The Benedictines of Mary

You can read more about them here. I love that they refer to priests as "the apostles of our time."

Feast Day of St. Catherine Laboure, Novmeber 28

St. Catherine was a Daughter of Charity in France. The Blessed Mary appeared to her three times in 1830. Mary told St. Catherine to commission the production of the Immaculate Medal - which she did. "Catherine reported that the Blessed Mother returned during evening meditations. She displayed herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, wearing many rings of different colors, most of which shone rays of light over the globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the French words Ô Marie, conçue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous (O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee). As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter M surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns and Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. Asked why some of her rings did not shed light, Mary reportedly replied, "Those are the graces for which people forget to ask." Catherine then heard Mary ask her to take these images to her father confessor, telling him that they should be put on medallions, and saying "All who wear them will receive great graces.""

Feast Day of St. James Intercisus, November 27

Intercisus is Latin for "cut into pieces". Which is what happened to St. James in 421 AD. Twenty-eight pieces, to be exact.

The SIsters of the Third Order of St. Francis

The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis came up in conversation recently, and I admit I knew nothing about them. So I did what we do now a-day - I did an internet search. And it got me thinking....what is that white bib-like thing called that nuns used to wear. My teachers at Our Lady of Sorrows School were Sisters of St. Joseph and looked like this:

Anyway - it's called a wimple.

Hell

Father Z says, "Let’s be clear about this. Catholics are obliged to believe in the existence of the Devil and of Hell. These are de fide doctrines taught by the Church without the possibility of error." And he says priests will go there if they fail to teach us about it.

What? WHAT?

I tell you what... if I was on the Parish Council I never would have voted to get a new sound system. It would be a lot cheaper to have a box of these babies in the back of the church. Help yourself!

Signing Off

Pope Benedict XVI has written a book, called 'Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives'. In it, the Pope claims that "The calculation of the beginning of our calendar – based on the birth of Jesus – was made by Dionysius Exiguus, who made a mistake in his calculations by several years". Jesus was actually born several years earlier than the year 0. So that means - according to the Mayan Calendar - I am already dead.

Clericus Cup 2012

I wasn't blogging at the time so I missed some big soccer news: "The Pontifical North American College Martyrs soccer team won the championship match of the annual Clericus Cup tournament on May 12. They defeated the reigning champions of the Pontifical Gregorian University 3-0."

Las Posados in Anna

Hey look! It's Father Fed! Las Posados is Mexican for "Poseidon", a holiday event where the community re-enacts the movie "The Poseidon Adventure". Father Fed is the Gene Hackman character, Reverend Scott.

According to Matthew

"Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Wait for the 1:30 mark....

Feast Day orf St. Hugh of Lincoln, November 17

Patron Saint of SWANS!

The BLACK Chasuble

I believe that at some point in my life I have seen the black chasuble - but for the life of me, I can't remember when. I wonder if it's like the green soccer referee shirt because it's the last one you buy after you have all the others? Anyway, it's apparently worn on All Souls' and at times of mourning or sadness. I'm thinking funeral masses...

Feast of St. Gertrude, November 16

Feast of Saint Albert the Great, November 15

Hello? Do you have St. Albert in a can? Yes, we do. Better let him out!

More Election Info

We have already seen that 75% of "Hispanic" Catholics voted for Obama. Turns out, those who claim to be Catholic but do not attend Church every Sunday like Obama, too!

Of Course, It Could Have Been Like In Genesis....

Catholics For Obama, 2012 Edition

I read that Catholics, once again, gave the most pro-abortion, anti-religion politician in America most of their votes. Turns out that was slightly misleading. Only 40% of White Catholics voted for him (and shame on you), but an eye-popping 75% of Hispanic Catholics voted for him. Apparently, some expect more from the government than what the expect from God.

Astounding? There's Gotta Be Another Word For It...

I never heard of "Saint" Christina the Amazing until today (I checked into Sister Martha's blog). First, let it be said that the Church does not recognize her as a saint - she was considered one when she was alive in the early 12th century.Secondly, if the stories are true, I don't think "Astounding" is good enough of a word. She died, but then at her funeral Mass she got up and levitated to the top of the church. She said she couldn't stand the smell of the souls that were in the church with her. Then she told everyone she had been to hell, purgatory, and heaven. Then she spent the rest of her life doing penance for the souls in purgatory - throwing herself into fireplaces, running through briar patches, swimming in freezing water for days on end - without getting so much as a scratch. Astounding? How about amazing, astonishing, astounding, blindsiding, dumbfounding (also dumfounding), eye-opening, flabbergasting, jarring, jaw-dropping, jolting, shocking, startling, stunning, stupefying?

Feast Day of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, November 13

St. Frances Cabrini was born in Italy, but spent most of her adult life working with immigrants in Chicago. Even though she died in Chicago in 1917, she is buried in New York City (of all places). She was the first American citizen to achieve sainthood The first saint BORN in the United States was Elizabeth Anne Seton - but of course you knew that.

You go, Archbishop!

It seems like every time I try to get to this blog, Google wants to make it as difficult as it can. But I think it works now and I am about to blog again. For all of you who actually read this (me), I hope you enjoy it.