Does anyone care about women in Egypt?

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/018a4fc6-eddd-11e1-8d72-00144feab49a.html#axzz24ZE2kbce

Read this article from the Financial Times. Here is a snippet:

Over the recent Eid al-Fitr holidays, about two dozen volunteers gathered for the first time at subway stations to try to give a bit of relief to women shopping and travelling during days off. Without nearly enough resources to stop the sometimes wanton public tormenting of women, they concentrate on the most egregious violation: men storming the subway cars meant to shelter women from the groping hands, ogling eyes and foul-mouthed catcalls of males.

“The problem is that 50 per cent of the population is scared of the other 50 per cent, so that women can’t go out or work,” said Nihal Saad Zaghloul, an activist with the group Basma, a civil society group that emerged from the revolution, which initiated the harassment patrols. “The men feel they can do it. They know they will not be punished, so they do it.”

...the vast majority of victims were dressed like Wafa Abdel Fattah, a 23-year-old employee of a call centre, wearing a loose-fitting gown and a beige headscarf over her hair, an outfit covering all but her face and hands.

“I have been harassed so many times it’s like a routine,” she says, after getting off the subway. “The young men come into the women’s compartment and they give us dirty looks or say nasty things. Once, a man slapped a woman in the face.”

A great website ... and start a new trend...

Ladies, I found some great sites for patterns for dresses from different eras. The sites also refer to classes and other tips for sewing. For the modest Catholic girl and woman, these can be helpful and intriguing places on-line. This first one has a "show and tell" as well.

Also, one can still find older patterns from the 1960s and 1970s for weddings and formal wear. I think the Jane Austen look could become the new trend for Catholic weddings. An elegant, elderly friend of mine invented one time, when I was complaining years ago that I did not have anything "trendy", a wonderful phrase.

"My dear, YOU set the trend." For some of these below, I would use a little "lace".

A mother-of-the bride could wear something like the first photos, or anyone for evening wear. Here is another site.

The Knight Blogger

This weekend, JonathanCatholic is helping me out with posts so that I can have a real retreat. Thank you, Jonathan, for being so considerate and kind.

Here is one of three.


Saint Paul, Grace, and the Body of Christ

“Often have I tried to force them into blaspheming, by inflicting punishment on them in one synagogue after another; nay, so unmeasured was my rage against them that I used to go to foreign cities to persecute them. It was on such an errand that I was making my way to Damascus, with powers delegated to me by the chief priests, when, journeying at midday, I saw, my lord king, a light from heaven, surpassing the brightness of the sun, which shone about me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice which said to me, in Hebrew, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? This is a thankless task of yours, kicking against the goad. Who are you, Lord? I asked. And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom Saul persecutes. Rise up, and stand on your feet; I have shewn myself to you, that I may single you out to serve me, as the witness of this vision you have had, and other visions you will have of me. I will be your deliverer from the hands of your people, and of the Gentiles, to whom I am now sending you. You shall open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive, through faith in me, remission of their sins and an inheritance among the saints. Whereupon, king Agrippa, I did not show myself disobedient to the heavenly vision.”- Acts of the Apostles 26:11-19 Knox Bible

