23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - reflecting on love while at Mass with spirited children, and fall crafts...

Aren't they precious? :0 Anne helping her daddy mow the lawn yesterday afternoon following Mass. Anyway, happy Monday, everyone! I'm back from a beautiful fall weekend, filled with both challenging children and lovely free time. Let's discuss. :)

It was a beautiful Mass yesterday, late in our season of Ordinary Time leading up to Advent, with the readings focused on loving our neighbor. At our parish, the music ensemble was back from summer hiatus, the bulletin was filled with information on the parish groups and events starting back up, and fall was definitely in the air. Anne was *very* climby - on the pew, down the pew, down on the kneeler, under the pew, swinging from the end of the pew (!). I restrained and distracted her as best as I could. There were a lot of other children there, which helped, since she spent a lot of time clandestinely spying on them.

Henry was very quiet and good, as he always is, but now that he's a bit older and receiving communion, I've been working to instill more reverence into his routine at church. Genuflecting before the tabernacle, praying after receiving the Eucharist, things like that. I can tell that he doesn't like it when I point these things out to him, which makes him not want to do them all the more, so I try and restrain myself when possible and lead by example.

But I'm Type A, so it's not easy. ;-) And I take my promise and desire to raise my children in the faith very seriously. Keeping with our theme from the readings for this Sunday, teaching my children the faith is a duty, but it is a duty that I truly love. I love my faith, and I hope that that love shines through to my children and makes them want to emulate it.

Both children really love the seasonal Catholic traditions that we practice in the home, so I was thinking that Advent may be a good opportunity to light a fire under Henry without his really knowing it. :) In addition to the fan favorite activities of Advent calendars and the Advent wreath, we could start a small prayer tradition. Perhaps I could take Henry with me to Adoration for Advent? I'm toying with some ideas, but a major liturgical season is always the perfect opportunity to introduce a new routine and tradition. I will keep you apprised of my ideas on that front as the season draws closer.

In crafty news, with the NFL season also starting yesterday (I don't count that ridiculous Thursday situation the NFL insists upon :0) I was feeling very much in an autumn mood. While Anne napped, I worked on some seasonal jewelry. I just love seasonal items, the craft store is one of my favorite places to be in the spring and fall. This, of course, from the woman who made Easter egg earrings, after all. ;-) And so, as a sister to the infamous egg earrings, come ta DA! Acorn earrings:

I love them. :) I wore them the whole day yesterday. I also made an autumn-hued rosary bracelet:

I need a cross charm to hang from it, that's enroute, but the Ave beads are a Swarovski pearl mix called "Maple" and I paired it with tiny copper crystals and an olive crystal Pater bead. I love how it turned out.

How was your weekend, everyone? Leave me a comment. It's Monday, and I could use a pick-me-up. ;-)

7 Quick Takes {Take 52} Reporting in from the infirmary, excellent tv, & lots of fall knitting...

-1- So much coughing...

 Happy Friday everyone! Although, over at my house, things are a bit more sick ward-ish. Mike caught my cold, but he is faring pretty well. Which is good, since he has a very demanding teaching schedule. Anne and I are still coughing and a bit headachey, but seem to be mostly getting better. But precious, precious Henry... :( He has asthma, so whenever he gets sick, it hits him harder. I had him at the allergist yesterday, and we had to adjust his medication. He's on a strict new regimen for the next week, and then a slightly reduced one for the next month. He's got to go back to be checked in mid-October, right after we get back from Maine. I feel so bad for him, and this morning he woke up looking glassy-eyed and miserable. We kept him home from school, and he willingly laid on the couch in a pathetic fashion. Poor little guy.

-2- In the evenings, we are obsessively watching...

True Detective. Has anybody else seen this show? Wow. SO GOOD. It aired on HBO, which we do not have, but Mike and I are the king and queen of procuring DVD sets from the library because we are freaks and do not subscribe to Netflix or Hulu. :) We had to wait a while for the discs to come in, but they did last weekend, and it's been a bonanza of viewing ever since. Set in Louisiana, this stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as homicide detectives assigned to a ritualistic-looking murder case that they suspect is the work of a serial killer. The show volleys between two time viewpoints: 1995 when the murder took place, and 2012, where we see the now estranged partners separately being interviewed about their previous relationship and work on the case. A lot has happened between those two dates, to each of them personally as well as new evidence in the murder case. Very, VERY well done. An excellent show. I haven't been this intrigued and taken by a show since Breaking Bad. And you know how I feel about *that* show. I *still* think about it!

-3- While I obsessively knit...

Whenever we watch television, I knit, so I've been very productive of late. I finished this hat last night for my nephew Will's birthday:

I'm going to make his twin brother one in different colors. It turned out very cute, I'm happy with it. And it's a free pattern! Soon to adorn very cute little heads...

-4- But why let knitting obsessions end there?

