September 2005 Archives

I'm not so sure, here

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I despise the Democrats and distrust the Republicans. Socialists and Libertarians are also both clueless. To quote Jack Kerouac,"I am not a beatnik. I am a Catholic." >

ok, I'll bite

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The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

LevelScore
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)Extreme
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)Moderate
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)Low
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Test

newly discovered - check it out!

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st jerome, ora pro nobis

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found at my baby sister's blog

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Your Famous Blogger Twin is Moby





Creative, cosmopolitan, and a bit moody
If something's on your mind, it's on your blog

who'd a thunk it?

my daughter's blog

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check her out. Today, recipes for home made beauty treatments.
jessica's diary

ah, the media

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mandatory for CCD teachers

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and in some parishes, for everyone who works or volunteers in any capacity - from the organist to the gardener.
Mr. Curley has some pretty telling comments about "Protecting God's Children"????
I had to sit through this program last year. This, despite the fact that as a health care provider I have had to attend regular workshops on both preventing and detecting abuse (and not just child sexual abuse, for that matter). My dear husband almost had to use duct tape on my mouth during the PGC session. I was offended and aghast.

New Hampshire is one of the few states where everyone, not just professionals of various sorts, is a mandated reporter of suspected abuse. The health center where I work (unlike many PP clinics who have been sampled in 'sting' operations) duly reports suspected statutory rape, as well as other forms of child abuse, elder abuse, spousal abuse, etc. My cynical side wants to shout "Not that much is usually done with the information we report" - which I know is not true. But there are budget limitations and NH is a pretty libertarian state. You can see it on the license plate motto - "Live free or die".
My opinion is that a pregnant 14 year old is ipso facto some one who has been sexually abused - no matter if the perp is her 15 y'o boyfriend.
Anyhow, classes like PGC aren't really the answer to the problem. We need a moral revolution to counter the sexual revolution. We need for all of us who have survived to be silent no more.

or possibly purple

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What Color Should Your Blog or Journal Be?
Thanks to Julie D




Your Blog Should

Be Green




Your blog is smart and thoughtful - not a lot of fluff.
You enjoy a good discussion, especially if it involves picking apart ideas. However, you tend to get easily annoyed by any thoughtless comments in your blog.

sparki interviews

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Bishop Bruskewitz

I have always been impressed with the good bishop when I have seen him on TV or heard him on the radio. He and a few others seem to me to be the distilled essence of bishop-ness. Holy, humble, pastoral and obedient. May God in His Mercy send us many more such shepherds!

being lazy on my day off

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Your Blogging Type is Pensive and Philosophical
You blog like no one else is reading...
You tend to use your blog to explore ideas - often in long winded prose.
Easy going and flexible, you tend to befriend other bloggers easily.
But if they disagree with once too much, you'll pull them from your blogroll!
What's Your Blogging Personality?

No, I don't pull those who disagree from the blogroll. Only those who go dormant for too long.

safe and legal?

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aonther wonderful tale

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Visualize Industrial Collapse

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At the Gates of Vienna blog

This, to me, is related to the IVF posting from yesterday.

I am not anti-technology. I am not techno-crazy, either. I am for putting things in their proper order, God first, family next, and so on. Technologies, whether as vast as literacy or as simple as agriculture, are good or evil based on how well they meet the criteria of Godly living.

I think that natural childbirth and breastfeeding are ideal and what God intended. I am thankful that we have cesarean childbirth and safe formulas for those times when our fallen world intrudes.

Power is not intrinsically evil, but it can be misused.

On doulas

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wonderful birth stories

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from a british midwife. midwife's muse

How ghastly!

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Women bypass sex in favour of 'instant pregnancies'
By Charlotte Edwardes and Andrew Alderson


Women are increasingly seeking inappropriate IVF treatment because they do not have the time or inclination for a sex life and want to "diarise" their busy lives.
(full article)

I've started telling patients at their annual exams that fertility does not last forever..... You would be surprised at how many young women are convinced that they will have not a problem having a child when and how they choose, even if they wait to their 40s to even start thinking about it!

conversion stories?

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Questions for you all

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How would you feel if your child's High School religion teacher quoted from Dan Brown's book Angels and Demons in an effort to make a point using "contemporary culture"?

What do you all think should be the overarching and underlying goal of young adult religious education?

Do you think that "christian" versions of contemporary music are more helpful than not in reaching teens and young adults?

Do you think that it would be more helpful or harmful to expose teens to JP2's "Theology of the Body" in religious ed?