If one is a frequent reader of Sacred Scripture, it is easy to pick up on patterns of thought that show up in the various authors of Scripture. For instance, St. Matthew, in authoring his Gospel, sought to show how Jesus was Messiah promised in the Old Covenant, the One who fulfilled it in the New Covenant in His Blood. St. John, on the other hand, in authoring his Gospel, sought to show the New Covenant in more or less its own Light, and penetrated the Mysteries of the Inner Life of the Holy Trinity as revealed to us in the Incarnation and the Person of Christ. The Holy Ghost moved on both of these men in different ways, forming their thought and their teachings to what He wished them to be to benefit the Catholic Church, and then guiding their expression of those teachings in writing and inspiring their Scriptures as the Primary Author. St. Paul is no exception to this rule. Although the Holy Ghost overshadowed him and inspired the Sacred Scripture that he penned as the Primary Author, nevertheless distinctive of Paul’s thought show up in His writings, for God loves to mediate His power through human beings and their uniqueness.
There are two special distinctive in St. Paul’s thought that I want to call attention to, two emphases, that I believe can be traced back to the conversion of the good Apostle on the Road to Damascus. It appears that when Our Lord Jesus called St. Paul to Himself and commissioned him an Apostle, He gave to him two profound Truths in that encounter that St. Paul would never forget. These two Truths that he repeatedly passed on to his Churches were:1) The fact that we must attribute everything in our lives to grace, withholding none of the glory to ourselves in this life but rendering it freely to God, and making no boast of ourselves or our righteousness while honoring other Christians as greater than ourselves. In Pauline thought and in all of St. Paul’s prolific works, this fact shines forth brilliantly. He presents salvation as a process of being continually called over a lifetime of Christian life to the Father who alone is our chief and supernatural end, through the Son who alone is our Divine and Infinite Mediator, and in the Holy Ghost who alone is the very power and presence of God in our lives liberating us from evil and protecting us and divinizing us, and all of this being made possible only by the grace of Christ. Protestants misunderstand this Pauline concept of grace and think that believing that the grace of Christ is responsible for everything we are and all that we receive somehow excludes both others in the family of God (such as Our Lady) being involved in the working of that grace, and even that it excludes us, the ones on whom the grace is acting, from acting in a joyous and real return unto God. Barring Protestant misunderstanding, ‘grace alone,’ or sola gratia, is actually a Catholic concept and one that we must always bear in mind. All of the Apostles taught grace was necessary for all of our salvation, but St. Paul particularly emphasized it. This makes sense, when you consider his teaching in light of his conversion. Christ literally plucked him visibly out of his own identity and made Saul into Paul dramatically and for the entire world to see; that must have been humbling to St. Paul, and he must have carried with him that memory of grace over his whole life. St. Paul still calls to us, through his Scripture especially, telling us to bow to grace, to allow it into our lives, and to surrender utterly to God so that we boast of nothing and rely on Him for everything. May we all heed that call.
“But, in these days, God's way of justification has at last been brought to light, one which was attested by the law and the prophets, but stands apart from the law; God's way of justification through faith in Jesus Christ, meant for everybody and sent down upon everybody without distinction, if he has faith. All alike have sinned, all alike are unworthy of God's praise. And justification comes to us as a free gift from his grace, through our redemption in Jesus Christ. God has offered him to us as a means of reconciliation, in virtue of faith, ransoming us with his Blood. Thus God has vindicated his own holiness, showing us why he overlooked our former sins in the days of his forbearance; and he has also vindicated the holiness of Jesus Christ, here and now, as one who is himself holy, and imparts holiness to those who take their stand upon faith in him. What has become, then, of your pride? No room has been left for it. On what principle? The principle which depends on observances (of the Mosaic, Old Covenant Law)? No, the principle which depends on faith.”- Romans 3:21-27 Knox Bible
“Only, the grace which came to us was out of all proportion to the fault. If this one man's fault brought death on a whole multitude, all the more lavish was God's grace, shown to a whole multitude, that free gift he made us in the grace brought by one Man, Jesus Christ.”- Romans 5:15 Knox Bible
“…but he (Christ) told me, My grace is enough for you; my strength finds its full scope in your weakness. More than ever, then, I delight to boast of the weaknesses that humiliate me, so that the strength of Christ may enshrine itself in me.”- 2nd Corinthians 12:9 Knox Bible
“Our sins had made dead men of us, and he, in giving life to Christ, gave life to us too; it is his grace that has saved you; raised us up too, enthroned us too above the heavens, in Christ Jesus. He would have all future ages see, in that clemency which he showed us in Christ Jesus, the surpassing richness of his grace. Yes, it was grace that saved you, with a faith for its instrument; it did not come from yourselves, it was God's gift, not from any action of yours, or there would be room for pride. No, we are his design; God has created us in Christ Jesus, pledged to such good actions as he has prepared beforehand, to be the employment of our lives.”- Ephesians 2:5-10
“Beloved, you have always shown yourselves obedient; and now that I am at a distance, not less but much more than when I am present, you must work to earn your salvation, in anxious fear. Both the will to do it and the accomplishment of that will are something which God accomplishes in you, to carry out his loving purpose… In him (Jesus Christ) I would render my account, not claiming any justification that is my own work, given me by the [Mosaic] Law, but the justification that comes from believing in Jesus Christ, God's gift on condition of our faith. Him I would learn to know, and the virtue of his Resurrection, and what it means to share his Sufferings, moulded into the pattern of his death, in the hope of achieving resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already won the prize, already reached fulfilment. I only press on, in hope of winning the mastery, as Christ Jesus has won the mastery over me. No, brethren, I do not claim to have the mastery already, but this at least I do; forgetting what I have left behind, intent on what lies before me, I press on with the goal in view, eager for the prize, God's heavenly summons in Christ Jesus. All of us who are fully grounded must be of this mind, and God will make it known to you, if you are of a different mind at present. Meanwhile, let us all be of the same mind, all follow the same rule, according to the progress we have made. “-Philippians 2:12-13, 3:9-16
“Has he not saved us, and called us to a vocation of holiness? It was not because of anything we had done; we owe it to his own design, to the grace lavished on us, long ages ago, in Christ Jesus. Now it has come to light, since our Saviour Jesus Christ came to enlighten us; now he has annulled death, now he has shed abroad the rays of life and immortality, through that gospel.”- 2nd Timothy 1:9-10

