.
I got "tagged." Pal Cathy of Alexandria, aka Cranky Cathy, Queen of the Twin Cities Catholic Blogging Corps the Recovering Dissident Catholic megasite, must be mad at me. Someone tagged her and she dug up some old grudges and brought me into the recently resurrected meme culture.
A check of Stella's index tells me that I've been involved with a dozen or so memes in the past, but I have been thankful for the past year or so to think that this blog activity had ceased. Uh, uh. Now Cathy sez that I have to give you five reasons "Why I Love Jesus" (I hope I have more than that) and then tag I must tag five more folks to get them to do the same. So be nice to me today and tomorrow or else I might be choosing you.
#5 I Love Jesus because I was born into a good Catholic family, and while people who talk as much as we do occasionally get into arguments, we still talk to each other lo these many years down the line.
#4 I Love Jesus because even after I fell away from the Church as an adult, despite 12 years of elementary and secondary catechism and religion instruction, I still considered myself to be a Catholic, although a very bad one, and ultimately reverted and returned to the Church. I know Jesus had much to do with that. I sure wouldn't have had the discipline to do that myself. Thank you, Jesus.
#3 I Love Jesus because He accepts me despite my many faults. And he gives me the grace of the sacraments, especially Confession, and a loud conscience, that doesn't permit me to go long without retuning to the Confession box. And he has me living in an area where Confession 7/24 is readily available, in walking distance if need be.
#2 I Love Jesus because He keeps trying to improve me. Despite my resistance. A few years back I began to say the Rosary now and then but despite my half-hearted intentions, I was never able to say it seven days in a row. A few months ago, I broke though that "ceiling of sloth" and began to say the Rosary daily, to the point now that I feel guilty If I don't do it. Although I must admit that occasionally I have to revert to the "Emergency Rosary" to get it done within the time limit. [Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Pray for me now and at the hour of my Death. Amen.]
#1 I Love Jesus because He does love me. For most of my life I could not understand the Second Great Commandment: "Love Your Neighbor as Yourself." If I didn't love myself, how was it possible for me to "love my neighbor?" Once I understood that Jesus did love me, I began to comprehend that I must be loveable if Jesus did love me, with all my faults. And therefor I should be loving myself, and loving my neighbor, too.
Most of you can start breathing now. Here are the people that I have chosen to play the "I Love Jesus" Meme: Laura, the Crazy Mama, the Ironic Catholic, Sanctus Belle, who blogs at Our Lady's Tears, the Badger Catholic, and Sancte Pater, the internet Photoshop whiz who designed my new header!
Showing posts with label Memes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memes. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Cathy's Motu Meme
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My fourth job was as a busboy in Coffman Memorial Union at the UofMN as a freshman in the cafeteria. Two hours a day at lunch time to work in the "bussing station", removing dirty trays from the racks and putting them on the dumbwaiters to send them down to the dishwashers working beneath us. My supervisor was Garrison Keillor, who taught me everything he knew about bussing. Of course, radio was his gig, even back then, when he was a volunteer with WMMR, the UofMN dorm radio station. I wished that he had asked me to come volunteer with him, but I was too awestruck, even back then, to ask that of him. Maybe I could have been a "star", too?
My fifth job(s) was as a lunch/dinner busboy at various sororities at the UofMN for my two meals a day and maybe $15 a month stipend. Not a bad deal. I still salivate over the memory of the cherry pies that "Johnnie" a cook at the Pi Beta Phi house made. Sadly, Johnnie turned out to be a kleptomaniac and they canned her. I quit and went to Gamma Phi Beta at no increase in salary. What I really learned was what women looked like at Saturday brunch before they put their makeup on. A very rude awakening, I tell you.
Three of my bad habits:
Well, I suppose I could cop out and say that "that's between me and my confessor." But the number is far greater than three. But let's try some thing that I don't, but maybe should, confess. How 'bout (1) living in an incredibly messy apartment with books, magazines and papers strewn all over the place? (2) Not making my bed more than two or three times a year; and (3) gesturing at drivers whose standards and habits don't meet my expectations. OK, that last one I have been known to confess innumerable times.
Five places I have lived:
I suppose I could say, for 10 weeks, Fort Lost-in-the-Woods, Missouri; Monterey, CA, for about 12 months, making 78 bucks a month, so I really couldn't take advantage of it; Ayer (Ft. Devens, MA), about 40 miles west of Boston, for about five months, making 120 bucks a month, but I still didn't seem to have much money; Mietraching (Bad Aibling Kaserne) in Upper Bavaria, 50 klicks (kilometers) southeast of Munich, for about 30 months, making and drinking up beaucoup dollars at an exchange rate of 4 Marks to one Dollar. Now that was nirvana. And I guess the final place would have to be Minneapolis, where I do get regularly across the river and visit St Paul, after showing my passport.
I think everybody I know has posted, so volunteers gratefully appreciated. But I am going to ask my brother in California to make his contribution and I will post it also.
What I was doing 10 years ago:
Now we're talking ancient history. Let's see, that's 1998. Pre-Millenium bug. Pre-blogging. I must have been hanging around the BBS's (bulletin board systems), the Catholic Answers Forum where I met Veritatis Splendor, Mary Gibson, soon to become Sister Mary something-or-other, the Minneapolis Issues Forum where I got evicted for accusing someone of being employed by the St Paul Chamber of Commerce. That was considered "hate speech" in those days. Probably still is.
5 Snacks I enjoy:
Well, if you don't find it in my icebox (dating myself here) or cupboards, that means it must be on my fave list. I can't afford (weight-wise) to purchase things that come in packages. Because once that package gets broken open, it's soon "down the hatch." So things like cookies, nacho chips, ice cream (vanilla is fine, butter brickle is much better), Snickers and cashews are rarely seen in the Marshall household.
Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
I think this came from Pat Madrid in about 2003. It probably needs a bit of adjustment.
Five jobs that I have had:
My first job, at about age 8, was as an assistant at the pony rides establishment about two blocks from my home in Duluth, on Kenwood Avenue, down in a ravine. A pal and I got hired for a day to work with her ponies. I was a bit afraid of them so I spent most of the day shovelling s--- from the open air stable. The elderly lady (she was probably thirty) fired me, but not before paying me the munificent sum of one silver dollar. I don't think my pal who was a year older worked very many more days. She was a demanding taskmistress. Soon thereafter, she moved her operation out to the Duluth Zoo in West Duluth.
Now we're talking ancient history. Let's see, that's 1998. Pre-Millenium bug. Pre-blogging. I must have been hanging around the BBS's (bulletin board systems), the Catholic Answers Forum where I met Veritatis Splendor, Mary Gibson, soon to become Sister Mary something-or-other, the Minneapolis Issues Forum where I got evicted for accusing someone of being employed by the St Paul Chamber of Commerce. That was considered "hate speech" in those days. Probably still is.
5 Snacks I enjoy:
Well, if you don't find it in my icebox (dating myself here) or cupboards, that means it must be on my fave list. I can't afford (weight-wise) to purchase things that come in packages. Because once that package gets broken open, it's soon "down the hatch." So things like cookies, nacho chips, ice cream (vanilla is fine, butter brickle is much better), Snickers and cashews are rarely seen in the Marshall household.
Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
I think this came from Pat Madrid in about 2003. It probably needs a bit of adjustment.
| | This morning, I posted a news item about an Orange County, California, parish that received a $10 million contribution from an anonymous benefactor. And that got me to thinking: How would I spend the $10 million clams if I were the pastor? 1) Open a large, well-equipped soup kitchen located in the inner city areas of Santa Ana or Anaheim (cost $500,000); 2) Open a free medical and dental clinic for the local community that would cater especially to illegal alien and migrant farmworkers, the homeless, and low-income families. Organize local physicians, dentists, and nurses from the community, Catholic and non-Catholic, to donate their time (say, one day a month) to staff and operate the facility (cost: $2,000,000); 3) Establish two low-power 24-hour local Catholic radio stations, broadcasting from the parish itself and possibly retransmitting the great programming at WEWN shortwave. One would broadcast in Spanish, the other in English. Add Vietnamese programming, too, if you can find some dynamic and orthodox Vietnamese priests and lay people who have the skills for radio. This kind of station would have a small footprint, say a 10-mile "bubble" around the parish and it would be an excellent, low-cost evangelization outreach to the local community (cost: $500,000); 4) Buy or build a spacious and comfortable building as a home for indigent or low-income unmarried pregnant women. Provide free room, board and medical care, the sacraments (for Catholic women, of course) catechism instruction, home-ec classes. This would be a proven brick-and-mortar pro-life solution for local women who are tempted by the blandishments of the vile abortion industry. (cost: $1,000,000) 5) Buy or build a modest convent for the Missionaries of Charity sisters (Mother Teresa's order) and for the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Alhambra; invite them to send sisters; also buy or build a modest monastery for the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal; invite them to send priests and brothers to work among the poor and evangelize (cost: $1,000,00). 6) Open a large, parish-run MEGA Catholic bookstore. Make it BIG, well-stocked, reasonably priced, and loaded with excellent and orthodox Catholic books, tapes, videos, statuary, rosaries, candles, etc. (cost: $500,000); 7) Open a large, warehouse-style parish-run food and clothing bank for the poor and disadvantaged (cost: $1,000,000). 8) Buy or build a center that will house a school for Catholic lay-missionaries and apologists. Aim for graduating a well-trained cadre of 50 Catholic lay-missionaries and apologists each year who will go door-to-door in small groups and spread the Good News and bring people home to the Church and the sacraments (cost: $1,000,000). 9) Adorn the interior of the parish with beautiful statues, votive candles, stained-glass windows, and traditional fixtures of all kinds. Do everything possible to enhance the sense of the sacred inside the church itself. Erect a large crucifix outside the parish buildings, close to the road. The bigger the better -- 30' high would be awesome (cost: $500,000); 10) Provide each family in the parish with a free "Catholic Family Kit," including 5 rosaries, one crucifix, one 12" statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Catholic Bible, a copy of the Catechism, a prayerbook, a bottle of holy water, three apologetics books three apologetics tape sets on the basics of the Faith, and, of course, a one-year subscription to Envoy Magazine (cost: $100,000); 11) Build a large shrine to our Blessed Lady on the parish grounds. Make it big and beautiful. Encourage all the faithful to make a pilgrimage there at least once a year as a family (cost: $200,000); 12) Put $700,000 in the bank for a rainy day and so that the food bank, medical clinic, and home for unwed mothers can be maintained and replenished with supplies annually. 13) Send $100,000 to the diocese as a gift. 14) Send $400,000 to the Holy Father as a gift for his Peter's Pence collection and for the missions. 15) Give the remaining $500,000 to the poor, dividing it among area Catholic and Protestant soup kitchens and homeless shelters. |
Five jobs that I have had:
My first job, at about age 8, was as an assistant at the pony rides establishment about two blocks from my home in Duluth, on Kenwood Avenue, down in a ravine. A pal and I got hired for a day to work with her ponies. I was a bit afraid of them so I spent most of the day shovelling s--- from the open air stable. The elderly lady (she was probably thirty) fired me, but not before paying me the munificent sum of one silver dollar. I don't think my pal who was a year older worked very many more days. She was a demanding taskmistress. Soon thereafter, she moved her operation out to the Duluth Zoo in West Duluth.
