From the Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington, Kentuky. Taken one week before the Feast of Christ the King. Photos are of beloved dead, placed here as well as near a statue of Saint Joseph during the month of November. More pictures here.
Thursday, December 4
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus
From the Cathedral of Christ the King in Lexington, Kentuky. Taken one week before the Feast of Christ the King. Photos are of beloved dead, placed here as well as near a statue of Saint Joseph during the month of November. More pictures here.
Obligatory Advent Post
I have posted so many times about my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life. This year, I thought I'd give you a break, but I learned something new (again) this year. I've written before about how George's life is wonderful because he sacrifices for those he loves, but something new occurred to me this week: George's love is imperfect, begrudging, even, until Clarence shows him what good his sacrifices have done.George loves his family and his friends, and he always wants to do what is right and to help them when he can. Though he wants to leave Bedford Falls, he loves the town in which he grew up. He cares about the fate of those he is to leave behind. But his love is not perfect. (Is anyone on earth's love perfect, really?) He holds some bitterness, some anger about the sacrifices he's made throughout his life. It's only through Divine intervention that his heart is truly changed. When his guardian angel shows him that his sacrifices have made a great difference in the lives of those he loves (remember that George's motivation was still that his family would be better without him), he abandons his misguided ideas about his worthlessness. God measures by a different yardstick than we do. Clarence is able to show George that his ends will not justify his means, that his life is meaningful, that he has made a difference in the world.
George's life really didn't look successful. He was poor, he was stuck in a small town with extremely limited possibilities. He and his wife went without some of the comforts that other families in their own neighborhood had. And yet his life was a great success when you look at it as God might. He loved his neighbor, helped anyone he could, had a family who loved him, never turned his back on someone in need. He was even willing to protect Uncle Billy by taking responsibility for Billy's mistake!
In today's society, most people would look at George the way George saw himself. Lots of potential, living up to none of it. However, our culture is wrong, and this recession might help people see that. We live in a culture that says he who dies with the most toys, wins. It's a lie.
On Black Friday, Travel Man and I watched news reports showing people waiting to buy stuff at a discount. Camping out all night. Rushing through doors. Hurting (even killing) people along the way. For what?
Well, one woman said that things were tight for her family. She's unemployed, her unemployment checks are being divided between her own family and family members in another state who need help. And she was in line to buy an iPod Touch for her son because "it was all he asked for for Christmas." You can hardly buy groceries, but you're buying an iPod Touch? Seriously?
It's going to come crashing down on a lot of people, this recession. And I think that God will use it for great good. There are some people who have to be reminded that there are more important things than the commercialism we're presented with. What makes us well-off isn't the cars we drive or the vacations we take or the things we own. It's faith, first and foremost, and family and love of neighbor.
Instead of striving to be like Mr. Potter, who owned most of Bedford Falls, we need to strive to be like George Bailey, who owned nearly nothing, but was the richest man in town. He was a greater success than Potter could ever dream of.
Jesse Tree: December 4
Theme: Noah
6 It repented him that he had made man on the earth. And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, 7 He said: I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, from man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noe found grace before the Lord.
Read the rest:
Wednesday, December 3
Jesse Tree: December 3
Theme: The Fall of Man
1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise? 2 And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die. 4 And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. 5 For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.
Read the rest:
(Pictures are of our home-made ornaments.)
Tuesday, December 2
How Could Anyone Tell You That You Are Less Than Beautiful?
I don't usually link to winners of blog contests, but 5 Minutes for Mom had one from Prego (you know, spaghetti sauce people?) that was a photo contest, and the winning picture just took my breath away.
Here's the winning picture:
And here's the blog that beautiful girl's mother writes. (The post title comes from the song on the linked-to blog's sidebar. Look for the embedded video.)
Please browse my eBay items. Thank you.
