God bless good sisters and nuns

Sister of the Holy Cross of St. Mary of the Lake and Notre Dame

All the weird and odd reports of nuns and sisters this week in the press has brought me to remember five excellent sisters in my life, among many, who influenced me for good.

The first is Sister Serena, a Sister of the Holy Cross from St Mary's, Notre Dame, who was my first grade teacher. I remember as if it happened yesterday the care and concern she gave my brother, who was in kindergarten and myself when my sister died. She gave me a statue of Our Lady of Grace and to my brother, a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, reminding us that even in death, Our Lady and Our Lord looked after us and had my little sister in their care.

The second was Sister Nativity, of the same order, my eighth grade teacher, who instilled in my a great love of learning and the adventure of discovery, especially in science. She and my dad opened my eyes to the natural world of flowers, birds, and rocks in a scientific way which has stayed with me always. This natural curiosity and love of nature needs to be encouraged in youth and it was by Sister Nativity.

Sister of the Our Lady of the Retreat of the Cenacle

The third sister who helped me along the way of my spiritual life was Sister Elizabeth Anne of the Cenacles, who said one day, that like Christ, " the foxes holes, the birds of the air nests, but the Son of Man has no where to lay His Head," which instilled in me the necessity for the radical Gospel and the complete spiritual hatred of the things of this world. Her joy and love of Christ filled every lecture in college and all her personal meetings. She was truly a Bride of Christ and did not forget her First Love. She was responsible for me returning to the Church after college.

The fourth was Sister Trinitas of the Humility of Mary, who gave up a large personal fortune, in the millions, to become a sister. Her example and simplicity impressed me in college.

Sister of the Congregation of the Humility of Mary

The fifth was a very old sister of the Humility of Mary who, despite the changes in her order, kept to her old ways, living and dying in the habit and living as she did when she joined in the 1930s. Sister Marie Clemente was what her names indicated. May they all rest in peace if they have passed on, as I know three have for sure, and if alive, may God bless them always.

Too many others were unhappy and unfulfilled, perhaps through no fault of their own. May God bring good and young women to the orders in a renewal of the Church. I was taught for four years by another order, and I must say none of those sisters impressed me at all, except for the worse. They were worldly and only liked being around the rich girls. Sad and unnecessary, but I had a good education none the less. They are not named here.

Happy Feast of St. Dominic to All

The Meeting of St Dominic and St. Francis, Fra Angelico, 1430.

Today, I pray for A, S, R, Z, E, T, V, C and all the Dominicans I know.

Bad news on the French front....

Where I get some of my European business news is here: http://www.france24.com/en/business

Sadly, the American and British media are not on top of the daily financial crisis in Italy, Spain and France. France in crisis? Yes, with Hollande pursuing his Marxist manifesto of taxing the rich 75%, there is a growing fear and lack of confidence. But, even the British newspaper the Telegraph had this note. And, with so few wealthy and and measly amount of taxes which could be taken, even if this was an ethical approach, which it is not, why push this?

Ideology and class hatred--call the new president what he is--a communist. Here is part of the article.

A chill is wafting over France’s business class as Mr. Hollande, the country’s first Socialist president since François Mitterrand in the 1980s, presses a manifesto of patriotism to “pay extra tax to get the country back on its feet again.” The 75 percent tax proposal, which Parliament plans to take up in September, is ostensibly aimed at bolstering French finances as Europe’s long-running debt crisis intensifies.

But because there are relatively few people in France whose income would incur such a tax — perhaps no more than 30,000 in a country of 65 million — the gains might contribute but a small fraction of the 33 billion euros in new revenue the government wants to raise next year to help balance the budget.

The louder and longer someone states something in politics, the more people will come to believe that idea is true. 

Pray for our brothers and sisters in Syria

Syria: Armed Muslims attack Christian monastery, stealing "everything they could steal"

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, August 6 - Gunmen attacked the Catholic monastry [sic] of Mar Musa, north of Damascus. The old monastery, that dates from the fourth century, had been sacked but no casualties had been reported to Ansa by sources close the Italian Jesuit founder of the monastic community, father Paolo Dall'Oglio.

Sources affirm that nobody within the monastery had been hurt or assaulted, but "the gunmen stole everything they could steal", including tractors and other agricultural and farming tools.