My second job was as a caddy at Northland Country Club in Duluth at about age 12. I didn't get to file for unemployment or declare my "one dollar" income from my previous job. My first day I did get out, without having had a lesson on how to be a caddy, and struggled through a round with Mrs. R.P. Brown who gave me a "fair" on my caddy rating card and a quarter tip (total $1.50 for four or five hours work).
Fortunately, I stuck with it and ultimately became the caddy master ( job no. 3) and received an Evans Scholarship for four years (room and tuition) at the UofMN.
Fortunately, I stuck with it and ultimately became the caddy master ( job no. 3) and received an Evans Scholarship for four years (room and tuition) at the UofMN.
My fourth job was as a busboy in Coffman Memorial Union at the UofMN as a freshman in the cafeteria. Two hours a day at lunch time to work in the "bussing station", removing dirty trays from the racks and putting them on the dumbwaiters to send them down to the dishwashers working beneath us. My supervisor was Garrison Keillor, who taught me everything he knew about bussing. Of course, radio was his gig, even back then, when he was a volunteer with WMMR, the UofMN dorm radio station. I wished that he had asked me to come volunteer with him, but I was too awestruck, even back then, to ask that of him. Maybe I could have been a "star", too?
My fifth job(s) was as a lunch/dinner busboy at various sororities at the UofMN for my two meals a day and maybe $15 a month stipend. Not a bad deal. I still salivate over the memory of the cherry pies that "Johnnie" a cook at the Pi Beta Phi house made. Sadly, Johnnie turned out to be a kleptomaniac and they canned her. I quit and went to Gamma Phi Beta at no increase in salary. What I really learned was what women looked like at Saturday brunch before they put their makeup on. A very rude awakening, I tell you.
Three of my bad habits:
Well, I suppose I could cop out and say that "that's between me and my confessor." But the number is far greater than three. But let's try some thing that I don't, but maybe should, confess. How 'bout (1) living in an incredibly messy apartment with books, magazines and papers strewn all over the place? (2) Not making my bed more than two or three times a year; and (3) gesturing at drivers whose standards and habits don't meet my expectations. OK, that last one I have been known to confess innumerable times.
Five places I have lived:
I suppose I could say, for 10 weeks, Fort Lost-in-the-Woods, Missouri; Monterey, CA, for about 12 months, making 78 bucks a month, so I really couldn't take advantage of it; Ayer (Ft. Devens, MA), about 40 miles west of Boston, for about five months, making 120 bucks a month, but I still didn't seem to have much money; Mietraching (Bad Aibling Kaserne) in Upper Bavaria, 50 klicks (kilometers) southeast of Munich, for about 30 months, making and drinking up beaucoup dollars at an exchange rate of 4 Marks to one Dollar. Now that was nirvana. And I guess the final place would have to be Minneapolis, where I do get regularly across the river and visit St Paul, after showing my passport.
I think everybody I know has posted, so volunteers gratefully appreciated. But I am going to ask my brother in California to make his contribution and I will post it also.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
"The Saturday Meme": Three Weeks Late
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Well, it's probably been obvious by now that after a couple of years of doing this blog thing, I kinda ran out of gas after Christmas and pretty much took the month of January off, without any explanation. But, not that I'm rarin' to go, but at least I'll jump back into the saddle (poor horse) and see what I can do about holding up my end of the deal. I suppose the fact that nominations for "Best Catholic Blog" are coming up might have something to do with it.
And I just heard some great Catholic gossip, but sorry, if I told you the details, I'm afraid that would be the end of you. You just couldn't handle it.
Anyhoooo, the patient (and extremely funny) Ironic Catholic tagged me with one of those irritating memes a few weeks ago and that as much as anything (other than a promise to Adoro) has got me back in the traces. Lots of metaphors, too.
Book: The Book of Days, a Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar including Anecdote, Biography & History, Curiosities of Literature and Oddities of Human Life and Character, edited by R. Chambers, in Two vols., Vol. I, 1888 [Boy, they sure knew how to write book titles in the olden days, didn't they?]
P. 123, January 16, tidbit on Sir John Moore who achieved some bit of fame at the Battle of Corunna, January 16, 1809, which must have been some naval engagement between Napoleon and England: [5th sentence] "At thirteen he danced, fenced and rode with uncommon address; his character was a fine compound of intelligence, gentleness and courage."
"The connection with the Duke of Hamilton had cost Moore very nearly his life. The Duke, though only sixteen, was allowed to wear a sword. One day, 'in an idle humour, he drew it, and began to amuse himself by fencing at young Moore, and laughed as he forced him to skip from side to side to shun false thrusts." [For the sum of only 50 cents, I'll give you the fourth sentence if you can't stand the suspense.]
I'm not sure who has been tagged with this, but it would be interesting to see who owns books, and what kind: How 'bout Mitchell Hadley, Judith Hadley; Laura the Crazy Mama, Swiss Miss; and Sanctus Belle.
Well, it's probably been obvious by now that after a couple of years of doing this blog thing, I kinda ran out of gas after Christmas and pretty much took the month of January off, without any explanation. But, not that I'm rarin' to go, but at least I'll jump back into the saddle (poor horse) and see what I can do about holding up my end of the deal. I suppose the fact that nominations for "Best Catholic Blog" are coming up might have something to do with it.
And I just heard some great Catholic gossip, but sorry, if I told you the details, I'm afraid that would be the end of you. You just couldn't handle it.
Anyhoooo, the patient (and extremely funny) Ironic Catholic tagged me with one of those irritating memes a few weeks ago and that as much as anything (other than a promise to Adoro) has got me back in the traces. Lots of metaphors, too.
Rules: Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
Well, being that I'm in the early stages of reorganizing my desk, it happened to be full of piles of books (well, it has been that way for a considerable period of time, actually, being in my library area) and I had to decide which book was "nearest at hand." Would it be "as the crow flies", or would it be in a "linear" mode, taking into consideration the five books, the magnifying glass, the daytimer, the ring binder and the assorted papers that were piled on top of the book only two inches from my right paw. If I chose the "linear method", it would have been a Webster's Dictionary. That would have been no fun. So I chose the crow's method:
Book: The Book of Days, a Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar including Anecdote, Biography & History, Curiosities of Literature and Oddities of Human Life and Character, edited by R. Chambers, in Two vols., Vol. I, 1888 [Boy, they sure knew how to write book titles in the olden days, didn't they?]
P. 123, January 16, tidbit on Sir John Moore who achieved some bit of fame at the Battle of Corunna, January 16, 1809, which must have been some naval engagement between Napoleon and England: [5th sentence] "At thirteen he danced, fenced and rode with uncommon address; his character was a fine compound of intelligence, gentleness and courage."
"The connection with the Duke of Hamilton had cost Moore very nearly his life. The Duke, though only sixteen, was allowed to wear a sword. One day, 'in an idle humour, he drew it, and began to amuse himself by fencing at young Moore, and laughed as he forced him to skip from side to side to shun false thrusts." [For the sum of only 50 cents, I'll give you the fourth sentence if you can't stand the suspense.]
I'm not sure who has been tagged with this, but it would be interesting to see who owns books, and what kind: How 'bout Mitchell Hadley, Judith Hadley; Laura the Crazy Mama, Swiss Miss; and Sanctus Belle.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
The Immaculate Conception Meme, suggested to me
I've got three hours and two minutes to post this and have it still qualify as an "Immaculate Conception Meme." Actually, it is down to two hours and 57 minutes now. Here goes!
Rules: Each tagged person must post 8 random facts or habits about themselves on their blog. At the end of the post, choose 8 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment telling them that they are tagged and to read your blog. Have fun!
3. I've been in the hospital three times with heart problems, starting in 1984. I finally seemed to have learned that it is important to take the pills as prescribed. No surgeries. A stent in 2004. Things are fine, more or less, since then. Now if I could only exercise more and eat less and get my weight down.
4. I've been doing my family history for a very long time and one of the things that bothers me most is that nobody but me seems to be REALLY interested other than in looking at a chart and asking "Which one is me?" Was this all a waste? I hope not. But who will take it on after I'm gone? I finally figured out a place to put it, for free [Rootsweb FreePages], so that even if it might be a couple of generations before some relative appreciates all my thousands of hours of work, all of it will be there for them. Barring a comet collision or the Second Coming.
5. I'm a closet charismatic, also. Tears!
6. For about ten months I have been volunteering at the local Veterans' Hospital as an EMHC a couple of days a week. This has been the singularly most rewarding thing that I have ever done in my life. It makes up for a lot of my wastrel history. Most of what I do is just check in with them, chat a bit, pray with some and give Holy Communion to those who request it. I never would have thought that I would have the interest or ability to do something like that. I thank Jesus for the Grace He gave me to allow me to do this. I've always thought that looking at wounds and scars, incisions, amputations, tracheotomies, etc. would be difficult. It's not. I'm looking at human beings.
7. I started out this meme by using the word "guilt." I suspect that I am not that different from those of you who are reading this. Even though I've been to confession and know that I have received absolution, I still have twinges of guilt for some of the things that I did (or didn't do) during my lifetime. Some of them were in days before the onset of the "age of reason." So, last Spring, I made a General Confession. I spent a month or two preparing for it, writing down a list of all the things, some confessed, some forgotten to confess but forgiven anyway, some probably not sins, but still "shameful", etc., etc., etc. I'd put it down for a week, review it and make changes. Then do that again.
8. One of the best things that is available in the Twin Cities is UHF Channel 19 where you can get 24 hours of EWTN for free if you are more or less in sight of the IDS Tower where they have their antenna. I used to volunteer there. You will need a "rabbit ear" antenna. But your "clicker" will allow you to turn off your cable and watch a UHF Channel. Only quite rarely, during weather "emergencies" [only the people selliing ads call them "emergencies", few actually are] do I watch network TV. Of course I don't watch that much EWTN, what with my wrists being permanently bonded to my computer keyboard as they are.
OK, you know who you are: Terry (I think Cathy has done this); Sue Vigilante (one of the funnier and more literate bloggers), SwissMiss, Veritatis Splendor (the "Roamin' Roman"), Father Andrerw Dickinson; Sanctus Belle; I'd love to have Vincenzo on here and I would be willing to post it if he doesn't want to reveal his identity; And dare I mention it? Father Z? I'll give it a try! The worst he can do is ignore me or embarrass me to tears or castigate me publicly in front of all the orthodox Catholics of the world or . . . It's for Our Lady, Father.
Rules: Each tagged person must post 8 random facts or habits about themselves on their blog. At the end of the post, choose 8 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment telling them that they are tagged and to read your blog. Have fun!
