The Chronicles of Mommia

Unam Sanctam Catholicam: Exorcist Andrea Gemma on Medjugorje: "Absolutely diabolical"

2011-04-14T18:20:00.000-06:00

Unam Sanctam Catholicam: Exorcist Andrea Gemma on Medjugorje: "Absolutely diabolical"

Figure Skating One Year Later - April 2010

2010-04-19T07:47:00.003-06:00

Watch the video of her April free skate competition here.

Wow, has it really been a year since I blogged? LOL! This is Queen Lucy one year since the last skating video I posted. She has come a long way. She started private lessons the end of last summer, and had her first competition in September, and placed first in both her free skate and compulsories - both level Basic Skills 6 (USFS). Since then she joined the synchro team, and competed in 5 more competitions. Whew!

The above video is from her last competition earlier this month. She skated a clean program - the best I have seen (though she said she has done better). She medaled and got third place - EXCELLENT! Especially considering she just moved up to this level and learned the required three new single jumps (loop, lutz, flip) and two new spins (sit and camel) in only five weeks! She had a not-so-good practice in the morning, but she shook off the nerves! CORRECTION - She informed me she already kinda knew the loop and sit spin, though the loop was not consistent, and she didn't have the revolutions for the sit spin.

Excellent coach + hard work + plenty of ice time + prayer (with God first of course) = what you see above.

Thank you Saint Lydwina for your intercession!

Figure Skating - April 2009

2009-05-11T21:05:00.009-06:00

The end of April, a dear friend recorded Queen Lucy skating. She was a little shy while being recorded. She is a "careful" skater, not quite ready to risk falling when learning a new move; and her teacher says the biggest thing holding her back is herself & the way she gets frustrated when a move doesn't go correctly. She has come so far - not just in her skating, but also in her self-confidence. She wants to go to her first competition in September (it is local), and now wants to join the synchro team (think synchronised swimming, except it is skating). Her long term goal is to teach. She spends every moment she can on the ice, and practices the whole time she is there. It has gotten to the point she needs some private lessons, in addition to her weekly group lessons. Her teacher says that the way she practices, one 15 minute private lesson every other week is fine. Of course more is better, but also costs more. Money is always an issue, and while we are going the "budget route", she can't do it without help. She saves every penny she gets from birthdays, pet sitting, etc for skating, but it is not enough if she wants to start competing, and/or join the synchro team. She is going to write up a proposal, seeking "sponsors" and pledges, and send it to the grandmas, aunts, etc. Since this video was shot (less than 2 weeks ago), she has already learned more combinations, and a new jump.

Click here to see the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDZiOr-0ZR0

Dr. Oz to Oprah and Michael J Fox: "The stem cell debate is dead."

2009-04-16T22:33:00.001-06:00

Archbishop Fulton Sheen

2009-04-06T11:00:00.003-06:00

I love anything to do with Archbishop Fulton Sheen. I have his book Life is Worth Living, based on his TV show, This is the Mass by Daneil*Rops*Sheen*Karsh, and I wish I had more. I want so share a couple of videos. One is from the television show "What's my Line", and the other is from his television show - about God laughing when people say He is dead. Enjoy!

Notice he writes "JMJ" before writing his name. I also laughed at the "crazy sponsor" comment.

I love how his advice is timeless.

I encourage you to read his books, listen to his shows, and watch his videos.

Preparing for Lent

2009-02-22T09:06:00.002-06:00

How are you preparing?

We will be doing the Lenten Calender from Dumb Ox Publications. We have done it before & love it.
Dumb Ox Publications
10201 Grove School Road
Beloit, WI 53511
(608) 879-9400
They do not have a website, but I think think it is sold at Emmanuel Books.

I was looking through some old posts. We have sort of gotten into a slump, and these old posts reminded me of what we should be doing. I also found a forgotten recipe.
Lent is Fast Approaching - this includes a link to a blog dedicated to Lent. There is also a link to a friend's fantastic blog, one of her older posts on Lent (old post, but the info is still current).
Fat Tuesday - the name explains it all.
Mommia's Hashbrown Casserole - a recipe.

Marykeys Friends + wine + chocolate = loads of laughs!

2009-02-16T10:32:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

"The 12 Pains of Christmas"

2008-12-20T07:27:00.005-06:00

Saturday, December 20. 2008 - Feast of Saint Dominic of Silos

A friend, her children, and her children's friends made this hilarious video! Make sure you watch it to the very end. Oh, an adult performed the third day.

The 12 Pains of Christmas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bXRXq0RHLE

Reviews

2008-12-11T21:32:00.002-06:00

Hearthside Homeschool Reviews has a great post on some books for children on cleaning (reminds me a bit of FlyLady). If my children knew about these books, they would beg for them to save them from my lectures on how they don't help out around the house! LOL!

Shrink Art

2008-12-02T08:07:00.009-06:00

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 - Feast of Saint Bibiana

Queen Lucy is using Seton's Art 7 for Young Catholics (It is now "Art 6", but we have an older book). A recent lesson was on stained glass. One of the assignments was to color a picture of the Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven, and her Holy Child.

I had the bright idea of putting it on vellum or something else that is "see-thru" to hang in the window, then I remembered something from when I was a child - Shrinky Dink!

I got some Shrinky Dink Frosted Rough and Ready. I placed it over the picture, shiny side up, and traced with a black permanent marker (I simplified the smaller details). On the rough side, Queen Lucy used her colored pencils. I then trimmed off the excess plastic, punched holes in the top (regular sized hole puncher), put the picture on a cookie sheet & put it in the oven (per the directions on the SD package). I have a window in my oven door, so Queen Lucy and I watched in awe as the large piece of plastic melted, shrunk, and rolled up - uh, oh, I thought all of her hard work was ruined! But I remembered that the directions said it will flatten in the last 30 seconds.... so we waited. Suddenly, it unrolled! After it cooled, she checked out her finished project.

(I scanned this, and it looks much better in real life.)

Now all that is needed it to thread ribbon through the holes, and hang it.

Things we have learned:

***Sometimes it will stick when it rolls up, but it can be reheated, gently pulled apart, then left in the heat to unroll the rest of the way.

***The finished product stuck slightly to the pan, and left some of the permanent marker on the pan. I have read suggestions to use a non-stick cookie sheet, foil (shiny side up), parchment paper, or a paper sack (the oven does not get hot enough to burn it.) We are going to make Christmas ornaments, and will try the other suggestions.

***The softer the colored pencil the better (I guess they blend better, leaving less blank/uncolored spots). We are also going to try permanent markers.

***Plastic #6 (not the foam kind) can be recycled from various sources like food containers, to be used as shrinkable plastic. I have not tried this yet because I am confused about whether or not it emits gasses when heated, and I do not want to possibly contaminate the oven I cook our food in.

*** There are many projects on the internet - Google "shrinky dink" or "shrinkable plastic".

Excellent quote!

2008-11-08T09:15:00.002-06:00

From one of my favorite authors!

Democracy put "man" on a pedestal; feminism put "woman" on a pedestal; but neither democracy nor feminism could live a generation unless a "Child" was first put on a pedestal, and such is the significance of Nazareth!
-Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

Your oxymoron for the day - "Knights for Obama"

2008-11-07T12:45:00.002-06:00

It seems there is a group out there, consisting of some (very few, I pray) Knights of Columbus who support Obama. They are "resisting church pressure to make abortion the primary issue that should drive Catholics' votes...." according to an article on Beliefnet.

For those who may be unaware, the Knights of Columbus are a Catholic men's pro-life group.

They need our prayers.

I rescued the Blessed Mother! (sort of)

2008-03-25T16:06:00.006-06:00

Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - Tuesday in Easter Week

I was passing by a thrift store, and found a statue of the Blessed Mother. She has some nicks, chipped paint, and her hands are missing, as is the head of the serpent. The owner said she was going to through it away, but thought that someone would want it. I rescued it for a dollar!

It's 15 inches tall & looks to be well made. You can see a metal support where one hand used to be. I am no art expert, so perhaps someone can help me identify it/tell me what I have. And perhaps someone can advise me on how to repair it.

*** I know it is Our Lady of Grace. I would like to know about the statue itself - it's history, artist, age, etc. (I included close-ups of imprints on the base.)

Christus resurrexit!

2008-03-24T12:44:00.005-06:00

Monday, March 24, 2008- Monday in Easter Week

Lent is over, and we are now in the Easter season. Forty days of sacrificing ended, followed by a day of celebration. We went to a beautiful and reverent Sung Mass, then to my mother's for a feast.

This is the beautiful High Altar at a Novus Ordo/Traditional Latin Mass parish where we attended the Easter Latin Mass (notice they had moved the table - which you will see in later pics).

These are the young men who served the Mass with Father. In this picture are two seminarians, a soon to be seminarian, and a new member of the Catholic Church; as well as King Peter in front on the right of Father. By the way, for the first half of Mass, King Peter's surplice was all messed up, and I was mentally straightening it. Not ONE of those young men noticed! LOL!

Finally, here is Queen Lucy with King Peter.

Horton Hears a Who - Horton is Prolife

2008-03-16T10:57:00.006-06:00

Sunday, March 16, 2008 - Second Sunday of the Passion

Taken from here -

Dr. Seuss Book
God is communicating His big dream of ending abortion in a most profound way through the dream stream story of Horton Hears A Who by Dr. Seuss. In February 2005, one of our youth, a 15-year-old girl at the Justice House of Prayer, had a dream. In the dream she saw a large, beautiful building with the words “The Who” appearing over it. She and her sisters entered the house and began to look throughout the building until they found the attic where there was a series of old books from the past that they knew would be needed for the future. She shared her dream with the JHOP team. I knew the dream was from God, but I wondered, “What is ‘The Who,’ and what are these old books?”
The next morning while pondering the dream, I received a remarkable email from a man in Kansas City that included a sermon he gave several years ago on what must
occur for abortion to end. He felt led to send it to me, even though he thought it was unusual that the analogy the Lord had given him was based on the Dr. Seuss book, Horton Hears a Who. When I read this, I instantly connected “The Who” in the dream with “The Who” in the book. I was immediately interested!
In this children’s book written in 1954, we find an elephant whose name is Horton. He is the prophetic Church with big ears and a large trumpet. He can hear what no one else can hear—the sound of these little people called, The Whos, who live in the microscopic town of Who-ville.
In the book, we also find a kangaroo who wants to kill all the little Whos, because he cannot see or hear them. He doesn’t believe they exist. Immediately the thought came to me, “The kangaroo is the kangaroo court!”—it stands for the Supreme Court who issued the death decree of ‘73 in Roe v Wade, and legalized abortion. Wow! I realized that what I was reading was a parable from the past that was now going
to be used en masse, for the ending of abortion. The theme of the whole book amazingly is, “A person’s a person, no matter how small!” And the remedy for the crisis is that every voice must be raised loudly and urgently to rescue all the little unborn Whos. With the kangaroo’s death decree hanging over Who-ville, Horton implores the mayor “to CALL a big meeting, get everyone out, make every Who holler, make every Who shout!”
This Book Speaks of Abortion
Graciously, The ElijahList blasted this story February 16, 2005. Amazingly, the next day I received an email from a woman who said she read The ElijahList article and received three confirmations the following day at her Day Care Center. One child came in with a Horton Hears A Who backpack, a second was carrying a Who-ville doll, but the third–a ten-year-old boy–came to her and said, “Ma’am, I had a dream last night. I dreamt of Horton Hears a Who, and all the little Whos were not saying YOPP; they were crying STOP!!!”
Oh, my God, there is a massive cry being raised up from the young ones of the earth, praying and prophesying, “STOP ABORTION, STOP! STOP! STOP!!!!!!!!!!” What are the chances of this divine confirmation? Those who read this are now held accountable. The whole Church must cry out now—STOP ABORTION! Soon after,
another man connected with me and said, “My ten-year-old daughter was reading Horton Hears A Who to her little brother.” She came to her father and said, “Dad, I think this book is about ending abortion.” That afternoon, he read The Elijah List article on Horton Hears a Who. This man now leads our Bound4LIFE ministry.
Again, amazingly, we found out that Fox Movies is doing a major
motion picture in 2008, called, Horton Hears A Who, starring Jim Carrey.
The Lord is SHOUTING to the nation! Will we have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying?
A great convergence is upon us. If the Church understands the times and what God is seeking to bring forth, we can shout to the nation, before the movie comes out, that Horton Hears a Who is about the ending of abortion–so when millions of people watch the movie, they will all be thinking, “A person’s a person, no matter how small–The Whos are the unborn!”
Can you see it? This is God’s trumpet to the nation! God is marching out, shattering ideologies, and moving His great Mind and Heart into the earth. He moves the media and makes it His pawn. Oh, the brilliant Wisdom of God! He takes a book out of the archives of history that millions have read since 1954, pulls it out, and slams it into the present through a movie. The light penetrates the lie, the armor of the strongman is stripped away, the demon is named, and can now be cast out!
Oh God, we need a national exorcism of this spirit of death that has ruled over us for 34 years! Every voice must be counted. Buy the book! Spread it around! Start children’s prayer meetings to end abortion! Support crisis pregnancy centers! May your voice be heard in your voting. Pray for Jim Carrey to be radically haved—he could shout to the world, “This movie is about ending abortion!”
A young woman had a dream knowing nothing of the movie or Jim Carrey’s involvement. She dreamt that Jim Carrey was a Christian and that he was carrying a briefcase with two books in it. The first one was called, Shaping History Through Prayer and Fasting, by Derek Prince, and the second one was a book called, Mobilizing The Army of God. Could this man and this movie mobilize a pro-life army of young people who will fast and pray for justice?
The front page of Time Magazine (last year, 2007) showed a hand with four different-sized fetuses resting on it. The article is saying that there are more crisis
pregnancy centers than there are abortion clinics in America, and that abortion is at its lowest rate since the beginning years of when abortion was legalized. In the same magazine, there is an article about Jim Carrey, and he is seeking spiritual enlightenment, but doesn’t know Jesus yet. Save him, God!!!
“It is time for all the Whos who have blood that is red to come to the aid of their country, he said.” Suddenly, Dr. Suess kicks out of Who-ville and into national prophecy, not even knowing it. Christians must come to the aid of America carrying the Blood of Jesus, which alone can wash away our sins. It is not enough that Jesus died; the Blood must be applied to the doorposts of our national guilt. Oh, that millions of Christians would plead, “Jesus, I plead Your Blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America.” Go to http://www.bound4life.com/ to see how you can be a part of a mass movement of pleading the Blood of Jesus over our nation.
The YOPPS Must Be Heard
The voices of Jo-Jos just bouncing their yo-yos must now be heard. The Jo-Jos are Christians who are enjoying their comfortable careers, but are oblivious to the crisis. They are the youth in our Church youth groups who play with their iPods and who browse in their Windows. While living for entertainment, they have no idea that they were meant to be a part of God’s great movement to end abortion! Their voices must be heard now!!! Let Myspace® and You Tube™ become their Eieffelberg towers from which they shout out their YOPPS and their STOPS.
Why would God give this dream stream to a group of young people who pray everyday in front of the Supreme Court calling on God to raise up righteous judges who will reverse Roe v Wade? To encourage hearts and release a movement through their prayers! So that it will be said:
“How true, yes, how true,” said the big kangaroo, “and from now on you know what I am planning to do? From now on I am going to protect them with you!”
Brothers and sisters, let us believe that the Supreme Court will protect all the unborn little Whos, that God’s big dream will come true, and that all the Whos’ dreams could come true too.
It is profound that in the dream, the young lady saw not just one book, but a series of old books needed for the future. Read Horton Hatches an Egg. It is about a bird who wants to go play, rather than sit on her egg. So Horton, the elephant again, sits on the egg until the egg hatches. When the egg hatches, out comes, not a little baby bird, but an elephant with wings.
The moral of the story is this: he who cares for the unwanted child—that child will take on the nature of the one who cared for it. It is the spirit of adoption! God is calling the Church to adopt and care for the unwanted children in the nation. We have got to be Jesus’ love answer. We can’t just be pro-birth we must be pro-life!
Let the prophetic Church arise and carry the heart of Heaven! Let them hear The Call for united fasting and prayer on behalf of those who have no voice! Let the prophetic Church hear what the world can’t hear, and may they blow the trumpet once again, declaring, “God has a dream, and we have His dream, and millions will be mobilized to become the river of justice rolling down again…”
~Lou Engle, TheCall

Hair today........

2008-03-09T16:10:00.008-06:00

Passion Sunday

I have a LOT of hair. It is very thick, and grows fairly quickly. BC (before children) my hair was long enough that when I tucked in my shirt, I also could tuck in my hair. As part of Lent, I decided that I would chop off my hair, and donate it.

A "friend" suggested I go for this look:

(now you can tell what kind of friends I have)

I assure you, I will NOT go that route!

Anyway, here is my picture - taken today by Queen Lucy on our porch (yes, I still have Christmas greenery on my porch - in my defense the weather til now has been lousy; and yes, that is the same sweater as the one in my profile picture; and yes, I do have other clothes, but if you want to contribute some money so I can buy more, I will let you. LOL!) Oh, and my hair is longer than it looks in the picture; there is more, and longer, hair in the back.

This is the "before" picture. The big cut will happen before Easter.

Dissecting the Dead

2008-03-09T15:38:00.006-06:00

Sunday March 9, 2008 - Feast of Saint Dominic Savio

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

King Peter is doing Apologia's Biology 1. He got to do his first dissection - an earthworm. He went through the lesson, pointing out the guts to Queen Lucy, and said "cool" when he found the "worm poop". Gross! How is it that boys kind find humor in waste? As Queen Lucy often says, "BOYS!"

It's Extortion, I Tell You!

2008-02-26T13:01:00.004-06:00

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - Feast of Saint Irene

A while back, I got some wonderful body spray from Bath & Body Works. It was from their aromatherapy line - Lavender Vanilla, Tranquil Body Essence. I loved the scent - more so because it did not trigger headaches (as so many scents do with me.) Of course, it went the way all good things go - it was discontinued. Yes, they still have the line of products, MINUS the body essence! I was very upset when I found this out, so I went to eBay. Of course eBay has it (what don't they have?), but for a fee nearly triple what I paid in the first place. It's extortion I tell you! Or perhaps it is a conspiracy by the store to drive up prices, and they are the ones extorting us on eBay? I better go now before the black helicopters begin to circle overhead.