2) The second aspect of St. Paul’s writing was that, out of all the New Testament authors, he alone uses the title “Body of Christ” to refer to the Church which He founded, the Catholic Church. It’s easy enough to imagine why: His conversion! What did Christ say to him when He appeared to him on the way? “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Notice that Christ makes no distinction between Himself and His Church; the Church that St. Paul was persecuting was His very Body, and St. Paul understood this! He saw, in the unique circumstances of his conversion, how Christ was enlightening him to the sublime reality of the Church and intimacy She has with Christ. She is His Body, His Fullness, His Bride; Christ and His Body constitute the Totus Christus, the whole Christ, for though Christ has no absolute need of us, nevertheless He willed to not be complete without us. In the mystical Body of Christ, as St. Paul enlightens us, we are all members of the one Christ, partakers of His one Flesh, His one Blood, and His one Divinity. As St. Paul teaches us, in Baptism we are brought into communion with Christ and all who constitute His Body, most preeminently (I would even say, in a sense, singularly) the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through the power of the Holy Ghost overshadowing the waters, we are knit, every one of us, into the Body of Christ and constituted Christ’s Body just as His Body was formed in the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Confirmation, the unity of the Holy Ghost within the Body of Christ is strengthened in the pouring out of His Presence together with His graces. And finally, in the Holy Eucharist, we come to the fullness of communion with Christ and His members, for it is because we partake of Christ that are one Body, says St. Paul. Finally, the most important aspect of the teaching of St. Paul that the Church is the Body of Christ is that it highlights the Divine marital love with which Christ loves His Church. For in the great Mystery of the Incarnation, God the Son proceeded forth from God the Father and through the Holy Ghost was made man, coming down from Heaven personally to be made one flesh with His Bride, the Church. Just as man leaves his father and mother to cleave to his wife, and the two become one flesh, so too, St. Paul teaches us, the eternal Son of God, our true Spouse, went forth from God and descended to earth to be made one flesh with His Bride, His Church, and so constitute His Church to be His Body, completely physically and spiritually united to Him.
“And it shall be in that day (the institution of the New Covenant), saith the Lord, That she (The Church) shall call me: My Husband, and she shall call me no more Baali (which means, ‘My owner’ in a harsher and less intimate sense than Husband). And I will take away the names of Baalim (Idols) out of her mouth, and she shall no more remember their name. And in that day I will make a Covenant (in the assumption of humanity into God in the Incarnation, the Covenant in the Body and Blood of God) with them, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of the air, and with the creeping things of the earth: and I will destroy the bow, and the sword, and war out of the land: and I will make them sleep secure. And I will espouse thee (wed you, marry you) to me for ever: and I will espouse thee to me in justice, and judgment, and in mercy, and in commiserations. And I will espouse thee to me in faith: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.”- Osee (Hosea the Prophet) 2:16-20 Douay Rheims
“Wives must obey their husbands as they would obey the Lord.The man is the head to which the woman's body is united, just as Christ is the head of the Church, he, the Saviour on whom the safety of his body depends; and women must owe obedience at all points to their husbands, as the Church does to Christ. You who are husbands must show love to your wives, as Christ showed love to the Church when he gave himself up on its behalf. He would hallow it, purify it by bathing it in the water to which his word gave life; he would summon it into his own presence, the Church in all its beauty, no stain, no wrinkle, no such disfigurement; it was to be holy, it was to be spotless. And that is how husband ought to love wife, as if she were his own body; in loving his wife, a man is but loving himself. It is unheard of, that a man should bear ill-will to his own flesh and blood; no, he keeps it fed and warmed; and so it is with Christ and his Church; we are limbs of his body; flesh and bone, we belong to him. That is why a man will leave his father and mother and will cling to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. Yes, those words are a high mystery, and I am applying them here to Christ and his Church.”- Ephesians 5:22-32 Knox Bible
“He has put everything under his dominion, and made him the Head to which the whole Church is joined, so that the Church is his Body, the Completion of him who everywhere and in all things is complete… [be] eager to preserve that unity the Spirit gives you, whose bond is peace. You are one Body, with a single Spirit; each of you, when he was called, called in the same hope; with the same Lord, the same faith, the same Baptism; with the same God, the same Father, all of us, who is above all beings, pervades all things, and lives in all of us. “- Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:3-6
“Each of us has one body, with many different parts, and not all these parts have the same function; just so we, though many in number, form one Body in Christ, and each acts as the counterpart of another.”- Romans 12:4-5
“…the Lord claims your bodies. And God, just as he has raised our Lord from the dead, by his great power will raise us up too. Have you never been told that your bodies belong to the body of Christ? And am I to take what belongs to Christ and make it one with a harlot? God forbid… Let every man give his wife what is her due, and every woman do the same by her husband; he, not she, claims the right over her body, as she, not he, claims the right over his (this is fulfilled in the Holy Eucharist, where the Priest calls down Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, onto the Altar and to be united to himself and the faithful after him. Christ’s Body is made present in the Churches when the Priest calls Him, because His Body is ours, and ours, is His). “- 1st Corinthians 6:13-15, 7:3-4 Knox Bible
“I am speaking to you as men of good sense, weigh my words for yourselves. We have a Cup that we bless, is not this Cup we bless a participation in Christ's Blood? Is not the bread we break a participation in Christ's Body? The one bread makes us one Body, though we are many in number; the same bread is shared by all. Or look at Israel, God's people by (bodily) nature; do not those who eat their sacrifices associate themselves with the Altar of Sacrifice (in the New Covenant, the Altar of Sacrifice is primarily the Cross and secondarily the Altar-Table in our Churches; with both we associate ourselves when we partake of the Sacrifices of the Body and Blood of Christ)?”- 1st Corinthians 10:15-18 Knox Bible
“A man's body is all one, though it has a number of different organs; and all this multitude of organs goes to make up one body; so it is with Christ. We too, all of us, have been Baptized into a single Body by the power of a single Spirit, Jews and Greeks, slaves and free men alike, we have all been given drink at a single Source, the one Spirit. The Body, after all, consists not of one organ but of many.”- 1st Corinthians 12:12-14 Knox Bible