1. A tiny bit of the guilt that I habitually carry around with me was removed when the Ironic Catholic recently discovered that some folks have found out who she really is. A year or so ago, I accidentally revealed her identity to a whole bunch of bloggers. What I discovered from that is that people don't read my emails very carefully since only one, trustworthy, person picked up on it and her secret had remained secure, til now. You see, I'm the only blogger who has met her. Boy is she tall! I still have a crick in my neck from looking up.
2. 30 Years ago I was a paid organizer on the election campaign of one of the most liberal and pro-choice politicians in the State of Minnesota for the U.S. Senate. And in the U.S. for that matter. We lost. I wouldn't be blogging in St. Blog's Parish if we had won, that's for sure. I still admire the man for his integrity. I thought I was pro-life then, but secretly. It was very uncomfortable for me hanging around with the Grand Dames of the Feminist Caucus for whom abortion was their sacrament.
3. I've been in the hospital three times with heart problems, starting in 1984. I finally seemed to have learned that it is important to take the pills as prescribed. No surgeries. A stent in 2004. Things are fine, more or less, since then. Now if I could only exercise more and eat less and get my weight down.
4. I've been doing my family history for a very long time and one of the things that bothers me most is that nobody but me seems to be REALLY interested other than in looking at a chart and asking "Which one is me?" Was this all a waste? I hope not. But who will take it on after I'm gone? I finally figured out a place to put it, for free [Rootsweb FreePages], so that even if it might be a couple of generations before some relative appreciates all my thousands of hours of work, all of it will be there for them. Barring a comet collision or the Second Coming.
5. I'm a closet charismatic, also. Tears!
6. For about ten months I have been volunteering at the local Veterans' Hospital as an EMHC a couple of days a week. This has been the singularly most rewarding thing that I have ever done in my life. It makes up for a lot of my wastrel history. Most of what I do is just check in with them, chat a bit, pray with some and give Holy Communion to those who request it. I never would have thought that I would have the interest or ability to do something like that. I thank Jesus for the Grace He gave me to allow me to do this. I've always thought that looking at wounds and scars, incisions, amputations, tracheotomies, etc. would be difficult. It's not. I'm looking at human beings.
What's most amazing to me is that of those who take Holy Communion, 40 years after Vatican Two, 95% or more take the Host on the tongue. And they know how to do it. I also occasionally serve Mass and do stints as lector. I find it mildly uncomfortable to be able to touch the sacred vessels (we could never do that when I was an altar boy) and more unworthy to personally touch Our Lord in the Host. But I understand that without me, it would not be possible to have many patients receive Communion regularly.
7. I started out this meme by using the word "guilt." I suspect that I am not that different from those of you who are reading this. Even though I've been to confession and know that I have received absolution, I still have twinges of guilt for some of the things that I did (or didn't do) during my lifetime. Some of them were in days before the onset of the "age of reason." So, last Spring, I made a General Confession. I spent a month or two preparing for it, writing down a list of all the things, some confessed, some forgotten to confess but forgiven anyway, some probably not sins, but still "shameful", etc., etc., etc. I'd put it down for a week, review it and make changes. Then do that again.
Then I called up the priest who I wanted have hear my General Confession and made an appointment. We just went into his office, sat down in chairs (it could be done in a confessional, but I needed to read my list) and I just went through the items on my list, one by one, for maybe an hour. Father occasionally asked clarification questions, but let me lead the way. At the end, after giving me absolution, he said that had not ever given a General Confession before but thought that I had done it well. Today, I've got guilt for things that I did or didn't do this morning. But all that guilt from years and years ago is gone. Try it, you'll love it.
8. One of the best things that is available in the Twin Cities is UHF Channel 19 where you can get 24 hours of EWTN for free if you are more or less in sight of the IDS Tower where they have their antenna. I used to volunteer there. You will need a "rabbit ear" antenna. But your "clicker" will allow you to turn off your cable and watch a UHF Channel. Only quite rarely, during weather "emergencies" [only the people selliing ads call them "emergencies", few actually are] do I watch network TV. Of course I don't watch that much EWTN, what with my wrists being permanently bonded to my computer keyboard as they are.
OK, you know who you are: Terry (I think Cathy has done this); Sue Vigilante (one of the funnier and more literate bloggers), SwissMiss, Veritatis Splendor (the "Roamin' Roman"), Father Andrerw Dickinson; Sanctus Belle; I'd love to have Vincenzo on here and I would be willing to post it if he doesn't want to reveal his identity; And dare I mention it? Father Z? I'll give it a try! The worst he can do is ignore me or embarrass me to tears or castigate me publicly in front of all the orthodox Catholics of the world or . . . It's for Our Lady, Father.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The Dreaded Two by Four Meme; Never heard of it? Now you have!
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An eon or so ago, June 8, that pesky Adoro, who most of you know, who should dread memes as the cause of one more post for her day, went out scouting for one and then chose me to further it according to the Meme Rules Society regulations.
Here are the rules: Share four things that were new to you in the past four years. Four things you learned or experienced or explored for the first time in the past four years. Then share four things you want to try new in the next four years.
Four New Things in the Past Four Years:
1). This one is easy. I learned to blog. Some of you may have noticed. But I have yet to register on the "Higher Beings" category on the Truth Laid Bear scale.
2). [Alert to my "tone-deaf" siblings] I have joined a new Gregorian Chant men's group and have been taking singing lessons. First time since grade school. And I haven't been thrown out of it yet. Our overly-ambitious leader, his eyes on an appearance some day in St Peter's (Rome, not Mendota) figures we will be ready for a public perfomance in about 20 days. We'll be singing in Latin, so those of you who can't wait for the Motu Proprio, you can come and cheer for us. I guess "cheer" is not the right word.
3). I have become an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion in a hospital. That has been an Extraordinary Experience for me.
4). I opened a little business to sell much of my book collection on Alibris.com. One can quite well as opposed to selling them to a book dealer who would need to make a profit and perhaps hold the book for several years before it sells.
Four Things in the Next Four Years:
1). I need to get a part time job. You know where to find me 23 hours a day. Right here.
2). I need to do something about the 260+ messages sitting in my Outlook inbox and the files on two dead computers.
3). I have to assemble all of my family history research into some sort of readable file and start depositing it in various places so that others can use it. Few of my relatives have expressed much interest.
4). One of my cousins, younger than me, is suffering from cancer and it's serious. I have lost contact with most of my first cousins and know few more remote cousins. I should make some kind of attempt so that we can all get together now and then. Most of them live in Duluth or the Twin Cities, I think.
I'll leave it to which of my 14o or so weekly readers who visit Stella Borealis to let them try out the meme concept using the Two by Four Meme.
An eon or so ago, June 8, that pesky Adoro, who most of you know, who should dread memes as the cause of one more post for her day, went out scouting for one and then chose me to further it according to the Meme Rules Society regulations.
Here are the rules: Share four things that were new to you in the past four years. Four things you learned or experienced or explored for the first time in the past four years. Then share four things you want to try new in the next four years.
Four New Things in the Past Four Years:
1). This one is easy. I learned to blog. Some of you may have noticed. But I have yet to register on the "Higher Beings" category on the Truth Laid Bear scale.
2). [Alert to my "tone-deaf" siblings] I have joined a new Gregorian Chant men's group and have been taking singing lessons. First time since grade school. And I haven't been thrown out of it yet. Our overly-ambitious leader, his eyes on an appearance some day in St Peter's (Rome, not Mendota) figures we will be ready for a public perfomance in about 20 days. We'll be singing in Latin, so those of you who can't wait for the Motu Proprio, you can come and cheer for us. I guess "cheer" is not the right word.
3). I have become an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion in a hospital. That has been an Extraordinary Experience for me.
4). I opened a little business to sell much of my book collection on Alibris.com. One can quite well as opposed to selling them to a book dealer who would need to make a profit and perhaps hold the book for several years before it sells.
Four Things in the Next Four Years:
1). I need to get a part time job. You know where to find me 23 hours a day. Right here.
2). I need to do something about the 260+ messages sitting in my Outlook inbox and the files on two dead computers.
3). I have to assemble all of my family history research into some sort of readable file and start depositing it in various places so that others can use it. Few of my relatives have expressed much interest.
4). One of my cousins, younger than me, is suffering from cancer and it's serious. I have lost contact with most of my first cousins and know few more remote cousins. I should make some kind of attempt so that we can all get together now and then. Most of them live in Duluth or the Twin Cities, I think.
I'll leave it to which of my 14o or so weekly readers who visit Stella Borealis to let them try out the meme concept using the Two by Four Meme.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Blogging is becoming Narcissistic; Adoro has tagged me with another Self Referential Meme
.
Here are the rules according to whomever likes to make up rules: • Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. • People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. • At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. • Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
Eight things about me that you really don't need to know
1. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?
When I started, in March of 2006, I had several ideas as to what I wanted to do with a blog, but the strongest perhaps was to create a forum for the Catholic Church in Minnesota and surrounding area where people could seek and share information to assist them in their individual spiritual journeys. To this end, Stella Borealis has been most effective in the blog roll list of Catholic blogs, organizations and events. Almost all of them listed in the sidebar are based in our area.
Finding the websites was easy compared to finding links to events, particularly educational events. That takes a tremendous amount of time surfing those most active sites and the parishes and dioceses for scheduled events. That has been very weak in terms of its completeness and effectiveness. But I still try.
I find that I don't do as much "personal posting" as do some on their blogs, but you will find that if they push the right buttons, you will find me commenting on many of the most popular of our local blogs. I have an opinion on almost everything.
2. Are you a spiritual person?
I love that question. And I love the answer most often given on singles websites when people are asked to describe themselves. The answer most often given seems to be "Spiritual, but not religious." I really wonder what that means. My answer would be "Spiritual AND Religious, but not nearly as much as I should be."
3. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want to have with you?
A computer with a cable modem, a Blogger account and electric power. (Is that four)?
4. What’s your favorite childhood memory?
Birthday parties. I was the oldest of five children and we always made a big deal out of birthday's, even my Dad's which occurred on the day after Christmas. As hard is it is for a child to buy a present for a parent, can you imagine how hard it would be having to buy two for your Dad (or Mom)? And Dad, a mailman, invariably in the style of Tiny Tim, at every such event would proclaim "I wonder what the poor people are eating tonight?"
5. Are these your first (tagging) memes?
Not by a long shot. I'm going to start posting as "Anonymous."
