Merry Christmas!

Adoration of the Shepherds, Seville, 19th century unknown artist

 

I love preparing for the Christmas liturgies. O Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas songs. The text is brilliant, giving us the Christmas story in a nutshell. I love that from the beginning it tells us why we need a Savior--because we sin and cannot save ourselves. He loves us so much and He comes down from heaven to teach us to love. He is Love Himself. True Love. A Blessed and Merry Christmas, my friends!

Advent

I finally got some holders for our tapered Advent candles and it's hard to believe how quickly time is marching on. Next weekend will be Gaudete Sunday--Rejoice! Last year our beloved Stella Maris got flooded that Sunday morning so evening High Mass was canceled. But with many helping hands, the church was readied for Christmas! It was the shortest Advent too, with Christmas falling on a Monday.

We've had a busy Advent so far with recorder and barbershop concerts, getting together with friends, most special treat, going to The Messiah by George Frederich Handel right here at St. Clare of Assisi. It was so lovely to be able to walk to church to listen to the production by the Charleston Symphony. Simply beautiful! 

And just when I thought I cannot add another thing to do, I'm finding it extraordinary how the Lord draws me ever closer to Himself. These retreats finally became available (I'd wanted to do them in the summer) and I also know that the Lord's timing is always perfect, so I'm taking the time to do this now and I am so grateful: The Path to Healing Our Broken Hearts - Oblates of the Virgin Mary Perhaps you too need to make a retreat. And when you're ready, you might want to check these out: Virtual Workshops - Oblates of the Virgin Mary  

 

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe! It's the story of how Mary appeared to a Juan Diego on a hill in Tepeyec, Mexicao, with a request to take to the bishop. He was reluctant but he obeyed and on Dec. 12, 1531, she arranged Castillian roses in his tilma as a sign that the bishop had requested. When Juan Diego showed them to the bishop, her image was on his tilma. The tilma of St. Juan Diego is displayed in Mexico and there are so many interesting features within it. Including music! There is music embedded in her mantle. Harpa Dei, an ensemble of four siblings, composed the text between Mary and St. Juan Diego based on his account: Harpa Dei · Mantle Song (Our Lady of Guadalupe) Enjoy! Happy Feast Day!

December Saints and Feast Days

Again, I am so impressed with how succinctly Enid Chadwick depicts the three types of martyrs in My Book of the Church's Year. I do love all the feast days during the penitential season of Advent. However, the challenge isn't the feasting, it's the fasting. Thankfully we have Christmas music to practice to keep the proper focus. We have four concerts between recorder group and barbershop as well as a couple of Christmas parties and I view it as a time of sharing our hope and joy of Christmas. Of course, this year it's extra-busy making final wedding preparations. It's going to be wonderful. Dagny and Ian have waited so patiently. They had a beautiful betrothal ceremony--it really is going to be the most blessed Advent for them. Pray for them.  

Advent: A Time for Waiting, Praying and Singing

One of my favorite ways to prepare for Christmas is to pray 15x/day beginning on the Feast of St. Andrew (Nov. 30th) until Christmas Eve:

Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayers and grant my desires (mention your intentions here), through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His most Blessed Mother. Amen. 

It places me immediately at the manger and into the mystery of Christmas. So many prayers have been answered over the years. Deo gratias! I love how succinctly Enid M. Chadwick depicts Advent (and other feasts and other Anglo-Catholic traditions) in My Book of the Church's Year.

A couple of years ago, I learned the delightful story below about Gregorian chant. Our choir director sings the trope that tells how the Holy Ghost whispered into the ear of Pope St. Gregory in response to his prayer and then we all come in for the Introit for the first Sunday of Advent, Ad te levavi... When I poked around to learn more, I came across the art here. Translation: When the most holy Gregory poured out prayers to the Lord that He might surrender to him from above a musical gift in song then the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove and enlightened his heart to such a degree that at last he began to sing saying this: Ad te levavi... (Introit for the first Sunday of Advent). A most blessed Advent to all.

