Celebrate good times

Sr. Dawn will be arriving tomorrow for a whole WEEK of wretched fun! Oh, how I miss spring break. Can't wait to see you dear!


And we will also be beginning our annual founding Novena to St. Joseph on Sunday!!! I'm so glad we'll have a bunch of us together to start it, while being united especially to my Wind and Water :)

A Sea Baby!

I figure once it's posted on their website, it's fair game for a very happy wretched announcement:

Lucy and Matt are expecting!!!! Praise God. What a gift for such a special couple. Please add Baby Coles to your prayers and keep up the prayers for Matt to kick the "c" word.

Extreme Boredom

that's all.

Parker v. Hurley

Check out this article in the Boston Globe about a recent court decision that:

"'The constitutional right of parents to raise their children does not include the right to restrict what a public school may teach their children,' Wolf unambiguously wrote in dismissing a suit by two Lexington couples who objected to lessons the local elementary school was teaching their children. 'Under the Constitution public schools are entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.'"

Wow. Interesting that in cases we read in constitutional law, the rights of parents precisely did extend to their education... and from there we eventually got this somewhat fictitious "right to privacy"... and from there... the state can suddenly determine education? I missed something.

So. Cold.

Wretches earth and spice at the continental divide of loveland pass...

never been so cold in my life! Had an awesome weekend with her and her dh.

The Light is On- My Edits

The Archdiocese is doing a great campaign: "The Light is on for You" encouraging people to return to the sacrament of confession. Every church in the archdiocese will have a priest available for confessions every Wednesday night during Lent. Awesome!

This is the website they are using for FAQ's and frankly, I don't think it will have anyone jumping out of their seats to get to the Church. So for my own amusement, I came up with my own edits for the first two questions, which betray my CL leanings toward speaking to experience.

Why should I go to Confession?

Because you know that you need to. Because sometimes when it is quiet, like before you go to sleep at night, you remember something you did, something you said, or something you thought that day that you regret. You do something during the day and you think to yourself, “Why do I keep doing that? I hate that.” You want to be free. You want to tell someone that you are sorry. You know that you cannot change yourself by just willing to be better; You’ve tried that. Christ left us this sacrament as a very special place of His Mercy. You come before Him and bear your soul. You tell Him things that you have never told anyone and you are assured that He still loves you. Like the father in the story of the prodigal son, God our Father comes running to embrace you. For this Christ came and walked among us; That we would know the love of the Father right there where we most fear His gaze. You should go to Confession because the one you love, who loves you, is just waiting for you to call out to Him.

Why do I have to confess my sins to a priest?

You have to confess your sins to a priest because you are human. As a human being it is not enough just to pray silently and “think” that you are forgiven; You must hear the words. You must be in the presence of Christ in the priest who says “I absolve you from your sins”. You will have no peace without those words; You will always wonder if God has heard and pardoned you. Confessing to the priest also acknowledges that the sin you have committed has not only offended God but has also hurt His Body, the Church. It has hurt your spouse, your children, your best friend. The priest is a representative of this Body as well, of all those you love and still hurt. He forgives you for the community.

The Desert Knows

Read this amazing homily by Fr. Philip N. Powell, OP that was linked on Open Book.

Excerpts:

Lent is not about avoiding temptations. Lent is not about fasting or prayer or being good. Lent is about wandering into the emptiness, the vanity, the wreckage we have made of our spiritual lives and finding one more time the stalwart presence of God, the inexhaustible workings of the Holy Spirit. Seeking and finding the face of Christ.
(...)
Lent is a time for you to calculate with cold reason and a clean heart your commitments in this world. Where are you bound? To whom do you owe your money, your livelihood, your dignity…your soul? Who owns you? What ideas possess your mind? What passions fuel your heart? What images cloud your vision? What do you worry about and why? Here’s the question with which to examine your conscience before confession: exactly how would anyone know Jesus owns me body and soul?

Know the answers! You must. Because the desert knows and the desert will tell. The desert will tell the Devil and he will color in those drab images, season those dull fumes, stoke the fires of weak passion. He’ll parade your desires, sharpened and concentrated, parade them before you, lying to you, pampering you, telling you how much you deserve what you cannot possibly need and only vaguely want. When those ashes were traced on your forehead…at that moment, what did you want? Mercy? Forgiveness? Love? To be seen as pious? You will find it in the Lenten desert. But will your desires look like gifts among all that scarcity?

Pay careful attention to the gospel. Jesus went into the desert to pray, right? No. He went into the desert to fast, right? No. He went into the desert to start his new diet? No. Of course, he prayed and fasted. But he didn’t go into the desert to do those things. Rather he “was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days to be tempted by the devil.” He went to the desert so that he could be tempted. The devil tempted him with food, power, and worship. Jesus refuses each in turn. He quotes scripture and dismisses each temptation as a mere shadow of what His Father offers. The devil offers Jesus illusion, impermanence. And he will offer you the same. And you will accept his offer unless you understand with near perfect clarity and will what you want, what you desire as a faithful follower of Christ.

Lent is not about avoiding temptation. Lent is about walking the hot sand of deprivation so that what tempts you worms its way to the surface. (...)

Congratulations!!!

What a beautiful new addition to a beautiful family!

That is the "Mother's Smile" all right :)

Fred Kaan knows his stuff

The Hymn for today's morning prayer is amazing:

We turn to you, O God of every nation,
Giver of life and origin of good;
Your love is at the heart of all creation,
Your hurt is people's broken brotherhood

We turn to you that we may be forgiven
For crucifying Christ on earth again.
We know that we have never wholly striven,
Forgetting self, to love the other man.

Free every heart from pride and self-reliance,
Our ways of thought inspire with simple grace;
Break down among us barriers of defiance,
Speak to the soul of all the human race.

Teach us, good Lord, to serve the need of others,
Help us to give and not to count the cost.
Unite us all for we are born as brothers;
Defeat our Babel with your Pentecost.

Ave crux, spes unica

First I encourage you to read Jim Towey's latest post on Lent.

And to help your meditations this season on our crucified and dejected Lord, a little quote from Adrian Walker:

"I suspect that, like Jacob, all serious Christians sooner or later find themselves struggling with the crucified God in the night. If they remain Christians, it is because, just when they think they have beaten him with water-tight arguments, he surprises them with an unexpected move. They suddenly catch sight of the glory shining in his despised and humiliated countenance, and that is enough to dissipate all their objections in a single blaze of light."

I have certainly had periods in my life of wrestling with God, and was glad to find this reflection based on Jacob's wrestling match in Genesis at the beginning of a paper on faith and philosophy.

A handful of JPII students and alums watched the French film "Diary of a Country Priest" based on the book by George Bernanos the other day. Dr. Schindler commented that he thought Bernanos captured the essence of Christianity more than anyone else- with the possible equal of Dostoevsky. The film was a faithful adaptation (so they say- I have not read it yet!) and it truly is 2 hours of relentless drama. Not drama as used in the American sense of action-packed [at all], but rather the drama of an intensely-lived life in the midst of "not much" happening. Here you are faced with a priest who is so transparent, humble and true, that just like the other characters in the story, you see your own wretchedness. A great way to start off Lent. It especially convicted me of the need for more silence.

I hope that you are all starting off Lent well. I have already "messed up"- I did not wake up on time today. Thank God that this is a time of mercy, and is not in the end about what I can "do". Tomorrow, 7am.

Crossroads

Part of CL's work in NYC and DC is Crossroads, a cultural forum. Check it out here. And on the sidebar I added the blog, presumably done by the group in NYC.

It is a great work that seeks to bring people together for discussions of events, experiences in art and music, or really anything else that can rightfully be called culture.

Like a Child

Grass and I went to a puppet show last weekend with these two precious 4 year olds. This was an old bumper car that they wanted to sit in.

One of the girls was staying with the other that night, and she kept asking, "Lacy, are you happy that I'm sleeping over at your house tonight?" If only we all wore our desire for the assurance that others love us on our sleeve like that!! Maybe I'll start asking everyone now, "Are you happy that I work here?" "Are you glad that I am living here with you?" "Do you like me?" "Do you like spending time with me?" Presuming that the answer is yes, we could all be much more secure and happy :) Now, whether adults can handle such honesty remains to be seen.

Do you like reading my blog?

:)

I heart Jim Towey

President of St. Vincent College in Latrobe, and good friend of Sisters Grass and Water. He has a blog for his students!