Resurrecting the dead - a homeschool experiment

2008-02-25T14:51:00.005-06:00

February 25, 2008 - Feast of Saint Walburga

Queen Lucy is using Jeannie Fulbright’s book Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, published by Apologia Educational Ministries. She loves creatures of all kinds (except spiders, but can you blame her?), so this course is right up her alley.

She is now studying insects, and one of the experiments, the Lazarus Experiment, required a live insect. Since there aren’t many of those around here in February, we went to the pet store and bought half a dozen feeder crickets (I think he told us they were Gulf Coast Crickets.) Queen Lucy set up a habitat for them in a larger peanut butter jar (she is hoping they will breed – ummm, I don’t think so!)

Back to the experiment. It required drowning a bug and bringing it back to life (I bet you can guess where it gets its name). I will let you research to find out why this happens.

First, let me introduce you to Lazarus –

Here is Queen Lucy drowning him –

Here is Lazarus – may he rest in peace –

This is Queen Lucy blowing salt off of him in an attempt to bring him back to life –

“I, Lazarus, declare this experiment a success!”

Catholic Excellence in Our Schools

2008-02-14T13:20:00.003-06:00

February 14, 2008 - Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius

The local diocesan paper has an article about by our Bishop. The article is about some remarks that Bishop Finn gave at the Acton Conference on Catholic Education in Napa, California on February 4, 2008. I homeschool, but that does not stop me from recognising that our Catholic schools need work. My favorite quote is this: "I believe that our schools have to be so undeniably and unabashedly Catholic that they risk being thought of as almost fanatical."

Here is the article, posted in the Catholic Key February 8, 2008, edition:

Catholic Identity and Catholic Excellence in Our Schools

By Bishop Robert W. Finn
Kansas City-St. Joseph

We have noted some of the differences between Catholic Schools of generations past and Schools today. We have considered our shortcomings and opportunities.

The challenge of Catholic Schools, particularly concerning Catholic Identity and the Excellence of Catholic teaching and formation, is akin to the challenge of the New Evangelization. That is, we have responsibility for the message of Christ and the mission of His Church in the midst of a hostile culture. Ours is, in many ways, a post-Christian culture. Even among Catholics the fundamentals of the Catholic faith cannot be assumed or taken for granted. Many people are not practicing their faith in an integral manner. Catholics who are baptized might not be living in the state of Sanctifying grace: this includes students, parents, teachers, and other school leaders.

How do we organize and direct a Catholic school in such a way that it fulfills its part in the mission of the Church - rather than merely provide an alternative education in what may be a safer environment? Pope John Paul II, in a 1987 address to Catholic educators in New Orleans, reminds us that "The ultimate goal of all Catholic education is salvation in Jesus Christ." (no.8)

So how do we make progress in this ultimate task and responsibility through the work of the Catholic Schools?

Given the financial challenges of running our Catholic school system, I think it is possible to conclude that unless our schools are something radically different than their best public school counterparts, there is little justification for their existence - at least in light of the heroic sacrifice of the broad Catholic community.

But if our schools are readily and unmistakably identifiable as Catholic schools - and they are successfully working hand in glove with the Church in moving children and their families toward salvation, then they are necessary. If they are conscious instruments for the transformation of the culture in Jesus Christ, then they must continue. They must be more broadly available than they are in many dioceses.

I believe that our schools have to be so undeniably and unabashedly Catholic that they risk being thought of as almost fanatical. Lukewarmness will not be enough to distinguish them, and establish a sufficiently attractive niche in the education marketplace. It is not enough for Catholic schools to offer an occasional all school Mass, two penance services a year, Religion three times a week, and a requirement for Confirmation students to do a service project. It is not enough.

So what are some of the elements and areas to consider to intensify and to make intentional the Catholic identity of our schools? More importantly what must we do if we are serious about getting our students to heaven?

The Declaration on Christian Education from the Second Vatican Council, Gravissimum Educationis, assigns the first and primary work of formation of students to parents, but expresses the Church's conviction to provide from its Maternal richness a strong support and collaboration in the institution of the Catholic school. The Council document lays out the principal aims of Catholic education in this way:

"As the baptized person is gradually introduced into the mystery of the knowledge of salvation, he may daily grow more conscious of the gift of faith he has received; that he may learn to adore God the Father in spirit and in truth, especially through liturgical worship; that he may be trained to conduct his personal life in righteousness and in the sanctity of truth, according to his new standard of manhood." (no. 2. translation Abbott)

From the standpoint of the school, then, the first necessary element in the Church's program of education is enthusiastic and faithful school leadership that is inseparably allied to the parent. This leadership should exist at several, if not all, levels: principal, pastor, superintendent, bishop, and school board.

The Principal, in addition to all the professional educational skills required, must be a Catholic leader: one who prays, one who receives the sacraments, (including Reconciliation), one who reads and understands the Pope. He or she has a devotional life and can talk about the saints and the classics of Catholic literature. This person knows the Catechism of the Catholic Church and sees it as the handbook for formation and curriculum.

The Catholic school leader values and holds up the role of parents and families and constantly expects and inspires the active cooperation of parents in their children's education and faith life. They constantly remind parents of their primary role in their child's education. They expect a lot of parents (not just in terms of fundraising) but in sacramental preparation and catechesis, in their child's discipline and homework, in attending Mass (or church services if they are not Catholic) every Sunday with their child. The Principal knows that parents are the first teachers, and that without a continuity between what is taught at school and at home, formation remains incomplete.

Programs for renewal and catechesis are very important for teachers in the Catholic school - all the teachers. For the second year now, in our four Diocesan high schools, teachers are required to participate in an hour of catechesis once a week before school. Our Diocesan catechetics institute teaches the courses on each school site. Formation of Catholic teachers cannot be taken for granted, especially since the decline of the great teaching Orders of Religious. If our schools are to witness a strong Catholic identity, every teacher must know the faith and be formed in holiness.

Prospering the mission of the Catholic school means interacting faithfully within the structures of the Catholic Church. As Catholics, we know Jesus Christ and we are necessarily connected in the Church. We are connected to families; we are connected to parish life; we are connected to the Diocese; we are connected to the Universal Church. We are living in the historical and eternal Communion of Saints.

Let us look briefly at these key "connections" which characterize the Catholic school:

Schools have to be connected to the families of their students. There has to be an intentional continuity between school and parents. Strong family rootedness is part of being Catholic: Parents read to their children. Parents pray with their children and take them to Mass every Sunday. Parents know their children's teachers and teachers know their students' families. Parents oversee uniforms and modesty before the child leaves the house, and outside of school as well. They see that their children get food and rest and love, and are not consumed by the internet, video games, television, and other poor substitutes for meaningful human communion. They learn a love and respect for the body, the sanctity of human life, and the joy of purity.

Elementary schools and high schools must be connected to parishes, since, beyond the family, the parish is the fundamental unit of the local Church. Catholic schools - even if they are private - cooperate with the parishes of the students, and see to it that there is reinforcement of the total faith life. The parish supports the mission of Catholic education. The school never tries to draw the student or the family away from the parish but into a deeper involvement in the life of their parish.

Catholic schools (even private Catholic schools) are connected to the Diocese. They support the bishop, and are interested in and committed to the goals and priorities of the local Church. They are connected to the work of other Catholic schools and institutions, and look for ways to be signs of the unity of the local Church.

Every teacher promotes vocations. Students learn to pray for God's guidance in their vocation, and a good number of vocations to priesthood and consecrated life come from the schools.

Catholic schools and educators are connected to the Universal Church. They are convinced of the primacy of the Church's Tradition and magisterial teaching. They are very conscious of their identity as an extension of the worldwide Catholic communion. They express love for the Pope and acknowledge him as the visible sign and cause of our unity as Catholics. All that they teach and undertake flows from the broad embrace of truth championed by the Church and a sense of our dignity, freedom, and responsibility as Children of God.

Students learn to pray in the richness of the Catholic tradition. While they are helped to understand and respect other religious formulas, they are not invited to dabble in practices or prayer techniques of other religions or pseudo-religions. The celebration of the sacraments is the center of worship in Catholic schools. Mass is available as
"daily bread." Students learn about the meaning and destructive effects of sin. They are formed in their conscience. They learn right from wrong, and to daily examine their conscience. They have frequent recourse to Confession in order to grow into saints.

In short, the curriculum of formation in the Catholic school is best modeled after and drawn from the Catechism's four pillars: The Profession of Faith, Sacraments, the Moral Life, and Prayer.

Catholic schools sense and highlight their connection to the Communion of Saints and the rich tradition of teaching and holiness which makes up the pilgrim journey of the People of God. They learn to read and pray the Sacred Scriptures within the heritage of the Fathers of the Church. The devotional life of the school is alive with doctrinally sound hymns and prayers, the frequent meditative recitation of the rosary, the Stations of the Cross, festivals of the particular patrons of parish, school, and Diocese. They enjoy visits to the Blessed Sacrament and periods of Eucharistic Adoration, and Benediction. The school makes intentional use of beautiful authentic religious art and images.

Catholic Schools are connected to the world, because the mission and apostolate of the Church unfolds in the world. Students grow strong as they are formed in the life of the virtues, progressing in each area of beatitude. Deeply aware of their divine filiation as sons and daughters of the Father, they charitably regard each other person with this God-given dignity. They are challenged, and inspired by example to be faithful and generous stewards, and they become leaders in all areas of secular work, in a way which sanctifies themselves and every daily effort.

But in the Catholic schools students must first be formed well in holiness, otherwise instead of being agents for the world's transformation and renewal, they will become worldly and deluded by its false promises.

The work of Catholic education is a vital and inseparable part of the mission of the Church. When, through a renewed and intensified effort to stress Catholic excellence and the Catholic identity of the school, school leaders collaborate with parents in the arduous work of shaping saints for the Kingdom, the greatest dignity and supernatural purpose of Catholic schools will be furthered.

BRAVO! BRAVO!!!!

AMDG

January First Not a Holy Day of Obligation?????

2008-01-03T18:35:00.000-06:00

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 - Feast of Saint Genevieve

Whether you call January 1st the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord, or the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God , it is a Holy Day of Obligation..... or is it?

Someone recently told me that they were told, at a parish in California, that January 1st is no longer a HDO. What?!?! I thought the person heard the information incorrectly, and that what was really said was that it was not a HDO LAST year, since it fell on a Monday (because of the silly concession the USCCB made for us lazy Americans who think going to Mass two days in a row is much too difficult - the concession being "when January 1, August 15, November 1 fall on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to participate in Mass does not hold".) Sadly, that was not the case.

Apparently, for some reason, the bishops of California now have the option to make January 1st to NOT be a HDO. Or do they? How did they get the permission? I cannot find anything that says who gave the permission, why, or when.

Can anyone shed a light on this?

Here is some information I found:

http://www.adoremus.org/0302News.html#anchor3744804

What of Holy Days?

Many Catholics wonder what will happen to Holy Days of Obligation -- the few days of the liturgical year other than Sundays when Catholics are required to attend Mass. The obligation to attend Mass on New Year's Day was abrogated this year in the West Coast archdioceses of Los Angeles and San Francisco.

A November 30 communication to the priests of Los Angeles from Monsignor Terrance Fleming, the archdiocesan Moderator of the Curia/Vicar General, announced that Cardinal Roger Mahony was "dispensing parishioners in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from the obligation to attend mass on Tuesday, 1 January 2002, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, which is normally a Holy Day
of Obligation".

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops lists January 1 as a Holy Day of Obligation in the United States. (The liturgical calendar is on the USCCB web site, liturgy section.)

According to the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar §55, "Only with the approval of the Apostolic See may a celebration be removed from the calendar or changed in rank".

The Los Angeles announcement to priests did not mention authorization from the Holy See for this change.

Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco also abrogated the January 1 Holy Day of obligation. Adoremus received several reports that bishops of other West Coast dioceses acted similarly.

For the past several years Catholics have been increasingly confused about the obligatory feasts - and whether they are to attend Mass on these feasts. Permission granted to US bishops to change the day of the celebration of the Feast of the Ascension to a Sunday, and to remove the obligation to attend Mass on All Saints and the Assumption if they fall on a Saturday or a Monday has contributed to confusion and misunderstanding.

The result has been to diminish the meaning and importance Catholics attach to the Church's obligatory celebrations.

And from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

In addition to Sunday, the days to be observed as holy days of obligation in the Latin Rite dioceses of the United States of America, in conformity with canon 1246, are as follows:
January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God;
Thursday of the Sixth Week of Easter, the solemnity of the Ascension;
August 15, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
November 1, the solemnity of All Saints;
December 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception;
December 25, the solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Whenever January 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, or August 15, the
solemnity of the Assumption, or November 1, the solemnity of All Saints, falls
on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass is abrogated.

I did find information where the bishops were given permission to move Ascension Thursday to Sunday, but I cannot find permission for removing the HDO for January 1st.

Could someone please explain it?

My son has been Confirmed!

2007-12-04T17:07:00.000-06:00

December 4,2007 - Feast of Saint Barbara

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Robert W. Finn, Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph, conferred the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation at Our Lady of Sorrows Church on the First Sunday of Advent, December 2, at 3:00 PM. A Solemn High Mass was celebrated following the Confirmation, and a reception was held in the Parish Hall afterwards.

My son was one of the 20 Confirmandi. It was a beautiful experience! King Peter's sponsor flew in from another state for this. Thank you Mr. G! I don't think we can ever properly express how much this meant to us!

I will let the pictures speak for themselves. By the way, my dear mother took the pictures, and she had some camera troubles.

More pictures can be found at Old Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Oratory. Wolftracker at Kansas City Catholic has some too. If you know of any more pictures, please let me know and I will link to them.

Just for Jamie - a.k.a. Queen of the World

2007-10-27T15:27:00.000-06:00

Sunday, October 27, 2007 - Feast of Saint Frumentius of Ethiopia

Dearest Queen Jamie,

I beg your forgiveness for the disrespect I showed you by not keeping up with my blog. Please don't cut off my head.

Your humble subject,

BethAlice

Cream cheese crescent rolls

2007-10-03T13:28:00.000-06:00

Cream cheese crescent rolls

One can of crescent rolls
A small portion of the Cream Cheese Feta Garlic Dill Dip

Place crescent rolls flat on a cookie tray, in the shape of a rectangle. Press the seams together, and flatten out the dough a bit. Spread the dip over the entire top. {You will not use much of the dip. You want the layer of dip to be about 1/8” thick, give or take. More if you really like cream cheese, but not so much it will not bake well.} Roll up the dough, starting on the longest side, and working towards the other long side {as if you were making cinnamon rolls}. Bake at 350 degrees, for about 12-20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. {My oven temperature varies, so I could not be more accurate on the time}. Let it cool a bit. Slice & serve.

Another option is to slice it before baking. Set the spirals on their sides, then bake {this will shorten your baking time a bit.}

Cream Cheese Feta Garlic Dill Dip

2007-10-03T13:22:00.000-06:00

Wednesday, October 3, 2007 - Feast of Saint Theodore Guerin

This recipe is from a dear friend.

Cream Cheese Feta Garlic Dill Dip
16 oz cream cheese—I used the light
16 oz sour cream—I used the light
5 oz container crumbled feta cheese
3-5 cloves garlic—pressed and chopped
2 t dried dill
Mix all together.

Goes well with Melba rounds, bagel chips, and other crackers.

Celebration of the Tridentine Mass in the Kansas City-Saint Joseph Diocese

2007-09-17T07:38:00.000-06:00

Monday, September 17, 2007 - Feast of Saint Lambert of Maestricht

The above picture is titled "The Martyrdom of St. Lambert of Liège" - from a Wikipedia entry, which identifies the picture as "Le Martyr de St. Lambert" of the 15th century, but fails to list an artist or provenance.

What a blessed day September 15th became {besides the fact it was also my sister's birthday}! Our bishop, Bishop Finn of the Kansas City-Saint Joseph Diocese, celebrated the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend. Kansas City Catholic and Musings of a Dominican Inquirer were there, and each has an excellent write-up and several pictures.

My dear friend, Jack, was also there. Jack collects relics, items for the altar, and other traditional Catholic items. In fact, he donated several items needed for the Mass.

Jack sent me the following pictures:

These first two show the altar. Notice the empty pews behind the altar. Prior to Bishop Finn coming to our diocese, the Cathedral was wreckovated, and designed to not accommodate the Tridentine Mass. Well, those responsible were wrong. From what I have heard, the Mass was standing room only, but no one sat behind the altar.

Beautiful! What a glorious way to honor Our Lord!

This shows His Excellency Bishop Robert Finn, with Jack, in thanks for lending him the necessary altar items from his collection. Jack said, “It was an honor to be able to help.”

This shows the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, who are in our diocese, with Jack and his sister. Jack explains the story behind the picture:

“Several people have correctly guessed that the nuns are all laughing as Jack
must have told a joke. (They know me) When {the photographer} was counting to
three as he took it, he stopped at "Say..." at which point I shouted out, "Moto
Proprio", much to the sisters' delight.”

And finally, another beautiful picture. This is a father hugging his daughter goodbye, after the Mass. Jack said the father is

“fighting back the tears as he hugs his daughter goodbye. As Mother Superior
whisked her away, he remarked, "Well, I'll get to see her at Christmas."”

Thank you Jack for allowing me to share your pictures!

J+M+J

2007-09-14T13:05:00.000-06:00

Friday, September 14, 2007 - Feast of Saint Notburga

Floating around the blogs, for your enjoyment -

How to give a cat/dog a pill - Or..... When a joke is not a joke

2007-09-09T04:56:00.000-06:00

Sunday, September 9, 2007 - Feast of Saint Peter Claver

I hope everyone had a blessed Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary! Happy Birthday Blessed Mother!