 My knitting group starting a knit-along this week for a shawl pattern, and I got my yarn all ready to participate. The pattern is called "Leftie," and the purpose is to create a shawlette using up your sock yarn leftovers. I knew that I had some brown fingering weight yarn in my stash in a colorway called "Kindling" that I have been dying to use, plus lots of leftovers in colors reminiscent of fall leaves. So we started the knit-along on Tuesday, and this is what I have so far:

I *LOVE* it. I'm going to keep repeating that 4 color leaf sequence throughout and the shawl will just keep getting larger until I run out of yarn or decide to bind off. Ingenious, no?

-5- I have indeed been hyper organizing my playlists. #TypeA

This is the last week of our summer dance break, and I am glad because I seriously miss it. In the meantime, though, I went through the playlist I keep on my iPod of Middle Eastern songs I could potentially dance to in the future. I cleaned out some songs:

"What was I thinking when I downloaded this?!:

...moved others that I still like, but don't think I'll solo to:

"This sounds too veil-y. And, right. I hate veils." :0

...and downloaded a few more for consideration. I generally prefer upbeat songs, and I love a rock solid instrumental with a few different types of segments to keep things interesting, all packaged into less than 4 minutes. Because I hate cutting music, and I'm terrible at it. So, there are now a nice list of contenders, and I listen to them on my walks to see what inspires me. Our next hafla is November 22nd - exciting!

-6- Feast day today!

 I have been as into the liturgical calendar this year as much as ever, and today is a pretty interesting feast: Blessed Teresa of Calcutta:

I remember the day that she died quite clearly. And isn't it an amazing thing to have lived at the same time as someone who is a canonized saint/well on her way to being one? When I was in graduate school in New York City, I remember calling once to a convent associated with Blessed Teresa's order in the Bronx to inquire about volunteer opportunities there for laypeople. The nun I spoke with was the sweetest thing ever, and gave me lots of helpful information, but I never made it up there to check it out. I am, of course, kicking myself about this now. I would have loved to have seen her sisters in action.

-7- Currently on my Kindle...

Along with the September Catholic Book Club selection, my fiction book this week is My Montana Twins, by Carolyne Aarsen, the third book in the Big Sky Centennial series:

This story centers around a widowed young mother of twins who is struggling to find any semblance of normalcy following the death of her husband a year ago. She is organizing a fair and picnic basket raffle for the centennial efforts, and the town and her church congregation are rallying around her to try and lift her spirits. I just love how I'm experiencing the change of seasons along with the characters in these books, since there is one released each month. I just started this installment, I think I'm 4% of the way in, so a long way to go. But very pleasant so far!

All right, time for afternoon tea. We're planning on watching some football this weekend and ordering in some food. :) Do you have any fun weekend plans for the first of September? Let me know in the comments!

And head over to Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes!

The Catholic Nook: Holy/Prayer Cards

Happy Thursday everyone, and you'll be pleased to note that my evil cold is finally dissipating.

*applause*

This is the best that I have felt in a week. Anne also seems to be getting better. She can already blow her nose, which is really helping. I seem to remember not properly being able to blow my nose until I was embarrassingly old, which Mike finds absolutely hilarious. :0 But now he's getting sick, so he's not laughing too hard, poor guy. And Henry has also been extra stuffy. He too has seasonal allergies, but I'm fearing the worst for him as well. We've navigating this wave of illness as best we can, and are all in good spirits. Hanging in there, to be sure. :)

On to today's topic. I got into work this morning, and my mind was abuzz thinking about some gift ideas for my nephews. Probably because I've been doing some knitting for them, and I finished up one project last night. :) I have 4 nephews, all of them have birthdays in the fall, and of course Christmas is only three and a half months away. I have ideas for each of them, and in a few cases, items already purchased and tucked away that happen to be of a religious nature. Then I got a bee in my bonnet for some reason today thinking about a coordinating holy card to go with the gift.

I don't know about you, but I love and collect holy cards. I wouldn't say that I'm a person that is very knowledgeable about art in any form, but the imagery that is so pervasive in Catholic churches and sacramentals has always appealed to me. I'm a cradle Catholic, and growing up the images that I'd see in church: the stauary, stained glass, stations of the cross plaques, paintings of the saints... all of those things captured my imagination when it would wander during Mass. And holy cards depicting these scenes in a smaller form were always present in the Catholic gift shops I'd go to with my mom, or receive in my religious education class. I also remember receiving a few holy cards when I made my First Communion.

As an adult, I have a stack of favorites on my desk at work, and a few pinned to my bulletin board. I use them as bookmarks, and buy them for Henry, who loves saint pictures and uses them similarly. I got him a few of his favorites for his First Communion, including St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Dominic Savio. I pick some up nearly every time I'm in a Catholic gift store.

And so what exactly are the significance of these cards? There is always an image on one side  depicting either a religious scene from the Bible/Tradition, or a specific person. The reverse will include a prayer invoking the intercession of the featured saint, or for a cause relating to the scene in question. Their purpose is to provide a visual reminder of important events and people in our faith, and encourage us to pray. They may help us to remember traditional prayers when we want to use those, such as the Our Father or Hail Mary (very useful for young children or those new to the Catholic faith) or the Act of Contrition when we are availing ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As well, a person struggling with a particular problem or ailment may have a holy card for a saint who is patron for those bearing this cross. For example, someone diagnosed with cancer may carry a St. Peregrine holy card and use it daily to ask for that saint's intercession and prayers for healing.