Thanksgiving Day

Together, finally! Max is wearing one of Michael's shirts that I embroidered the pocket with Max's 6-month handprint and footprint. He was a big kid...more than tripling his birth-weight of 8lbs. I thought I'd have a baby elephant on my hands by the time he was two years old, but he slowed down. Mothers at the park would ask me why he wasn't in school. I'd say, "He's only three! Dagny was a tenner at birth but didn't double her weight until she was about 9 mo. old. She didn't fit into Max's first shoes until she was 2 or 3 yrs old. They've grown up so beautifully and I'm so grateful I got to stay home with them and enjoy each and every stage. 

Dagny made a delicious pecan pie with coconut flour and honey from our bees. Delish. The perfect ending to a lovely meal, most of it from our backyard or from the farmer at Chucktown Acres. Folks, this is a plea to support your local farmer, butcher, baker, candlestick maker. 

Happy Thanksgiving

Reposting a picture from our pilgrimage to St. Augustine, FL where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated Sept. 8, 1565 with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Our pastor wrote, "The Catholic origins of Thanksgiving don't stop there. Squanto, the beloved hero of Thanksgiving, was the Native American man who mediated between the Puritan pilgrims and the Native Americans. Squanto had been enslaved by the English, but he was freed by the Spanish Franciscans. Squanto thus received baptism, and became a Catholic. So, it was a baptized Catholic Native American who orchestrated what became known as Thanksgiving." 

I am so thankful to God for all He has done, all He is doing, and all He will do. I especially grateful for my family, friends, and the road to better health. This is the last year it will just be the Bodachs four...I'll post a picture tomorrow. Right now I have the house to myself because the menfolk have gone for bourbon and cigars and Dagny is out with Ian and their friends. Introvert heaven! The kitties are enjoying the quiet too.

Michael has done such an outstanding job in the garden. New this year: sweet potatoes, kohlrabi, turnips, ginger and turmeric. We have an abundance of greens so we eat a lot of salad. I've also taken to making vegetable broth as well from all the stems; might as well extract every ounce of goodness from them before putting them into the compost. We also harvested honey from the top bar--life is sweet! I pray you all have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. 

A Shower of Blessings

Within Max and Dagny's circle of friends, there've been ten weddings this year. Dagny's will be the last, but after the longest engagement. They can hardly wait to be married, but I'm grateful for this time they've had to grow and mature. It is so beautiful to see young men and women making this lifelong commitment in Holy Matrimony. And we are so blessed to have a beautiful community of faithful women, young and old, who support one another. We have a lot of fun together too! 

Marian Eucharistic Conference Recap

This is an annual retreat for us--it's a small conference that has grown but not too much. I'm estimating about 300 people... What I like best is the quality of the speakers who come and help us grow deeper into our faith. There are always lots of wonderful books to purchase and I still haven't read all the ones from previous years. And then there are others that I read over and over. So this year, I was so excited that we could offer our books to the attendees. There aren't very many children at this conference, but when the organizer discovered I was a children's writer, she suggested that I invest in a table, because she would like to have children's books to offer to the attendees as well. So here we are and the best part was that we were right next to a priest from Peru, who had brought these exquisite religious paintings--all hand painted, each one unique. He had Our Lady of Guadalupe taped to the side of his table and my eyes were drawn continually to her serene expression. I knew we had to purchase one of these to grace our home so I asked Michael to take some time to go through them. We both loved the Holy Trinity with the Holy Family best (and within our budget) so it shall be properly framed and displayed. I loved St. Philomena (what is it about teenage saints that gives my heart courage?) and Madonna of the Grapes by Pierre Mignard (I have a little triptych in my office  that I picked up from the sacramental box at church shortly after I joined the Seven Sister Apostolate--I thought it was such a lovely wink to me from Mary herself, given she's one of the patronesses of the apostolate under this very title). 

