I have asthma and this cold air makes life very hard for asthma sufferers. Please remember to pray for me and all who suffer with breathing problems at this time.
Thank you.
STM
Saturday, 4 January 2014
Prayers Needed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2014/01/03/an-astonishing-dangerous-cold-snap-is-about-to-descend-on-the-u-s/
I have asthma and this cold air makes life very hard for asthma sufferers. Please remember to pray for me and all who suffer with breathing problems at this time.
Thank you.
STM
I have asthma and this cold air makes life very hard for asthma sufferers. Please remember to pray for me and all who suffer with breathing problems at this time.
Thank you.
STM
The Hour Glass Part Three
Before joining the priests in England, a digression on the great burning of books must be inserted here.
The global government began to push, through the dying EU and the American government, a banning, then a burning of books. The reasoning behind the burning of books in all western countries was that leaders began to realize that liberal education created the legions of rebels against their efforts. Instead of hitting the rebel groups individually, the two governing bodies, which became the United Government of Europe and the Provisional Military Government of America, (the names created by the globalists), the first step was to seize all religious books, all history books not published by the governing bodies and all literature before the year 2018.
Anyone found hoarding books not only had their books taken from them, but these people or organizations were fined and imprisoned. The great universities had agreed to a compromise, which involved an agreement that the governments would allow certain books, but have in place government overseers in charge of the university libraries. Those libraries which refused were taken over and the contents burned. Fines accompanied the burnings.
Most of the Catholic new universities were fined and shut down.
In Europe, the anarchists volunteered to control the burning. All the cities of Europe were purged of religious books, literature, poetry, and history books. In some places, the Muslem communities helped the government destroy the infidels books. This seemed like a good idea until the government began destroying the holy books of Islam. Civil war waged in some countries, like Germany and England, until the great endless winters overtook most activities.
But, the books were gone, or at least, seemed to be. During this time, and even before, the Pope had ordered all clergy to memorize the texts mentioned earlier.
In Rome, the Pope had also organized the shipment of libraries and art work to places in Africa. Some thought Anselm himself was there in hiding, but no one knew for sure. Like the contraband books, Anselm was, at least temporarily, safe.
In England, the glaciers were diverted but the snows and ice storms interrupted life. Columcille and Samuel worked together as did all priests.
And, this morning, Columcille was relieved to see Samuel returning as the laity were leaving Mass. But, Samuel was heading for the cave with two other people. One was Ann Swallow, and the other was her husband, Max. What was most astounding was that Ann was walking and smiling, not at all looking like a woman of 75 facing death. And, what was also amazing, was that Max was with her, the same agnostic husband who had caused the most pain in this good woman's life by openly deriding her beloved Catholicism most of their married life.
to be continued....
The global government began to push, through the dying EU and the American government, a banning, then a burning of books. The reasoning behind the burning of books in all western countries was that leaders began to realize that liberal education created the legions of rebels against their efforts. Instead of hitting the rebel groups individually, the two governing bodies, which became the United Government of Europe and the Provisional Military Government of America, (the names created by the globalists), the first step was to seize all religious books, all history books not published by the governing bodies and all literature before the year 2018.
Anyone found hoarding books not only had their books taken from them, but these people or organizations were fined and imprisoned. The great universities had agreed to a compromise, which involved an agreement that the governments would allow certain books, but have in place government overseers in charge of the university libraries. Those libraries which refused were taken over and the contents burned. Fines accompanied the burnings.
Most of the Catholic new universities were fined and shut down.
In Europe, the anarchists volunteered to control the burning. All the cities of Europe were purged of religious books, literature, poetry, and history books. In some places, the Muslem communities helped the government destroy the infidels books. This seemed like a good idea until the government began destroying the holy books of Islam. Civil war waged in some countries, like Germany and England, until the great endless winters overtook most activities.
But, the books were gone, or at least, seemed to be. During this time, and even before, the Pope had ordered all clergy to memorize the texts mentioned earlier.
In Rome, the Pope had also organized the shipment of libraries and art work to places in Africa. Some thought Anselm himself was there in hiding, but no one knew for sure. Like the contraband books, Anselm was, at least temporarily, safe.
In England, the glaciers were diverted but the snows and ice storms interrupted life. Columcille and Samuel worked together as did all priests.
And, this morning, Columcille was relieved to see Samuel returning as the laity were leaving Mass. But, Samuel was heading for the cave with two other people. One was Ann Swallow, and the other was her husband, Max. What was most astounding was that Ann was walking and smiling, not at all looking like a woman of 75 facing death. And, what was also amazing, was that Max was with her, the same agnostic husband who had caused the most pain in this good woman's life by openly deriding her beloved Catholicism most of their married life.
to be continued....
Notes
The first novella starts on December 13th-one must scroll up to follow the story, of course.
This one will continue over the next several days.
STM
This one will continue over the next several days.
STM
The Hour Glass Part Two
James and Antonio never worked apart. It was the wish of the Pope in hiding that all priest work in twos, if possible. And, the job of this team, to go through The Wasteland and minister to Catholics and gather information of the remnant, demanded that each support the other in prayer, in brotherhood.
James Carter was older than Antonio. He had been an Anglican priest for 20 years and had converted and been ordained before the establishment of the Ordinariate in North America. His wife and three daughters had tragically died in the nuclear blast, as they had traveled to Colorado Springs to visit the grandparents for Christmas. All the Carter Clan had perished.
James had been prepared for horrible times, but the fact that his entire living family had been taken all at once in a huge gathering at Christmas had take an long time to sink in. His brother, Robert and Robert's wife and children, his uncles and aunts, his nieces and nephews all died immediately, as the center of the blast was Denver. James had the small wedge of peace that his family has not suffered long, if at all.
Antonio had also lost his entire family in Chicago, in the great tidal wave. Antonio had been in Rome at the time, finishing up a course in Canon Law, as he was only recently ordained, when the terrible flooding of the Midwest had occurred.
He knew, instinctively, that his mother, sisters, and nieces were all gone, along with the rest of the family in Roger's Park. Although Antonio had never received word of their deaths, all the Guzmans and Costellos had perished immediately in the great tidal wave, which had been caused by the largest earthquake ever witnessed on earth, located just north of Toronto, making all the waters of Lake Michigan move north and then flow back down in a great tidal wave over the middle west. The waters filled the great Mississippi Valley up to the tops of the cliffs and destroyed any cities below that line.
Like James, Antonio was grateful that his good family had perished immediately and quickly and did not witness the violent anarchy which overtook the states of northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and parts of Minnesota and Iowa. Sadly, the great Catholic Bruderhoff in Mundelein, with about 1,000 Catholics, had been destroyed in the great tidal wave as well. No knowledge of that group had trickled down into other parts of the state. It was assumed all had died. Antonio, being from the Archdiocese of Chicago, had to bear other sorrows, as many of those people in the Catholic Bruderhoff had been his personal friends. Antonio did not know for years that, indeed, many of that group had left to go south to the new community outside of Irondale, having been warned in prayer to do so...but not all had heeded the warning.
