Role models galore

Posted on August 22, 2005 by Deacon Chris

More saints are packed into this rich week of not-so-Ordinary Time:

  • Today is the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
  • Tomorrow is the feast of St. Rose of Lima
  • Wednesday is the feast of St. Bartholomew
  • Thursday is the feast of St. Louis
  • Saturday is the feast of St. Monica

Wow — that’s a whole lot of role models packed into a week’s time. Maybe it would be fun to match a statement from below with the corresponding saint above? Give it a try:

  • was a third-order Dominican
  • martyrdom by flaying
  • King of France
  • a “woman clothed with the sun”
  • a devoted [and patient] mother – prayed twenty years to convert her son

How blessed we are to have such a rich collection of friends to inspire us.

Categories: Saints | 1 Comment

God-incidences

Posted on August 21, 2005 by Deacon Chris

  1. Today is the Twenty-First Sunday in “Ordinary Time.”
  2. The readings from Mass speak about the papacy (cf. Is 22:19-23 & Mt 16:13-20).
  3. Today [would be] the feast day of St. Piux X, pope (Sundays take precedence over other feast days).
  4. Today Pope Benedict XVI will preside over the closing liturgy in Koln at World Youth Day.

It might be coincidental that all these papal diddies are occurring at the same time, but not likely. My lovely bride calls it a “God-incidence” when something like that happens.

The philosopher in me rebels slightly:

  • God doesn’t make things happen that way
  • That would violate free will,
  • Etc., etc., ad nauseum

But the Christian inside me is slightly tickled. Maybe God allows things to play out in such a way, just to make life a bit more interesting. Or maybe to make philosophers think a little harder. Or perhaps to simply bring a smile to someone’s face when they encounter such an event.

Our God is an awesome God.

Categories: Everyday Miracles, Faith, Philosophy | 1 Comment

Not so "Ordinary Time"

Posted on August 19, 2005 by Deacon Chris

Although we are in the middle of Ordinary Time (liturgically speaking), there are a number of important feasts for the next week or so. I’ll be saying a word or two about some of them:

  • Today – Friday, August 19 – St. John Eudes – founded a “non-order” – a group of priests and postulants that specialize in mission work and running seminaries. John thought that bishops would better trust priests under their direct jurisdiction over ones that belonged to a religious order. So he created the Eudists, a non-order that seems like an order!
  • Tomorrow, Saturday, August 20th – St. Bernard

No, not that St. BernardI mean St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153) – Abbot & Doctor of the Church. Bernard was a Cistercian monk from France who was a brilliant theologian, a prolific writer and a gifted and skilled preacher.

St. Bernard was a monk for forty years and founded (himself) an incredible 163 monasteries throughout Europe!

He was the first Cistercian placed on the Roman Calendar, in 1174 by Pope Alexander III.

St. John Eudes & St. Bernard of Clairvaux, pray for us!

  • PS: The breed is named for the mountain passage-way in Switzerland that connects Northern and Southern Europe. St. Bernard founded a monastery there, to minister to pilgrims. As such the pass itself was named after St. Bernard, as was the breed active in rescuing people. 163 monasteries and 1 dog breed, not a bad legacy!!!!

Categories: Ordinary Time, Saints | Leave a comment

Why I won’t make Principal anytime soon . . .

Posted on August 18, 2005 by Deacon Chris

One of the main projects I’ve been working on at St. Gerald has been an expansion of our school to accommodate 7th & 8th grade students. Because of the construction occurring, we pushed back the beginning of school until after Labor Day.

The local public schools began classes this Monday, August 15th. As in the middle of the month of August!

As best as I can remember, when I was in school we went back around Labor Day and were finished in May. Yet today, it seems the kids go back earlier all the time, and some of them don’t begin their summer vacation until June.

Something fishy is going on here, methinks.

