Thursday, 26 December 2013
New Poll Alert
I always value your opinions....People who answer "yes and no", please feel free to explain in comments......your answer.
Book Banning in The United States
...includes Diary of A Young Girl, Anne Frank.
And, you think we are not losing our freedoms?
http://rt.com/usa/us-schools-ban-books-696/
And, you think we are not losing our freedoms?
http://rt.com/usa/us-schools-ban-books-696/
Searching--Can You Help?
I have been looking for a picture of Virgo Potens to have and carry around with me. I have not found one. I do not have access to a printer at this time.
Does anyone have one or know where to get one?
There is one on the side of this blog.
Thanks, STM
Does anyone have one or know where to get one?
There is one on the side of this blog.
Thanks, STM
"Privacy Matters" Make This Go Viral
How right this young man is--only in the privacy of our minds and hearts do we find God with us. Immanuel, who comes to us daily in Holy Communion, must be heard in the private moments we can glean.
Will our relationship with Christ be damaged by this invasion of privacy, or rather the destruction of privacy?
Yes. Those of us who have learned or are learning to hear God in the silence of privacy will be saved.
Others may not be. Future generations may not know the privacy needed to be with God.
Privacy matters.
Will our relationship with Christ be damaged by this invasion of privacy, or rather the destruction of privacy?
Yes. Those of us who have learned or are learning to hear God in the silence of privacy will be saved.
Others may not be. Future generations may not know the privacy needed to be with God.
I know this is old by a few days--Two Popes
But, I could not resist putting this on the blog. Video of the meeting is on this link.
http://video.repubblica.it/dossier/il-nuovo-papa/vaticano-l-incontro-dei-due-papi-per-gli-auguri-di-natale/151136/149641
http://video.repubblica.it/dossier/il-nuovo-papa/vaticano-l-incontro-dei-due-papi-per-gli-auguri-di-natale/151136/149641
Oh My Goodness
One of my dear friends raised money in the annual Boxing Day Dip into the English Channel at Folkestone this morning.
BRRRR...
She is a strong lady! Congratulations!
Catholics, if you do not think this will happen HERE--you are on a different planet
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/christmas-bomb-attacks-kill-34-in-baghdads-christian-areas-29866146.html
Substitute the name of the cities of Boston or Chicago for Baghdad....
Matthew 10:17-22
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues;18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time;20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Gospel of today's Mass...
Gospel of today's Mass...
If I were the Pope...
...people would be thinking of leaving the Church because of me. Why?
Here is a short list of criticisms against Pope Supertradmum.
"STM is too judgmental.
STM has sins in her past and she still sins.
STM really is far from being a saint.
STM is not a scholar like Benedict.
STM is too clerical and has not criticized clericalism.
STM does not go to confession weekly any more.
STM at one time hung around Marxists and has read Gramsci.
STM wears hats, not mantillas to Mass.
STM does not talk about subsidiarity.
STM has her favorite priests, bishops and cardinals-favoritism.
STM does not wear red shoes, and sometimes prefers the company of the poor.
STM writes too much, and talks too much. She is from the New World, therefore, she lacks credibility.
I always like Benedict better...."
It occurred to me today that those who are thinking of leaving the Church because of Pope Francis should just look in the mirror.
Cardinals voted for Pope Francis, not the Holy Spirit.
Get over it....stay in the Church and help make it stronger. Be the Church Militant.
That is our job.
Here is a short list of criticisms against Pope Supertradmum.
"STM is too judgmental.
STM has sins in her past and she still sins.
STM really is far from being a saint.
STM is not a scholar like Benedict.
STM is too clerical and has not criticized clericalism.
STM does not go to confession weekly any more.
STM at one time hung around Marxists and has read Gramsci.
STM wears hats, not mantillas to Mass.
STM does not talk about subsidiarity.
STM has her favorite priests, bishops and cardinals-favoritism.
STM does not wear red shoes, and sometimes prefers the company of the poor.
STM writes too much, and talks too much. She is from the New World, therefore, she lacks credibility.
I always like Benedict better...."
It occurred to me today that those who are thinking of leaving the Church because of Pope Francis should just look in the mirror.
Cardinals voted for Pope Francis, not the Holy Spirit.
Get over it....stay in the Church and help make it stronger. Be the Church Militant.
That is our job.