The two priests were bound in grief as well as duty.
All transcripts were written out in notebooks in pencil and sent via an underground of priests and deacons to the southern part of Appalachia, and then to the coast of Florida, where some wealthy Catholic families maintained two shipping businesses which allowed communication to England and then to Rome.
Besides ministering the sacraments and saying Mass on the road, travelling from place to place, Antonio and James were commanded by Anselm to get as much information as possible about the state of the Catholic Church in America.
Small, excellent surprises had encouraged these two men, as they quickly discovered that many people from the north had moved to southern Illinois, inland Missouri, and most of the southern states, creating instant communities of survivors.
Other good news was that there were many priests already serving these new itinerant communities and as the dioceses had to go underground, many were just working as "lone rangers" as they were fondly called.
Antonio was the most serious of the two. His youth was clouded by so much trauma and loss, that James had to help him with this transition to missionary priest and emissary to Rome. James was a typical intellectual, almost "effete" and still wore the traces of his long Anglican life in his manner.
But James loved Antonio like a son, and the two worked well together. Prayer sustained them, and even on the road, they found time to talk and share ideas.
One of the great treasures in James' back pack was a Summa of the Summa. James' background in Aquinas, (he had done his doctoral thesis on the virtues in the Summa) gave him the ability to teach Antonio, who, like the proverbial sponge, soaked up the wonderful insights of James. In turn, Antonio was teaching James both Spanish and Tagalog, as Antonio had spent a year in the Filipino community in Chicago as a deacon and was a whiz with languages.
The conversation and prayer of these two priests on the road grew into long discussions on virtues and the intricacies of language.
On this trip, James and Antonio were leaving The Wasteland and moving into Louisiana to meet up with some other priests for a small American conference. Rumor had it that at least three bishops would also be attending.
This secret meeting was to be held in Bienville.
As all priests across the world had taken on other skills, James had learned basic architecture, the old way, with pencil, paper and the old tools of the trade. He was actually quite talented. Antonio was a carpenter.
Recently, both has met a priest who had travelled up from Texas and had word on the Catholics in that state.
Again, the state had been spared the take-over of China in the western states and western Canada, as the great tidal wave had stopped the fighting and because the Texans had waged a huge war in the north, holding off until the Chinese army retreated back to Arizona and New Mexico. There still was a stand-off.
Texas had also declared itself a Republic again and taken over all federal rule. No one cared. Texas was thriving in some ways and more and more people who had survived the blast and the brief war straggled into Texas, making it the most crowded state, before it declared independence in 2023. The fast onset of the glacial era had forced the Chinese back, as their own country was rapidly being covered in ice and supplies to the army interrupted. Weapons were scarce, and none of the Chinese wanted to use nuclear weapons after witnessing the horrible destruction of western Canada and America by the rogue government of North Korea, which no longer existed, being blasted out of existence by the orders of the dying American president, in Hawaii at the time, in sheer revenge. China was no longer in a position to finish taking over America, although it held all The Wasteland west from the Pacific to the Red River Valley in the north, and to the borders of Texas to the south, excluding Arkansas and Missouri, which for some reason, lay like islands surrounded by the mighty waters of the Mississippi on one side and the waters of the Missouri and the Arkansas creating dry spaces, large areas of clear land. Basically, all the states west of the upper Missouri were in the hands of the rapidly shrinking Chinese army or destroyed by the great nuclear blast. Some areas of Arizona and New Mexico had not been destroyed by the blast, but now lay under Chinese rule. Those two states were the only states in the west where there was some semblance of normality, except for martial law and conquest. Water was a problem, however, as most of the water was polluted.
That communications were almost non-existent, as the gird was gone, and as the major communication companies, mostly located in Los Angeles, were gone, there was no real news. Most Americans simply were existing in survival mode. The east coast has been taken over by the global government immediately after the blast and those places had become, like the west, states under martial law-but under a different warlord. America, therefore, was divided into several areas and under two tyrannical governments, neither of which could hold things together. Much of the northeast had experiences anarchy. New York was a battleground of looters, criminals, and the military.
James and Antonio were making their way to Lousiana when they met the priest from Texas. Something interesting was happening there.
To be continued....
James Carter was older than Antonio. He had been an Anglican priest for 20 years and had converted and been ordained before the establishment of the Ordinariate in North America. His wife and three daughters had tragically died in the nuclear blast, as they had traveled to Colorado Springs to visit the grandparents for Christmas. All the Carter Clan had perished.
James had been prepared for horrible times, but the fact that his entire living family had been taken all at once in a huge gathering at Christmas had take an long time to sink in. His brother, Robert and Robert's wife and children, his uncles and aunts, his nieces and nephews all died immediately, as the center of the blast was Denver. James had the small wedge of peace that his family has not suffered long, if at all.
Antonio had also lost his entire family in Chicago, in the great tidal wave. Antonio had been in Rome at the time, finishing up a course in Canon Law, as he was only recently ordained, when the terrible flooding of the Midwest had occurred.
He knew, instinctively, that his mother, sisters, and nieces were all gone, along with the rest of the family in Roger's Park. Although Antonio had never received word of their deaths, all the Guzmans and Costellos had perished immediately in the great tidal wave, which had been caused by the largest earthquake ever witnessed on earth, located just north of Toronto, making all the waters of Lake Michigan move north and then flow back down in a great tidal wave over the middle west. The waters filled the great Mississippi Valley up to the tops of the cliffs and destroyed any cities below that line.
Like James, Antonio was grateful that his good family had perished immediately and quickly and did not witness the violent anarchy which overtook the states of northern Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and parts of Minnesota and Iowa. Sadly, the great Catholic Bruderhoff in Mundelein, with about 1,000 Catholics, had been destroyed in the great tidal wave as well. No knowledge of that group had trickled down into other parts of the state. It was assumed all had died. Antonio, being from the Archdiocese of Chicago, had to bear other sorrows, as many of those people in the Catholic Bruderhoff had been his personal friends. Antonio did not know for years that, indeed, many of that group had left to go south to the new community outside of Irondale, having been warned in prayer to do so...but not all had heeded the warning.
The two priests were bound in grief as well as duty.
All transcripts were written out in notebooks in pencil and sent via an underground of priests and deacons to the southern part of Appalachia, and then to the coast of Florida, where some wealthy Catholic families maintained two shipping businesses which allowed communication to England and then to Rome.
Besides ministering the sacraments and saying Mass on the road, travelling from place to place, Antonio and James were commanded by Anselm to get as much information as possible about the state of the Catholic Church in America.
Small, excellent surprises had encouraged these two men, as they quickly discovered that many people from the north had moved to southern Illinois, inland Missouri, and most of the southern states, creating instant communities of survivors.
