An Aid To Memory

I just found out that St. Sebaldus (aka St. Sebald) is the patron saint against cold weather. His feast day is August 19. Today is April 15th (Divine Mercy Sunday and tax day…although the government has extended the due date until tomorrow), and the forecast is calling for more cold and maybe even some snow! We just can’t seem to shake this cold. The photo below I took on a cold, rainy day last April. Of course, we only had a few such days last year…not the entire month!

I have also updated some of the older posts, since the photos were hosted on my old typepad site. Not all the photos have been added, but a good chunk have. I also updated some of the blog addresses on the side bar.

This year I had a nice Christmas. I proposed to Jennifer and got her an engagement ring a few weekends ago. I proposed to her at the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, and she said “yes!” This has been the most exciting part of the holiday season this year. Because of the personal nature of the proposal (and I have been very busy), I haven’t had a chance to blog about it.

I bought quite a few presents this year, thanks in part to a generous bonus from an alumnist of our school. A few folks will be receiving copies of Dave Hartline’s new book as a gift, but they must be patient. By the time I get them out they may be Epiphany or Lent gifts! I enjoyed Midnight Mass, but I was extremely tired this year, and I admit it was hard to stay awake. The service was beautiful as usual.

I never know what to request for Christmas. I often get some clothes and some money, and a few side gifts.

Over Christmas break, my dad, Jonathan, and I went to a friend’s property and shot at cans and targets. I haven’t shot a gun in ages, but it was fun. I have never hunted an animal and doubt I ever will, but I do like shooting all kinds of guns. Growing up, my dad always emphasized safety and the proper use of firearms. Over break, I managed to take out two cans of diet generic pop in two shots, and a crystal light plastic bottle as well, at a distance of about 15 yards, with a handgun. I was pretty excited! Plus, it was a chance for us male family members to hang out together and get off our butts after Christmas lunch. Jennifer, mom, and grandma stayed home and hung out. It was a pretty gloomy day, and it was raining, so we had to shoot from a cabin’s porch, but this made it easy to pick up the spent cartridges.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a blessed Christmas season! We Catholics have more Christmas days ahead, as the Christmas season has just begun. The photo above is of one of our family trees. I used a filter for my camera that Jennifer got me for Christmas. The bottom photo is of the cup of coffee I had on Christmas Day. It was the “Wild Ass Blend” from Uncommon Grounds Cafe. One of my dad’s employees gets him coffee from Uncommon Grounds every year, and we always look forward to it.

The Feast of the Assumption is coming up on August 15th. The feast, celebrating Mary’s being assumed into heaven at the end of her life, is called the Dormition of the Mother of God in the Eastern Churches. This feast also marks the two-year anniversary of my becoming Catholic. It’s hard to believe its almost been 2 years!

This year the feast is a Holy Day of Obligation because it falls on a Tuesday, so be sure to check out local Mass times.

Today is The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, also known as Trinity Sunday. Now is a time to celebrate and commemorate the reality that all creation looks toward: the Holy Trinity, God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Below is the Collect for Trinity Sunday:

Father,
you sent your Word
to bring us truth
and your Spirit to make us holy.
Through them we come to know
the mystery of your life.
Help us to worship you,
one God in three Persons,
by proclaiming and
living our faith in you.
We ask you this,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
one God, true and living,
for ever and ever.

From Prayers to the Trinity and for Trinity Sunday

…if every Lent-observing family gave up one trip somewhere per week and gave the money saved in gas to the poor. Let’s say there are 10 million families observing Lent, and each gives up an unneeded trip amounting to two gallons per week. Each week (all things remaining constant, which is unrealistic I know, but let’s assume this for the sake of this argument) this would add 20 million gallons of gas to the US stockpiles. This alone, over the course of six weeks, would probably have the effect of lowering the price of unleaded gas by at least 30 cents, although based on my observations of the oil and gas market, such robust growth in gasoline stocks, if coupled with other bearish factors, could lower the price by a dollar. Additionally, if all Lent-observing Christians lowered their house temperature by three degrees, a similar price drop in other fossil fuels could result.

This would also mean about 40 million additional dollars going to the poor, not to mention saving us all money at the pump. Just food for thought here. Our president said we are addicted to oil. Curtailing an unhealthy attachment to a material good is always a good Lenten goal, especially when this attachment places a burden on the poor and finances terrorism and anti-American nations.