I really enjoyed talking with the people who stopped by our table and learning about their children and grandchildren. So fun to be able to recommend books for them. Many Seven Sisters were excited to see Tina's book, One Hour for My Priest--it almost sold out. It's a hidden apostolate so we don't always know who's involved but what a blessing to learn so many Seven Sisters are praying for their priests. The book is a wonderful resource. We were also able to attend many of the lectures and hear Mass and go for Adoration because there's only one track and typically there aren't too many people milling about during them. So win-win. I'm excited to return next year and hope we'll have even more offerings. I'm so happy that all of us in our critique group have several more readers of our stories. 

Tidbits from the conference speakers. You can learn more from their excellent books and talks online:
Fr. Larry Richards is such an energetic priest. He speaks the hard truths that we don't always want to hear. I love how he runs his parish--he makes the people take three classes on: Jesus is Lord; worship; service. If you want to be an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, then you'd better have extraordinary devotion to the Holy Eucharist, meaning spending time with Him in Adoration.
How are you? Blessed. Who's the first who said it? Mary in her Magnificat. We have one purpose in life--to do God's holy will. He speaks but we don't listen. Be still and silent. Sit with the Scriptures with an open heart. We need the Heart of Jesus. Offer your poor heart to Him and He'll give you His Heart. Learn to love from Him. 
Fr. Larry told us a story about a American and a Japanese in a POW camp. The Japanese man was very sick, so the American would share everything he had with him, be it food or a blanket. When he realized that the man might die, he thought, I've shared everything except Jesus, my Savior. So he told the dying man about Him, and the dying man said, "If Jesus is anything like you, I can't wait to meet Him." 

Fr. Chris Alar is passionate about Divine Mercy. And Mary as the mother of Mercy. He quoted Fr. Don Calloway: "If you could make your mother, wouldn't you make her perfect?" Mary is the guide to Jesus. In Genesis, who crushes the head of the serpent? Mary. Who does Satan fear more? God or Mary? He then told us a story about wrestling in high school. He lost to a Japanese national champion. Yet, both his father and his coach said, "good job." But when he was in 4th grade, he drew a girl, who was confident. He was terrified--to lose to a girl would be complete humiliation. Likewise, Satan knows God is God. But to lose to a 15-yr-old Jewish girl is absolute humiliation. It wounds his pride.  

There are four Marian Dogmas: her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, her Perpetual Virginity, her Maternity--she is the mother of King Jesus. She is our advocate. Protestants have a difficult time with Mary. And because our barbershop chorus is practicing Christmas songs for a concert, I'm reminded why we have songs like Mary Did You Know? It's a lovely lullaby that invites us to ponder like Mary, but the second half of the first verse is flat out wrong [I propose a revision to make it theologically sound because words matter]: 

Did you know

That your baby boy has come to make you new? [make us new]
This child that you've delivered
Will soon deliver you [has done delivered you]

See, she was already delivered from all stain of original sin by the foreseen merits of Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross. She is the Immaculate Conception. Her DNA has no sin. Not a single molecule of her being is under sway of Satan. She is 100% opposed to him. She lives completely in the Divine Will. But I digress. 

The second reading of that Sunday was from Hebrews and Fr. Alar preached on the priesthood. It is so terribly misunderstood. What is the purpose of the priest? To offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. You cannot have worship without sacrifice because the penalty for sin is death. Either you die or someone else dies on your behalf. Mass is the re-presenting the sacrifice. Jesus presents Himself to the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are at Calvary. We enter sacred time. We must be present to receive the grace (when I lie in bed with my kitties and listen to Mass, I am not receiving the graces I would if I were present at Mass). Everything comes from the Father and everything returns to Him. There are three acts of Love and Mercy: God the Father creates; God the Son redeems; God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us so we can return to the Holy Trinity.

There were more lectures. Fr. Bartholomew, a Maronite priest, spoke about the early apostolic churches, their timeline, how they spread to the East and the West. I've been told by a couple of Eastern Rite Catholics how much I would enjoy experiencing their liturgies but we've not managed to go to one. Perhaps when we're praying/singing only one Sunday Mass, we might get the opportunity.