Doctors know it all?

I remember the first time that an acquaintance of mine began medical school and I realized that he was going to be a doctor in a few years. A doctor. This person I knew. And the only thing that would change is that he went to school for a few more years.

That is the point at which I knew that doctors are not omnisceint. In fact, not even close.

We've all been in school, right. And we all know that schools have agendas, many teachers have their own agendas, and all these things effect what you hear in your classroom. And sometimes books aren't right either. They are all written by people, who learned from teachers, who had agendas too. And particularly in the medical field, the pharmacutical industry is totally and completely invested in what future doctors are going to prescribe to their patients, so their agendas come into play as well in the classroom.

All this is to say that if someone is suggesting that maybe birth control is not the best answer for you, do not dismiss them because they don't have a medical degree. Remember what a medical degree means. I'm not saying doctors are not intelligent- I certainly couldn't make it through med school- I'm just saying they are human and thus not infallible. That's why you go to get a second opinion about any big medical decision, right?

As usual this is prompted by the MP Evaluations. There are always a few women who write that they can't do NFP because they have a medical condition that requires the pill. And immediately I think of all the work that some doctors are doing in this country to really investigate fertility/ reproductive problems verses immediately presribing the pill for a quick fix. That's our modern mentality. But there are usually more natural ways to help women if you are willing to treat each person individually and listen to what is going on, which is not what many doctors do. And probably until they meet a doctor who does do that, many women will not even know that they should be listened to. I want to say to all those women- make sure that your doctor is listening to you, and do some research on your own to see what else might be possible, if there is any part of you that wonders about taking a pill everyday. And, if it is supposed to just regulate what your body does naturally, there's no reason not to learn more about what it is doing and how you can tell.

One small example. A friend of mine was pregnant. They gave her a due date which she thought was a little off. Using her NFP chart, it was pretty simple for her to say "Look, I know when we conceived" but the doctors did not listen to her. Pretty soon, they were saying that the baby was too small and they needed to perform all sorts of tests to make sure everything was ok. And once again, my friend thought this was very wrong because babies in her family tend to be quite large. So finally she got a midwife to look at her chart, to humor her. And sure enough, when the midwife calculated the due date according to my friend's calculations, the baby was exactly the size she should be for her stage of development. No extra tests needed.

I'm just saying that doctors don't know everything.

Another marriage prep eval note

Don't misspell misogynist. If you're going to use a strong word like that about someone, you look pretty silly if you can't even spell it.

Writing big and in all caps isn't effective.

The REAL world is... what exactly?

The Tale of 2 Marches

A Tale of Two Marches (Thanks to Kateri!)
by Tony Perkins

What a difference an ideology makes. Last Monday, 200,000 pro-lifers descended on the nation's capital to peacefully protest 34 years of abortion-on-demand. Despite record crowds and a line-up of speakers that included President Bush by phone, the March for Life earned little more than a footnote in the nation's news. Days later, radical anti-war protestors staged a march in Washington that mustered only 10,000, and the event made the front page of nearly every newspaper in America. Yet for all the media the small demonstration received, few news outlets reported the true headline of the day. According to reports, hundreds of demonstrators were allowed to take the steps of the U.S. Capitol during the march and desecrate the property with "anarchist symbols." When police formed a security line to stop them, U.S. Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse ordered his men to fall back and allow the protestors to "exercise their First Amendment rights" by spray-painting the Capitol grounds with graffiti. One source at the scene said that Morse issued an order that no one was to be arrested for desecrating America's and arguably the world's greatest symbol of democracy. In an e-mail on his actions, Morse writes, "The graffiti was easily removed by the [Architect of the Capitol] staff... It is [our] duty and responsibility to protect the Capitol complex, while allowing the public to exercise their [freedom of speech]." Imagine the response had Christians "trespassed" onto this public property and prayed for our leaders! I dare say the outcome would have been quite different.


I happened to be downtown the day of the war protest, and I was struck by a number of things. First was the way that the people seemed to be conforming to their own stereotypes; i.e. a war protester from 1970. Now, I happen to love dressing in hippie skirts and scarves and such, but I would probably make it a point not to do so at a protest if I knew I would just be taken as a dismissable hippie. A second thing was the violence of some of their messages and the banality of others. (One guy was walking around with a sign that said hugs not war, "free hugs"- so people would go and hug him all day) Okay. Third was the number of people who were ice skating after their protest. I'm not kidding, we were there taking our youth group to the sculpture garden and the place was PACKED and sold out because of all the "protesters". Now I don't know if people from the March for Life went ice skating after the march, maybe they did, but somehow I doubt it. Usually people who come for it are staying in churches or have holy hours or talks or maybe go to a pub afterward for conversation. It's usually at least somewhat penitential (ok, maybe not reeeeally penitential, but not ice skating!). There is a lot of ideology going on in BOTH these things, and I think that's important to note. That's why I hate the speeches at the March for Life- It is ideology for a lot of those people. But it is truth to many others (a distinction worth making). There is also a sense at the March- unless you're with the ideology people- that you are not completely innocent in this; Your sins are part of the reason that you have to be there. Hence the reparation. But I got a sense of self-righteousness exuding from the war protest crowd. It's not their fault; It's all Bush's fault. They had nothing to do with the war and because they are so upright and noble they have come out to tell him to go to hell. Because THAT is right and respectful and appropriate. And it made me sad to hear the 5th through 8th grade kids in my youth group spouting all this stuff, directly from their parents of course, about how Bush is the most evil man in the world, and on Halloween one of them dressed as Dick Cheney because he wanted to be really scary. Lord have mercy. What a disservice it is to children to indoctrinate them into political ideology before they can even judge it. It reminds me of the scary fact from the last election. While many "conservatives" could understand and sympathize with some of the reasons an intelligent person would vote for a "liberal"; very few "liberals" could understand the other side at all, and in fact were violently offended by it. There is no attempt to really enter into an issue and seek the truth together, there's just a back and forth about opinion.


Back to this article, it really is astonishing the way that the media manipulates the truth. Lately I have heard this so many times and it is solidifying my lack of desire to watch the news. Unfortunately that also makes me quite ignorant on a lot of issues, but I guess I'd rather be ignorant than completely wrong and misdirected. A priest I have met recently returned from Iraq and had all kinds of stories about his time there that people will never hear because journalists there have been told that nothing positive will be published or aired. Nothing. Do you remember that streak of bombings at churches? It was happening so frequently and then just stopped dead- Did you ever wonder why it just stopped like that? Did you think maybe the bombers just got bored? This priest I met and a Chaldean priest he met over there searched the area to find all the Christian churches- the locations of which had not been known- so that security detail could be sent to each of them. Definitely didn't hear that. Thus ends today's rant.

Ecumenical Swing Dancing?

This weekend, a few friends and I went swing dancing at a great spot where you're guaranteed not to stand still unless you really want to. Lots of great dancers and a fantastic band.

By far the most memorable was when a man I was dancing with started asking about Catholicism and we went back and forth for 4 or 5 songs (still dancing) talking about Jesus, confession, the Real Presence, authority, divorce, zeal and the Holy Spirit. You never know when you'll be asked to give a reason for your hope, my friends! That Baptist is on his way to the Church. Veni Sancte Spiritu, veni per Mariam.

It reminded me so much of Guissani's statement that Christianity is spread by envy; Others recognize in Christians a humanity and a life that they desire for themselves. This man was already Christian, but I think it still applies.

54 Days until St. Joseph's Feast Day!

And time for hardcore phase one of the annual wretched novena to our patron. A rosary every day until March 19! If you can't do the whole rosary, pick a decade. If you can't do a decade, say a "Hail Mary". Whatever you do- or don't do- unite it to the rest of us. Happy praying!

Happy Birthday Sr. Sea!

I tried to post a picture of Lucy playing ping pong with Matt, but blogger is not in a happy mood this afternoon.

Happy 24th, my friend!!!! May it bring an increase in love, joy and peace in Christ.

Giussani wisdom

"Mercy is the attitude of the Mystery towards any kind of weakness, mistake or forgetfulness on man's part: before any crime committed by man, God loves him."

Read more!

Marching, marching, marching

Yes indeed, one more year has passed, and abortion has been legal in all of the US for 34 years.

