calling it like it is

We had a fight last week. Let us make no mistake: I was 100% wrong for being as thoughtless as I was. I was glad he told me about it because I need to know when I do things that hurt him so I can avoid it in the future.

My feelings were hurt in the exchange and I nursed this hurt that night and the next morning. It was hard for me to keep remembering that I was wrong. "He shouldn't have said it that way. He's restricting my freedom. I should be able to do and say what I want. He's being unreasonable." My conscience kept prodding me: "Remember that YOU were wrong. And you hurt him badly."

And as I drove in the car that morning, late to somewhere I really didn't want to be, the Lord blessed me with this realization: "This grudge that you so tenderly nurse is the evil one at work: undermining your relationship with your husband, your marriage, and your family. Your energy is misplaced."

With that, immediately, I said, "Get behind me, Satan. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to leave me alone," and the hurt I had taken care of so well for those past 12 hours evaporated.

I praise God for the grace to see the trickery of the devil for what it is. The temptation to nurse that grudge came back over the course of the day, but the temptation and the grudge were not as strong and with the same prayer the Lord dismissed them quickly.

When you have a grudge you're taking such good care of, or anger that flares within you, be quick to ask yourself where it comes from. Is it building up love? Is it advancing the Kingdom of God on earth, as all of us baptized Christians are called to do? If it is not, then call upon the Lord to deliver you from the evil one, who is tempting you.

Make no mistake, the root of your grudge, your anger, is the evil one calling you away from your work. Recognize him and call upon the Lord to put him right back in his place.

Very Interesting...

Apparently, a herd of elephants is rampaging in India, seemingly avenging Catholics martyred there a year ago.

Pray for those who have died, martyrs and persecutors alike.

What is man?

What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason!
how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the
world! the paragon of animals! (William Shakespeare, Hamlet Act II, scene 2)

Now watch this:



Scott told me about this the other night. Some astronomers point the Hubble Telescope at a patch of sky that seems empty, only to reveal 10,000 galxies within it, whose light hasn't reached us yet since they are so far away.

The voiceover on the video calls this a "humbling" discovery. I have to confess that when Scott told me about this, I immediately felt very small, very insignificant.

This sums it up better than I can:

1

For the leader; "upon the gittith." A psalm of David.

2

O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! You have set your majesty above the heavens!

3

Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have drawn a defense against your foes, to silence enemy and avenger.

4

When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place--

5

What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them?

6

Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor.

7

You have given them rule over the works of your hands, put all things at their feet:

8

All sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field,

9

The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas.

10

O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! (Ps. 8:1-10)

Novena to St. Monica started on 8/18

UUUGGGHHH!!! so sorry this is up late, just got back from a weekend away...


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. 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.

Scott and I leave this Wednesday morning for New Orleans, where we will go with some of the students from the school where Scott works to rebuild houses. It's a University-run alternative Spring Break trip and we will be working with and staying at a local Presbyterian church in NOLA.

I am SO looking forward to this trip. Scott's main job while there is to take pictures and write a story to be submitted to a local paper. I'm going along for the ride. This takes away some of the sting I felt over the England workshops being cancelled.

The kids are staying with Scott's parents for the 4 days we'll be gone and they are really looking forward to that. I can't wait to show you guys some of the photos we take.

So, please pray for all of us who are going that we have a safe trip and please pray for those who live there. May we do good work next week.

How was your weekend?

Mine was a little hectic. Voici la deuxieme partie:

Friday: Amy is feeling slightly better, but just trying to rest because of the big Confirmation retreat at the parish the next day. But Amy and helpful secretary have to go to the Warehouse Store to buy chips and drinks for the retreat and Amy still has to administer eyedrops during lunchtimes at school. This is the last day and the boys are highly cooperative.

Scott takes Primo to the Cub Scout skate that evening at a county park in town. After they are there for an hour and a half (with me dozing on the couch while the young ones watch TMBG, my friend M. (a nurse whose son-Primo's BFF-and husband are at the rink) calls my cell. "Amy, don't be alarmed," she says (don't you love it when the conversation starts that way?), "but Scott has fallen at the ice rink and it appears to be serious. I think you should get over there." Next the house phone starts ringing. It's the rink. "Your husband fell on the ice and he's shaking...." puts Primo on the phone, he's crying, scared. I try to my best to reassure him as I try to keep myself together: "Daddy's going to be OK. You stay there with Den Leader and I'll be there in 5 minutes." M. will meet me at the rink. I get shoes on the little ones, get out the door to put them in the car and think to take them to the neighbors across the street. A., the husband, offers to drive with me but I want to go alone. God drives my car to the park and the ambulance is still there which I take as a good sign since it took me 15 minutes to get there.