On Sharing with The Saints
God blessed me with a day yesterday of being with old friends, all of whom are saints. I h.ave known this family for nine years
We got together after the Tridentine Mass at St. Alphonsus, which was beautifully sung by the schola.
These are TLM people who I have known for a long time My son use to hang around with their kids when those kidsand he were teens.
As my son and I are separated by thousands of miles, being with his old chums and the parents of his old chums brought great cheer to me, as it was like being with a real Catholic family.
One of the young women in the family who is married, her mother and I talked about God and the things of God for hours. The early Christian community must have been like this house-full of hospitality and many children and grandchildren focused on God.
Five of us said the rosary together.
I pray that all Catholic families would be like this-open, prayerful, orthodox, lovers of the Latin Mass.
God blessed me yesterday.....
We got together after the Tridentine Mass at St. Alphonsus, which was beautifully sung by the schola.
These are TLM people who I have known for a long time My son use to hang around with their kids when those kidsand he were teens.
As my son and I are separated by thousands of miles, being with his old chums and the parents of his old chums brought great cheer to me, as it was like being with a real Catholic family.
One of the young women in the family who is married, her mother and I talked about God and the things of God for hours. The early Christian community must have been like this house-full of hospitality and many children and grandchildren focused on God.
Five of us said the rosary together.
I pray that all Catholic families would be like this-open, prayerful, orthodox, lovers of the Latin Mass.
God blessed me yesterday.....
St. Stephen's Day Food
Cannelloni is one of the foods in some countries for St. Stephen's Day. One recipe, including the making of the pasta is here, taken from http://lidiasitaly.com/recipes/detail/1092
Part of the idea of making cannelloni on the day after Christmas is that one could use leftover meat.
For the pasta:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for working the dough
2 large whole eggs
¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons water
For the filling:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1½ pounds ground pork
1 cup dry white wine
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 quart hot chicken stock
10 ounce bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped
8 ounces mortadella, finely chopped
2 cups Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
For the besciamella:
1 quart low-fat or whole milk
2 fresh bay leaves, or 3 dried bay leaves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch white pepper
3 tablespoons grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
For the assembly of the cannelloni:
1½ cups Marinara sauce
½ cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for working the dough
2 large whole eggs
¼ cups extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons water
For the filling:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1½ pounds ground pork
1 cup dry white wine
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 quart hot chicken stock
10 ounce bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped
8 ounces mortadella, finely chopped
2 cups Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
For the besciamella:
1 quart low-fat or whole milk
2 fresh bay leaves, or 3 dried bay leaves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch white pepper
3 tablespoons grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
For the assembly of the cannelloni:
1½ cups Marinara sauce
½ cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
Make the pasta: Put the flour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to aerate. In a measuring cup, mix together the eggs, oil and 3 tablespoons water in a separate bowl, and pour through the feed tube into the food processor while running. Process until the dough forms a ball and sticks to the blade, about 30 seconds. Add more water or flour as necessary to achieve the right consistency – a smooth, homogenized, compact dough. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead a few times, just to bring it together. Wrap the dough in plastic and let rest for an hour. In the meantime, make the filling and the besciamella sauce.
Make the filling: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the onion, and cook until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the ground pork, and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Pour in the white wine, and cook until the wine and meat juices have cooked away and the meat is sizzling, about 10 minutes.
Add the carrots, celery, salt and rosemary. Push the vegetables and meat to the side to clear a “hot spot” in the pan to plop in the tomato paste. Let the tomato paste toast a minute or two, then stir it into the meat and vegetables. Pour in the hot chicken stock, and simmer until thickened and the flavors come together, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Scrape filling into a bowl to cool. When cooled, stir in the mortadella, grated cheese, parsley, and lemon zest.
Make the sauce: Warm the milk with the bay leaves in a small saucepan. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When melted, stir in the flour to make a smooth paste. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until roux smells toasty but has not darkened in color, about 4 minutes. Pour in the hot milk, whisking to avoid lumps. Bring to a simmer, whisking until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with the salt, nutmeg and pepper. Remove from heat, and whisk in the grated cheese.
When an hour has passed, roll out the dough: Cut it into 4 equal pieces. Flatten a piece of dough into a rectangle, 2 by 2 inches, and roll through the widest setting on the pasta machine. Fold this rectangle of dough like a letter, and roll through again. Repeat the rolling and folding a few more times, to knead and smooth the dough. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Switch to the next-narrowest setting on the machine. Roll a dough strip through, short end first. Repeat with remaining dough strips. Continue this process with narrower settings, now rolling only once through each setting, until you've gotten to the next-to-last setting and the dough strips are about as wide as the machine (6 inches).