Other good news was that there were many priests already serving these new itinerant communities and as the dioceses had to go underground, many were just working as "lone rangers" as they were fondly called.
Antonio was the most serious of the two. His youth was clouded by so much trauma and loss, that James had to help him with this transition to missionary priest and emissary to Rome. James was a typical intellectual, almost "effete" and still wore the traces of his long Anglican life in his manner.
But James loved Antonio like a son, and the two worked well together. Prayer sustained them, and even on the road, they found time to talk and share ideas.
One of the great treasures in James' back pack was a Summa of the Summa. James' background in Aquinas, (he had done his doctoral thesis on the virtues in the Summa) gave him the ability to teach Antonio, who, like the proverbial sponge, soaked up the wonderful insights of James. In turn, Antonio was teaching James both Spanish and Tagalog, as Antonio had spent a year in the Filipino community in Chicago as a deacon and was a whiz with languages.
The conversation and prayer of these two priests on the road grew into long discussions on virtues and the intricacies of language.
On this trip, James and Antonio were leaving The Wasteland and moving into Louisiana to meet up with some other priests for a small American conference. Rumor had it that at least three bishops would also be attending.
This secret meeting was to be held in Bienville.
As all priests across the world had taken on other skills, James had learned basic architecture, the old way, with pencil, paper and the old tools of the trade. He was actually quite talented. Antonio was a carpenter.
Recently, both has met a priest who had travelled up from Texas and had word on the Catholics in that state.
Again, the state had been spared the take-over of China in the western states and western Canada, as the great tidal wave had stopped the fighting and because the Texans had waged a huge war in the north, holding off until the Chinese army retreated back to Arizona and New Mexico. There still was a stand-off.
Texas had also declared itself a Republic again and taken over all federal rule. No one cared. Texas was thriving in some ways and more and more people who had survived the blast and the brief war straggled into Texas, making it the most crowded state, before it declared independence in 2023. The fast onset of the glacial era had forced the Chinese back, as their own country was rapidly being covered in ice and supplies to the army interrupted. Weapons were scarce, and none of the Chinese wanted to use nuclear weapons after witnessing the horrible destruction of western Canada and America by the rogue government of North Korea, which no longer existed, being blasted out of existence by the orders of the dying American president, in Hawaii at the time, in sheer revenge. China was no longer in a position to finish taking over America, although it held all The Wasteland west from the Pacific to the Red River Valley in the north, and to the borders of Texas to the south, excluding Arkansas and Missouri, which for some reason, lay like islands surrounded by the mighty waters of the Mississippi on one side and the waters of the Missouri and the Arkansas creating dry spaces, large areas of clear land. Basically, all the states west of the upper Missouri were in the hands of the rapidly shrinking Chinese army or destroyed by the great nuclear blast. Some areas of Arizona and New Mexico had not been destroyed by the blast, but now lay under Chinese rule. Those two states were the only states in the west where there was some semblance of normality, except for martial law and conquest. Water was a problem, however, as most of the water was polluted.
That communications were almost non-existent, as the gird was gone, and as the major communication companies, mostly located in Los Angeles, were gone, there was no real news. Most Americans simply were existing in survival mode. The east coast has been taken over by the global government immediately after the blast and those places had become, like the west, states under martial law-but under a different warlord. America, therefore, was divided into several areas and under two tyrannical governments, neither of which could hold things together. Much of the northeast had experiences anarchy. New York was a battleground of looters, criminals, and the military.
James and Antonio were making their way to Lousiana when they met the priest from Texas. Something interesting was happening there.
To be continued....
Sequel to The Novella-The Hour Glass Part One
Columcille woke up with a headache. He always work up with a headache in the tunnels, as the air was stale and dank. As he unraveled his long body from the sleeping bag, he fumbled around for his watch. Five, GMT.
Thankfully, his seminary training has included the discipline of memorizing the entire Breviary, as well as the entire Roman Missal, the Pontifical, the Ritual, the Martyrology, the Gradual, and the Antiphonary.
All the priests left in the world had been instructed by Pope Leo XIV to memorize the Scriptures as well.
All priests could work, could provide the sacraments, could say the Mass and preach without any books.
Of course, computer access had ended thirteen years before with the complete collapse of the electronic grid in all the countries, except for a small place in Greenland, where the one government ruled over the world from places hidden in ice and snow.
The beginning of the world-wide glaciation had corresponded with the one nuclear blast which had destroyed one-third of the United States in 2019. The cold had been setting in before that date, but accelerated. Most people over the age of 75 had succumbed in Europe and in Canada, where daily temperatures hovered at minus 20 C. No one knew exactly how many old people had died in America.
Columcille was the last surviving member of his family. His old parents had seen him ordained, and then passed on in the first winter in England after 2019.
The priest went over to a small cupboard which was leaning up against a wall of the cave and took out a large crucifix completely made of wood. It was old, Flemish, 15th century, and had been in Columcille's family since recusant times. as were his entire collection of relics of the saints prior to 1435.
The old house had been taken over by the United Government of Europe in 2020. And, Columcille was glad his parents had not witnessed the sacrilege of the old chapel. The beautiful Sussex home had been one of three places where the Mass had never ended up to this time. A heavy burden on Columcille's heart was the knowledge that Mass would never be said there again.
The young priest knelt on the cold ground, after putting on a heavy anorak, and prayed his morning office.
He would wait for the few faithful in the area to join him for Mass in about 90 minutes. This would give Columcille enough time to say his office and enter into his daily contemplation. He was content to have this time before Mass and before meeting Samuel, the only other priest in the area for house visitations.
No one was allowed to use the name of "Father". No one was allowed to wear blacks or any indication of the priestly vocation. To outsiders, Columcille looked like a workman. His identity card stated that he was a plumber, and Columcille did know how to be a plumber. The other great wise decision of Pope Leo XIV had been that all seminarians would learn a skill, such as plumbing, carpentry, and brick work.
Thankfully, for the Catholics, when the grid disintegrated, all electrical life ended and electrical surveillance also ended, for a time. The government was working on a world-wide grid again, but things were moving slowly.
Columcille finished his prayers. He always kept a long fast from 10 the night before until after Mass. This was also a necessity, as food and water were scarce. Columcille stopped and thanked God again that Great Britain had been spared the nuclear fall-out and that the waters were good to drink.
Such was not the case in much of North and Central America, where all the great rivers and lakes were so heavily polluted that they were labelled the "Death Waters".
The western states died first, all plants, all animal, all people. Then, when the waters of the Great Lakes backed up and returned to fill the great Mississippi River Valley, most of the great cities of the Midwest died as well. Chicago had been completely destroyed in the first tidal waves, followed by all the major cities along the coasts of the other Great Lakes, and those cities in the Mississippi Valley.
Diseases followed the flooding, and what nature did not kill, the looters and murderers who spread out from the ruins of Chicago and the other great cities finished.