But the March itself, well, you might have read my post about it 2 years ago. I'm not a huge fan, even though I went. There's just a lot of ickiness and ideology and misunderstanding of what is really going on. You must ALWAYS skip the speeches because they are awful and offensive. But it is the Catholic family reunion. Every year, I run into a young priest that I knew briefly when I was in high school and he was in the seminary. I saw our Sr. Rain in the sisters of life, and ran into Sr. Leaf who I haven't seen for almost 2 years. Of course it's nearly impossible to purposefully run into anyone, but when you don't expect to see someone, there they are.

By far, the highlight of the day for me was the youth rally and mass at the Verizon center. If you have never gone, I highly encourage you to volunteer next year or bring a group of kids to it. The energy and the unity of the Church in the Holy Spirit is just palpably present when you're in such a huge crowd of teens who are doing hand motions, the slow motion wave, and dancing and singing to the Lord. Hand motions may not be your thing, but I'm telling you, they are a freeing thing to do! And I think I need to give a talk to most of the seminarians who attended and sit front and center; They had better let the JOY of the LORD into their hearts, learn to dance, and not stand silent and boring! That was sad!

The most powerful moment for me was when I was leading 6 priests to their communion stations where I had "trained" a teen to stand and direct the people. I was actually given the grace to feel the truth that I was leading the Lord to His people. "Come this way, Jesus; they're waiting for you." And it was beautiful to look into the eyes of people on the way who understood that. Especially this one mom who was out there in the lobby and kneeled earlier after the Lamb of God- she was certainly too far away to even see the host from there, but kneel she did. Right there where usually people are pushing to see a fist fight at a hockey game or watch a pick-and-roll play in basketball, the Meaning of it all walked and gave Himself, once again, to thousands of souls who probably do not understand Him. I know I'm one of them!

How beautiful the feet that walked...

Interreligious Dialogue

I went to a forum this week about "the primordial relationship between God and the human person in Catholicism and Islam" and it was certainly illuminating. A few quotes from different people that I think sum it up:

"You can't help but feel a little triumphalistic."
"If this man is supposed to be the Islamic intellectual equivalent of Cardinal Scola, we are in trouble."
"I never realized how Pelagian Islam is."

and on the other hand, a priest who had been involved in this all day:
"I can see why so many Christians are converting to Islam; It is so simple, direct, clear and easy."

The two presentations were emblematic of the two very different ways we understand the world. No matter how many times you want to stress similarities and acknowledge our common brotherhood, you also MUST acknowledge difference.

Scola's paper, which was provided to all participants, was a brilliant and sweeping synthesis of the Catholic understanding of God's relationship with humanity through Jesus Christ. After 2 years of studying just that, I still left with new thoughts to chew on. Professor Siddiqi, formerly the President of the Islamic Society of America, gave us a rough overview of what Muslims believe on the topic... and it was not much. It is simple; God created us. Adam and Eve sinned. (b.n. there is not a concept of original sin in Islam; rather, we all simply follow their example- we are born with a pure nature and are naturally able to know what Allah wants from us, so it's not clear at all why we would sin anyway, or why Allah would be merciful to such people) Human beings are called to surrender their will to Allah and turn to him. We both believe in a God who created the world and should be praised and obeyed. We both believe God's law is written on our hearts. But there was just too much left unsaid. At the end, Cardinal Scola said about 5 HUGE issues he would like to ask Siddiqi but did not want to make him answer, i.e. the relationship between freedom and truth, reason and faith, and the like. Scola started his lecture with the human heart, with the perennial human questions "Who am I?" "Why do I exist?" None of these seemed to be part of the understanding of Islam. If Siddiqi was truly listening, I think he would have had to object strongly to what was actually being said.

Scola: Jesus Christ is the center of the universe and of history.
Siddiqi: Jesus Christ is one of the 25 prophets we acknowledge and respect.

How are these two reconcilable? At least state that. Interreligious dialogue does not mean skimming over differences. It means seeking to understand the other as a person and their beliefs as what shapes them. It means somehow allowing the difference to be fruitful- like in man and woman.

Pursuit of Happyness

I can only go to movies with JPII Institute students, or people who just "get" us weirdos.

We got in a discussion at lunch about this movie, and somehow in a group of daily mass and Jesus-loving Catholics, the particular weirdness of my education reared its (beautiful?) head.

From the desire to be understood, Jesus deliver me!

The premise of the movie is distinctly American: the triumph of the human spirit, the benefits of perseverance, the greatness of taking a big risk and seeing it pay off against all odds.

What did I expect? I guess I had hoped for something deeper than I got. There are directors in the world who could do great things with a story like this-- a man who keeps failing even to the point of being homeless with his son but lands an internship and subsequently a very prestigious job as a stock broker. A good artist could make a lot out of that.

Instead, the message was that happiness is found in dollar signs. That you should risk everything for the sake of a dream even if it involves risking your marriage, even your life.

The arguments of many today and many others are all valid and interesting. It is amazing and cool to see how someone could just go for something big against all odds and especially for someone without a college degree to know they can still be successful. It showed a man who would do anything to make sure that his son knew his father.

But is it ok, really, for a bright and intelligent man to allow things to get so bad that his wife is working double shifts while he still tries to sell medical supplies (his first job- I hope you've seen it or this won't make sense)? He certainly could have gotten at least a part-time job to help them get through while he wasn't selling much. Pride.

And is it ok that his marriage was torn apart and his wife left him and their son? Yes, it was her decision to leave, but she was pretty desperate and you could see that the frustration had been building up after a long time of "pulling more than her weight" to take care of them. Chris's passion that his son not grow up without a father should have also translated into a passion that he not grow up without a mother either.

The first scene when he sees all the stock brokers and says "They were all so happy" I figured was going to lead to him realizing in the end that happiness did not lie in money like he thought. Nope, not the lesson. The last scene is him crying with joy because he got a high-paying job. That's it. Money IS the answer to happiness. There were plenty of opportunities for the film to suggest that happiness did not lie there, and that even rich people had struggles. Nope. Their lives are perfect in their box seats at football games and fancy cars. Shallllllllow.

And finally, in the end, besides the main character, the only faces of homelessness in the movie are the stereotypes. I've heard this called a "social work movie"; No, it's not a social work movie. You don't learn anyone else's story. The only other homeless character who is recurring is a typically crazy one used for comic relief. It would be one thing if that was intentional and for effect (i.e. when you're homeless you feel invisible, just another face in the crowd) but it wasn't done that way. It doesn't ask any questions about that. It also doesn't deal with the question of why Chris did not have any friends or family around. If you're going to treat his character as if he's the orphaned only child of poor parents, you at least should explain that, and that still doesn't help explain why he has only 1 friend who owes him $14.

Luckily I saw the movie with Sr. Morning who shared the same quandries. And I'm starting to think that I can't even go to the movies anymore.

We will never be normal again, my friends.

Our Poor Clare sister!

Check it out, the monastery is online, and they're seeking help for our Kirsten! (Thanks Dawn!)

Children are connected up there

Read these excerpts from an article in Faith & Family and feel the tears welling- thanks to blog friends!

Marriage Preparation Evaluations

I'm going through them right now and keep being blown away. I have been "out of the world" too long, y'all, because these people hardly make any sense to me. So even though I'm really tempted to write verbatim what is on the page, I'm sure that would be completely unethical. So here's a general response to some comments and concerns.

1. Original sin is real. I'm sorry that you want to do without it. So do I, buddy, so do I.
2. Just because a couple home schools their 5-6 children does not mean they are out of touch with reality. They may even be more in touch with it than you are.
3. Citing that only 4% of Catholic marriages practice NFP is not an argument against our teaching it to you. In fact, you have just made our point that education about it is needed. Thank you.
4. The Catholic Church did not make up the connection between sex and children. I am sorry you feel that way and I'll be sure to talk to the Creator about this pesky truth for you. The Church is not going to bring in a speaker on birth control simply because you want to hear all of your "options" in a "neutral" light.
5. I agree that you don't need to know the details of anyone else's sex life. Ick.
6. Where do you get your idea about who qualifies as a "real Catholic"? Why are only dissenters considered real Catholics? Isn't the Pope a real Catholic too? I simply don't understand why people who sacrificed a Saturday to talk to you about their lives and share experiences are only freaks who do not live in the real world and do not represent "real Catholics". How is their life not real?
7. Calling somebody unintelligent while ranting illogically is not convincing.
8. If you don't believe anything you've heard in these sessions, remind me again why you're getting married in the Catholic Church? I'm glad you are, don't get me wrong, just curious.
9. If Christ saying you are not permitted to divorce is not a legitimate argument against divorce... I don't know what to tell ya. Do you want a pre-nup?
10. Proper spelling and grammar is underrated.