Last February and April the monastery had already been targeted by gunmen. Father dall'Oglio,who lived in Syria for the last 30 years, had been invited to leave the country in June, right after his statements that favour "a genuine national reconciliation"....

from the GS

Diacetyl and Alzheimer's? Is Butter Better?

Except for healthy recipes in Lent, it is rare for me to have food posts. There was one yesterday. No, I am not hungry.... But, I had a friend a long time ago who did a doctorate on margarine, pointing out all the nasty side-effects in the body. She got her degree. and this article struck me as something we need to examine more carefully.

But, then I am a butter person, if I eat any at all. Read and let me know if any of you have read other articles on this. How much would have to eat of this chemical before there were side-effects?

Artificial Butter Linked to Alzheimer's

Friday, August 3, 2012 11:19 AM

By Nick Tate

A new study is raising concern about chronic exposure to an artificial butter flavoring ingredient used in some margarines, microwave popcorn, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods and other products.

The study, published in the American Chemical Society journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, has found the ingredient – diacetyl (DA) – intensifies the damaging effects of an abnormal brain protein linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Past studies have linked DA to respiratory and other problems in workers at microwave popcorn and food-flavoring factories. The ingredient gives microwave popcorn its distinctive buttery taste and aroma. It also forms naturally in fermented beverages such as beer, and gives some chardonnay wines a buttery taste.

For the new study, Robert Vince and colleagues noted DA is structurally similar to a substance that makes beta-amyloid proteins clump together in the brain – a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. So they tested whether DA also could cause those proteins to aggregate.

The found DA did increase the level of beta-amyloid clumping and enhanced beta-amyloid's toxic effects on nerve cells, in the laboratory.

"In light of the chronic exposure of industry workers to DA, this study raises the troubling possibility of long-term neurological toxicity mediated by DA," said the researchers

Too cute and true not to miss

In Thanksgiving for the English Robin: A Little Note on a Little Bird

Many years ago, the English Robin was considered a "winter bird", as it went somewhere else in the heat.

Now, these little birds are everywhere, even in London. One sang and is still singing from early this morning outside my window. They like shrubberies and hedgerows. .

These little creatures are "cheeky" and one of my favorite birds. Here are some photos from other nature blogs of this bird.



 Contrary to some comments online, these birds are very visible during the day and sing from early morning to night. I have seen them since January, in Ireland, and these little yet loud birds have been obvious in London, Kent, Sussex, Dorset, Somerset, Surrey and Norfolk this year. Thank God for the English Robin, also known as the European Robin,  and one must be fair!

Official "Cute" Day

Maybe, because there is so much bad news, I decided today, Wednesday, is official "cute" day on this blog this week.
















I call this a "virtual vacation". 

Feel free to add to cuteness day. Babies, of course, are the cutest, in any species....

Modest TLM Wedding Dresses

I missed a great wedding of two lovely young traditional Catholics, who were married on Saturday in Illinois. I have permission to put these great photos on this blog to show modesty in weddings. This is a family which was renewed about ten years ago by going to the Tridentine Mass. The lovely bride is in blue with lace on the outside. Her bridesmaids and maid-of-honor are wearing mantillas, which is so lovely.




Congratulations to the Groom and Best Wishes to the Bride.



Great ideas for others to follow. And the mother-of-the-bride, my good friend, looks fantastic. See how beautiful modesty is...and a nice, BIG CATHOLIC FAMILY, as all the girls above are sisters and two of the groom's men are their brothers!

There was no kiss, no unity candle and no clapping...we can change the culture through the TLM.









And, the invitations indicated that the guests were to wear modest and respectful attire as well. That is a great idea for families, where some are not familiar with the TLM culture of modesty.





Servers, some of whom are on the way to the priesthood, are shown below. This was this young priest's first public Tridentine Mass. The choir sung the Byrd Mass for Five Parts,, (which I have sung when I was younger). A happy, happy day...

On Caviar and Fasting.

A food post. Did you know some of your caviar could come from Iowa? But, fish are dying at a terrific rate because of the heat and drought. Why doesn't the USCCB call for three days of prayer and fasting for rain?

We are so blind. http://www.wric.com/story/19199656/thousands-of-fish-die-as-midwest-streams-heat-up

From St. Augustine

Whenever we suffer some affliction, we should regard it both as punishment and as a correction. Our holy Scriptures themselves do not promise us peace, security and rest. On the contrary, the Gospel makes no secret of the troubles and temptations that await us, but it also says that he who perseveres to the end will be saved. So we must not grumble, my brothers, and for as the Apostle says: some of them murmured and were destroyed by serpents. Is there any affliction now endured by mankind that was not endured by our fathers before us? What sufferings of ours even bear comparison with what we know of their sufferings? How then can you think that past ages were better than your own?