Scott is in the ambulance, slurring, arguing with the EMTs to let him get up.

"Hey you," I say through tears.
"Hi," says Scott, looking at me like I'm the first thing he's focused on in a while.
"How are you?"
(still slurring) "I'm fine. I'm telling them to let me up. They won't. I keep telling them I'm fine."
"We're just trying to help you," says one EMT.
"You fell and hit your head real hard," I say.
(slurring, astonished) "Really?"
"Yeah, you really whacked your head. I need you to do what they tell you to do."
(Slurring) "But I feel fine. I want to get up."
(choking up since I am now noticing that Scott's hands are tied with zip ties) "For once in your life, will you just do what I tell you and listen to these guys?"
(slurring, resigned) "Okay."
"I'm going to find Billy. I'll be right back."

I am now feeling MUCH better. I know he's going to be fine.

A policeman pulls me aside and asks me to help him fill out a police report. I ask someone to get Billy from the rink for me. First thing the cop says is, "Your husband is really strong." Apparently, when he came out of his 3 minute siezure, he was very disoriented and tried to stand up. Since they didn't know the extent of his injuries, they wanted him to stay still. It took 6 people to hold him down and what the ambulance got there they had to handcuff him to the stretcher since they didn't have any other restraints for him.

In hindsight, I find this to be very amusing. It's like he's the Hulk. He cannot be contained!

I finally get to see Primo, he's shaken up, but seems to be OK. They let him see Scott on the ambulance. The EMTs have freed his hands and sat him up on the stretcher. He was able to wave to our friends standing outside of the ambulance. He's smiling and looks totally normal.

Long story short, he goes to the local trauma center where they do a CAT scan that night. He has no brain injuries, no fractures; only a mild concussion, a bump, and a scrape on his head and we are home within 4 hours of the fall. Scott mourns the loss of the coat and brand new sweatshirt he wore that night and they had to cut him out of. Primo got his first sleepover at a friends' house and he is fine with everything that happened. He was scared then, but he's not worried about daddy anymore. He felt better when he got to sleep at M.'s house. My in-laws got the young ones from my neighbors and they got a sleepover out of the deal, too.

Saturday: We pick up Primo and head over to the in-laws where everyone but me will stay since we have our big Confirmation retreat at the church that day. I go to work, but mt heart is not there. I call a few times during the day and Scott rests and is fine. By Saturday night (24 hours later) he feels great.

Sunday: He is still a little tired and very sore from fighting, but Scott feels normal otherwise.

Monday: He goes to work.

I just want to take this time to say thank you to the Den Leaders who were so great to Primo and the other boys. They went with me to the ER and stayed until Scott was discharged. They were great to our family and I am so grateful.

My friends and neighbors were also wonderful to us during this time. I will be forever grateful that the first person I heard from that night was M.

I leave you with this: You never know what a day is going to bring. My husband was one weird fall from being dead, a vegetable, or a quadrapelegic. Make sure the people you love know you love them. Never part with an unkind word or a hard heart. Always kiss him goodbye.

And make sure your kids wear a helmet when they go ice skating. Primo was. And if he had been the one who fell, he probably would have been fine, too. If he hadn't been, well, it wouldn't be a happy ending.

You can sign the petition here.

Did you hear?

It's election day! You can thank me later for reminding you. I thought you might have forgotten.


It's also the feast of St. Charles Borromeo. I think that's it's pretty apt that Election day happened to fall on his feast this year. The only way it could have been better is if we had Election day on the feast of St. Thomas More.



St. Charles Borromeo

Charles was the son of Count Gilbert Borromeo and Margaret Medici, sister of Pope Pius IV. He was born at the family castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore, Italy on October 2. He received the clerical tonsure when he was twelve and was sent to the Benedictine abbey of SS. Gratian and Felinus at Arona for his education.

