My Ginger Jar

Lenten Reflection--Orthodoxy

2010-02-24T19:28:00.000-08:00

"Here, again in short, Christianity got over the difficulty of combining furious opposites, by keeping them both, and keeping them both furious. The Church was positive on both points. One can hardly think too little of one's self. One can hardly think too much of one's soul." from The Paradoxes of Christianity, in Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton.

While listening to this chapter it struck me how Lent fits so well into this description, along with so many others Chesterton details in the chapter. We are to put on sackcloth and sit in ashes, and yet we are overwhelmed by the depth of His mercy. The more humble and sorrowful we are, and the more we become aware of our sin, the more grateful we become when we realize that all is forgiven. The difficulty is to carry that with you as you live out your life, grateful for all that you are given and forgiving of all who offend.

To continue quoting Chesterton: "Christianity came in here as before. It came in startlingly with a sword, and clove one thing from another. It divided the crime from the criminal. The criminal we must forgive unto seventy times seven. The crime we must not forgive at all...There was room for wrath and love to run wild. And the more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it had established a rule and order, the chief aim of that order was to give room for good things to run wild."

Speaking Kindly

2010-02-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday; Then the LORD will guide you always and give you plenty even on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.

If you hold back your foot on the sabbath from following your own pursuits on my holy day; If you call the sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable; If you honor it by not following your ways, seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice then you shall delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth... Isaiah 58:9b-11, 13-14a

So many promises to those who simply speak kindly to others, especially on the sabbath. We are not sanctified by what goes into our mouths, as St. Peter learned, but rather by what comes out of them. Sunday is thought of as a little Easter during Lent when you can enjoy a little bit of what you have denied yourself for the sake of glorifying the Lord; and yet no day is more important to deny yourself and follow Him. On that day we receive in our mouths the one thing that can save us, so let us consider what comes out afterward.

I pray that all my thoughts and my words by without malice for I know it pleases you, Lord, and I have faith in the gifts which You have promised.

Ash Wednesay

2010-02-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have reformed in sackcloth and ashes long ago. Matthew 11:21

Mass was beautiful and humbling. The music has a slower tempo and is played in minor keys, evoking quiet yet profound reflection. Just as joyous music elates our thankfulness through celebrating His triumph, so too do contemplative tones stir our gratitude through recognizing the depths of His mercy. I am sorry for offending you, Lord; I am unworthy of the grace you so freely pour out upon me. Keep me from every sin. Thank you for keeping our family close to you.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

2009-12-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

Immaculate Conception
Bartolome Estoban Murillo (1670)

The Word of God could not be contained in an imperfect vessel; in human terms that means a woman without the Original Sin passed down to the rest of us from Eden. The sin that we now can wash away with Baptismal water.

"Hail, Mary, full of grace..."

On this day, the Senate defeated a pro-life amendment to the health care bill, 54-45. I pray that this means the entire bill will be defeated. Far more babies die from abortion that from insufficient health care; stopping that must be our first priority.

Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight in Bethlehem in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires to end abortion throughout the world through the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ and of his most Blessed Mother. Amen.

Let that begin with the defeat of this health care bill.

Solemnity of Christ the King

2009-11-22T17:59:00.001-08:00

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is the last Sunday in Ordinary time; it is the end of the year. Advent begins next Sunday, our time of preparation.

What a glorious way to end the year! The risen Christ crowed at the right hand of the Father. We remember we are to obey Him, to follow Him, to be loyal to Him, to love Him. And he shall save us.

Catholic Culture has wonderful resources for all the special liturgical days, and the Solemnity of Christ the King is no exception. Our parish has its annual Thanksgiving dinner, free and open to all, on this Sunday and it is truly a feast fit for a king!

Feast of All Saints

2009-11-01T09:08:00.000-08:00

The Adoration of the Trinity by Albrect Durer (1511), Kunsthistorsches Museum, Vienna

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom...Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration...But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all...At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a "Commemoratio Confessorum" for the Friday after Easter...Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself.

I Corinthians 12:26, "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together." And so we honor and rejoice those holy people that have gone to heaven before as as demonstrated by the miracles they perform.

