Search This Blog
Monday, October 31, 2011
Halloween Storm
At first it looked pretty. It was just frost on the pumpkin. Then the leaves were encased in diamond settings.
But then it turned ugly. Those crystallize leaves weighed too heavily on their branches. Branches snapped. Trees split. There's a tree on the Town Common that split evenly in thirds--center, to the right, and to the left. Some parts of the town looked liked a tornado went through it. A few streets have telephone poles pulled down by trees falling on their wires. Live wires on the street have caused a lot of problems: no electricity, no school, and no trick or treating. You can't have kids walking in the dark with no street lights, or even lights from houses, and accidentally stepping on one of those live wires. So trick or treat has been postponed for Friday.
And I'm exhausted. Since we had no electricity, I had no alarm clock. I kept waking up during the night to check the time on my cell phone. I didn't trust its alarm because I had never used it before. Finally, one of the times I check, I thought the time said almost five o'clock. Close enough to get up. I usually get up at 5:30 AM. It was as cold as a freezer in the house. You could hang meat. So I took a nice, hot, long shower. Afterwards, I checked the time and it was just past four o'clock. So when I got up it was only three something. !!!!!!!!
I was wide awake.
I decided to take advantage of the quiet time and read the Office of Readings, besides pray Morning Prayer. I even had time to pray a Rosary.
I would have enjoyed the time spent alone with God, were it not for the cold. But after two days of no electricity, we just now got the electric power back on. Thanks be to God. This Halloween storm turned out to be a "trick" and also a "treat."
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Beatification of Pere Lataste
The beatification of the Venerable Servant of God Jean-Joseph Lataste
The Secretariat of State has announced that the rite of Beatification of the Venerable Jean-Joseph Lataste will be held in Besançon, France, on Sunday, 3rd June 2012.
His Eminence Card. Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints will represent the Holy Father on this occasion.
The Postulation of the Order
Pray that I can go to Besançon.
No Curse on this 9th
The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester with Hebert Blomstedt performs Anton Bruckner's 9th symphony. Love recording at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms on September 1, 2010. I've been listening to Bruckner ever since Pope Benedict tuned me onto him.
* The title "No Curse on this 9th", refers to Beethoven's curse on a composer's 9th.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Apple Affirmations
I wanted to do something fun in T.O.P.S. today. Since this is Halloween weekend, I thought we'd play a game. I thought of bobbing for apples, but that can be messy and isn't really hygienic. So I made up Apple Affirmations. It's not a game. It's more like a T.O.P.S. Chinese Cookie. You know, the cookies with fortunes in them. Although, since this was for T.O.P.S., I exchanged the cookie for something healthy, i.e., an apple. Instead of fortunes, I thought I'd give motivational boosts, with little slips of paper attached to the apple stems. The motivational boosts were in the form of affirmations:
Better choices lead to better living.
The only person that stands in the way of my success is me.
Taking control of my weight and my health is my number one priority.
Persistence and resistance will prolong my existence.
I won't let slip-ups be my downfall.
Self-control is my antidote to temptation.
My genes are not my fault, but my behavior is my responsibility.
I can manage temptation.
If I am wise, I will exercise.
I will maintain a positive attitude.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Anton Bruckner's Te Deum Laudamus
Pope Benedict XVI praised Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony and his "Te Deum," interpreted by the Bavarian State Orchestra and the Audi Youth Choir Academy, conducted by Kent Nagano and Martin Steidler, after attending a concert.
B16 continued praising Anton Bruckner: "Bruckner asked this beloved God to let him enter his mystery, ...to let him praise the Lord in heaven as he had on earth with his music. 'Te Deum laudamus, Te Dominum confitemur'; this great work we have just heard--written at one sitting then reworked over 15 years as if reconsidering how better to thank and praise God -- sums up the faith of this great musician."
The Pope also said that this music gives people hope and brings light and faith into our own lives. This video is not the interpretation of Anton Bruckner that the Pope was listening to. But it's as close as I could find on You Tube. There was no description just the title Anton Bruckner Barenboim 1 Te Deum.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Blaming God when the Bad Happens
People often question God's reasons for whatever misfortune happens to fall. I guess that's a very human response. Our first reaction is to blame somebody. "Who did this?" is a common question. So it's easy to blame God, He's in charge. Wait....is He?
Well, yes and no. I'm not a theologian, or a philosopher, or even a deep thinker. I'm just a simple, old lady fingering her Rosary beads. But I think until I get an answer that satisfies my own questions. And how I see the answer to "why God allows bad things to happen to good people," is because we're in charge of our world.
Remember, we chose to not follow God's rules in the Garden of Eden. We're not living in the Garden anymore. God gave man (us) dominion over this world. We're in charge, meaning we are suppose to help each other, solve our own problems, and take care of our world.
Psalm 115: 16
The heavens belong to the Lord
but the earth He has given to men.
God doesn't allow bad things to happen. We're not living in the Garden of Eden. God made us to use the earth and master it.
Lord have mercy on us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Reminiscing
My sister died a month ago. A sibling dying is not an inconsequential event, for anyone. For me, it was deep. You see, she was ten years...
-
St Dominic and the Devil by Pietro della Vecchia D Don't you just love legends? I mean stories. St. Dominic stories abound. Of cou...
-
Yesterday, I posted about a sculpture on the top of a column in the church of St. Mary Magdalen , in Vezelay, France . Meditating upon the...
-
My Lay Dominican Chapter, Our Lady of Mercy, has the best spiritual director. Today he gave us, what my "cloistered brothers" ca...