If there were any Catholics left in any area north of the Mason-Dixon Line, no one knew for sure.
No one except Samuel, who regularly got dispatches from two priests in America in what was now called The Wasteland.
The Wasteland priests were one Latino from Illinois and one Anglican convert, ordained in the last days before the great blast. Antonio and James worked as a team in the Wasteland and reported back to Samuel, who passed information back to Rome, to Pope Leo XIV, who was in hiding and know only as Anselm, his given name at birth. The Pope was English. It was strange to many that the Pope in these times would be English, as if this had to happen, once even noted in a famous novel now lost to most, as most books were destroyed by law by the United Government of Europe in 2019, just before the nuclear blast.
Anselm, however, even though he was English by birth and name, was of mixed background. His mother had been Scottish. His brother had been named Angus, but he was lost in the riots of 2021, a priest killed by a mob in Paris, where Angus had gone to help the suffering Church there.
Anselm had named all those Catholics killed in Paris in 2021 martyrs. His brother would now help him in a different way.
Columcille rose and went down the long tunnel to the entrance of the cavern. The doorway looked like stone and was amazingly well-constructed not to be noticed. The priest rolled the stone into a secret wall and then saw the small crowd in the morning light waiting. There were about twenty people of all ages coming to hear and participate in Mass.
As they shuffled into the tunnel, Columcille saw Samuel at the end of the small queue. He was gesticulating.
"A word, Columcille, a word." The young priest went over to the mouth of the cave to where the old priest was standing.
"Ann Swallow is dying. I need to go and give her the Last Rites. Can you manage? She is too weak to come here."
Columcille looked worried, "Her husband is not a Catholic. You could be trapped."
"I cannot let her die without the sacraments. She has been so good to us all these years, and she is the last Catholic in her family of faithful people I knew growing up. I need to go."
"God be with you, Samuel. I shall offer up my Mass for both of you."
The old priest left and Columcille rolled the rock back into place. Then, he joined the others in the largest room in the set of caverns, and Mass began.
To be continued....
Thankfully, his seminary training has included the discipline of memorizing the entire Breviary, as well as the entire Roman Missal, the Pontifical, the Ritual, the Martyrology, the Gradual, and the Antiphonary.
All the priests left in the world had been instructed by Pope Leo XIV to memorize the Scriptures as well.
All priests could work, could provide the sacraments, could say the Mass and preach without any books.
Of course, computer access had ended thirteen years before with the complete collapse of the electronic grid in all the countries, except for a small place in Greenland, where the one government ruled over the world from places hidden in ice and snow.
The beginning of the world-wide glaciation had corresponded with the one nuclear blast which had destroyed one-third of the United States in 2019. The cold had been setting in before that date, but accelerated. Most people over the age of 75 had succumbed in Europe and in Canada, where daily temperatures hovered at minus 20 C. No one knew exactly how many old people had died in America.
Columcille was the last surviving member of his family. His old parents had seen him ordained, and then passed on in the first winter in England after 2019.
The priest went over to a small cupboard which was leaning up against a wall of the cave and took out a large crucifix completely made of wood. It was old, Flemish, 15th century, and had been in Columcille's family since recusant times. as were his entire collection of relics of the saints prior to 1435.
The old house had been taken over by the United Government of Europe in 2020. And, Columcille was glad his parents had not witnessed the sacrilege of the old chapel. The beautiful Sussex home had been one of three places where the Mass had never ended up to this time. A heavy burden on Columcille's heart was the knowledge that Mass would never be said there again.
The young priest knelt on the cold ground, after putting on a heavy anorak, and prayed his morning office.
He would wait for the few faithful in the area to join him for Mass in about 90 minutes. This would give Columcille enough time to say his office and enter into his daily contemplation. He was content to have this time before Mass and before meeting Samuel, the only other priest in the area for house visitations.
No one was allowed to use the name of "Father". No one was allowed to wear blacks or any indication of the priestly vocation. To outsiders, Columcille looked like a workman. His identity card stated that he was a plumber, and Columcille did know how to be a plumber. The other great wise decision of Pope Leo XIV had been that all seminarians would learn a skill, such as plumbing, carpentry, and brick work.
Thankfully, for the Catholics, when the grid disintegrated, all electrical life ended and electrical surveillance also ended, for a time. The government was working on a world-wide grid again, but things were moving slowly.
Columcille finished his prayers. He always kept a long fast from 10 the night before until after Mass. This was also a necessity, as food and water were scarce. Columcille stopped and thanked God again that Great Britain had been spared the nuclear fall-out and that the waters were good to drink.
Such was not the case in much of North and Central America, where all the great rivers and lakes were so heavily polluted that they were labelled the "Death Waters".
The western states died first, all plants, all animal, all people. Then, when the waters of the Great Lakes backed up and returned to fill the great Mississippi River Valley, most of the great cities of the Midwest died as well. Chicago had been completely destroyed in the first tidal waves, followed by all the major cities along the coasts of the other Great Lakes, and those cities in the Mississippi Valley.
Diseases followed the flooding, and what nature did not kill, the looters and murderers who spread out from the ruins of Chicago and the other great cities finished.
If there were any Catholics left in any area north of the Mason-Dixon Line, no one knew for sure.
No one except Samuel, who regularly got dispatches from two priests in America in what was now called The Wasteland.
The Wasteland priests were one Latino from Illinois and one Anglican convert, ordained in the last days before the great blast. Antonio and James worked as a team in the Wasteland and reported back to Samuel, who passed information back to Rome, to Pope Leo XIV, who was in hiding and know only as Anselm, his given name at birth. The Pope was English. It was strange to many that the Pope in these times would be English, as if this had to happen, once even noted in a famous novel now lost to most, as most books were destroyed by law by the United Government of Europe in 2019, just before the nuclear blast.
Anselm, however, even though he was English by birth and name, was of mixed background. His mother had been Scottish. His brother had been named Angus, but he was lost in the riots of 2021, a priest killed by a mob in Paris, where Angus had gone to help the suffering Church there.
Anselm had named all those Catholics killed in Paris in 2021 martyrs. His brother would now help him in a different way.
Columcille rose and went down the long tunnel to the entrance of the cavern. The doorway looked like stone and was amazingly well-constructed not to be noticed. The priest rolled the stone into a secret wall and then saw the small crowd in the morning light waiting. There were about twenty people of all ages coming to hear and participate in Mass.
As they shuffled into the tunnel, Columcille saw Samuel at the end of the small queue. He was gesticulating.
"A word, Columcille, a word." The young priest went over to the mouth of the cave to where the old priest was standing.
"Ann Swallow is dying. I need to go and give her the Last Rites. Can you manage? She is too weak to come here."
Columcille looked worried, "Her husband is not a Catholic. You could be trapped."
"I cannot let her die without the sacraments. She has been so good to us all these years, and she is the last Catholic in her family of faithful people I knew growing up. I need to go."
