Our Hearts Are Restless

I've got a post on Epiphany and traditions over at O Night Divine !

Enjoy the Christmas theme for a few weeks, while I work on getting my Rome travel theme up and running!  It's Christmas until February 2!  (Well, it probably won't be Christmas on here that long, but it is for the 12 Days at least.)  New year, new theme, I hope.

The twenty-fifth day of December. In the five thousand one hundred and ninety-ninth year of the creation of the world from the time when God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth; the two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seventh year after the flood; the two thousand and fifteenth year from the birth of Abraham; the one thousand five hundred and tenth year from Moses and the going forth of the people of Israel from Egypt; the one thousand and thirty-second year from David's being anointed king; in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel; in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome; the forty second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus; the whole world being at peace, in the sixth age of the world, Jesus Christ the eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, and nine months hav...

Well, Christmas is coming, and all I can think about is the approaching end of the year and the big things that await me in the next.  Irritatingly enough, all I seem to be able to do today is think about decisions I've made and regret, or issues that I've handled badly.  Things keep popping up to remind me.  And last night, I had nightmares about my study abroad semester that's coming up in February.  This is a problem!  Christmas Eve is only a few hours away, and all I can manage to do is curl up in a little miserable ball.  (Granted, I think hormones are helping with this.) Something has to change.  I need to stop looking ahead and behind, and focus on NOW.  That sounds a bit cheesy, but it is exactly what needs to happen.  What is in the past is done, over, forgotten, sealed and burnt.  Consequences may remain, but those are their own challenges and remain in the future.  What is in the future needs to be planned and organized, but that can wait. Eternity touches time i...

Let folly praise that fancy loves, I praise and love that Child Whose heart no thought, whose tongue no word, whose hand no deed defiled. I praise Him most, I love Him best, all praise and love is His; While Him I love, in Him I love, and cannot live amiss. Love’s sweetest mark, laud’s highest theme, man’s most desired light, To love Him life, to leave Him death, to live in Him delight. He mine by gift, I His by debt, thus to each other due; First friend He was, best friend He is, all times will try Him true. Though young, yet wise; though small, yet strong; though man, yet God He is: As wise, He knows; as strong, He can; as God, He loves to bless. His knowledge rules, His strength defends, His love doth cherish all; His birth our joy, His life our light, His death our end of thrall. Alas! He weeps, He sighs, He pants, yet do His angels sing; Out of His tears, His sighs and throbs, doth bud a joyful spring. Almighty Babe, whose tender arms can force all foes to fly, Correct my faults, ...

Happy Fourth Sunday of Advent! We're almost there!!!  Veni, Emmanuel! Don't forget your Christmas novena!

Have a Blessed Gaudete Sunday! Don't forget your Christmas novena!

I'd like to ask for prayers, specifically to Fulton Sheen, for my roommate and her family.  Ann's mother has been fighting a battle with cancer, and that battle seems to be nearing its end.  Right now Ann is trying to get through finals quickly and get home to her family.  Please pray for her, her mother, and all of the family. Eternal Father, You alone grant us every blessing in Heaven and on earth, through the redemptive mission of Your Divine Son, Jesus Christ, and by the working of the Holy Spirit. If it be according to Your Will, glorify Your servant, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, by granting the favor I now request through his prayerful intercession (mention your request here) I make this prayer confidently through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.  Amen.

  Happy Second Sunday of Advent! Don't forget your Christmas novena!

My family always celebrated the feast of St. Nicholas by following the old custom of putting one's shoes outside the door before one went to bed.  We children would write out our Christmas wish list as a letter to St. Nicholas, fold it up and put it in our shoes.  In the morning, there was always an ornament for the Christmas tree, a bag of chocolate coins, and a candy cane!  St. Nicholas had come again to take our list and give us a few goodies to prepare for Christmas! Here is a poem I found that tells a few of the miraculous stories of St. Nicholas. Ballad of Santa Clause ~ Henry van Dyke Among the earliest saints of old, before the first Hegira, I find the one whose name we hold, St. Nicholas of Myra: The best-beloved name, I guess, in sacred nomenclature,— The patron-saint of helpfulness, and friendship, and good-nature. A bishop and a preacher too, a famous theologian, He stood against the Arian crew and fought them like a Trojan: But when a poor man told his need and begged ...