We have two cats. My friend sent the following "joke" - only, it is not really a joke, not if you have had to do it!

I remember one incident in particular. One of the cats had to go on some medicine. The vet warned us to avoid letting the cat taste the pill - for some reason dogs don't mind the taste, but cats HATE it, and remember forever that they hate it! He told us that normally, cats are boarded at the clinic while they are on the medicine, because of the extreme difficulty in administering the pills. I assured him that we could handle it. The first few times there were no issues. Then, the cat tasted it. I will save you from the gory details, but I will tell you that I was eating my words. I was determined to not let this 8 pound creature get the best of me! I came up with a technique involving wrapping the cat in a heavy towel - all of her except her head. It was not easy [mind you, her teeth were still exposed], and it took more than one person, but we did it. She quickly figured out that towels equaled torture & would fight tooth & nail [literally] to get away. One day we were having more difficulty than usual. Someone else happened to be at the house at that time, so I drafted him to help. I gave him the towel to wrap the cat in. The "manly man" he was, he refused it - after all, he was a man & his job entailed working with cats on almost a daily basis. Result? He mopped up his blood with the towel, while I went to get another towel to wrap the cat in. And yes, I enjoyed saying, "I told you so!"

Now, the joke:

How To Give A Cat A Pill
1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.
8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.
9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink 1 beer to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse’s forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.
10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door on to neck, to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw Tee shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
12. Call fire department to retrieve the damn cat from across the road. Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.
13. Tie the little bastard's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Be rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat to wash pill down.
14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
15. Arrange for SPCA to collect mutant cat from hell and call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

How To Give A Dog A Pill
1. Wrap it in bacon.
2. Toss it in the air.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

2007-09-03T05:58:00.000-06:00

Monday, September 3, 2007 - Feast of Saint Gregory the Great

I apologise to my readership, which is sooooo vast [snicker], for my absence. Did you miss me? [pretending is ok] I was busy with moving.

We were unhappy with our former residence. It was not in the best neighborhood. My children were lucky I let them play outside in the yard, but they never could ride their bikes unless I took them to a park. We moved there only a year ago, and since I detest moving, I tried to grin & bear it. Then something wonderful happened. With the help of a friend, I found a lovely place to live in, only 2-3 blocks from the church we belong too! I call it our "cottage'. We get to walk to Mass, and now can attend weekly Mass more often! My children have a larger yard to safely play in, and can ride their bikes. The library is within walking distance too. We will be here for maaaannnnyyy years!

I am so blessed, and VERY thankful to our new landlady for having such a wonderful place for us to live in! I hope she realises what a dream it is for us to live in a place like this, and so near to Mass. She is truly a lovely person, and such a Godsend! I thank God too, as all of this was definitely because of Divine Intervention. I also thank my friend, for her part in all of this.

Mission Impossible?

2007-09-02T10:53:00.000-06:00

Sunday, September 2, 2007 - Feast of Blessed Apollinaris of Posat

[Disclaimer- I am not referring to the movies Mr. Cruise is in, but the story itself. I never was one of his fans, but even less so now.]

In Mission Impossible, the missions, though deemed impossible, are all accomplished. [I am no expert on the story, but let’s pretend I am right]. Is that not the way it is with God?

Today I saw my priest in his cassock. He is a diocesan priest, and not from a traditional order. It is rare to see any priest in a cassock, even less so a diocesan priest. He does not wear his cassock all the time, though I wish he did. However, I have never seen him in anything but his blacks, with his collar [another sad rarity these days.]

My mother [Hi Mom!] is not Catholic. Even she, as a non-Catholic, sees the importance of priests & the religious dressing appropriately. [From here on out, I will use the word “priest”, but it will include priests, and all of those in the religious life such as monks & nuns.] When a priest walks into a place looking like a priest, you see the behavior and respect, of the other people there, go up a notch or more. Not only that, but he is “advertising” his vocation. One never knows when someone is in need of a priest.

I remember a story a former priest told me. He was traveling when he came upon an accident on the interstate. The emergency workers recognized him as a priest [because he was dressed like one] and asked him to come to one of the accident victims. I don’t know how the workers knew the victim was Catholic, but knew he/she needed a priest. Had this priest been wearing street clothes, the victim would have been without the help needed from a priest.

What has this got to do with Mission Impossible? I know this is rambling, but please bear with me.

I think of all the non-Catholics, and fallen away Catholics, that see a priest dressed in his blacks, going about his daily life. What a witness that is! It is much more effective than door-to-door evangelizing, in my opinion. Are we all not called to show our faith by living it? What a privilege it is for a priest to not only live the faith, but also have such an obvious outward sign of it, in the way he is dressed. It has been my observation that the more traditionally the priest is dressed, the greater the effect on others. Who knows when this effect later results in a conversion to the Faith?

I have heard the lame argument that some [far too many] priests dress in street clothes because they do not want attention, and/or want to be treated like everyone else. Oh, poppycock! That is just an excuse to have time off & get out of living their vocation! I am a mother; that is my vocation. I do not get to stop being a mom. I am a mom 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I do not get a day off….never! Do I want some “me time”? Sure! And on rare occasions I get it. Are there times when being a mom seems so demanding? Yes. But the second one of my children needs me, I am there. How can a priest always be available when he does not look like a priest should?

Some say it seems an impossible mission to save many souls, to obtain many conversions, but as I said before, nothing is impossible with God! And He gave us the Church, and priests to help us do this. What better way for them to guide us, than by looking like a representative of Christ!

New Traditional Catholic Website, and Latin Mass Database

2007-08-16T18:11:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine helped to develop this website. She is the woman who interviewed His Excellency Bishop Rifan of Campos, Brazil.

www.thelatinmassnetwork.org

This is what she wrote to me:

Well, this is the project I've been working on. It's a Latin Mass database- you
can search for a Mass near you. We're also going to do articles, links, blogging
and hopefully a social aggregate program-kind of like myspace for Trad
Catholics.

She announced it only a couple of days ago, and she knows there are some bugs to work out - bugs that don't show up until people start using the site.

Enjoy!

Brocade Ring Sling

2007-08-16T15:38:00.001-06:00

Thursday, August 16, 2007 - Feast of Saint Roch

I made another sling for this baby. This one is made out of a single layer of brocade.

Here is a close-up of the lovely fabric.

And the drawstring bag to hold it.

I apologize for the lousy pictures. I would have taken them outside, but it is blistering hot!

Gorgeous Green Tie-Dye Ring Sling

2007-08-10T10:59:00.000-06:00

August 10, 2007 - Feast of Saint Lawrence

I had the pleasure of making another sling. This sling is made out of a green tie-dye cotton, with a slight stretch. The fabric has variegated thread running the length of it. It is a gorgeous fabric, and my pictures do not do it justice.

The sling is fully reversible, and has a zippered pocket in the tail.

Here is a close-up of the decorative stitching I did along one rail/side of the sling. This helps the wearer when adjusting the sling, by knowing which side of the tail to pull on.

And an added surprise, which my friend does not know about - unless she is reading my blog now - I made a drawstring bag to store the sling in.

The baby this sling was made for, is due any day now. Please pray for a safe delivery!

P.s. - I would love pictures of the sling in use!

Is there such a thing as a "charitable comeback"???

2007-08-04T07:26:00.000-06:00

August 4, 2007 - Feast of Saint John Mary Vianney

Is there such a thing as a "charitable comeback"???

There is an older woman at my N.O. who has the tongue of a viper. She is an elderly woman who has a control issue. She used to be in charge of the sacristy - for years I believe. She "retired", but not really (one friend said she will be directing the workings of the sacristy from her grave.) Our new priest (well, not as new anymore) has (unintentionally) put her on the warpath (especially since the recent Motu Proprio - Summorum Pontificum). She criticizes him freely, to anyone who is in earshot, even if it is him. She saw one friend of mine signing the petition for the Latin Mass (supported by our priest, by the way), and chastised her for it, saying some hateful things about it. I have a feeling there would be a lot more signatures if not for her.

I recognize that she is elderly, and often the elderly don't accept change readily. I am also sure that she has done some good things for the parish. But when it comes to obedience to your priest, bishop, and pope, there is no excuse. I have a feeling if Jesus Christ showed up in the church wearing a robe and sandals, she would criticise him for wearing sandals in the church.

Anyway, I have conversations with her, in my head. Trouble is, I am not good at charitable comebacks - though I think of plenty of UNcharitable ones!

Help a girl out! Do you have any charitable comebacks? Those comebacks that refer to the Motu Proprio, and/or support for the Latin Mass, and/or respect for your priest, will be especially appreciated!

Help me out, so I can win these conversations in my head!

P.s. - Our priest is doing "dry runs" of the Latin Mass. I don't know when his first "real run" will be, but you can bet that I will be there!

Bawk! Bawk! Vaccine Chicken!

2007-07-20T10:53:00.000-06:00

July 20, 2007 - Feast of Saint Margaret of Antioch

$75,000 Offered For MD to Publicly Drink Vaccine Additives

Jock Doubleday to Pharmaceutical CEO: "I dare you to drink this. In fact, I will pay you $75,000 to do it!"

Pharmaceutical CEO: "Bawk! Bawk!"

Rotten Apples Award – AT&T / Cingular

2007-07-14T18:14:00.000-06:00

July 14, 2007 - Feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Rotten Apples Award – AT&T / Cingular

AT&T/Cingular has the distinction of winning the first Rotten Apple Award.

We have been loyal customers to Cingular since March of 2001. But now, it seems, they are not loyal to us.

We have a pretty good plan that was paid on time each month, just like loyal customers should. Perhaps not a lot of minutes for some, but perfect for us.

Then in July of 2006, they added a monthly network service charge of $4.99 per line for each TDMA or Analog line of service on the account (we have two lines). While we were not pleased, we remained loyal customers.

I got an upgraded phone, and then went to the AT&T store today to switch from TDMA to the current network. Imagine my disbelief when I found out I would have to sign up for a new plan! One that costs MORE, and with LESS minutes!

So much for loyalty!

I walked out of the store. I will gladly take my money elsewhere. The other companies have similar plans as to what AT&T is now offering (same price, minutes, etc.), but I would much rather give my money to them, than to a company that stabs its loyal customers in the back. There may only be 1% of us still on TDMA, but that amounts to SEVERAL hundred thousand customers!

We are being offered “options” to move to the new network (as if we have a choice), including a free phone. (Whoopee, I already have one, besides nearly all new plans come with a free phone anyway.) AT&T will “allow” us to carry over added features to the new network, but rate plans will not carry over. (If you are still on TDMA, then you probably have an old plan, which usually does not have much in the way of “added features” – at least we do not.)

And I suppose they will charge an activation fee too…..ugh……….

Zucchini Casserole

2007-07-13T17:05:00.000-06:00

July 13, 2007 - Feast of Saint Margaret of Antioch

From my wonderful step-mother -
(My comments on making it meatless are in red)

Zucchini Casserole

2 pounds zucchini (chopped) (I do half zucchini & half yellow squash)
1 medium onion (diced)
Simmer in water until tender and then drain

Add
1 stick oleo (that would be butter or margarine - I prefer butter!)
1 cup shredded carrots
1 8oz carton sour cream
1 8oz pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup (cream of mushroom for meatless)
1 box chicken stove top dressing (I found some stuffing mix that was meatless - read the ingredients carefully)
(I also added 3 eggs for protein for a meatless dish that is to be a main dish.)

Combine well and place in greased casserole dish.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 min.

Hope you have good luck with it, it is one of the best I have ever tasted.

Summorum Pontificum, and Praying for the Jewish People

2007-07-10T07:38:00.000-06:00

July 10, 2007 - Feast of Saint John of Tobolsk

I am sure you have all heard of the recent motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum , graciously given to us by the Holy Father, regarding the wider use of the Tridentine Mass. I have not posted on it until now, because I have been so busy reading other people’s blogs.

Well, not surprisingly, there are issues.

The American Jewish Committee released this statement yesterday –

July 9, 2007 - New York - The American Jewish Committee expresses its appreciation to Pope Benedict XVI for his confirmation that the positive changes of Vatican II will apply to his recent decision regarding the Latin Mass, which has been reinstated by the Church. "We acknowledge that the Church's liturgy is an internal Catholic matter and this motu proprio from Pope Benedict XVI is based on the permission given by John Paul II in 1988 and thus, on principle, is nothing new," said Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's international director of Interreligious Affairs. "However we are naturally concerned about how wider use of this Tridentine liturgy may impact upon how Jews are perceived and treated."
Pope Benedict XVI, in a decree issued on Saturday, authorized wider use of the traditional Latin Mass, which in some liturgy contains language offensive to Jews.
"We appreciate that the motu proprio actually limits the use of the Latin Mass in the days prior to Easter, which addresses the reference in the Good Friday liturgy concerning the Jews," Rosen added. "However, it is still not clear that this qualification applies to all situations and we have called on the Vatican to contradict the negative implications that some in the Jewish community and beyond have drawn concerning the motu proprio."

The above response is the most level-headed I have read. But. I wonder, does no one do his or her research? The media has been all over this too!

First, there are those who complain that the revival of the Tridentine Mass will revive an old Good Friday prayer that prays for the conversion of the Jewish people, and calls them “perfidious”, which they consider offensive.

Then, there are those, having done a little more research than the previous group, who also complain the Tridentine Mass will revive an old Good Friday prayer that prays for the conversion of the Jewish people, but they get the “perfidious” issue correct, saying the word was removed. They are still offended, just by the fact that there is a prayer for their conversion.

First, let us look at the prayers of the 1962 missal (the one approved to be used in the Tridentine Mass), and the current missal:

1962: For the conversion of Jews. Let us pray also for the Jews that the Lord our God may take the veil from their hearts and that they also may acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, you do not refuse your mercy even to the Jews; hear the prayers which we offer for the blindness of that people so that they may acknowledge the light of your truth, which is Christ, and be delivered from their darkness.

NEW: Let us pray for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant. Almighty and eternal God, long ago you gave your promise to Abraham and his posterity. Listen to your church as we pray that the people you first made your own may arrive at the fullness of redemption.

No mention of the word perfidious. So that knocks out the first group. But, let us look at the definition of the word.

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Perfidious - of, relating to, or characterized by perfidy
Perfidy - the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal

The Jewish people do not believe in Jesus Christ. So to Christians (Catholic and Protestant), does that not mean they have no faith in Jesus Christ? They are “faithless” when it comes to Jesus Christ? This reminds me of when my brother and sister and I were children. I called my brother Sebastian, and he thought I was calling him a bad name, just because he thought it sounded bad.

Now, let’s look at the other “issue” of praying for the conversion of the Jewish people. The new prayer still has us praying for their conversion!

“that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant” – That they may grow in their love and faith and come to accept and believe in Jesus Christ.

“we pray that the people you first made your own may arrive at the fullness of redemption.” The redemption being believing in Jesus Christ.

It is no secret that Jewish people do not believe in Jesus Christ. Nor is it a secret that those of us who do believe in Him, pray for those who do not believe in Him. We would be hypocrites if we did not pray for them. This does not mean any disrespect to the Jewish people, but only shows our love for them, that they may come to see the truth. I do not agree with anti-semitic hate crimes, and that is not what this is.

I realise people may be upset with this issue, but all I ask is that they sit back and think about it, not letting their anger get in the way. Does anyone like hypocrites? If you do not agree with us, shouldn't we at least be respected for not being hypocrites?

I wonder, do the Jewish people pray for our conversion? While I do not agree with their viewpoint, I am not going to go around saying I am a victim of prejudice. I’d rather worry about the price increase in services I get at the auto shop just because I am a woman.

Pooh Sling

2007-07-07T14:24:00.000-06:00

I finished another sling - this one for another dear friend. I had so use fabric scraps to lengthen it, as the initial piece was not long enough. (Oh, and please forgive me for the poor quality pictures.)

It is fully reversible

I put a zipper pocket in the tail of the sling. You can see it in the picture below.

I added a decorative stitch to one of the rails (edges) of the sling. This aids with adjusting the sling.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them

If you need a custom sling, please contact me.

Summorum Pontificum

2007-07-04T08:41:00.000-06:00

July 4Th, Feast of Saint Ulric

From Rorate Caeli -

Motu Proprio
Summorum Pontificum
This is the name of the motu proprio which establishes the liberalization of the Traditional form of the Roman Rite and rules for its implementation, according to I.Media, which has confirmed that it will be published on July 7, 2007.

Nice coincidence for those of us living in the United States. that on the day we celebrate our country's independence, we also hear of the independence of the Latin Mass.

Roast Beef in Rich Wine Gravy and Roasted Mushrooms

2007-07-01T15:10:00.000-06:00

Here is another recipe from my very dear friend, Rose in Malta -

Big roast beef
Fresh thyme
large, assorted mushrooms
red wine
beef/meat/chicken stock (i make my own from all the bones etc, but an organic cube will be fine)
3 red onions
3 cloves garlic
water (to add to gravy, if needed)
salt/pepper
basil or any herbs that compliment meat dishes

Take the beef joint and rub the 2 garlic cloves and salt and pepper all over it. Stuff thyme inside the string (if it is around the beef) and rub in too. Leave beef for a few hours.

In a large frying pan, saute the onions, garlic and more thyme for 5-7 mins until lightly cooked. Add 2 large glasses of wine which will cook off, leaving a beautiful smell. Then add the stock, ladle by ladle. To make the gravy thicker you can add a little cornflour. Add salt and pepper and a bouquet garni.

In a separate pan saute the mushroom (sliced but quite large) in some olive oil and butter. Add thyme, garlic and salt and pepper and leave.

Place beef in large dish and cover with the red wine gravy and the sauteed mushrooms. Cook in hot oven (170c) for one hour, but do check.

before serving add lots of fresh herbs on the meat.

Homemade Sangria

2007-07-01T15:04:00.000-06:00

This recipe is from new and very dear friend who lives in Malta! Her stories of food, and the traditional Mass, make me want to move there!