"God be with you, Samuel. I shall offer up my Mass for both of you."
The old priest left and Columcille rolled the rock back into place. Then, he joined the others in the largest room in the set of caverns, and Mass began.
To be continued....
The Ozark
 |
| Thanks to Wiki |
My dad, who is 90, spent his youth fighting in WWII. He was in the Battle of the Bulge. His 12nd Infanty Division was in Maxey, Swift (Texas), Redball, Holland, Siegfiedline, Roer, Rhine, Elbe, Bavaria, Havre and Kilmer.
Dad never, never talks about this, and when the neighbor, who was at the Italian front went to Europe with his wife (he is now 93 and she is 85), they asked my parents to go. Dad did not want to go.
We need to remember what all these veterans did for us.
We need to honor our vets.
I know few details, like Dad and his group eating eggs for two weeks at Fort Swift, as the food had not come down yet.
Or how, he went for a walk and ended up in the women's nurses' corp camp and they almost kidnapped him.
Or how, he was in charge of men who had to bury all the dead bodies of all the Jews in every little village between the French border and Berlin, as the people, even though they knew the war had been lost, were burning the last, few remaining Jews alive.
In 1965, at the twentieth anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, my dad told me that he and his men (he was in charge) would see smoke coming out of a barn and they knew that the villagers had burned the last few Jews. He and his men buried the burnt corpses, most of which were found huddled by the barn doors, trying to get out.
They died in the flames.
This happened over and over again on the route to Berlin. This is one reason why my dad does not talk about the war.
Here is one of the incidents from wiki-but it was not the only one.
On 15 April the division discovered a war crime in Gardelegen. About 1,200 prisoners were herded into the empty barn measuring approximately a hundred by fifty feet on the outskirts of the town. The barn was then burned down, killing those inside. About 1,016 people were killed. The division commander ordered that the civilian population be forced to view the site and to disinter and rebury the victims in a new cemetery. After digging the graves and burying the bodies, they erected a cross or a Star of David over each grave and enclosed the site with a white fence. [2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/102nd_Infantry_Division_(United_States)
Remember all the vets in your prayers today, please.
Here is the link to the Battle of the Bulge. My dad was on the North Shoulder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge
Popcorn with A Few Jewels
One of my friends, who wants me to rewrite and edit my poetry, short stories, and fairy tales, which I do not, calls my writing "popcorn with a few jewels".
That is because I write fast, and like the popcorn machine, produce something often, over and over and over.
With a few jewels.. quoth he.
A photo for him today....
I am interested in taking some of my novellas and making them into anime or mangas for Catholics. Does anyone know people involved in such who may be interested? There is a need for the new evangelization of mangas-and so many of my stories are fairy tales and political fantasies, this genre would suit the message.
Ideas?
That is because I write fast, and like the popcorn machine, produce something often, over and over and over.
With a few jewels.. quoth he.
A photo for him today....
I am interested in taking some of my novellas and making them into anime or mangas for Catholics. Does anyone know people involved in such who may be interested? There is a need for the new evangelization of mangas-and so many of my stories are fairy tales and political fantasies, this genre would suit the message.
Ideas?
Friday, 3 January 2014
Please join me in private prayer for my intentions
O God, merciful Father, you granted your servant Álvaro, Bishop, the grace of being an exemplary pastor in the service of the Church, and a most faithful son and successor of Saint Josemaría, the founder of Opus Dei. Grant that I too may respond faithfully to the demands of the Christian vocation, turning all the circumstances and events of my life into opportunities to love you and serve the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Deign to glorify your servant Álvaro, and through his intercession grant me the favor I request ... (here make your petition). Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
In conformity with the decrees of Pope Urban VIII, we declare that there is no intention of anticipating in any way the judgment of the Church, and that this prayer is not intended for public use.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be to the Father.
In conformity with the decrees of Pope Urban VIII, we declare that there is no intention of anticipating in any way the judgment of the Church, and that this prayer is not intended for public use.
My favorite post of 2013
Monday, 15 April 2013
White Roses on the Shore: a Long Poem by Supertradmum
White Roses on the Shore: Sea, ships and the bend of the coast
Part One: Ancona- "A star rises in midwinter"
Here, at this Ancona
I am beginning to forget you,
like we forget the histories of towns,
or the names of beautiful harbours.
But, memory, say the ancient holy ones,
can either aid us or be great rocks
in the heart and the mind-who recalls
the Valley of the Brambles, or
the Broken Bridge, or the Land
of the Grand Master. The henge is wrapped
in bureaucracy and Glastonbury ’s martyrs
forgotten in silly action and false colours.
“But love, when perfect, is so powerful,
that we forget our own pleasure
in order to please God, whom we love”
wrote the Great Teresa—but what should
we keep in memory and what forget, as
I am forgotten in these walls? The sea and
the ships bring my heart back in waves to you,
in greys, whites, reflecting my Clairvaux moods.
How can I grieve, like Odysseus on Circe’s isle,
waking out of drugged slumber from the depths
of the Middle Sea
the sea contains the hottest blood of all.” This sea
holds mine and if I could send Love like ripples
to your shore, like tides to all whom I love, these
would be small white roses, riding on the dark sea,
small tokens lapping up on the far shores….
moving through time and memory, tossed over
the largest heart of all with a memory as old
as the song it sings, but it cannot sing the songs
of purged memory, the nocturnes of this day.
No white prayers come up from the deep, only
the praise of being warm in the cold, cold sea,
under the sail boats, under the rain and mist, the songs
vary outside my door—do those creatures on board
praise Him with persistent longing as the whales
below? What do they remember and what forget?
We have the missa and Word Incarnate, to remind
us of who we are and what we should remember.
Part Two: Telemachus- "They took a terrible vengeance"
Persistent love cannot be false, purified in the
gem polisher, made into some perfect stone
not born of passion, but compassion and pity;
not lust, but a reaching of the heart for completeness.
The young prince’s beard made mater’s decision
strong in pain and promise, being queen true to
her word, watching, weaving, weeping in the night
weary of those burning in envy and hatred.
Greed pitted itself against her age of fast happiness,
she wanted peace; but, cannot the past be washed away,
the blood purified cleansed by the Blood of Him
Who showed Himself to a tribe unknown to
Telemachus? “Love is as strong as death” could
have been mater’s song as well as the desert groom,
coming up from the sheepfold, coming into the tent
looking for her who was dark and comely. Remembering.
Youth’s ascendancy tossed him into the sea of Mnemosyne
into Menelaus’ grand company, but no wisdom there.
Sailors brought the son back to miracles and a goddess
he did not know. He became a man, true, unlike others.
Wrapped in the courage of Pallas Athena, he did not see
like another youth of the sheepfold, He, Who broke the Seal of Death,
Ever-Young in the dawn of a foreign day. Did the bearded youth
look south, as I do today, towards the hot lands for courage,
missing the purple sea, far from this cold land of grey mist
this land rimmed by sunsets of orange and duck-egg blue?
