A Great Day & Potpourri

What a day! After celebrating the 4th, I’m hit with the news that Blessed John Paul II, the Great, will become officially a Saint, and so will John XXIII.

Then I hear of the release of Pope Francis’ first encyclical, Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith). Well, rather it was written by two popes, Francis and Benedict. I’ve already started to read it. You can read it at the Vatican website, there is also a pdf version, and I am converting it to Kindle. Here is the link: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei_en.html

It’s intent is to strengthen the faith of all Catholics worldwide. It stresses the beauty of faith. A headline reads “New Encyclical Truly a Spiritual ‘Light’. I would agree from what I’ve read so far. I’ll do a summary when I can. I hope pastors will bring it to everyone in the pews. Usually when it comes to encyclicals we are on our own.

A blogger, Dr. Taylor Marshall, wrote “15 Easy Points”. Here are the first five:

1. He begins with referring to Nietzsche as the pioneer of non-faith for our era. Consequently, "humanity renounced the search for a great light, Truth itself." 

2. He then refers to Dante, who in the Divine Comedy, after professing his faith to Saint Peter, describes that light as a "spark, which then becomes a burning flame and like a heavenly star within me glimmers." The encyclical builds on Saint Peter's initial faith when he said, "You are Christ, the Son of the Living God!"

3. Next, he traces the history of faith from Abraham and up on through the Hebrews of the Old Testament. The Incarnation reveals the ultimate object of faith - Jesus Christ.

4. "In many areas in our lives we trust others who know more than we do. We trust the architect who builds our home, the pharmacist who gives us medicine for healing, the lawyer who defends us in court." But why don't we trust God? Trust or faith is a natural part of life

5. Faith transforms those who love. This is why we are saved by faith in Christ. 

You may want to visit Taylor's site, he always has something good. Click here.

Also, I hear a Conscience Act was introduced in the Senate. Keep your fingers crossed, er, rather, pray.

And the U.S. House passed the Pain Capable Unborn Protection Act to prohibit abortions nationwide after 20 weeks. It passed 228 to 196. One small step forward. I wonder what the Senate will do, if anything.

And, St. Joseph is back. The Congregation for Divine Worship issued a decree adding St. Joseph to the Eucharistic Prayers II, III, and IV. Pope Benedict approved the addition and Pope Francis confirmed it. Hurray!

Let’s pray for Fr. Francois Mourad, a Syrian monk who was slain by Islamic rebels when they raided the monastery in Syria. He was trying to protect the nuns and others.

Mom's Old Clothesline

Something different for a change.

Nostalgia: I remember this well, in fact I have a neighbor who always hangs her clothes out – there is nothing like outside-dried clothes.

Mom's Old Clothesline

 I remember our clothesline and remember running the line through a rag to clean the line.  I also remember bringing in flannel sheets in the winter that were stiff as a board. We used to hang them over the heat registers
 This reminds us of how much fresh air and sunshine we modern gals miss out on
it's the poem at the end that's the best!!!

Remembering Mom's Clothesline

There is one thing that's left out. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push
The clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty.
I can hear my mother now.....

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:
(If you don't even know what clotheslines are, better skip this.)
1. You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top.
2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.
3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk the entire length of each

     line with a damp cloth around the lines.
4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.
5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors think?
6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!
7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in

    the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)
8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather... Clothes would "freeze-dry."
9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky"!
10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two

      clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.
11. Clothes off the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.
12. IRONED???!! Well, that's a whole OTHER subject!

And now a POEM .

A clothesline was a news forecast, To neighbors passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep, When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link, For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by, To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the "fancy sheets", And towels upon the line;
You'd see the "company table cloths", With intricate designs.
The line announced a baby's birth, From folks who lived inside,
As brand new infant clothes were hung, So carefully with pride!
The ages of the children could, So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed, You'd know how much they'd grown!
It also told when illness struck, As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe too, Haphazardly were strung.
It also said, "On vacation now", When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged, With not an inch to spare!
New folks in town were scorned upon, If wash was dingy and gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows, And looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past, For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home, Is anybody's guess!
I really miss that way of life, It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best... By what hung out on that line. 

2 Tough Questions

2 TOUGH QUESTIONS

Question 1: 

If you knew a woman who was pregnant, 

Who had 8 kids already, 

Three who were deaf, 

Two who were blind, 

One mentally retarded, 

And she had syphilis, 

Would you recommend that she undergoes an abortion? 

Read the next question before looking at the response for this one. 

Question 2: 

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts.. 

Here are the facts about the three candidates. 

  

Candidate A: 

Associates with crooked politi cians, and consults with astrologists. 

He's had two mistresses. 