Now I’m not advocating any sort of “kid-strike,” but doesn’t that seem incredibly early to be going back to school? It’s craziness, in my view. Students need fully three months of vacation to enjoy the summer, go to various camps and activities, and hopefully, go on vacation with their families. Moreover, high school students need that summer time for work — college isn’t getting any more affordable as time goes by.We drive students very hard these days, treating them like miniature adults with hectic schedules, numerous extra-curricular activities, and unnecessary stress in their young lives. Might be a good idea to re-think some of the wisdom behind all of that.

Let the kids be kids, I say — and give them their FULL summer vacation to enjoy this wonderful time in their lives!

Categories: Educational, Ranting | Leave a comment

Capers – an overlooked tool

Posted on August 17, 2005 by Deacon Chris

Today I prepared chicken piccata for lunch, a simple dish of thin chicken pieces dressed in a lemony sauce accented by capers.

  • Incidentally, its much better to slice the chicken rather than pound it out with a mallet, as most recipes suggest. Pounding can be useful with veal (lots of connective tissue) but a bad idea for chicken, you’ll just damage it.

Anyway, in an effort to assist those farmers who raise capers, and to those who have never heard of a caper, I’m dedicating today’s entry to them.

Capers are tiny immature flower buds that are usually pickled and found in very small jars next to olives and pickles in your supermarket. Sometimes they are kept next to cocktail onions, watermelon pickles, artichoke hearts and the like.

Lots more info about capers is available here.

Why not try using them on a favorite dish of your own? Some recipes call for rinsing the capers before use (I usually do this myself), and others just toss them in.

They add a delightful piquant flavor to dishes, and also a bit of saltiness, so you might have to adjust your seasonings slightly.

It’s an actual fact that the Scottish dish haggis has at least one song singing it’s praises, but the poor caper is just constantly overlooked.

Here’s to you, caperberry!

Categories: Cooking | Leave a comment

Bullying

Posted on August 16, 2005 by Deacon Chris

A good number of those reading this post have at some time been the target of a bully. Many readers have likely bullied others themselves. And I would venture a guess, that everyone has been a bystander when someone near you has been bullied. It’s a prevalent problem in our country, and has been for some time.

St. Gerald School wants to eliminate this problem, so today our school hosted a wonderful program on bullying. Dr. Barbara Coloroso traveled to Omaha to be with us.

She’s an internationally known speaker, educational consultant and author. She has taught at secondary and college levels, and infuses her presentations with humor and practical advise.

In the morning, she met with over 300 teachers, principals and administrators from the Archdiocese of Omaha. She spent the afternoon with St. Gerald School’s staff, and in the evening hosted another presentation for the general public, especially for parents.

More info on this delightful person and fabulous resource can be found here.

Thanks for your help, Barb! May God continuously bless your work.

Categories: Educational | Leave a comment

Dormition of the Theotokos

Posted on August 15, 2005 by Deacon Chris

Higher in honor than the cherubim, infinitely more glorious than the seraphim . . .

The Dormition of the Theotokos is the Eastern title of the great feast celebrated today – in the West it is referred to as the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The dormition (falling-asleep) of the Theotokos (God-Bearer) is the commemoration of our Lord taking Mary’s body into heaven.

Falling asleep is a euphemism for death – it is widely held in the East that upon Mary’s death she was taken bodily to heaven.

Incidentally in the West, there are competing scholarly opinions as to whether Mary actually died before being assumed into heaven.

It probably doesn’t much matter whether she died or not. What does matter is that God deemed her body to be taken to heaven, which is an enormous privilege!

Can you guess who else might be bodily in heaven? Sacred Scripture suggests that both Elijah & Enoch are there as well. As such, we know that only four bodies are in heaven:

  1. Our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ
  2. Mary, the Mother of God
  3. The glorious prophet Elijah, and
  4. “the one who walked with God,” Enoch

Peace to you on this great feast!

Go to Mass today, even if it’s not obligatory ~~ it’s just a good thing to do!

Categories: Catechetics, Eastern Christianity, Linguistics | Leave a comment

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