Traditional Catholic

Memorial of Ermengild of Ely

Whew! LOL!

You are a 100% traditional Catholic!

Congratulations! You are more knowlegeable than most modern theologians! You have achieved mastery over the most important doctrines of the Catholic Faith! You should share your incredible understanding with others!

Do You Know Your Baltimore Catechism?
Make Your Own Quiz

Coventry Carol

Feast of Saint David

This is a traditional English carol written in 1534. It is about the killing of the babes under the age of 2, the Holy Innocents, by Herod. Their feast day was yesterday. To go along with the carol is a beautiful slide show of medieval illuminations of the Nativity and the slaughter of the Holy Innocents. Enjoy!

Media Piece on the Traditional Latin Mass

Feast of Saint Gowan of Wales

From the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest's website:

Fox News reporting on Traditional Latin Mass
Cable channel Fox channel aired a piece on the Traditional Latin Mass on Christmas Day, during the Fox Report. The segment commented on the growth of the Traditional Latin Mass, focusing on the Institute's Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago. The same piece was broadcast on local Fox channels in Chicago and St. Louis.
Below a link to the videoclip. Availability varies; try refreshing or try later if not viewable at this time: http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=1867997&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.1.1

I thought it was positive. It showed some of the Mass in Chicago, interviewed a parishioner, & Monsignor Schmitz. One of my favorite parts was when the reporter said "Where the priest faces God and not parishioners" - where the priest faces GOD - usually people say something about the priest having his back to the people.

There was one dissenter - McBraindead, err... I mean McBrien. He said something about how people can't fully participate in the Mass if they don't understand the language, and that following along in the missal is like going to the opera & reading the text........Consider the source. I guess he seems to forget there is a missal, in the vernacular for the Novus Ordo too.

Now this is a dress!!!

Feast of the Holy Innocents

One of my favorite pastimes is design. I am always designing in my head (mostly clothing), alas.... rarely do the designs go any further because of lack of time (read - busy homeschool mom). As a result, I sometimes loose out on new trends. But this is one trend I think I will leave alone - even I am not this creative. The Pantalaine people can have it all to themselves. I will say one thing, for $349, it had better be warm! For more, ummm... more creative items, see their other designs. You have to give them credit for encouraging love of your neighbor!

What a GLORIOUS Day!!!

Feast of the Nativity

I just had to share my evening/morning!

Was I at the TLM? Pretty darn close! I went to the local Novus Ordo for midnight Mass, as I did not think it wise to be on the highway (the TLM I attend is an hour away) by myself with my children in the middle of the night. First of all there were NINE servers - ALL BOYS/MEN! 2 are seminarians. 4 were in red & 5 in black. Father was wearing a Biretta and a traditional vestment - in fact, the decorative part was salvaged from a century old vestment & made into a new vestment by the Oblates of Mary.

Mass had some similarities to the High Mass at the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). There was more Latin than usual, & much was done in chant/polyphony. Father made sure everyone knew to kneel (not just bow) during the Profession (well, my children & I do all the time). You know the part in the TLM where a server blesses the faithful with the incense? That was even done - it was second nature for me to stand up for it, then I realized no one else was, but they quickly followed my cue. There were more similarities, but I cannot think of them right now. One of the seminarians helped distribute communion (at this parish, we only receive under one species, and only one Extraordinary Minister is used, and only if really necessary.)

OK, while all of this was very nice, that is not why I am so joyful! I truly felt the Holy Spirit tonight! Yes, I know He is always with me, but I have had a long dry spell (I know some saints have written of this.) During the Gloria, this feeling came over me - so overwhelming I cried & had to hold onto the pew in front of me. I do not seek out these experiences / do not go to Mass to "feel good" or be entertained, but when this happens, I accept it as a gift. I am joyful because God became Man so that we might be saved!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!

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

I wrote the above in the wee hours of the morning, so please forgive me if it rambles. Blame it on lack of sleep (though I did not feel tired at the time as I was so pumped from Mass) or the zeal I felt.

BTW, my daughter took a picture of me today, and I put it on my profile (look on the left sidebar). Not too bad - perhaps I have a budding photographer on my hands?!?!?!?

Merry Christmas!

May God bless you in the new year!

December 2006

A Miracle just before Christmas!

Feast of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

I got this email from a dear friend. I will let it speak for itself.
Please feel free to comment & praise God with us, or share a miracle of your own!

This is a very long mail, but it is literally God's hand taking over - as you'll see..........
As you all know my gran has basically been on her death bed for the past 2 weeks. Last night her pulse dropped to 10 and the nurses called my mom and her brothers and told them to come in as she would not make it to midnight - there was nothing more her dr could do. My mom and uncles got there and were sitting with my gran in ICU when this man walks in out of the blue and introduces himself as Dr Basson. He said that he was checking on one of his patients he did a heart transplant on that morning and that one of the nurses had mentioned my gran to him - would they mind if he gave a second opinion. They agreed that at this stage they had nothing to lose and said OK. He sat down, read her file, asked tons of questions and finally did a quick check-up on my gran (who by this stage was not aware of anything going on around her anymore). He disappeared for 15 min and when he came back, told (not asked) my mom and uncles that an ambulance is waiting to rush my gran to another hospital so he could put a temporary pacemaker in - everything was arranged. (Bit of background. My gran was in a private hospital and was now going to a state hospital. Here in SA a state hospital is seriously 3rd world. Understaffed, broken equipment, dirty, etc. My gran's medical insurance would however not pay for this procedure as they considered her too high risk. It would cost about $30 000 to have it done in the private hospital and $10 000 to have it done in the state hospital.) Dr Basson assured my now very shocked and concerned mom and her bros that he would be with her every second, he himself would do the procedure and he would transfer her back to the private hospital as soon as she could travel. He also said he would waiver all his fees, cutting the cost to about $8 000. He assured them that this was her only chance - she would be dead within 2 hours without the op. She might not survive the op in hear weak condition, but he felt she had a 30% chance. My mom and her bros said OK. 30 min later she was being rushed into theater with Dr Basson in the state hosp. Another 30 min later Dr Basson appeared all smiles and casually asked if they would like to go and see my gran before she took the ambulance back to the private hospital. My now totally overwhelmed mom and her bros walked into the recovery room where my gran was sitting up in bed, with a nice pink colour to her face (not the blue/grey of the past year), sipping tea and demanding to know just what was going on as she remembered nothing other than falling asleep in her old hospital room and now waking up here! She was transferred back to her old hospital room (where my mom swears the bed was still warm) and is now scheduled to receive a permanent pacemaker this afternoon from Dr Basson (the cost of which is included in the original price - apparently they always put a temporary one in first to check for compatibility). She will be discharged in the next 2 - 3 days and he assured us that her quality of life will be what it was 5 years ago. The admin people at the hospital have also been negotiating with the medical insurance all morning and they have now agreed to carry 50% of the cost - which means we (her family) have to come up with $4 000. The hospital administrator came and saw my gran this morning as well and told her that because she was "such a good girl" they would shave another $500 off the cost! My mom only found out this morning too that Dr Basson is in fact one of the top heart surgeons in the world. He is booked for months ahead. Thank you God for the nurse who mentioned my gran to Dr Basson, thank you for Dr Basson who has not become so famous and popular that he has forgotten what being a dr is all about, thank you that he was there last night, thank you for the admin people at the hospital for making the financial burden so much lighter with their endless pestering of the insurance and through their own generosity. And thank you for all the prayers (especially from you ladies at MK)! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Praise be to God!