Thanks be to God for giving us the great gift, by His grace, of St. Paul to guide us and teach us in the excellency of Jesus Christ our Lord. St. Paul, we pray thee, intercede for us in the presence of Christ, He who you so dearly loved in this life. Guide us all and be with us all, in the unity of the Body of Christ, which unity is so strong that death has no power to break it. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!

More courage than Notre Shame: University of Virginia refuses Obama Visit

Find the complete story here.

The NBC29 newsroom has received the following statement from University of Virginia Spokesperson Carol Wood:

Many of you have asked about whether President Obama will be holding an upcoming campaign rally in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia. 

I am writing to tell you that the University met with five members of the Obama Presidential Campaign on Wednesday. The campaign requested the use of one of two outdoor University venues  — the Amphitheater or the Harrison-Small Library plaza.  After reviewing the campaign's request for either of these two sites and the impact on the University, the University declined the request for the following reasons: 

• As you know, Aug. 29 is the second day of classes overall and the first day of classes on the Monday/Wednesday/Friday academic schedule.
• The use of either of the desired sites would require closing buildings adjacent to the sites for the entire day.
• The cancellation of 186 classes would occur if the site is the Amphitheater or closing of the libraries and Newcomb dining if the site is the Harrison-Small plaza. This would result in an extraordinary disruption of the second day of the new semester.
• In addition to the disruption to classes, the University would have to bear the full cost of security — a substantial and open-ended expenditure of staff time and money.
• By University policy, we would also have to offer the same accommodations and bear the same costs for other candidates.  Both our federal and state tax-exempt status requires that we not favor any candidate.
• The Secret Service will have final approval on the site chosen and will dictate the security requirements, but at a minimum the buildings adjacent to the event venue would need to be closed on Aug. 29.  Adjacent buildings will be searched and secured with officers posted in each starting at least 6 hours prior to the event.

Additional details:  The use of McIntire Amphitheater would require the closing of the following buildings on Aug. 29: Bryan Hall, Cocke Hall,  Garrett Hall, Minor Hall, and possibly Maury Monroe halls. The parking lots behind Bryan and Clark would have to be closed for the day, as well as a portion of McCormick Road.

The use of the Harrison-Small Special Collections Library would require the closing of the Alderman Library, Special Collections Library, the temporary dining facility, Peabody Hall, and possibly Monroe Hall, the rooms along the West Range and a portion of McCormick Road.

OMGoodness, Cooking

I love to cook and I love to cook for parties. I can "do" Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Greek, American, Italian, Vegetarian, and some--a little--Czech and Ukrainian without looking at a cookbook. I learned to cook for groups in my twenties, and when I was in grad school, I did some party catering.

When I was in kindergarten, the classroom had an upstairs loft which was a complete wooden kitchen for little ones complete with all the pots and pans and dishes. Even the boys liked it.

At home, when we entertained, it did not have to be fancy. But, it had to be fun. We would have all the single, male teachers over on the weekend. It was great fun.

When my son was ten, I bought him a cookbook. He is a great cook. But, I have just learned in the past few years that there are many, many young women who do not know how to cook.

I did not take home economics, as I was in the college prep track in high-school. My brothers and I went to a high school with two campuses, basically on the same site: one for girls and one for boys. Two of my brothers took bachelor classes where they learned how to cook, sew and do laundry. It was very helpful for them to have those skills when they went to university.

Why is it that so many women do not know how to cook?

Here are the reasons I have gleaned over the past few years:

one) small families eat out and most families are now small;

two) mom is not at home and does not teach cooking to the kids and people eat on the go;

three) women are in rebellion and feel like they do not want to be "domestic slaves";

four) it is not trendy;

five) no one eats together any more--people graze.

six) people no longer entertain in the home-we did this all the time but then, Americans like to eat.

Well, there are probably more reasons. But, women should realize that cooking is fun. It is an art. It is creative.

Millennials, learn how to cook. Have some fun. Eat and share. Make it trendy again to get together with your friends and cook.

A Rant on Anti-Mummy, Anti-Happy Housewife Language

Ok, I am having a hissy fit. Until I moved to England for this summer, I never saw or heard the label, "yummy mummy". Maybe living in the Midwest of America, where there are stay-at-home moms, and moving in the home schooling, stay-at-home mom community, I just did not hear it.

I was a happy housewife and that stay-at-home period of my life was one of the most creative for me. I was extremely busy. I knew I was like a little core of stability in the home, around which much activity could be planned and done. This phrase applies to having children, which is another bug-bear of the socialist mindset. Having kids is a no-no, still.