St. Augustine

From LifeSiteNews and Also The Vortex on Catholic Invite

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Print All Articles

Fr. Pavone opposes Obama appearance at NY Catholic Charities dinner

BY KATHLEEN GILBERT Mon Aug 06 09:12 EST Comments (62)

NEW YORK, August 6, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life has issued a statement opposing President Obama’s appearance at a New York fundraiser dinner for Catholic Charities.

“I’m all in favor of protocol and understand the difference between respecting the President’s policies vs. respecting his office. But there comes a time when the polite putting aside of differences for a while amounts to scandal,” said Pavone in a statement emailed to LifeSiteNews.com Monday morning. LSN confirmed the president’s appearance last week.

(Click “like” if you want to end abortion! )

“There comes a time when enough is enough and we can no longer afford to give people a reason to doubt our position as a Church.

“On August 1, the unjust HHS mandate went into effect for Priests for Life and millions of other Americans, and I announced to our staff that we are disobeying the mandate. So no, I don’t think the invitation is appropriate at this time.”

And, Catholic Americans, sign this petition noted below on the Vortex

On Beauty and Harmony in Christ.

I am still nursing a very sore foot and not going places. Please you all pray for me, and thanks. It is a broken toe and three bruised ones, plus an injury on the bottom of the foot as well. No more details. TMI

But, with all of this, I want to look at a beautiful speech of our saintly Pope Benedict XVI from Zenit and other news sources. A group from Bavaria, (which I would LOVE to visit) brought a mini-folk festival to Castle Gandolfo.

The Pope stated after being treated to a late birthday present of dancing and singing, that their culture was one of beauty.

"It is not simply a matter of entertainment, but of a culture of gladness, imbued with joy; it is born of an interior acceptance of the world, of an interior 'yes' to life that is a 'yes' to joy," he said. "It is founded upon the fact that we are in harmony with creation, in harmony with the Creator himself, and for this reason we know that it is good to be a person."

A usual, this is profound. Beauty is an attribute of God, as I have have mentioned here and elsewhere, and we engage in that Beauty through prayer and reflection, as well as creation. We, like God, who made us in His Image and Likeness, create beauty. Beauty does come from harmony and peace, but also reflection.

The Zenit report continued:

Thanks to Wiki

The Pope said that in Bavaria, it is "easy to recognize that God is good and be glad about it" since the region is so beautiful. At the same time, the Pontiff continued, God has made the region beautiful with the collaboration of the local people. "[T]he men who live in this land, precisely from their 'yes,' knew how to give it its complete beauty; it became so beautiful only through the culture of persons, through their faith, their joy, songs, music and art. The Creator did not wish to do this alone but only with the help of men."

It is our duty to create and be beautiful spiritually. One reason why we encounter hatred if we are walking with Christ is that evil is ugly and hates beauty. Notice this in the culture of death, which is also the culture of ugliness.

Zenit reported:

Ever the teacher, Benedict XVI went on to note that "someone could ask whether it is right to be so happy when the world is so full of suffering, when there exists so much darkness and evil? Is it right to be so high spirited and joyful?"

"The answer can only be 'yes!'" he affirmed. "Because saying 'no' to joy we do nothing of use to anyone, we only make the world darker."

I think of St. Augustine and St. Bernard of Clairvaux who both encountered God as the Beautiful. To know God is to desire Beauty. So, our ancestors, when they created beautiful Churches in the wilderness which were beautiful, were in touch with God in a way that we are not. We must, absolutely must, remove ugliness from our lives.

Do not watch television. Read news and be selective. Do not listen to the radio. Find the news you need online. Listen to classical music, and create, even in simplicity, a beautiful habitat for yourself. Plant flowers..pray.

Do not collect ugly things. If something is not beautiful or useful, throw it out. Surround yourself with positive people so that you can reach out to those caught in ugliness.

Here is the Pope again,

"From our faith we know and every day we see that the world is beautiful and God is good. And because of the fact that he became man and dwelled among us we know it definitively and concretely: yes, God is good and it is good to be a person. We live in this joy, and from this joy we try to bring joy to others, to reject evil and to be servants of peace and reconciliation."