This is a little dorky, but I am really really looking forward to tomorrow being the Feast of St. Nicholas.  I'll have two major papers done, and I have St. Nicholas Day gifts from my family and Kevin's mom waiting for when they're done.  I feel like a little kid right now! Christmas caroling in the rotunda of the Library last night!  There are little evidences of Advent and Christmas all over campus, from the tree in the dorm to the Secret Santa presents, to the beautiful Nativity scene at the Library.   [caption id="attachment_1255" align="aligncenter" width="652"] The guys sang "Misty Mountains" after the caroling. It sounded quite epic with the acoustics in the library rotunda.[/caption]

Happy First Sunday of Advent! Don't forget your Christmas novena! [caption id="attachment_1250" align="aligncenter" width="391"] I put up the outdoor Nativity scene last night, before I left for college. It's my job every year, and one that I love. Only Mary, Joseph, the shepherd boy (he needs a name...) and the donkey are there at the moment. The Child and the Angel will appear as soon as I get home from the First Mass of Christmas.[/caption]

Today being the feast of St.  Andrew the Apostle, it is also the first day of the Christmas novena.  This is a beautiful and very powerful prayer, which takes a lot of perseverance!  It is to be said fifteen times a day (you can break it up into 5 times at each meal, or other creative ways of trying to remember how many you've said).  It's a good way to remind yourself each day that it's Advent, and to prepare for the coming of the Christ Child.  Have a blessed Advent!  Veni, Emmanuel! Hail and blessed be the hour and moment at which the son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, o my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother.  Amen.

I suppose that every blogger and his brother are posting on the exact same topic today, so I may as well jump on the bandwagon.  I must give thanks for so many things today. 1. My family.  Granny is off of dialysis!  The whole family was home for Thanksgiving this year - it hasn't been like that for four years.  We had an hour's rousing battle of Nerts (don't ask - an extremely fast-paced card game, which can get a little vicious), lots of good food, much laughter, and our annual tradition of watching Holiday Inn .  It's the closest you can get to a Thanksgiving movie besides  Miracle on 34th Street .  Despite my father forgetting to turn the oven on for the turkey, dinner was amazing.  I got to make the cranberry salad myself, not that that means I get a special claim on the leftovers of my favorite food!  At any rate, it is good to have the family safe and healthy.  I'm still praying hard for both of my sisters, but today was a pretty good day.  Deo gratias! [capt...

I had the wonderful opportunity of being able to host Kevin's sister Monica this weekend!  It was great to play big sister for a few days, an unusual experience for both of us.  The guys were so excited to see her!  I promised pictures to her mother, so here goes - they're mostly of the surprise party we threw for her birthday .  I know it was hard for the family to send her away for a birthday, but I'm so happy and thankful that she came.  We had a wonderful four days - I wish she could have stayed longer! [caption id="attachment_1223" align="aligncenter" width="652"] In the computer lab at the library before I dragged her away for the party.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1204" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Cecily, Gloria, Lindsay and...Minion. Yes, that's Minion. I'm going to miss her![/caption] [caption id="attachment_1206" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Monica, ...

I've been watching my stats and it seems that people actually read this blog, which is a happy and comforting thing.  However, if I don't write anything, I suppose there is little for my darling readers to actually...read. I had a Thought the other day.  Therefore I shall endeavour to share that Thought and why I thought it was a Good Thought. There are a lot of fuzzy caterpillars around campus this year.  I swear, I have never seen so many caterpillars in all my life before this semester!  As I almost stepped on another red and black moving pipecleaner, I remembered that caterpillars turn into butterflies and moths.  They're very pretty creatures, at least the larger ones, until they flit into an electric light and die in a foul stench.  That's beside the point.  Or is it? It can be very, very hard to look at a caterpillar and see it as a butterfly.   Especially here at college, I realize that we're all still caterpillars, of varying types and sizes and colours.  E...

Some days, God just throws you a challenge.  I've had a handful of these challenges in the past - sometimes it's humility, sometimes forgiveness or sacrifice.  This week, it has been abandonment to Divine Providence.  Sacrifices are never wasted, but sometimes God chooses to redirect them in ways that you could never see coming. Trust is hard.  I've had to relearn at times how to trust different people.  However, trust in God is a hard one to learn.  It seems to be something I've taken for granted until now, but I realize now that trust in God is more than just a placid acceptance of whatever comes my way.  Generally, if I can't change something, I just go with the flow; if it's something I can change, I generally try to, rather than ask what the will of God really is.  That's not really trust. So what is real trust?  The Merriam-Webster dictionary has trust as "belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc."  So trust ...