In 1559 his uncle was elected Pope Pius IV and the following year, named him his Secretary of State and created him a cardinal and administrator of the see of Milan. He served as Pius' legate on numerous diplomatic missions and in 1562, was instrumental in having Pius reconvene the Council of Trent, which had been suspended in 1552. Charles played a leading role in guiding and in fashioning the decrees of the third and last group of sessions. He refused the headship of the Borromeo family on the death of Count Frederick Borromeo, was ordained a priest in 1563, and was consecrated bishop of Milan the same year. Before being allowed to take possession of his see, he oversaw the catechism, missal, and breviary called for by the Council of Trent. When he finally did arrive at Trent (which had been without a resident bishop for eighty years) in 1556, he instituted radical reforms despite great opposition, with such effectiveness that it became a model see. He put into effect, measures to improve the morals and manners of the clergy and laity, raised the effectiveness of the diocesan operation, established seminaries for the education of the clergy, founded a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children and encouraged the Jesuits in his see. He increased the systems to the poor and the needy, was most generous in his help to the English college at Douai, and during his bishopric held eleven diocesan synods and six provincial councils. He founded a society of secular priests, Oblates of St. Ambrose (now Oblates of St. Charles) in 1578, and was active in preaching, resisting the inroads of protestantism, and bringing back lapsed Catholics to the Church. He encountered opposition from many sources in his efforts to reform people and institutions.

He died at Milan on the night of November 3-4, and was canonized in 1610. He was one of the towering figures of the Catholic Reformation, a patron of learning and the arts, and though he achieved a position of great power, he used it with humility, personal sanctity, and unselfishness to reform the Church, of the evils and abuses so prevalent among the clergy and the nobles of the times. His feast day is November 4th. I wish I weren't too lazy to take out all of those weird hyperlinks. I'll bet you do, too.


So, as you can see, St. Charles was an instrumental figure in the Counter-Reformation. He re-convened the Council of Trent and was a reformer. One order he tried to reform (and was eventually supressed) had 4 members that tried to assassinate him!


He led the Church in times of uncertainty and controversy. How excellent for us to have our election day fall on his feast day, when our country is going through a time of uncertainty and controversy! This is what my Magnificat says about him: "As both a civil and a canon lawyer, as well as a bishop, St. Charles understood the pastoral work of law-giving according to the model of Christ. His unflagging efforts to promote a Christian life and Church reform were prompted by a profoundly self-sacrificing love of Christ living in the Church."


Please pray that the people who are elected today also understand "the pastoral work of law-giving according to the model of Christ."


O, Blessed Mother! The United States is entrusted to you in your Immaculate Conception. Please intercede for us at the feet of your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. May His Will be done in our elections today. May we as a nation be able to go forth walking in His Light. Heavenly Father, please send the Holy Spirit upon all of us who are voting that we may be inspired to vote according to Your Will. Please send the Spirit upon those who are elected that they may do Your Will while they hold office. Keep our nation in Your Protection. Amen.

Hello, it's me

I know.  I've been away awhile.  Allow me to update you.  In no particular order:

1. Bubba got himself a shiner on Monday night from tripping over a fan on the floor of his room and landing on the corner of his brother's open dresser drawer.  It's pretty.  I'll have to post a picture. 

2. Today, Bubba graduated from Pre-k.   He's officially a kindergartener now.  Primo finished 1st grade on Thursday.  Now the praying about the 2nd grade teacher begins.  

3. My confessor and sometime spiritual director was transferred to another parish and the farewell Mass and reception was last Sunday the 8th.  I chaired the committee for the party which caused some stress on my marriage.  Seems Scott likes it when I'm home.  He's fussy like that. 

4.  I had Jury Duty starting last Tuesday the 3rd.  I got picked for the case on Wednesday.  We returned the verdict on Friday afternoon.  It was a very pleasant experience.  I'm not even kidding.  I made a new friend.  (Hi, K.!)

5. My stepbrother, B. graduated from High School last Thursday the 5th.  His party was the day we handed down our verdict. 

6. After many visits to many doctors (including a horrible allergist right here in Linden.  Email me if you want to know whom to avoid. ) and dealing with symptoms that seemed like Congestive Heart Failure and an anaphalactic latex allergy, my mom went to an awesome internist and he figured out she has a...wait for it...B-12 deficiency that is exacerbating all of her MS symptoms.  Why her neurologist didn't figure this out is really sort of beyond me.  