Do you think that these young adults would be interested in the early church fathers? In the historical reasons for Catholicism? In philosophy, art, and culture?

Inquiring minds want to know.

We are losing many of our best young folks. I am trying to figure out why, and if there is any way to reverse the trend from within High School religious ed, even among those kids who are only there because of parental pressure. I recognize that many of these parents were also not well catechized and may, in fact, be among the large group of cafeteria catholics.

Book Review: The Preservationist

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As promised.

There is a genre of fiction that I have read with mixed reactions for several years. I am not sure what to call it - it is a kind of fictionalization of stories from the Bible - sometimes these accounts stick pretty closely to the facts as given in the Good Book, sometimes they can get pretty off the wall. Examples that come to my mind are books by Madeleine L'Engle - The Genesis Trilogy and Many Waters - Many books by Orson Scott Card grouped under the title "Women of Genesis" (Fictional biographies of Sarah, Rachel and Leah, and Rebeckah) - and the recent best seller The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.

In The Preservationist David Maine has attempted to fill in the blanks in the account from Genesis. (Chapters 6,7,8,9). He uses verses from the traditional Catholic English translation (the Douai-Rheims) as chapter headings. In attempting to fill in the details, Mr. Maine gives names to the wives of the sons of Noe (Noah) - but not to the wife of Noe. Mr. Maine has the task of gathering the beasts into the ark be given to the women. He creates characters who are 3 dimensional and believable, and he sets a scene that is graphic and gritty and very real.

I had a little trouble getting into the story when I first tried to read it. I am not sure why, but I nearly gave up several times after the first few pages. On reflection, I think that the sex scenes (which I personally found to be mostly gratuitous - you might disagree) kept me from wanting to turn the page. I also found some of the linguistic conventions the author employed to be a little contrived and more than a little distracting. A prime example of this is his use of the term 'rutting' for sexual intercourse. My literal mind sees rutting as an animal activity, and my understanding of theology places human sexual activity at a slightly higher level - at least when enjoyed at the level where God wants us to be.

None the less, when I was finally able to overlook the items that annoyed me, I found the book a reasonable read. Overall, I'd give it a B+. I enjoyed the characterization of the women immensely, despite what seemed to me to be a bit of God-bashing from a couple of Noe's daughters-in-law. And I truly loved a bit at the end, where Noe discovers the love he really has for his wife of all those years.

Saturday morning news

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Headed down to Tewkesbury MA to hear Patrick Madrid speak - and then next week a more local parish is having Scott Hahn come in.

I've had a set of lyrics haunting me lately - just two lines.
"A different kind of poverty now upsets me so" (it could also be "upsets my soul" - hard to hear exactly). Last night I finally tracked down where the phrase came from. The song is "Four and Twenty", the artist is Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and the song was from my teen years. Now to try to understand why it has been haunting me - or why that song has been joined by another in my brain - a Gordon Lightfoot gem. The excerpt in my brain, "His father's pride was his means to provide, and he's serving 5 years for that reason". I'm pretty sure that the Lightfoot is on the Seven Island album, but what is the name? And why, now ,do these rattle in my brain?

23:5 Meme

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Rules:
1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to it).
3. Find the 5th sentence (or closest to it).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.

As we come closer to the tragic anniversary of Roe vs.Wade, I think we are all thinking deeply about this topic.

I really prefer the sentence just preceding!

HT to Kate

pray for M'Lynn

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She's just gone through a version of . Hell on Earth

surfacing

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left my house at 0700 yesterday morning, don't expect to get home much before 10 PM tonight. call last night, mandatory training this AM, currently taking a break and blogging from the local Panera (free wireless!) before heading back to the hospital for a planning meeting followed by a CME with food. Wonder what "George's Banks Haddock" will turn out to be.
Please keep praying for all those in the path of the storms. God promised that he wouldn't totally wipe us out with floods again (after Noah) but this weather seems to be of close to Biblical proportions. We seem to be having a real jeroboam of weather events, not only here in the Western Hemisphere but elsewhere as well.
I finished reading The Preservationist last week. Review to follow. Does anyone around know why the author chose to use the Douai-Rheims translation for his chapter quotes?

my conversion story part one

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I don't remember exactly the first time I realized that not all Christians worshipped the same way that I did. Maybe I was 8 or so? But I know that there were incidents and influences from my very early life that pulled me towards my eventual reception into the one, holy, and apostolic church.

