Today Is ...

I looked at the calendar today (Feb 14) and realized suddenly that today is ... Sts. Cyril and Methodius Day.

What? You were expecting something else?

 

Evangelists to the Slavs, creators of the Cyrillic (Russian) alphabet among other things.

Constantine: The Music Video

What do you get when you combine history, saints, and bad 80's music? A good chuckle.

Happy All Saints Day

All you holy men and women, pray for us!

[NewAdvent] [All Saints is a] Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year.

Talk about covering all your bases. You don't want to leave out anybody who can "help a brother out".

RIP Fr. Thomas Dubay

Well known Marist Fr. Thomas Dubay died September 26, 2010. Fr. Dubay was an accomplished author and expert on Doctors of the Church, St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila.  Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord.

This morning at 4:45, the Lord welcomed into His Kingdom Rev Thomas Dubay, SM, after suffering kidney failure and massive bleeding in the brain. Father’s frail health had been declining ever since his admission to the Little Sisters of the Poor home in Washington more than a year ago, but his suffering was even more noticeable in recent months. Despite this fact, Fr Dubay was just as witty as ever.

InsightScoop has the story ...

Recollection In Life's Station

Things are starting to get exciting around here, what with the hustle and bustle of getting ready for our summer trip and my sister's wedding.

There are a million things to remember, a million more to find, and another that I'm sure to forget. It is all so ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. People still need to be fed, clothed, bathed, prayed with, tucked in bed, and tended same as always. In another several days we'll be doing the self-same things but in another house, another state.

I keep thinking that there is something "else" I need to be doing, something more momentous. But my station in life is right where I am: I work to make a living, I lead my family spiritually, pray, study, I support my wife, help raise the kids, provide both love and discipline, and keep up the property. This and a thousand mundane things are what makes up the day to day; this is where I'm supposed to find my sanctity.

Scripture says that people will be buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage right up until the Judgment Day, so this is nothing very alarming.

There is a story about a Saint whose name I can't remember. It was the hour for recreation, and one monk asked the Saint what he would do if Jesus appeared to them at that moment. "I would continue playing my game.", was the answer. The Saint knew that he was doing precisely what was required of him at that time, having already prayed, studied, and worked. He was recollected.

So if we have done what was asked of us according to our station in life, we also have nothing to fear.

St. Dominic And The Rosary

Ok, one more.

Our Lady gave St. Dominic the Rosary to pray as an effective tool for the conversion of sinners. Here it is in comic book form. Click for larger images.

[source] The Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact was a Catholic comic book published by George A. Pflaum of Dayton, Ohio and provided to Catholic parochial school students between 1946 and 1972. The digital collection contains the first eighteen volumes running from 1946 to 1963, which are in public domain. There are some issues missing from Volume 4 (1948-1949). The issues published from 1964 through 1971 are still under copyright protection, which cannot be included in the digital collection at this time. Issues published in 1972 were not copyrighted and will be added to the collection soon.

Please Eat Meat This Friday

Before you think that I've gone off the reservation, this Friday, March 19 is the Solemnity of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary. What is a Solemnity?

SOLEMNITY
A Solemnity of the Roman Catholic Church observes an event in the life of Jesus, Mary, and the saints, beginning on the evening prior to actual date. Solemnity is made up of Latin words solet and annus, meaning a yearly (annual) celebration. They are observed throughout the entire Church.

In terms of importance, Solemnities are the biggest celebrations and observances in the Catholic Church. To put it in perspective, two of the other seventeen Solemnities are Christmas and Easter. After Solemnities, come feasts and then memorials.

Since it doesn't really get any bigger, it is safe to say that a solemnity is a party day, a celebration. Therefore it is appropriate to act joyous -- even during Lent. In fact, you don't have to abstain from meat on this Friday in Lent. Our priest even went so far one year as to say: please eat meat this Friday.

According to Canon 1251, abstinence from meat is lifted on Fridays that occur on a Solemnity. Faithful who eat meat on March 19, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, would not be breaking the Lenten law of abstinence. Source: http://www.arlingtondiocese.org

Naturally, this feels like it goes against the grain of what we've been taught as faithful Catholics. People get very nervous, as if the Meat Patrol will catch them and punish them for eating meat on a Friday in Lent. Some will say that this is just taking advantage of a loophole, being legalistic, or may just feel guilty.

This is nonsense! The Church has told you to celebrate on this day, the same as she told you to fast and abstain during Lent. Let's remember: all these things, whether fasting or feasting, are designed to draw us closer to God. To borrow a phrase: let's not try to be more Catholic than the Pope.

So why celebrate St. Joseph as the Husband of Mary? St. Joseph is an awesome saint. Despite the circumstances, he obeyed and believed the Holy Spirit when He told Joseph to take Mary as his wife, despite her unexplained pregnancy. Not much is known about Joseph, except that he was a carpenter, of the royal line of David, and Scripture describes him as a "righteous man".

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, ⁷ but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.

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Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, ⁸ yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

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Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord ⁹ appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

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She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, ¹⁰ because he will save his people from their sins."

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All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

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¹¹ "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us."

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When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

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He had no relations with her until she bore a son, ¹² and he named him Jesus. (Matt 1:19-25)

If this were a screenplay, Joseph might have a grievance: he doesn't even have any lines in Scripture! (Must be the strong, silent type.) But he does what is asked of him and provided a home and protection for Mary and Jesus.

Joseph is a model and an inspiration - much more could be said; however, may it be said of us men at the end of our lives that we, too, were righteous.

St. Joseph, Husband of Mary, ora pro nobis.