This is her recipe for Sangria -

I have a few varied recipes, all tried and tested of course, but here's the usual one;

I bottle red wine
2 lemons
2 limes
2 oranges
chunks of pineapple
2 or 3 teaspoons of brown sugar
I glass of orange juice
small shot of brandy
mint or other fresh herb of your choice!

Place wine into pitcher. Squeeze juice of the fruits and then cut into neat wedges and add to wine. Stir is sugar, orange juice and brandy. Mix carefully and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving. just before serving add fresh herbs, this is an added ingredient!

Thank you dear Rose!

Chocolicious Rice Krispie Treats

2007-06-28T18:49:00.000-06:00

The classic treat with a twist. An easy favorite!

4-5 tablespoons butter

4 1/2 - 5 cups mini-marshmallows

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

5 1/2 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispies

Melt butter in large, deep saucepan over low heat.

Add marshmallows, stirring constantly.

When marshmallows are 2/3 of the way melted, add chocolate chips.

Stir just until completely melted.

Remove from heat and add Rice Krispies.

Stirring until well coated with the chocolate marshmallow mixture.

With damp hands (get hands wet & shake off excess water), gently press mixture into 13x9 inch pan, lightly coated with butter. (The damp hands prevent the mixture from sticking to you, and allows better control than a spatula.)

Cut into 2 inch squares when cooled & set.

Makes approximately 24 squares.

***UPDATE - I tried this using a cup of WHITE chocolate chips, instead of the semi-sweet, and they were delicious. OK, I will admit that "white chocolate" is not REAL chocolate, and that I prefer a good dark chocolate, but this alternative was very good and a big hit with family!***

Last minute news on the Motu Proprio

2007-06-28T18:33:00.000-06:00

June 28, 2007 - Feast of Saint John Southworth

Rorate Caeli dispels, or rather, explains a recent misconception on the Motu Proprio. You can read about it here.

The Universal Indult Blog had an interesting quote from Monsignor Schmitz of the Institute of Christ the King (originally published in a March ,2007, article in Envoy magazine.)

He also said that the long-awaited and expected motu proprio, at least to his understanding of its most recent contents, allows for every Latin-rite priest to offer the Traditional liturgy publicly. According to various news reports, the exception would be if a bishop who desired to forbid a particular priest from offering it, he would have to put the reasons in writing and gain approval through the PCED. Msgr. Schmitz added that priests who were forbidden from offering the Traditional rite by their diocesan Ordinary could appeal to the PCED for recourse.

OFFICIAL: MOTU PROPRIO on July 7th

2007-06-27T13:38:00.000-06:00

From kath.net -

The motu proprio liberating the Tridentine Mass for the entire Catholic Church has been given to about 30 bishops from all over the world in the Sala Bologna of the Apostolic Palace by Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone
Vatican (kath.net/DieWelt/closedcafeteria.blogspot)Die Welt report that the motu proprio liberating the Tridentine Mass for the entire Catholic Church has been given to about 30 bishops from all over the world in the Sala Bologna of the Apostolic Palace by Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone.
The bishops had been invited to Rome for that purpose. At the end of the meeting, in which the motu proprio was introduced together with a letter of explanation by Pope Benedict XVI., Pope Benedict met with the bishops. The document is about three pages long, the accompanying letter about four. From Germany, Cardinal Lehmann had been invited. The circumstances of the procedure make clear that the Pope was very interested to personally inform the bishops, in collegial manner, of the content rather than from the media. The publication of both documents will take place on July 7th. It emphasizes the unity of the Roman Rite which will consist of an ordinary and an extraordinary form which are supposed to inspire each other. The ordinary/regular form will continue to be the new rite of 1969. The extraordinary form will be the Missal of Bl. John XXIII. of 1962.
The german original

The Cafeteria is Closed has this bit of information on the author of the above article :

Paul Badde is the Vatican correspondent of the German newspaper Die Welt and has written several books on Catholic topics.

Baby, Oh Baby!

2007-06-25T17:46:00.000-06:00

This is my very dear friend's baby. Isn't she adorable? She is in a sling I made for her.

Snug as a bug, next to mum. That is the proud grandma in the background.

Being born is exhausting work!

New Old News from the Institute of Christ the King

2007-06-25T08:59:00.000-06:00

Photos of the Investiture with Choir Habit by the Archbishop of Florence, August 31, 2006

Photos of the Investiture with Choir Habit of the Priests and Oblates serving in the United States, June 14, 2007 at St. Francis de Sales Oratory, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Official photographs of the Priestly Ordinations on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, June 15, 2007 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis.

A press release, concerning the ordinations, from the Institute of Christ the King.

"Four Hours in Heaven" - A document, released by the Institute of Christ the King, giving details of the ordinations.

Let's be frank.....

2007-06-25T07:34:00.000-06:00

Found over at Catholic Mom of 10 -

Mr Blair, joined by his wife Cherie, presented Benedict with a framed set of three antique pictures of Cardinal Newman, who converted in 1845 after more than 20 years in the Church of England clergy and is now a candidate for sainthood. Mrs Blair said: "I believe you are very familiar with him and he is on the journey to sainthood." To which the Pope responded: "Yes, yes, although it is taking some time - miracles are hard to come by in Britain."

This was part of an article titled "Tony Blair given 'a stern lecture'" which you can find here.

Bishop Finn, the 90th Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima, and the Children of the Eucharist

2007-06-25T07:08:00.000-06:00

Found over at Lady in Blue :

On First Friday, October 5 ~ 2007, with an “Apostolic Blessing” from Pope Benedict XVI and in honor of the 90th Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima, ‘Children of the Eucharist,’ an International children’s program of the World Apostolate of Fatima, is sponsoring the next fifth annual Worldwide Children’s Holy Hour.
Most Reverend Bishop R.William Finn of Kansas City, Saint Joseph ,will lead the Holy Hour LIVE from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. EWTN will broadcast the event to 140 nations throughout the world, spiritually uniting the prayers of our children and youth the globe for the families of the world.

You can read more about it here and here.

Closed Lips – 10 ways to avoid gossip

2007-06-25T06:41:00.000-06:00

June 25, 2007 - Feast of Saint Eurosia

The following was in this week’s parish bulletin :

Be Positive – When a person talks about the moral failings of another person, think of something positive to say about that person.
Look before you leap – Carefully consider your words before you speak.
Avoid idle banter – Ask yourself, “What are we accomplishing by this conversation?” and don’t chime in.
Beware of the “news flash” – Don’t let juicy news eat you up. Just bite your lip and prayerfully challenge yourself to be strong in resisting the temptation to gossip.
Question the source – When you hear something that sounds unreasonable, say so.
Change the subject – Find a reasonable way to steer the conversation to something edifying.
Avoid gossips – If you know a person has a propensity to gossip, avoid that person or suggest he or she thinks about the harm he or she is causing others.
Give people the benefit of the doubt – Go out of your way to think the best of others.
Turn to prayer – Suggest that those gossiping about someone turn their attention to praying for the other person, rather than just talking about them.
The buck stops here – When you hear gossip, make a commitment not to spread it.

Oreo Ice Cream Cake

2007-06-24T16:34:00.000-06:00

I made this for King Peter's Birthday. It was a hit! For less than $4, I created something as good as one of those you can buy for $40 or more.

I carton of cookies & cream ice cream*

1 package of Oreos*

Set out ice cream to soften.

Put about half of package of Oreos in a food processor until they are crumbs. Spread the crumbs into the bottom of a 1o inch spring form pan.

Cut ice cream into sections & put them all in a bowl. Stir until soft (but not melted).

Drop ice cream onto crumbs. Do not try to spread it at this point - it will move the crumbs around.

Once all the ice cream is in the pan, and the bottom is pretty much covered with drops of ice cream, press the ice cream into the bottom of the pan.

Level the top out by carefully smoothing it out.

Decorate the top with Oreos.

Freeze.

Reward yourself by eating the leftover Oreos.

*This could easily be changed by using different ice cream, & cookies for the crust - vanilla wafers. graham crackers. CHOCOLATE graham crackers, shortbread cookies, sugar cookies, etc.

Birthday time!

2007-06-24T16:14:00.000-06:00

King Peter's birthday was actually on June 21st. On his actual birthday, I took him and his sister to a local Mexican restaurant called Barbosa's Mexican Restaurant. Delicious!!! This picture was taken at the restaurant - notice the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the background.

We celebrated his birthday with family today. (Hmmm, just noticed he wore the same shirt both days.....boys! LOL) This is the Oreo ice cream cake I made! That's right! *I* made it! Looks (and tastes) as good as those $40 ice cream cakes you can buy (and it cost me less than $4!) You can find the recipe here.

This is the Triple Chocolate Cake that I made for the adults. WOW! It was Very rich & delicious!!!! You can find the recipe here.

Here is one of his gifts - it says "My parents taught me how to walk & talk, Now all they want me to do is sit down & keep quiet!"

And the best part of the day was there is plenty of cake leftover! (It is so rich, a little goes a long way!) I think I will have some for breakfast to go along with my Kona coffee my friend brought me back from her trip to Hawaii.

2007-06-24T09:39:00.000-06:00

Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Fish Eaters has an excellent article on Saint John the Baptist.

Nota bene: today celebrates John's birthday; his death by beheading, or "decollation," will be commemorated on 29 August. This Feast honors the great St. John, the greatest of all Prophets."

The whole article is very interesting. (As is all of the Fish Eaters website. If you have never perused it, you should!)

Here are some things that I found especially interesting:

1) Saint John the baptist was born without original sin.

"It is interesting to note that this Feast is one of only three Feasts that commemorate birthdays, the other two being the birthday of Jesus on 25 December, and that of Our Lady on 8 September. And what do all three have in common? They were all three born without original sin! Our Lord and Lady were both, of course, conceived without sin, but St. John the Baptist, though not conceived in this way, was filled with grace in the womb of his mother, the aged and barren Elizabeth, and so was born without original sin. This is evident by his recognizing the Savior even in the womb, and by the Angel's words to his father, the priest Zachary (Zacharias) who went to the Temple to pray that his wife should conceive."

2) One of the customs is to make a wreath of flowers for your home.

"Make a wreath of flowers that dry well, and hang in your home all year to be replaced next St. John's Day. Alternatively, flowers can be tied together in bunches with beautiful ribbons and hanged upside-down to decorate your home all year."

3) Another custom of burning sacramentals. Sacramentals are not to be "thrown away" when they wear out, but burned, and the ashe buried. One friend of mine buries the ashes near the border of her property. I have an assortment of broken/worn out brown scapulars that we will burn later today (though in a coffee can as we live in the city & cannot build a bon fire.)

"The temporal focal point of the festivities, though, is the building of fires outdoors in which to burn worn out sacramentals and to serve as a symbol of the one Christ Himself called "a burning and shining light" (John 5:35). "

4) What good are customs if they do not involve food?

"As to foods, it's customary to eat strawberries (Our Lady is said to accompany children who pick strawberries on this day). In addition, in Sweden pickled herring, boiled potatoes, sour cream, crisp bread, beer and schnapps are enjoyed, while in Spain they eat figs and a savory pie made with tuna. In Ireland, "goody" is another traditional food -- white bread broken in pieces and boiled with milk, sugar, and spices in a great pot over the fire."

4) The source of Do, Re, Mi, etc. can be found here.

"Another interesting thing about the Feast of St. John: the Breviary's hymn for this day, Ut queant laxis -- the hymn sung or recited during the blessing of the bonfire -- is the source of our names of musical notes -- Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do. The hymn, attributed to Paulus Diaconus (Paul the Deacon, ca. A.D. 720-799), was noted by a monk to rise one note in the diatonic C-Scale with each verse. The syllables sung at each rise in pitch give us the names of our notes (the "Ut" was later changed to "Do" for easier pronunciation)"

5) And finally, and excellent sermon by St. Augustine. You will find it at the end of the article.

Even MORE pictures of the ordinations!!

2007-06-23T08:34:00.000-06:00

June 23, 2007 - Feast of Saint Etheldreda

The Saint Louis Review, the weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, has some very nice pictures here, with a brief explanation of what is happening in them.

The New Liturgical Movement has this link to some exceptional pictures, in one of the articles written on June 20, 2007. (Note, this link also includes some pictures from Saint Francis de Sales Oratory.)

I am a bad sister..........................

2007-06-20T07:31:00.000-06:00

June 20, 2007 - Feast of Saint Alban

A week ago today, on June 13th, my brother had a birthday. I failed to wish him happy birthday. So here goes...

Happy Birthday Chad!!!!

Sorry, ladies, he is married!

P.S. - now I am off to get him an AWESOME gift!

Motu Proprio - Possible Titles (humor)

2007-06-18T11:18:00.000-06:00

I have been quiet on the MP front. I KNOW it will come (and VERY glad for it), but I am tired of the days of "Great Disappointment".

ANNNYwaaayyy..... Simon-Peter Says has a humorous post on possible titles for the MP :

Motu Proprio names:
1. Una Voce - With one Voice: appropriate if slightly disingenuous.
2. Magister artis ingeniique largitor venter - Necessity is the mother of all invention.
3. Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione - I'm not interested in your dopey religious cult. For the Novus Ordos.
4. Sentio aliquos togatos contra me conspirare - I think some folks in togas are plotting against me.
5. Da mihi sis bubulae frustrum assae, solana tuberosa in modo gallico fricta, ac quassum lactatum coagulatum crassum - Give me a hamburger, french fries, and a thick shake. Ooops, sorry, that's the Novus Ordo communion hymn.
6. Lege atque lacrima - Read 'em and weep. For the Novus Ordos.
7. Me iudice - I being judge; in my judgement.
8. Salva veritate - With truth preserved.
9. Veni vidi duci - I came, I saw, I calculated.
10. Pone ubi sol non lucet! - Put it where the sun don't shine! For the Novus Ordos.
11. Recedite, plebes! Gero rem imperialem! - Stand aside plebians! I am on imperial business!
12. A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi - A precipice in front, wolves behind (between a rock and a hard place).
13. Me oportet propter praeceptum te nocere - I'm going to have to hurt you on principle. For the Novus Ordos.
14. Damnant quod non intellegunt - They condemn what they do not understand. Against the Novus Ordos.
15. Lux et veritas - Light and Truth.
16. Melius tarde, quam nunquam - Better late than never.
17. Noli nothis permittere te terere - Don't let the bastards get you down.
18. Nill illigitimi carborundum - Do not let the bastards get you down II.
19. Sic friatur crustum dulce - That's the way the cookie crumbles. For the Novus Ordos.
20. Veritas numquam perit - Truth never perishes.
21. Poli, poli, di umbuendo - Slowly, Slowly we will get there.
22. Raptus regaliter - Royally screwed. For the Novus Ordos.
23.Vos vestros servate, meos mihi linquite mores - You cling to your own ways and leave mine to me.
24. Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum - Garbage in, garbage out. For the Novus Ordos.
25. Solitudinem fecerunt, pacem appelunt - They made a desert and called it peace. For the Novus Ordos.

NOTE : I do not dislike "Novus Ordos" (I am one myself half the time, & a TLM attendee the other half). To me, "Norvus Ordos" as used above, are those who are rabidly against the MP.

Chocolate Truffle Tart, & Triple Chocolate Cake, & Dark Chocolate Fondue

2007-06-18T10:03:00.000-06:00

Delana, over at Traditional Catholic Mom, posted these WONDERUL, YUMMY, CHOCOLATE recipes!!!

Chocolate Truffle Tart
Extremely rich, this dessert is wonderful and would go well with a glass of wine or just a glass of milk!

Crust:
1/3 cup butter, of margarine, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 T unsweetened baking cocoa
Filling:
1 bag (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 pint (1 cup) whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg yolks
Topping:
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 T powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch glass pie plate. In medium bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in flour and cocoa until coarse crumbs form. With floured fingers, press in bottom of pie plate. Bake 5-7 minutes or until set.
In double boiler set over hot simmering water, heat chocolate chips 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Gradually add 1 cup whipping cream, stirring constantly, until combined. Stir in vanill and egg yolks until well blended. Cook over medium-low heat 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened and hot. Pour filling into crust. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or until firm.
In medium bowl, beat 1/2 cup whipping cream and the powdered sugar with
electric mixer on high speed 1-2 minutes or until soft peaks form. Place in
plastic baggy and snip off corner with scissors. Pipe whipped cream onto refrigerated tart. Refrigerate. Serve.

Triple Chocolate Cake
(This is a picture of the cake I made. This is VERY rich & delicious!)
This cake is fantastic! I made it for my husband and dad for Father's Day, and both of them loved it! If you choose to pour the Chocolate Ganache over the top of it (which I highly recommend!) then I would call it Four-ple Chocolate Cake (a little Bill Cosby humor for ya!). When pouring the Chocolate Ganache over the cake, there will be plenty that runs off the cake. Catch it below on a plate, and dip a few strawberries in it to add as garnish to the cake! By far, one of my favorite desserts I've cooked so far!

Cake:
1 pkg. devil's food cake mix
1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 8 oz. container sour cream
4 large eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) chocolate instant pudding mix
Chocolate Ganache:
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12 cup fluted tube pan; set aside. Combine all cake ingredients into bowl and stir with wire whisk until ingredients are blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour or until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a double boiler set over hot simmering water, heat chocolate chips and whipping cream. Stir until completely melted. Pour over cake, making sure to put a plate underneath to catch the drippings. Wait until ganache has "set" to serve.
I used a double boiler on low heat (water should NOT boil at all - no more than 212 degrees F).
Pour in chocolate chips & cream at the same time. Stir until melted.
My research says that the optimum temp for pouring is 85-90 degrees F, but mine did fine at a 100-110 degrees. My research also said it keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (I am thinking of the sneaky trips to the kitchen, when dc are not around, to have a spoonful of gnache! LOL)

Dark Chocolate Fondue
Dip whatever you like in this fondue! Strawberries, apples, kiwi, pound cake, marshmallows, pretzels...the list goes on and on!

8 oz. bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped
8 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped
1 pint (2 cups) whipping cream
1 T vanilla

In a 2 quart heavy saucepan, heat both chocolates and the whipping cream over low heat, stirring frequently, until cream is hot and chocolate is melted. Stir with wire whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour into fondue pot. Keep warm with fuel canister on low heat.

