Monday Musings--27 May 2013

Right now...it's a bright and sunny morning, around 6:30-ish, and so far only Adrian and Gabriel are awake.

This weekend...was wonderful, if somewhat busy!  On Friday, since Bret wasn't working, we went to do our shopping and avoid the Memorial Day weekend crowd, which wasn't bad at all at the early hour we went shopping.  Once home, Bret went to work on our pasture fence, which we have been trying to replace in the week spots.  I put away groceries and boiled eggs and potatoes and fried bacon for a potato salad for Sunday, and made sure everyone was bathed since we had two Masses this weekend.

On Saturday, we went to an ordination Mass at the Fathers of Mercy.  Fr. Ricardo Pineda was ordained to the priesthood and Br. John Broussard was ordained to the diaconate.  It has been so nice, in the decade we've been here in Tennessee, to watch young men go through formation, from novices to priests.  And almost all of them have been young men, some just out of high school.  It's very encouraging.  The Mass itself was beautiful, but very long for the little ones (I believe it ran over two hours), and the reception had, for once, perfect weather--so often in the past it has been appallingly hot, but this time there was no humidity and it was sunny and fine.  We stayed on until we were nearly the last family there.  At home I changed clothes and set about doing some laundry and baking a sheet cake to take to my sister's on Sunday.

Sunday we went to an early Mass in Gallatin, and got home around 10 a.m.  We changed clothes and I tossed together the potato salad, and then we just hung around and took it easy for a while.  I watched Seeds of Death on YouTube, which is about GMOs and their impact on our health and on the planet.  It is a much, much bigger problem than you might thing, and the movie is being screened on YouTube for free right now--I don't know how long they'll leave it up.  I highly recommend it.

We had a great time at my sister's.  The kids were all over the place playing with their young cousins, and the food was great.  My sister made 3--count em'--three flavors of homemade ice cream: chocolate, strawberry and lemon.  We stayed until 7:30 or so, and Gemma was asleep practically before we go out of their driveway.  At home we kicked back and watched an episode of the old Mission: Impossible, and then I read a few pages of a novel before going to bed at 10:30.

Some plans for this week:  No doubt, this week will speed by just as last week did and the week before.  I have a lot on my agenda.  Today we are going to pick up some organic pig feed from a friend.  It will be the last feed we buy for Pink Floyd, as he goes to the butcher next week.  I need to make up my cut list for the butcher.  I have to report grades for the year by the 15th of June to our umbrella school and spend some time in the office printing out Gabe's math drills and the boys' grammar work for the week (I usually do that on Saturdays, but wasn't able to get onto the office computer this weekend).  I have an Etsy order to ship off today, and I need to reschedule my dental appointment.

I am grateful for...the lovely weather this weekend, and for my friends and my family.

Some prayer intentions for this week:  for Una's friend, Haily, who has a birthday today and for her friend Mary Rose, who also has a birthday this week; for employment for Bret, as it is always scary to see the money go out when nothing is coming in! for our friends who are celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary tomorrow.  For all those who gave their lives and service to this country, God bless them on this Memorial Day.

Something that makes me smile:  goofy kids.

Have a great  Memorial Day and a great week, and please stop by Wild Armadillos ...they are hosting a giveaway for us later today, and you can have an opportunity to win a sword and shield set from our Etsy shop!

Oh, ick...do you drink Celestial Seasonings teas?

Apparently they tested really high for pesticides.  I only have their Sleepy Time Tea on the shelf--but no more; I'll make my own!

Three days left! Fight Monsanto!

Please join the fight and donate whatever you can manage to Millions Against Monsanto.  They are trying to raise a million dollars by May 26th in order to receive a matching grant.  The money will be used to support California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, a citizens ballot initiative and other state GMO labeling campaigns.

Please take a moment to read this one-page article from Dr. Mercola's newsletter so as to get some idea of just how devious Monsanto is and how very dangerous GMOs are to our health.  As of yet, and thanks to the muscle of Monsanto, genetically modified foods do not require labeling.  Let's change that.

You can donate right here.

The Feast of All Souls

In Munich, where I spent the better part of my formative years, All Souls was a day for tending the graves, which are usually beautifully tidy anyway, but the plants--not cut flowers or (shivers!) artificial foliage are changed to heartier mums and evergreens to bear the cold winter.
Each little plot usually has a place for a votive candle, and some even have covered fonts for holy water. As you can imagine, with the plants, the headstones, the shady trees and the benches here and there, the cemetery has an almost park-like atmosphere.
And it is quite beautiful at night as well.

We will be making a stop at our little cemetery up on the hill today, and praying for the Poor Souls. Below are the regulations currently in force regarding plenary indulgences:

1) On All Souls' Day, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor souls, is granted to those who visit any parish church or public oratory and there recite one Our Father and one Credo.

2) On all the days from November 1 through November 8 inclusive, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor souls, is granted to those who visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed.

Conditions for both indulgences:
1) Only one plenary indulgence can be gained per day.