Holy cards can also provide solace in other ways. Funerals for Catholic men and women generally include holy cards with a religious image chosen by the family, information on the reverse side regarding the person's date of birth, death, and location of internment, along with a prayer.

I just love these visual cues that are a part of our faith. I find them inspiring and a perfect call to prayer.

And so this morning I ventured over to Catholic Springtime to peruse a bit. This is apparently a new offshoot of Catholic Prayer Cards, whom I've ordered from before. Their latest email had this new web address, promoting materials for the upcoming beatification of Pope Paul VI in October. And so I started adding cards to my cart. :)

Some for my nephews, some for me to add to my office collection. St. Nicholas for all of the kids for his feast day on December 6th. A few for friends. St. Isadore the Farmer for Henry, because I'm getting him a painted wooden St. Isadore for his Christmas stocking, isn't he smashing?

This is from St. Luke's Brush, on Etsy. The artist who paints these is *incredibly* talented. I bought two, and will post photos when they arrive!

So, holy cards. I'm excited to finalize my cart and place my order. :) Anyone else devoted to holy cards? Do leave your thoughts in the comments!

A finished sweater & (unsurprisingly) still coughing! on the feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great

I'm pretty sure I am now afflicted with a power punch of seasonal allergies and a SUPER EVIL cold. The cold had clearly descended from my head into my chest, where it is still residing and making me hack in a most unladylike fashion. I was so loud yesterday in my office, the man from *3 doors down* came to see if I was ok. :0 I was horrified. I mean, the walls are thin here, I know this based on some of the phone conversations I have unwittingly been privy to. But from 3 walls away? Yikes. 

But I just lost my train of thought, which happens so often these days. *long suffering sigh* Getting back on track... I'm coughing from a chest cold, however now my sinuses are a disaster again, which is where the seasonal allergies come back into play. This is a most displeasing development.

Anyway, let's move on to more pleasant topics. I have been keeping hydrated with lots of tea and cold water, and cough drops have been helping quite a bit. I've been sitting happily on the couch in the evenings knitting, and last night I finished Anne's sweater:

I had to be a bit creative in blocking, since the dark green edging cinched up the stripes a bit, but I pinned the heck out of it and it obeyed my command to loosen up a bit. That's the beauty of a fiber like wool, which becomes similar to clay when wet and will mold to your specifications. The not-so-beauteous thing about wool is that the texture can feel a bit scratchy on your bare skin, which resulted in Anne throwing this tantrum when I tried to get a photo of her wearing her new sweater:

Very unfortunate, no? :) Especially after I spent weeks knitting it. I think it's because she's wearing a short sleeved shirt underneath and had exposed arms. Next time I'll make sure the weather is cooler and she can wear long sleeves. This wool really is fairly soft, I chose it for that reason, but there isn't exactly any reasoning with a strong-willed three year old. Onto hats for the twins tonight!

In Catholic news, today is the feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great, which is perfect timing for all of the kids going back to school this week given that he's the patron of teachers and students. In the grand tradition of odd combinations of patronages, he's also the patron against gout and the plague. *gentle snort*

Certainly a wonderful intercessor for those in school, and I asked for his intercession this morning for Henry, since today is his first full day back. He had a half day yesterday, but met his teacher and got acclimated to his new room. He said that his teacher is very nice and he seemed pretty content. So far so good. :)

How is everyone else faring? Leave a comment if you'd like to share. :)

A sickly Labor Day weekend, and Henry's first day of 4th grade...

Happy Tuesday everyone, and I hope you had a great Labor Day. I love Labor Day weekend, so crisp and fresh-feeling. This year, I was sick for the entirety of the weekend, unfortunately, and in fact I'm still not back to 100%. I did have a lovely time with Mike and the kids, but the sick thing stunk a bit. Let us chronicle...

On Friday evening I was really stuffy, a hair headachey and generally feeling wimpy. We went to my in-laws to have cake in celebration of my father-in-law's birthday, and while pleasant, I was just *dying* to get home, put on pajamas, and lay on the couch doing nothing but breathing. Since I didn't have dance class this week, I was able to do that.

By the time I awoke on Saturday, my nose was an entity. I think I went through about 500 pieces of tissue. I was contemplating amputation by mid-afternoon. Aren't you so glad for these details? You're welcome.

:0

Mike and I had dinner plans that evening, and I really didn't want to cancel, so I rallied. I had things as under control as I could so that I could enjoy dinner. Which is to say ibuprofened-up with a purse full of tissue. It went pretty well.

During the night, I heard Anne crying. I go into her room.

"Mommy, could you take my temperature? My throat hurts."

UH OH.

She didn't have a fever, but definitely seemed a bit "off." By Sunday, I was only going through maybe 250 tissues so there had been some improvement. :0 I was, however, starting to cough.

WHY DOES GOD HATE ME LIKE THIS?!