6. Eight random facts about me
a. I won a city-wide Catechism Contest sponsored by the Knights of Columbus in Duluth when I was about 12. To me it seemed like everybody got tougher questions from the back of the Baltimore Catechism than I did. But I happened to know who the First Martyr was, something nobody had studied; but St Stephen's feast day is my Dad's birthday!
b. I went to the U of MN on an Evans Scholarship sponsored by the Western Golf Association for having been a caddie. The scholarship is fairly easy to get and far and away the easiest to keep, a C average, and it paid room and tuition and you live with a lot of great guys (and now, gals, I guess). It is still given out at country clubs that belong to the Western Golf Association. There aren't that many caddies these days, so have your kids check it out.
c. The Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor was my first boss in my first "adult job", as a busboy during lunch in the cafeteria in the basement of Coffman Union at the U of MN. Garrison was a radio nut, even back then, volunteering for WMMR, the dormitory radio station. I would have liked to do that, but didn't bother to talk to him to see if there would have been an opportunity for me there.
d. The U.S. Army trained me to be a Farsi/Persian linguist and about two-thirds of the way through the course in the hardship base of Monterey, CA, they decided to retrain me as a radio intelligence analyst. Then they sent me to Germany where I learned to ski and how to drink beer. If we declare war on Iran, I suppose they could still call me up.
e. During my "vacation" from Catholicism between 1960 and 1981, I never thought that the Church was wrong, but only that it didn't seem to have all the answers for me. Two famous theologians whose seminars I attended were Hans Kung (at St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Mpls about 1975) and Dominican fruitcake, er priest, Matthew Fox, at UST maybe about 1980. Fox has long ceased to be an active priest.
f. I was employed on the U.S. Senate campaign of Mpls Representative and early pro-choice hero, Donald Fraser, in 1978. We got beaten badly in that year's Minnesota Massacre. I was a very timid pro-lifer in those days.
g. I did a lot of dabbling in New Age activities before and after my reversion. In 1981 I participated in the controversial "est Training" founded by Werner Erhard. Two weekends, 18-20 hours each day, verbally glued to one's chair. I did it because they were a big customer of the company for which I worked and it seemed "interesting" and the company paid the $400 fee. I didn't get out of "est" what others got. I got my faith back. Within a month I had attended a retreat at the Basilica of St Mary and went to confession for the first time in 21 years. While I was back, it probably took another ten or fifteen years to become what might be described as "possibly orthodox" in my practices. I don't regret a minute of those two weekends.
h. I've been collecting books for thirty or more years. Much of my collection involves Minnesota history, and the history of labor, socialism and radical movements in the Upper Midwest. Some of my better books I have already sold.
I don't think that I know eight people who might want to participate in this "meme." Rather than embarrass them publicly, I'll send a copy of this post to them and ask them if they want to play.
Here are the rules according to whomever likes to make up rules: • Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. • People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. • At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. • Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
Eight things about me that you really don't need to know
1. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog?
When I started, in March of 2006, I had several ideas as to what I wanted to do with a blog, but the strongest perhaps was to create a forum for the Catholic Church in Minnesota and surrounding area where people could seek and share information to assist them in their individual spiritual journeys. To this end, Stella Borealis has been most effective in the blog roll list of Catholic blogs, organizations and events. Almost all of them listed in the sidebar are based in our area.
Finding the websites was easy compared to finding links to events, particularly educational events. That takes a tremendous amount of time surfing those most active sites and the parishes and dioceses for scheduled events. That has been very weak in terms of its completeness and effectiveness. But I still try.
I find that I don't do as much "personal posting" as do some on their blogs, but you will find that if they push the right buttons, you will find me commenting on many of the most popular of our local blogs. I have an opinion on almost everything.
2. Are you a spiritual person?
I love that question. And I love the answer most often given on singles websites when people are asked to describe themselves. The answer most often given seems to be "Spiritual, but not religious." I really wonder what that means. My answer would be "Spiritual AND Religious, but not nearly as much as I should be."
3. If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you want to have with you?
A computer with a cable modem, a Blogger account and electric power. (Is that four)?
4. What’s your favorite childhood memory?
Birthday parties. I was the oldest of five children and we always made a big deal out of birthday's, even my Dad's which occurred on the day after Christmas. As hard is it is for a child to buy a present for a parent, can you imagine how hard it would be having to buy two for your Dad (or Mom)? And Dad, a mailman, invariably in the style of Tiny Tim, at every such event would proclaim "I wonder what the poor people are eating tonight?"
5. Are these your first (tagging) memes?
Not by a long shot. I'm going to start posting as "Anonymous."
6. Eight random facts about me
a. I won a city-wide Catechism Contest sponsored by the Knights of Columbus in Duluth when I was about 12. To me it seemed like everybody got tougher questions from the back of the Baltimore Catechism than I did. But I happened to know who the First Martyr was, something nobody had studied; but St Stephen's feast day is my Dad's birthday!
b. I went to the U of MN on an Evans Scholarship sponsored by the Western Golf Association for having been a caddie. The scholarship is fairly easy to get and far and away the easiest to keep, a C average, and it paid room and tuition and you live with a lot of great guys (and now, gals, I guess). It is still given out at country clubs that belong to the Western Golf Association. There aren't that many caddies these days, so have your kids check it out.
c. The Prairie Home Companion's Garrison Keillor was my first boss in my first "adult job", as a busboy during lunch in the cafeteria in the basement of Coffman Union at the U of MN. Garrison was a radio nut, even back then, volunteering for WMMR, the dormitory radio station. I would have liked to do that, but didn't bother to talk to him to see if there would have been an opportunity for me there.
d. The U.S. Army trained me to be a Farsi/Persian linguist and about two-thirds of the way through the course in the hardship base of Monterey, CA, they decided to retrain me as a radio intelligence analyst. Then they sent me to Germany where I learned to ski and how to drink beer. If we declare war on Iran, I suppose they could still call me up.
e. During my "vacation" from Catholicism between 1960 and 1981, I never thought that the Church was wrong, but only that it didn't seem to have all the answers for me. Two famous theologians whose seminars I attended were Hans Kung (at St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Mpls about 1975) and Dominican fruitcake, er priest, Matthew Fox, at UST maybe about 1980. Fox has long ceased to be an active priest.
f. I was employed on the U.S. Senate campaign of Mpls Representative and early pro-choice hero, Donald Fraser, in 1978. We got beaten badly in that year's Minnesota Massacre. I was a very timid pro-lifer in those days.
g. I did a lot of dabbling in New Age activities before and after my reversion. In 1981 I participated in the controversial "est Training" founded by Werner Erhard. Two weekends, 18-20 hours each day, verbally glued to one's chair. I did it because they were a big customer of the company for which I worked and it seemed "interesting" and the company paid the $400 fee. I didn't get out of "est" what others got. I got my faith back. Within a month I had attended a retreat at the Basilica of St Mary and went to confession for the first time in 21 years. While I was back, it probably took another ten or fifteen years to become what might be described as "possibly orthodox" in my practices. I don't regret a minute of those two weekends.
h. I've been collecting books for thirty or more years. Much of my collection involves Minnesota history, and the history of labor, socialism and radical movements in the Upper Midwest. Some of my better books I have already sold.
I don't think that I know eight people who might want to participate in this "meme." Rather than embarrass them publicly, I'll send a copy of this post to them and ask them if they want to play.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Are You Talking About Me?
.
14. How many kids do you have: None
20. Your thoughts on Barney, the Easter bunny, and Santa Claus: I must admit that I have logged an hour or so of "Barney time", being both fascinated and yet repelled. Something evil within us must find him attractive. I pretty much gave up on the Easter Bunny at a young age after I ate an entire chocolate bunny in one sitting and got quite sick. Santa is a wonderful custom. It makes one wonder, though, about families whose kids get to age ten or twelve or so and still "believe." In what other ways are those families unique?
I will tag Georgette of Hyderabad, occasional blogger these days, Terry-of-the-many-blogs and Adoro of the incomparable Adoro-Te-Devote blog with the About Me Meme!
I`ve been tagged for the About Me Meme by Sanctus Belle who blogs beautifully at Our Lady's Tears and here goes. I'll get back at her later.
1. Male or Female: Male
2. Married or Single or Religious: Single
3. Dream vacation: A Personally guided tour by the directors of all the Vatican Museums of their facilities, concentrating on the best, and the "secret" exhibits.
4. Birthplace: Duluth, Minnesota, Zenith City of the Unsalted Sea (Lake Superior)
5. Area I live in currently: Minneapolis, Minnesota, Erstwhile Flour Milling Capital of the World. Regularly, I wonder at how much power could have come from the puny St Anthony Falls in Minneapolis. The real marvel must have been the inventions and innovations of the engineers and builders. But I suspect so much power could only have come from positioning the mills in a line along the banks of the river and re-using water. The invention of the electric motor was what sounded the death knell for "The Mill City."
6. Someone you wish you could meet: Leonardo da Vinci. But I'm not sure what I would have to contribute to the conversation.
7. Biggest "pet-peeve": Have you got an hour or two? Let's start with "priests who experiment" with the celebration of Holy Mass.
7. Biggest "pet-peeve": Have you got an hour or two? Let's start with "priests who experiment" with the celebration of Holy Mass.
8. Favorite Religious devotion: The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
9. Favorite Saint: St Faustina Kowalska, the Apostle of Divine Mercy
10. Favorite sport that you play: Golf (not so much any more)
10. Favorite sport that you play: Golf (not so much any more)
11. Favorite food: Any "hot dish"; the things you can't find on restaurant menus that Mom loved to cook.
12. Tridentine or Novus Ordo: A good Novus Ordo (with the corrected English translations desired by Pope Benedict) with Latin Gregorian Chant would suit me just fine. I'd even sing along.
13. Would you (or are you) home schooling or public school: Twelve years of a fine Catholic education received from the Sisters of St Benedict. It wasn't their fault that I dropped out for a while. But I dropped out because of spiritual laziness, not because I thought the Church was wrong. I knew I was wrong. But like all young people, I felt I was "immortal." Fortunately, I was somewhat right about that.
13. Would you (or are you) home schooling or public school: Twelve years of a fine Catholic education received from the Sisters of St Benedict. It wasn't their fault that I dropped out for a while. But I dropped out because of spiritual laziness, not because I thought the Church was wrong. I knew I was wrong. But like all young people, I felt I was "immortal." Fortunately, I was somewhat right about that.
14. How many kids do you have: None
15. Ever been in an auto accident: Three. Two of them my fault in the early 70s when I had been drinking heavily. I thank God regularly that no one was harmed, including me. There were plenty of others times that I used to drive while impaired by alcohol and fortunately did not have an accident. I am grateful to god for that also. The third time I was stopped properly at a traffic light and someone hit me trying to make a left turn and drove right into me.
16. Ever seen a Pope in person: No. My Mom and Sister went up to Winnipeg when he visited there and I never thought to go with them. When they told of their trip, I had the impression that they never got close to him, but I just found a year or two ago that he drove within fifty feet of them or so in the Pope Mobile. I really regret not going now.
17. Languages that you know fluently: I can read German passably and was trained to be a Farsi (Persian) linguist in the Army but never used it so most of that is gone. And I can still remember the Tantum Ergo and O Salutaris Hostia hymns from all the Benedictions I attended when in grade school. Of course, I never did know what the words meant.
18. Last movie you saw in theatres: Into Great Silence, the four hour movie about life in a French Carthusian monastery which was such a popular hit in Europe but which seems to have sunk into a deep abyss in this country.