Thus ends the work-related rant.

Poor Clare Miracle

A joyful announcement of what the Lord gave one unofficial wretch (we think Sr. Flowers is a good name for her) who has been working to pay off her student loans to become a Poor Clare.

First, an anonymous donor gave her $10,000. The phone rang one day. Just like that.

Then, thanks to the persistence and love of her friends and the ministry she has been a part of- FOCUS missionaries from all over sent her money from their own pockets... adding up to $13,000!

God has all the money in the world. When He wants someone... let's thank Him and keep praying that she may enter soon!

Home in the New Year

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!

I hope and pray that the holiday season has been a joy for all the wretches and their families, even though these events usually afford an extraordinary opportunity for wretchedness.

Remember, there is no wretchedness that is a match for His mercy! This line was on the back of Deacon Ryan’s ordination card, with the Divine Mercy image on the front. Amen, my friend.

At the Christmas Vigil, I found myself sitting between a zealous older gentleman and a woman who did not appreciate his zeal. In reflecting on the Spirit as unity and that unity as being what makes us “bear with” one another- in the true sense of that, which is not negative (c.f. Ratzinger, “Spirit of unity”…. Or something like that)- I believe hers was the greater transgression. Her noble desire for silence does not justify her expression of annoyance. We would all receive the Eucharist together, one after another, professing that we are one Body. In that moment, I think we were called to “bear with” him in love and smile indulgently at our “adopted great uncle” who sometimes talks a little before mass.

Sr. Morning has been reflecting on what “home” is; how Fr. A said that as you grow in this journey you begin to realize that Home is a Person.

And suddenly, it makes sense to feel more at home with people you “hardly know” who share your faith and are living in and walking towards Christ than with people you have known all your life that do not think of Him. You look around a room, and either marvel that people who are so different from you yet share this profound sense of the meaning of everything… or you look around at people who look a lot like you, but have a totally different conception of what reality is. It’s wild.

Other profound homey places are World Youth Day and the March for Life (affectionately called by wave “the Catholic family reunion”). In the midst of these crowds—with the exception of some of the crazies at the march— you sense the Spirit and the unity of love.

Spice, halfway across the country, wrote something about home in her Christmas card to me. She wrote that “we always seem to be making our way home”. Always already, almost-but-not-yet, both and. We are home, yet not, and not home, yet home. None of which makes sense if you do not know Christ; Home is always moving because He is a person.

Listening to Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9, the Moldau movement, conducted by Ferenc Fricsay, is Home.

Buttons

I came home last week and noticed that my mom was wearing a bright red and green button on her coat. It said, “I celebrate Christmas” and she said that the pastor of our Church told everyone to wear them. The idea is, I assume, that when you’re shopping and in public, everyone can say “Merry Christmas” without offending you.

Well, as the saying goes, this is worthy of a conversation.

I am sure that this was suggested out of the best intentions. We want the world to recognize that Christmas is not just another holiday, a nice time to exchange gifts and eat sweets. It actually means something. Or in Bart Simpson speak, “Christmas is a time when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.”

The other day someone was saying “I feel like everyone gets caught up in gifts and forgets the real meaning.” That statement no longer makes any sense to me somehow. Not only because it’s so obvious—yes, there are some people who don’t get it—but people say this ALL THE TIME and the statement itself seems to have lost its own meaning. It’s also because you can’t totally separate the Meaning and the actions that have developed around it. It’s not like “Jesus Christ was born and then these commercial materialists got a hold of it and it’s not at all connected anymore”. I’m not saying that people aren’t manipulated by advertising and other things into buying stupid gifts for no reason other than a sense of obligation, or that it isn’t used as an opportunity for that. I hate shopping with a passion. BUT as the HF reminds us, we give gifts to remind us of the greatest Gift of all; God who gave His only Son.

Professor Griegel from the JPI in Rome gave us a master class last year in which he highlighted the fact that if the person is not present in the gift, it is a lie. He put it this way—“Boy gives girl a flower. If boy is not in flower, then flower is a lie, a manipulation.” He meant that our gifts have to reflect that we are giving ourselves to the other person. If they are not reflections of that then they are not true. You know how you feel weird giving a gift to someone you hardly know? You do not know how to share yourself with them.

One of the best gifts Sr. Sea ever gave, she says, is the promise to write to her sister once a month. I think I will start that at home with my dad this year. I think that he would really love that, and he does not need or want anything else, really. Except a piano book! I keep telling my mom that I'd love a recipe book of her recipes, or a book of stories from growing up, but she does not get it. And that would take a lot more time as well.

How did I get from the button to there? Oh well.

Obviously, I celebrate Christmas. I believe that Truth Himself was born of a woman; that the idea of an immovable, untouchable and unchangeable God was cast aside for a living reality, a God who is Love, who takes flesh and walks among us.

Now, if someone would just put all that on a shirt, maybe I’d think about it. But “I celebrate Christmas”? “Good for you” is the response I imagine from anyone who does not. It’s not really challenging. It doesn’t call you further. It’s not really much of anything, actually, and to me it seems to belittle the greatness of it.

I’d rather wear a button that says “God loves you.”

Decorating the Basilica!

This year was the first year I got the "inside scoop" about decorating the Basilica for Christmas. It was such a joy!!! (See mention of decorating below) Poinsetta plants everywhere, real hay for the humongous Fontanini Nativity [which was an anonymous donation a few years ago] and lots of trees and lights. And of course, wonderful company like my favorite Dominican brother and the ladies of Monroe St. Hopefully one of my friends will send along the pictures from the sections we were in charge of so that I can brag even more. We got to do the "Flight to Egypt" which is one of my absolute favorite spots. It's an amazing operation, and I hope to make it an annual tradition!

Consolation and Desolation

“…during the time of consolation, prepare for suffering.”

This is a line from the novena to St. Joseph that we do every year. The first time we said it, Marie, Kathleen and I paused there. Whoa, really? The question is: how do you do that?

A few weeks ago at a planning meeting for St. Anthony’s youth group, we were talking about preparation. And in answer to the question “What is the best way to prepare for anything?” I said prayer. Prayer is the best preparation for anything because it is connecting yourself to the Meaning of everything. Without prayer you cannot be prepared because you have not been in contact with the One who sends you whatever you have received- be it “good” or “bad”.

I think of friends who do not have faith; how when something truly wonderful happens to them, they do not know what to do with it. One of them said to me, “I tried to write it down but I just couldn’t capture it at all.” When I said that seemed right because there’s something in joy that is not transferable (without saying “it’s the Holy Spirit”) she just looked puzzled. Not knowing Who to thank for a great gift is almost worse than not understanding why you are sent the gift of suffering.

Contrariwise, I have friends who are undergoing a tremendous trial of suffering. Were they prepared for this? No way, not in the sense that people usually mean that. It’s not as if they had studied cancer, nursing, or medicine, and they aren’t even georgraphically close to their families for support. But they were prepared in the only way that matters in the end: by faith and love in prayer.

So what are consolation and desolation? The definitions of these words don’t capture them for me, and I am sure that everyone experiences them differently. I have discovered that, for me, it’s really easy to tell when I’m in consolation, and I’m totally oblivious when I’m in desolation. (Hence I am writing this in what I’d call consolation) What I mean by that is that when I’m in desolation, I forget that such a thing as consolation even exists and that I have ever felt it. I accept desolation as “the way things always are.” It happens every time; I forget the past joy almost entirely. I think that I’ll have to make a habit of prayer-writing a LOT in consolation so that I can go back and read it later, remembering this experience. Preparing for the dull suffering of desolation.

Examples:

Desolation: If I have to listen to one more thing about God I think I’m going to scream. (I wish I was joking)

Consolation: Why would anyone want to talk about anything but God? I only want to talk about Jesus all day! What else matters? Can we talk about ideas versus experience?

Desolation: Just get through today.

Consolation: Isn’t it an amazing day? Don’t you think? Have you seen the clouds? They’re awesome!