This phrase is "all over' the media here and I am sick of it. The term began when it was applied to rich and famous moms, especially celebrity moms. But, now it is used for all stay-at-home moms.

Even Mrs. Blair used the term a few weeks ago. It is an insulting term which must be addressed, as it it based on false and cruel premises.

The term, which refers to moms who choose to stay at home, implies that the husband makes enough money for the mom to do so. The phrase is based on an idea that there is a slave man out there who works himself to death so that mom and kids can stay at home.

Most moms should stay at home regardless of income. Coming from a family where we took one holiday per year, I am shocked at the money wasted on four or even five holidays here. One mum told me she works for holiday money. Her salary pays for the family trips. I wonder when she will realize that she is doing this for herself and not for her children. This is adult self-deceit. Children who have stay-at-home moms do not need many holidays, as down time can be put into the schedule.

The term is against the Catholic view of marriage and procreation. Catholic parents are open to God's gift of life, which means nurturing those little lives and not farming children out to daycares.

The term is part of the language of Marxism. It implies that there is a class divide in the raising of children. This is simply not true.

I am not referring to families where there is a single parent. But, in a two-parent household, the nurturing should be done in the home. I am shocked at the vehement responses I get when I try to discuss this with women.

A generation or two have closed the door to even thinking about staying at home. I understand that with inflation it is harder to live on one salary. But, it is not impossible.

Why the press keeps publishing commentaries on yummy mummies is a problem of ideology. Take your pick. Consumerism and Marxism push the term.

Kids do not need all the stuff they have. A twenty-something smart woman told me that she had everything growing up. She and her brother lacked for nothing, and her mother worked. Why? Why the preoccupation with all the stuff? Why the preoccupation with multiple holidays?

Dads, stick up for your stay-at-home moms. Moms, stick up for yourselves and be proud.

Children need a stable home environment. They need someone to be there for them all the time. They need care and love on a daily basis, and not just before or after day-care.

This phrase is so horrible and divides the society on purpose. Socialists want to undermine the family and such a term does so...

Moms, be proud and do your best, but stay at home.

No Anonymous

Dear Readers,

Weekly, I am still receiving Anonymous posts, despite posts on this point, and the note on the right side bar. Please choose a name for posting. For one thing, if I get three or four Anonymous on one subject, how can I answer the question to the specific person?

Thank you for considering this option again. I do not post Anonymous posts.

The real meaning of retreat and the Thermopylae of Texas

I am retreating from Saturday through Tuesday. It is a real retreat. Every year, once a year, I try and go to a Benedictine monastery for a retreat. I love the hours, the silence, the chant, either in English or Latin.

But, this year, I am really retreating. I live on the border of Notting Hill and Bayswater, and I am escaping from the Carnival, which will literally come up to my door. It is horrible. The original meaning of this carnival, to unite the immigrant communities, is gone. It is money and sex, sex and money.

The Notting Hill Carnival is the largest in Europe. It has never been connected to a feast day, such as the carnivals for Mardi Gras or Epiphany. It is purely secular. Many of the locals have left for the weekend. The rubbish skips have gone since yesterday. I cannot even empty my garbage. All the parking is highly restricted, which it is anyway in this area. I can hear steel bands in the night....it is all surreal.

I am retreating. I shall blog, but lightly. Perhaps I shall do three posts instead of six. And, JonathanCatholic has graciously written two posts for me so that I can retreat.

Otherwise, I would feel like James Bowie or Davy Crockett at the Alamo.

Here is poem for the heck of it from the newspaper, the Telegraph and Texas Register, August 9, 1836.

The Texan Marseillaise.

Texians, to your banner fly,
Texians, now your valor try,
Listen to your country's cry;
Onward to the field.

Armed in perfect panoply,
Marshaled well our ranks must be:
Strike the blow for liberty,
Make the tyrant yield.

Who is he that fears his power?
Who is he that dreads the hour?
Who is he would basely cower?
Let him flee for life.

Who is he that ready stands
To fight for Texas and her lands?
Him his country now commands,
Onward, to the strife.

Small in number is our host,
But our cause is nobly just:
God of battles is our trust
In the dread affray.

I want to praise...

...all my Catholic single friends. I am so happy to know so many women and men who are single because they are Catholic. What do I mean?

I think of David, who is trying to find the right, traditional woman, who wants to be good trad husband and have children. Bravo, David, you have kept your standards, being honest and true to yourself and your goals.

I think of A, who is a Third Order Dominican, a highly intelligent career woman, who longs for a trad Catholic man and children, but suffers because she has chosen not to settle for less, choosing to be chaste and good.

I think of T, who loves children and cooking and is one of the most beautiful women I know. She is always thinking of others. She has chosen chastity and the vision of a real Catholic family. She waits, like A, and in that they are to be commended. They are single because they are holy and want a husband who will walk into Eternal Life with them.

I think of V, another career woman, who wanted all her life to be married. She always does the right thing. She is wise and good. She prays, she suffers in her loneliness, but follows the Ten Commandments.