Dr. Ray Guarendi, a psychologist, encouraged us to be strong parents and grandparents, steering our kids in righteousness. It's not easy when the culture tells them the opposite, normalizing sin and making it sound like fun. I used to love listening to his show on Catholic radio on my way to pick up the kids from school and I found his books on discipline and family life especially useful. I was so pleased to meet him and let him know what a difference his books made when we went through a rough patch with our kids.  

Fr. Chris Smith, pastor of Prince of Peace, also spoke about building a Christian culture. It begins with us, at home. As always, we ended our retreat by hearing a beautiful High Mass at Prince of Peace for the Feast of Christ our King. What joy to sing: Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat!!! Come, Lord Jesus!!!

Prayers Answered--Hallelujah!

Last night, I very much felt as I did in 2016, that we were at the edge of a precipice, that our country wouldn't be the same if the democrats stayed in power. I remember going to bed that night, praying that Trump would win, but didn't really think he had a chance. Imagine my joy when Michael woke me up to tell me he'd won. I only heard lamentations from some of my liberal friends--many stopped speaking to me. Yet, their fears were unfounded. President Trump governed well. The world was more stable. And we moved in the proper direction towards defending and protecting life. 

These past four years, we've seen a terrible deterioration in our nation and instability in the world. Public policy regarding Covid was tyranny. So many people's livelihoods were destroyed due to the lockdowns, especially the small businesses. So many were coerced to take the shots that have done more harm than good. And the lies!!! Suppression of valuable information. Persecuting anybody who questions the narrative. And the relentless persecution of President Trump. And yet, I believe that God allowed us to have leaders who were incompetent at best and evil at worst as a punishment for our sins as a nation. I am thankful because these past four years exposed the corruption and collusion within the govt. along with the media and big tech. Trump didn't have to run given all the grief he's been given for the past ten years, including two assassination attempts; he could've retired in his palatial home in Florida. But he fought for the American people. We the people came to support him.

I predicted to my friends that he'd win in a landslide, mostly because I couldn't imagine anyone so blind that they'd want to vote for such a weak candidate as Harris. She has no accomplishments to show, only a great desire to have abortion on demand. It is so bizarre that so many people still supported her for something so horrible. I wanted Trump to win the popular vote too, so there'd be no question. We the people have spoken.  

We the people have been praying and fasting for our nation. I am so thankful to God that finally we can return to some sanity. It's going to take some time to clean up the various departments; he is surrounding himself with knowledgeable people who can help him and I am hopeful. As are so many of our young friends. We oldies were invited to a mega MAGA party and it was such a consolation to see the red wave across the country. Last night, when I went to bed, I knew we'd pulled back from the precipice. Thank you, Lord. With Your help, we can make America great again. This is my prayer from America the Beautiful:

America! America!
God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.

November Saints and More

 

We have just finished another triduum of Holy days--All Hallow's Eve, All Saints, and All Souls. And it is so very lovely to live this liturgical life. I think of all my loved ones who are praying for us from heaven and we pray for those who cannot pray for themselves--those in purgatory. So many people immediately canonize their loved ones upon their death, but so few of us could conceivably enter heaven directly upon our death. Every sin needs to be burned off, including any attachment to venial sin. Nothing impure can enter heaven. I love this painting of a Requiem Mass being offered for a soul in purgatory, who is now entering heaven (I found it without attribution, so if anyone knows the artist, please let me know).

I can't help but think of my own mortality and this quote from St. John Chrysostom gave me pause: If you knew how quickly people would forget about you after your death, you will not seek in your life to please anyone else but God. So why do I still seek the admiration and validation from men? Sigh. Striving to walk the path of righteousness. It's not easy. Pray for me. 

In other news, I have already voted in the general election--this is the first time I've not gone on election day. But with a busy singing schedule, plus being out of town for a conference, I thought it wise not to wait. Instead, I will be going to Adoration tomorrow. The choice is clear. Ap. Vigano has written an open letter to American Catholics. It reminded me so much of Deuteronomy 30: 19 "I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live."