Desolation: At least I’ll get to mass and He’ll get me through the rest of the day, even if the chapel is ugly, the homily is boring and the music is awful. At least the Lord is there.

Consolation: I can’t wait for Mass! I love everything about this chapel. I love these priests, they’re precious, and I love the quirky sister who does the music. Thank you Lord!

Desolation: Decorate the church? I don’t really want to decorate, thanks.

Consolation: Oh my gosh! What cute little ribbons! Are we putting 1000 of them on this one tree? Awesome!! It’s going to look beeeautiful!!! Oh look at the Nativity! The sheep! They’re baa-ing!! CUTENESS!

Desolation: I don’t really feel like cooking tonight, what do I have in the cupboard?... peanut butter and bread? Perfect, works fine.

Consolation: And then, I’ll make a whole chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing and green beans and when it’s done I’ll make it into a soup by cooking all day until it falls off the bones just like my mom always does. And then I want to bake cookies for the neighbors.

You get the idea. Most things I have read about these two states focus strictly on the experience in prayer- dryness or whatever else- but I find that for me it’s more the constant state throughout the day. Maybe there is another term for that, I do not know.

Does anyone else relate to this?

Wretched Advent

This will be an actual substantial post! Wow! It's a little something I wrote about Advent and being a wretch and in the middle state. If only I listened to myself more...

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I am Advent. I wait in wonder and expectation; Someone is growing within me, but I cannot see Him yet. I feel gentle movements at first; He’s testing the waters. Gradually He takes up more and more space in me, and begins to make His presence undeniable. This silent growth sometimes brings discomfort and anxiety, but it is already underway and cannot be hindered without doing violence to myself. I deeply desire to give birth, but I cannot rush Him. I want to know what He looks like, see His face and hold Him in my arms, but this is a time for waiting.

----
I am almost twenty-five and I have not made any vows. You must admit that I am lacking something: I have not given my life away. It is still here in my small, shaky and inadequate hands. Every day I awake knowing that I have a mission to accomplish… but darned if I know what it is. Every moment is one in which I either affirm or deny His presence, and this will always be so… but I have nothing in my life to compare with a choleric infant or crotchety superior, neither of which it is possible to ignore. On the contrary, I am sure I can and do ignore plenty of opportunities to grow in grace and virtue. I cannot trust my own will for a second, and yet it is apparent that Christ does.

The fact that I am in this state of unknowing is a sign of His trust in me, His promise that even if I do not know it, He can and will accomplish something though me. My life and my mission are not on hold; they have already begun. In Baptism, I was given a new life; the vows that were spoken for me then will always be the most definitive, for I am Christ’s and there is no turning back. Even when I feel like I am just waiting around, the Holy Spirit is not. Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit and in her time of waiting only a privileged few knew of the Mystery that grew within her. In a similar way, we single persons must cultivate the Life growing within us, witnessing to the work of the Holy Spirit silent and steady in our hearts. In not yet having a home to “settle down” in, we live the reality of being pilgrims on this earth. We are called to recognize and proclaim that this is not our true Home. Even without a ring or a vow, we know Love and hope in His promise. This promise is much greater than we can imagine, and is the true end of all our human longings, even for a vocation.

I have not done an extensive sociological study, but there seem to be increasing numbers of “us”- faithful vow-less 20-and 30-somethings. This is not accidental and the whole of it is fruitful. It must be the way the Holy Spirit is working in our age. Advent is a special time to meditate on the tremendous work that God does in secret. He seems to be suggesting “Slow down,” “Be healed,” “Surrender control.” I do not mean to mitigate personal responsibility for prayerful discernment and decisive action. I am simply looking around at the many people I know who are open, prayerful and seeking to give their lives away. They want to be poor, chaste and obedient, giving all of themselves to God. They tend to congregate together and form a sort of “Catholic mafia.”

Like most young adults, my friends—particularly women in the same state as me—are my constant support and encouragement. These are friendships that are almost indescribable to anyone who has not known Christ and given all to Him. “See how they love one another.” Yes, look! I think of those words anytime I am waiting at the airport for a friend to arrive because of the joyful anticipation and ensuing silliness that inevitably bursts out when we see one another. There is an intense joy there that is born of being on this journey together. United in prayer and the Eucharist, we become ever more one though we live far apart. I was in a college study group once that turned to talking about male and female friendships. I was bewildered by the experience of these young women who said that their friendships with other women were fraught with drama, cruel words and backstabbing. I could not even imagine that. I do not think I could remain hopeful without my friends.

In light of this discovery, a few women and I began a sort of fake religious order. We call ourselves the Little Wretches of St. Joseph, and we have very few rules. Basically if you love St. Joseph, you think you are wretched (sometimes) and you are not in a vowed state, you’re in. We all have names that are connected somehow with the created world. The first four wretches were Earth, Wind, Water and Fire… yes, kind of like Captain Planet. Nature is a big part of our “charism”, but our names have also begun branching into time and seasons. There are now over seventy women who call themselves wretches, and I have never even met a number of them. Since its beginnings three years ago on the feast of St. Joseph, we have had an even split: four of our “sisters” have entered religious life while four have gotten married. It is wonderful to be in the company of so many young women who are, well, pretty normal, and yet radically seeking God’s will in their lives. We cannot become holy on our own, and every interaction I have with my sisters in wretchedness reminds me that we are all called to be saints and if I am ever to get there it will only be in the company of my friends. In watching them grow and find their homes in this world, I see truly that everything has been arranged with perfect timing. As Christ grew within them, He gradually revealed to them a place in which to see His face.

In Advent, while the world is bustling around buying trinkets, Christians turn their eyes toward the Lord and beg Him to come back. On December 25th we recall His birth in the stable, and how He deigned to walk among us. We think about His tiny hands and feet, the same ones that would one day be pierced, and think of the joy of His mother Mary before the sword of the Cross. We do all this in a spirit of waiting for Jesus to return. Advent is the season in which the Church recognizes that she is still pregnant and that she must carry Jesus faithfully until the end of time. Those of us in the middle state are given the tremendous gift of experiencing this waiting in a special way. Our lives must proclaim the hope that He is coming again. By being joyful “in the meantime” we proclaim that this world is not all there is. If we are in the hands of the Father, trusting in the Son and led by the Holy Spirit, then our waiting is that of Advent: hoping in the promise of the One who will never disappoint.

Canticle of Zechariah

This morning's Canticle antiphon was full of our sisters:

Like the sun in the morning sky, the Savior of the world will dawn; like rain on the meadows he will descend to rest in the womb of the Virgin, alleluia.

Assignment

"Look at the human being you are with sympathy." ~Fr. Antonio

So often we look at ourselves only to find fault. It is good to see yourself clearly, but you must also remember that you are loved. Just as you excuse the little faults in those you love, excuse your own (assuming you also seek forgiveness and intend to do better!). Jesus loves you anyway! Really loves you. Sigh.

Erin Dawn's Reflective thing

Since Advent is a time for reflection...

"Paste the first sentence you posted for each month of the year and then look over it."

January: Ok, I do not know where this "vacation" has gone.

February: I just wanted to let you ladies know about a Catholic Olympian, Rebecca Dussault, 25, who is a cross country skier, wife and mother.

March: This is the new catch phrase around, started by Wave but very contagious. ("Worthy of a conversation")

April: Not to reveal myself at all, but one of my pictures has made it into Dappled Things.

May: I just shamelessly stole this from "Christianity today" who took it from Barabara Nicolosi's blog- but I'm giving credit of course...

June: Tonight is the vigil mass of Pentecost- a feast that I never understood so well as I do now and certainly never celebrated as well as I plan on doing.

July: Amy's wedding is on Friday!!! Amy is Sr. Spice, of "Refusal to Grasp" blog fame. Prayers for her and Duston...

August: Wretches and friends!Please pray for me on Monday August 7th.

September: The other day, in the Weekend section of the Post, there was an interview with one of the Affleck men.

October: And it includes a beautiful piece on discernment for wretches. (Dappled Things)

November: Last year's Homily at the Dominican House of Studies Vigil of All Saints was INCREDIBLE.

December: This story is worth the read, if you get the chance!

Well now. It is terribly apparent that I do not pay any attention to making a memorable first post of the month :)

The Road to Heaven

... is Heaven. (Teresa of Avila)

I've mentioned that quote before, and it was on reflecting on being in this very house, with some of these same people. Two of the couples are newly engaged- one of them is our wretched Sr. Heavens. Tim and Lori have 2 little girls, and Katie and Jake are expecting their first. Brother Ron was in the House (student ministers at CUA) with Lauren, Kara, and Katie.