He also chain smokes 

And drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day. 

  

Candidate B: 

He was kicked out of office twice, 

Sleeps until noon, 

Used opium in college 

And drinks a quart of whiskey every evening. 

  

Candidate C: 

He is a decorated war hero, 

He's a vegetarian, 

Doesn't smoke, 

Drinks an occasional beer 

And never committed adultery. 

  

  

Which of these candidates would be your choice? 

  

Decide first ... No peeking, and then scroll down for the response. 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

Candidate B is Winston Churchill. Candidate C is Adolph Hitler. 

  

And, by the way, on your answer to the abortion question: 

  

If you said YES, you just killed Beethoven. 

  

  

Pretty interesting isn't it? 

Makes a person think before judging someone. 

  

  

Remember: 

  

Amateurs ... Built the ark. 

Professionals ... Built the Titanic 

Musings

Oct. 22 is the Feast of Blessed JPII. Let’s make a prayer to him and ask his help to encourage our youth to become more involved with their faith, for he had a strong connection with the youth while he was with us.

“Without God, man ultimately chooses selfishness over solidarity and love, material things over values, having over being.” Pope Benedict XVI, at the Marian shrine of Loreto. How very true.

From Our Sunday Visitor: “Praise for Noble Prize – The awarding of this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka, two pioneers of adult stem-cell research, has been praised by Catholics. The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community said the award should encourage institutions to switch funding from embryonic stem-cell research to adult stem-cell research.” Yes, let’s leave the little ones alone, they need not give up their lives to harvest their stem-cells for research.

Movie recommendation: October Baby. Loved it. A baby having survived an abortion attempt is adopted. As a teenager, when she learns the truth and that she is adopted she searches for her natural mother. I won’t say anything else about it. Hope you will watch it. Good story, well done.

Book recommendation: Rediscovering Catholicism by Matthew Kelly. I thought it was great. So much so I bought several copies to hand out to friends. I still have a few left. Let me know if you would like one. My parish, St. Stephens passed our CDs on the same subject awhile back which led me to get the book. You can learn more at DynamicCatholic.com.

Year of Faith: Have you thought about doing anything for the Year of Faith? We are affected by the secular society and godlessness all around us, don’t think we are not. Have you sat down and thought about you faith and your relationship with the Lord? I would like to make one suggestion here. For a little while put aside the black and white printed words and the memorized prayers and have a little conversation with Jesus, not as Lord, but as friend. Tell Him what is on your mind, what is troubling you. Perhaps, take a little walk doing this, see Jesus walking next to you and just talk to him. No, people won’t think you’re crazy talking to yourself – they can’t tell the difference anyway with so many people talking on the phone using blue tooth or ear phones. Even better, sit for some time, face to face, with Jesus before the Blessed Sacrament.

Lastly, I’m sure we have all decided by now who we are going to vote for. This election is so very important to us as Catholics. So first do vote. That is our responsibility as a citizens and now more so as Catholics. Try to find out who it is you are voting for. Do they reflect our morals and values?

Blessings to all!

Respond to Negative Emotions with a Choice

One of my Deacon's published the following thoughts in our Parish Bulletin. Sounds very Franciscan, if you ask me.

  

Every human being experiences negative emotions. That's part of what it means to be a person. We can't help it. Bad feelings come to all of us.

We DO have a choice, however, in what we do with them when they come. Some suppose that every negative emotion requires a negative reaction, but that is not the case. Through prayer, attitude adjustment and self-discipline, we can respond positively to negative feelings.

If you don't decide, you’ll merely react — and the decision needs to come before you’re indecisive. One helpful practice I've used for many years is spiritual breathing. I imagine exhaling the negative stuff and then inhale deeply with positive replacement. It helps.

Today, I challenge you to choose responding rather than reacting: When you're frustrated with someone — choose kindness. When you're in a hurry — choose patience. When you're stressed out — choose peace. When you're angry — choose calmness. When you're frightened — choose courage. When you're anxious — choose faith. When you're discouraged — choose hope. When you're upset — choose serenity. When you're conflicted — choose harmony. When you're pressured — choose tranquility. When you're offended — choose forgiveness. When you're deprived — choose gratitude. When you're confused — choose prayer. When you're overwhelmed — choose simplicity when you're sad — choose joy. When you're in despair — choose life.

Hey! Neat! Fly with an Eagle

I'm speechless. Praise God!

2012 Transit of Venus

Did you miss it? I did. But here is a much better look.

Incredible Video - Brazilian Bathers Save Beached Dolphins

Could not upload to Blogger for some reason, so here is the link: Dolphins.