I think of F. who works so hard in missionary work. She would love to be a wife, but no one has found her.

I think of M, who hates living alone, but keeps busy, thinks, and prays for others, does the little things that no one notices. She also will not compromise her Faith or morals.

I praise all my single friends because they are single BECAUSE they love God and His Laws, because they know they want a traditional Catholic marriage, because they are beautiful people.

Because you are good and true, you are single. Because you are virtuous, you are single. Because you love Mary, Our Mother, you are single. Because you love the Tridentine Mass, you are single.

I have used the phrase "Trust and Wait" on this blog many times. I got it from The Count of Monte Cristo.

Trust and Wait. I know you shed tears. I know you suffer. Trust and Wait.

God loves you all so very much.

In stories, there is knowledge and healing...

I just watched Princess Mononoke again, which is one of my favourite animes. The story is intriguing for many reasons. One reason is that the hero and heroine are complex, modern, and yet portray universal traits, necessary for fairy stories, which it basically is. I do not like the dubbed version, preferring the original.

The very young hero is named Ashitaka,  a prince, of course, as he must come from noble background and appeal to the universal desire for knights in shining armour. But, he is cursed by killing a demon in order to save his people and he must go on a quest to fulfil his doom and, we hope, be healed. I am not going to spoil the story if readers have not seen it.

The girl with whom he falls in love is a typical wild, wolf-girl; a character found in many stories across the globe, and of course, she is a princess. Her name is San. But, she has the old story of a foundling, one of the most ancient oft fairy tale plots in the world. We are like orphan,s who have been found.

So far, East meets West in symbolism and appeal. What I like about the story is the plot which involves a keen understanding of human nature, and the fact that imperfection must become perfect. Again, I shall not spoil the ending, but a type of perfection is achieved--not quite.

It is a story of love and healing, sacrifice and bravery. Good stuff. It is very Christian, and the Japanese anime movies of this ilk tend to pursue Western and well as Eastern themes of fall and redemption. One of my other favourites, which I have mentioned on this blog is Gankutsuou, which is physically beautiful as well as profoundly "Christian". (But the book is better).

This movie is not for young children, as it is scary and too violent, and involves demons and spirits of another religious view, fine for older ones, but not the young. However, children need stories of failure and redemption. It is our story, as humans, starting in the Garden of Eden. And, we have a happy ending, because of the Passion and Death of Christ. The Resurrection brings us new life.

The human spirit reaches out for such stories. May these types of productions never stop being produced. We need them.

Trying to find intelligent commentary on Irish politics

I have been reading the Irish Times on-line for one eight months. Can anyone recommend a decent news source from Eire which is not embarrassingly stupid? I would like to read some intelligent commentary on Irish politics. Suggestions, please.

I guess anarchists read

A man from Spain and I were discussing anarchists in Europe, and I was trying to convince him they were organized. He just could not believe it. He does not read much on-line. Well, he should. And, anarchists read, as well as have blogs,websites and international organisations. Catholics ignore these groups at their own peril. Chaos can be organized.

I find it somewhat droll that there is an annual anarchist book fair in London and it is on a university campus. One can buy pink anarchist tee-shirts for the ladies and baby blue for the men. Am I missing something here?

Maybe this sounds odd to you or maybe not, but what is an important university doing hosting an annual anarchist book fair? Are we so blasé to think there must not be support for anarchy at Queen Mary's, University of London? Maybe I am not tolerant enough.

In case you think these are just students having a good time, here are the main principles and goals from the website:

The Anarchist Federation is an organisation of class struggle anarchists (based in Britain and Ireland, but with many contacts overseas) which aims to abolish Capitalism and all oppression to create a free and equal society. This is Anarchist Communism.

We see today's society as being divided into two main opposing classes: the ruling class which controls all the power and wealth, and the working class which the rulers exploit to maintain this. By racism, sexism and other forms of oppression, as well as war and environmental destruction the rulers weaken and divide us. Only the direct action of working class people can defeat these attacks and ultimately overthrow capitalism.

As the capitalist system rules the whole world it's destruction must be complete and world wide. We reject attempts to reform it such as working through parliament and national liberation movements (like the IRA) as they fail to challenge capitalism itself. Unions also work as a part of the capitalist system, so although workers struggle within them, they will be unable to bring about capitalism's destruction unless they go beyond these limits.

Organisation is vital if we're to beat the bosses, so we work for a united anarchist movement and are affiliated to the International of Anarchist Federations.

Do the British and Americans Care about the Coptic Christians?

In Egypt, Christian icon and booksellers are being threatened

(article from JihadWatch online)

Youm-7, one of Egypt’s popular secular media that was recently attacked by Muslim Brotherhood supporters, reports that at least seventeen Christian bookstores in Shubra, one of Cairo’s largest districts, are under threat for selling Christian icons and statues. The storeowners, who are “in panic,” say they received threat letters by mail demanding that they stop selling their “idolatry.”

Among other things, the letters, copies of which were presented to Youm-7, say “We warn you Nassara [Koran’s derogatory term for Christians] to cease your foul trade, whereby you sell filthy idols.”

