to learn about events in your area.

                          Your prayers matter. Your sacrifices make a difference.

Pray Hail Mary for the Pope

Please pray for the health and protection of our Pope Francis.... just a simple Hail Mary (read below).  Especially now that ISIS has targeted the Vatican and plans to assassinate the Pope!  Please read all below and forward to friends... the goal is ten million Hail Marys for our Pope!!

 

POPE FRANCIS MAKES A REQUEST

 

Weep not for what you have lost, fight for what you have.

Weep not for what is dead, fight for what was born in you.

Weep not for the one who abandoned you, fight for who is with you.

Weep not for those who hate you, fight for those who want you.

Weep not for your past, fight for your present struggle.

Weep not for your suffering, fight for your happiness.

With things that are happening to us, we begin to learn that nothing is impossible to solve, just move forward.

 

THE HOLY FATHER MAKES A REQUEST FOR PRAYERS THAT GOD PROTECTS HIM AND GIVES HIM FORCES TO MEET THIS DIFFICULT TASK ... SO BE IT 

 Our goal is to reach ten million Hail Mary's for Pope Francis.This campaign started today. Send this message to all Catholic friends or even to those who like him.

We pray for the Holy Father that the heavenly Mother intercedes for him and protects him in his ministry:

 

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

Do not forget to forward this message to many friends.

We want to reach ten million Hail Marys

Updating Magnificat

While waiting for Mass to begin, I was reading Magnificat.  Today's Meditation of the Day, had a poem by Mother Miriam.  Remember I wrote of her poem Mark?  She has been at Mount Saint Mary's Abbey since from before I started attending daily Mass there.  So I was blessed to see Mother's poem in the book.  Unfortunately, Magnificat said she was from Santa Rita Abbey in Sonoita, Arizona.  I don't know whether that's a true mistake, or Magnificat needs to update their information.

The Poem "Cold"

This is the season of snows,
when the sky, all in pieces, is falling,
and bells from invisible towers
are soundlessly tolling.

Over the carpeted earth,
footsteps are coming and going,
leaving no tracks on a land
where winter is snowing.

Where are they hanging the bells?
Whose are the feet that come walking?
And voices gone speechless with cold--
to whom are they talking?

Sound is an alien here,
and vision the child of a stranger.
Nothing is feeding the heart,
nothing but hunger.

Feed then my eyes and my ears.
God, feed my hunger with hunger,
my longing with slow-falling snow,
my heart with your winter.
                                                                         Mother Miriam Pollard, o.c.s.o.
Mother Miriam Pollard is a Cistercian nun at Mount Saint Mary Abbey in Wrentham, Massachusetts.

Remorse

There was no breeze.  The spring air still had a winter bite to it, but without any wind, we thought the weather was summer-like.  Off went our winter coats, which meant we had to carry them.  But the sun on our backs felt so-o-o  good.

We didn’t mind carrying our coats.  It was gym day in the eighth grade, and we just stuffed our coats in our gym bags.  Kenny didn’t.  He didn’t use a gym bag.  He just tied his sneakers’ shoe laces together and slung his sneakers over his shoulder.

I still can feel the sun on my face, on that early spring day.  My friends and I decided to walk home from Junior High.  We all wanted to enjoy the weather and each other.  We even stopped in the middle of the bridge to watch the waterfall rush crazily over the rocks.

 

Sometimes in spring, animals feel frisky.  I could even say crazy, or infected with spring fever.  Whatever the reason, the spring air infected my thinking process.  I can’t explain what prompted me to take Kenny’s sneakers and try to balance them on the ledge over the bridge.

That’s my side of the story.  My friends say I took them and threw them over the bridge.

I can see where it did look like that, but that wasn’t my intention. 

I intended to place them, one after the other, toe to heel, on the narrow ledge on the river side of the bridge.  Spatial relations have always been my weakest aptitude. 

Those sneakers sunk like cement.

I felt terrible, but I couldn’t do anything about it.  I couldn’t offer to buy him new ones; I didn’t have any money.  I couldn’t tell my parents; they’d kill me.