Cut dough strips into 4-by-6-inch rectangles. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for pasta. Place a large bowl or pot of ice water next to the boiling pasta water. Boil the dough rectangles, just about a minute, then remove with a spider to the ice bath to cool. Drain, and spread out on baking sheets lined with damp kitchen towels
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. To assemble the cannelloni: Spread 1 cup besciamella in the bottom of a 3 quart 9-by-13 Pyrex or ceramic baking dish. Top with ½ cup of the marinara sauce and spread. Fill the dough rectangles with about 1/2 cup of the filling, then roll up the long way like a cigar and fit them snugly together in the baking dish. Spread the remaining bseciamella on top, then drizzle the remaining 1 cup marinara sauce over the besciamella. Sprinkle with the grated cheese. Tent the baking dish with foil, and bake until heated through, about 10 to 15 minutes, then uncover and bake until browned and bubbly, about 10 to 15 minutes more.
Make the filling: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the onion, and cook until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the ground pork, and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Pour in the white wine, and cook until the wine and meat juices have cooked away and the meat is sizzling, about 10 minutes.
Add the carrots, celery, salt and rosemary. Push the vegetables and meat to the side to clear a “hot spot” in the pan to plop in the tomato paste. Let the tomato paste toast a minute or two, then stir it into the meat and vegetables. Pour in the hot chicken stock, and simmer until thickened and the flavors come together, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Scrape filling into a bowl to cool. When cooled, stir in the mortadella, grated cheese, parsley, and lemon zest.
Make the sauce: Warm the milk with the bay leaves in a small saucepan. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. When melted, stir in the flour to make a smooth paste. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until roux smells toasty but has not darkened in color, about 4 minutes. Pour in the hot milk, whisking to avoid lumps. Bring to a simmer, whisking until thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with the salt, nutmeg and pepper. Remove from heat, and whisk in the grated cheese.
When an hour has passed, roll out the dough: Cut it into 4 equal pieces. Flatten a piece of dough into a rectangle, 2 by 2 inches, and roll through the widest setting on the pasta machine. Fold this rectangle of dough like a letter, and roll through again. Repeat the rolling and folding a few more times, to knead and smooth the dough. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
Switch to the next-narrowest setting on the machine. Roll a dough strip through, short end first. Repeat with remaining dough strips. Continue this process with narrower settings, now rolling only once through each setting, until you've gotten to the next-to-last setting and the dough strips are about as wide as the machine (6 inches).
Cut dough strips into 4-by-6-inch rectangles. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for pasta. Place a large bowl or pot of ice water next to the boiling pasta water. Boil the dough rectangles, just about a minute, then remove with a spider to the ice bath to cool. Drain, and spread out on baking sheets lined with damp kitchen towels
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. To assemble the cannelloni: Spread 1 cup besciamella in the bottom of a 3 quart 9-by-13 Pyrex or ceramic baking dish. Top with ½ cup of the marinara sauce and spread. Fill the dough rectangles with about 1/2 cup of the filling, then roll up the long way like a cigar and fit them snugly together in the baking dish. Spread the remaining bseciamella on top, then drizzle the remaining 1 cup marinara sauce over the besciamella. Sprinkle with the grated cheese. Tent the baking dish with foil, and bake until heated through, about 10 to 15 minutes, then uncover and bake until browned and bubbly, about 10 to 15 minutes more.
Wednesday, 25 December 2013
Urbi et Orbi from Pope Francis
I remember seeing the painting below a long time ago. I was always struck by how Christ was on the outside, and knocking. No door opened...
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-urbi-et-orbi-message
Pope Francis highlighted the persecution of Christians in the world as well as the many wars today in his address to the city and to the world.
Pray to the Prince of Peace, today, for a world shattered by hated, ignoring the Lord of Lords.
In this snippet, the Pope refers to the facade of peace.
True peace is not a balance of opposing forces. It is not a lovely “façade” which conceals conflicts and divisions. Peace calls for daily commitment, starting from God’s gift, from the grace which he has given us in Jesus Christ.
This facade starts with the personal, with the individual soul. One must forgive and truly love those who hate.