Telemachus’ sun set quickly, like yours, fame for a thousand
years without a twilight, but there is no other way
than to be taught by one’s father the ways of war and wooing.
The Hyperborei knew this and blessed their bards, placing them
in the front lines of battle for fame and fortune. Such is the play
of poetry and war, youth and death, marriage and separation.
Part Three: Penelope- "How can I cherish my man?"
Orion’s Belt melts the clouds in this night’s brightness,
but Penelope’s constellation seemed smaller than mine,
this one who strides across the Bay and meets the hot
cliffs of the other lands of deeper waters and older tribes.
Memory and reflection were her gifts of love, she
affectionate emblem of faithfulness, like me, always
monogamous, notoriously faithful beyond waiting days.
A woman’s face grows old while the heart is purified.
She undid her weary work until minds of lust and greed
jackals, predators, circling her and showing themselves
not to be real men of the Middle Sea
she mourned the lion, the whelps played war.
Searching the shore in the grey mist of morning, she
with spring-love in her heart gave in for a moment, but
what we have is greater, stronger, divine Love holding
all in His Heart, Humanity reaching down to earth
like Orion capturing the sea. Penelope’s god was her
husband, but now God becomes the Husband, and even such
a man as her’s striving with Neptune to get home, could
not compare with the Crucified One.
Odysseus of collective memory regained his bride through
suffering, a man purified in water and wind, Poseidon’s
plaything, until humility was learned and earned.
Some of us, like the Poet, are “rememberers”,
the bards with bow and arrow in the line of honour,
passing on the muir Desunt caetera, repetition, memory,
love in names and titles never to be forgotten unless
carved in foreign lands. We forget to our own peril.
The missing have forgotten who they are and were and
what they were supposed to be. Like Adam, thrust out
of the green home, reflecting in nine-hundred years of
remorse, waiting for death, and then the harrowing.
Profane love, like coal, becomes a diamond heart over time
and heat and pressure. The God of History changed all,
for Penelope, for me, renewing hope in the heart
making one young in vision and mastery.
Without memory, there would be no people,
no poem, no bard in the front line of fire;
no children to carry on the reflections of the
mater and pater; nothing but death.
Part 4: Ithaca- "The soul of man"
I would sit quietly in the southern sunlight
and bring you tea, sitting not too close in
the heat of the day, in silence, where the
geraniums bloom under the low sierras
which hid the pain crying out for healing
and completeness. So much has been lost
in this generation lost to the confusion of
each Child of Our Time, like the sailors
stopping up their stubborn ears in order to reach
the wineskin of wind, of curiosity, destroying
years of peace and Odysseus’ domesticity, pushing
out again into the Ionian Sea ; none returned but one.
Love and will were separated. We threw away chances,
for completeness, renewable, yes, but not the same, like
the queen’s lost years of childbearing. But, there is
a greater mercy than Athena’ magic. The shore is in view.
from my cove, but love rides the white waves, regardless
of the temperature of the sea and shore. Odysseus’ soul
was healed before he found Penelope again. So, climb
up and see the small raft and like the man of the Middle Sea
come home to who you are. The New God is not Poseidon,
ruler of horses, but the One Who walked on the waves,
proving a new King of the blue sea not far from you.
The ships sail away. My heart stays with the Babe in the Womb
silent in waiting for the fullness of time, and here we have
our being, if we look in the same place for this healing God.
Find the raft hidden beneath the cliff and come home.
Part 5: The Unknown God-"I would know my shadow and my light"
The sons of Telemachus may have seen the sons
of the red-haired man, in the market place of Athens ,
speaking the words of Epimenides for we are indeed,
people of memory; “Men of Athens , I perceive that
in every way you are very religious,” or a varied translation.
Damaris and Dionysius heard with the blood of Odysseus
calling them home to a different Love, choosing a Known
God faithful to time and memory, the One Who entered history
again and again and again, changing the darkness into dawn.
in a Resurrection some derided. The long song of Homer
created a space for a new mimesis, heart, home, memory, will,
understanding, for new descendants of the wandering man.
The Blood washed away the obstacles, the encumbrances,
the imperfections of the tribe, purging our own hearts so
that we could decide to do something somewhere, somehow.
The Vulnerable God gave us His courage.
Spousal love so praised by Homer and Solomon becomes
the norm for you, for me, for those who care to listen
to the song. Love is now my occupation-let it be yours.
Let the heart follow us home….
Per lumen gloriae fit creatura rationalis Deiformis
Cum enim aligius intellectus creatus vidit
Deum per essentiam—ipsa essentia Dei fit intelligibilis
Deum per essentiam—ipsa essentia Dei fit intelligibilis
infellectus.
The waters by the dry sands will not let my voyage
be delayed—for we are humans, semper idem,
semper paratus waiting for God. And, “seven times
a day, I praise Thee for Thy righteous ordinances.”
Benedict took up the heart and home of the Known God.
“Let me live, that I may praise Thee.” And the God of
time and memory redeemed the grass, redeemed the springs,
redeemed the Middle Sea
Small waves like white roses on the sea gather on the sand.
I would send them out again, in wind and sun to the south,
to lap up on another shore, like small prayers in the dark.
Yield, bend, gather the signs of memory at your feet in the waters.
copyright, 2013
copyright, 2013
From Today's NO Mass
Today, in the NO, it is the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus.
Colossians 3:5-16
Douay-Rheims
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is the service of idols.
6 For which things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of unbelief,
7 In which you also walked some time, when you lived in them.
8 But now put you also all away: anger, indignation, malice, blasphemy, filthy speech out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another: stripping yourselves of the old man with his deeds,
10 And putting on the new, him who is renewed unto knowledge, according to the image of him that created him.
11 Where there is neither Gentile nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian nor Scythian, bond nor free. But Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience:
13 Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another: even as the Lord hath forgiven you, so do you also.
14 But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection:
15 And let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts, wherein also you are called in one body: and be ye thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms
Catholic, you better pray and fast and do penance--this is heating up
More here....
http://hotair.com/archives/2014/01/03/nyt-we-also-know-better-about-religious-fidelity-than-a-bunch-of-nuns/
This demonstrates the absurdity of what happens when government mandates that the burden for lifestyle choices falls on those other than the individual him/herself. People who oppose those lifestyle choices object to having their pockets picked to fund them, and we end up telling nuns to cover contraception despite their celibacy. And then, when they object to facilitating access to contraception because of their intention to live their religious beliefs in their own actions, we get the New York Times and the White House insisting that the nuns don’t know how to do so. Had we just left things alone and acknowledged that birth control choices were only the business of the individual, this absurdity wouldn’t have arisen in the first place. Instead, the government decided to solve a non-problem by the most burdensome method possible.
http://hotair.com/archives/2014/01/03/nyt-we-also-know-better-about-religious-fidelity-than-a-bunch-of-nuns/
This demonstrates the absurdity of what happens when government mandates that the burden for lifestyle choices falls on those other than the individual him/herself. People who oppose those lifestyle choices object to having their pockets picked to fund them, and we end up telling nuns to cover contraception despite their celibacy. And then, when they object to facilitating access to contraception because of their intention to live their religious beliefs in their own actions, we get the New York Times and the White House insisting that the nuns don’t know how to do so. Had we just left things alone and acknowledged that birth control choices were only the business of the individual, this absurdity wouldn’t have arisen in the first place. Instead, the government decided to solve a non-problem by the most burdensome method possible.