We are all called to be saints, and as parents we are to raise up saints for God's glory. Role play is a magnificent way for kids to learn. This All Saints Day, Ds#1 is St. Jerome, who translated all the books of the Bible into Latin Vulgate. He removed a thorn from a lion's paw, and Ds#3 is that lion. Ds#2 is St. Benedict, who lived in a cave for 3 years, fed by a raven. In Monte Cassino he established the Church's monastic system and the prayer of Divine Office.

Many other children dressed as saints for Mass today--how wonderful it was to see! When we first finished the costumes, they put them on and ran outside. A strong, hot wind had blown in dark clouds. They raised their arms to let their robes flutter as they ran about shouting, "Now we must go and convert people!" May they always have that child-spirit eager to share the glory of God.

Priesthood Sunday

2009-10-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

One of our priests recently traveled to Rome to accompany a seminarian to his ordination, and was able to attend the recent canonization ceremony as well. God bless our priests!

Tim Hawkens and the Government

2009-09-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Very funny, yet so very true...

Shakespeare and John Harrison

2009-08-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Longitude by Dava Sobel. I greatly enjoyed the book about the race to find the most reliable and accurate method of finding longitude at sea. John Harrison was the first to achieve it by building a chronometer, much to the chagrin of his astronomer-rivals.

I found one line in the book intriguing, and that was that Harrison refused to read Shakespeare (too bad, because it seems Harrison's own writing was not clear at all.) I am a fan of Joseph Pearce's EWTN show The Quest for Shakespeare, a project that came about from his book by the same name. He gives a lot of evidence from Shakespeare's life history that he was most likely a reticent Catholic that remained devout throughout his life. Harrison was born in 1693, while Shakespeare died in 1616. Could it be that although Shakespeare's Catholicism is something obscured by history today, it was well known in Harrison's day, and Harrison, being a loyal Anglican in a time of great anti-Catholicism, staunchly refused to read the papist's plays?

O.K., not an incredibly deep or important topic, but one where two of the things I have recently enjoyed intersected.

The Saint Song, LOL!

2009-07-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

This is too funny...how many times did it take to get this one right?

Year of the Priest

2009-06-24T19:06:00.001-07:00

Yes, we are in great need of a Year of the Priest.

I just returned from 12 days in Potomac Falls, VA. Twice I attended a parish and heard two priests speak the Faith fully and boldly. They gave homilies that I was beginning to think I could only hear on TV. No, they were not skilled speakers, just humble conveyors of Truth. I was moved to tears reflecting on what I was lacking here at home.

I have long been praying for our priests. My prayer is that they fall back in love with the Faith as it is, and as I believe they once had been.

As our priest said Sunday, they are husbands, and their parishes are their wives. Yet some priests are so dissatisfied with their brides that they want the drastic alterations akin to plastic surgery. Liberation theologists want liposuction to remove the Magisterium and any other authority; radical feminists want breast implants of female priests. Some even want affairs with earthly wives (oh and husbands, too!) instead of dedicating themselves to their parish alone.

Most of the priest I know, though, are complacent husbands who just doesn't speak up to their wives any longer to avoid arguments. They give "safe" homilies void of the harder, deeper truths that lead to spiritual growth. I pray they become passionate again such that they preach the Faith fully and boldly once again.

Consider what the Holy Father said about St. Paul and adult faith, as posted on American Papist, to get an idea what I mean.

I love them all, and thank them always; I continue to pray and give Mass intentions for them. Yes, we need a Year of the Priest. St. John Vianney, pray for them!

Evangelize Especially in Our Times

2009-06-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

I came across these words from 2 Timothy 4:1-5

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. 5 As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

I found this so descriptive of our times. We must teach our children and pray for our priests so sound teaching of the truth can be distinguished from the Myth of Convenience.

Weekend away

2009-04-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

Some friends and I went away for the weekend. So we didn't go far; that didn't matter. Here we are in our hotel room, courtesy of a relative that gets lots of free nights from her frequent travel.

We had a wonderful, relaxing time. All four of us needed the time away to just be together, talk, and enjoy the city. One of the places we wanted to visit was the Boston Public Library, being the homeschooling, bibliophiles moms that we are.

My friends said they could barely keep me from running in when I saw the sign for the book sale, and they were close on my heels, LOL! Children's books were buy-one-get-one free, so $1 for hardcover, $0.50 for paperback. Good thing we had a car to bring our treasures back home! I found two math treasures, The Number Devil (highly recommended on the Living Math list and by Maureen Wittmann) and Circus Caps for Sale (I didn't know Caps for Sale had a sequel.) I found some science treasures too, like Walter Wicks A Drop of Water with its spectacular photography.