Loving the enemy is not merely an intellectual process of forgiving, but it is turning to the will in order to will to love.
The daily commitment for peace among nations will not occur if people are not peaceful in their own lives.
I find it interesting that while the Pope pleads for peace in the world, the world leaders are silent, on vacation, concentrating on their own countries or on themselves.
The leaders of this world, except for the Pope, ignore suffering, especially the suffering of Christians.
But, so too, the people of Bethlehem ignored the suffering of one small family forced into a cave with animals for the Birth of the Lord, the Messiah, the King.
This year has proved to be a year of violence for many across the world, and in other situations. As you all know, three peace-keepers in South Sudan were killed five days ago. Those who seek peace of any kind, whether political or spiritual, are targets.
But, we all have grace, tremendous grace. Grace leads us to love while surrounded by hate. Can we say "yes" to this challenge today?
Can we learn to find that peace within in order to create peace without? Remember, peace must be based on following Christ and not on ideologies. Without Christ, there is no true peace.
Pope Francis highlighted the persecution of Christians in the world as well as the many wars today in his address to the city and to the world.
Pray to the Prince of Peace, today, for a world shattered by hated, ignoring the Lord of Lords.
In this snippet, the Pope refers to the facade of peace.
 |
| The Prince of Peace by Harry Anderson |
This facade starts with the personal, with the individual soul. One must forgive and truly love those who hate.
Loving the enemy is not merely an intellectual process of forgiving, but it is turning to the will in order to will to love.
The daily commitment for peace among nations will not occur if people are not peaceful in their own lives.
I find it interesting that while the Pope pleads for peace in the world, the world leaders are silent, on vacation, concentrating on their own countries or on themselves.
If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.
John 15:18
The leaders of this world, except for the Pope, ignore suffering, especially the suffering of Christians.
But, so too, the people of Bethlehem ignored the suffering of one small family forced into a cave with animals for the Birth of the Lord, the Messiah, the King.
This year has proved to be a year of violence for many across the world, and in other situations. As you all know, three peace-keepers in South Sudan were killed five days ago. Those who seek peace of any kind, whether political or spiritual, are targets.
Remember the word that I said to you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
John 15:20
But, we all have grace, tremendous grace. Grace leads us to love while surrounded by hate. Can we say "yes" to this challenge today?
Can we learn to find that peace within in order to create peace without? Remember, peace must be based on following Christ and not on ideologies. Without Christ, there is no true peace.
Thoughts on St. John's Poem, continued...
In the Dark Night, God transforms the soul, mind, heart. The person becomes stripped of the ego and
becomes new.
This newness may feel raw, or even a bit scary, as if one is losing a sense of who one thought one was.
But, God is doing the transforming, through the purgation of the senses and the spirit.
This transformation leads finally to a conviction that no matter what the pain and suffering, no matter what the
sense of loss, God is there.
St. John experienced love in this darkness, like the love one feels when one is looking at a loved one who is sleeping.
One is wounded by love and the neck, which is the Bible is a symbol of pride, is wounded by God, who is destroying
pride.
The senses are suspended because one is being taken out of the world of the senses into the world of "nada",
the nothingness of self. One must abandon one's self to God's Will as nothing else is left.
The oblivion may be several things, the first being how one feels when one depends totally on Divine Providence,
and not on one's own efforts, ideas, even prayers.
One leaves all cares to God, as one has been humbled so much that one sees that human efforts are useless.
The result of this complete dependence on God, the complete surrender of memory, understanding and will, can be
a completely new life in Christ, and should be the very beginnings of the Illuminative State.
The key is abandonment.
The love which is growing in the person in the Dark Night is the love of expectation, of desire.
The love which is growing in the person in the Dark Night is the love of expectation, of desire.
What are the lilies? In the Bible, and in Solomon's Temple, lilies would have looked like our idea of the lily, the
Lilium candidum
When one leaves one's cares among the lilies, this means to me that one is content to let God take over the
purification process, one is relying on grace, not effort. All the effort lies in cooperation.
When one forgets cares, one is also completely no longer distracted by the cares. Cares fade into desire for
the Beloved.
If one is in love, one forgets everything else
the Beloved.
If one is in love, one forgets everything else
but the beloved, and in this case, the Beloved, Christ Himself.
Upon my flowery breast,
Kept wholly for himself alone,
There he stayed sleeping,
and I caressed him,
And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.