Sharing from A Sem
Here is the video. The words are amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zKCzMD3eYc#t=5
I hope some of you enjoy this.
Las Mananitas
Estas son las mañanitas, que cantaba el Rey David,
Hoy por ser día de tu santo*, te las cantamos a tí,
Despierta, mi bien**, despierta, mira que ya amaneció,
Ya los pajarillos cantan, la luna ya se metió.
Que linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte,
Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte,
El día en que tu naciste nacieron todas las flores
En la pila del bautismo, cantaron los ruiseñores
Ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio,
Levántate de mañana, mira que ya amaneció.
Quisiera ser solecito para entrar por tu ventana,
y darte los buenos días acostadita en tu cama,
Quisiera ser un San Juan, quisiera ser un San Pedro,
Para venirte a cantar con la música del cielo,
De las estrellas del cielo tengo que bajarte dos,
una para saludarte y otra para decirte adiós,
Con jasmines y flores hoy te vengo a saludar,
Hoy por ser día de tu santo te venimos a cantar.
Translation:
This is the morning song that King David sang
Because today is your saint's day* we're singing it for you
Wake up, my dear**, wake up, look it is already dawn
The birds are already singing and the moon has set
How lovely is the morning in which I come to greet you
We all came with joy and pleasure to congratulate you
The day you were born all the flowers were born
On the baptismal font the nightingales sang
The morning is coming now, the sun is giving us its light
Get up in the morning, look it is already dawn
I would like to be the sunshine to enter through your window
to wish you good morning while you're lying in your bed
I would like to be a Saint John I would like to be a Saint Peter
To sing to you with the music of heaven
Of the stars in the sky I have to lower two for you
One with which to greet you and the other to wish you goodbye
With jasmines and flowers we come to greet you
Because today is your saint’s day, we come to sing to you
No Middle Ground
We belong to the Church militant ; and she is militant because on earth the powers of darkness are ever restless to encompass her destruction. Not only in the far-off centuries of the early Church, but down through the ages and in this our day, the enemies of God and Christian civilization make bold to attack the Creator’s supreme dominion and sacrosanct human rights. No rank of the clergy is spared ; and the faithful—their number is legion—inspired by the valiant endurance of their shepherds and fathers in Christ, stand firm, ready to suffer and die, as the martyrs of old, for the one true Faith taught by Jesus Christ. Into that militia you seek to be admitted as leaders. -Venerable. Pope Pius XII delivered on 14 October 1953 (Acta Apostalicae Sedis 45 (1953) pp 679 ff.) at the opening of the North American College in Rome.
Pope Pius XII Prayer for the Church Militant
Bless, O divine redeemer, the sacred hierarchy, the ministers of the sanctuary and those who aspire to the priesthood, and all who, renouncing the world, have consecrated themselves to you in the various forms of religious life. Bless the courageous groups of the lay apostolate and revive among them in full measure the courage of their Christian profession, the ardor of their zeal, and the firmness of manly fidelity. Bless the rulers of nations and inspire in them ideals of justice and peace, of fraternal understanding and mutual cooperation so that, freed from all threat of domination and violence, all people may live and serve God quietly and peacefully, and then pass from their days of labor here on Earth to the joys of their Heavenly home. Bless the families in whose protective bosoms are nurtured the generations that will form the church of tomorrow. Bless and assist young boys and girls, whose purity, strength, and spiritual joy are one of the most heartfelt concerns of your spouse, holy mother, the church.
Bless and encourage those whose sentiments, thoughts, words, and works have been sullied by Earthly allurements and deceitful errors. Help them find again the way that alone can lead them from the depths of tepidity and indifference and separation from God to truth and salvation. Pour forth your blessing on all who are suffering in body and soul. Raise up in every-increasing numbers generous souls who are ready to go wherever they may hear of tears, mourning, or sorrow, ready to dedicate their spiritual and physical strength and their material possessions to the care of the many infants that have been abandoned along the ways, to the support of the numerous old people who are destitute of all help. May they be prepared to assist the needy who are incessantly torn between want and sickness, the innumerable exiles who are wandering about in search of a new country, and all who are oppressed and are the victims of human injustices.
Give courage to all who are groaning in hospitals, languishing in prisons, possibly even unjustly, or pining away in places of exile and suffering. Strengthen the fortitude of those who are suffering in their honor, their liberty, and in their bodies for the defense of their faith. May they be noble examples of fidelity in your service, O you who are the divine conqueror of death and the underworld.Triumph, O Jesus, be triumphant! Come! May your kingdom march forward! May your sovereignty shine forth on the Earth, always better known and loved, in proportion to the infinite power of your divine blood, which was shed for the redemption of the whole world.
Amen
Poll Results
Well, the "yes and no" category messed up the findings, but it seems that cookies are desserts, except for the opinions of the Brits and Aussies.
I have given up desserts forever and ever, so I wanted some outside opinions as to whether cookies fell into the cake, flan, custard, syllabub, ice cream, cheese cake, Boston Cream Pie (my favorite), and real pie categories.
I may have a poll as to whether malts and shakes are desserts. Sigh, I hope not.
What do you think?
I have given up desserts forever and ever, so I wanted some outside opinions as to whether cookies fell into the cake, flan, custard, syllabub, ice cream, cheese cake, Boston Cream Pie (my favorite), and real pie categories.
I may have a poll as to whether malts and shakes are desserts. Sigh, I hope not.
What do you think?
More on The Passive Purgation
Do not be confused reading different authors on the process of holiness.
One must go through the passive purgation. Those who suffer intensely are in the passive purgation, which happens to detach each person from people, places, things.
One becomes more docile and more patient in the darkness of this passive purgation.
When one is in darkness, one must rely on those who are more spiritual. In this day, it is increasingly hard to find a holy spiritual director, who is mature and who gone through the passive purgation himself.
How hard it is for Americans to break away from the senses, when the entire culture centers on fulfilling sensual desires. I have said this before, but the virtues cannot come into effect until sins and the tendencies to sin are destroyed. Those things are like walls keeping the light of the virtues from coming out in the great light and power these give the soul.
The light of the Dark Night begins with peace, a solid peace which is not understandable but experienced.
