If I'm not off hiding somewhere with a good book, chances are I'm chasing a toddler or a Jack Russell (or sleeping, because every mom can use a nap!). I found Prince Charming and married him, and now we enjoy the idiosyncrasies of life in an old farmhouse. Oh yeah, and we root for the Buckeyes. Every time.
Catholic Carnival 100: Auld Lang Syne
It's a new year and a significant Carnival - the 100th Catholic Carnival. If you're new here, details courtesy of our fearless leader here. We didn't quite hit the 100-post mark, but this is quite a collection of posts. If this is how we're ringing in the New Year, what a year it will be, indeed!
- 50 Days After submits "Captain Catholic": That's right, Captain Catholic. His tagline is "Love, Hope and the Catholic Way". He quickly changes, like Superman, into a costume with a cape and boots to take on his nemesis. He also has a "Sin Sense" which tingles like Spiderman's "Spider Sense" I included links to both videos on Google Video since YouTube broke each episode into 3 or 4 pieces each.
- Adoro Te Devote presents "Do Whatever He Tells You": And in all scripture, this is the LAST time that Mary speaks. Although she appears at the foot of the cross, and although she has important actions to fulfill, she never speaks again. So take a good, long, look at this one line, and remember Mary's testament to us all: "Do whatever he tells you." ... Mary is our Mother, and this is revealed through this Gospel; she was only a guest, and yet her maternal instinct covered everyone. And who are we, but guests at the wedding feast, transformed into the spouse of the bridegroom?
- The Blog from the Core celebrates "First Anniversary of Pope John Paul the Great": Wallpaper of Pope John Paul, December 3, 2000, in honor of the first anniversary of his death, plus some links to last year's blogging.
- Catholic Fire posts "Brief Book Reviews: Gems for Christmas & the New Year": Short, but concise reviews of three great books to read and treasure this year.
- Catholic Homeschooled Teens brings us "10 Top Ten Tips for Teens" which includes tips for Catholic teens.
- A Catholic Life shares an updated "The Mass": "The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer!" (Pope Paul VI) I've completely updated my page explaining the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. A great resource for non-Catholics!
- CatholicLand sent two posts (to help us meet our 100). The first is "Holiness": A review of Nativity Story that includes this gem: Of course we all know that Good wins out, but we also learn that Trust in Divine Providence keeps us from Evil, as Mary and Joseph listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit many times during the movie teaches us. Holiness means having your priorities straight: Balthasar didn't pack as many pillows, the Romans only cared about money, Joseph gave up food for the donkey carrying the Lord, and Herod disregarded the slaves dying so that he could have a pretty view. Holiness is made up of many little choices made along the way. Let us ask for the grace given to Mary, the devotion shown by Joseph, and the gifts provided when we seek the Lord above all else~
- CatholicLand also shares "Holy Family, pray for us!": Today we celebrate that first morning when Joseph awoke and looked fondly over at his wife, asleep next to him, the Precious Gift nestled between, in folds of swaddling clothes. They would have been nestled together for warmth, the friendly beasts lying in proximity, parcels of hay carefully arranged about them. Joseph would have recalled the events of the previous day with perfect clarity and yet it all must have seemed a blur...
- A Catholic Mom in Hawaii brings us "Catholic Happenings in Hawaii 2006": There was so much news this year for Catholics living in Hawaii, and this post is a look at Catholic news in Hawaii in the past year.
- From Contrariwise, we get "Childermas": Fr. Bill suggested that I continue my example of strong faith for my siblings while I’m at home. I’m not quite a daily communicant, since even on campus, I can never manage Saturday morning Mass, but he says I am. The problem is that my family doesn’t see that. My mom and my grandma know I’m into church, but Courtney and Ryan don’t really know that side of me. So I decided to take some more concrete steps. I decided to turn my thoughts into action. I’ve been praying and dropping hints for a while, but I need to act.