Accordingly, the bookshop owners rushed to the police stations to file reports in the hopes that the identities of those sending such letters be revealed. The report concludes by saying not much has been done to secure the stores and that only one security agent has been sent to patrol, and only during morning hours. 

Feast of St. Rose of Lima

Today is the Feast of St. Rose of Lima. She is one of those rare saints who was canonized within the living memory of many who knew her. She died in 1617 and was canonized in 1671.

Today is special to me as Rose of Lima is my Confirmation name and she is one of my personal patrons.

(Supertradmum-Rose of Lima; lol)

This week in August marks one of my favourite times of the year. I love St Bernard of Clairvaux, and of course, St. Pius X. Today is Rose's day and yesterday, we honoured Our Lady as Queen. Within the week, we celebrate SS. Monica and Augustine. We shall also see the feasts of the Beheading of John the Baptist,  SS. Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line and Margaret Ward by the end of next week celebrated.

And, there are more. August is a month of great saints. Let us rejoice and be glad.

What does it mean to be a good citizen as a Catholic?

During the persecutions of the Catholics in Rome in the First Century, the followers of Christ were seen as threats to the civil authorities and civic order.

Catholics were not considered good citizens by the very fact that they were Catholics. Why? Because Christians acknowledged and still do, an authority greater than the government.

As the emperors and the People and Senate of Rome looked on a group which had loyalty to a different god, not the gods of the Roman Empire, these leaders considered Catholics as dangerous.

We are dangerous. Any state which does not follow the laws of God, such as the Ten Commandments, must fear us. We have allegiance to a Divinity, the Trinity, and the Truth which has been handed down through the centuries in the Catholic Church. We do not conform to state deviancy from natural law or from revealed law.

We have a clarity of vision which may not be the same as a state, or any group which claims authority over us.

Recently, in Canada, the problem of the government pushing lgtb curriculum in the schools has meant that the bishops had to take a stand against this blatant agenda to change children's view on sex and identity.

Catholic schools which comply will most likely no longer be called "Catholic", as these will have departed from the teachings of the Catholic Church. Some people want to be good citizens and obey the law. Some want to choose compliance and conformity to the State-the Government of Canada-over God's Laws.

Catholics will always be counter-cultural, and perhaps, counter-state. The martyrs lost their lives for believing in Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity AND for living contrary to the mores of the time in that belief.

We are all being called upon now to choose between the state and the Church.

As Christ's Church is His Own Bride, we know what the choice is. Do we have the guts to follow Him?

On a Catholic Vocabulary

Yesterday was a great and happy day for many reasons. I got a lot of work done, had a great chat with my son, ate some fantastic chocolate-hazelnut cream rolls, and had dinner with three delightfully intelligent Catholics. We had good wine, including one from Sardinia, which I had never tried before. There seemed to me to be a taste of rosemary in the wine. However, the after-dinner conversation was marred by a disagreement which really was the result of unshared vocabulary. I had forgotten that there are generational differences in the perception of language and certain words. I forgot that individuals become upset because they cannot objectify ideas.

Good conversation is becoming a lost art for many reasons.  One which I had never thought of before has to do with the lack of the teaching of college vocabulary in secondary schools. When did the love of language die? One sign of a great nation is the love of the mother-tongue. Being partly Czech, I can state that the Czechs have been passionate about preserving and using the language.

This love of language use to be a prevalent attitude in Great Britain, but no more. Part of the problem is that London is so multi-cultural that the levels of expertise in the English language varies, even among academics. Jargon for a particular area is common among business and tech people, but Catholics seem to have lost the ability to discuss the Faith using the language, or the jargon of Faith.

Thanks, Wiki

Lacking language is a symptom of the lack of knowledge. When we love a subject and want to know as much as possible about that subject, we learn the jargon, or the vocabulary to express the ideas in that subject.

Relativism also has destroyed common definitions. One cannot have a discussion when people are defensive or hurt over the use of an objective word. Some young people do not know how to think in any way but personally or subjectively. This creates hindrances to conversation.

I find this disturbing. There have been too many excuses for the lack of knowledge and vocabulary which mark our Faith. We need to preserve religious definitions. To think and to speak like a Catholic are primary skills allowing for growth in the Faith in this hostile environment. And, how can we evangelize without using words?

Why should Catholics be upset if I or another person uses Catholic words, such as doctrine or dogma or rite or sacrament? Could it be that people avoid definitions because they are so relativistic? Definitions pin down ideas which could become muddied in vagueness. Is it because definitions force us to decide? Definitions create commitment. For example, the word "marriage" means something to a Catholic.

I remember a college discussion on Aristotle years ago when the students were discussing a point from the Nicomachean Ethics. Half way through the discussion, which was getting bogged down, I pointed out that the students had not defined the terms, either in their view or as Aristotle meant the word to be used.

The discussion basically started over again with an agreed upon definition and immediately the entire level of sharing became elevated and clear.

The Popes have done much in the past 100 years to define so many words which we Catholics can use today.