2) It is necessary to be in the state of grace, at least by completion of the work.

3) Freedom from attachment to sin, even venial sin, is necessary; otherwise the indulgence is only partial. (By this is meant attachment to a particular sin, not sin in general.)

4) Holy Communion must be received each time the indulgence is sought.

5) Prayers must be recited for the intentions of the Holy Father on each day the indulgence is sought. (No particular prayers are prescribed. One Our Father and one Hail Mary suffice, or other suitable prayers.)

6) A sacramental confession must be made within a week of completion of the prescribed work. (One confession made during the week, made with the intention of gaining all the indulgences, suffices.)

Sacred Heart Books and Gifts sale

Just thought I would let you know about the Christmas in October Sale going on at Sacred Heart Books and Gifts. Linda has pages of great things--books, CDs, DVDs--discounted 20-25% off as she clears out her inventory at year's end. Get to her via my sidebar, and then look for the Christmas in October link on her homepage.

"Come and See"

Come and take a peek at the Fathers of Mercy, and you'll get a glimpse of the priests we get to listen to every Sunday. We are truly blessed.

Thank you, John, for your great video work!

Marilyn's World Tour!

I love it when someone much more organized than myself puts together a fantastic unit study! That is why I am encouraging Marilyn's daughter, Abby, to keep prodding her mother to put all her hard work on this World Tour into e-book form.

So far she has only posted her Australia and Africa "itineraries", but they look wonderful, and the children and I hope to tag along when she begins.

Coming Soon--the Year of Priests, and a plenary indulgence

Beginning next month there is a new opportunity for priests and the Catholic faithful to gain a plenary indulgence. This article is from the Catholic News Agency:

Vatican City, May 12, 2009 / 01:47 pm (CNA).- The Vatican has announced that during the Year for Priests, which will run June 19, 2009 – June 19, 2010, the Pope Benedict will grant plenary indulgences to priests and the faithful.

The year will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “a day of priestly sanctification,” according to a press release from the Vatican. On that day, the Holy Father “will celebrate Vespers before relics” of St. Jean Marie Vianney, patron saint of priests.

The Year will end in St. Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world "who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity."

The means to obtain the indulgence are as follows:

(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted a Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted a Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.

(B) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mold them to His Heart, are granted a Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain a plenary indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles."

Additionally, a partial indulgence will be offered to the faithful each time they pray five “Our Father,” “Hail Mary” and “Glory Be,” or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life."

The never-ending battle with clutter

There seems to be no chance at minimalism in a home with a bunch of kids who, like most kids, collect everything.

But I keep trying. And I found a good resource for ideas here. Have you had some de-cluttering successes lately? Let me know. Inspire me!

If you have boys...

...then you need this tutorial!

If I ever manage to get caught up with the house cleaning and changing out the kids clothes to spring and summer wardrobes, I have a stack of jeans with holes in the knees to take out to my sewing machine. My sewing machine, as I have mentioned previously on this blog, sits gathering dust most of the time, waiting for me to learn how to use it.

Anyway, this is the best step-by-step tutorial I've seen on what to do about holey knees, other than making cut-offs or using those iron-on patches that peel off after a wash or two.

Party like it's 1773...

Concerned about the government spending that is spinning out of control? A debt our great-grandchildren will be paying off? All the insane things the government is doing with our money?

April 15th this year is TEA Party Day. The organization Taxed Enough Already is organizing nation-wide rallies to protest government misuse of our tax dollars. On their site you can find the rally that will be taking place nearest you and find out what you can do to help.

I expect it will get as much mainstream media coverage as the annual pro-life march in D.C. does every year (which is to say, hardly anything), but that doesn't mean it isn't worth it.

So you knew high-fructose corn syrup was bad...

...how bad is it? Because of the way in which it is processed, levels of mercury ("safe" levels, the food companies would interject) have been found in many foods containing high-fructose corn syrup. Here is the story I was reading this morning, and here are the results of a study done of 50 foods, many of them marketed to kids, done by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Petitions to Promote Life

Danette of A Crocus in the Valley has posted some very important links to petitions. The first is to fight the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) which our president-elect has promised to sign into law during his first 100 days in office. The other it to protest our tax dollars going to fund Planned Parenthood. You can find these links here.

Can you vote for a life-negating liar?

Watch the video, get the word out.

Here's a place to get more information on getting the word out.

Attention lovers of traditional catholicism

Pro Multis Media is having a sale from now until September 15th: 25% off all their DVDs and CDs, no restrictions or minimum purchases.

Dial a Human!

Are you tired of endless telephone menus and automated messages? Are you frustrated by going in circles on the phone because the recordings telling you to press this or that do not cover your area of inquiry? Do you, as I sometimes do, "stay on the line if you are calling from a rotary phone", even if you don't have one, just so that you can talk to an operator? Well, here's a boon for us: my mother sent this to me in an email, and I plan to bookmark it. It's an alphabetical business directory with instructions for each on how to get in touch with a person at each business. Reach out and touch someone!