- Deo Omnis Gloria shares a best-of post, "A Religious Framework: Justifying the Christian Concept": By developing a framework that – in some ways – validates your beliefs, you can only strengthen your faith. Of course, Christianity requires faith; unbelief is not a logical problem that can be worked out. However, by having a logical background you can open up conversations with others that may have dismissed you initially. From a purely apologetic standpoint, it’s important to know exactly what you believe and why. This is my initial take at a Christian framework that justifies our beliefs in some way.
- Evangelical Catholicism brings us "A Catholic understanding of how grace saves": This post is a poetic synopsis of the Catholic doctrine of grace from Scripture. Instead of following the conventional apologetics move of proof-texting without context, we wove together aspects of grace from Scripture in order to provide a more comprehensive and evangelical declaration of the meaning of grace in the life of the Christian.
- From the Anchor Hold presents "An unavoidable correspondence and conformity post": Jesus feeds hungry us. We feed hungry Jesus. Going forth to love and serve the Lord, when he visits and we are unaware, the shared story of a visit to feed Jesus in others.
- just another day of Catholic pondering posts "Unexpected Christmas Drama": As we were preparing to go hike the view, take some pictures, enjoy the day before Christmas, a bit of unexpected Christmas drama poked her finger into my husband's eye... I can't help but think how that trip to Bethlehem right at the end of her pregnancy must have been a bit of unexpected drama for Mary and Joseph.
- Getting Green posts "The Holy Bible: The Best Guide to Personal Finance": Being in debt is not a salvation issue. You are not going to hell if you owe money, but God does want what's best for us! All of us who are believers in Christ should like to follow His ways as best as we can. Many of us agree that getting out of any debts we owe is the way to go and we should follow God’s teachings in finance, but how does one accomplish this?There are three major areas which should be addressed.
- The Global Conservative submits "Atheism: The Deepest of Faiths": This is the first in a series of articles that I will be posting, concerning the debate between Scientific Naturalism and Intelligent Design. My intention is to offer a fresh, unique and broader perspective than what we usually hear concerning this debate. I will be exploring how people come to believe whatever it is they may believe, and what effect this has in our world.
- The Keys Are Mightier shares "Milestones in the Hierarchy": Due to ecclesiastical rules tied to age that regulate retirements and conclaves, many members of the Catholic hierarchy will experience some transitions in the new year: cardinals will turn 80 and bishops will reach the retirement age of 75. Find out who and how many in this post.
- Kicking Over My Traces posts "Philippe Nemo on My Reading List": A review of a book on the three-fold heritage of the West by a French writer sheds light on current events in the Middle East.
- Living Catholicism brings us a best-of-year post, "Want a better marriage? Marriage Encounter is for you": This weekend my wife and attended a Marriage Encounter weekend for the first time. We went in, frankly, without a real understanding of what the weekend was all about. I think everyone wants a “better marriage” and we’ve felt we could do better, we just didn’t know how.
- From The Magdalene Diaries, we get "Things I Have Learned Over Christmas Living With 2 Toddlers": You'll laugh and you might even cry when you think of just what Mikala has been through this Christmas season with her twin toddlers. Just to whet your appetite: Hell hath no fury, or adhesive properties, like 2-day old, once sodden cheerios dried to a shiny shellac finish on fleece pajamas. ... If given the choice between your scrumptious, family recipe, takes-5-hours-to-make-and-has-25-ingredients, home baked upside down apple crispy Christmas muffins and cheese, the toddler will choose the cheese. Don’t let it hurt your feelings. They like wrapping paper too.
- Monastic Musings gives us "What was God thinking of? Norovirus": It is very easy to give thanks for the blessings of God the Creator when I see a beautiful sunrise (as we had this morning in Duluth), the antics of deer at play, or the beauty of the little chickadees that winter over here in the Northland. Experiences like the norovirus, though, remind me of the lesson Job learned from God. Much as I may enjoy and treasure all these things God has created, it will always be beyond my knowledge and imagination to understand the what and why of creation. Certainly, every created being - even the norovirus - is held in existence by God, for whatever inscrutable purpose.