7. I made it safely out the other side of Sacrament of Initiation Season (ie: the month of May) and I have learned the value of asking others for help.  

8. I anticipate a change in my work schedule that will make life better for all who reside in my home.  Full report when the contract is signed. 

9.  Our awesome next door neighbors, Hector and Diana, here on Diana's work visa, had to return to Colombia because her visa ran out and she couldn't find a new job.  After a lot of nonsense on behalf of the buyer's attorney that gave them 24 hours notice on the date of the closing (I am NOT kidding), they sold the house to a woman who so far has asked us to put out $3500 in cosmetic improvements to the exterior of our duplex (For those of you who don't know what a duplex is, we own one side of the building and she owns the other side.  We share a wall and if one is going to say, reside the house or reface the steps it probably ought to be done jointly so it doesn't look like Frankenstein house.).  This of course would not bother me if a. we had the money for it (we are going to do the siding since she "know[s] a guy"and b. I were confident she knew our last name (I don't know hers.) and c. She were not so gall darned freaking pushy about it.  So not only have good friends moved about 2000 miles away, they have been replaced by someone I don't like yet, but I hope that I will be able to like after she finally freaking decides to move in.  This probably deserves a post of its own.   

OK I think that's everything.  Back next week with some work related stuff I'd like you guys to help me with.  

What have you been up to?

Yesterday, one of our diocese's bishops came to the parish for Confirmation.  It was a great day all around for everyone.  I'm glad the stress of getting ready for this day is over.  But I wanted to share with you something that happened yesterday that made me just stand back and praise God.

In our parish, the Sacrament of Confirmation is conferred in 8th grade.  The kids are all 13 and 14 years old and they bring with them to their classes and other sacrament preparation all of the things that 13 and 14 year old people are into (and not into).  

There is one young man who I had the pleasure of working with one-on-one for some of his Sacrament prep.  And he seemed really serious when he and I worked together.  

Then there is his other personality: the one he has when he is with his other 13 and 14 year old friends.  This is the personality I am a little bit more familiar with.  The "Why do I have to stalk you to get you to turn in your paperwork" personality.  The "Can I go to the bathroom 50 million times so I can meet my friend in the bathroom to talk" personality.  This "split personality" is pretty typical of the teenage animal  (But indeed, when it comes to "God stuff," don't we all suffer from this a bit?).  It doesn't bother me as much as it used to.  

Well, it being Saturday, Confessions started at 1:00.  Confirmation Mass was at 2.  This young man was in church at 1:30, when the kids and their sponsors were to be gathering to process into Mass.  I was sort of taken aback.  I thought at first he was hanging out, but none of his friends were there.  I thought about telling him to go on downstairs, but I'm glad I didn't.  He was there for confession.  When I talked to his mom after Mass, she said that he wanted to get to church early so that he could go to Confession.  I was surprised that he even knew that confession was going on then.  

You've really got to hand it to mom and dad.  They are doing it right.  They have set an excellent example for their son and they ought to be quite proud.  

Let's pray for T. that he will use the gift of courage that he received sacramentally yesterday to stand up for what is right, to set an example for his friends to stay close to Jesus in His Church.  Let us pray for his mom and dad that they may never tire of doing the right thing by their kids.  

Hey Brady, Belichick

Cheaters never prosper.

New York 17, New England 10.

Writers strike!

Ok everyone, here's the deal: I am (generally) a pro-labor person. The Screen writers Guild is on Strike right now. They want a larger revenue share in DVDs and other residuals. I think they should get what's fair (so Producers, pony up!). Everyone, start praying for an ned to the strike. You know why? I'll tell you why. Because I am NOT going to get to see the Colbert Report in NYC on the 15th if the strike is still on. I've been waiting MONTHS, people! And they won't guarantee my ticket for another show. Come on! Get praying!

You go, Bishop Tobin!

You can read here Bishop Tobin of Providence, RI's column addressed to Rudy Guiliani regrarding his, "I'm personally opposed, but..." stand on abortion. It's great.

I used to feel the same way as Rudy. Then I had a talk with God. You can read about it here.

Thanks to Whispers in the Loggia for the link to the article. Read Rocco's post here. And he's got the YouTube clip up from when Rudy tries to defend his wishy-washy position and lightning struck (at St. Anselm's college. Coincidence?).