Poor Kenny!  Poor me!  My friends blamed me.  Rightly so.  Kenny got into a lot of trouble for losing his sneakers. 

I still feel guilty.

Lunch with Alice--Hopefully Breakfast, Too!

Alice Camille

Yesterday, my Scripture Sharing Group was blessed by meeting Alice Camille http://www.alicecamille.com/  We use her commentary in our discussions.  One of us found out that she lived about half an hour away.  So we invited her to lunch.

Not only does she write scripture commentary, but she's written books and articles.  She's a religious educator, retreat leader, and hopefully my speaker for Women's Club's Laetare Communion Breakfast in 2016.  I asked her if she would be our guest speaker.

Say a prayer, please.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Here we go again.  It's time for Sunday Snippets -- A Catholic Carnival.  This is the day, Sunday, upon which I link my week's posts to the blog, This That And The Other Thing.  Other bloggers do the same.  So here is the one place to go, to read some interesting doings.  We blog about what we have done during the week.  Here's how my week went:

Monday -- I'm still bitch'n about de Montfort's Consecration--still doing it, though.

Tuesday -- A story I made up for my granddaughter.  Four years old and she told me not to pay any attention to her mother.  Imagine!  Four years old!  (Takes after her mother!)

Wednesday -- You do things for love that you'd really prefer not to do.  Huh?

Thursday -- Waiting in the doctor's office.

Friday -- Praying for my catechumens and candidates and I really love those Xaverians.

Saturday -- Not a good start to the morning.

Small Blessings

You will never guess what woke me up at 3:09 AM?  I thought I heard music.  My first thought was, "No it couldn't be."  My next thought was that the music could be my iPhone alarm, which I had set for 6:00 AM.  But it was only 3:00 AM.  Was it my imagination?  Was the television left on?  Did I make a mistake in setting my alarm?

Well, by that time, I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep, so I got up to investigate.  The music was Away in a Manger.  Our Christmas tree is still up and there's still Christmas decorations scattered all over the room.  I went to the snow globes and their music was off.  Away in a Manger now switched to Silent Night.  Eventually, I ascertained that the music was coming from a Christmas tree decoration.  I was surprised.  I knew a few ornaments made noises, but I didn't remember any that played songs, never mind, had a repertoire of songs.  O Little Town of Bethlehem gave the offending decoration away.  Oddly enough, the second my fingers touched the ornament, the music stopped.

Now what?  As long as I was up I read the First Meditation for Week Four, Day Five, in St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion Consecration to Mary.  I also prayed Morning Prayer.

Since I was now up for good, I thought I had better shut off my iPhone alarm.  I also saw, as I picked up my phone, that my scrabble partner had made her move during the night.  So I played my tiles.  She immediately placed her tiles.  She's up at 4:00 AM!

So we played scrabble.

I did de Montfort's Second Meditation.

I gave myself a manicure.

I finished reading Life of Pi.

I wrote this post.

Now it's time to get ready for the day.  I'm going to a T.O.P.S. workshop today and I'm driving.  "Lord, protect my passengers because I'm pretty tired."

Xaverians Explain Consecrated Life

 I love the Xaverians.  I think if you watch this video they made to participate in the year of the consecrated life, you'll get a feel for their spirituality.  

Observations in the Doctor's Waiting Room

Sitting in the doctor's waiting room today, I noticed that everyone there had their mobile phone out.  I don't know what they were doing, but I was playing scrabble with four people.  Now you may bemoan the fact that everyone is looking down at their phone and not interacting socially with each other.  But it is actually the opposite.  The people in a doctor's waiting room are strangers.  They would not usually be socializing.  They'd be reading something.  However, their mobile phones allow them to contact their family and friends.  In my case, play scrabble, with one real friend and three virtual friends.  One friend is a book club member.  The other three are friends from FaceBook, whom I have never met.

Think about this.  Before cell phones, we would be sitting in the doctor's office not talking.  Now, we can talk to many people and do many things, due to the mobile phone.  I just love technology!