We can change the world through Beauty, especially through the Tridentine Mass.

And, to become beautiful, one must go to the sacrament of Confession often and Mass daily, if possible.

Choose beauty and be a light in the world. Christ came to us in simplicity, but His Beauty has changed the world. We must cooperate in that change and mission. Only in Christ are we in harmony.

Any happy animal stories? Here is a sad one....

What would Fr. Z. say to this...?

Well, the little squirrel died of stress. I can understand that. But, a good effort none the less.. Sad animal story...do you have a happy animal story to share?

Olive oil used to rescue squirrel
August 06, 2012 15:36 GMT

(2012-08-06T15:31:20)

BERLIN (AP) -- A squirrel with olive oil? For police in northern Germany, that was a winning combination to free an animal trapped in a manhole cover.

Police spokeswoman Kathrin Feyerabend said Monday a woman on the outskirts of Hannover discovered the red squirrel Sunday after hearing its cries.

Its head was poking up above ground through a hole in a manhole cover, its body dangling beneath.

After unsuccessfully trying to push the head back through gently, police officers removed the cover and rubbed olive oil around the squirrel's neck.

Holding back its small tufted ears, they were able to successfully release it.

But Feyerabend says the happy ending was short lived -- the squirrel died several hours later, likely from stress.

Questions, Answers and God

When my son was little, I used to ask him if he has any good questions to ask me concerning our curriculum for the day. Children who learn to ask questions, learn to think. If you have a child at school, when she comes home, ask her, "Did you ask any questions today?'

The same is true for us in our spiritual lives. We need to ask ourselves and our friends if we speak to them of spiritual things, "What did you ask of God today?" And, "What did God tell you?"

So many people are AFRAID to listen to God. They are so sure He is going to only list their sins and imperfections.

In this series on perfection, I am not trying to discourage anyone, but show what not only is possible, but what is required. We can give up too soon.

And, I must reiterate that success in the world does not equal spiritual success, or to put it in the opposite way, spiritual success is not seen by physical or material success. That is a heresy and one which grips America.

What will happen in a financial meltdown? Without the life of the virtues, we shall not be able to withstand the winds of despair which so many people will experience in their lives.

Someone asked me why I was so hard on myself in certain areas of my life. She is an Irish friend of mine and we were discussing things like weekly Confession, fasting, and daily examination of conscience. She said that she would not be able to walk in the light of all the pain such examination would bring. I could only say that if I was not cooperating with what the Church as deemed are aids to salvation, I could be damned forever.

I ask God to show me my sin and He does, regularly. God speaks to others as well and if we are open, we can discern the Voice of God. Not all criticisms are from God, however, and one must always take these to a Confessor or spiritual director.  This is why it is important to be real with one's self and be obedient to the Church. The Church is my shelter in the storms and more storms are coming soon. We know what these are.

Find a community or help build one. Strengthen yourself and each other. Be patient and ask the right questions of God. He will always answer you. But, you may have to be persistent, especially if you sinned greatly in your life. That is what the lives of the saints show us.

Do not be discouraged and do not give up. Be accountable. Be honest. Be the child of God you are.

And, I would like to add for two young men I know who were not recently accepted into the seminary of their choice, that they should try diocesan seminaries. Traditional communities are orders, and the secular or diocesan priests are not under the same disciplines as orders. Orders are also missionary and one could be sent anywhere, whereas diocesan priests, in most circumstances , serve the people in one area. These calls are not the same. Part of discerning your call to the priesthood is not being closed to the diocesan priesthood, where many, many young men are going to be ordained knowing and wanting to say the Latin Mass in the future. Do not be discouraged.  If a person truly has a vocation, God will find you your place in the Church.

Ask questions before you go. Learn about the seminary before you approach the order. Consult constancy with your spiritual director and if you do not have one, get one.

We need good, orthodox diocesan priests. God may be using your experiences for your own purification.

Remedies for Pride

In a post in the recent past, I mentioned that the remedy for the sin of pride was to remember who we really are in the sight of God.