Happy Saints Cyril and Methodius Day - Feb 14

Saints Cyril and Methodius (Greek: Κύριλλος καὶ Μεθόδιος, Old Church Slavonic: Кѷриллъ и Меѳодїи^[more]) were two Greek brothers born in Thessaloniki in the 9th century. They became missionaries of Christianity among the Slavic peoples of Great Moravia and Pannonia.

In 863, they began the task of translating the Bible into the language now known as Old Church Slavonic and travelled to Great Moravia to promote it. They enjoyed considerable success in this endeavour. However, they came into conflict with German ecclesiastics who opposed their efforts to create a specifically Slavic liturgy.

For the purpose of this mission, they devised the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet to be used for Slavonic manuscripts. The Glagolitic alphabet was suited to match the specific features of the Slavic language and its descendant alphabet, the Cyrillic Alphabet, is still used by many languages today.^[8] [Wikipedia]

Saints Go Marching In

I think that about says it all. It's all about the 4th quarter points. I feel bad for Peyton and the Colts, but it's hard not to admire the Saints for their hard luck story and Cinderella comeback.

New Orleans Saints 31 - Indianapolis Colts 17 - Add to iGoogle
	Feb 7 1 2 3 4 T Saints 0 6 10 15 31 « Colts 10 0 7 0 17 www.neworleanssaints.com

The Quiet Light

THE QUIET LIGHT, by Louis De Wohl, is quite possibly my favorite book.

I purchased it on a whim because I had $5 left over on a gift certificate to a Catholic book store. I even bought it again after I thought I had lost it several years later.

It has everything a guy could ask for: knights errant, Crusades, the towering intellect of Thomas Aquinas, romantic love, self sacrifice, philosophy, history, drama, and Truth.

Louis De Wohl books are as addictive as crack -- and they're about Saints!

Only another writer can describe it well (emphases mine):

De Wohl's narrative, character development, and spellbinding prose made THE QUIET LIGHT much more than the fictionalized biography of Thomas Aquinas I had expected. It was nothing less than a staggering example of compelling storytelling which, by the sheer enormity of talent displayed, should have intimidated any aspiring/wanna-be writer.

Be advised: you will come away from THE QUIET LIGHT with more than the pleasure of having read a masterly crafted novel of the Middle Ages. Rather, you will find yourself informed and educated on everything from the Crusades to the philosopical infighting then being waged throughout both Europe and the Saracen worlds to the intrigues of the Italian nobility and their Germanic, decidedly unholy Holy Roman Emperor. You will marvel at how De Wohl weaves all this into a story that is filled with richly drawn characters, both historical and fictional.

By the end of THE QUIET LIGHT, you may even discover you have learned something about how to tell a story in a way that makes the reader mourn that he or she has reached the end of the book.

THE QUIET LIGHT is that good. So is Louis De Wohl.

--Earl Merkel
(Author of FLU SEASON and LIKE DISTANT CITIES BURNING)

All Saints Reminds Us Of Family

After all the trick or treat candy has been gobbled down, after the costuming craze has come and gone, just when most people are turning their attention away from the Halloween event -- now comes the real feast: the Feast of All Saints.

The Saints are our family both figuratively and literally, mystically and actually. When we celebrate the Mass the communion of saints is present with us all around. Jesus is present on the altar, and the angels and saints are where He is. In the pews are our brothers and sisters -- saints in training.

Today I did not have my immediate family with me; circumstances conspired to drive us to separate Masses. I must confess I'm at a bit of a loss when they aren't there. It should be an opportunity to focus more completely on the Mass without distraction. However, at this point in my child rearing, I find it distracting when they are absent.

There is a reason that the Mass is made for community; it is after all an act of public worship, the agape love feast with the Bridegroom. God Himself is a family of persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He imprints that family on our physical selves: Fathers, Mothers, children.

Just as He is a family, He gives us family, now and to come. The saints are our family. We are all descended from the first Adam and we are all reborn in the new Adam. We were meant to be together.

All you holy saints, ora pro nobis.

Vatican Reviewing Pope John Paul I Miracle

You don't hear a lot about Pope John Paul.

You do hear quite a bit about his successor, Pope John Paul II, and rightfully so; but JP I, not so much. Other than having possibly the shortest Pontificate in Church history and dying under mysterious circumstances, there is no serious discussion.

That may all be about to change.

Pope John Paul I, born Albino Luciani, has moved closer to being beatified after the Diocese of Altamura-Gravina-Acquaviva delle Fonti in Puglia, southeastern Italy, concluded that a banker, Giuseppe Denora, was cured of stomach cancer in 1992 after praying for the late Pope’s intercession.

While it is much too early to start calling it a miracle, the case has been forwarded to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints for further investigation. Usually, getting past the ordinary (the local Bishop) is the hard part; many Bishops are reluctant to have the kind of "disruption" in their Diocese that comes from investigating miracles and causes for sainthood.

Among other things, it takes two attested miracles to be declared a saint, but it only takes one to be beatified. Even if the cause never progressed beyond that stage, it would still mean that Albino Luciani was in Heaven. (Not bad!)

I'll defer to any Canon lawyers, but I think even Servants of God get to go to the Big House.

LOLsaints

Ok, I usually don't go in for this kind of thing, but sometimes you just want a chuckle. I think we've all had more than our usual Dose of Dourness from the news.

LOLSaints was created in early 2009 by Jeff Geerling in response to a Twitter posting by CurtJester (who runs a humorous blog named, aptly, "The Curt Jester."
Thus, LOLSaints was born. Profound. We know.

Although I must admit, I ran into some prior art over at PaterNosters by accident when I tried to find this site a second time. I don't exactly think it's copyrighted or anything -- like it matters...

Is it reverent? Not especially.
Is it sacrilegious? Not really.
Is it informative? After a fashion.
Is it humorous? Depends on your mood.
But is it LOL? You be the judge. :-)