19. Favorite Blog: Is it possible to plead the "Fifth Amendment" on this question? I have some very good blogging pals who would be aghast to find out that I can't start each day without reading Doonesbury. They all think that I have them at the top of my "must read" list.
20. Your thoughts on Barney, the Easter bunny, and Santa Claus: I must admit that I have logged an hour or so of "Barney time", being both fascinated and yet repelled. Something evil within us must find him attractive. I pretty much gave up on the Easter Bunny at a young age after I ate an entire chocolate bunny in one sitting and got quite sick. Santa is a wonderful custom. It makes one wonder, though, about families whose kids get to age ten or twelve or so and still "believe." In what other ways are those families unique?
I will tag Georgette of Hyderabad, occasional blogger these days, Terry-of-the-many-blogs and Adoro of the incomparable Adoro-Te-Devote blog with the About Me Meme!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Saints Meme
.
According to my pals at Google without whom I would be lost, the Catholic Church acknowledges over 10,000 official saints, about 9,300 of whom are in Terry Nelson's Rolodex. I never knew a guy who knew so many saints. Now he's tagged me with the Saint Meme where I have to let you know who my favorites are.
Those tagged for this meme will list their four favorite saints, their one favorite blessed, and one person they think should have been a saint.
I was born and bred Catholic and put in my 12 years in the Catholic schools system, taught by good Benedictine nuns and a few priests. Not very many laypeople in those days.
And considering that over those twelve years, putting in over 2,000 hours of class time with Catechism and Religion teachers, I don't recall that we spent a lot of time on the saints. Probably 1,950 hours on the Catechism and other "rules."
Now I was a member of Saint Anthony of Padua parish in Duluth but I don't recall that we ever had any particular devotions to this Portuguese Saint named after an Italian town and nicknamed "Hammer of the Heretics." If I had known his nickname, I'm sure I'd have been quite a bit more interested in having him intercede for me.
We didn't have a lot of statues in our working class, mixed ethnic parish. Your basic Blessed Mother, St Joseph, the Sacred Heart and St Anthony up front, and smaller ones of the Little Flower and somebody else in the rear of the church. St Don Bosco??? But no Feast Days were celebrated except for the ten or twenty for the Blessed Mother in the old calendar. With Nuns in charge, we were always celebrating something or another relating to the Blessed Mother.
My birthnames, of course, would have been a good source for a good patron saint. With Raymond, I had two choices. Raymond of Penafort and Raymond of Nonnatus, both Spaniards. One of them had the gift of "bi-location" which I've often thought would be neat. And the other sailed across some unruly sea on his cloak to perform some healing or other miracle. That would be fun to do on Lake Superior. There were some other "Raymonds", but I didn't have easy access to the Catholic Encyclopedia in those days. My middle name is Edward and St Edward the Confessor, a King of England, while a good and holy choice, he wasn't known for fighting battles and winning wars. Not very appealing.
I did choose Peter for my Confirmation name. I'm not quite sure why. In college I was accused of having a "power complex" and I think that is still true. But I don't believe until quite recently I have ever even asked St Peter for help.
Another source of possible "fave" Saints that I might chosen would have been the Saints upon whose feast days the various members of my family held their birthday celebrations. I got stuck with St Bede the Venerable who with a name like that didn't appeal much to a young lad. I did wonder at the time if in the process of becoming a Saint, he was initially called Venerable Bede the Venerable. What do you suppose he did to make that "Venerable" appellation stick to him.
One brother had the "Conversion of St Paul", but he'd be kinda busy I think; a sister St Polycarp (he may have been great, a pal of St John the Evangelist to be sure, but what a name! Ugh!); another brother had St Romuald (double ugh); and the other sister had her birthday on May 30 which didn't have a saint in the old missal, but being that it was a national holiday, Memorial Day, she was pleased, until they took that away from her. Now she has to work on her birthdays).
Mom had St John the Baptist who might have been pretty cool, but again just with all the churches named for him, I'd think he'd be very busy. But my one "saintly" connection probably was Dad who was born on the feast of St Stephen, the first martyr, who was stoned to death. That was all I knew about him, surprising my teachers that I even knew that, but knowing that was enough to win for me a citywide Catechism contest sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the prize being a trip to Grand Rapids, MN, for the diocesan finals where I got whompped (by some future bishop, no doubt). But I never expressed any gratitude to St Stephen for helping me win that contest. Thanks, Steve-erino!
You want to talk about your "dry" periods? Mine was from 1960 to 1981. And to tell the truth, it's not particularly damp right now. I'm still working on it. I wasn't disenchanted with the Church. I was disenchanted with getting up for Mass on Sundays.
So I missed out on all the excitement of Vatican II that might have gotten me interested in the Saints as they threw them off the official calendar. I remember two in particular going, St Christopher, of course, whose medal I wore during Basic Training in the Army so I wouldn't get shot by some idiot who would later become an Army cook; and St Philomene (my 9th grade Civics teacher must have been devastated). I still have my St Christopher Medal, but I don't wear it any more.
Now, where was I? Oh yes, Terry wants me to do the Saints Meme. List four saints, a blessed, and someone who should have been a saint.
1. Saint Anne de Beaupre, the Blessed Virgin Mary's Mom. I posted on this one once before, but briefly, there have been a couple of miracles in my family due to her and I have no doubt but that my Mom's prayers to her are responsible for me being back in the Church. I pray to her to intercede for other members of my family.
2. and 3. After I began my reversion, as I mentioned, still a "work in progress", I decided that I should get a couple of Saints to intercede for me. I had lots of things to "fix" and I really needed help. But I figured guys like St Francis of Assisi, St Benedict and St Michael the Archangel would be too "busy" for some basket case like me. So, not being current with what was happening in the Church, I chose a couple of Polish "Blesseds" who I figured few would know about about and they would be sitting in heaven, just waiting for people to ask them for intercession. Blessed Faustina Kowalska, the Apostle of Divine Mercy and Blessed Maximilian Kolbe, Auschwitz martyr and founder of the Militia Immaculata (the Army of Mary). By the way, Max's birth name is Raymond! I think they are a lot more busy now than they were fifteen years or more ago as Maximilian was canonized in 1982 and Faustina was canonized as the first Saint of the Third Millenium in 2000. Well, at least I got in line early!
4. and 5. My Confessor, Father J., has been implying that I'm not humble enough. Hmmmmm. Maybe I should get a new Confessor? No, he's right. I have worked my way through St Therese of Lisieux's "Story of a Soul" three times and I'm beginning to see what she's talking about, but I cannot even begin to conceive that I could be even remotely like that. St Faustina in her diary that I read excerpts of daily, also speaks of humility. Father J recently has been suggesting that I call on my Guardian Angel for help with my "humility gap." Do you still remember that old prayer?
"Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To whom God's love does keep me here,
Ever this day be at my side,
To light and guard, to rule and guide."
It helps!
My favorite "Venerable" is Solanus Casey, Capuchin priest, born near Prescott, WI across the river from Hastings, MN, employed in Stillwater, MN (where I worked for a time) and Superior, WI (across from Duluth where I was born).
It's good to have local connections. I'm sure that had I been born in Italy or Spain, where everyone probably has a choice of a half dozen Saints just from their neighborhood alone, it would have been easier to select a favorite Saint. I suspect kids' gangs gathered around saints and their traditions. In Pamplona where they have the annual "Running of the Bulls", in Duluth they would have held the annual "Running of the Smelt" with processions, not Lester River fish fries and beer busts.
Who do I think should be a saint? Time Magazine, for their 2006 Person of the Year Award, printed a mirror on the front page of their magazine. You, dear ones, should be a Saint. Get working on it. You pray for me and I will pray for you.
I think that Georgette of India (she sounds like a Saint already), Jayne from "So Many Devotions", Sanctus Belle of Our Lady's Tears, the Ironic Catholic and Mitchell, Grand Sachem of the Hadleybloggers at Our Word should let us know who their fave Saints are.
According to my pals at Google without whom I would be lost, the Catholic Church acknowledges over 10,000 official saints, about 9,300 of whom are in Terry Nelson's Rolodex. I never knew a guy who knew so many saints. Now he's tagged me with the Saint Meme where I have to let you know who my favorites are.
Those tagged for this meme will list their four favorite saints, their one favorite blessed, and one person they think should have been a saint.
I was born and bred Catholic and put in my 12 years in the Catholic schools system, taught by good Benedictine nuns and a few priests. Not very many laypeople in those days.
And considering that over those twelve years, putting in over 2,000 hours of class time with Catechism and Religion teachers, I don't recall that we spent a lot of time on the saints. Probably 1,950 hours on the Catechism and other "rules."
Now I was a member of Saint Anthony of Padua parish in Duluth but I don't recall that we ever had any particular devotions to this Portuguese Saint named after an Italian town and nicknamed "Hammer of the Heretics." If I had known his nickname, I'm sure I'd have been quite a bit more interested in having him intercede for me.
We didn't have a lot of statues in our working class, mixed ethnic parish. Your basic Blessed Mother, St Joseph, the Sacred Heart and St Anthony up front, and smaller ones of the Little Flower and somebody else in the rear of the church. St Don Bosco??? But no Feast Days were celebrated except for the ten or twenty for the Blessed Mother in the old calendar. With Nuns in charge, we were always celebrating something or another relating to the Blessed Mother.
My birthnames, of course, would have been a good source for a good patron saint. With Raymond, I had two choices. Raymond of Penafort and Raymond of Nonnatus, both Spaniards. One of them had the gift of "bi-location" which I've often thought would be neat. And the other sailed across some unruly sea on his cloak to perform some healing or other miracle. That would be fun to do on Lake Superior. There were some other "Raymonds", but I didn't have easy access to the Catholic Encyclopedia in those days. My middle name is Edward and St Edward the Confessor, a King of England, while a good and holy choice, he wasn't known for fighting battles and winning wars. Not very appealing.
I did choose Peter for my Confirmation name. I'm not quite sure why. In college I was accused of having a "power complex" and I think that is still true. But I don't believe until quite recently I have ever even asked St Peter for help.
Another source of possible "fave" Saints that I might chosen would have been the Saints upon whose feast days the various members of my family held their birthday celebrations. I got stuck with St Bede the Venerable who with a name like that didn't appeal much to a young lad. I did wonder at the time if in the process of becoming a Saint, he was initially called Venerable Bede the Venerable. What do you suppose he did to make that "Venerable" appellation stick to him.
One brother had the "Conversion of St Paul", but he'd be kinda busy I think; a sister St Polycarp (he may have been great, a pal of St John the Evangelist to be sure, but what a name! Ugh!); another brother had St Romuald (double ugh); and the other sister had her birthday on May 30 which didn't have a saint in the old missal, but being that it was a national holiday, Memorial Day, she was pleased, until they took that away from her. Now she has to work on her birthdays).