Garrigou-Lagrange notes that there are 40 virtues needs to combat the deadly sins. Humility and a servant's heart cannot come first, but only after a purification. The Dominican states this:

But to reach this humility of mind and heart, a profound purification is needed. That which we impose on ourselves is not sufficient; there must be a passive purification by the light of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which causes the bandage of pride to fall away, opens our eyes, shows us the depth of frailty and wretchedness that exists in us, the utility of adversity and. humiliation, and finally makes us say to the Lord: "It is good for me that Thou hast humbled me, that I may learn Thy justifications." (29) "It is good for us sometimes to suffer contradictions, and to allow people to think ill of us. . . . These are often helps to humility, and rid us of vainglory." (30) It is in adversity that we can learn what we really are and what great need we have of God's help: "What doth he know, that hath not been tried?" (31) After this purification, pride and its effects will gradually be felt less. A person, instead of letting himself fall into jealousy toward those who have more natural or supernatural qualities, tells himself then that, as St. Paul remarks, the hand ought not be jealous of the eye, but, on the contrary, it should be happy because it benefits from what the eye sees. The same is true in the mystical body of Christ; far from becoming jealous, souls ought to enjoy in a holy manner the qualities they find in their neighbor. Though they do not possess them themselves, they benefit by them. They should rejoice over everything that cooperates in the glory of God and the good of souls. When this is the case, the bandage of pride falls away and the soul's gaze recovers its simplicity and penetration, which make it enter little by little into the inner life of God. Here is a key to all of this. If we fight purification and do not let God try us, He will not abandon us, but come again and again with sufferings until we are purified. He is faithful, if we truly want to become saints. If we fight purification, this level will be prolonged.  Too many people seek healing without repentance. The two must go together. Garrigou-Lagrange continues, quoting St Catherine of Siena, who I have quoted here before. She notes that pride leads to self-deception and a lack of knowledge of spiritual things. She also reminds us that pride leads directly to disobedience. The remedy for pride is suffering and purification. One must ask for this and mean it. Out of this comes humility and patience, self-knowledge and an obedient spirit. So, the remedy for pride is the dying to self, and how many virtues will come of this out of the 40? The most important are the Cardinal Virtues mentioned before, but again stressed here. These are prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. These are remedies for pride. Patience, humility, long-suffering, kindness, love of neighbor, generosity or largesse, and gratitude can spring out of this purification. If one avoids it, one will not see God. There are a few innocence souls who reach heaven without great purification, but these are few. May I end this post with a quotation from Homer, the great Greek poet: "Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant." To be continued...

Need a little help from my readers...

As some of you know, I am working on a thesis. There are some books which I am having a difficult time tracking down. If any of my readers have these and are willing to part with them, please let me know.

Ferreira, M. Jamie. Doubt and Religious Commitment: The Role of the Will in Newman's Thought. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 1980. Print.

Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal. Truth and Tolerance.: Christian Belief and World Religions. San Francisco. Ignatius Press. 2004. Print.

Newman, John Henry; Holmes; Derek, De Achaval, etc. The Theological Papers of John Henry Cardinal Newman: Volume 1: On Faith and Certainty. Oxford University Press. 1976

Mascall, Eric Lionel. Worship, its social significance and Grace and Glory and He Who Is.

Ta muchly for any responses.

If we do not go forward, we go backwards...

Curiosity can tweet . Is that cool or what? Here is the first photo back from Mars from Curiosity.

http://www.nasa.gov/

Proud to be an American today!

We must continue space science and bring back the manned program, which was dropped recently.

Humans are made to be creative and find out new knowledge. We are made in the Image and Likeness of God.

Christ in His Glory

Happy Feast of the Transfiguration. This is one of the Epiphanies of Our Lord.

Coming Soon: The Remedy in 40 Virtues....

One more note on the last post. Did you notice Garrigou-Lagrange's stress on 40 virtues? To be continued...
But, I want to mention more capital sins which are so common as not to be thought of as sins.

This is the sin of gluttony. It is not only over-eating, the great sin of the West, but taking too much pleasure in eating.  Gluttony also includes over-consumption, buying too many things, needing to have it all.

Gluttony

Lust

Take note, Americans and other Westerners. Garrigou-Lagrange states that these sins are not connected. That we can indulge in one and not another. But I do think that lust can be connected to gluttony. Over-indulgence and the preoccupation with sensual pleasure are elements of both sins.

Envy and love the dogs

Greed

Pornography and addictions are part of these sins. Again, I use Bosch to illustrate the capital sins. Do I need to define Greed? It is utter selfishness regarding money.  Envy and greed sometimes go together. The next post will be on the virtues...I remind us all that the way to hell is wide, and the way to heaven narrow.

Contrary to some famous theologians, including one very popular one, there is a hell and there are people in it. Pray, repent, think, act.