Here we are enjoying the highlight of our weekend.

Another Commonplace Book Example

2009-03-25T18:57:00.001-07:00

I am listening to the engrossing book The Seashell on the Mountaintop by Alan Cutler, which is the biography of Blessed Nicholas Steno, the father of modern geology and stratigraphy who, after his brilliant discoveries in anatomy and geology, converted to Catholicism, became a priest, and then a bishop. The book describes Steno's "diary" as a collection of writings about any number of topics, a common thing for all medical students to do at the time. His called his diary commonplace book Chaos because it was such an eclectic collection of notes. Interestingly, it has only a little over a decade that Chaos has been translated into English.

Perhaps it is because of his approach in constantly questioning and testing scientific suppositions that on one hand led to his remarkable scientific achievement, and on the other led to his converting to Catholicism and leaving scientific investigation altogether that he is omitted from our modern history of science.

Ash Wednesday, Lent begins

2009-02-25T13:18:00.000-08:00

It is time for us to look closely at ourselves, deep into our hearts and lives, to increase our love for Jesus as a way to prepare for His Passion.

We reflect on Jesus fasting for 40 days in the desert while tempted by Satan; and so we devote ourselves in unity to fasting and examining our own temptations and sin. What we learn now will hopefully strengthen us throughout the rest of the year.

For my own growth, I have a list of ways to deepen my love for our Lord.

Read The Domestic Church: Room by Room by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle
Regular fasting
Additional Lenten prayer
Donate to two of my favorite Catholic organizations
Bring food for the pantry to Mass each week
Work on the church library each week
Do a service project (still looking for one to do with the kids)

May our fasting and prayer increases our Church unity and strength during these times, and change the heart of our government administration to a fervor for protecting life from conception to natural death. May I, too, grow in my love and devotion to Jesus by trying to rid myself of all that is displeasing to Him. His mercy is abundant, for so is my sin.

Saint Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T14:04:00.000-08:00

St. Valentine Baptizing St. Lucilla, Jacopo Bassano

1575 Oil on canvas

Museo Civico, Bassano del Grappa

St. Valentine was a Roman priest martyred in 269 on February 14th.

According to Catholic Online, "One legend says, while awaiting his execution, Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. Another legend says, on the eve of his death, he penned a farewell note to the jailer's daughter, signing it, "From your Valentine."

Catholic Roots of Valentine's Day from American Catholic says, "The roots of St. Valentine's Day lie in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, which was celebrated on Feb. 15. For 800 years the Romans had dedicated this day to the god Lupercus. On Lupercalia, a young man would draw the name of a young woman in a lottery and would then keep the woman as a sexual companion for the year."

"Pope Gelasius I was, understandably, less than thrilled with this custom. So he changed the lottery to have both young men and women draw the names of saints whom they would then emulate for the year (a change that no doubt disappointed a few young men). Instead of Lupercus, the patron of the feast became Valentine. For Roman men, the day continued to be an occasion to seek the affections of women, and it became a tradition to give out handwritten messages of admiration that included Valentine's name."

Catholic Encyclopedia tells us, "The popular customs associated with Saint Valentine's Day undoubtedly had their origin in a conventional belief generally received in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on 14 February, i.e. half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair. Thus in Chaucer's Parliament of Foules we read:

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne's day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate."

St. Valentine was dropped as an official feast day of the Roman Catholic church along with several other saints whose historical accounts and intercessions were less certain than those of saints celebrated today. So where so the chocolate and flowers come in?

Chesterton and Anarchists

2009-01-18T18:42:00.000-08:00

I just finished watching G. K. Chesterton, The Apostle of Common Sense on EWTN:

An anarchist will tolerate any thought except that of Reason.

I think the left wing of the Democratic party is the same way. Anything that is counter to what has well served civilization for thousands of years is rejected, indeed it is hated. Preserving life, marriage between a man and a woman, faith, are all nonsense to them. And their arguments are nothing but emotional tirades without foundation because they will not listen to Reason.

After the election, the Conservative talking heads talked about the need to return excellence to the movement; I say we need a Chesterton-esque person. A lay-person that is at once a brilliant scholar and an everyday person, an excellent speaker and debater with a keen sense of humor; a convert to Catholicism through Reason. Indeed, an apostle of common sense. Continue to view devout Christians as liabilities and they will pass them over.