I loathe coughing because it means I can't sleep well. And sleep, when you are a parent of young children, is a precious, precious commodity.

I didn't want to miss Mass on Sunday, so I dragged myself with only minimal hacking and tissue-related activities. As discreet as I was, it was still evident that there had been germs amongst us, and I thought that would have discouraged the people sitting near me during the Sign of Peace. I was wrong.

I'm sure all of you introverts out there are with me when I saw that the Sign of Peace is the most stressful part of Mass for me. :0 Eye contact needs to be made, a greeting, *touching*, it's just not my cup of tea. But I don't want to be rude, so I let the other person lead. I will either shake their hand or nod happily in their direction while wishing them peace, depending upon what they do. But yesterday? I wasn't shaking anybody's hand after all the nose blowing I was forced to do, it just would not have been seemly. When the eager hands came my way, I politely whispered that I had a cold and gave them a friendly wave. I hope they weren't offended. :-)

So I was managing the coughing by Sunday evening as best I could, and since Anne seemed to perk up a bit, I was hoping she was already on the up swing and maybe had only a very minor cold. I did, though, have the fever rash to end all fever rashes on my neck. You've all heard my tale of woe on this one before. This time at least, besides Mass, to which I wore a high-necked top, I could stay in. But still. Oy. My own mother saw me and exclaimed loudly:

"OH MY GOSH!! What is wrong with *your neck*?!"

"It's a rash. I get them all the time now when I'm sick."

"Well, you didn't when you were little, I WOULD HAVE REMEMBERED."

"Yes, it seems to have developed about 10 years ago." Lucky me.

"Well, you can't go to work like that. Good heavens."

*Tiffany frowns*

And then, to add to the fun:

5 am Monday morning: *Anne is crying* "MOMMY!"

She didn't feel good. She was stuffy and having a difficult time breathing out of her nose, keeping her awake. She said that her head hurt.

Poor, poor babe. Yesterday afternoon, after trying to sniff a scented candle, she came running up to me saying "Mommy, MY NOSE ISN'T WORKING!!" She was quite distressed about this. #precious

So I coddled her all day yesterday. My nose is now doing pretty decent, but my lungs and throat clearly aren't happy. I'm coughing more than ever and have developed what Mike calls my "sultry voice." While not nearly as much fun for me as it is for him, he enjoys this side effect quite a bit. :-)

This morning we also got Henry up for his first day of fourth grade. My baby! He seemed apprehensive, and change is always hard for him. The kid is so much like me.

I wanted a picture of him for his first day, looking adorable in his school uniform (approved summer wear permissible until October 1st):

"Henry, could you try and smile so that you won't look like you're about to be incarcerated?"

:-)

And so then we got this:

Eventually. There were multiple failed smile attempts in there that were...Henry will be very glad I deleted those. :0 But photos are not his favorite thing right now, to be sure. I'm very anxious to hear about his day.

All right, I need to go make more tea for my throat. How was your Labor Day? Do comment. :)

7 Quick Takes {Take 51} Onset of evil allergies edition...

-1- *sneezes*

Happy Friday everyone. *weak smile* This may be a shorter than usual edition of 7 Quick Takes, because I'm not feeling my absolute best. I have seasonal allergies that always savagely creep up on me this time of year, and they have indeed struck with a vengeance. I'm super sneezey, and have a pinprick headache right above my left eyeball that will not fully go away, even with ibuprofen. I'm resisting heaving a long suffering sigh, and feel that I am very courageous for doing so. ;-) I'm dying to go home and rest, so it's actually good that...

-2- Dancing shoes firmly tucked away this week

...I don't have dance tonight. Claire is happily in Miami at this giant belly dance convention (doesn't that sound absolutely sublime? An entire weekend of belly dancing and costume shopping) so we're off both tonight and next Friday. And if I had to feel lousy, I'm glad it's on a night when I wouldn't have to miss my class, because I'm very Type A about that. Three years ago, my birthday fell on a Friday night, AND I was fairly heavily pregnant with Anne, and this is what happened:

Mike: "Sweetie, why don't we go out to the Melting Pot on your birthday?"

The Melting Pot is one of my favorite guilty pleasures, giant vats of melted cheese and chocolate to dip crap in. It isn't Mike's favorite restaurant (he thinks it's overpriced, and he's absolutely right :0) but he knows that I love it. Isn't he sweet?

Me: "But...I have dance. We can go on Saturday!"

I'm nuts, you see. And belly dancing at 6 months pregnant. I consider this totally normal. :0

But we do have a performance lined up for September 16th, shortly after Claire gets back. So more performance fun to report in on soon!

-3- My little guy is starting 4th grade. *feels old*

Henry goes back to school on Tuesday, and it's hard for me to believe that he is starting 4th grade when it feels like he's still a mere babe. :( I do love his Catholic school though, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll be doing this year. Last year, his class worked throughout the fall on a big project spotlighting Christmas celebrations around the world in preparation for December. Don't you love that?