I was born to a teen couple. My parents met in the church choir of All Saint's Episcopal church in San Diego CA. My dad was a cradle Episcopalian, his birth dad was raised German Lutheran and his stepfather was a non-practicing Methodist and also a Mason. His mom (my grandmother) was for decades the first grade teacher at All Saint's Parish day school. My mom's heritage was mostly Southern Baptist with a smattering of Mormon (including a collateral relative to Brigham Young) and there was one Catholic who left my mom her rosary when she died. My mom was baptized at All Saints around the age of 13, and later confirmed Episcopalian by the Bishop of San Diego. My parents were married at All Saint's also. I was baptized into the Episcopalian church as an infant. My godmother was raised Russian Orthodox, but apparantly this was not a problem in her becoming my godmother.

When I was 18 months old, my dad finished college under his ROTC scholarship and began his active duty in the Air Force. This meant that my mom and I went to go live with his mom for a while. For the first 15 years of my life, I came to regard my paternal grandmother's home as my permanent home while we moved all over the place for my dad's career in the Air Force. For example, I remember going to the Nursery School at All Saint's when I was three. When I was 3 1/2 years old, my mom took me and my one year old brother and flew from San Diego CA to London England, and then took the train to Hunstanton, to rejoin my dad who was assigned to RAF Sculthorpe. I can only imagin what it was like for 20 y/o mom to take a two toddlers, one still in diapers, on a trip that long by herself. I know that in England we attended Church of England services, and I remember that my sister who was born there (just before my 5th birthday) was baptized there. I can still remember the dress she wore for her baptism - white organdy with red embroidery. I remember Bible stories at the local church, and I remember going to Vacation Bible School on the AF base as well. Two Bible stories that I specifically remember from that time are Zaccheus in the tree, and the Ascension into Heaven. At VBS we glued cotton wool onto paper to make the clouds for the Ascension. I also remember the book I had of stories from the Bible - I read it over and over. By the time I was 6 I had a pretty good timeline of the Bible and its teachings.

When we returned from England, I was 6 1/2 years old. I ended up living for a year with my grandparents so that I could go to school and not lose any of the learning I had acquired in England. I was in the second grade at All Saint's. I remember that we went to church every morning. We lined up in our classrooms and processed across the alley to the church building, and as we entered the church we genuflected 2 by 2 to the clicks of the Anglican sisters little mechanical frogs. Every morning but one it was morning prayer, with two bible readings (OT and Epistle), a psalm or two (chanted, of course) and a canticle (usually the Te Deum - chanted) and often a hymn or two as well. One day a week there was also a Holy Communion service. Only the older classes, who had been confirmed and who were willing to skip breakfast, went to communion.
The school had a few Anglican nuns who taught religion, and who every day led us in saying the Angelus. In many ways it was a more "Catholic" education than that of my husband, the cradle Catholic.


I might be a little scarce the next few days

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prayer request

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My good blog friend (and occasional Spero editor) Bene Diction is out with pneumonia. Please pray for his speedy recovery and that his suffering won't be wasted!

Tagged again

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From Valerie
Getting to Know Me.....

5 things I plan to do before I die:
1. Have grandchildren (I know, I'm not in control there!)
2. Write a book and get it published
3. Pay off all my debts
4. Be in a state of grace
5. Figure out where 'home' really is.

5 things I can do:
1. Coach a woman through childbirth
2. Cross my toes in both directions
3. Read music and hear it in my head
4. Improvise harmony in voice, flute, and guitar
5. Cook fantastic food with limited finances

5 things I cannot do:
1. Wiggle my ears
2. Match names to faces without long exposure
3. Jump off the high dive
4. Sleep sitting up (unless anesthetized)
5. Bilocate


5 things that attract me to the opposite sex:
1. Compassion
2. Solidity
3. Faith
4. Loving children
5. Intelligence and competence


5 things I say most often:
1. I love you.
2. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly
3. It doesn't matter what your opinion is, truth is truth
4. No, we can't afford it and that is final
5. You have to balance the risks and the benefits - nothing is truly risk free

5 celebrity crushes: (do I have to do this???)
I don't get crushes. If I am wrong on this, I am sure that my husband will list 5 for me in the comments box.

5 people I want to do this:
ukok
penni
julie d
rebecca
arwen/elizabeth

music meme

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Want to do something totally useless? Then try the blog meme I found at Oblique House. Go here and click on the year you graduated from high school to find a list of the top 100 songs of that year.
Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline your favorite. Do nothing to the ones you don't remember or don't care about. Commentary is optional, as is good taste.