It is just so good to be with them!

"What makes us grow..."

CL seems to pride itself on the longest titles for things. This article's title is 20 words long.

It's about living reason; a reason that is not only intellectual but exists to take us beyond experience into the Mystery behind all things.

He quote a letter from a woman in the movement:

"...The days seem more and more empty, not just of things to do, but - what I find hardest- empty of meaning too. Often I get up in the morning already fed up with a day that promises to be sterile, arid, and often boring inside these four walls... So I have little to do, and what little there is annoys me. I often reach the end of the day empty and sad.... Where am I going, and with whom? Translated, this means: what do we mean when we speak of living reality intensely in day-to-day circumstances, however good or bad they may be?"

Julian Carron responds:

"We cannot drown in the circumstances... This is why last year we addressed the question of education. We are the ones who need to be educated, to be introduced to reality as a whole... We need people who are educated to live reality in its wholeness, people who are able to introduce us- by sharing their life- to the sense, the meaning of reality... Reason cannot be satisfied by what it sees, the beauty of the world; it is need for something else, for the infinite, for the greatness of God, without which it cannot subsist. We find this sigh, this longing inside us, this human urge, this intuition that the infinite should reveal itself."

Then the one that kicked my butt:
"Where is your consistence [a conscious and stable identity]: in what you do, or in What has taken hold of you?"

He prays, 'Jesus let me see you, and not close my eyes; let me acknowledge Your presence and be aware that this is why we are together. Help me acknowledge Your presence in my life.'

You mean You're here, even in this office? You mean I should never be bored? shoooooot. Gotta tell you, it's so obvious and yet it was a total moment of grace for me to read that article last night in my empty house, with the dog, recognizing the profound way in which I have been defining myself lately by what I do, what I did, or what I could do.

Time to just say: I am the Lord's!

Attics are my specialty

For my friends who have not experienced the adventure that is going to my room, Sunset took this picture to give you a little taste of what it is like!

For Sr. Wind:

"We must return to proclaiming powerfully and joyfully the event of Christ's death and Resurrection, heart of Christianity, principal fulcrum of our faith, powerful lever of our certainty, impetuous wind that sweeps away every fear and indecision, every doubt and human calculation."

~Pope BXVI, homily in Verona, 19 Oct 2006

Thanks Wind!

Get hooked up with a Saint!

For 2007

It is a great tradition to choose a saint for the year; and I do hope Sr. Maple/ Sword will supply us with virtues for the year too! I'm looking forward to the end of my year of humility. Though I bet you anything I'll just get it again, since it "didn't seem to take" ;)

Father and son

This story is worth the read, if you get the chance!

"I'm not a saint. I'm a parent" Of course, I wish he knew that it could be the same thing :)

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross:

"If up to now, a person has been more or less contented with himself, the time for that is over. He will do what he can to change the unpleasant things he finds in himself, but he will discover quite a bit that can't be called beautiful and yet will be nearly impossible to change. As a reult, he will slowly become small and humble, increasingly patient and tolerant towards the specks in his brothers' eyes, now that he has so much trouble with the beam in his own. Eventually, he'll be able to look at himself in the unblinking light of the divine Presence, and learn to entrust himself to the power of the divine mercy."

First confession with possible new confessor in T-minus 30 minutes!

I heart Southwest

Did I tell you that I wrote a thank you note to Southwest after flying back from Kansas City? I had been so impressed with the pilots (i.e. the take-off, ride, and landing were the best I'd ever experienced, and they made friendly announcements) that I just sent it off.

I got a letter back!

Dear (me):

I welcome this privilege to reply to your thoughtful compliment, and I could not be more pleased that (pilot 1) and (pilot 2)'s efforts made a positive difference. It is clear that they are outstanding Pilots, and it is also evident that they relish the opportunity to serve others. I am thrilled that (P1) and (P2) impressed you with their skill and expertise, and I will gladly share your kind words with them.

Often when I respond to a Customer letter, I wonder whether the Customer believes that I really read his or her commendation. Well, Ms. (me), I certainly have read yours! I sincerely hope you will continue to check Southwest first when you need to travel to a city we serve. (smily face)

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, and here's hoping we'll see you onboard one of our LUV jets again soon!

Sincerely,
Tim Spaight

I love good human organizations :)

Benedict XVI Address in Verona

To the Fourth National Convention of the Church in Italy

"His Resurrection, therefore, has been like an explosion of light, an explosion of love that melts the chains of sin and death. It inaugurated a new dimension of life and reality, from which the new world comes forth, that continuously penetrates our world, transforming it and drawing it to himself.

All of this concretely happens through the life and witness of the Church; rather, the Church herself constitutes the first fruits of this transformation, which is God’s work and not ours. It comes to us through faith and the Sacrament of Baptism, which is really death and resurrection, rebirth, transformation to a new life. It is what St Paul reveals in the Letter to the Galatians: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (2: 20). Hence, the essential identity of my life is changed through Baptism, and I continue to exist only in this changed state.

"My own self is taken away and I am filled with a new and greater subject, in which my “I” is still there but transformed, purified, “open” through the insertion into the Other, who acquires new space in my existence. Thus, we become “one in Christ” (Gal 3: 28), a unique new subject, and our “I” is freed from its isolation.

“I, but no longer I”: this is the formula of Christian existence established in Baptism, the formula of the resurrection in time, the formula of the Christian “novelty” called to transform the world.

"Here lies our Paschal joy. Our vocation and our Christian duty consist in cooperating so that they reach effective fulfilment in the daily reality of our life, what the Holy Spirit accomplishes in us with Baptism. In fact, we are called to become new women and men, to be able to be true witnesses of the Risen One and thus bearers of Christian joy and hope in the world, concretely in that community of men and women in which we live."


We are reading this address in CL right now. As always, Benedict is clear and challenging. And also as always, Fr. Antonio is full of insight about this particular passage where I had questions. He said (paraphrasing) "I do not think of this new self as not making mistakes; rather it is that He is with me. My life is defined by my relationship with Him. Even when I make mistakes, He is there and gives me mercy. He accompanies me always..." And, "But I would not have known this if someone had not been there showing it to me; showing me how to live. If someone had not been a father to me, if I did not encounter this reality being lived out."

So once again I am prompted to give thanks for the wretches and other friends in whom I see His Life lived out today, without whom I could not believe in the Risen Lord!

TIME article on cool Sisters

Article here


And you may recognize our sister Rain in the postulant outfit!

A (not really) Wretched Wedding! Updated!

Our wretched sister Fall was married this Saturday, November 11th at 5:30pm to Eric Ruby! Pray for them!

Doggy Lessons

I am a cat person.

My roommate got a dog. Look at what he did to his stuffed animal! How ridiculous. But I am getting used to him and his jumpy, slobbery, smelly-breath ways. My roommate is his mama, but I will do if she's not around. I'm also realizing the truth that Alton said: pets teach selfish people to sacrifice for another living creature... shoot I'm super selfish because it is really hard to take this dog out when I come home from work (I get home before my roommate does) especially because I will grumble the whole time, "I never wanted a dog! I didn't ask for this!"

Last night, I was reeeally frustrated with the dog. He got a small, thin piece of cardboard in his mouth and was going to eat it. I did not want him to eat it. I said, "Abner! DROP IT!" and he held on to that thing like it was the last thing he would ever eat. I could not get him to let go no matter what I did, and I didn't want to hurt his teeth... but I got more and more angry and yelled at him, all to no avail. I pulled on it and he just set his jaw and would not open it for anything. I couldn't believe I was in such a ridiculous power struggle with a dog, especially when what he wanted was harmful to him. (not that harmful, granted) He just wouldn't let go even though I'm smarter than him, bigger than him, and love him (well, a little ;)

I related this to Sr. Morning and she said, "I bet that's how Jesus feels with us sometimes. Let go! Trust me..."

Nice connection, girl.

Oh Oh Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last year's Homily at the Dominican House of Studies Vigil of All Saints was INCREDIBLE. I was reminded of it when I went this year. It is one of my favorite liturgies of the year; the Litany at the end is just so powerful. (This year's was good too!)