Saved by the Rosary

St. Louis de Montfort claims that the Rosary will save me from hell.  Whew!  I'm safe.  I pray a daily rosary because its part of the Rule of Lay Dominicans.  And since de Montfort says forcing oneself to obey when you don't want to is an act of love, it's worth more.  

   Think--a parent toting around their little hockey player across the state to a practice in the wee hours of the                morning.

               That's love!

Here's the saint's quote.  (You have to get use to the way he writes.)

   If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins

   "you shall receive a never fading crown of glory" (1Peter 5:4). Even if you are on the brink of 

   damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as      sorcerers do, who practise black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if--and mark well what I

   say--if you say the Holy Rosary devoutly every day, until death, for the purpose of knowing the

   truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins.

Ooops, he did say devoutly pray.  Even so, I picture Our Lady lassoing her children, from the gates of hell, with her rosary.  

Mother Knows Best

Once upon a time, in a town not so far away, lived a disobedient granddaughter.  She wasn’t disobedient all the time, just some of the time.  Usually, she was pretty good.

However, one day she spied a stick of gum on her grandmother’s dresser and she took it.  Grandma told her granddaughter that Mama did not want her to have gum.

“But I want it.”

“Mama said no.  She doesn’t want you to have gum.”

This conversation did not end well.  Granddaughter was feeling naughty.  “Mama is just a grouch!”

At this exclamation Grandma threw the gum away into the waste basket.  But granddaughter did not listen and she sneaked the gum out of the trash.  Worse, when no one was looking she put it in her mouth.  She thought she was being clever and chewed the gum quietly and was careful that no one saw her chewing.

Soon however, the sweetness inside the gum went away.  The gum wasn’t so sweet anymore.  In fact, it didn’t have any taste at all.  It felt like she was chewing paper.  Yuck!

But she was a stubborn granddaughter and kept the gum in her mouth all the way to bedtime.  She was really chewing the gum in her bed because no one was watching her, now.  She chewed and chewed and chewed, until she fell asleep.  She only stopped chewing because she was asleep.  In fact, just as she fell asleep the gum fell out of her mouth, through her teeth, over her lips, and onto her pillow. 

Granddaughter didn’t know the gum had fallen out and was stuck on her pillow.  She didn’t know that when she turned her head her hair got stuck on the gum.  She had no idea that every time she turned over in her sleep, the gum was squashed and squished deeper and deeper into her beautiful long as a princess hair. 

Her hair was a mess of gum.  But granddaughter didn’t know.  In the morning, she got out of bed and went downstairs for breakfast.  Mama was shocked. 

“What happened to your hair?”

Granddaughter touched her hair to smooth it down ….WHAT?  At first she thought bugs were in her hair, but then she remembered.  It was the gum.  The gum was stuck all over her hair.  Really stuck!

Granddaughter started to cry.

“You naughty girl!  Look what you did to your long as a princess hair.”

Mamaa tried to pull the gum out but it hurt.  Soon the granddaughter was really, really crying.  It was terrible.  Mamma scolded and the crying turned to screaming.

There was only one thing to do.

“Oh no!”  Granddaughter’s eyes opened wide.  Her feet walked her backwards.  Her body whimpered and shivered. “No-o-o-o-…”

Mama had scissors in her hand.  She had no choice.  She had to cut the gum out of the hair—that beautiful, long as a princess hair. 

Snip, snip….soon the crying softened to whimpering, to sniveling.  But the gum was cut out.

Oh, her hair?  Gone was the long as a princess hair.  Granddaughter now looked like Henry Hugglemonster. 

 

What a lot of unhappy trouble Granddaughter caused.  All because she didn’t obey her mother.  I hope she learned her lesson.  Mother knows best.

Harmony

For Lectio Divina I'm still reading Mother Miriam Pollard's, o.c.s.o., book, The Listening God.  This morning, Mother writes about appreciation.  I couldn't help think of her thoughts as being comparable to mine, and also, so opposite of Saint Louis de Montfort's.