-4- My honey is such a cute teacher :)

Mike began teaching this week at one of the Catholic colleges he teaches at, but his full load doesn't all kick in until next week. He's teaching Philosophy of Human Rights, three sections of Introduction to Philosophy, and two introductory math courses at a local community college. That math gig is a new one, and we're hoping he'll like it. That's quite a large load for the semester, but I'm so happy that he has found a good groove with teaching.

-5- There is no possible rosary accessory that I do not own...

And so amidst all of this autumn change, I'll be doing lots of praying for everyone. :) I love and collect rosaries, as I'm sure you've ascertained if you have spent any amount of time on this blog, and earlier in the week I asked the lovely Allison of Rosaries by Allison if she would make me a one decade pocket rosary. I wanted something that I could just tuck in my pocket and have with me all the time. So she did, and so I love it. :0

That's Pope Francis in the center, with a Good Shepherd crucifix. She had the beads and supplies to make two exactly the same, and I bought both of them. ;-)

-6- Currently on my Kindle...

I was in the mood for an Amish book this week, and selected this one from my to-be-read Amish folder:

I absolutely love these Amish romances. The settings are always so tranquil and the stories so sweet. I'm about 10% of the way in, and this book appears to be no exception. Our main character, Judith, sees a man helping her brother after he has a nasty accident, and this mystery man assures Judith that the little boy will be all right. No one else, however, saw this man. A vision of some kind? Her prospective beau doesn't believe her story and thinks she is making it up for attention, a result of her nagging jealousy towards her somewhat more outgoing and flirtatious younger sister. I'm thinking she can do better than this guy, and I have my eye on another, better suited beau for her. :)

-7- Catholic Book Club!

 We had a very fun installment of the Catholic Book Club this week, with Erin McCole Cupp's Don't You Forget About Me, a Catholic mystery novel. We've been reading a lot of Catholic fiction lately, so for September and October I'm switching it up to go back to non-fiction for a spell, before we read fiction again around the holidays. September's book is Dominican Life, by Fr. Walter Wagner, OP.

This is a series of retreat talks reflecting on the rule of St. Augustine, which is what is followed by members of the Dominican order, and applying it to our 21st century lives. As a Third Order Dominican, I'm really looking forward to delving into this one. I have this on my Kindle to read along with the fiction title I have going. We'll be discussing on Sept. 24th if you'd like to read along!

All right, glad I haven't crawled under my desk yet for a nap. It's going to be a long day. :0 I hope that you all have a marvelous Labor Day weekend, and I will be back with you again on Tuesday. Until then! Check out Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes!

The Church Triumphant: Spotlight on St. Maximilian Kolbe

Happy Thursday everyone, and today I have another installment in The Church Triumphant series. For August, I wanted to feature St. Maximilian Kolbe, a favorite of my Henry's, and whose feast we just celebrated on August 14th.

St. Maximilian is very dear to my heart. I knew that he had given his life for the sake of another, which of course in and of itself recommends that person as one of great integrity and virtue. But he is also a favorite of Henry's, and Henry's enthusiasm made me want to look to St. Maximilian more closely. I downloaded a book for Henry to his Kindle, Maximilian Kolbe: Saint of Auschwitz by Elaine Murray Stone, which is a biography written for children his age, and we've been reading it together before bedtime each night. Henry has been entranced, and I have learned quite a bit about our Maximilian. :)

...like the fact that his given name was Raymond, and that he came from a family of brothers, born in Poland during the late nineteenth century. His parents were both very devout Catholics, and raised their three sons firmly in the faith. In fact, as a widow later in her life, his mother became a Benedictine nun, and his brother Alphonse also became a priest. Apparently, in his younger years, Maximilian (the name he chose when he became a Franciscan novice and received the habit) was a bit precocious and gave his parents some gray hair. After he made his First Communion, however, he had to grow up in a hurry. He had a vision of Our Blessed Mother, during which time she held out two crowns, one white (for purity) and one red (for martyrdom). Our Lady asked Maximilian which he would accept, and he replied that he would accept both. A weighty endeavor, indeed.

After he joined the Franciscans as a young man, Maximilian started the Immaculata Movement, a group devoted to Our Lady and the spirit of evangelization. He was full of zeal for spreading the message of the love of Christ and Our Lady. Part of this ministry was a newspaper that he developed called The Knight of the Immaculate. This newspaper was very successful, with a daily run, and the monastery where he lived even acquired a printing press to aid in this important part of their work.

Throughout the early part of his adulthood, Maximilian struggled with his health. He contracted tuberculosis and his physical strength never fully recovered. He didn't let that stop him from traveling to Japan to spread his missionary efforts there, including a Japanese language edition of The Knight.

He ended up back in Poland on account of his health, and following the Nazi invasion in 1939, he was arrested with other priests for publishing material speaking out against Nazi atrocities. He and his group of friars were briefly released, but two years later, the Nazis came again for Fr. Maximilian, and this time they were angry enough that release wasn't an option. He was taken to a prison in Warsaw, and then on to Auschwitz. The friars at his monastery were devastated.