(when I was young and stupid, I was young and stupid. Besides which, most of my favorite songs never even made the top 100)


Top 100 Hits of 1972 / Top 100 Songs of 1972

1. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack
2. Alone Again (Naturally), Gilbert O'Sullivan
3. American Pie, Don McLean
4. Without You, Nilsson
5. Candy Man, Sammy Davis Jr.
6. I Gotcha, Joe Tex
7. Lean On Me, Bill Withers
8. Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me, Mac Davis
9. Brand New Key, Melanie
10. Daddy Dont You Walk So Fast, Wayne Newton
11. Let's Stay Together, Al Green
12. Brandy (You're A Fine Girl), Looking Glass
13. Oh Girl, Chi-Lites
14. Nice To Be With You, Gallery
15. My Ding-A-Ling, Chuck Berry
16. If Loving You Is Wrong I Don't Want To Be Right, Luther Ingram
17. Heart Of Gold, Neil Young
18. Betcha By Golly, Wow, Stylistics
19. I'll Take You There, Staple Singers
20. Ben, Michael Jackson

tales of the strange

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Feminism got it wrong, again

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I wish I could send my husband to this

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and I wouldn't mind going myself!
Catholic Radio Association - Radio Conference Home

some one please fisk this

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I'm still too tired
Male and Female, God created them
Notice the 'gender neutral' language in the title?
Notice that the magazine in which it was published purports to be Catholic?

still here

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Seven births in three 24 shifts since 0800 on 9/7/05.
headed to sleep
later!

Triumph of the Cross?

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Historical perspective from a Christendom student.

not that I approve, but way funny

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family life education in the cyber age

sorry about that

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the post below wasn't saying that I, personally, won't blog again till I get ten comments - I was just pointing to Jim's post about what looks to be a great book by Russell Shaw.
I haven't been posting much myself because I have been very busy, having been midwife for 6 babies since Wednesday morning. Each labor and birth had its own set of heart wrenching moments (as usual) and I spent most of today after Mass catching up on lost sleep.
No, I don't personally have a manuscript looking for a home! I have a few books sketched out in my brain but I haven't gotten around to writing them yet. I'm not sure I have the discipline to actually write them. Getting my articles done for Spero Forum has been challenging enough.
However, I probably would settle down and write seriously with the right incentives. I would love to write a textbook for midwives that has both NFP and the Catholic worldview integrated into the text. Similarly a book for expectant families - I personally despise the current best selling What to Expect When You are Expecting. Maybe I can take my Spero articles when and work them into that book.
It's taken me years to realize that I am not able to actually write fiction, at least not the kind of fiction that I like to read! I admire competent fiction writers, even those who end up doing hack work after a while. It is a struggle and a discipline that isn't well appreciated.

go. vote. comment

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I won't blog again until I get 10 comments on this post.....

How often does the average person get a chance to weigh in on a Catholic book before it is published?

beauty and faith

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I'm a convert. I love to read, hear, and experience other's stories of their conversion. And also what comes after conversion - the much harder struggle to keep to the path.
The Good Wine shows just a bit of why we keep it up.

A wonderful shrine

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hilarious

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Fidelis???An Aesthetic Argument Against "Same Sex Marriage"
Hat tip to Gen X Revert, who is busy planning his nuptials!

heartwarming story

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volunteer opportunity

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Th following information is from DeeAnne Domnick, a CPM from Louisiana. She is working with the evacuation of pregnant women and families with small children from the devastated areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. She has asked to spread the word about what she is doing, and the help that is needed, to the midwives on the internet.

DeeAnne has a 501 C-3 non-profit organization called Barefoot Doctor’s Academy that has been around for many years and works to provide medical care to low income families in Louisiana and in South American and Hawaii. Her organization has teamed up with others to assist in the care offered to the evacuees.

She says that pregnant women in late pregnancy are being airlifted to medical centers in other states, and the pregnant women who are not near term are being taken by Amtrak to Illinois. They are looking for midwives who will volunteer to ride on these planes and trains to provide care during transport. It is not the intent to do births in transit, but it is likely to happen. On the longer train rides, she hopes that midwives will give prenatal care and provide childbirth education, and assist new mothers who are traveling with small babies. The same services could also be provided in some of the shelters before transit. Volunteers should bring their own supplies (births kits and prenatal bags) and provide their own transportation. It would be wise to bring a supply of personal food and water, and bedding in case it is needed. They prefer midwives with credentials and experience since few of these births will be low-risk, but will find a place for midwives of any background to help.