Mom had St John the Baptist who might have been pretty cool, but again just with all the churches named for him, I'd think he'd be very busy. But my one "saintly" connection probably was Dad who was born on the feast of St Stephen, the first martyr, who was stoned to death. That was all I knew about him, surprising my teachers that I even knew that, but knowing that was enough to win for me a citywide Catechism contest sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the prize being a trip to Grand Rapids, MN, for the diocesan finals where I got whompped (by some future bishop, no doubt). But I never expressed any gratitude to St Stephen for helping me win that contest. Thanks, Steve-erino!
You want to talk about your "dry" periods? Mine was from 1960 to 1981. And to tell the truth, it's not particularly damp right now. I'm still working on it. I wasn't disenchanted with the Church. I was disenchanted with getting up for Mass on Sundays.
So I missed out on all the excitement of Vatican II that might have gotten me interested in the Saints as they threw them off the official calendar. I remember two in particular going, St Christopher, of course, whose medal I wore during Basic Training in the Army so I wouldn't get shot by some idiot who would later become an Army cook; and St Philomene (my 9th grade Civics teacher must have been devastated). I still have my St Christopher Medal, but I don't wear it any more.
Now, where was I? Oh yes, Terry wants me to do the Saints Meme. List four saints, a blessed, and someone who should have been a saint.
1. Saint Anne de Beaupre, the Blessed Virgin Mary's Mom. I posted on this one once before, but briefly, there have been a couple of miracles in my family due to her and I have no doubt but that my Mom's prayers to her are responsible for me being back in the Church. I pray to her to intercede for other members of my family.
2. and 3. After I began my reversion, as I mentioned, still a "work in progress", I decided that I should get a couple of Saints to intercede for me. I had lots of things to "fix" and I really needed help. But I figured guys like St Francis of Assisi, St Benedict and St Michael the Archangel would be too "busy" for some basket case like me. So, not being current with what was happening in the Church, I chose a couple of Polish "Blesseds" who I figured few would know about about and they would be sitting in heaven, just waiting for people to ask them for intercession. Blessed Faustina Kowalska, the Apostle of Divine Mercy and Blessed Maximilian Kolbe, Auschwitz martyr and founder of the Militia Immaculata (the Army of Mary). By the way, Max's birth name is Raymond! I think they are a lot more busy now than they were fifteen years or more ago as Maximilian was canonized in 1982 and Faustina was canonized as the first Saint of the Third Millenium in 2000. Well, at least I got in line early!
4. and 5. My Confessor, Father J., has been implying that I'm not humble enough. Hmmmmm. Maybe I should get a new Confessor? No, he's right. I have worked my way through St Therese of Lisieux's "Story of a Soul" three times and I'm beginning to see what she's talking about, but I cannot even begin to conceive that I could be even remotely like that. St Faustina in her diary that I read excerpts of daily, also speaks of humility. Father J recently has been suggesting that I call on my Guardian Angel for help with my "humility gap." Do you still remember that old prayer?
"Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To whom God's love does keep me here,
Ever this day be at my side,
To light and guard, to rule and guide."
It helps!
My favorite "Venerable" is Solanus Casey, Capuchin priest, born near Prescott, WI across the river from Hastings, MN, employed in Stillwater, MN (where I worked for a time) and Superior, WI (across from Duluth where I was born).
It's good to have local connections. I'm sure that had I been born in Italy or Spain, where everyone probably has a choice of a half dozen Saints just from their neighborhood alone, it would have been easier to select a favorite Saint. I suspect kids' gangs gathered around saints and their traditions. In Pamplona where they have the annual "Running of the Bulls", in Duluth they would have held the annual "Running of the Smelt" with processions, not Lester River fish fries and beer busts.
Who do I think should be a saint? Time Magazine, for their 2006 Person of the Year Award, printed a mirror on the front page of their magazine. You, dear ones, should be a Saint. Get working on it. You pray for me and I will pray for you.
I think that Georgette of India (she sounds like a Saint already), Jayne from "So Many Devotions", Sanctus Belle of Our Lady's Tears, the Ironic Catholic and Mitchell, Grand Sachem of the Hadleybloggers at Our Word should let us know who their fave Saints are.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
My Most Memorable and Meritorious Movie Meme
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Your Favorite Film? ---
I could watch “Gettysburg” (Made for Cable TV) over and over and over.
It’s the only “war movie” where I could understand the tactics.
And they had real Civil War “re-enactors” with major roles
including in the fabulous scene showing Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg
Your Favorite "Newer" "B" Movie? --- Groundhog Day
Marshall's Movie Meme
Your Favorite Film? ---
I could watch “Gettysburg” (Made for Cable TV) over and over and over.
It’s the only “war movie” where I could understand the tactics.
And they had real Civil War “re-enactors” with major roles
including in the fabulous scene showing Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg
Your Favorite Film Priest? --- The Priest in “Black Robe”
or, Karl Malden in “On the Waterfront”
or, Karl Malden in “On the Waterfront”
Your Favorite Film Nun? --- I don’t recall any other than in “The Sound of Music”
Your Favorite Religious Movie? --- The Passion of the Christ
Your Favorite Comedy? --- The Twelve Chairs
Your Favorite Action Film? --- The Mouse that Roared
Your Favorite Thriller? --- Casablanca
Your Favorite Foreign Film? --- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Favorite "Alternative" Lifestyle Film? --- King Rat
Your Favorite Animal Film? --- King Kong I
Your Favorite Animated Film? --- Bambi
(At least I agreed with Terry on something!)
Your Favorite "B" Movie? --- Any of the old Busby Berkeley dance movies with Ruby Keeler
Charlie Chan would be a good runner-up
Your Favorite "Newer" "B" Movie? --- Groundhog Day
Your Favorite Black Comedy Film? (As In Humor.) ---
Dr. Strangelove, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Your favorite Period Film? --- Elvira Madigan (a tale of abject poverty where their clothing was always immaculately white, but that didn’t matter. Mozart helped too.
Your Favorite Biblical Film? --- Ben Hur
In your opinion, the most important film in Cinematic history? ---
The Passion of the Christ
Least Favorite Christmas Movie --- It’s a Wonderful Life!
I am in a small minority that doesn’t think that this is a Christmas movie.
None of my siblings will have anything to do with me because of my opinion.
Best 3D Movie --- Charge at Feather River
Most Confusing Movie Ever Made --- “Blackout”, starring Dane Clark
I saw it a half dozen times or more in the 50’s on late night TV and never could understand it!
Most Enjoyable Choreography --- Oliver!
Movie where I first cried as an adult --- The Snake Pit
And if I knew why, I could have probably saved myself eons of self-analysis
Most Fraudulent Advertising --- The Man, with Jack Webb and Marlon Brando
It sounds good with those two stars.
But when you are ten years old looking for a good war movie
Least Favorite Christmas Movie --- It’s a Wonderful Life!
I am in a small minority that doesn’t think that this is a Christmas movie.
None of my siblings will have anything to do with me because of my opinion.
Best 3D Movie --- Charge at Feather River
Most Confusing Movie Ever Made --- “Blackout”, starring Dane Clark
I saw it a half dozen times or more in the 50’s on late night TV and never could understand it!
Most Enjoyable Choreography --- Oliver!
Movie where I first cried as an adult --- The Snake Pit
And if I knew why, I could have probably saved myself eons of self-analysis
Most Fraudulent Advertising --- The Man, with Jack Webb and Marlon Brando
It sounds good with those two stars.
But when you are ten years old looking for a good war movie
and the war sequences are in color for maybe five minutes
til Brando gets shot and the rest of the movie is in
Black & White in a hospital where he recuperates.
I guess it was a fine movie, but not for a ten year old.
Fortunately it was a double feature with a cartoon, a newsreel
Black & White in a hospital where he recuperates.
I guess it was a fine movie, but not for a ten year old.
Fortunately it was a double feature with a cartoon, a newsreel
and previews of coming attractions!
Greatest Movie Fist Fight where perhaps not a blow was landed ---
John Wayne and Victor McLaghlin in the long version of “The Quiet Man”
Greatest Movie Fist Fight where perhaps not a blow was landed ---
John Wayne and Victor McLaghlin in the long version of “The Quiet Man”
I'm late with this because of a computer disease, so whoever wants to play is hereby invited.
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And if you don' t like my opinions , blame it on Terry and go to Ray's Rosary Repository and Repairs to buy your holy cards, scapulars and Tridentine Missals.
Conveniently located
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Catholic Devotions Meme
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CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS MEME
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1. Favorite devotion or prayer to Jesus?
The Divine Mercy Chaplet has been my main prayer. Although the Morning Offering is important. I used to say the Litany of Humility too but then I quit, thinking I had way too much to be humble about. But I can see where my stubborn pride keeps me from attaining many of my spiritual goals. “Please, Jesus, I’d rather do it myself!”
2. Favorite Marian devotion or prayer?
You can’t beat the Rosary. I always used to have trouble with my mind wandering when I said the Rosary and it was never very effective for me. But then I became acquainted with various Scriptural Rosaries that make it much easier to concentrate on the prayers.
For example, I will be saying the Luminous Mysteries today, as it is a Thursday, I apply each seven aspects of each of the Mysteries to a decade of my Rosary. The first Luminous Mystery being the Baptism of Our Lord by St John the Baptist, I try to find seven aspects/events at that occasion that I concentrate on after two “intro beads” then and a “concluding bead.” Some mysteries are much easier to parse than others.
Being able to keep my mind (almost) from wandering, it makes it much easier to say the Rosary regularly, and I have been pretty good, but not perfect, about saying it daily the past few months.
3. Do you wear a scapular or medal?
When I was a lad, I wore the brown scapular for a time, but then they either broke, I would forget to put them back on after baths or I would decide that the chances of me dying soon were slim so I’d wait til I was older. Well, I’m older.
When I was in the Army in Basic Training, I did wear a St Christopher Medal (before he got de-canonized) because I knew I would be running around with doofuses with loaded guns (one of the worst doofuses ran across a log over a pond with his loaded rifle pointed right at me -- I found out later -- as we were “attacking” some imaginary foe. They made him a cook).
A friend informed me a couple of weeks ago that she had a Miraculous Medal blessed by Pope John Paul II that she had received two of from a mutual friend and I am now wearing that with my St Christopher chain. I still have Chris’s medal.
4. Do you have holy water in your home?
That’s something that I have never done. I’ll have to muse a bit about that.
5. Do you 'offer up' your sufferings?
Rarely. I’m one of those independent types that like to rant, rail and suffer and only when it gets really bad do I occasionally think of requesting help from Divine Intervention. A major character flaw. It might come with the male genes, I think.
6. Do you observe First Fridays and First Saturdays?
I used to try to observe them now and then and always after three or four I would miss one and then not resume the practice the following month. I have been attending a Holy Hour and Marian Mass on Saturday mornings more or less regularly these past six months, but the “less” keeps me from getting those major league indulgences.
7. Do you go to Eucharistic Adoration? How frequently?
For almost a year I was very good at going weekly to Adoration at a parish near me. Then I had some car problems and getting there at 6:00 on Friday mornings was too far to walk, especially as our (laughable so far) Winter was coming. But I’m going to sign up again in January. “Bill”, my car, named for the number of repair bills it takes each month to keep him going, seems to be somewhat perky these days.