Unchecked Disobedience

2009-01-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

This quote comes from the Totus Tuus Family & Catholic Homeschool blog. The entry was The chapel veil ~ a signal regarding wearing a mantilla, or veil.

"This is the normal consequence of unchecked disobedience; it is never satisfied."

Doesn't that encapsulate the decline of so many into cafeteria Catholicism, with some priests themselves leading the way despite their own vow of obedience?

"Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." St. Matthew 7:21.

Solemnity of Mary, The Immaculate Conception

2008-12-08T05:38:00.000-08:00

The Immaculate Conception by Francisco de Zurbaran, Museo del Prado, Madrid.

This is perhaps the most misunderstood concept of Catholic doctrine. Even Charles Hodgson, the creator of Podictionary, one of my favorite podcasts, can't get it right even though his whole focus is on finding the origins of word meanings.

The doctrine comes, of course, from the Bible:

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." Luke 1:26-33

It does not refer to Jesus who, being God, cannot possibly have sin. God prepared the Blessed Virgin Mary to bear our Lord by creating her without sin. Original sin, with which the rest of us are all born, is the sin of Adam from the Fall. It is washed away by our baptism, when we become children of God. We then fill our lives with sin all by ourselves, LOL. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me to confess my sins to you and to hear you tell me that my sins are forgiven, through your chosen priests in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Your mercy is endless, Lord; You bring comfort to all who seek You!

St. Nicholas

2008-12-06T07:55:00.000-08:00

Today is the feast day of St. Nicholas (260 - 343 ad,) Bishop of Myra and Saint of Bari. His mitre (representing the flames of Pentecost) was changed to a red cap, his cope (cape) to a fur coat, his cross to a buckle, and his crosier (shepherd's staff) to a candy cane. The saint himself became shorter and fatter as well.

This transformation was famously made by the anti-Catholic political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, who removed all Catholic symbols from his image. It seems since the saintly references have been removed, Santa Claus himself and Christmas in general have declined into secularism, commercialism, and greed; now even as a forum for nasty anti-Christian statements. Are we surprised based on the origins of the now-popular symbol?

Catholic Blogger badge

2008-12-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

This is the dividing line between serious and faithful Catholics from those only wanting to call themselves Catholics. I felt it was important to have site badges such as these when surfing the 'net for Catholic blogs.

Since you cannot type code onto a web page without confusing it, you need to add a few things to the code to make it work. Here is the adjusted code to install this onto your blog:

a href="http://poorcatechesis.blogspot.com/2008/12/faithful-to-magisterium-badge.html" target="_blank"> img src="http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll142/notekris/Magisteriumbadge.jpg">/a>

To this code add < before the a at the very beginning, just before img, and just before the /a> at the end, all without any spaces (three of them total.)

Our lives as witnesses

2008-11-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

I received this as part of one of those forwarded-around-the-world emails, yet this section of it really struck me as to the power of our lives as witnesses to Christ.

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Saint Therese, homeschooling, and bloggers

2008-11-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

Today is the solemnity of All Saint's Day, so I want to add a saint to this blog in honor of all homeschoolers and bloggers.

St. Therese of Lisieux is also known as the Little Flower of Jesus. She taught us that you do not have to accomplish great acts to be a saint or even to serve the Lord; rather, our love is shown in every little act we do.

"Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love."

Homeschooling is indeed humble in the era of women breaking glass ceilings. Yet each small act we do for our children to bring them up in the Lord is another of Therese's flowers scattered. St. Therese, pray for homeschoolers.

I am also reminded of these scattered flowers every time I read a blog entry or message board post that inspires, uplifts, or reassures me. I pray that my writings do the same for others. St. Therese, pray for bloggers.

May we all strive for holiness in our ordinary lives.

*AMDG*

A Commonplace Blog

2008-10-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Commonplace books were places where one would write interesting quotes, usually from books, and then add one's own commentary, whether in elaboration or contradiction. These journals of sorts faded away long before the age of multimedia, mass communication, and blogging. So, in this era of the electronic age, this is my Commonplace Blog in which I will collect interesting snippets from a variety of sources and add my thoughts to them. You, of course, are invited to add your thoughts on these things as well.