Direct Thanksgiving Help Line

SIC (spouse of Ironic Catholic) has posted a great Dear Communion of Saints just in time for Thanksgiving.

Being a great fan of Flannery we will forgive him placing her in the communion, after all aren't we all supposed to aspire to be in their number? She could be there.

I am sure that no matter how much fun he has had filling in for Ironic on her blog that he is very happy to have her back from her trip, especially since the ironic kids were sick while she was away.

Pax

A View of Spain

My Brother recently chucked his job and just about everything he owns and moved to Spain. He is unmarried and writes for a living, so there was really nothing keeping him here in the States.

If you are interested in learning about life in Valencia (he writes very well -- though I do not take responsibility for any foul language or his political leanings).

His Blog is called Leftbanker

Why not click on over and give it a view, you may just get the urge to visit Spain yourself.

Pax

Attention Dads of Daughters

Some Advice from a contemporary . . .





Pax

God's Personal Comedy Central

I am sure you have heard the old addage:

If you want to make God laugh, make plans.

That is exactly how I feel at this moment. I had my entire semester planned out, I was going to be taking a weekday course with the seminarians at Saint Meinrad on Mondays and Thursdays and still be able to visit my mom on Tuesdays as I have been. Things were looking pretty good in that direction. This was going to keep me from taking two Philosophy courses, which you all know that I love so completely, at the same time next summer.

Well, as things turn out, what a difference a week makes. I got a call from my sister yesterday and it seems as though my presence will be more necessary than ever at my mom's house next semester. My sister and I will have to trade off spending a week at a time up there to take care of mom so that mom can stay in her house instead of going to a nursing home. My other sister who is doing this care now has decided that she no longer wants to be there and until we can get better arrangements in place this will have to be how we work this out.

We have talked about this all along, I was just hoping that we could put this off till next summer or fall.

So, I will be spending every other week with my mother instead of two days a week with seminarians. To be honest I will prefer her company to theirs, but don't tell them that. There must be some reason that God wants me to take the two classes at the same time, and I am sure that it will become apparent to me when I am in the thick of them this summer.

And just so I don't get buried in reading this summer I can get a jump start by getting the reading lists for the two classes early and get started reading Aristotle and Plato and Augustine and Aquinas while I am at my mom's house.

Hey, stop laughing, it could happen!

Pax

For Those We've Lost

Today we had a special mass for the deceased members of the Knights of Columbus Council to which mrangelmeg and our our son are affiliated. We went to a different parish than our own in order to honor these men and in a special way to support their widows.

It was a very interesting Mass because there are many people in that parish that I know, so I got to see some people who don't know yet that I am no longer working, and one friend from St. Meinrad who will be graduating this Spring.

Now we are home on a cold rainy Sunday with a few things to do before the Colts game this afternoon.

Not a bad way to spend a day if you ask me.

Pax

Separation of Church and State of Matter?

Read This Awesome Post from Ironic Catholic, which actually was written by her devoted husband.

Having worked in a Home Economics/Food and Nutrition office in College this was extremely funny to me in ways I can't even begin to explain.

I was laughing so hard I think I may have done some aerobic exercise for today. So I have that going for me as well.

Enjoy.

Pax

Truth is stranger than - well - made up dictionary references

angelmeg -- [adjective]: Benevolent to a fault 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

mrangelmeg -- [noun]: A poltergeist sent back in time to change the course of history forever 'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

hat tip to Ironic Catholic for the link and the laugh.

Pax

Why Mommy Carefully Chooses Which Books Angelbaby Reads

Because This trash passes for Children's Literature.


It was bad enough that Ted Kennedy wrote a children's book.

Then Madonna thought she had to get her two cents worth in the Children's Literature genre.


And even before that we had this forced into our libraries as a "forward thinking piece of literature".


So, when the angelbaby wants to buy new books, we go together to get them so that I can "help" her to make good decisions.

Besides, angelbaby's mommy will never be a Democrat so long as they continue to vote for a woman's right to kill her unborn child for any reason. Any other stance they take has no moral value if they can't get that simple decision right.

Hat tip to Korrectiv for the first link.


Pax

High Class Art?

Just when I thought things couldn't get any more messed up in the world I read a story like this one.


What next? Velvet Elvises for millions?

hat tip to mrangelmeg for the link.


Pax

Milestones Reached

I met with my advisor this morning and I am set to register for my penultimate class in my Masters Degree program.