Jesse Tree: December 2
Theme: Adam and Eve
7And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul. 8 And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed. 9 And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of the place of pleasure to water paradise, which from thence is divided into four heads.
Read the rest:
(Pictures are of our home-made ornaments.)
Monday, December 1
Book Worm Meme
Jean tagged me for this. I can play, but I'll leave a somewhat open tag at the end because I am swamped.
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The Rules:
Pass this on to 5 blogging friends. Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that.
Pass this on to 5 blogging friends. Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that.
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Okay. Here goes with the quote. It's from my Bible, which happens to be the closest book that isn't a product guide for software. (Those aren't really books.) If I would have had to turn around, I think I might have come up with schoolbooks, as there is a shelf full of them behind me. LOL! New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition:"Bring them to me," said his father, "that I may bless them." (Now Israel's eyes were dimmed from age and he could not see well.) When Joseph brought his sons to him, he kissed and embraced them. Then Israel said to Joseph, "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your descendants as well!"Joseph removed them from his father's knees and bowed down before him with his face to the ground. Then Joseph took the two, Ephraim with his right hand, to Israel's left, and Manasseh with his left hand to Israel's right, and led them to him.
Now for that semi-open tag. I tag anyone who is going to be participating in the National Night of Prayer for Life on the night of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Remember to leave a link to your post (not just the main blog link) in the com boxes below.
Patience is a Virtue
This joke from "Good, Clean Funnies" came just in time to coordinate with my post on the Soccer Mom site.
Forgive Your Enemies
Toward the end of a church service, the minister asked the congregation, "How many of you have forgiven your enemies?"
All held up their hands except one small elderly lady.
"Mrs. Jones? Are you not willing to forgive your enemies?"
"I don't have an enemy in the world," she replied, smiling sweetly.
"Mrs. Jones, that is very unusual. How old are you?"
"I happen to be ninety-eight years young," she replied.
"Oh, Mrs. Jones, would you please come down in front and tell us all how a person can live ninety-eight years and not have a single enemy?"
The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle, faced the congregation, and said, "I outlived them all."
Why Would a Woman Subscribe to "The Art of Manliness" Blog?
Because of posts like this one.
Here at the Art of Manliness, we haven’t been shy about the fact that we’re big proponents of marriage. We certainly don’t advocate that men rush into marriage willy nilly, whether they’re ready or not. That would be seriously unwise. But once your find your true love and you’re sure she’s the one, there’s no reason to delay your nuptials. Why? Marriage offers truly significant benefits that cannot be found outside of it. Here are 6 reasons you should grow up, man-up, and stopping being scared of walking down the aisle: ... [emphasis added]
The reasons are wonderful, and they are only the basic, secular-type reasons. Spiritually, there are even more. But this is a great place to start.
I just love a real manly blog. And The Art of Manliness is certainly that!
Jesse Tree: December 1
Theme: Creation
God createth Heaven and Earth, and all things therein, in six days.
1 In the beginning God created heaven, and earth. 2 And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters. 3 And God said: Be light made. And light was made. 4 And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the light from the darkness. 5 And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night; and there was evening and morning one day.
6 And God said: Let there be a firmament made amidst the waters: and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made a firmament, and divided the waters that were under the firmament, from those that were above the firmament, and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament, Heaven; and the evening and morning were the second day. 9 God also said: Let the waters that are under the heaven, be gathered together into one place: and let the dry land appear. And it was so done. 10 And God called the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 And he said: Let the earth bring forth the green herb, and such as may seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, which may have seed in itself upon the earth. And it was so done. 12 And the earth brought forth the green herb, and such as yieldeth seed according to its kind, and the tree that beareth fruit, having seed each one according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.14 And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: 15 To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth. And it was so done.
16 And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars. 17 And he set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth. 18 And to rule the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and morning were the fourth day. 20 God also said: Let the waters bring forth the creeping creature having life, and the fowl that may fly over the earth under the firmament of heaven.
Read the rest:
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