Lent is here. Why do I like Lent? It is probably the same reason I enjoy cleaning the house and sorting my books every so often. It is good to clean house every so often. Lent gives us a chance to examine those areas of our life that are encumbered by material and sinful things. By denying ourselves physical pleasures and by increasing prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we allow God to transform us. Lent is in some senses a journey of transformation (sorry to use a buzz word!). Either Jonathan or I took this photo at a local shrine. I enhanced it using Google’s Picasa2, which is an amazing, free, photo organization and manipulation program.

Here is my basic Lenten plan (a plan I am sharing with my girlfriend Jennifer). I am not posting this to brag in any way, but to share the ideas we had. Note that numbers 1-3 are expected of all Western Catholics. Eastern Catholics and Orthodox Christians often have stricter requirements. For more ideas we have compiled Suggestions for your Lenten Fast.

1. No Meat on Fridays
2. Fasting on Ash Wednesday
3. Fasting on Good Friday
4. Read Matthew, John, Galatians, Philippians and Jude
5. Follow the Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan
6. No Snacking
7. No Fried Potatoes
8. Save gas by avoiding 1 trip out/week
9. Exercise 3 times/week

Now, here is what sin each activity fights:
1,2,3,6,7,9: Gluttony, materialist attachments
4,5: Ignorance, Sloth
9: General Materialism

Also, the plan is to give any money saved (from not eating fries or taking an extra car ride) to a Catholic charity.

Also, for those interested in discussing the Church Fathers readings online, please check out the schedule for the Catholics Building Bridges Room on Paltalk.

Lent is coming. It is about a week away to be exact. If you are interested in reading the Church Fathers during Lent, please check out the Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan, which will help you read through 205 pages of early Christian writings over 40 days. Our good friend Chad has taken the time and compiled all the readings in one big pdf file: Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan: With Texts.

Also, I have bought a few books recently that I am looking forward to reading:
The Heart of Catholicism
New Jerome Biblical Commentary
The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice
1940 Hymnal of the Episcopal Church (thanks Jennifer!)

And though it is not a book, it still entertains me:
Andy Griffith Show Season 5 

Today is the Feast of the Presentation, also known as Candlemas. In addition to the information page, we have compiled some Candlemas Prayers for your use. Happy Candlemas!

Also, Charles over at Land of Hope and Glory is back. Welcome Back Charles! Chad has already welcomed him back, but I can still second that motion!

Today, January 13, is the feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers. Hilary was a 4th century bishop in France. He was known as an irenic, but effective defender of the Nicene faith. He was deposed multiple times by Arian emperors, but returned to his diocese after popular outcry. He even showed an Arian bishop the error of his ways. He has been called "the Athanasius of the West." He also had a strong connection with Eastern Christianity, and reported Eastern theology and councils to the Western Church. Interestingly, Hilary didn’t even know about the Nicene Council until years after the event, but he insisted the Western Church already held to the Nicene faith, council or no council. For his contributions to the Catholic faith, Pope Pius IX declared him a "doctor of the universal Church" in 1851. There are currently 33 saints bearing this title, including Athanasius himself.

I chose Hilary as my confirmation name because of the reasons I listed above: the Eastern connection, his irenic orthodoxy, etc. This is why his feast is special to me. The only problem is that very few people know who Saint Hilary is, so finding St. Hilary medals and holy cards is impossible. Happy Feast of St. Hilary.

For those of you unfamiliar with Paltalk, it is a voice and text chat service. In other words, it works as a sort of virtual gathering place or conference center. Someone can take the mic while others chat in text, and then people raise their hands to get in line to use the mic. Some of us frequent Catholic and Orthodox rooms there. A few of us decided to open a room last year: Catholics Building Bridges (look in the Christianity section). The room was made to counteract the venom that often is present in Christian rooms on paltalk. While we don’t compromise the Catholic faith, we are interested in dialogue with non-Catholics and praying with them (and answering questions). The room is set up a lot like Ancient and Future Catholics, and the admins are all AFC contributors. We have decided to begin hosting events on Paltalk, and even recording some of these for future podcasts.

Our first "event" will be a lessons and carols celebration on January 5th, the eve of Epiphany. The event will be in the "Catholics Building Bridges" room, at 9:00 PM EST. This will be a joyous way to end the 12 Days of Christmas. For more information, we have brochure in .pdf format. Sorry for the short notice.

For those unfamiliar with paltalk who wish to come: Go to Paltalk.com, download paltalk messenger, and sign up for a nickname.

Addition: for more information and upcoming events related to our Paltalk room, check out Catholics Building Bridges Room Events and Guidelines