In the camp, he ministered to others as discreetly as he could, staying awake at night to pray with other prisoners and hear confessions, to the detriment of his own health. The hard labor and meager rations the prisoners received certainly also contributed.

Two months later, a man from their cell block escaped and was not re-located. The punishment for this was the death of ten men from within this same group, via starvation. Ten were chosen, and one of them, a husband and father of young children, asked that his life be spared for their sake. Fr. Maximilian offered to take his place, and his request was granted.

At this point of the story, I will pause to say that Henry and I got to this part last night in our reading of the book I mentioned above. I tried to mentally prepare myself, so that I wouldn't get emotional. But needless to say, if a lack of Ziploc bags can make me cry, I had zero chance of keeping it together last night. I struggled a bit as I read about how the men were shoved into this small cell and began to suffer. For *two weeks*. Fr. Kolbe did his best to keep their spirits up by praying with them and singing. When I got to the part where one man was so desperate from thirst that he drank urine, I lost it and started crying. Henry was watching me, very wide eyed, but I couldn't help it. For children oftentimes, human suffering and death, while sad, is very abstract. Not so for adults.

The men began to die, bodies being carried out daily. Fr. Kolbe lingered until the end. When the cell was needed for other condemned prisoners, Fr. Kolbe was given a lethal injection to end his life.

We're certainly ending on a sad note. But St. Maximilian's story is an inspiring one of faith and courage. I'm so glad that Henry has taken a shine to him, and hopefully will ask for his intercession throughout his life.

Henry's rosary, with St. Maximilian Kolbe medal near crucifix

Do you or someone you know have a devotion to St. Maximilian Kolbe? Leave a comment. :)

Catholic Book Club: Don't You Forget About Me

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's another book club day, and today we have a Catholic fiction selection, Don't You Forget About Me, paired up with an author interview with Erin McCole Cupp! We'll circle back to that in a moment. :0 Let's start with some information about the book, and my thoughts and questions for Erin. Away we go!

I read a lot of fiction, but fiction written from a Catholic perspective is not so easy to come by. When I learned about Don't You Forget About Me, I couldn't *wait* to download and get started reading it. As a bonus, this is a mystery, a genre that I adore.

This story centers around our heroine, Cate, a successful author who is traveling back to her hometown in suburban Philadelphia for a funeral at her Catholic school alma mater. The deceased is old Sister Thomas Marie, an unforgettable staple in her high school years. Cate is feeling trepidatious about returning to visit her old life (partly because she has fallen away from her faith, and partly because...well, keep reading :)), and her best friend, Staz, is counseling Cate via phone calls and text messages to support her through what she is expecting to be an emotional weekend. As soon as Cate gets back into the area, she is bombarded with memories and associated emotions, especially concerning a particular traumatic incident that occurred during her years at Our Lady of the Seven Dolors. And then there is her old crush, and former childhood friend, Gene, who is now a medical doctor suspecting that something is not quite right at their old school. Was Sister Thomas Marie's death *really* just from natural causes? Gene also has suspicions about the environmental situation near the school (the author includes a mention of the Love Canal, with which I am intimately familiar,) and has a theory involving the birth control pill...

Fascinating fodder in there, no?! This story moves FAST, I read it quickly because I could hardly put it down once I got going. I also related very much to the main characters. Cate is reflecting back on her childhood during the 1980's, and although I was younger than her at that time, I too recall and grew up during that time period. Fabulous references. :) And the moral theology woven into this fast-paced, well-written story...well, that is just priceless. A great read. I definitely suggest that you download this to your Kindle/Kindle app. At just $3.99, it's a steal!

Ok, on to Erin herself. I gave a lot of thought to what I would like to ask her about her book, and let's see what she has to say. :)
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1. What drew you to craft a mystery story rather than another type of fiction? Are you a mystery fan yourself?

Hmm… well, to answer the second part of this question, I thought I wasn’t a mystery fan, but it turns out I am!  When the story for Don’t You Forget About Me showed up in my brain as a murder mystery, I kind of turned to God and said, “This isn’t the kind of thing I read.  Are You quite sure You want me on this one?” I mean, I’ve read a couple of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books, but otherwise I’m more of a science fiction, YA, classics and literary reader.  So when it came time to hammer out the plot structure for DYFAM, I sat down and did a Theatre 101 analysis of one of my favorite X-Files episodes, “Darkness Falls.” I’m not embarrassed to say that I cut my writing chops in the school of fanfiction. I think Cate may have showed up ginger in a subconscious homage to Agent Scully, even though the two are so completely different in terms of internal character.  That and Cate’s tall.  Her feet reach the pedals. I digress.

2.  The setting for this book in and around a Catholic school in suburban Philadelphia felt quite vivid and personal. What of your own background is reflected in this aspect, or others, of the story?

Ergh… this is a tough question to answer because the prideful writer in me wants to say that everything I’ve ever written is completely outside of myself… but who am I kidding?  It’s not.  Even in my science fiction novel, there’s still something of the familiar (to me, at least) even in that (not literally) alien of a setting.  Anyway. Yes, I went to Catholic schools in the Philly suburbs, and yes, the town where I grew up is home to a couple of Superfund sites.  That was just a jumping-off point, though. Walkerville is not the town where I grew up. Our Lady of the Seven Dolors does not exist.  And so on.