ENJOY!

Ordinations of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in Saint Louis, Missouri

2007-06-18T07:27:00.000-06:00

June 18, 2007 - Feast of Blessed Osanna Andreasi

The ordinations occurred on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 15, 2007. I wanted to go, but my car had other ideas.

Kansas City Catholic had this picture of the ordinations, and many more.

Rome of the West had this picture, and many more.

As for me, I did not have the privilege of attending. I dear friend of mine did, and described it for me. After reading it, I felt like I was there. I had tears in my eyes. What joy these men must be feeling! What a blessing to all of us to have two more holy priests to guide us. Here are some excerpts from what she wrote:

"The Mass on Thursday night started with the reception of the choir habit for all the priests stationed in the U.S. and the reception of the St. Francis de Sales Cross for all the oblates. You can see some pictures of this Mass at http://www.blogger.com/"
(snip)
(Then on Friday morning) "I must say that it was pretty impressive to go to St. Francis that morning tho. There are 7 altars on that church ~ and there were 7 priests saying their private Masses all at the same time. What a sight! The TLM
in stereo!!!!!"
(snip)
(Later in the day, at the ordinations) "The ordinations were the most breathtaking event I have ever been to. We sat pretty much toward the front, which was very lucky, for there were over 1,100 present. It was held with all the pomp and circumstance which the occasion called for. There were processions and blessings and all kinds of prayers ~ all with the most significance which can be had on such things. Time flew ~ literally. It certainly didn't feel like a 4 hour ceremony."
(snip)
"I was going to wait to get my blessing on Saturday, but decided against it and got my first blessings from our newly ordained priests that day. I am so glad I did!!! It was the most glorious moment of the whole weekend!!!!! I went up and knelt and waited for the new priests to move down the line and get to me. The first was Fr. Avis, whom we have known a few years"
(snip)
"He gave me his blessing and I kissed his hands. Then I looked up to him and said "Thank you, Father" and he was literally beaming. I have never in my whole, entire life seen any person look so tremendously happy. Not a bride. Not a groom. Not anyone. He was aglow with such a wonderful happiness which exhuded from every pore. I can cry just typing this. To think that a few hours before I could call this young man "William" and from now on he has totally changed and I have to call him "Father". To think that his immortal soul has been so totally transformed forever into an Alter Christus. And to think that this brings such joy to him and all of us around him. It was almost too much for a soul to bear ~ and to think that I am not even a close friend of his, much less family!

Then, Fr. Talarico came by and gave me his blessing. When I said "Thank you, Father" he looked down at me and said "No, thank you ....... for your prayers!" I can't imagine a greater joy than to have such young men close to my heart. I have prayed for them for years and seeing them as priests is the fulfillment of many prayers and aspirations. God is just too good!"

Yes, He is!!

There are more pictures at Lost Lambs (including pictures of Father Avis' first mass) - he also has a video of the ordiantion (part 1 is posted, and now working; part 2 is soon to follow I assume.)

How to live....

2007-06-13T20:30:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Anthony of Padua

Sent to me by my mother (not sure where she got it) -

"Live in such a way, that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, "Oh, hell, she's awake!"

Field Trip to a One-Room Schoolhouse

2007-06-10T12:28:00.000-06:00

Feast of Blessed Edward Joannes Maria Poppe

The end of May, the local Catholic homeschoolers got together for a wonderful field trip (hat tip goes to Jodi – Thank you!) It was almost an hour drive, but well worth it! We went to a one-room schoolhouse – Mt. Gilead School in Kearny, MO.

This is what the Clay county government site has to say about it:

Mt. Gilead School, Kearney, Missouri, operated for over 100 years until it closed its doors in 1946. The original school was a log structure built in 1835. The present two-story schoolhouse, built in 1879, replaced the log structure.

Mt. Gilead School had two teachers until the 1920s. The younger children were taught upstairs, while older students made use of a classroom on the first floor. Historians believe that Mt. Gilead was the only school west of the Mississippi River to continuously hold classes during the Civil War. Accounts of life at the school suggest that teachers would dismiss classes to watch marching soldiers. Mt. Gilead functioned as an academy for several years after 1860, offering courses in Latin, Greek, and music. Classes continued until 1946 when Mt. Gilead was consolidated with the Kearney School District. Clay County acquired the historic site in the mid 1980s and restored the school in 1998.This popular field trip requires advance reservations. For information on fees or to schedule a field trip, contact Clay County Historic Sites at (816) 628-6065.

Here is another site that mentions the school, and with a picture.

The schoolhouse is as authentic as it can be, and still meet modern day health & safety codes. The teacher dresses in period garb. The children are encouraged to come authentic too – from garb, to their lunches wrapped in wax paper & carried in a tin bucket. The school was run as if it was the late 1800s. When a student answered a question, they had to stand next to his/her desk. The boys & girls were seated separately. There was even a dunce cap! The parents sat in the back of the room – we were called the “school board”.

The teacher incorporated the history of the time period into the lessons for the day. The day started with the clang of the school bell.

She asked them how they got to school (and “by car” was not an acceptable answer as there were no cars then.)

She recited a poem while one of the students played puppet master.

They had music class in the church next door – and one of the dads was recruited to “direct” the band. (By the way, she can play a “mean” flute!)

After lunch they played some old-fashioned games. Here King Peter & Queen Lucy are in a race to see who can roll barrel hoops the fastest.

There was even a scavenger hunt – the children looked for symbols on the gravestones in the historical graveyard.

At the end of the day, they had a spelling bee. King Peter won for the boys. “No big deal! He was the oldest one there.” – some may say. But spelling is his hardest subject, and one he struggles with a lot! The joy on his face was priceless! One I will always remember. I had tears in my eyes (and I do every time I think of it, even now.) His prize was an old-fashioned Quill pen. He does not have as many opportunities for success as his sister does, so this was a HUGE deal!

At the end of the day, everyone posed for pictures.

Thank you Miss Green for a WONDERFUL day!!!

The Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest, Got New Threads!

2007-06-09T16:37:00.000-06:00

Feast of Blessed Joseph Anchieta

Matthew, at The Shrine of the Holy Whapping, wrote & posted pictures of the Institute's new "threads".

Feast of Corpus Christi; Feast of the Body of Christ - June 7th, 2007

2007-06-09T14:57:00.000-06:00

Feast of Ephrem of Syria

Feast of Corpus Christi; Feast of the Body of Christ - June 7th, 2007

It was BEAUTIFUL! They did not do a procession outside, but inside the church. (Not sure if that was the intention in the beginning, or because of the weather.) The Mass was BEAUTIFUL! Oh, did I say that already? The choir was like hearing angels singing. Frankly, the whole thing overwhelmed me (in a great way!) It brought me to tears to see something so beautiful being offered for Our Lord! (Such Masses always do this to me, whether here or at our other parish, Saint James in Saint Joseph with Father Totton). And seeing the children receiving their First Holy Communion, was very moving too - reminded me of my own dear children's FHC.

I got only one picture (and a lousy one at that) because my compactflash card in my camera went on the fritz. This is one of the procession -

King Peter & Queen Lucy were with me, and were very well behaved, even at the end of two plus hours.

Below are some quotes from others who were also there. I agree with everything they say, but they put it much more eloquently than I.

Rae at Quo Vadis...? wrote

".....the choir sang in such beautiful polyphony that often I would close my eyes, trying not to lose a single phrase--and then snap them open as I recalled that beautiful things were happening at the altar, too! We adored the Blessed Sacrament for so long that, by the end of Benediction, my knees had never ached so much... And afterward, at the reception (hosted by the Confraternity of Christian Mothers), the wine and fruit punch were exceptional."

Joseph at Musings of a Dominican Inquirer wrote

"Tonight’s Mass was especially important for the eleven children celebrating reception of their First Communion, a very important day in the life of any Catholic child. Celebrating tonight’s Mass was Msgr. Gilles Wach (Founder and Superior of the Institute) with Fr. Dennis Buchholz (Pro-Rector) as Deacon. His Excellency, Bishop Robert Finn (Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese) and Msgr. Michael Schmitz (Vicar General of the Institute) were present, as well. The Solemn High Mass was most beautifully celebrated, and was followed by Adoration, Procession, and Benediction. Unfortunately, the Procession and Benediction had to be inside due to inclement weather. It was everything that the Traditional Mass should be, and was most transcendent. I have a difficult time putting into words what the experience was like."

Augusta at Traditional Catholic Mom wrote

"Yesterday marked the Feast of Corpus Christi. What a day! We were honored with the presence of some very special guests at Old St. Patrick Oratory! Bishop Finn graced us with his presence, gave the sermon, and lead Benediction and the procession! Msgr. Guiles Wach flew in all the way from Italy, literally arriving right before the Mass started. Msgr. Schmitz accompanied Msgr. Wach and did a fantastic job of translating for him!"

Wolftracker at Kansas City Catholic wrote

"On Thursday, June 7, 2007, this year's traditional Feast of Corpus Christi, a High Mass at the Old Saint Patrick Oratory (home of the diocesan Latin Mass community) was said by Monsignor Gilles Wach, Superior General of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. The traditional Latin Mass was followed by a Eucharistic
Procession and Benediciton (held indoors due to inclement weather). His Excellency Robert W. Finn, bishop of the Kansas City--Saint Joseph diocese, led the procession and Benediction. During Mass, eleven Oratory children also made their First Holy Communion. Bishop Finn gave the homily."

Here are links to the above posts and many more wonderful pictures!!!
http://dominicanmusings.wordpress.com/2007/06/08/more-photos-from-corpus-christi/
http://dominicanmusings.wordpress.com/2007/06/09/full-collection-of-corpus-christi-photos/
http://traditionalcatholicmom.blogspot.com/2007/06/feast-of-corpus-christi.html
http://kansascitycatholic.blogspot.com/2007/06/feast-of-corpus-christi-2007-old-saint.html
http://quovadiscatholic.blogspot.com/2007/06/corpus-christi-feast-for-senses.html

EENS - Extra Ecclesia Nulla Sallus - Outside the Church there is No Salvation

2007-06-06T20:49:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Marcelino Champagnat

EENS is an acronym for the Latin phrase "Extra Ecclesia Nulla Sallus" which means "Outside the Church there is No Salvation. It is church doctrine. But because humans can be so dense, it has had to be defined THREE times by THREE different popes! (One time is enough to make it doctrine.) Anyway, Father Z over at What Does the Prayer Really Say? wrote a post on today's papal audience regarding the Holy Father's comments on EENS and how it may/may not relate to the motu proprio & the SSPX.

Man tries to hitch a ride with the Holy Father

2007-06-06T20:19:00.000-06:00

Feast of Blessed Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan

I am sure you have already heard about the man who jumped the barricade at the papal audience, but just in case CNN (Communist News Network - so called by my dear brother) had a write up on it as well as a video.

Here are some of the more humorous tongue-in-cheek comments on it in the blogs. (if you know of more, please share.)

From Uncovering Orthodoxy -

I’m sure that when they get this all sorted out they’ll find that the individual was simply a traditional Catholic blogger hoping to finally settle all these Motu Proprio rumors once and for all.

From Simon-Peter Says -

Some crazy -- probably an honorary male member *cough* of the Sisters of obfuscation of the Woolly Cardigan (we have met them before), upset at the incipient Motu Proprio -- launched himself into the Pope Mobile today right behind the Holy Father. I am sure he was just going to discuss a Bach fugue, or the divine right of extra-ordinary ministers of unholy confusion, rather than cause harm.

"Rudy, are you listening? It's me, God!"

2007-06-06T07:30:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Norbert

-------------------

From Reuters

Electrical glitch worries Giuliani at debate
Tue Jun 5, 2007 9:51PM EDT

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (Reuters) - An electrical glitch at a debate of Republican presidential candidates had Rudy Giuliani joking on Tuesday that he was about to be struck by lightning for differing with a Catholic bishop.

An electrical sound interrupted Giuliani, a Roman Catholic, as he was trying to answer a question from debate moderator Wolf Blitzer of CNN about a Rhode Island bishop who compared him to Pontius Pilate for his views on abortion.

"Look, for someone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a very frightening thing that's happening right now," Giuliani chuckled.

Giuliani, who is leading national polls in his party's presidential race, has drawn fire from conservative critics for not being a stronger opponent of abortion.

"My view on abortion is that it's wrong, but that ultimately government should not be enforcing that decision on a woman," he said.

(snip)

I saw the news clip on this debate on TV. He may have "chuckled", but it was a nervous chuckle. I pray he takes this seriously. Divine Intervention - Gotta love it!!!

Super Heroes!

2007-06-03T19:18:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Clotilde

I snagged this from a dear friend's blog, Against All Heresies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is it a bird?

Is it a plane?

No....

But our super heroes wear capes too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks Mary!

Go see for yourself!

2007-06-03T10:28:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Kevin

I don't get to read the blogs like I would want to, but today I succeeded at procrastinating on work at home (hey, it's Sunday after all), and wandered over to the Curt Jester.

I wanted to refer to some of his posts, but which one? How about the undocumented pope? Or the bored game (pun intended)? Or perhaps the one on modern debate? There is also the Gospel According to Luke Skywalker! Oh, just go see for yourself - you will not regret it!

New Category - Mommia Awards - Lasko Fans

2007-06-02T08:16:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Bernadine Realino

I have wanted to do this for a while - have a special category for things or places that I think go over and above excellence. (If you have a nomination, please let me know.)

Lasko Fans - first recipient of a Mommia Award

I cannot praise these fans enough! I was looking for a tower fan a few years ago, and bought this one.

It was a little more than I wanted to pay, but I bought it anyway - and I am so glad I did! These are the features:

Wind Curve/model 2554
This innovative fan allows you to sit back, relax and take a breath of fresh air. With its sophisticated Wind Curve Profile, Fresh Air Ionizer technology and oscillation, this fan provides fresh air throughout your entire room. Ideal in your home or in the workplace, the Wind Curve utilizes minimal space while providing maximum air distribution. And to top it all off, it comes with a remote control, 3 quiet speeds, and a convenient electronic timer for up to 7.5 hours. You’ll wonder how you ever got along without it!
High-Reaching Tower Design for maximum Air Delivery
Fresh Air Ionizer Option
Convenient Electronic Timer Set from 0.5 - 7.5 Hours
3 Quiet Speeds
Multi-Function Remote Control
Oscillation
U.L. Listed

This fan has great air circulation without "blowing you away". I would almost swear it has an air conditioner in it, as the air blowing out seems cooler than in other fans. The nature of a tower fan is such that you can place this in a corner, and it still works great! Talk about "space saving design" - this fan has it! Oh, and this is the quietest fan I have ever heard!

Recently we moved from a home with central air, to an older home without it. Not only that, but all of the bedrooms are upstairs. It quickly became clear we needed more fans for the bedrooms. The store was out of the aforementioned fan, though they did have another Lasko fan. Since I could not get the model I wanted, I decided to try other brands. Folks, let me tell you, the other brands are NOT worth it! I bought one brand, and then took it back. I tried another brand, and back to the store it went too. Finally I bought the Lasko fan, model 2517 (not on the website). It is very similar to my preferred model, but lacks the Fresh Air Ionizer - no big deal, as we are not a stinky family (or so no one says).

While I like this model MUCH better than any of the other brands I tried, it is not as good as the Wind Curve, in my humble opinion, though it is very close. Perhaps I am just picky (hush Mom!) It seems SLIGHTLY louder, air circulation is SLIGHTLY less effective, and the air does not seem as cool. Perhaps it is the Fresh Air Ionizer (though I do not know how that would affect things); more than likely it is a difference in design. All that said, Model 2517 is my second favorite fan, a close second to the Wind Curve.

After perusing the website, my next purchase will be a Lasko window fan. I have 17 windows in this place. Perhaps if I keep the air circulating, I can keep down the use of the energy hogging window air conditioner units.

Embracing Grief (was "Surviving Grief")

2007-06-01T06:53:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Gracia

(Note - I changed the title - see KimB's comment to find out why.)

A dear friend is going through a difficult time. She wrote this to me:

There is one line from a prayer called "indulgenced Prayer for a Christian Family" that I often think of at times like this. It is, "Preserve us and our house from all evils and misfortunes, but grant that we may be ever resigned to Thy divine Will even in the sorrows which it shall please Thee to send us." While we are very saddened by this, we know it's God's will.

I am always amazed at how Catholics handle grief, compared to non-Catholics. It is because we realize God sends us crosses because he loves us. Shocking concept if you are not Catholic (or, sadly, not properly catechized). I know I already posted about this subject, but I think it bears repeating.

John Mallon wrote some interesting thoughts in his article Grief: The Journey Takes Time. He wrote about a Jewish psychiatrist, Auschwitz survivor, and eventually Catholic convert, Victor Frankl, who wrote a book titled Man’s Search for Meaning. In it he wrote that if we could find meaning in our suffering, then we could use that suffering to strengthen ourselves, survive, and become better for it.

Mr. Mallon also wrote:

For the Christian the ultimate meaning of our suffering is found in the Cross of Christ — where the greatest evil that ever happened—the murder of God — Deicide — resulted in the greatest good that ever happened: Redemption. Philosopher Peter Kreeft calls this “God’s jujitsu.” God used the force of the devil’s own evil to defeat him. We can endure evil and suffering. We can, with great suffering, adjust to evil’s results (although perhaps we should never adjust to evil itself).

There are numerous references to the purpose of suffering in scripture. Some that caught my attention are:

Hebrews 12:11 - Now all chastisement for the present indeed seemeth not to bring with it joy, but sorrow: but afterwards it will yield, to them that are exercised by it, the most peaceable fruit of justice.

And -

1 Peter 5:10 - But the God of all grace, who hath called us into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you.

And probably my favorite (though not listed on the aforementioned site) -

John 16:21 - A woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

Pope John Paul II wrote about suffering in his Apostolic Letter "Salvifici Doloris"(On the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering); as did Saint Augustine in The sufferings of Christ are not in Christ alone. St. Therese of Lisieux wrote Joy in Suffering.