Mother writes, in speaking of those like de Montfort who walk the Purgative Way:

 "...We are not made for suffering but for joy.  Joy is our native land.  Under present circumstances, we will get our share of pain, but we are not asked to stroke and cuddle it like a pet cat.  We are invited to hold it as lightly as we can and to find in it, at least eventually, a joy whose character differs from the joy we would have had without the pain...
...It is not only good therapy but good religion to notice the bits of beauty, humor, gracefulness, and social comfort which litter even the barest roads of responsibility.  We don't have to lunge at every pleasure in sight; we don't even have to leave the road.  God meets us there in small beauties and inconsequential delights.  He coaxes our laughter at the incongruity of our self determination.
   The point is harmony.

Ah, here's the money quote.  The point is harmony.  I say keep your eyes on joy itself, which is God.  Of course, bad things will happen.  We're not living in the Garden of Eden.  There is joy in acceptance of the "bad."  God turns the bad into good.

I just love Mother Miriam.  I see her across the altar, every time I go to Mount St. Mary Abbey, for Mass.  I would love to have her as a spiritual director.  Once, I even asked Father Aquinas to ask her if she would accept me as a spiritual directee.  However, she is cloistered, so I knew she wouldn't be able to.  But that's how I got Father Aquinas as a spiritual director.

Case in point!

Sunday Snippets -- A Catholic Carnival

This is the day for linking up with my fellow bloggers, at This And That And The Other Thing.  We all link to R'Ann's blog to share our week's posts.  This week I posted:

Monday  --  Watch your mouth!

Tuesday  --  Do you want a patron saint for 2015?

Wednesday  --  There is no true justice here on earth, you know.  Thank God, for God!

Thursday --  Still praying for Father Gordon MacRae.

Friday  --  New Year's Resolution.

Saturday  --  Saint Louis de Montfort is killing me.

Why don't you click here to link to my friends' blogs for some good reading.

I Deserve Hell

Fra Angelico's Mocking of Jesus

Were it not for the gifts of hope and Holy Spirit, I think I would have lost the will to live.  Saint Louis de Montfort is killing me.

I have passed the halfway point, in St. Louis de Montfort's True Devotion Consecration to Mary. This is five weeks of prayers, daily meditations, and spiritual guidance.  I have learned that I am: " ... more vile than unclean animals...more gluttonous than hogs...lazier than tortoises...weaker than reeds...more capricious than peacocks...more maggot ridden than swill...".  You get the idea?

So do I and I'm sick to death of it.

But I've made the commitment to do this consecration and I will do it.

I would not recommend Saint Louis de Montfort's Consecration to anyone.  Looking at it in my times, from my culture, de Montfort is crazy.  He has a dark nature.  He's sadistic, insulting, negative, and neurotic.   But since I'm faithful to the point of stupidity, I'll finish de Montfort's book.  Take notice though; I'm writing my own consecration.  I'll post it on this blog for Lent.  I promise you it'll be quick and easy.  You'll be able to do it while stopped at traffic lights.  You will fall in love with Mary and her Son.  Also, you will love yourself because God made you in His image, and He is Love.

The Important New Year's Resolution

Today, January 2, 2015, everyone is talking about the New Year's resolutions that they've made.  Most of them seem to revolve around "getting more exercise,"  "starting a diet," etc.  What good does it do to be an ideal weight, have a buff body, exercise your heart, keep your blood pressure and cholesterol low, when everyone dies anyway.  Don't you think it would be better to get and keep your soul in good condition?

Personally, I'm doing them all.  I need to liver longer to get my soul in shape.

Can You Help Father Gordon MacRae?

If your a regular reader of my blog, you've read many posts about Father Gordon MacRae.  Gordon MacRae is a priest who has been wrongly convicted.  With help from Suzanne Sadler, Father MacRae publishes a blog entitle These Stone Walls.  Suzanne posts what Father telephones or mails to her.  Suzanne has been doing this for five years--for free.  She would like to update her publishing equipment.  Can you help?  Can you spare $ 10?  How about a prayer? Have you ability to spread the word (email, blog, FaceBook, tweet)?

I beg you to find room in your heart to help Father Gordon MacRae.  He's been in prison for over 20 years.  That's more than enough.  If you can donate, please click here.

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.