3.  The friendship between Cate and Staz is pivotal to the story. Do you have a similar friendship in your own life, and if so how did this influence the way you wrote these characters?

I do!  I totally do!  Nada, my BFF from college, was completely the inspiration for Staz, though I tend to think of myself as her Staz, since I’m the married sidekick and she’s the single adventurer.  The funny thing is that Nada and I became friends at our Christopher House, the campus Catholic community center. Yes, she’s a convert but not from Judaism, so I’m still not quite sure how or why Staz showed up Jewish.  All I know is that when I said her first name out loud for the first time, I just sort of said, “Oh.  Okay.  She’s Jewish.” I have a number of Jewish friends and family members, however, so maybe that part of my roots showed through in Staz.

4.  How easy (or difficult) was this book to maintain is Catholicity without losing a secular audience? In my opinion, you carried this off flawlessly.

Oh, my goodness, thank you!  That’s, like, the best compliment. I think that, since I considered myself a writer before I had my reversion experience in college, I’ve thought in terms of story for longer than I’ve thought in terms of evangelism. As a writer, I’ve always just wanted to tell the Truth, even when I didn’t recognize that that had been my aim. On one hand, I think that makes my work less “message-centric” and more about the story, which I hope would be appealing across faith lines.  On the other hand, that mindset can take the whole apostolate thing out of writing novels, so I have to be careful not to cower behind the fiction façade. Does that make any sense?

5.  Who is Cate? Is she you, or a composite of you and some other heroines you’ve undoubtedly met!
That is a really, really hard question to answer. I think Cate is my opposite in that she and I faced some of the same choices and took completely different paths. Why would a Catholic writer write a character who is so… not?  I think it comes down to my adoring bafflement with people in my life who have Truth staring them in the face, shouting at them and waving its arms, and they just kind of glide on by as if nothing happened. What is going on with them, and why is it so different from what is going on with me?  They’re certainly bright enough. They’re loveable. Why do they think so differently, then? Cerebrally, I know it all boils down to the fact that faith is a gift. I'm still baffled. Cate was the hardest character to write.
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Has anyone else read Don't You Forget About Me? Leave a comment with your thoughts!

Frenetic first day of classes...

Happy Tuesday everybody! Tuesday of the 21st week of Ordinary Time, to be exact. No saint on the liturgical calendar today (bummer), but today is the conclusion to the St. Monica novena, as her feast day is tomorrow! If you have any loved ones who have strayed from the faith, St. Monica is your go-to gal. Ask for her intercession. I have really enjoyed this novena, and currently have materials in my Fusion Beads cart to make her chaplet.

*beams*

But yesterday was the first day of classes here, so I thought I'd report in on that. It's pretty warm here this week, so the weather isn't exactly screaming FALL! But that's ok. There's always a wonderful sense of expectant energy on the first day of classes for the fall semester. In the life of this state university librarian, there are also parking snafus and panicked students at the reference desk.

I'll start with the parking, since I'm still feeling feisty about it. :0 I don't know why this has to be so complicated, but it is. We have a large student population here, nearly 30,000 (across 2 campuses, but still). There are also a lot of employees, as you might imagine. And yet, there are not enough parking spaces.

A few years ago, they did *a study*. A study about parking, because this is a university, and studies apparently make people feel productive. And the result, they tell us, is that there ARE enough parking spaces. Aforementioned parking spaces simply aren't where WE WANT THEM TO BE.

Now, ok. The Powers That Be *clearly* want us to now see the "error" of our ways, and agree with them that we shouldn't complain about parking anymore.

I don't *think so* MISTER SMARTY PANTS. Nobody wants to park several miles away and hike through the excessive wind that is omnipresent on this poorly constructed campus to get to work. Nor are we wild about the idea of parking far away and awaiting a shuttle in the winter time. In Buffalo. There is plenty of space on this ugly suburban sprawl of a college campus, and it seems to me that we could come up with a better solution much closer to the buildings that everyone wants to get to.

I'm just SAYING. But nobody has come and surveyed me, so there you have it.

So, yesterday I arrived on campus bright eyed and bushy tailed, only to get behind a truck that puttered along very slowly, perusing the full parking lots. There was lots of signage and parking people standing guard at each lot, trying to direct everyone. Said truck marooned me out in the road as he partially turned, blocking everyone, to talk to one of the parking people. I felt annoyed, but I know that my first day here I didn't know where to go either, so we'll give him a pass. When I finally got by him and up to the staff portion of that particular lot, there were about 6 spaces left. I nabbed one.

This morning, I arrived at the exact same time, feeling angelic at 8:30 am, and zoomed easily up to the staff lot, bypassing the anxious-looking parking people with ease. Except, *dun dun dunnnnnnnnn*. There were no parking spots.