I am going to take a class this Spring Semester at Saint Meinrad on Monday and Thursday mornings. Which will mean a commute, but it is the only way to get the class I need and not have to take two philosophy classes at the same time (every other weekend) next summer. It will mean taking a class which will be mostly seminarians except me. and having to trust that the weather will cooperate, but I am praying that I have a good experience.


After that I will have a class in the summer in Indianapolis, and then a final in the fall and I will be done.

Who would have thought that I would be so close to this goal? I am sure that when I began this journey way back in the fall of 2003 graduation was very far from my mind and here it is right around the corner!

Who knows what I will be doing with my degree, but from where I sit now the future looks filled with promise, and I am very excited about the opportunities I have to explore.

Keep me in your prayers, after all these last two classes are both Philosophy classes. I may just die before I get through them.

Pax

I'm in a Flannery State of Mind

We have had a month around here.

Car trouble like you wouldn't believe. I just bought a new car to replace the car that was hit and now my new car is in the shop because I found out that the heater doesn't work. Lucky for me that the place I purchased it from is willing to take it in and make things right for me.

But, just when my car worries are getting worked out, my husband's car is doing strange things again (and I mean really strange). So, lucky for me I bought a car big enough to hold the entire family.

God's grace isn't warm and fuzzy, sometimes it is dark and disruptive. That is just what the woman after my own heart Flannery was always trying to tell people with her fiction. God loves us and when we love Him that doesn't make our lives perfect it just means that we aren't alone in our troubles.

So, we are off to try to get our car situations worked out. God is good, all the time. Even when we have to pick up one car, just to take the other one to the shop.

Pax

Proof

A Franciscan, a Benedictine, and a Dominican were discussing which Order God loved best. The debate was becoming very, very heated. They each had extremely valid points in their favor, and they decided that there was only one way that they could ever get a definitive answer. They would write a letter to God, and let Him decide which Order was the one He preferred above all others in the world.

A few days after they sent their letter they received a reply on beautiful vellum stationary. It was written in the most majestic script any of them had ever beheld and this is what it read:

My Dear Children,

You are all cherished members of my
household, and I love each and every one of you equally. Please stop your
petty bickering and get back to the good work that you should be
doing.

Your All Forgiving Father

God SJ

Pax

Children of Men

WARNING: This Trailer made me cry,

I hope the movie lives up to the preview . . .






h/t to Mike at The Propaganda Machine for the link

Voticons

Those little emoticons just not expressive enough for the feelings you have about your ballot choices this election? The Curt Jester has come to the rescue with

Voticons to fill the bill.

my personal favorite, and the sentiment I wish to leave you with after my foray into that sanctum sanctorum, the voting booth in my precinct in Indiana this wonderful day . . .



It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged." G.K. Chesterton


Way to go Jeff, the man with the courage to say what we all think.

Pax

All Creatures Great and Small

One of the best things about living out here in the 4.5 acre woods is that on occasion we are visited by a sight like the one I got this morning. I woke up at about 6 a.m. and went out to the kitchen for a glass of water. Just outside the back of the house, as peaceful as could be was a young buck, much like the one in this picture. He was wide awake and just peacefully sitting there.

I tried to take a picture of him with my digital camera, but even on the night settings I couldn't get an image through the glass of the back door. I was afraid that if I tried to open the door I would spook him away.

We have seen as many as three deer at one time in the yard which can be both really cool and a bit frightening when you drive onto the driveway late at night and they run in front of the car. We are very careful of them. Many a deer has been hit on the highway near our house. In fact we noticed a dead deer in the field next door just yesterday. I sure hope it wasn't a companion of the one from the yard this morning.

I think deer are such beautiful animals, and I don't mind at all sharing my yard with the occasional one. Though we do have a suspicion that they feast on the goldfish in the pond on occasion. I don't think mrangelmeg envisioned his pond as a feeding station for wild deer.

Who would have thought that a city girl like me would learn to love the country enough to appreciate the occasional deer in her yard? Certainly not me.

God is good, all the time.

Pax

Beware: Your Pink Ribbon Might be Supporting Abortion

This Article was very eye opening for me.

I have always thought of the Susan G Koman Foundation as being on the front lines of the fight for women's health, but I refuse to support any organization that will be so short sighted as to give my donation for breast cancer research to an organization that is involved in any way in the abortion industry as Planned Parenthood is.