One accepts this state of unknowing more and more.
One lets go of expectations and pride, the great sin of control.
With the letting go of pride, comes patience.
And, now and then, in the great darkness of the passive purgation, comes joy, not a joy based on anything but the knowledge that God is in control, and that one can rest in God.
To be continued....
Birthday Blast
Hey, minus 30 with windchill this morning, January 3rd, is predicted.
At nine o'clock at night on January 2nd it was minus 20 with the wind, minus 2 temp and getting colder.
Europeans, these temps are in Fahrenheit.
It is my birthday. Sigh, in my entire life, I have only had one party because there were either 14 inches of snow on the ground, or ice storms, or freezing fog. Even when I lived in England for ten years in the '80s and '90s, the weather was less than perfect.
Oh well, this is Iowa; it could be International Falls, Minnesota, which gets much colder.
As I am not having a cake, I share this one with my readers.
Today is the Feast of St. Genevieve. I had an Aunt Genevieve, and narrowly escaped being named Genevieve.
This saint saved Paris from Attila the Hun, which was a great blessing for all. She did this by encouraging the people of the city to fast, to do penance, to pray. I like sheep, so I am pleased that she was a shepherdess.
She seems to have been a consecrated virgin.
She is the chief patron of the City of Paris.
But, I would never want to be called Jennabean in school, would you?
The name means "white wave" and may be an ancient name from Galatia. Perhaps a Genevieve of old heard the Epistle to the Galatians read in her church. Perhaps because I was born on her day, she helped me with my sea-poem last year, which one can find under the label poetry.
St. Genevieve lived to be 89, which is also a great feat. May St. Genevieve bless us all with courage today.
In addition, as I just got one card, which is usual, as no one remembers a birthday two days after New Year's Day, I am giving myself and you readers a card.
At nine o'clock at night on January 2nd it was minus 20 with the wind, minus 2 temp and getting colder.
Europeans, these temps are in Fahrenheit.
It is my birthday. Sigh, in my entire life, I have only had one party because there were either 14 inches of snow on the ground, or ice storms, or freezing fog. Even when I lived in England for ten years in the '80s and '90s, the weather was less than perfect.
Oh well, this is Iowa; it could be International Falls, Minnesota, which gets much colder.
As I am not having a cake, I share this one with my readers.
Today is the Feast of St. Genevieve. I had an Aunt Genevieve, and narrowly escaped being named Genevieve.
This saint saved Paris from Attila the Hun, which was a great blessing for all. She did this by encouraging the people of the city to fast, to do penance, to pray. I like sheep, so I am pleased that she was a shepherdess.
She seems to have been a consecrated virgin.
She is the chief patron of the City of Paris.
But, I would never want to be called Jennabean in school, would you?
The name means "white wave" and may be an ancient name from Galatia. Perhaps a Genevieve of old heard the Epistle to the Galatians read in her church. Perhaps because I was born on her day, she helped me with my sea-poem last year, which one can find under the label poetry.
St. Genevieve lived to be 89, which is also a great feat. May St. Genevieve bless us all with courage today.
In addition, as I just got one card, which is usual, as no one remembers a birthday two days after New Year's Day, I am giving myself and you readers a card.
Poor, poor Notre Dame
Last week, a federal judge denied the University’s request for relief from the Obama administration’s mandate. Then on December 31, a panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied Notre Dame’s emergency motion for a stay, pending an appeal.
If the University fails to comply with the HHS mandate, it will face crippling fines of up to $100 per day per employee. But Notre Dame has decided to accept the Obama administration’s “accommodation,” which ensures employees the offensive coverage over the University’s objection.
"Having been denied a stay, Notre Dame is advising employees that pursuant to the Affordable Care Act, our third party administrator is required to notify plan participants of coverage provided under its contraceptives payment program,” said Paul Browne, Notre Dame’s vice president for public affairs and communications, according to WNDU. "As part of an ongoing legal action, however, the program may be terminated once the university's lawsuit on religious liberty grounds against the HHS mandate has worked its way through the courts."
- See more at: http://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org/CatholicEducationDaily/DetailsPage/tabid/102/ArticleID/2827/Notre-Dame-Denied-Relief-Will-Comply-with-HHS-Mandate.aspx#sthash.T4adECBh.58zKZxsi.dpuf
Whose Alienation?
Years ago, after Vatican II, a movement to "dialogue" with the world seemed a good thing to many people, including some theologians. The idea was that the Church had become "alienated" with the world and could no longer communicate with those who had been turned off by the traditional religious stance of the Catholic Church.
Now, many of us know this is an incorrect emphasis. But, let me take this thought and turn it on its head.
It is the world which has alienated itself from the Church. Modern culture is doing everything to distance itself from the true teachings of the Catholic Church.
Speaking with someone on Tuesday, I remarked that the Church has not changed its teachings on anything in 2013. The person was surprised and quoted Pope Francis's comment on not judging homosexuals.
I noted that the Pope has not changed the teaching of the Church on the serious sin which homosexual sin is, but that the media has taken the Pope's comments out of context. But, this person went on to say, "But it doesn't matter, because no one believes what the Church teaches anyway." His comment dismissed the conversation to a matter of opinion, and instead of wanting to pursue a truth, this person alienated himself from the Church, on purpose.
Why should Catholics be beating themselves about this so-called alienation from the world, when it is the world, the flesh, and the devil which insist on separating from Church teaching?
Too many Catholics feel like they have to be on the defensive. Actually, it is the "other side", the side of the atheists and agnostics which must defend their position.
Who has alienated themselves from God?
What is being ignored are the eternal consequences of this alienation.
Some people will lose their souls in all this confusion and relativism.
Read, think, reflect, pray, act....
Now, many of us know this is an incorrect emphasis. But, let me take this thought and turn it on its head.
It is the world which has alienated itself from the Church. Modern culture is doing everything to distance itself from the true teachings of the Catholic Church.
Speaking with someone on Tuesday, I remarked that the Church has not changed its teachings on anything in 2013. The person was surprised and quoted Pope Francis's comment on not judging homosexuals.
I noted that the Pope has not changed the teaching of the Church on the serious sin which homosexual sin is, but that the media has taken the Pope's comments out of context. But, this person went on to say, "But it doesn't matter, because no one believes what the Church teaches anyway." His comment dismissed the conversation to a matter of opinion, and instead of wanting to pursue a truth, this person alienated himself from the Church, on purpose.
Why should Catholics be beating themselves about this so-called alienation from the world, when it is the world, the flesh, and the devil which insist on separating from Church teaching?
Too many Catholics feel like they have to be on the defensive. Actually, it is the "other side", the side of the atheists and agnostics which must defend their position.
Who has alienated themselves from God?
What is being ignored are the eternal consequences of this alienation.
Some people will lose their souls in all this confusion and relativism.
Read, think, reflect, pray, act....
Christine Westhoff
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