Kept wholly for himself alone,
There he stayed sleeping,
and I caressed him,
And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.
The breeze blew from the turret
As I parted his locks;
With his gentle hand
He wounded my neck
And caused all my senses to be suspended.
As I parted his locks;
With his gentle hand
He wounded my neck
And caused all my senses to be suspended.
I remained, lost in oblivion;
My face I reclined on the Beloved.
All ceased and I abandoned myself,
Leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.
My face I reclined on the Beloved.
All ceased and I abandoned myself,
Leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.
Thanks to Wiki for the photos...
Dark Night, Holy Night
His Dark Night was not without some comfort, unlike the experience of some of the saints.
Here is his poem, which on this night of the Birth of Christ seems appropriate to examine.
The house at rest, St. John tells us, is the soul waiting in the rest of the darkness of Faith.
The secret ladder could be seen as the virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
The main experience of the Dark Night is that it all happens in secret, without the knowledge of the world, for the most part, unless the person shares the experience.
One works, reads, walks, shops, all in the darkness of living only by Faith and not by sight.
But, slowly, surely, a change takes place, like on a dark night when the stars come out, one by one, and the bright planets create a pattern of light in the darkness.
I remember in the fall of 2012 being in the convent in Cobh and looking at the stars over the sea. The sky seemed darker than most skies, and the stars and planets brighter because of the darkness.
As St. John notes, only what is in the heart is bright-the love of God, the searching and waiting for God, the desire for God.
One begins to love the Dark Night, because one has an underlying sense of resting in God, even though in darkness and this knowledge, that God is leading one brings a comfort, even in the unknown.
Because of faith, one knows that God is transforming one, slowly, painfully, but is that not a blessing and a promise of greater light?
Faith is the light of the Dark Night.
On a dark night
On a dark night,
Kindled in love with yearnings
--oh, happy chance!--
I went forth without being observed,
My house being now at rest.
Kindled in love with yearnings
--oh, happy chance!--
I went forth without being observed,
My house being now at rest.
In darkness and secure,
By the secret ladder, disguised
--oh, happy chance!--
In darkness and in concealment,
My house being now at rest.
By the secret ladder, disguised
--oh, happy chance!--
In darkness and in concealment,
My house being now at rest.
In the happy night,
In secret, when none saw me,
Nor I beheld aught,
Without light or guide,
save that which burned in my heart.
In secret, when none saw me,
Nor I beheld aught,
Without light or guide,
save that which burned in my heart.
This light guided me
More surely than the light of noonday
To the place where he
(well I knew who!) was awaiting me
-- A place where none appeared.
More surely than the light of noonday
To the place where he
(well I knew who!) was awaiting me
-- A place where none appeared.
Oh, night that guided me,
Oh, night more lovely than the dawn,
Oh, night that joined
Oh, night more lovely than the dawn,
Oh, night that joined
Beloved with lover,
Lover transformed in the Beloved!
Lover transformed in the Beloved!
I shall continue with the rest of the poem later....
Upon my flowery breast,
Kept wholly for himself alone,
There he stayed sleeping,
and I caressed him,
And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.
Kept wholly for himself alone,
There he stayed sleeping,
and I caressed him,
And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.
The breeze blew from the turret
As I parted his locks;
With his gentle hand
He wounded my neck
And caused all my senses to be suspended.
As I parted his locks;
With his gentle hand
He wounded my neck
And caused all my senses to be suspended.
I remained, lost in oblivion;
My face I reclined on the Beloved.
All ceased and I abandoned myself,
Leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.
My face I reclined on the Beloved.
All ceased and I abandoned myself,
Leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.
Ave Maria
I heard this sung in Ireland, Malta, and now, America this year. I have been wrapped with this prayer in 2013.
God is good.
Franz Biebl's Ave Maria is truly sublime. I prefer the women's voices to the men's for this piece.
A Holy Blessed Christmas to All My Dear Readers
No merit of ours brought Christ down to earth. No merit of ours caused Mary's humility and Joseph's obedience. No merit of ours led the angels to proclaim the Good News to the weak and lowly.
All blessings of this night are in, through, and from grace.
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
My heart is in the monastery.....
http://songza.com/listen/gregorian-chants-monastic-peace-Catholicam/
Thanks, Emile! Pray for me, I am so homesick for Europe and my son.
Thanks, Emile! Pray for me, I am so homesick for Europe and my son.
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