The Soul of a University

I wrote up a piece about Seton Hall University and Matt and Pat Archbold of Creative Minority Report were gracious enough to give me copious space over there to run it. Please go look at it. I will probably start running it over here in a few days.

Novena to St. Monica

St. Monica's feast day is August 27. In case you don't know, St. Monica is the mother of St. Augustine. Augustine was the original enfant terrible who famously lapsed from the faith. He credits the intercessory prayers of his mother with bringing him back to the Church. Indeed everything we know about St. Monica was told to us by Augustine.

Today I'm starting a novena for the lapsed members of my family and yours. There are several novena prayers you can choose. Whatever prayer you choose will be OK. Pray for the members of your family who have lapsed from the faith.


Novena To Saint Monica

Exemplary Mother of the Great Augustine,
You perseveringly pursued your wayward son
Not with wild threats
But with prayerful cries to heaven.

Intercede for all mothers in our day
So that they may learn
To draw their children to God.

Teach them how to remain
Close to their children,
Even the prodigal sons and daughters
Who have sadly gone astray.

Dear St Monica, troubled wife and mother,
Many sorrows pierced your heart
During your lifetime.
Yet you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence and profound faith,
You prayed daily for the conversion
Of your beloved husband, Patricius
And your beloved son, Augustine.

Grant me that same fortitude,
Patience and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
That God may favorably hear my plea
For

(mention your petition here)

And grant me the grace
To accept his will in all things,
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God forever and ever. Amen.

Warming up!

Get your lists, ready, ladies and gentlemen, the Novena to St. Monica starts on Thursday. As many of you know, through the intercession of St. Monica, the Lord brought my mother back to the faith after many years in the wilderness. Take the next couple of days to pray about who the Lord wants you to pray for, write their names down and get ready to start your novena on August 19.

You can definitely do this novena anytime you want, but it's especially appropriate in the 9 days leading up to her feast.

See you back here Thursday!!

First random recap from Giglio's European Vacation

One of the places we got to visit in Vatican City is the pope's garage. Well, maybe not it's not technically his garage since it is more like a museum than a garage. But nonetheless, it does have papal vehicles dating back a few hundred years.

It's what all the papal horses were wearing in the fall of 1756.







They were pulling this stylish gold carriage, given to His Holiness by the people of Venice, I believe.






Sometimes you just don't want to go through the trouble of getting the Horses dressed and hooked up just to run out to the VII-XI for some gum and a quart of milk, so you just have a couple of the Swiss Guard carry you around in this simple vehicle (Holy Spirit as a dove embroidered on the ceiling inside. So not kidding.).







There are also a couple of white Popemobiles. Yes, Scott actually did lean on the bumper.










This one is my favorite. It's Pius XII's limousine. I don't think you can tell in this picture, but it's got an armchair in the back. Because the bench seat is just not going to cut it. Maybe it is a really low seat in the back. Scott used to have an Oldsmobile 88 and when you sat in the back, it was like sitting in a hole. Adults could only just see over the window frame. So, maybe the pope needed a booster seat. You know, so he can bless you as he's rolling by. (Parents: Now you can tell your kids that even the pope has a booster seat, so just get buckled in already!)

This limo and its armchair in the back got me thinking that EWTN needs a new show: "Pope my Ride." Instead of Xzibit hosting, you get Fr. Stan Fortuna to take your car to Dr. Denis MacNamara to trick out your car. The Last Judgment from the Sistine chapel on the hood and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel embroidered on your ceiling. And in addition to the gas meter on your dashboard, you could have a dial that shows you when you need to go Confession. Maybe instead of a trip meter, you can get a Rosary Counter so you never lose track of how many Hail Marys you have left to say in the 5th glorious Mystery. It's hard to hold the beads and drive at the same time. There is the obligatory sound system and TV in the trunk (with wood carving covered in gold leaf), but it is hooked up to play the Te Deum and reruns of "Mother Angelica Live." Painted across the back bumper is "Jesus is My Homeboy."

And while I'm lifting ideas from MTV, EWTN can air its counter programming to "Jersey Shore:" "Summit NJ," where we follow the nuns of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary around for the summer. Instead of drunkenness and bar fights, we can watch young women pray, study, pick vegetables, and make soap.

Time flies...

So, it's been a while.

Scott and I were on a trip. Overseas. First time ever for each of us, so it was pretty cool. We were gone for 2 weeks and at the end, I really was glad to be coming home. I truly could have kissed the border guard who said, "Welcome Home" when he was done checking us in. More on the trip later.

My wonderful Mother in law brought Curly Sue with her when she picked us up at the airport and I cried because I was so happy to see her.

I am amazed at how much bigger they all seemed when we saw them again. And I am consistently humbled by the fact that each time I look at Primo he seems more mature-looking. He's at the delightful age of almost 1o. Every once in a while, as I'm looking at him, I'll get a flash of what I think he'll look like at 18. Today, his jaw is wider, his forehead slightly more broad, and the little boy I knew is all but disappeared. He is a big kid now. *sigh*

I do promise to write about the trip later this week. ttfn...