My favorite part was the "genealogy of the family of God" in which he talked about all the saint who knew each other or were friends. It reminds me of the wretches, how we should all be inspired by one another to greater holiness.

"God sanctified the Virgin Mary at her conception to be the Mother of Christ and His Church. St. Joseph taught Jesus carpentry. Jesus called the Apostles who became saints. St. Stephen prayed for St. Paul’s conversion as Paul was stoning him. St. Athanasius knew St. Anthony of the Desert and became his biographer. St. Augustine’s conversion was a result of the prayers of his mother, St. Monica and the preaching of St. Ambrose. When he grew older he corresponded with St. Jerome. In the east we see that luminous constellation known as the Cappadocians. St. Gregory of Nyssa was the brother of St. Basil the Great, St. Macrina was their sister and St. Gregory Nanzianzus was their friend. St. Sixtus ordained St, Lawrence. St. Benedict and St. Scholastica were twins. Sts Cosmas and Damian were brothers. That strange and seemingly lonely figure of Syria St. Simeon the Stylite who lived on top of a column in the desert, preaching, praying, and healing once sent a letter to St. Genevieve who became the patron saint of Paris. Sts Francis and Clare were friends. St. Dominic’s mother is Bl. Jane and his brother is Bl. Mannes. Bl. Jordan of Saxony knew St. Dominic and later brought St. Albert the Great into the order, St. Albert in turn was the teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas. St Catherine of Siena worked with Bl Raymond of Capua. St. Antoninus knew Blessed Fra Angelico. St. Philip Neri knew St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Capuchin St. Felix Cantalice, the Cardinal St. Charles Borromeo, the Pope St. Pius V, St. Camillus de Lellis, and corresponded with St. Catherine De Ricci and he knew even more saints than these. St. Teresa of Avila was friends with St. John of the Cross. St. Martin de Porres knew St. Rose and St. Juan Macias. Rose and Martin were confirmed by the bishop St. Turibius. St. Francis de Sales and St. Jeanne de Chantal collaborated together and they were friends with St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise De Marilac. St. John Vianney called his friend St. Pierre Julian Eymard the “Holiest man in France”. St. John Bosco worked with St. Maria Mazarello to assist orphans. Blessed Francisco and Blessed Jacinta the Fatima visionaries were brother and sister. Bl. Maria and Bl. Luigi Quatrocchi were married to each other. Bl. Mother Theresa and Bl. Jan Tyranowski were friends of Pope John Paul the Second and we all knew John Paul the Second."

Don't forget:

"There are an infinite number of ways this gets lived out, but you're not going to avoid a crucifixion. The fact is you're GOING to suffer a crucifixion and getting married doesn't solve this problem and not getting married doesn't solve this problem. Self sacrifice is painful. The giving which is a passion is a real Passion, and a painful one. "

~Dr. Schindler

And on a lighter note, the esteemed professor again:

"We're in the 'Intralapsarian Period', which is to say: things are messed up." ~Dr. Schindler

Update on Trappist wisdom

I was not able to post after my retreat because work was so crazy. We had a big event on Saturday, which went amazingly well. I'm a big fan of Archbishop Wuerl so far... good thing, since he's an Apostle and all (hello, earth)

The greatest thing about the Trappists: They are not in a hurry. For anything. I stepped into a whole different concept of time and I loved it; It's so much more human than the pace of life in the city. The ancient monk who was the retreat master and available to the 12 of us, almost all perfect strangers, just really impressed me with how peaceful he was and how his parting words were not to rush anything. It was totally the attitude I need about all these things bouncing around in my head. Relax. Since when were you ever in control? The Holy Spirit knows what He is doing. As I told our Sister Flowers, who is waiting to become a Poor Clare, she might have to save me a room next door :)

The HS also made sure to keep humility the lesson of the weekend. Nothing like finding yourself in a cloister of a monastery where a woman is most certainly NOT SUPPOSED TO BE at 5:30 in the morning for making you really embarrassed and praying "Please let me find my way out or send someone to find me!"

One other quick note I mentioned to Sr. Wave. The darkness of the country is altogether different from that of the city. You can feel the immenseness of the world and your own littleness... you can actually see the stars and not 10 feet in front of you. No wonder people in the city can avoid wondering about the Infinite; they have lost such an obvious manifestation of it thanks to bright lights and pollution. I'm so thankful to have had beautiful clear nights there.

And did I mention that the cows were AWESOME? They made me smile all day with their incessant moo-ing.

Food, Faith and Culture

Grace Before Meals is a new show coming to PBS and we should watch it :) A priest goes into family's homes to help them to prepare a meal together. Precious. Body-soul unity, y'all.

I guess my only critique of the first little snippet they offer on the website is that the home he goes to is HUGE. Yeah, this goes back to the poverty thing... I think it would be maybe a more powerful witness if he could go into a modest home, and perhaps even work with only what they have in the house (i.e. what anyone could afford)

In fact, I know quite a few modest homes of ladies in the area who could use a free cooking lesson... maybe the Hyatt??? :)

Bring on the Silence!

Prov-i-dence, y'all. Tomorrow I shall drive down this beautiful road and find myself in a Trappist monastery for the weekend. This is the place Sr. Morning disappeared to one weekend and came back quite content. I can't wait! There were some cancellations; otherwise there isn't another free weekend until the end of November.

I'm going into the desert so He can speak to my heart :)

Consolation, desolation, love and friends

During the very first novena in which the wretches were born, Marie, Kathleen and I were all struck by the line that directed us "in consolation, prepare for desolation." Store it up, pray a lot now, because you will need it!

I think of that now because of a few friends who are going through very hard times. The Lord in His wisdom ensures that we don't all hit that low point at once, because we can carry one another only if one of us can walk. (Ok, He'll carry us no matter what, I'm just sayin.) I'm thankful to be on the "good end" of this deal at the moment, but I promise that although I'm wretched, I will take seriously the responsibility of prayer for all of those intentions.

I wrote something to Sr. Wind once that is applicable:
I love you all so much, I know that God must exist. That all this is Reality.

Mary and Eve

Some of you may know about this question I had regarding Mary as the new Eve. I wondered if Mary didn't have to be tempted before the Annunciation; i.e. if Eve faced the devil in the garden, would Mary have a ticket out of that temptation? If Eve was asked to be the mother of God, wouldn't she have said yes too?

I'm sure some of you are way ahead of me and see an answer, which until I was quickly reading through a paper (Ryan's, from his site) did not come to me. Christ, as the new Adam, has already conquered the devil. Since Mary receives the grace of the Immaculate Conception with a view to what is won on the Cross, it is Christ's victory that preserves her from that ickiness of original sin as well as a trial like Eve's... wait is that true? I'm just thinking here... correct me if I'm getting heretical... but this seems to make sense in my head...

A frequent question when we studied Genesis was "Where was Adam when the serpent approached Eve?"; He must have been nearby since Eve passes the fruit to him right after eating it. Eve was not protected by Adam from this attack and deceit. Mary, on the contrary, is already protected by the blood of the Lamb; Christ, the new Adam, does not leave us unprotected; He stands in front of his Bride the Church, accepting the consequences of Adam's sin, and tells the devil to take a hike. As the Church was born from His side, and we are born of Him in Baptism... wait I'm just confusing myself... because how come we can't all be preserved from it?

Why do we sin again? ;)

Because, as Fr. Antonio says, there's nothin we love so much as our own sin.

ewww! And yet, so true. Because we wouldn't do it otherwise! Sorry for the unclear and rambling post- please tell me if you have an answer of some sort.

Priests/ Deacons

(Picture of a friend just ordained to the diaconate in Rome, from the NAC website)


Sr. Wave expressed the other day that lately the presence of holy priests has been such a draw for her; Seeing these men who have given their lives in service to the Church makes us want to give our lives to Jesus as well! They have given all; Don't you desire to do the same?

Relics, Time and Space

I was just downstairs in the Archives, and our archivist showed me the drawer of relics. (Why the relics live in a drawer in a filing cabinet, I do not know!)

He was looking for a special one, he said, and he pulled out one with documentation:

from the manger.


Are you kidding me?

So this afternoon, around 2pm, I kissed a little reliquary holding, as far as we know, a piece of the manger that our Lord lay on as a baby. Come on. I wish I had been kneeling in a chapel on Christmas, or somew place and time when I could at least pretend to contemplate and wrap my head around the significance of that moment. Rather, we were just standing in the archives of the Archdiocese of Washington under flourescent lights and surrounded by filing cabinets. I jumped up and down and said "Can I?!", took it in my hand and kissed it. How funny. Thank you, Baby Jesus, for such a totally unexpected gift!