I know I haven't gotten the chance to post for a long time.  Life's been crazy these last few weeks, so I thought I would finally synthesize a bunch of pictures that I've taken or stolen from my mutually adopted little brother. First off, the Legion of Mary has begun thriving this semester.  Thanks be to God and Our Lady, who have worked through me very thoroughly!  We've grown from a core of 8 remaining from last year's alumni departures, to 15 new members.  4 years ago, there were about 4 members, so I think we're making good progress.  The role of president is a tough one, but it's been much better than I'd originally expected it to be.  I know that all the progress we've made has not been me, but rather my surrendering myself as a tool to Our Mother's use. [caption id="attachment_1159" align="aligncenter" width="652"] At the club fair, the Legion of Mary table was front and center on the Commons stage![/caption]...

The Way Of A Maid - Francis Thompson The lover whose soul shaken is In some decuman billow of bliss, Who feels his gradual-wading feet Sink in some sudden hollow of sweet, And 'mid love's us-ed converse comes Sharp on a mood which all joy sums-- An instant's fine compendium of The liberal-leav-ed writ of love; His abashed pulses beating thick At the exigent joy and quick, Is dumbed, by aiming utterance great Up to the miracle of his fate. The wise girl, such Icarian fall Saved by her confidence that she's small,-- As what no kindred word will fit Is uttered best by opposite, Love in the tongue of hate exprest, And deepest anguish in a jest,-- Feeling the infinite must be Best said by triviality, Speaks, where expression bates its wings, Just happy, alien, little things; What of all words is in excess Implies in a sweet nothingness, With dailiest babble shows her sense That full speech were full impotence; And while she feels the heavens lie bare, She only talks about he...

To St. Michael in Time of Peace - G.K. Chesterton Michael, Michael: Michael of the Morning, Michael of the Army of the Lord, Stiffen thou the hand upon the still sword, Michael, Folded and shut upon the sheathed sword, Michael, Under the fullness of the white robes falling, Gird us with the secret of the sword.When the world cracked because of a sneer in heaven, Leaving out for all time a scar upon the sky, Thou didst rise up against the Horror in the highest, Dragging down the highest that looked down on the Most High: Rending from the seventh heaven the hell of exaltation Down the seven heavens till the dark seas burn: Thou that in thunder threwest down the Dragon Knowest in what silence the Serpent can return. Down through the universe the vast night falling (Michael, Michael: Michael of the Morning!) Far down the universe the deep calms calling (Michael, Michael: Michael of the Sword!) Bid us not forget in the baths of all forgetfulness, In the sigh long drawn from the frenzy and t...

At the request of my cousin, who is an Assembly of God minister, I wrote a synthesis (as best I could whip together in a few hours) of the top 5 differences between Protestants and Catholics.  It was hard to narrow the list down to 5, because of course I wanted to include every topic, all of the arguments, all of the ramifications.  But I did my best to keep it to a simple presentation of Catholic belief. The five topics I chose are the papacy, the Eucharist, Mary, Purgatory, and Sacred Tradition.  Thanks to Catholic Answers, I had scriptural references and great explanations at my fingertips through  www.catholic.com  and  Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth , a handy little tract.  Thanks be to God, I just happened to have that little book with me, and it came in very handy.  A lot of the explanations below are only slightly modified from that book.  I'll make this a 5-part series for the next Saturdays! All of Catholic teaching hinges on the doctrine of the Incarnation: that Christ ...

It's been a long week around here - so naturally, we decided to dress up and wander through the woods.  Christendom's campus and trails are especially suited for Saturday afternoon rambles.  It was a gorgeous day - not too warm, not too cold, sunny with a handful of fluffy clouds.  I think we might have weirded out a few people as we walked across campus, but it was well worth it.  After all, it's not the weirdest thing to happen.  One of the highlights was the bald eagle we spotted.  It was perfectly framed by tree branches, just barely within range for pictures, and sat on the branch for a good fifteen minutes.  We named it Stanley, as in "Fly away, Stanley!  Be free!"  Okay, so we get a little crazy sometimes!  For your entertainment, here are a bunch of pictures from our woodland adventure.