Having been raised a protestant, I know how they handle grief. For protestants, it is a much sadder event. That is not to say Catholics do not become sad, we do. But there is a difference, Catholics look at suffering as a gift from God – that he gives us these crosses because he loves us. I feel sorry for those who do not know this, because it does bring great comfort. I tried to find sources on the differences between Catholics and non-Catholics when it comes to suffering, but was unable to find them. I am sure they are out there, so if you know of any, please post them in the comment section.

I will close with some quotes from some saints (thank you Rebecca) –

"Suffering is the very best gift He has to give us. He gives it only to His chosen friends."~ St. Therese of Lisieux
"God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering."~Saint Augustine
"We always find that those who walked closest to Christ were those who had to bear the greatest trials."~St. Teresa of Avila

Horrible News!!! I think?????

2007-05-23T07:28:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint William of Rochester

I wanted to write about the HORRIBLE news about the spike in chocolate prices, but the link is dead & now I cannot find any reference to it. BUT I did find this!

Shoe deal: Payless buying Stride Rite

Could this mean we can buy those shoes (Stride Rite, Keds, Sperry Top-Sider, Tommy Hilfiger Footwear, Saucony and Robeez) at Payless??? Or will the deal affect the quality of the shoes?

I remember when Thom McCann had their own shoe stores (there used to be one at the local mall). Now you can find them at K-Mart. I think the quality is just as good as it was when they were their own store. Let's hope this is the case for the above mentioned shoes - what a blessing it would be to be able to buy inexpensive shoes that are also cute and well made!

Shear Madness!

2007-05-16T18:45:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Brendan the Navigator

Once upon a time, there was a homeschooling mom, Mommia, who had two children, Queen Lucy & King Peter. Along with academics, she tried to teach them the merits of hard work, and skills that would build their characters. One day she heard of a homeschool family that was new to the area. They had a farm, Quiet Waters Farm, where they offered for sale organic produce, hormone free meat, wool, and much more. Mommia wrote this family to see if they needed any help on the farm; she was always looking for places to volunteer with her children & what better place than on a farm!

Oh the joy! the day she got a reply. There would soon be a sheep shearing & they would need help. King Peter & Queen Lucy were most excited.

The day dawned bright & sunny. Out in the country there was a nice breeze. They arrived early enough for King Peter to make friends with the owners’ son, and for Queen Lucy to make friends with the horses. There was even time to feed some of the lambs a bottle with the owners’ adorable granddaughter.

At first, Queen Lucy helped to pick the burrs, stick, & grass off the sheep, as they passed through the chute waiting to get their hooves trimmed.

King Peter's job was to help keep the sheep still, while the adults trimmed the hooves.

Meanwhile, a skilled shearer sheared the sheep (yes, there is a real, live sheep under all of that wool.)

One of the owners, a lovely lady named Jean, "skirted the fleece". Mommia helped carry some of the fleece over to the table, and boy did she itch! Who would ever have thought something so soft would itch so much! It was worth it, as her hands ended up soft from all of the lanolin.

Soon it was time to do the llamas & alpacas! Queen Lucy got to walk them around as they waited to be sheered.

...and walk them....

...and walk them. (Let's just say she was in her element!)

That is going to make some lovely fiber!

The day ended with a delicious meal, fresh cows milk, and great friendships!

THE END

P.S. - There was no "madness" as it all went smoothly, but how could I resist a catchy title?!?!?!?

Have a Blessed Mother's Day!

2007-05-13T10:40:00.000-06:00

Feast day of Our Lady of Fatima

(Sorry, blogger is not letting me upload anything else right now - I will try to remember to post an image of Our Lady of Fatima later.)

“The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God, is the heart of a mother.”
—(Thérèse of Lisieux)

While you are wishing your mother on Earth a happy Mother's Day, don't forget your mother in Heaven!

Mary, Mother of God and our mother, Happy Mother's day!

Happy birthday Mom!

2007-05-05T16:06:00.000-06:00

Feast of Pope Saint Pius V

Today is my mom's birthday!!!!! Doesn't she look great?!?!?!

Motu Proprio - Will the days of "Great Dissapointment" soon be over?

2007-05-01T11:50:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker

I wrote in a previous article about the Motu Proprio. I was discussing it with a priest who asked me if I knew any Jehovah Witnesses. Umm, no, not personally. He told me about the day of “Great Disappointment” when the end of the world and the second coming of Christ was predicted – that it was a day of great disappointment when that day came & went (and came & went, and came again, & went, etc.) He related that with the many predictions that have come & gone concerning the Motu Proprio.

Well, this article gives us another prediction. It says the Motu Proprio will be released on May 5th, the feast day of Pope Saint Pius V.

“That is apparently the date Pope Benedict has chosen for his announcement of
the lifting of restrictions on the celebration of the beautiful Latin Tridentine
Mass, introduced by St Pius in 1570.”

While I am glad that this is coming out, I am not sure how much affect it will have. The Motu Proprio is supposed to give any priest who wants to say the TLM the right to say it, without getting permission first from their Bishop. But don't you think a Bishop, if he really does not want the TLM said, will find other ways to control it?

That said, in the Orange County, California diocese, the bishop ended the TLM a few years ago in a controversial way. That same bishop has now allowed a "trial" TLM since it has become clear the Motu Proprio is coming out. Brown nosing?????

4 Year Old Logic :o)

2007-04-30T13:40:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo

A friend related this story to me....

I took my daughter & her little brother to the park today. There my daughter (4) met her friend (5) and he friend's smaller sister (2). Her friend's mom is expecting again and had her 20 week scan yesterday. So naturally we were inquiring and they are having another girl.
My daughter asked her friend, "Didn't you want to have a baby brother? Did you not pray hard enough? Why did God send you a girl?".

Her friend: "There was nothing wrong with my praying".

My daughter: "Oh" [thought for a minute] and then said "God must be out of boys at the moment - you know, that happens" :)).

Tonight my daughter was saying her night prayers and adds in a real casual voice: "I was told you might be out of boys, God. If you have any spare girls, please send me one!".

The Pleasure of Being a Mom

2007-04-28T07:56:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Louis Marie de Monfort

OK, this is the first time I have heard this one....

One morning recently, King Peter was ignoring me, & did not do what I asked. When I didn't ignore his ignoring, & enforced what I said, he did it but was mouthy. So I sent him to his room. While going up the stairs, all the while still being mouthy, he said "You are doing this just to give yourself pleasure!" LOL! I had to cover up my laughter lest he think I got pleasure from it!

BFF?????

2007-04-26T08:10:00.000-06:00

Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel

So, Queen Lucy & I are looking at t-shirts at one of the 'mart' stores. One of them was a cute pink shirt with "BFF" on the front. I knew it was an abbreviation of some sort, and probably part of the text-message generation, but did not know what it meant.

Queen Lucy pipes up, "Best Friends Forever." DUH! I looked at her with surprise (meanwhile, thanking God it meant something nice).

(Disclaimer - this is not the shirt. The socially inept do not carry their cameras everywhere they go. But if you like it, you can find it here.)

She does not do instant messaging on the computer, in fact, she does not do the Internet or email, nor does she have a cell phone. And to make matter worse - we do not have cable television or a "dish". GASP!

I asked her, "How did you know that? I thought I kept you safe & secure in the cave we live in!"

I guess I need to do a thorough inspection of our cave, filling in any gaps, because we all know homeschool children are socially inept & should not know such things.

My Godson's Traditional Latin Baptism

2007-04-23T15:03:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint George

I have been remiss in posting about my adorable Godson. His baptism was last month. It was done in the Traditional Latin Rite. This was my first traditional baptism; it was so beautiful and full of meaning - so much more than the "modern" version.

Here we are, Father, moi, my Godson, and his parents. (He is wearing the same baptismal gown my son wore at his baptism.)

The Popcorn King & the Chilidog Queen & a Yard Sale

2007-04-22T17:50:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Leonidas of Alexandria

This past Friday found us at the assisted living facility that my Grandma now lives in, Vintage Park (part of Vintage Group). I have written before how wonderful this place is. Well, it continues to impress me!

Last Friday they had a yard sale. They use the funds from this to pay for special activities for the residents. The owner bought two wonderful tents that made the sale so much better (thank you Joe!) However, they were almost without tables. One of the employees was able to find some at the last minute. I had volunteered our services (what a great community service project for my children.). My son got out of bed at 7am the FIRST time I told him to get up (but then he was doing it for his great grandma, and not for his own mother of course). We made it there by 7:30 am.

King Peter was put right to work, hauling things out. I was helping to organize. Queen Lucy went with her Grandmother to the dining room. After awhile I went to check on my darling daughter to make sure she was behaving herself. I find her seated at the table sipping hot chocolate, the center of attention. They have assigned seating in the dining room, and every seat is filled, but there she was, sitting in a chair pulled up to the corner of the table. Grandma told me that the ladies at the table would not settle down until a chair was found for her.

About mid-morning, King Peter was put in charge of the popcorn machine (they were also selling popcorn, chili dogs, and drinks). When Queen Lucy heard of this, she insisted on helping. It was not long until she was in charge of the chilidogs. They took turns at handling the money. I must say, they worked quite well with each other. I will admit, I was not out there the whole time (Grandma was not feeling well so I would keep her company), so if there were any problems, no one told me. When it came time for lunch, they took their lunches in shifts, so that the stand was manned the whole time.

The employees were very attentive to my children, making sure they got plenty to eat. They even got ice cream sundaes in the afternoon (so did I!) The residents were kind to my children, and even got my normally shy daughter to talk to them. The person in charge of the sale thanked my for bringing my children to help. I told her that her allowing my children to help was a far bigger benefit to my children. By her allowing this, she helped me to provide another character building opportunity. It was a wonderful day in many ways! My only complaint – they need coffee with caffeine!!!! (I am not addicted, surely not!!!)

P.S. - We had ribs for lunch the day of the sale. They were melt-in-your-mouth WONDERFUL. Later that afternoon, I saw them preparing the soup for supper that evening - Cream of Broccoli Soup from SCRATCH! No "institutional food" here!

Autism and The Church

2007-04-18T18:27:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Perfecto

Man, I was all fired up to make a really good blog post on this, when I read it this morning, but now it is at the end of the day and I am not quite so fired up (not sure if I am even warm).

The Arizona Republic wrote an article titled “Church Denies Communion to Autistic Boy”. I remember reading an article years ago about a family who left the Catholic Church because their daughter had Celiac Disease and could not consume gluten. They complained the Church would not allow a communion wafer made from something other than wheat. I remember being outraged at this, because there were no accommodations made for this girl (though I knew it was not a good reason to leave the church). I have since learned the Church was correct in this matter. Canon 924 of the Code of Canon Law states that the host (communion wafer) cannot be made of anything other than wheat and water. If it is made of something else, or another ingredient is added, then it is invalid & does not turn into the Body of Christ. At one time since then, we thought we were facing Celiac Disease. It was suggested to us that the Precious Blood be received. Christ is truly present under both kinds, so really, only one is needed. In the case of this girl and her family, I do not know if this option was offered to her. I can only guess they were not properly catechized in the Faith. (By the way, there is a gluten free host now available, and approved by the Church.)

Regarding the article, I support the Bishop’s position. I am Catholic and I have a child with Autism, so I feel especially qualified to speak on this.

First, let me make this perfectly clear, the Bishop is NOT denying communion to this boy, it’s just that he cannot approve the method the boy receives communion.

The article states that the boy does not swallow the Host because of the texture, yet he can put it in his mouth. I fully understand sensitivities to textures. Obviously the boy has learned to tolerate putting the Host in his mouth, so I think with proper therapy, swallowing will come. Perhaps the parents have tried this, or perhaps they didn’t because they thought they had this other option. I have seen texture sensitivities improve with proper therapy; unconsecrated hosts can be bought & used in therapy.

But there are bigger, more important issues here. I will quote a friend of mine because she said it best

I say, thank heaven there's a bishop out there willing to stand up and enforce the rules which protect the Eucharist from desecration! This is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Savior. If this little boy is unable to consume the host, he is unable to make a communion. Tragic, but factual. A man with no hands cannot become a priest nomatter how badly he wants to. Nobody's fault, just can't be done. We all have to bear the difficulties of our circumstances. It makes me curious as to whether this Bishop denies communion to the publicly pro-abortion politicians in his diocese...

She went on to say

If you begin to allow novelties in the reception of communion, even for excellent reasons--- hygiene, health, whatever----suddenly you are faced with all manner of demands for special considerations; and reverence for and belief in the True Presence erodes, which leads to more abuse, which leads to further disbelief, and on and on in a downward spiral----until we have today's situation, where only a small fraction of Catholics even believe in the True Presence anymore. (And very few of the bishops seem to be among them.) Once we no longer have God at the center of our religion, where are we then?

I don’t blame the family for being angry. Here they are, they thought they had found a method that works. No one says anything about it, then one day someone does say something. This is another example of poor catechism. I, too, have been denied communion. I went to a new church, but the priest refused me communion because I was receiving improperly. I was receiving as I always had, but no one bothered to teach me – to show me my way was irreverent. Once I was properly catechized, I understood, but at first I was not happy about being refused. I thank the priest now for refusing me so that I could find a much more reverent way to receive Our Lord.

It needs to be noted that the diocese has really tried to accommodate the family – from trying different forms of hosts (though they all contain the same two ingredients, there is still a vast difference in how they are made) to offering respite care.

I have had my own struggles within the church, in regards to my child and how others treated him – not with the faith, as I knew I had found the truth. But I think you will find that everywhere. There will always be battles to fight, battles to win, and battles to admit defeat.

This is really rambling – I should have written earlier when I had more energy. I just want to say one more thing. Don’t we tell our children to follow the laws, even if we don’t like one of them? Don’t we teach them to do their best in whatever they do? Is it no different in this situation?

American History & Cheerleading

2007-04-16T15:39:00.000-06:00

Feast of Bernadette of Lourdes

According to Wikepedia (and we all know they are THE source for "accurate" information), cheerleading is

an activity that uses organized routines made up of elements from gymnastics, dance or performance stunting/action to cheer on sports teams at games and matches, or to compete at cheerleading competitions.

Well, it is also great for academic reasons.

Queen Lucy was studying for her chapter review test in American History. For once, she took my advice, and read the questions at the end of the chapter first, before reading the chapter the first time. She comes to me complaining about how MANY more terms & definitions this chapter has compared to the previous chapters. Now, I could have played the mean mommy card & ordered her back to her desk to get to work on them, but instead a moment of insanity came over me. (At least, that is what my children called it.)

I began shouting & jumping in the air - cheering my daughter on! I drew on my memories of a few years ago (OK, many years ago) to make up a cheer telling her that I knew she could do it, complete with kicks & jumps. So what if it looked like I was having a seizure, I was cheering my daughter on! Queen Lucy, fearing I would go into another fit of apoplexy, turned on her heel & went back to her desk to do her work. I think she was in shock. Hey! It worked didn't it?!?!?!?

WARNING - Do not attempt this yourself without medical supervision!

The Easter Bunny - A.K.A. Aunt Diane

2007-04-14T14:27:00.000-06:00

Feast of Peter Gonzales

Easter Sunday started by going to Mass. Dinner was to be at my mother's, so after changing clothes, we headed over. We get there & my mother, E-Ma to my children, had NO Easter candy for them! Doesn't she know that is in the job description of a grandmother?!?!?! My own grandmother was also there, G-G to my children, and did not bring candy - but she had a good excuse of being in the hospital just before. I had no candy for them either - time flew by & I was not prepared (which is especially sad because we gave up sugar for Lent & the three of us were really looking forward to some sweets.) I had King Peter call his aunt to see if the Easter Bunny went to her house instead. (She was coming to dinner too, but had not arrived yet.) She asks to talk to me, saying she wished the Easter Bunny had given her some notice.

Dinner is almost ready & Mom & I are wondering where my sister is. Mom calls her. Diane is at the store "looking for that dern Bunny!" HA HA! We figure that is a good excuse for being late. We ended up having to start dinner without her because my grandmother needed to eat. We had just sat down when my sister walks in the door. Hanging out of her pockets are two chocolate bunnies - she said she had left her coat in the car, and when she got in it this morning, she found the candy in her coat's pockets. Of course this thrilled my children - until I told them they had to eat their dinner first! She also came bearing Easter gifts for our grandmother, mother, & I - potted Lilies (Queen Lucy has taken it upon herself to make sure mine gets proper care as I tend to forget about my plants.)

My children & I are the last to leave. I had already taken Grandma home, & my sister was not feeling well due to a pain in her neck (and no, I was not the "pain in the neck" - she had it before she came) so she left early. My children get into the car & what do they find? Two huge Easter baskets filled with the coolest eggs (not the ordinary, cheap plastic eggs) with candy, and a small toy!

Thanks to my sister for tracking down that "dern Bunny!"

Send a Birthday greeting to Papa!

2007-04-13T18:17:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to ask you to send a birthday greeting to the Holy Father. His 80th birthday is April 16th!

A Catholic Comic book

2007-04-13T15:56:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Hermengild

WOW! I love it when I find old, solidly Catholic literature (at least this appears to be so). I found out about this one from Dust of the Time.

This comic book, Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact, is stored online by The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives, part of The Catholic University of America.

This is what the site has to say about this comic book -

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 is a project that will include the first eighteen volumes running from 1946 to 1963. Volumes 1-3, 5-12, and 15-18 have been digitized with volumes 4, 13, and 14 to be added soon.

Wait until I show my children! Perhaps this will move me from "Mean Mommy" to "Favorite Mommy" status. Of course I am their only mommy, but whatever!

Christ is Risen!!!

2007-04-08T17:19:00.000-06:00

Easter!

Our wonderful priest taught us an Easter greeting - popular among the Greeks. We are not Greek, but I am sure they won't mind if we use the phrase.

One person says, "Christ is risen!"; and the other person responds, "Truly, He is risen!"So...............................................................

Christ is Risen!!!

