Making resolutions

It's that time of the year again, so have you made your resolutions? I found two excellent aids to help me make mine this year and I want to share them with you.

From Fr. Robert Barron: New Year's Resolutions

And from Jeff Cavins: Making a New Year's Resolution That Lasts

I hope that they help you as much as they helped me.

Happy 2nd Day of Christmas!

We celebrate Christmas in the old fashion--Christmas starts late on Christmas eve (OK, right after Mass at Vatican concluded which was about 5pm our time) and will continue until the feast of the Epiphany.

Today is the 2nd Day of Christmas. We'll spend it visiting with some family that we couldn't see yesterday, and relaxing (yesterday was a LONG day...).

There are those who believe that the lyrics to the familiar song "The 12 Days of Christmas" were a pneumonic device to help Catholic children learn their faith during that time in English history when Catholicism was outlawed. The jury's still out on the veracity of the claim, but it's still a good thing to remember when you're singing the carol:

On the first day...the partridge in the pear tree stands for JESUS.

On the second day...the two turtle doves stand for the OLD and NEW TESTAMENTS.

How are you going to celebrate the 2nd day of Christmas?

ET VERBUM CARO FACTUM EST, et habitavit in nobis

And the Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us.

Notre Dame, CHA Propose Dangerous Compromise on Religious Liberty « Campus Notes

Notre Dame, CHA Propose Dangerous Compromise on Religious Liberty « Campus Notes

Will 'priest-holes' be far behind?

Pray, pray, pray...

New translation? What did you think?

Yesterday the Catholic Church began using the newest translation of the most commonly-celebrated form of the Mass, that being the so-called ordinary form introduced by Pope Paul VI. I didn't really expect to experience it because DH and I generally attend the so-called extraordinary form (more commonly referred to as the traditional Latin Mass) but life happened and we ended up at a different Mass yesterday.

Reading through the new translations in my Magnificat was interesting. I like the formality (surprise, surprise) and several of the prayers are almost line-for-line what's in my 1962 missal. I do think that my 1962 missal has an better version of the Confiteor. As for some of the other changes, like the change from 'and also with you' to 'and with your spirit'--that's the wording I find in my first post-Vatican II missal. Ditto the change in the Nicene Creed.

In fact, my first 'post-Vatican II' missal is almost identical to my 1962 missal. The Confiteor was gone, the only penitential rite was the Kyrie. I'm sure I would find a few other changes if I take the time to go through the two missals page-by-page. But the biggest change is the change from Latin to English.

For those who don't know, or don't remember: The first change in the Mass after Vatican II was simply to say the Mass in the vernacular. The priest still faced the tabernacle, communion was still received on the tongue while kneeling. I remember this oh-so-brief period quite vividly because this is the Mass that was in place when I made my First Holy Communion and when I was Confirmed.

It wasn't until 1970 that everything changed so dramatically, and the Mass was suddenly and dramatically different.

I think the new missal is a good start to restoring what's been lost in the Catholic liturgy. Now, can we get the priest to turn around again?

ADVENT!

Have you lit the first candle yet?

Retreat Weekend!

It's finally here! Fr. Gaitley's retreat! I've been looking forward to this for over a month (since the day it was announced and I registered...) and it starts tonight!

I'll be praying for all of you during the retreat. Now I've got to go finish my pre-retreat reading.

God bless you, and have a wonderful, holy weekend.

The day the sun danced

The Children of Fatima

There are no photos of the event that show the miracle, and I've never met anyone who was there to tell me what it was really like. All I know is what I've read...

So today, say a rosary in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, and pray that our world will once again know peace.

Call your mother...

October is the month of the Rosary

Have you said yours today?

Consoling the Heart of Jesus

I'm so excited--Fr. Gaitley is coming to lead this retreat in October! I'm already registered, Iv'e got the book, and I'm getting ready.

Don't you just love the artwork on the cover? I'd love to have a good-size print of it to frame and hang in my home.

Please pray for Fr. Pavone

The Bishop's statement:Full statement from Bishop Zurek regarding decision to suspend Fr. Pavone’s public ministry | LifeSiteNews.com


Fr. Pavone's response: Official statement from Fr. Frank Pavone in response to bishop’s suspension order | LifeSiteNews.com

Letter from Fr. Pavone's canon lawyer: Letter from Fr. David Deibel, Chief Canonist for Priests for Life

why bother with the housework?

This wonderful blog post sums it up: Tell me again why bother?

Time for me to get off of the computer, and to get my priorities back in line!

Interview: The young pro-life nurse who took on a pro-abortion university … and won | LifeSiteNews.com

God bless this young woman, who stands as a beacon for those who will come after her. She is the light in Florence Nightingale's lamp!

Interview: The young pro-life nurse who took on a pro-abortion university … and won | LifeSiteNews.com

The crozier has passed

Archbishop Chaput is formally installed in Philadelphia.

May God grant him the graces necessary to lead his flock.

Corapi's 10 Percent Solution

Corapi's 10 Percent Solution

Ash Wednesday

A great read, and a new devotion

Well, it's not really a new devotion, it's just new to me. It all started with this book, which my sister-in-law gave to me for Christmas 2009:


I started reading it this week, and finished it today. It is a wonderful, easy-to-read, inspiring account of the appearances of the Blessed Mother in Africa just prior to the Rwandan massacre. I recommend it to you without any reservations at all!

The book mentions that the Blessed Mother asked that the Seven Sorrows Rosary be prayed--not as a replacement for the traditional (Dominican) rosary, but as an addition. I decided that I wanted to begin adding this devotion to my prayer life, and started searching for a set of the proper rosary beads. After seeing a photo of the rosary, I realized that I already owned a Servite Rosary (or Seven Sorrows Rosary). It came in the mail 10 or 12 years ago with a letter from the Servants of Mary (the Servites) and a fundraising appeal--before I had even heard of Rwanda, and years before the massacre--so after searching through a few drawers that hold various religious articles I found it.


So on Tuesdays and Fridays (the days Our Lady especially asked that the Servite Rosary be prayed) I'll be adding this to my prayers. Would you like to join me?

(Immaculee will be in Lafayette, LA for a woman's retreat in April--I'm hoping to be able to attend. Please say a prayer that I can clear my schedule and attend the retreat. Thank you!)