An Aid To Memory

On Friday February 25th, Jonathan, Maria, and I visited the Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. It was my first pilgrimage, and was a source of much-needed spiritual refreshment; I needed consolation in a real way. Jonathan has blogged on this pilgrimage already in three parts: I, II, III, IV. Much of what he says I repeat. His is more detailed.

We arrived in Carey in the afternoon. The day was cloudy, cold, and some flurries flew through the air while we walked the grounds.

We began our visit by praying before the before the Our Lady of Consolation altar (pictured to the left). Then we moved to the other altars, including the Our Lady of Sorrows altar. We bought shrine prayer books for 1.50 each, and used the prayers appropriate for each altar. They were great deals!

In the lower shrine area, we visited more altars and prayer areas, including the prayer area to St. Theresa the Little Flower (shown to the right, below; Maria can be seen to the right). The Our Lady of Guadalupe altar was beautiful as well (see lower left photo).

After we left the shrine basilica, we went across the street to a special Lenten seafood buffet put on by the Shrine Cafeteria. The seafood tasted great, and Lent aside, I have been craving fish a lot. The cafeteria and buffet were cool tastes of Catholic culture. It was neat to see such a vibrant Catholic community in such a little town.

We returned to the Shrine for more prayer after the dinner. I kept feeling drawn to the Basilica! We then visited the old parish for the Stations of the Cross. The architectural style reminded me of the Protestant churches I grew up attending. We arrived late to the Stations, because we didn’t know where they were being prayed (maybe we should have checked a little more closely!).

After praying the stations, we prayed once more before the Our Lady of Consolation altar, finishing up Jonathan and I’s first pilgrimage. On the way home, as on the way up, we stopped for some Speedway coffee, and thanks to my brand-new "Speedy Rewards Card" we earned some free coffee!!

Today is Valentine’s Day, when millions of people worldwide give their loved ones roses, candies, and sometimes, even engagement rings. The holiday is all but secularized now, since in the Catholic Church, St. Valentine’s day celebrations are confined only to local calendars, and not the general calendar. This is because historical details about the real St. Valentine are sketchy. Why is his day associated with romantic love? It may be because of a Medieval belief that birds begin to pair-up on February 14th.

Today is actually Ss. Cyril and Methodius day in the General Calendar. They were 9th century missionaries to the Slavic lands. The Cyrillic alphabet is named after St. Cyril, although there is some debate now as to whether he invented the alphabet.

Have a happy Valentine’s day!

Image from: http://spinayarn.com/needlepoint.htm

Today is Ash Wednesday, when we Western Christians begin Lent by getting ashes and oil smeared on our foreheads as a sign of repentance, a symbol that goes back to the days of  wearing "sackcloth and ashes." For Catholics, the day is one of two required fast days, when only one full meatless meal is allowed the entire day (the other is Good Friday). Eastern Catholics often observe a stricter Lenten fast. Orthodox Lent does not begin for awhile, because their system of figuring the Easter (Pascha) date is different than the Catholic Church’s method. A blessed Ash Wednesday to everyone!

In other news, I just found out that Visicom is no longer making its free version of AceHTML, my favorite HTML editor. That’s kind of a bummer.

Image from: http://www.christlutheranchurch.mb.ca/ash_wednesday_eucharist.htm

I have been fighting chest congestion for a few days now. Last time I beat it before it became an infection while using with this method. Here is what I am doing. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t, who knows?

Odorless Garlic/Rosemary- 600 mg, 2x/day
Vitamin C/Bioflavonoids- 1000 mg/day
Olive Leaf- 500 mg/day
Bromelain 2000GDU- 500 mg/day
Multi-Vitamin- 1x/day
Cayenne Pepper- liberal use
Guaifenesin- 200-400 mg/day

Rationale: Vitamin C has been shown in some studies to fight infections. Garlic has too. Olive Leaf kills many bacteria and viruses in vitro. I take Bromelain with the Olive Leaf, because it has been shown in studies to increase the potency of antibiotics, and itself thins out mucus. The multi is for general well-being. Cayenne cleans me out, and Guaifenesin makes mucus more able to be expelled.

Who knows if it works, but that’s what I am doing!

Today is St. Blaise’s day in the Western Church Calendar (It falls on February 11 on some Eastern calendars). Blaise (d. AD 316) may have been a bishop in Armenia, although it is hard to separate truth from legend. He was probably martyred. One of his miracles was saving the life of a boy who was choking on a fishbone that could not be extricated from his throat. Thus, his name is associated with the throat. In many parishes worldwide, priests bless people’s throats against infection and cancer, using the Rite of St. Blaise. Candles crossed over the throat are used in this process, as the photo illustrates. Happy St. Blaise day to everyone.

Image from: http://www.ourladyofmountcarmel.org/

Lent is on its way, beginning this year on Feb. 9th (Ash Wednesday)! While this may sound silly, I have very positive memories of past Lenten seasons. In some ways, I even view Lent the way I viewed Christmas as a child. I know, I know, I probably have some hidden guilt complex, but call me crazy, I enjoy Lent.

I don’t know why, but having an empty stomach most of the day on Ash Wednesday, watching the "Passion of the Christ" on Good Friday, and going to the Preaching of the Passion at the Church of Our Saviour on Good Friday produce very nostalgic thoughts in my mind. Maybe it is because I enjoy being penitent. It’s not so much that I have a guilt complex, but I have a strong sense that in almost every way, I am not "ok." I fail people, I don’t live up to the Beatitudes. I get impatient. I can go on and on. Lent is a time to repent, to make amends, and to discipline myself to do better. I guess I enjoy that opportunity…plus I kind of like the color purple :).

Image from: http://www.his.com/~sokolove/liturgical.htm