:0

*long suffering sigh*

I parked in one of the student lots that was still close by and walked just a few minutes further, no big deal. But come 9-9:30 am, WATCH OUT! Misery will ensue. And swear words. Which reminds me, I'm leaving a tad early today to make it to confession.

;-)

So, parking behind me, we now have the entity that is the library reference desk during the first week of classes. My first shift of the week actually isn't until tomorrow (just can't wait) but I got a foretaste of things last Friday afternoon. The campus was already bustling from orientations and move-in day. After fielding several students who approached me with their syllabi, hoping that the library carried all of their textbooks for them to check out for the duration of the semester, and somehow ahead of the 249 classmates in their giant lecture courses (sigh), I hear a BOOP! on my chat reference interface.

"Hello. How can I help you?"

*halo*

"Hi! I'm working on a thesis project. I need to find stuff on 5 different deities from ancient Greek mythology, as well as..."

You get the idea. Not exactly a simple question answered easily via IM.

"Do you need find both books and articles? Have you found anything that you are using already?"

"Um, I do need both books and articles. In fact, a graduate school friend of mine gave me an article to use. But I'm not familiar with this Odyssey tool."

This happens a lot in chat reference. He has started speaking in some unfamiliar language with no explanation. :0 I don't know what on earth he's talking about, and elaboration isn't exactly forthcoming. I take a stab at it.

"Do you mean, "The Odyssey"? By Homer?"

That seemed plausible, given the subject matter.

"No."

*long pause as I await further details*

*none comes*

"Should I look at the library website?"

"Well, yes, we have... [insert explanation of our discovery service here]. But where do you see 'Odyssey' in reference to this article you have?"

"Oh. It says 'Odyssey' along the side. The person who gave it to me is from another college."

"Ah. I bet that is an interlibrary loan/delivery service of some kind, from another institution."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess."

:0

[insert efficient and helpful completion of reference interaction by your resident Catholic Librarian]

:)

Good times. Anybody else have a first day of school for you or your little one yesterday? Leave me a comment!

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - Reflections on gratitude and community...

There are my cute little minions at left, posing in front of the candle they lit for the intentions of my St. Monica novena. Henry looks thrilled, doesn't he? :0 Really doesn't like photographs, that child. Anne told me she didn't want to be in the picture and pouted dramatically off to the side, but when she realized that I was then taking a picture in which Henry was the star, she hustled right over. They were both very well behaved for Mass once again, and I'm very proud of them. They really are sweethearts.

As we got situated in the pew, I thought to myself how I'd like to pay more attention to the readings this week. It's not totally my fault that I can't completely follow this part of the liturgy - the first reading is inevitably when Anne asks me to take her back to the restroom. But I started trying out a podcast that is new to me, Monday Morning Catholic (that's a link to their videos, but you can also subscribe to the audio right through iTunes), and in each episode the panel discusses the readings and homilies from their parish, and the liturgy for that week. I love nitty-gritty stuff like this when it comes to my obsessions (of which, Catholicism is one of them ;-)) so I've listened the past few weeks and felt inspired. If I had to give a summary of what our pastor discussed in the homily, could I do so in an intelligible manner? Usually not, I'll just come clean. The liturgy I could discuss with some semblance of coherency, but during the readings and homily my mind is usually quite divided and distracted. 

So I did my best this weekend, and the children mostly obliged me, aside from the requisite bathroom visit. Anne and I are wearing a path in the marble from our pew to the sacristy bathroom, let me tell you. But I was able to pay *more* attention this week. My Magnificat subscription helps, since I can read everything back over in a spare moment after Anne and I return to the pew. :0 The Gospel was the well-known: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" passage from Matthew.

Reflecting on both Monday Morning Catholic as well as my experience at Mass yesterday, I was thinking about how wonderful it is that we have a standard lectionary/schedule of readings worldwide. No matter where you go to Mass, you will hear the same readings that relate to the liturgical season, and in three years you will hear a good portion of the Bible. Catholics get a bad reputation for not "being immersed in Scripture," but if one truly makes an effort to attend Mass and listen to the Word, you will be immersed in a great deal of Scripture.

I love being a part of this global Church. It makes me feel a part of something so much larger than myself, and something important. Sitting in my small parish in Western New York, I feel connected with those who are sitting around me, but I also feel connected to Catholics everywhere. It's a wonderful thing, and I'm so grateful for that. *You all* are also part of my global community, and I thank you for sticking around to read what I write each week.

*blows kiss* :)

I love my little parish too. The pastor and deacon who baptized Anne recognize us and greet us by name. We know the ushers and parishoners who usually sit near us by sight and exchange happy smiles during the Sign of Peace. I'm excited for the fall events and ministries to get started back up again in a few weeks. It's all just lovely.

Continuing our theme of "community" for the week, I have a few fun things in store. Wednesday is Catholic Book Club day, and I will be posting on Erin McCole Cupp's Don't You Forget About Me, including an interview with Erin! Thursday is the August installment of The Church Triumphant, so check back then to see the featured saints for the month. *squeals!* I love this stuff. :0

How was your weekend, dear reader? Leave me a comment!