- On the Other Foot presents a best-of-year post, "Found out a man ain't just being macho": Between the contradictory role models of "new-age sensitive man" and "clueless Tim-Taylor man," it's no wonder today's boys don't know what a man looks like. I'll give you a hint: neither one is accurate, because they're both self-centered and immature. The one is whiny, the other overblown, but both of them are completely missing what a man is and does. So what does a man do?
- A Penitent Blogger gives us "A year to reflect": As this New Year begins, instead of simply reflecting on the year just ended, perhaps we can embrace a habit of regularly taking a little time to reflect on what God is doing in our lives and to open ourselves more and more to being instruments of his holy will.
- Real Clear Religion submits "The Religion That Will Destroy Western Civilization": Everywhere we hear the mantra that religion has caused nothing but hatred, violence and bloodshed throughout history. The secularists assert that they can do a better job at keeping peace, justice and order in society than Christianity did. So how do secularists propose to achieve a better society? What is christianity replaced with?
- From So Many Devotions...So Little Time, we get "Prayer Beads: Devotions to Count On": Have you every wondered about the history behind the use of beads in prayer? I recently started thinking about this topic, and I found a few insightful internet resources. I was surprised to discover that peoples of many faiths use beads in prayer.
- A Song Not Scored For Breathing posts "Remember When/I Loved Her First": Before I went to the meeting I stopped to see our oldest son. Seeing him in his first apartment felt bittersweet. It reminded me how much time has passed since dearest one and I were in our first apartment. ... If tears are a form of prayer, like Sister Doreen told me years ago, then I've been doing a lot of praying this past week. I think the kids coming home for Christmas has been triggering those prayers. While I feel like a contented mother hen at the thought of having them all under one roof again, it's also a tangible reminder that the life we knew as a family is in the past. Perhaps once we get through a full year of firsts, like experiencing a death, the pain won't be so sharp. Maybe the grief will fade as each celebration comes and goes, empty of its rhythm we once knew as a family.
- St. Peter's Helpers sent in two entries, which are worth your time. The first is "Benedict the Benevolent": The benevolent Pope knows, with intimacy, the good God who has entrusted him with the care of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. He listens well to the Eternal Word and he is not afraid to proclaim It. As priest and Supreme Pontiff, he is sustained at every moment by Jesus the Word Made Flesh. He knows too well, from his childhood experiences that the rejection of God wreaks anarchy and comes from a source that is evil. And so his very words, his actions and his entire life are based on the Truth. He cooperates with It and defends It with his life.
- Also from St. Peter's Helpers, "Meditating for the New Year": Whenever the new year ushers in, there is a natural tendency to reminisce on the past year and to lay out plans for the year ahead. We have somewhat of an idea of practical things that we want to accomplish but sometimes we don’t exactly know how to approach the year as far as our spiritual life is concerned. When we come to this dilemma, one sure measure is to meditate on the themes of the Christmas season.
- Toward Contemplation shares a best-of-year post, "The valley of the shadow of death": In silence, then, we bow our heads before the endless line of those who suffered and were put to death here; yet our silence becomes in turn a plea for forgiveness and reconciliation, a plea to the living God never to let this happen again. ... We cannot peer into God's mysterious plan -- we see only piecemeal, and we would be wrong to set ourselves up as judges of God and history. Then we would not be defending man, but only contributing to his downfall. No -- when all is said and done, we must continue to cry out humbly yet insistently to God: Rouse yourself! Do not forget mankind, your creature!
- Wheelie Catholic shares "Hire John Trowbridge": Sometimes I stop in the middle of what I am doing, whether it's my advocacy work, writing, peer counseling, playing wheelchair tennis, handcycling, etc. and I think to myself - what will my "job " be tomorrow?More importantly, how should I be spending my time tomorrow? How should I discern God's will when making those choices?
- You posts "Living Faith": I have had several people at different times tell me in counsel to “live my faith.” I was usually struggling through something at the time, a bit lost and confused about certain things, and my initial response every time was, “How? What does it mean to live out your faith?”
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