---
Just realized last night at adoration... I read Dubay's book on poverty and was very affected by it, and the manger is a sign of Christ's utter poverty... ok then.

A friend's wedding pictures

Ok, so I wasn't even there unfortunately, but my friend Erin got an amazing photographer at her wedding so I wanted to post a few good ones!

Connection between marriage and death, anyone?

He's our Man

St. Francis is certainly one of the inspirations and patrons for the wretches. Come on, look at our names!

The Canticle of All Creatures

Most High, all-powerful, all-good Lord,

All praise is Yours, all glory, all honour and all blessings.

To you alone, Most High, do they belong,

and no mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your Name.

Praised be You my Lord with all Your creatures,

especially Sir Brother Sun,Who is the day through whom You give us light.

And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour,

Of You Most High, he bears the likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,

In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,

And fair and stormy, all weather’s moods,

by which You cherish all that You have made.

Praised be You my Lord through Sister Water,

So useful, humble, precious and pure.

Praised be You my Lord through Brother Fire,

through whom You light the night

and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You my Lord through our Sister,

Mother Earth who sustains and governs us,

producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praise be You my Lord through those who grant pardon

for love of You and bear sickness and trial.

Blessed are those who endure in peace,

By You Most High, they will be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord through Sister Death,

from whom no-one living can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin!

Blessed are they She finds doing Your Will.

No second death can do them harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks,

And serve Him with great humility.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,You gave Your servant Francis

great love for each of Your creatures.

Teach us to see Your design in all of creation.

We ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Joseph Francis!

This is the new addition to my former roommate's little family! She and her husband haven't even been married for a year yet :) How CUTE is he??

And he just keeps it coming...

"Only God knows how many suits, coats, dresses (and much else) are bought, not because the present suit, coat or dress is worn out, but simply because it has been seen fairly often or because Parisian designers have decreed that lapels shall be wider or skirts shorter. Which is a frightful tyranny when one reflects for a moment on the millions in the world who have no wardrobe at all and who today are starving and dying at the rate of ten thousand per day."
~Authenticity, p130 Thomas Dubay, SM

Prayer to St. Raphael

We wretches love the Archangels!

O Raphael, lead us towards those we are waiting for, those who are waiting for us! Raphael, Angel of Happy Meetings, lead us by the hand towards those we are looking for! May all our movements, all their movements, be guided by your Light and transfigured by your Joy. Angel Guide of Tobias, lay the request we now address to you at the feet of Him on whose unveiled Face you are privileged to gaze. Lonely and tired, crushed by the separations and sorrows of earth, we feel the need of calling to you and of pleading for the protection of your wings, so that we may not be as strangers in the Province of Joy, all ignorant of the concerns of our country. Remember the weak, you who are strong--you whose home lies beyond the region of thunder, in a land that is always peaceful, always serene, and bright with the resplendent glory of God. Amen.

(Found online- not sure who wrote it)

Heroic Humility

"A person possesses heroic humility when promptly and easily he avoids vanity in dress, domination in conversation, or desire to impress. He experiences little difficulty in accepting correction -- indeed he desires it. He is content and at peace with accusation, neglect, blame, rejection."

~Thomas Dubay, SM: Authenticity

Yikes.

The View

Well, inspired by Mrs Spice, I watched a part of "The View" that was on someone's blog- where Rosie says that "radical Christianity" is just as threatening as radical Islam "in this country, where we have a separation of church and state."

As one of the other ladies finally chimed in, "Radical Christians aren't threatening to kill us."

When you decide to follow your own truth, a lot of simply being able to see goes with it. I think most people, if they are thinking objectively, see a big difference there and it is striking that she would not. And that so many people in the audience clapped when she said it is disturbing.

But all that stuff aside, I only watched a few seconds before remembering why I can't stand watching The View in the first place: They all just talk over each other.

I haven't watched a whole episode in years, but I remember that, and saw it even in this short clip. It's all about what each woman has to say- they're not really listening to one another. This is not genuine conversation. I can't stand it! Yak yak yak- It reminds me of that song from The Music Man: pick a little talk a little pick a little talk a little cheep cheep cheep! talk a lot pick a little more.

What's the point? Bleh.

Tumbleweed

There's not a single other person on my hall at work this morning. I have Ben Harper playing. Not too shabby. Too bad I might not be here very long!

Hilarious Pearls

Hey! I resemble that!

The Pope's Address

That has everyone talking.

Read it for yourself

Grrrr media. What, are we no longer permitted to do research or quote medieval texts in lectures on Greek thought at universities?

Annie H had some words about it yesterday at CL. She pointed out that BXVI acted very much in freedom, both in speaking and in apologizing. It was like, "Ok, you're burning churches, I'll take that as dialogue."

Also interesting from the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091800992.html

Prayers for Laura C and Family

Please pray for Laura ("sweet somewhere bound" blog under friends) as she and her family approach the end of her father's heroic life and battle with the "c word". May the Lord remind them of His promise and Mary hold them in their grief. May the Holy Spirit be intensely present to them in these last few days or weeks and guide all words and actions to bring an unearthly peace to the family.

Also for Matt and Lucy as they are also battling with the "c word".

St. Augustine and Wretchedness

St. Augustine is totally a friend of the wretches!

As if we needed further proof... Fr. Fisher said a beeeautiful special mass for Sr. Rain on Monday evening and he bust(ed?) out a first class relic so that St. Augie could give us each a blessing!

The occasion? Our Sr. Rain is off to the Sisters of Life! We are so happy for her and wish her the best. Given the miraculous way the Lord cleared up the medical concerns that could have prevented it, I think the sisters would have had a hard time saying no :)

Gosh, I'm just the announcement queen these days. At least that's all for a while- right ladies?

Rosemary's beautiful post

Check it out y'all:
Little Low Heavens: Lift Up Your Arms

Adoro te devote

Like what tender tales tell of the Pelican

Bathe me, Jesus Lord, in what Thy Bosom ran

Blood that but one drop of has the pow'r to win

All the world forgiveness of its world of sin.

Mountains and Volcanoes!

The beautiful young lady on the right- next to her sister Water on the left- Sr. Mountain, is joining the Dominican Sisters of Mary,Mother of the Eucharist next week. Pray for her continued joy and peace in this discernment and important step in her becoming more who she is! She is such a blessing to the wretches and we will all miss her presence even as we rejoice in her gift of self!



And perhaps appropriately at the same time, we welcome a new Sister: Volcano! She will always remind us of both Mountain and Fire. Yay!!!

Community announcements...

I'm happy to announce that we have a Sr. Clouds now- Erin G!

Also happy to announce that Sr. Light is "graduating" from her crazily complicated neuro-something program in MN. Yay!!! Congratulations Light!!!

We've heard from Sr. Moon's mom who says that she's vastly contented at the motherhouse of the Nashville Dominicans and will receive her new name and the habit on August 14th... when her younger sister will also be entering the convent. "Jesus be praised!" as her mother wrote.

Also both happy and sad to announce that Sr. Dawn will be continuing her wretchedness, but in Florida; We're so happy that she's found a call to nursing but sad that it means she's moving!

Sr. Sunrise has joined the ranks of those called to the married state and is engaged! Perhaps a couple more announcements like this will not be far away...

And before the summer is out, we will probably have at least a couple more announcements to make about members joining religious orders! We're praying for you ladies! Never forget that you are first and forever a wretch :) What an exciting time to be alive in the Church!!!

Too Cute

I hadn't visited the site recently, but this picture says it all!!!!

The caption is "On our way to chemotherapy, get excited!" How much do we love Sr. Sea and her husband?

Keep praying for them y'all.

A Spicy Wedding

Veni Sancte Spiritu! Our Sister Spice was united last Friday to her handsome husband. Doesn't she look gorgeous?




This was taken during the mass from my great view :)

Missionaries of the Eucharist

Have you met them yet? Here's the website and Sr. Sand is on the walk with them, spreading the message of the Theology of the Body and looking to spread the Gospel of Life. I also met a couple of them at a praise and worship night... they are really great and totally on fire for the Lord! Let's keep them in our prayers.