(hint - now it is your turn)

P.S. - Here it is in Latin & Greek
Christus resurrexit! Vere resurrexit! – Latin
Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti! – Greek
(Thank you Candice for these translations)

Mommia's Hashbrown Casserole

2007-04-07T06:59:00.000-06:00

Holy Saturday

Here I am, posting a meatless dish - at the end of Lent - late as usual. But, since we, Catholics, are required to abstain on ALL Fridays (not just during Lent, though outside of Lent you are allowed another form of penance if you cannot abstain - but abstaining is the universal law), I think it will still be of some use.

I took a basic recipe & put my twist on it. This could be a meatless main dish for Fridays, or side dish, or add Ham for an easy meal for other days of the week

Mommia's Hashbrown Casserole

1 can cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)
16 oz. sour cream or cottage cheese
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 eggs
1 medium onion, chopped
pinch of black pepper
Ham, chopped (leave out for meatless of course)
2 lbs hash browns, thawed
1/4 cup melted butter (reserve for later)

Mix the first 6-7 ingredients in bowl, then add the hashbrowns. Put into a greased 9x13 casserole dish & bake (375 degrees) for about 30 minutes. Drizzle 1/4 cup of melted butter on top, and bake for about 10 more minutes.

I added the eggs and an extra cup of cheese for more protein. I liked the result & think I will leave it that way, even when adding ham.

Excessive television causes Autism?

2007-04-06T09:57:00.000-06:00

Good Friday

Excessive television causes Autism? An interesting theory, one that is causing quite an uproar in the Autism community. What qualifies me to comment on this issue? I have a child on the Autism Spectrum.

First, let me give a very basic description of the Autism Spectrum – I say “basic” because it is a disease with a wide range of symptoms from child to child. One thing that really bothers me is when people assume they know what you are going through, or how your child should be treated, just because they know someone who has a child with autism.

From the Autism Society of America:

“Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. One should keep in mind however, that autism is a spectrum disorder and it affects each individual differently and at varying degrees.”

There are five diagnosis under the umbrella in the Autism Spectrum (formally known as Pervasive Developmental Disorder). My child is what some would call on the “less affected” end of the spectrum. I beg to differ. Yes, he is very intelligent, but I think that can cause even more problems when people think he can control his behavior because he is so intelligent (this was actually said to me by the school district.) Don’t make an assumption until you have walked a mile in my shoes.

Back to the theory. Good Morning America recently did a segment titled “Controversial New Theory Links Autism to TV”. Michael Waldman, a Cornell University economics professor, recently wrote a research paper on this resulting from his own experience with his child. This has caused some rumblings in the Autism community. I think there is some truth to it, though I do not agree fully with him.

His theory is “Excessive TV viewing by children with a genetic disposition to autism makes them more likely to develop the disorder.” He first became interested in this when his own child was diagnosed with Autism. He had noticed his son had been watching a lot of television. When the television was turned off, there was no immediate noticeable change, but after several months his son’s problems were gone.

The first thing to notice here is he is not saying television causes Autism, only it may be one of the triggers for those with a genetic disposition to it. I have heard similar theories about other “triggers”. I think the danger here is the "Refrigerator Mother" Hypothesis of Autism – that is, lack of parental warmth causing Autism. We all know that hypothesis has been disproved, but what is to stop people from thinking that if too much TV causes Autism, then it must be the parent’s fault for allowing their children to watch this much TV? I strongly agree that too much TV is bad for everyone; in fact, even a little TV can be bad (especially with what the media is putting out now). I also think we can all agree that using the television as a babysitter is not a good thing (even if it is only watching educational programs). To say television causes Autism is ignorant, but I don’t think he is saying that.

I do not think television caused my child’s autism. I don’t focus on the cause, but on the treatment. However, I do tend to think there was a genetic disposition, and something triggered it – the vaccination he got when he was one day old, or the double dose of the MMR before he started school, or the freon gas I was exposed to while pregnant with him…only God knows. I DO think television (or computer, or any other device that limits interaction with other people) makes it worse. When he watches TV, or plays a game on the computer, he gets locked into his own world. Short periods, of about an hour or so once in awhile, don’t seem to cause problems, in fact, I use the TV or computer as one of his motivators for good behavior. Any more than that, and there are problems with focusing, listening, eye contact, conversation skills, frustration, tantrums, rigidity, etc. Spending one night at someones home where the TV & the computer is used a lot more, results in a host of problems when he comes home. It is like he is stuck in his own world, and it is a battle to get him out. He needs interaction with other people. He also needs to expand his interests beyond those he is hyper-focused on (like TV and computer), even if those other interests are initially unwanted by him. Yes, it is easier to let him watch TV, but is it better for him?

The article goes on to say that Mr. Waldman “found a statistical connection between high autism rates and areas of the country that experienced bad weather — areas where kids were more likely to be indoors, watching TV.” My first thought was I wondered if he considered a lack of Vitamin D (its largest source coming from the sun) to be an issue. Vitamin D deficiency is not uncommon, especially when the weather is poor, or people spend a lot of time indoors (using sunblock is also a factor). In fact, most of us are probably deficient in this vitamin. Research is showing we need much more than the current RDA guidelines (please see this excellent article that was in Reader’s Digest). The Vitamin D Council says

“Current research indicates vitamin D deficiency plays a role in causing seventeen varieties of cancer, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects and periodontal disease.”

Who’s to say that the lack of Vitamin D does not also play a roll somewhere in Autism? There is already a lot of research showing a connection between a deficiency and neurological disorders.

I agree with Mr. Waldman when he said, “I think we should look under ever single, plausible stone." Perhaps we should focus on limiting television as part of the treatment, and not on too much television as the problem.

What do you think?

Are We Raising "Academic" Kids?

2007-04-03T08:36:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Irene

This is the title of an excellent article directed towards homeschoolers. First, before I share it, I wanted to pen some thoughts of my own.

In answer to the question in the title of this post, of course we are. But there is SO much more to learn besides academics. If all that was taught was academics, then all we would have are a bunch of computers with legs. One needs to build the child's character too. Who do you want to build your child's character? Yourself? Or ninety-one other people? (That would include the teacher, the thirty students, and the student's parents who have an influence on the students.) We all hear the news; we all have seen ill behaved children; we have all met rude teens (one only needs to look behind the counter at a fast food establishment). Are those the type of people you want teaching your child? Yes, I have heard the argument “they will get exposed to those people sooner or later.” My reply is, why not wait until the child has proper discernment? Why not build a strong foundation first? Why not expose the child little by little, and be by his/her side to help, to explain it all?

I need to be clear here – my children are not saints, not yet anyway. Are they ever ill behaved? Of course. Are they ever rude? Yes. The difference is that I am there to correct them. A teacher in an over-crowded classroom cannot do that. She/he doesn’t even have the time to teach all the academics that are needed.

Academically, my children are strong. It is their characters that impress people the most. They love spending time with their grandparents and great grandmother, helping them and not expecting or wanting anything in return. This carries over in how they treat other adults, like offering to help an elderly woman put her groceries into her car. Recently, my children saved their money for quite awhile. They each had a special thing in mind to purchase. Adults frequently commented on how impressed they were about this, as they are so used to children expecting things to be given to them. (As I write this, I had to stop to correct one of my children for slamming a door in anger. See? No saints here….. not yet. But I am working on it diligently.)

Let us not forget the old, tired argument of “but they need to learn social skills”. Go back to the middle of my second paragraph – are those really the social skills you want your child to learn? Besides, it’s not as if we live in a cave. We go to Mass, get together with other homeschool families, go on frequent field trips, etc.

Ok, enough of my ramblings. Here is the article by Amy Pak of Home School in the Woods. She was kind enough to give me special permission to post it here. Please read the article, she expresses it all much better than I can. Thank you Amy!

Are We Raising "Academic" Kids?
I remember when we first began homeschooling our children in the mid 90s. The key question every relative, neighbor, and even church-going friend was concerned about was, "Can you really educate your children? Will they have all the academics that they need to enter the world?" Of course, we would proceed to give a blow-by-blow of the language and math that we were teaching in whatever grade they were in (to see how it compared with what was being taught to their public school peers) and I began to notice a "testing" of sorts when they were with my children. They would ask academic questions of them to see what they knew and what they didn't know--questions you just didn't ask children in everyday conversation...and usually when they thought I was out of earshot. As the years progressed, I found that yes, the "reading, writing, and 'rithmetic" were an important part of our day, but being with my children 24/7 was giving me much more exposure to their attitudes, their mannerisms, and a front seat to how they dealt with each other as siblings and made choices and decisions in many situations. There were many opportunities to not only correct a selfish gesture or a mean-spirited remark, but several conversations arose regarding how to prepare oneself for the world, for being a respecter of persons, for choosing the right path, and most of all, for molding one's character to be more Christ-like. From the smallest thing as a person's attitude we'd see on T.V. to how we saw another child conduct himself in a store, everything became a topic for discussion to learn about what we, together, observed. THESE were crucial learning times! And had my husband and I not been with my children as much as we were, teaching them from the home, we would not only have missed all the golden moments of opportunity, but I have no doubt we would have lost them daily to the values and influences of their peers and others of whom I know nothing about.
My daughter just approached me the other day with a serious revelation that had dawned on her. Among the many friends she has at church, some are homeschooled, but several are not and it is obvious in their choices and comments. Thoughtfully, she told me, "Mom, I fight myself not to conform to the "popular" friends in the group. I am so glad that among them I have great role models who hold to a higher calling. If I had not been homeschooled, I know for a fact I'd be in trouble... I know I'd have been listening to them rather than to you, but I can see where they are headed! And I know that they should be making wiser choices and it's frustrating to watch...and that could've been me.
"Wow! This took a lot for her to say, as not only was it a reality check for herself (and a confession of sorts), but for her dad and me as parents! And to know that all those moments we had spent sculpting and polishing her character all those years are now reaping a reward. She has eyes to see and ears to hear. All of a sudden, the academics don't seem to have the weight they carried before. Yes, they have their place, but there is a bigger lesson to be taught here... Foundation of character and moral values, the life-long striving to be Christ-like. As John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." As I pondered what my daughter told me as she left the room, one comment hung like a warm ember in my heart: "All I know is, I'm so glad I've been home with you!"
With two more rowdy boys with years still ahead of them until manhood, I thanked God for that inspiring word from my "could-have-been-prodigal" daughter. And with that, I take a deep breath, say a prayer, and turn to take the next step on the path He has set before me.
By Amy Pak
Hands-on Teaching Tips! is a division of Home School in the Woods. No content may be removed or used without permission from Home School in the Woods.

Move Aside Von Trapp Family!

2007-04-02T18:46:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Ebbe the Younger and Companions

I have been wanting to post this, and since I should be straightening up my studio, I thought now is as good of a time as any!

I feel as if I have found a buried treasure - right in my backyard! There is a local Catholic homeschooling family that is extremely talented. I have known them for quite sometime, and have seen their talent grow & develop. Apparently I have been living in some cave not to have realised how incredibly talented they are, even producing CDs! Von Trapp family move aside - there is a new family in town - introducing.......

Chamber Music

I wish I knew how to post a music clip so that you could hear their wonderful talent. If you go to their website, they have a track of music on just about every page.

They are not only talented, a God given gift their mother says in an interview with Theresa Thomas:Everyday Catholic, but they are the epitome of a holy, Catholic, homeschooling family - well-behaved, well-educated, and more importantly, living their faith to the fullest! One only needs to go to their website, and click on their About Chamber Music page to see what I mean. The oldest will soon be attending university, so this may mean the end of their apostolate (and I do consider it an apostolate because they bring so much joy to so many). I hope God provides a way that we can continue to benefit from their talent.

EZ-Bake Oven For Your Computer!

2007-04-02T14:51:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Francis of Paola

Queen Lucy got an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas, as yet, unused (she just got the gift due to a conflict in schedules between us & the gift giver). A friend had warned me it was recalled. I was looking online to see if I could find the recall info when I came across an interesting item - ThinkGeek's PC EZ-Bake Oven. From their website:

Tiny Cakes = Big Fun!
One of our primary missions here at ThinkGeek is discovering ways to live happy and productive lives while expending a minimum of energy. Who wants to waste time and effort getting up to grab a snack from the fridge or walking to the bathroom? Thankfully, there are already gadgets that take care of those tedious chores for you.
Our newest contribution to the "No effort, No problem" craze is also a throwback to one of the toys we loved as kids. Who can forget the joy of mixing up a tiny cake mix and cooking it with the warm glow of a light bulb? We didn't seem to care that it was only about 3 bites worth - it was damn tasty, and homemade with our own grubby little hands.
Now the computer savvy among us can relive the fun of having your very own personal mini-oven with the PC Ez-Bake oven! It fits in a 5 1/4" drive bay and plugs right into your power supply with the included Molex connector. Also included is "PC Ez-Cook", the open-source oven controller software with hundreds of easy and creative recipes for your PC Ez-Bake oven, and even a fuzzy-logic cooking control system to precisely measure the doneness of your cake, cookie, or cheese souffle. The PC Ez-Bake oven can even be used to cook your Pop Tarts, Bagel Bites, or any tiny or flat food. YUM!

If that is not enough to convince you to park one of these puppies into your drive bay, they also offer a Caffeinated Meatloaf (comes dehydrated) Mix, and "Special office friendly recipes including "Duck Sauce Packet Tart", "Vending Machine Casserole", and "Non-Dairy Creamer Creme Brulee" " Emeril Lagasse, watch out!

Motu Proprio - Can it be true????

2007-04-01T16:12:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Catherine of Palma

From Roman Catholic Blog

Rorate Caeli reports that in an interview for the cover story (pages 56-60) of Le Figaro Magazine (weekly magazine of the French national daily Le Figaro), published today (not yet available on the newspaper's website), Cardinal Bertone has confirmed that the impending motu proprio allowing for the wider use of the Missal published in 1962 by Pope John XXIII, with its own calendar will be published.
Here's the story: Breaking news: Bertone confirms motu proprio
Here's the quote:
Is a Decree widening the possibility of celebrating the Latin Mass according to the rite from before Vatican II (the so-called Mass of Saint Pius V) still expected?
[Secretary of State] Cardinal Bertone: The merit of the conciliar liturgical reform is intact. But both [for reasons of] not losing the great liturgical heritage left by Saint Pius V and for granting the wish of those faithful who desire to attend Masses according to this rite, within the framework of the Missal published in 1962 by Pope John XXIII, with its own calendar, there is no valid reason not to grant to every priest in the world* the right to celebrate according to this form. The authorization of the Supreme Pontiff would evidently preserve the validity of the rite of Paul VI. The publication of the motu proprio which specifies this authorisation will take place, but it will be the pope himself who will explain his motivations and the framework of his decision. The Sovereign Pontiff will personally explain his vision for the use of the ancient Missal to the Christian people, and particularly to the Bishops.
The USCCB has also confirmed that the motu proprio is expected soon: Tridentine Mass: Pope looks for bridge to tradition

For those who think the "traddies" are taking over the world (we wish!), check out Amy Welborn's Motu Proprio Tip Sheet.

Palm Sunday

2007-04-01T05:56:00.000-06:00

Feast of Blessed Ludovico Pavoni

Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. I think this is one of my children's favorite Masses because they get a palm. (And maybe one the mothers like the least - only because we are constantly trying to get our dear children to leave the palms alone during Mass, and not wave them in the air at Father.) It puzzled me why this long skinny leaf would entrance them so. Then it occurred to me, children have an innate sense of what is good. Palms are sacramentals. I think they realised this before they were taught this. Perhaps this year we will actually weave them.

Palm Weaving

2007-03-31T17:17:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Acacius

Since Palm Sunday is tomorrow, I thought I would post some links to some wonderful sites about Palm Weaving.
http://www2.jsonline.com/lifestyle/people/apr00/palm041600.asp
http://www.geocities.com/salvarolac/craft01.html
http://www.italiansrus.com/palms/palmpatterns.htm
(Thank you Donna for the links.)

Here is some information on Palm Branches being used as a sacramental.

You, too, can become a Minister/Reverend/Pastor!

2007-03-30T07:33:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Leonard Murialdo

As I was perusing eBay for a traditional baptismal certificate, I came across an auction that leaves me almost speechless! (A hard thing to do, my mother would say.)

I will mention here some highlights:
“We believe women have the same right to be ordained as men.” WOO HOO!
“Obtain an honorary Doctorate and be entitled to use the title Doctor or Dr. before your name and the honorific of Ph.D after your name!” - Will this get me more respect from my children?
“Earn the respect automatically accorded to members of the clergy.” – Does this include the clergy discount?
“Lead, (even create your own!), religious ceremonies and rites as a legally ordained member of the clergy.” – My first ceremony will include the use of chocolate!

This is all made possible by Archbishop, R. Lueders Ph.D. D.D. of Saint Cecilia Ministries. They also offer a “Master of Wicca Studies Degree”. Saint Cecilia must be “rolling in her grave”.

American Girl Place - Elitist?

2007-03-29T10:19:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Saturus

(This story has become great fodder for the blogs and elsewhere - like the Consumerist. Read original post here.)

Sigh.... just another sign of our materialistic society.

I am a mother of a girl who is not interested in AG, or any doll for that matter (she is a huge animal lover). She does have a couple of “fake” dolls that she will occasionally play with when she is with her cousin (who is an AG fan, but not anymore!)

If only AG dolls are serviced, then they need to clearly state that in their advertising – “-bring your favorite AMERICAN GIRL doll.” They also need to train their little worker bees on proper etiquette. I hold AG responsible for this – they hired the “stylist”. Perhaps they didn’t know how rude she could be, no matter, AG needs to take responsibility.

That is another problem with our society – no one wants to take responsibility anymore. Everyone wants to pass the buck.

Recently, my son wanted a Nintendo DS. I cannot afford it, but I would not have bought him one anyway. There is a valuable lesson to be learned in a child paying for something him/herself. My son saved up his money over birthdays & Christmases (he would have had it sooner, but he also has to help pay for the care for his cat, and McDonalds or pizza if he wants it.) He didn’t want the PSP – he saw it was quite a bit more expensive, and he was pleased with the DS. He finally got it. And you know what? He is taking excellent care of it! By doing this, he impressed the adults around him, who are used to seeing teens expect things to be given to them.