I mentioned in #6 that on Saturday’s I have been going to a Mass/Holy Hour combination where we start out with the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, then a Rosary, then Benediction, then the Mass, where we stalwarts, 30, maybe, do the responses in Gregorian Chant.
8. Are you a Saturday evening Mass person or Sunday morning Mass person?
I think I have only attended a Saturday Vigil Mass a few times. For some reason, I feel it to be “cheating.” As if I have never cheated on most of my other devotions!
I have been more likely been seen at a Sunday Evening Mass, which is REALLY CHEATING, to my way of thinking. We are supposed to “Keep Holy The Lord’s Day.” The “quibbler” in me can understand that Sunday might begin at dusk on Saturday, but even here in the far north, kinda, (45 degrees N), dusk doesn’t come at 4:00 p.m. so all those early Saturday Vigil Masses must be cheating.
And certainly those 7, 8 and 9 p.m. Masses on Sunday Evenings (commonly held for us hedonists in large cities) are actually being held on Mondays (unless there is a “hedonists’ Church calendar). But I seem to have no problem with them.
I asked a noted canon lawyer about this issue once, but he ignored me. I probably forgot to enclose a stipend.
9. Do you say prayers at mealtime?
[Shame] No, except in my Lutheran sister-in-law’s home, or, occasionally, believe it or not, at Arby’s or Taco Bell with a friend who always says grace before meals, no matter where he is.
10. Favorite Saint(s)?
When I began my reversion back to the Church after 20 years of being away, I decided I needed some help from Saints. But I figured all the “main ones” would be so popular that they wouldn’t have time for me.
So I chose two who were still only “Blesseds” and who were Polish because at the time, I was engaged in a lot of my Polish Family History. Blessed Maria Faustina (Who taught me the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and whose Diary I read excerpts of every day) and Blessed Maximilian Kolbe (Christian name: Raymond), who got me to sign up for his Militia Immaculata a few weeks ago after dragging my heels for a long time.
Talk about dumb luck!
11. Can you recite the Apostles Creed by heart?
I’m pretty good with the Apostles Creed (named for 12 subjects, not the 12 Apostles) because of the Rosary. I would have a difficult time with the Gloria or the Nicene Creed saying them perfectly.
12. Do you usually say short prayers (aspirations) during the course of the day?
Most of my “aspirations” are not printable on a Catholic blog. Fortunately virtually all of them are known only to me, God and my Guardian Angel.
The Jesus Prayer probably is the most common prayer that I use. It is great while walking: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner.”
13. Bonus Question: When you pass by a automobile accident or other serious mishap, do you say a quick prayer for the folks involved?
I don’t recall that I have passed by very many, if any, serious automobile accidents. But, having lived in a large city for almost 40 years, I have been acquainted with several sites where people have been murdered, and I often say a quick “Eternal Rest Grant Unto Him/Her O Lord . . . .” as I pass by.
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
On a More Cheery Note, Cathy_of_Alex Has Tagged Me With the Christmas Meme
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This is a combo entry covering various Christmases from over half a century.
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? It's always been egg nog, traditionally as an adult beverage with a shot of brandy and a healthy dollop of nutmeg. Howsomeever, one of my brother's who can't measure a shot accurately ran across a commercial Egg Nog under the name "Pennsylvania Dutch" in his favorite liquid refreshment emporium that comes pre-mixed and boy, is it good. we tossed out Mom's favorite recipe and have sworn allegiance to it ever since. With a healthy dollop of nutmeg added, of course!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa sled was always too full of items to put wrapping paper on them. And since he didn't use labels either, he very thoughtfully always piled lthem in five neat piles for we little ones so we wouldn't get confused and claim a toy that was not meant for us. He let Mom and Dad know whose was what. [I met a woman once whose gifts from Santa were always wrapped, and they always included her new clothes for the school year, three months late, but in the correct sizes and colors. She would spend all morning unwrapping things. Santa had no fear of a valuable item getting accidentally tossed with the trash, like a certain Dad I know].
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? The Tree must be an unsheared balsam. No plantation trees for this guy. Sometimes we would have to use a drill to place branches where God made a mistake so that our tree would look better. You need lots of space between branches to hang tinsel, colored lights (large) and various ornaments collected over many years. Multi-colored lights on the outside of houses too are important. Although occasionally on a home that stands by itself, a single color of white or blue often looks nice, perhaps with red lights within wreaths at each window.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? NO. Not much smooching after about age five in our family. Lots of love, though but not expressed often enough.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually one week before and take them down two or three weeks after.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Dressing with giblet gravy!
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Leaving out Coke and cookies for Santa. Actually, the shopping and the wrapping of my personal presents are the best part.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What truth? What are you talking about, Cathy?
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We opened presents to each other and to Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? See 3 above. Tinsel was stored between the pages of magazines so it could be saved from year to year. Dating myself, tinsel during WWII was made of cellophane and I recall vividly hanging and saving cellophane tinsel in the mid 1950s. One of the exciting moments of each year would be the moment when we would turn the lights on to see if our old favorite ones would work. We inherited some "Japanese carbon lights" from my grandparents that dated back to the 1930s that still worked in the 60s. One of the miserablable moments of each year was working with the old series lights where when one went out, they all went out. It might be a half hour project getting the string to relight again. But that was part of the fun of Christmas.
11. Snow? Love it or Dread it? Love it! As long as I don't have to shovel it!
12. Can you ice skate? Yes. Can I skate well? I could! When a youth, we lived a block from the rink and skated three or four hours every day. But it did get tiresome constantly going in a circle.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Not really. Clothes would not have been it. Maybe an Erector Set with a small motor.
14. What's the most exciting thing about the Holidays for you? Midnight Masses, all the old favorite carols being sung at Church and at home, beautifully decorated homes, stores, etc.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Pumpkin Pie and whipped cream. I take smaller slices these days.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Being with family.
17. What tops your tree? There always has to be an angel atop any tree of mine. And it has to be a male angel. I don't know who banned Michael, Gabriel and Raphiael from Christmas! When the "Japanese Carbon lights" (see 10, above) still worked, we had a "star ball" with many white stars on a blue field that went right beneath the angel. Some of the other carbon lights were in the shape of a canary, a basket of fruit, a Japanese lantern, and others that I later purchased as Santa Claus and other figures.
18. Which do you prefer - giving or receiving? I can't imagine one with out the other. I always imagine that I have purchased the perfect gift. I wonder how many get exchanged? I never exchange. It just goes in a drawer or on the book shelf if I'm not crazy about it.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night. I spent one Christmas Eve when I was in the Army in Germany at the little chapel where that song was first sung. It was quite small, about the size of one of our adoration chapels today. But there are probably fifty other Christmas songs that I love, too, including things like "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" which was first popular when I was at the age where I was losing my first set of teeth.
20. Candy Canes? Maybe one, for tradition's sake!
I tag The Ironic Catholic and the Hadley's at Our Word And I'm going to send this to my brother in California to have him tag his kids and hopefully get all their answers back.
This is a combo entry covering various Christmases from over half a century.
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? It's always been egg nog, traditionally as an adult beverage with a shot of brandy and a healthy dollop of nutmeg. Howsomeever, one of my brother's who can't measure a shot accurately ran across a commercial Egg Nog under the name "Pennsylvania Dutch" in his favorite liquid refreshment emporium that comes pre-mixed and boy, is it good. we tossed out Mom's favorite recipe and have sworn allegiance to it ever since. With a healthy dollop of nutmeg added, of course!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa sled was always too full of items to put wrapping paper on them. And since he didn't use labels either, he very thoughtfully always piled lthem in five neat piles for we little ones so we wouldn't get confused and claim a toy that was not meant for us. He let Mom and Dad know whose was what. [I met a woman once whose gifts from Santa were always wrapped, and they always included her new clothes for the school year, three months late, but in the correct sizes and colors. She would spend all morning unwrapping things. Santa had no fear of a valuable item getting accidentally tossed with the trash, like a certain Dad I know].
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? The Tree must be an unsheared balsam. No plantation trees for this guy. Sometimes we would have to use a drill to place branches where God made a mistake so that our tree would look better. You need lots of space between branches to hang tinsel, colored lights (large) and various ornaments collected over many years. Multi-colored lights on the outside of houses too are important. Although occasionally on a home that stands by itself, a single color of white or blue often looks nice, perhaps with red lights within wreaths at each window.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? NO. Not much smooching after about age five in our family. Lots of love, though but not expressed often enough.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually one week before and take them down two or three weeks after.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Dressing with giblet gravy!
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Leaving out Coke and cookies for Santa. Actually, the shopping and the wrapping of my personal presents are the best part.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What truth? What are you talking about, Cathy?
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We opened presents to each other and to Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? See 3 above. Tinsel was stored between the pages of magazines so it could be saved from year to year. Dating myself, tinsel during WWII was made of cellophane and I recall vividly hanging and saving cellophane tinsel in the mid 1950s. One of the exciting moments of each year would be the moment when we would turn the lights on to see if our old favorite ones would work. We inherited some "Japanese carbon lights" from my grandparents that dated back to the 1930s that still worked in the 60s. One of the miserablable moments of each year was working with the old series lights where when one went out, they all went out. It might be a half hour project getting the string to relight again. But that was part of the fun of Christmas.
11. Snow? Love it or Dread it? Love it! As long as I don't have to shovel it!
12. Can you ice skate? Yes. Can I skate well? I could! When a youth, we lived a block from the rink and skated three or four hours every day. But it did get tiresome constantly going in a circle.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Not really. Clothes would not have been it. Maybe an Erector Set with a small motor.
14. What's the most exciting thing about the Holidays for you? Midnight Masses, all the old favorite carols being sung at Church and at home, beautifully decorated homes, stores, etc.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Pumpkin Pie and whipped cream. I take smaller slices these days.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Being with family.
17. What tops your tree? There always has to be an angel atop any tree of mine. And it has to be a male angel. I don't know who banned Michael, Gabriel and Raphiael from Christmas! When the "Japanese Carbon lights" (see 10, above) still worked, we had a "star ball" with many white stars on a blue field that went right beneath the angel. Some of the other carbon lights were in the shape of a canary, a basket of fruit, a Japanese lantern, and others that I later purchased as Santa Claus and other figures.
18. Which do you prefer - giving or receiving? I can't imagine one with out the other. I always imagine that I have purchased the perfect gift. I wonder how many get exchanged? I never exchange. It just goes in a drawer or on the book shelf if I'm not crazy about it.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Silent Night. I spent one Christmas Eve when I was in the Army in Germany at the little chapel where that song was first sung. It was quite small, about the size of one of our adoration chapels today. But there are probably fifty other Christmas songs that I love, too, including things like "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" which was first popular when I was at the age where I was losing my first set of teeth.
20. Candy Canes? Maybe one, for tradition's sake!
I tag The Ironic Catholic and the Hadley's at Our Word And I'm going to send this to my brother in California to have him tag his kids and hopefully get all their answers back.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Six Place Geography Meme
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Cathy_of_Alex tagged me with this Geography Meme.