The central base DeeAnne is working from is Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The planes are flying out from there. The trains are beginning at various points in LA and MS, and are traveling up through Memphis toward Chicago on the Amtrak lines. Volunteers can come to Baton Rouge, or can meet trains at other stops to finish the ride.

In addition to volunteer work, they are accepting financial contributions through their 501 C-3 which are tax deductible to the giver. Donations may be sent to the Hurricane Disaster Project, Barefoot Doctor’s Academy, P.O. Box 371, Hawi, HI 96719. The funds kept there are accessible for their work in Louisiana.

There is a website for the non-profit organization, though they do not have much information up yet on the hurricane relief project.

To find out more about becoming a volunteer, you may call DeeAnne at 808-987-8213, or e-mail her.


He's Back!!!!

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live journal from a NOLA RN

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Found surfing the blogs

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The Gospel according to Trolls
Quotes Rudyard Kipling in reply to those who blame Katrina on their favorite demons.

the greatest of these is love

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One of the blessings of having a lectionary is that we come to learn pretty much the whole of scriptures if we but attend Mass regularly. I can't quote chapter and verse like many of my friends who grew up with memory verses, but I know what the Bible says and, given a decent concordance, I can usually find the verses I'm looking for.

Another blessing is that the pastor can't evade passages with which he is unfamiliar or unhappy. Granted, some pastors can get pretty creative with interpretation, but they can't ignore the existence of the more uncofortable of the scriptural teachings.

And yet a third blessing is that no matter what is going on in the world, there is always something in the appointed reading that can apply to it. There is not this struggle to try to find 'the perfect scripture' to teach on and to learn from. It is right there, often with a specificity that is almost eerie, and always a reminder that God is in charge, ultimately. For example, today's Epistle closes with the phrase, "love is the fulfillment of the law" - a perfect segue into the request that we all show our caring for the survivors and victims of Katrina by opening our heart to them, praying for them, and helping to meet their physical needs as well.

This morning, Father opened his homily with a quote from C.S. Lewis.
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." He then went on to speak about a billboard he had seen on I-10, at the entrance to New Orleans. It is Jesus crucified, with the caption underneath: "It's your move".

It is indeed our move. We need to pray. We need to take physical action. I need to think what penance can I do, and turn the proceeds over to those who more need it. I can give up some of the simple luxuries - the fancy coffee drink, the extra trip in the car, name brand instead of store brand. It may not seem like much. Rather than get discouraged, I will try to remember the story of the starfish. I can't save every starfish, but even if I can only save one, I will have made a world of difference to that one. As Mother Teresa is often quoted, "God doesn't look at how much we do, but with how much love we do it." So let me try to do this with love, as commanded by our Heavenly Father.

LItany and prayer for New Orleans

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Our Lady of Prompt Succor Our Lady of Prompt Succor is known for protecting, by Her intercession, the city of New Orleans during the Great Fire of 1812 . On the Eve of the Battle of New Orleans (Jan 7, 1815) the Ursuline Sisters and the people of New Orleans gather to again ask the intercession of Our Lady of Prompt Succor for victory.

On December 31, 1810 the Statue was brought to New Orleans from France by Mother St. Michel Gensoul and several postulants came to join the Ursuline nuns in New Orleans. Mother Gensoul was only given permission from her bishop to go to New Orleans after a pray to Our Lady and permission from the Pope.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Litany to Our Lady of Prompt Succor
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, ... pray for us.
Mother of the Infant Jesus, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of all who invoke you with confidence, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of all who are devout toward the Infant Jesus, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for obtaining a lively faith, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for sustaining the hope of Christians, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for obtaining and persevering in charity, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for observing the law of God, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for observing perseverance in virtue and good works, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every spiritual necessity, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the revolt of self-will, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in the occasion of sin,...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every temptation, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the evil spirit, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for obtaining contrition, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of those wishing to re-enter the path of salvation, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for the conversion of sinners, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every temporal necessity, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every affliction,...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of afflicted families,...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of the sick and the poor, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against contagious diseases and epidemics, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in every accident, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against destruction by fire, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against lightning and tempest, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against destruction by flood, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of travelers, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of navigators,...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of the shipwrecked, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the enemies of our country, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor in time of war, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of those aspiring to the holy priesthood and the religious life, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of laborers in the Lord's vineyard, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of missionaries who spread the faith, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor of our Holy Father the Pope, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for those searching for the faith, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor against the enemies of the Church,...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor at the hour of death, ...
Our Lady of Prompt Succor for the deliverance of the souls in purgatory,...

