My first ever video post - blog identity crisis resolved :)

Ok, SO. After my post from yesterday, I did a lot of thinking. It also helps to actually *ask* God for direction, does it not? I know that sometimes the answer isn't so clear, but I realized that I hadn't really asked Him at all. I tend to go on my merry way:

"LA LA LA! I'm happy go lucky over here! Everything is good, I don't need any help with anything!"

SNORT.

So I asked, real casual-like, and I woke up this morning thinking about it. As I was listening to Catholic Weekend on my commute in, I thought to myself:

"That video post thing I mentioned...I should just do that. My hair isn't too wild this morning, it would be a good day for it."

Because, you know, PRIORITIES.

And so here you have it, the first of hopefully a recurring series of video posts. In this installment, I talk about what I decided with regard to the future of this blog, and briefly touch upon how Our Lady Star of the Sea helped me out in my discernment process. I want these to be very short, 5 minutes or less, but I'm going fess up that I went over a bit on this introductory one. It's about 7 and a half minutes, I'll try to shorten them in the future. But I have to say it...apparently I like to talk! See, this is the thing about being an introvert. I DO enjoy talking to the people that I LIKE, and that's YOU! I'm definitely giving the podcast thing a lot of consideration at this point, because that may really scratch a creative itch for me. Stay tuned!

So, what did you think?! What would you like me to talk about in the future? Please do write to me. :)

The Catholic Nook: Chaplet to Our Lady Star of the Sea (Stella Maris)

This is one of my very favorite Marian devotions, and this day is quickly becoming icky poo, so I desperately needed a soothing distraction. :)

I've blogged about my discovery of Our Lady under the title of "Star of the Sea/Stella Maris" here before, which was an interesting tale about a book that I read and a chaplet that I spotted in my favorite online rosary shop. For some reason, the title just evokes serene images to me, Our Lady dressed in blue, calming rough waters and coming to our aid, we all need that, right? So I thought I'd write about this devotion again and flesh it out a bit more, since it's been awhile since I've discussed it.

Our Lady Star of the Sea is traditionally the patroness of those who are seafarers. She is also, however, the patroness of all those needing guidance "on the sea of life" which is certainly all of us when we're going through a tough time. I think that's a lovely way of looking at things. The water of our life is going to always be a mixture of rough and calm, but it's a matter of finding a way to ride out the rough waters. We can ask for Our Lady's intercession for these intentions under this title.

Carm put together this page with information on the chaplet itself, and in an update since I wrote the post I linked to above a few years ago, I acquired a Stella Maris chaplet. I don't think it's a surprise to anybody that I acquire as many rosaries and chaplets as is humanly possible, because I love them so much:

I am lovely.

Here I am posing with it, because I am a nerd.

This chaplet has a Stella Maris medal on which you say a special prayer asking for Our Lady's intercession, and there are three beads on the "drop" prior to the chaplet center. On these three beads you recite an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be for the intentions of the pope, your bishop, and your parish priest. Moving past the center, we now have 12 beads which represent the 12 stars of Mary's crown. On each of these beads, you pray a Hail Mary, ending each with:

"Our Lady Star of the Sea, help and protect us! Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands."

It doesn't take long to pray this chaplet, and I always feel SO much better after doing so. I'm planning to pray one on my way home from work, so if you'd like me to add your intention, just leave me a comment. :)

My beautiful chaplet was a gift from my knitting friends, who purchased it from Carm's shop. She doesn't have any Stella Maris chaplets listed now, but if she does, they will appear in the chaplets section, and you can always request a custom order from her if you would like your own. I just love the blue/green and dark blue sparkly beads on mine, very water-inspired.

This is one of my favorite chaplets. Perhaps it will become one of yours too!

Thinking happy thoughts, and Our Lady Star of the Sea

So, after being Debbie Downer for a few days, I've decided to make a concerted effort to cheer up. After all, things really aren't that bad - they could certainly be a lot worse. I have a lot to be thankful for. Thus, I will not utter the "f" word for the foreseeable future (later edit: the "f" word is "furlough;" I realized that looked odd for those reading this post out of sequence. :)). This will be a happy blog post :)

Today, being the Feast of the Ascension, I was able to attend Mass at our new campus Newman Center, which was a real treat. I enjoyed thoroughly. I so love Mass during my regular work days. As a student, I was able to go daily. I miss that a lot. Mass isn't held every day here on campus, and now the Newman Center is removed from the main spine of buildings, so it's tougher. Parking is at a premium here, and to leave your spot during the regular semesters is a bit dangerous. But on holy days, and in the summer, it's so nice to have the option to go at lunch with just a 5 minute drive once a week. I wore my black/white velvet headband in celebration. I feel very cute :)

So, one interesting thing I found in my lunchtime trolling of etsy...A few months back, I read a book that captured my interest a bit. Yes, this is a Tiff anecdote, you have to wait for the segue...I promise, it's coming! Get a glass of wine. Ok, so book. I've reviewed a few (yet another tangent, I know, I know) books on here by Carol Goodman, whom I discovered via our library book club. The Lake of Dead Languages and The Night Villa. She has a classics background and always weaves that into her romantic suspense novels. And she must be, or was, a Catholic, because that usually comes into play to some small extent. Thus, I checked our public library catalog, and they have most of her books. After I read the two I mentioned above, I grabbed The Seduction of Water.

This book dragged a bit in the middle, I didn't love it as much as the other two. But the concept was intriguing, and overall, I enjoyed the book. It's about a young English composition instructor whose family had worked and lived at a historic hotel in the Catskills when she was growing up. Her mother was also a well-regarded author that died young under mysterious circumstances, and left unfinished a trilogy that she was composing. The main character decides to write a memoir about her mother, and embarks on a quest at the old hotel to find out if her mother ever kept a journal, or otherwise had unpublished and as yet undiscovered writings, that she could consult.

At any rate, in one part of the story, the main character (Iris - cool name, huh?) is led to the Brooklyn church where her mother attended for a time and where she herself was baptized - Our Lady Star of the Sea. This stuck out to me, because I had never heard of Mary with this designation before.

Turns out, this is a fairly ancient title for Mary, and is an indication of her role as the light guiding Christians to Christ, as well as a special patronage for those who travel or earn their livelihood on the sea. Wikipedia has a pretty good article on it. The name really stuck with me; it's a beautiful image.

Ok, so back to etsy :) I was browsing through some rosaries and other Catholic goodies yesterday at lunch, and found this - a chaplet to Our Lady Star of the Sea. My heart rate instantly picked up - I live for this stuff, as sad as that is. Instantly, I knew that this rang a bell for me, but I couldn't remember from where. Then I remembered The Seduction of Water. Ha ah! Made my day :)

There is an explanation of how to say the chaplet here. Apparently the 12 beads in the chaplet represent the 12 stars of Mary's crown, and on each one you meditate on a Hail Mary as well as an invocation:

"Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Help and Protect us! Sweet Mother, I place this cause in your hands."

Cool stuff, huh? I am a big believer in the aid of prayer beads. It's so comforting to have a physical reminder in my hands as I pray, and to carry them around with me as I go about my day. I don't own many chaplets, rosary beads are my big thing, but still, I love this. Yet, I so do not need to spend $27 on a chaplet, as beautiful as it is. Sigh. I'm going to go home and revel in my yarn some more...