We must use these common definitions. Otherwise, conversation cannot lead to new knowledge and new understanding but stays at the level of individual opinions, rather than a sharing of the Faith.

St. John calls Christ the Logos, the Word of God. This Word comes forth from the Father bringing clarity and life to all who listen. We do not make up the truth. Truth is a Person.

I wish I could communicate this to those much younger than myself. So many Millennials want only the language which they create from their own experiences. As valid as those experiences are, the understanding and communication of those is limited by the vocabulary of the speakers. We are losing the art of conversation as Catholics.

When I was growing up, we kids sat around and listened to our parents and grandparents talk about many things. They talked about politics, the Church, religion, the news. We listened and learned the rules of conversing. This happened all the time. This happened at barbecues, and birthday parties. It happened after dinner on Sunday at Grandma's. It happened in the evening, when adult guests came and we were allowed to be quiet in the adjacent rooms. We listened. One young person told me recently that his parents never invited any one over for dinner or parties with adults. I was surprised.

Now, kids go to their rooms and watch television or play computer games. There is no discussion over the dinner table as everyone is grazing.

These scenarios make me sad. My family was alive with discussion. I wish I could communicate what fun we had talking and listening and learning. I wish I had the words.

Star Watch

I have been trying to star gaze in London, which is a challenge. However, yesterday morning at 4 am, Venus was the brightest I have ever seen in any place I have been. The planet rises about that time here, and stays brilliant for hours.

Please try and get up to look at this glorious creation of God.

I cannot see the Summer Triangle, as there has been too much "haze". However, I did see Spica and Sirius.

The crescent moon was surrounded by a corona. Hmm, rain coming?

Money vs. National Sovereignty and Airports

Does this bother anyone but me? http://frontpagemag.com/2012/daniel-greenfield/al-qaeda-allied-qatar-buys-into-europe%E2%80%99s-busiest-airport/

Sport as Art or Competition?

There has been an interesting conversation on some blogs and forums as to whether sport is artistic, competitive or both. This may seem like a waste of breath, or as the British use to say, a "Save your breath to cool your porridge" type of topic. However, in light of some of the activities and events in the Olympics, I think this conversation merits attention.

First of all, I did not watch any of the Olympics except the dressage. Sorry, but some of the sports just do not appeal to me. Also, I am living in a mixed dorm and to be honest, the outfits of many of the female athletes embarrassed me. I did not want to watch certain sports because of indecency.

However, I do like some sports and I think the discussion regarding sport as artistic or sport as competitive merits a post for a few reasons, none less than we always, as humans should reflect on our actions, whether play, work or both.

The basic division is this: do the people play to primarily win, or does it not matter who wins? In a sport where the most important thing is winning, more than good sportsmanship and more than the exhibition and use of skills, the sport may be classed as competitive. But, where the skills and technique are foremost, is that art?

Cricket may fall into this category. Except for limited overs, does it really matter who wins as long as the match is interesting, and the skills finely honed? The bowler bowling to the batsman must concentrate on winning, on getting the man out, but the focus on winning is also a focus on skill and hopefully fair play.

Let me compare this to chess, which is a competitive sport. It really matters who wins. The entire game is about out-playing, crushing the opponent with strategy, skill and patience. Indeed, I wonder if one on one, or single person with single person sport is more competitive in nature than team sports.

I am not talking about the fans perception only and I am not writing about sports which are merely tribal warfare in disguise, and I do think that some sports fall into both categories.


The genres mix, but there are definitely different genres and, in a sense, games like cricket and baseball will always be less competitive because they are more random, and the beauty of the game is as remarkable as the performance of the players. One could say that in chess, performance is everything; if one is watching a chess match, one is interested in the players, and the observer expects both of them to be playing with ruthless efficiency. However, in a way, baseball is a more human expression - it is art.

One person said that chess is warfare and that one can learn just as much, spiritually, from competitive activity versus non-competitive activity and that the beauty of competitive activity is that the same skills one takes to a chess match are the same skills one takes to life in general, such as the ability to focus, become goal-oriented, conceptualize and visualize, etc.

Now here is an interesting comment from the forum: Baseball is all about living in the moment, but we can't live in the moment all the time, our brains would turn to mush and that competitive activity is more social, while artistic is more personal, even solitary.

I was astounded by this comment: there is actually very little real teamwork in baseball and cricket. But the person who wrote it plays both games and knows more than I do on these subjects.

But, the art of cricket and the art of baseball, especially now that we have conquered the time of the use of steroids and baseball is now a pitchers' game again, seem to be different than a match at Wimbledon or the World Chess Championship. In cricket, however, do we see different types-some artistic and some competitive, like a difference between a Botham and a Gower in days past?

I may be wrong in my categories, but art and competition may not overlap in all sports. I choose art over competition. I honestly do not always care if a certain country or city wins, but I want to see skill, flare, grace and good sportsmanship.

Tomorrow, I shall write about the Elo rating system, which I think is dubious.

Comments from sportsmen and sportswomen are welcomed. By the way, I consider dressage an artistic sport.

Cute Day 3-3