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V: Our Lady of Prompt Succor, pray for us.

R: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O Almighty and Eternal God, Who sees us surrounded by so many dangers and miseries, grant in Your infinite goodness that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Your Divine Son, may defend us from the evil spirit and protect us against all adversities, that always and with prompt succor she may deliver us from every evil of soul and body, and safely guide us to the kingdom of heaven, through the merits of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Contemplation:
If our eyes are always on heaven and God, at the end of life we will find ourselves in His Presence.


Rosary follows


More political angst ahead

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Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies at Home
(link via Amy Welborn)
May his soul, and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace.

I'm not one to cry easily - actually I fight tears like crazy. But every time lately I have heard this, I come close to dissolving into tears. I need to get away from the radio, quit watching TV, quit surfing the net in a vain hope that by knowing what is going on I can somehow change it. Survivor guilt - I think that all of us have some degree of it. Looking down at my full plate, running my washer and dryer, I think of those who have nothing like this. Rationally, I know that my eating or showering isn't going to hurt anyone by taking resources away from them, but still the guilt sometimes descends.

Just need to keep praying, and doing what I can. I think that we are all doing likewise.
Louisiana 1927 - by Randy Newman

Louisiana
What has happened down here is the winds have changed
Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain
Rained real hard and it rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
The river rose all day
The river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood
Some people got away alright
The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangelne
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
President Coolidge came down in a railroad train
With a little fat man with a note-pad in his hand
The President say, "Little fat man isn't it a shame what the river has done
To this poor crackers land."
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us

a doctor blogs from ground zero

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share your home?

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the cost of the commute

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SF and being Catholic

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A totally different topic

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Via Mama T.
Appetizer
If someone gave you 3 new goldfish today, what would you name them?
Cheddar, Pretzel, and Rainbow
Soup
What's the worst movie you've seen this year so far?
I don't go to the movies, and if it's bad at home I don't watch it.

Salad
If given the chance and you could pick the person, would you want to switch lives with someone on earth for one whole day?
No.
Main Course
What's your favorite season? Name 2 things you love about it.
Early summer - long days but not too hot.
Dessert
What is something you frequently buy that you don't really need?
Expensive coffe drinks.

curiosity

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I was curious, so I went over to thelist of blogs supporting Catholic Charities.
142 at last count, and some with pretty interesting names. Foma, for example, which I think must have taken its name from Kurt Vonnegut's apocalyptic novel Cat's Cradle. Single Malt Pundit, whose taste in beverages I can but admire.
I watched Raymond Arroyo on EWTN earlier this evening. He challenged the KoC or any other Catholic organization to set up a matching service for those of us who could offer living space to Katrina refugees, to the refugees.
I hope that some one does step up to the task. MoveOn.org has already done so, and I have rec'd at least 6 different emails telling me about this.

Addendum - just found this link to an individual who is working to set up a linkage between home donors and katrina refugees.

TTLB katrina blog for $$

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Day one results

$ 155,098 in contributions so far

1,204 blogs participating

127 charities recommended

Blogging for Katrina relief

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TTLB has organized today as a blog day to try to fund raise to help the charities help the survivors and victims of Katrina. I'm encouraging all the rest of St Blog's to join in as well. I've selected
catholic charities info.jpg
Catholic Charities USA
as my first choice.
I've been through natural disasters (Sylmar earthquake, 1971 - Northridge earthquake, 1994) and I have noticed that there is usually a big flurry of help right off the bat, but that the infrastructure repairs are often underfunded. So I am choosing to donate to a charity that concentrates on the long term help needed.
If you decide to donate, please consider registering your donation here.
If you decide to offer up a prayer contribution instead or as well, please put it in the comments box.
If you choose to also post this on your blog, the guidelines are at the TTLB page.
Instapundit also has a lot of suggestions.
Amy Welborn has been doing a heroic job trying to keep up with the Katrina blogging.
Another need that will become obvious in the next few weeks will be housing etc for all the refugees. Amy Welborn blogged it first, but it is clear that this will be a very long term issue. Does anyone have any suggestions of agencies to contact to volunteer space? Some of us may not be able to donate much in the way of $$ but do have space in our homes, and could feed and shelter a few extra people for a while as they get back on their feet. I'll post links to these agencies as I get them - if I get them.
I'm remembering the Gospel parable - the sheep and goats. Matthew 25 - I think it starts around verse 31. "Whatsoever you do for the least of these......."

Addendum - more links


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