Cathy_of_Alex tagged me with this Geography Meme.
1. A Place You've Visited and Your Favorite Thing there.
Zell am See, Austria, where I skied once on a glacier on the Fourth of July.
2. A Country You'd Like to Visit and Why
Egypt, because it is the location of the Great Pyramid, something I have been fascinated with for a long time. My theory, and I’ve mentioned before that I have lots of them, is that the Great Pyramid might really have been what the Bible calls “The Tower of Babel.”
3. A Place From History You'd Like to Visit and Why
Ancient Egypt when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Just how could it have taken such a large number of people 40 years to go such a short distance?.
4. A Place/Subject You Know a Lot About
Polish Immigration to Duluth and Northern Minnesota. I just gave an hour long talk about it a few weeks ago. And there was lots more that could be said, even before I got to my relatives.
5. A Place You'd Like to Learn More About
Alexander the Great’s Headquarters (or, if I can’t learn ancient Greek in time, U.S. Grant’s). I’ve always been fascinated by the movement of huge armies in the times before electronic communications. I do have one story about that, but you’ll have to ask me some time when we meet. It’s too long to print here.
6. A Fictional Place You'd Like to Visit
Arthur C. Clarke’s “Diaspar” in his early science fiction novel, “The City and the Stars.” As long as I get to leave and explore the universe in that neat space ship that is discovered.
Let's see, who can I tag who will play: Erin from bearing blog; Judith from Our Word; DIH from DIH; and I.C. from I.C.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
The Five Things Meme
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Cathy_of_Alex, our Novice Blogger at The Recovering Dissident Catholic tagged me with this meme after she got tagged by Georgette, our Hyderabad blogger, who blogs at Chronicle of a Meandering Traveller. (Is it my imagination or are blog titles getting longer and longer? This, of course coming from the guy who has Stella Borealis Catholic Roundtable). I'm a little nervous about doing this one because Georgette's computer died right after she did it. And mine applied for social security benefits last week. We'll see.
Five Things in My Freezer:
Being that there are only about 7 thing there right now, this one was easy:
1. 4 empty ice cube trays. But I might put some pesto sauce in there per Desperate.
2. 5 pieces of 12 grain bread. I always freeze my bread
3. 7 "crunchy" fish sticks (not as "crunchy" as advertised, let me tell you)
4. 1/3 stick of chorizo sausage
5. 1 unopened pkg of Broccoli cuts
Five Things in My Closet:
1. 1 backpack (see below for contents)
2. 13 LP's, not played since the 70s
3. 1 homemade foot stool for my very short grandma, probably 102 years old
4. 1 volley ball (never inflated - don't recall how I came across that)
5. 1 Carousel slide projector with a burnt out bulb (which are very pricey, by the way)
Five Things in My Car:
1. 1 empty container of power steering fluid (don't ask)
2. 2 empty Aldi's shopping bags (20 cents is 20 cents)
3. 1 mylar blanket to keep me from freezing to death here in Minnesota (see below for candle)
4. 1 pair Sorel boots (see 3, above)
5. 1 Heavy Duty jumper cable (to keep my car, Bill, from freezing to death. See 1, above.)
Five Things in My Backpack:
I'd forgotton that I had a backpack. Wow, this stuff is OLD!
1. 1 pair polypropylene thin gloves for use in cross country skiing under an outer glove.
2. 1 candle, no matches, (To keep me warm as I huddle under the mylar blanket that is in my car (see above)
3. 1 chapstick, never used
4. 3 tube things of cross country ski wax (blue and light green)
5. 2 pieces of downhill ski wax (now thats really, really old!) (blue and orange)
Hmmmm. Who shall I tag? Or is it "whom?" How about The Ironic Catholic, she must have humorous items that didn't make the cut for her funny blog, Erin, the new Mom from bearing blog with three young kids now must have lots of really interesting things, not a few broken, one supposes, Dan "Faithmouse" Lacey has got to have lots of crayons and pencils, if nothing else, Dan Wambeke from Lumen Fidei, a graduate student at Ave Maria has got to have lots of research notes on subjects I could never understand and Judith from Our Word, whose spouse is finishing up the "Great American Novel" probably has lots of notes on Opera and Symphonies that could educate us cultural heathens.
Cathy_of_Alex, our Novice Blogger at The Recovering Dissident Catholic tagged me with this meme after she got tagged by Georgette, our Hyderabad blogger, who blogs at Chronicle of a Meandering Traveller. (Is it my imagination or are blog titles getting longer and longer? This, of course coming from the guy who has Stella Borealis Catholic Roundtable). I'm a little nervous about doing this one because Georgette's computer died right after she did it. And mine applied for social security benefits last week. We'll see.
Five Things in My Freezer:
Being that there are only about 7 thing there right now, this one was easy:
1. 4 empty ice cube trays. But I might put some pesto sauce in there per Desperate.
2. 5 pieces of 12 grain bread. I always freeze my bread
3. 7 "crunchy" fish sticks (not as "crunchy" as advertised, let me tell you)
4. 1/3 stick of chorizo sausage
5. 1 unopened pkg of Broccoli cuts
Five Things in My Closet:
1. 1 backpack (see below for contents)
2. 13 LP's, not played since the 70s
3. 1 homemade foot stool for my very short grandma, probably 102 years old
4. 1 volley ball (never inflated - don't recall how I came across that)
5. 1 Carousel slide projector with a burnt out bulb (which are very pricey, by the way)
Five Things in My Car:
1. 1 empty container of power steering fluid (don't ask)
2. 2 empty Aldi's shopping bags (20 cents is 20 cents)
3. 1 mylar blanket to keep me from freezing to death here in Minnesota (see below for candle)
4. 1 pair Sorel boots (see 3, above)
5. 1 Heavy Duty jumper cable (to keep my car, Bill, from freezing to death. See 1, above.)
Five Things in My Backpack:
I'd forgotton that I had a backpack. Wow, this stuff is OLD!
1. 1 pair polypropylene thin gloves for use in cross country skiing under an outer glove.
2. 1 candle, no matches, (To keep me warm as I huddle under the mylar blanket that is in my car (see above)
3. 1 chapstick, never used
4. 3 tube things of cross country ski wax (blue and light green)
5. 2 pieces of downhill ski wax (now thats really, really old!) (blue and orange)
Hmmmm. Who shall I tag? Or is it "whom?" How about The Ironic Catholic, she must have humorous items that didn't make the cut for her funny blog, Erin, the new Mom from bearing blog with three young kids now must have lots of really interesting things, not a few broken, one supposes, Dan "Faithmouse" Lacey has got to have lots of crayons and pencils, if nothing else, Dan Wambeke from Lumen Fidei, a graduate student at Ave Maria has got to have lots of research notes on subjects I could never understand and Judith from Our Word, whose spouse is finishing up the "Great American Novel" probably has lots of notes on Opera and Symphonies that could educate us cultural heathens.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Honor a Living Public Safety Hero
.
Adoro who blogs at Adoro Te Devote has asked me and others who didn't necessarily participate in the Meme circulated in the blogosphere honoring all the dead of the 9-11 tragedy, to honor a living Public Safety Professional as a Living 9-11 Hero. See her nominee and the criteria here.
If you haven't been tagged by Adoro, please feel free to nominate someone if you feel that they meet the criteria. They don't have to have been in New York, Washington or Shanksville to be eligible. Public Safety Heroes are in every community of the country.
I regularly correspond with someone who is my Law Enforcement Hero. I wouldn't call him modest so I'll let you be the judge as I'm going to let him speak for himself. His biggest fault in life and it's something he's proud of is that he doesn't believe in capital letters when he types. (I've removed identifying information relating to these real law enforcement cases).
Who is this Law Enforcement Hero? Well, I may be prejudiced but I think you'd agree that a cop who thinks like he does is a darn fine cop. I even love him. Cuz he's my brother, Rick!
But I don't think he's alone. All departments have cops like him. Otherwise, law and order would have broken down many years ago.
Thanks Rick for being such a great cop and being such a great husband, dad, grandpa and brother. Thanks, Adoro, for making me say something that I should have said long ago.
Adoro who blogs at Adoro Te Devote has asked me and others who didn't necessarily participate in the Meme circulated in the blogosphere honoring all the dead of the 9-11 tragedy, to honor a living Public Safety Professional as a Living 9-11 Hero. See her nominee and the criteria here.
If you haven't been tagged by Adoro, please feel free to nominate someone if you feel that they meet the criteria. They don't have to have been in New York, Washington or Shanksville to be eligible. Public Safety Heroes are in every community of the country.
I regularly correspond with someone who is my Law Enforcement Hero. I wouldn't call him modest so I'll let you be the judge as I'm going to let him speak for himself. His biggest fault in life and it's something he's proud of is that he doesn't believe in capital letters when he types. (I've removed identifying information relating to these real law enforcement cases).
1. last friday we went out to arrest this guy who had been molesting this boy for six years. this guy has a constant yard sale at his place, so my detectives set up the deal where i drove out there in my explorer, in ratty civilian clothes, and try to lure this guy out of his house. they would be down the road. well, it worked so nicely, and i hooked him up, first hands on arrest i've had in years. the guy looked to be a nice guy, but i knew what he did, so ____ 'em. he's looking at a lot of time, but not as long as the kid he victimized.
2. in the book "the choirboys" by joseph wambaugh, an old cop states there only three things a person has to have in order to be a successful police officer, and they are common sense, compassion, and a sense of humor. in any other career field you can get along without one, two, or all of those traits, but a police officer has to have all three in order to be successful. the main thing about those three traits is that they cannot be taught, you either have them or you don't. i mentioned this to all of the young officers who came onto the department over the years. whether it touched a vein with them i don't know, but i just knew i had to tell them.
3. about five years ago i had an unusual thing happened. it lasted for a year. about every other month i would get an envelope sent through the mail and it would contain detailed maps and information concerning the narcotics traffic in the ______ county area. i would get it to ______ county officers and they went nuts about the information i'd given them. i can only assume it was some crook i'd dealt with who was paying me back for treating him fairly. i never found out who it was.
4. the best thing happened on wednesday, however. i had some ______ media in my office when i received a phone call from ___ _____. his kid was the one who decapitated his ______ in ___. ___ called from ______ to ask me how i was doing. i developed a relationship with him during the investigation and he just called to see if i was doing all right. it was the most amazing call i've received in 23 years of law enforcement. his kid goes on trial next month and this guy is concerned with me.
Who is this Law Enforcement Hero? Well, I may be prejudiced but I think you'd agree that a cop who thinks like he does is a darn fine cop. I even love him. Cuz he's my brother, Rick!
But I don't think he's alone. All departments have cops like him. Otherwise, law and order would have broken down many years ago.
Thanks Rick for being such a great cop and being such a great husband, dad, grandpa and brother. Thanks, Adoro, for making me say something that I should have said long ago.
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