I have, in the past thought about giving to this foundation, but for one reason or another something has always come up and my money has always gone to another cause. Now I am very happy that I didn't support them. I want a cure for breast cancer, but not at the expense of the lives of unborn children.

Pax

I Found It!

Praise God, I found a car I actually a) like and b) can afford. It is a one owner Ford Taurus Wagon that is low mileage and looks great for being 9 years old.

Now if I can just go pick it up tomorrow without massive amounts of buyers remorse setting in. I think that the only thing worse than having to purchase a car is having to purchase a dress for a wedding and I am speaking of not the bride's dress, just a dress to wear to a formal wedding that I think looks good on me.

I know this is the car I want, it feels like the right decision. I am so glad I don't have to look anymore.

Pax

If I had a Champagne Bottle . . .

who am I kidding, if I had a bottle of champagne I would drink the stuff.

Anyway. I want to introduce all of you to a new blog in the Catholic Blogosphere:


The Speakin' Deacon

which is hosted by none other than my guest blogger Deacon John. He has begun with an awesome homily for All Saints Day. And I hope that you will all subscribe to his feed so that you don't miss a word that flows from the gifted mind of this awesome man. He certainly was led to the vocation of Deacon so that he could honor us with his ability to preach.

I have been blessed to hear a few of his homilies in person. I only wish that his blog was podcast equipped, because as good as they are written out, they are truly written to be preached and they are very powerful when you hear them preached.

I will be sad to lose him from this site, but I realize that it is a far far better place to which he has gone. (okay that was a bit hokey, but I am tired this afternoon).

add him to your blogroll, subscribe to his feed, be blessed by his gift of preaching, and let him become one of your friends.

Pax

All Souls Day

Wis 3:1-9
Rom 5:5-11
Jn 6:37-40

I have to admit, I worry. I worry about lots of things, most of them completely out of my control. Some worries are irrational, some are understandable, but almost none of them are things I can control. I worry about my daughter, my wife, my mother, my sister, my brother, my friends, you get the picture. I worry, and that brings us to today, All Souls Day, the day we remember all of those who have gone before us. Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of All Saints, everyone who has made it to the bigs, whether we know them or not. Today we celebrate everyone, especially those whose disposition is, shall we say, unknown. And that makes me worry. All of us have lost people close to us, people we loved, but people, human beings, subject to all of the frailties and failings that being human can mean. That leads to worry, one of those worries about something that I have absolutely no control over. I don’t have any control, but that doesn’t mean there is nothing I can do. There is much I can do because I can pray. I can pray for those who have gone on before; I can pray that they reach the ultimate glory. I pray because I love (yes love, not loved) them, and want only for them to be with God, to enjoy the perfect peace and love that is Heaven. I pray so that one day they can pray for me, who will undoubtedly need their help and a great deal more. I pray and I worry, but I also find comfort, comfort in today’s Gospel. Jesus says “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” Later Jesus says “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Everyone who believes, not everyone who is perfect, not everyone who is without fault. God wants us, all of us. Sure, we can still mess it up, but God still wants us, all of us. I find that thought very comforting indeed. Hope for me, hope for those I love, hope for all of us is there, there in the boundless love of God. Maybe today I can worry just a little less.
Deacon John
Feast of All Souls
Nov. 2, 2006

Haloween, All Saints, Day of the Dead, etc

We had three Dr's in the house for Halloween this year. Daughter number 1 was Dr. House, Daughter number 3 was Dr. Who (number 4 or 5 I can't remember) and the angelbaby was Dr. Allison Cameron from the show House.

Son was Samurai Jack, and Daughter number 2 settled for a plain old vampire. She put her costume together in about ten minutes.

Today for all saints the kids and I went to Mass at the Campus Newman Center because our parish doesn't have a Mass this evening for the Holy Day. It was a really nice mass. We have Dominican Priests here at our Newman Center and they have brought a very interesting viewpoint to our community.

Tomorrow I will celebrate Day of the Dead by searching for a replacement vehicle, as the insurance company has decided that my car had too high mileage for them to warrant doing the fix after all so they declared it a total loss and paid me off. Sigh. Is there a patron saint of used cars? I could sure use his help about now.

I just hope I don't end up being dead one after spending three days looking for a replacement vehicle, I am exhausted already and have only been at it two days as it is.

Pray for me.

Pax