My daughter wanted a new bike (doggone it but she outgrew her old one). She sold her old bike, and also saved her money. She looked around, carefully avoiding the Bratz bikes, nor was she interested in the fanciest. Like her brother, she wanted to get the most for her money, while still paying the least. She just bought her bike, and boy is she proud! Prior to this, she didn’t have a very good appreciation of the value of money. Now she sure does!

I make a lot of sacrifices in order to stay home and homeschool my children – sacrifices I gladly make. My children do not have a lot of toys, but the ones they do have, they appreciate & play with frequently. Nothing collects dust around here. Except for my cleaning supplies from lack of use, but that is a whole other post for another day.

Woman stopped wearing girdle of live crocodiles

2007-03-28T08:43:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Guntramnus

This is too funny not to share. I originally found this at this cool blog.

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A woman was caught with three crocodiles strapped to her waist at the Gaza-Egypt border crossing after guards noticed that she looked "strangely fat," officials said.The woman's odd shape raised suspicions at the Rafah terminal in southern Gaza, and a body search by a female border guard turned up the animals, each about 50 centimeters (20 inches) long, concealed underneath her loose robe, according to Maria Telleria, spokeswoman for the European observers who run the crossing."The woman looked strangely fat. Even though she was veiled and covered, even with so many clothes on there was something strange," Telleria said.The incident, which took place on Thursday, sparked panic at the crossing."The policewoman screamed and ran out of the room, and then women began screaming and panicking when they heard," Telleria said. But when the hysteria died down, she said, "everybody was admiring a woman who is able to tie crocodiles to her body."

For the full story go here.

Ratzenfreude

2007-03-25T17:44:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Dismas

I love this so much that I am adding it to my links on the left!

Ratzenfreude
http://doxaweb.com/ratzenfreude.html

Homeschoolers Song

2007-03-25T06:25:00.000-06:00

Memorial of Emilian Kovch

Enjoy this tongue-in-cheek song about homeschooolers. My only complaint is it needs to be longer!

NOTE: I have had some people question why this is funny. It is SARCASM folks! It is making fun of the people who make fun of homeschoolers. I am a homeschooler. I would never post anything against homeschooling. Lighten up!

Homeschoolers Song

Parental Authority - Bishop John Vaughan

2007-03-16T07:16:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Julian of Anazarbus

I found this at Natural Catholic
http://www.naturalcatholic.org/articles/bishopvaughan.html

Parental Authority - Bishop John Vaughan

The following was written in 1913 by Bishop John S. Vaughan of Sebastolis, and published in Time or Eternity? - and Other Preachable Sermons. It gives expression to so many sound Catholic principles for parenting that we decided to reproduce it on our website.
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"He that shall scandalise one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better that a millstone should be hanged about his neck and that he should be drowned in the depths of the sea."-Matt. xviii. 6.
THIS world would be an exceedingly dull, dreary, solemn place if there were no children and young people to enliven it with their mirth and laughter and joyous prattle. Children are, unquestionably, a great blessing to those who possess them, and one of God's noblest gifts to men. "Unblown flowers" Shakespeare calls them, and "new appearing sweets." Moreover, they are a source of perpetual entertainment and interest, and awaken endless feelings of sympathy, affection, and delight in the hearts of their elders. They are rightly reckoned on as a solace in our old age, and as a prop and a support in our declining years. We rely upon them to carry on our name and to hand on our family traditions to future generations, and finally we love to picture them to ourselves as thinking of us, and as praying for us long after we have been laid to rest under the green turf in the quiet churchyard. But if they are a source of great happiness, they are likewise a source of very great responsibility, for one day we shall have to render a rigorous account to God of the manner in which we have watched over and cared for them. We call them our children, but, as a matter of fact, they belong to God far more truly and far more completely than they belong to their earthly parents. God alone is their true Father. That is to say, He alone is their Father in the fullest and most perfect sense of the word, and the earthly father is, after all, merely God's representative, one to whom God has delegated a part of His authority. Hence parents are under the strictest obligation to recognise God's claim, and to regard themselves as entrusted by God with the careful and religious bringing-up of His children.
This is a most serious obligation, to be carefully considered and loyally carried out. For it is a mistake to suppose that a child is virtuous by nature. If left to himself and to his natural inclinations and passions, he will certainly go astray, and wander far from the path of virtue. He will grow self-willed, disobedient, proud, independent, and greedy and self-indulgent. In short, he stands in absolute need of the training, and moulding, and forming hands of a wise and watchful parent. The first years of a child's life are among the most critical, because on them his future largely depends. As has been said so truly and so tersely, "The child is father to the man." What he is in after life depends on his early education. The mind of a child is not only a tabula rasa, so that you can write anything on it, but it is extremely sensitive. Hence a child readily receives every impression, whether good or bad, and is strongly influenced by all he hears, and sees, and notices around him. He is aroused and attracted by the least thing, imitates, almost instinctively, whatever others say or do, and is ready to follow almost any lead, so that parents should be extremely careful to give their children good example, and never, under any pretext, to misconduct themselves or to give way to passion in their presence. They should have a great reverence and esteem of their innocence, which is so easily sullied. They should shield it as far as possible from all scandal. To scandalise the young and innocent is especially hateful in the sight of God, and will be most severely punished by Him. "He that shall scandalise one of these little ones that believe in Me, it were better that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depths of the sea" (Matt. xviii. 6). Just kneel down, in spirit, at the foot of a child's cradle and contemplate the newly born infant lying there in all the unconsciousness of placid sleep. What a picture of innocence! Its soul has come straight from the hands of God. How pure and spotless it is! For over it the cleansing waters of baptism have only just been poured. It is all aglow with divine grace. So beautiful and so priceless is it, that God Himself looks down from heaven upon it with ineffable love, and contemplates His own divine image reflected in it, as we might contemplate our own countenance in some crystal lake. So exquisite a being is ripe for heaven, and we may be excused if we feel a desire to send it there at once, to take its place among the very angels of God. But no. God has other designs upon it. That pure and sinless child must be left to grow up and develop. Before being admitted into the heavenly courts, it must be tested and proved. God has decreed that it should be exposed to all the dangers and perils of the world.
It is a terrible thought, yet a very true one, that there are a thousand fierce and unscrupulous enemies already lying in wait for it, to sully its purity and to destroy its spiritual life. The devil and the world and the flesh, that have robbed many a soul such as this of its innocence, await but the dawn of reason and consciousness to declare a bitter and implacable war against this one also. What will be its fate? Who can look into the future? How will it conduct itself when at last it is launched into the midst of the wicked, pleasure-loving, godless world, as some frail boat is launched upon the waters of a dangerous, tempest-tossed, rock-bound sea?
Call to mind, my brethren, that the vilest sinner, and the worst criminal, and the most blood-stained murderer and blasphemer that the world has ever known was once a pure, lovable, innocent child even as this and as ripe for heaven as this. The most diabolical wretch now writhing amid the eternal fires of hell, and paying the penalty of his infamy, was at one period of his life a simple, guileless, innocent child, without an evil thought lurking in its heart, or an angry word forming upon its lips. How comes it that one child develops in one direction and another in another? How can we explain that startling paradox, that, starting, as it were, from the self-same goal, one will develop into a great saint, like a St. Thomas or a St. Francis, while the other will become a Nero, a Caligula, or a Judas? Other influences no doubt have their share, and must be reckoned with, but the after career of a child, speaking generally, depends mainly upon the way it is brought up; on the nature of the first seeds, whether of vice or of virtue, that are dropped into the virginal soil of its heart; on its earliest impressions and experiences; on the good or evil example which it witnesses around it; on the true or false ideals which are set before it, and, in a word, on the greater or less purity of its environment, and of the moral atmosphere that it breathes. A child, in its early years, is tender, plastic, ductile, and easily moved in one direction or another. Like a young tree, it can be bent and trained and shaped, but this is no longer possible when once it has grown up. If a child is left to itself, and allowed to run about the streets, and to romp and play with evil companions, and to indulge without let or hindrance all its wayward inclinations, propensities, and passions, and to associate with whom it likes, to listen to what it likes, and to see what it likes, what possible chance has it of developing into a good, upright, honest Christian, loyal to God and Church, to country and to king?
Nearly all the saints have been blessed with excellent mothers, and their devotion, earnest piety, and genuine holiness have, no doubt, had an extraordinary effect upon their children. And surely this is what anyone with a knowledge of human nature might have been led to expect. What does a little child know or care about the great world at large? How far does it concern itself with the general history of the Church, or with the discussions of the schools, or the teaching of theology? To a child the world is its nursery, the world is its home, its family, its companions. It looks upon its father and its mother as the embodiment of all that is right and true and best. It imitates them without enquiry, it follows them blindly; their views, their conduct, their mode of life are accepted as so many object lessons, to be imitated and practised. Children are far more deeply influenced by what they themselves bserve, and can see with their eyes, than by what they are told. They can understand and appreciate conduct and example far more easily and far more readily than dry precept. How can a child grow up sober if his parents are in a state of frequent intoxication? How can a child remain modest, pure, and respectable if its parents lead loose and dissolute lives? How can he guard his tongue and control his temper if his parents fight and quarrel, and use injurious words? A bad tree will produce bad fruit, just as a good tree will produce good fruit. The reason that so many children turn out badly and irreligious, and grow up a disgrace to their family and their Church, is because parents are not what they ought to be. If they were really practical Catholics, if they esteemed their religion beyond all else, and always put the spiritual above the material, and the eternal above the temporal, and the souls of their children above their bodies, they would take an immeasurably keener interest in training them up in the practice of virtue. Realising the shortness and uncertainty of the present life, and the endless eternity that is to follow it, their ambition would be to instil into their offspring the love of virtue, goodness, and truth. It would be a real joy and delight to them to see their sons and daughters growing and developing in piety, and ripening more and more for heaven. Like the mother of the Machabees, they would exhort and entreat and encourage their children before all else to obey the voice of God, and to endure all things, even torture and death itself, rather than transgress the divine law, so as to be united with them forever in heaven. Like that admirable mother, Queen Blanch of Castile, they would speak with fervour and earnestness to their sons while they are still young enough to be impressed, and give them clearly to understand that, much as they might desire their temporal and earthly happiness, they laid far greater store upon their eternal happiness. Those of you who have read the life of Queen Blanch will remember how she was wont to take her beloved son, when a small boy, and clasp him to her breast, and entreat him with immense fervour to keep himself ever pure and innocent in God's sight. "I love you," she would exclaim with all the passionate devotion of a mother's heart. "I love you more indeed than I can say, yet remember, that in spite of this, or rather, for that very reason, I would rather a hundred times see you lying dead and cold at my feet, than that you should ever live to offend God grievously." Such was the real heroic Christian piety of a mother who knew the true value of things, and who judged as God Himself judges. Is it to be wondered at that her son caught something of her own heroism and saintly spirit? Is it to be wondered at that her son soon learned, like her, to prize goodness and sanctity beyond all else; and that he developed into a great saint, whose feast the entire Church still celebrates each year? And who was her son? Her son was the glorious St. Louis, King of France, and ruler of a mighty people. His mother's words, his mother's example, his mother's prayers, kept him holy and unworldly even on the dizzy eminence of a throne, and amid all the seductions of a court. Where do we find such parents now? Where shall we find such true love, such heroism, such zeal? Alas! some have grown so indifferent and so careless that they will not hesitate to endanger their children's faith by sending them to non-Catholic schools and for the sake of some purely worldly advantage, often more fanciful than real, will calmly place them in the most dangerous occasions of sin. So weak is their faith, that they positively care less for the immortal soul than they do for the perishable body. That this is really so is easily proved from the fact that they would shrink from sending the child they love into a fever den, or into a region where some awful epidemic, such as cholera or the plague, is raging. They would carefully hinder them from wandering through a wood or forest known to be infested with wild beasts or poisonous serpents, lest they lose their corporal life; but they show no such solicitude, no such anxiety when it is the life of the soul that is in danger. What! is the body to be preferred to the soul? that soul redeemed by the blood of God, that soul purchased at an infinite price, and made to the image of God? 0h Catholic fathers and mothers, has the soul of your child no value in your eyes, that you will expose it, without hesitation, to every danger and on the most frivolous pretexts? For the sake of that soul our Divine Lord did not hesitate to die. Look at Him, the infinite and the eternal, clothed in our nature, buffeted and bruised. His sacred body torn with the scourge; His hands and feet pierced with nails; His whole person in torment. Why is this? What is it that He seeks with so much insistence? He seeks to save souls-and we do not care. No, we send our own innocent children into danger, we bring them up in non-Catholic schools, allow them to mix with evil companions, and expose them to contamination and eternal death. Provided their worldly prospects seem improved, many seem to think little and to care less what eternal consequences may await them. Parents are commanded to love their children. The word love, in this connection, must be taken in its true sense. To love a child is to wish it well, to do all in our power to secure its true interests-its eternal interests. We have no real love for a son if we are ready to sacrifice the infinite weight of eternal glory for the empty tinsel of earthly fame, or if we are willing that he should forfeit his eternal happiness for some passing worldly advantage. Let us examine our- selves seriously upon this point to-day, and call to mind the hour, not far distant, when we shall stand trembling before the Sovereign Judge, to give a strict account of the task that He has laid upon us. At that hour we shall realise, if not before, that it were better a thousand times never to have had a child, than to have allowed him to perish from a mistaken kindness, a false ambition, or through an unwillingness to correct and instruct in all patience and gentle firmness.
RESOLUTION.
Resolve to look upon your children as a most sacred trust, of which you will have to render a strict account, and let it be your delight to lead them, by word and example, along the path that leads to eternal life.

Reason number 586 Why I Homeschool

2007-03-15T17:00:00.000-06:00

Feast of Saint Longinus

Corruption in the Schools
by Patrick J. Buchanan - March 6, 2007

Fifty years ago this October, Americans were jolted by the news that Moscow, one year after drowning the Hungarian Revolution in blood, had put an 80-pound satellite into Earth orbit.

In December, the U.S. Navy tried to replicate the feat. Vanguard got four feet off the ground and exploded, incinerating its three-pound payload. America was humiliated. Khrushchev was Man of the Year. Some of us yet recall the Vanguard newsreels and the humiliating laughter.

Stunned, America went to work to improve education in math and science, and succeeded. The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores of high school seniors began to rise, reaching a high in 1964.
However, test scores for high-school students have been falling now for 40 years. In 1984, the Reagan administration issued “A Nation at Risk,” documenting the deterioration of American public education.

More trillions of dollars were thrown at the problem. And if one judged by the asserted toughening up of courses and rising grades of seniors, it appeared we had made marvelous progress. On March 4, The Washington Times reported:
“In 2005, 17 percent of graduates had completed a 'standard' curriculum, 41 percent completed a 'midlevel' curriculum, and 10 percent completed a 'rigorous' curriculum. Fifteen years earlier, the percentages were 9 percent (standard), 26 percent (midlevel) and 5 percent (rigorous). Grade point averages (GPA) increased, as well. The average overall GPA increased from 2.68 in 1990 to 2.98 (virtually a B level) in 2005.
However, it is all a giant fraud, exposed as such by the performances of high school seniors on the National Assessment of Educational Progress exams known as the “nation's report card.” An NAEP test of 12th-grade achievement was given to what the New York Times called a “representative sample of 21,000 high school seniors attending 900 public and private schools from January to March 2005.”

What did the tests reveal?
Since 1990, the share of students lacking even basic reading skills has
risen by a third, from 20 percent to 27 percent.
Only 35 percent of high school seniors have reached a “proficient” level in
reading, down from 40 percent.
Only 16 percent of black and 20 percent of Hispanic students had reached a
proficient level in reading.
Among high school seniors, only 29 percent of whites, 10 percent of Hispanic
students and 6 percent of black students were proficient in math.
This is only the half of it. Among the kids whose test scores on reading and math were not factored in were the 25 percent of white students and 50 percent of black and Hispanic kids who had dropped out by senior year.
Factor the dropouts back in, and what the NAEP test suggests is that, of black kids starting in first grade, about one in eight will be able to read at the level of a high school senior after 12 years, and one in 33 will be able to do the math. Among Hispanic kids, one in 10 will be able to read at a high-school senior level, but only one in 20 will be able to do high-school math.
Yet, as columnist Steve Sailor writes on VDare.com, the Bush-Kennedy No Child
Left Behind Act mandates “that all children should reach a proficient level of academic achievement by 2014.”
We're not going to make it. We're not even going to come close.
Why are so many Americans ignorant of the depths of failure of so many schools? As Sailor explains, it is due to government deceit.
“Not surprisingly, practically ever single state cheats in order to meet the law” mandating a rising academic proficiency.
“For example, Mississippi … recently declared that 89 percent of its fourth-graders were at least 'proficient' in reading.
“Unfortunately, however, on the federal government's impartial National Assessment of Education Progress test, only 18 percent of Mississippi students were 'proficient' or 'advanced.'”
Hence, a huge slice of the U.S. educational establishment is complicit in a monstrous fraud that, if you did it in business, would get you several years at the nearby minimum security facility.
This is corruption. Teachers are handing out grades kids do not deserve. States are dumbing down tests to make themselves look good. Voters are being deceived about how much kids are learning.
There is no real moral distinction between what teachers and educators are doing on a vast scale and what professional athletes do on a smaller scale when they take steroids to enhance performance.
As the Washington Times noted, according to the Digest of Education Statistics, spending for public education, in constant (inflation-adjusted) dollars, rose from $6,256 a year per student before “A Nation at Risk” to $10,464 in the 2002-2003 school year. Taxpayers have thus raised their annual contribution to education by a full two-thirds in real dollars in a quarter century. More than generous.
Under George W. Bush, U.S. Department of Education funding has risen 92 percent in six years, from $35.5 billion in 2001 to $68 billion in 2007. Sinking test scores are what we have to show for it.
Taxpayers are being lied to and swindled by the education industry, which has failed them, failed America and flunked its assignment – and should be expelled for cheating.