This is truly amazing! It is quite unbelievable to see a large number of dolphins "beached", but even more so seeing the beach-goers save them. Thanks to these bathers on the beach all the dolphins are save at sea. This happened on a Brazilian beach. Praise God. Happy Easter!

Stress and God

Recently, I did a little bit of reading about stress management. I’ve been feeling an extraordinary amount of stress lately due to work, I won’t get into the details, but it deals with the workload and my boss. I read that stress comes to all of us in varying degrees, it could be so bad that it affects our health, our family or work relations. But some stress is also good. If we didn’t have stress, we would never get that income tax done. The writer was suggesting different ways to deal with stress, and in our secular society I was not surprised that nothing was said about God in dealing with stress.

For a Catholic and as a Secular Franciscan, I know that the best way to deal with stress is through prayer. God will always answer our prayers, but in his own time - we expect immediate answers but as we know, God’s time is not our time, so we need be a little bit patient.

We Catholics have so many ways with our faith to deal with stress. Finding some quiet time to relate to Jesus is a stress reducer in itself. Putting it in the hands of God is a stress reducer. So is meditation, listening to Gregorian chant or some other Catholic/Christian music, the Jesus prayer, studying the Bible.

We also have a fantastic stress reducer — Confession. Why carry that guilt around, that load on our shoulders? When it is so easy to ask for forgiveness.

As Franciscans, we embrace a couple of tools that will help us manage stress. The first is simplicity. The more complex our life is, the greater the stress. Another tool is our efforts to be not materialistic. The more we have, the more we have to worry about. We are also Gospel people. Leading our life according to the Gospel, we learn about Jesus and we learn the wisdom as to how to lead our lives. For example: If there is bitterness or anger toward another, we know that we should not go to bed without addressing it. Carrying grudges and not forgetting, takes a lot of energy and adds to our stress. We are reminded that God feeds the birds of the air, that he clothes the flowers of the field, and as we are so much more valuable God most assuredly will take care of us.

We know that God helps those who help themselves. If you are feeling stress from work or interpersonal relations, or finances or whatever, ask yourself what is the one most important thing I can do to address this issue. Once you address it and act upon it. You’re on your way to reducing that stress.

Crappy People

Crappy People

I often consider what I can do to make myself a better man, a better Catholic, a better citizen; but once again I’ve been reminded that there are a lot of crappy people out there. After doing some Saturday morning shopping I decided to treat myself to a Chinese buffet lunch. I couldn’t help but observe a “gentleman” come in after me. He loaded a plate with one of the selections, and I mean loaded, he could not have put another spoonful of food on the plate without it rolling off. He proceeded to take a few bites and then left his table and filled another plate with a different selection. This second plate was loaded as much is the first. After eating a little more he pushed the first plate aside. An attendant came and took the first plate away and obviously it was destined for the trash. He then proceeded to fill up third plate with a third selection, again loaded. I would have given him the benefit of the doubt considering perhaps he might not have liked it, but why take so much in the first place if you weren’t familiar with that food? I think rather he was of their to simply waste food.

What a waste. It bothers me if I don’t finish a loaf of bread, or a bottle of milk in time, and I find that I need to throw it away. Yet this person had no qualms about wasting all this food. If I was younger, I would have approached him and admonished him, but in this world who knows how he would’ve reacted; people are shot for less.

An Open Letter to NetFlix

I am livid! I got home from work yesterday and checked my e-mail. One item was from Netflix, which informed me of a rate increase. I couldn't believe what I read — you, increasing my fee by 33%.

Doesn't anyone at Netflix realize the state of the Economy? It is common knowledge that when the economy is bad, the first budget line item to cut is entertainment. I wanted to comment to Netflix my reaction and feelings to this ridiculous increase, so I attempted to call, and call, and call, and call. So I next tried to send an e-mail to Netflix, to advise them my reaction and feelings. But no, it is impossible to communicate with Netflix by e-mail.

So thank you Netflix. You ruined my evening, causing me to redial and redial and redial. For three hours and 45 minutes I attempted to contact you. Finally I got through — only to be on hold for over 15 minutes. Finally, I got someone to talk to, and I urged your representative to communicate to management how ridiculous this 33% increase, at a time of economic concerns, was ridiculous.

I consider this price increase, the inability to contact you by phone, the inability to contact you by e-mail — a slap in the face. This is my thanks for the years that I have been a loyal member of the Netflix community.

In my opinion, those responsible for this price increase should be fired. I truly hope that every Netflix customer cancels; I truly hope Netflix’s stocks plummet. Any business entity which treats their customers like you do deserves to be extinct.

You now have a choice, either rescind the price increase immediately or lose me as a customer. I expect in the future you will include the ability for your customers to contact you by e-mail.