Saturdays with the Saints: St. James the Greater

It's Saturday once again and that means it's time for another Saturday with the Saints! Our saint today is St. James the Greater, brother of John and son of Zebedee. One of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, he, along with John and Peter were singled out by Jesus to accompany him on several occasions and he, along with John, were given a special name by the Lord, the Sons of Thunder. Shortly after the Resurrection, James became one of the first Martyrs, and the story goes that, upon hearing him speak at his trial, the man who arrested James converted and was executed with him.

Though there is no historical evidence, many believe that St. James went to Spain and witnessed there until an apparition of the Blessed Mother appeared to him upon a pillar that is still conserved and venerated today. It was after this event that he returned to Judea and was beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I. It is also believed that, after his martyrdom, his disciples returned to Iberia with his body, where it was buried.

And that's all I could find. Well, there was a few fictional stories and a blurb on the Latter-Day Saints, but we're here for the Catholic view of St. James the Greater.

I hope you all have a wonderful day and don't forget to have the kiddies put their shoes out for St. Nicholas!

Yours Always,
Tara

The day before Thanksgiving (At least if you're American)

It's Wednesday night, and tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in my little corner of the world. This time, last year, I had two friends, neither of whom lived near me, was working as a janitor (a thankless job that barely paid for the gas my truck needed), was stressed over college, and was lying to myself about the damage my parents' divorce had caused for the third year in a row.

I've come a long ways from there. Now, I have five friends (yay!), two of whom live within a short distance from me, a different job that pays better, no college (though I really do need to go back) and while I'm still trying to work through my problems, I'm doing a lot better. I also have a new baby sister, my relationship with my mother is better, and my journey into the Catholic church is well under-way.

I'm still a little stressed, but I imagine I'll be stressed until they put me in my grave, so I'm really not to worried about that. I feel a lot better, even with all of my ranting.

So, how do I plan on spending my Thanksgiving? Well, I'm going to help Granma cook and clean, I'm going to watch the parade and the Muppet Christmas Carol, I'm going to read A Christmas Carol, set up my Christmas playlist for work, work on my knitting, and just generally enjoy the day.

Thanksgiving officially marks the start of my holiday season, and I'm really looking forward to it.

This year is also the first year that I'll be celebrating Advent. I've got a nice little wreath and candles, and two books, the Magnificat Advent companion and The Little way of Advent. While I don't feel the same kinship to St. Therese that so many seem to, I do find her Little Way to be lovely in it's openness. Both books look promising, and I'm hoping they help me celebrate my first Advent properly.

Anyway, I'm just on to wish all of you a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Yours always,
Tara

Saturday's with the Saints: St. Walter of Pontoise

St. Walter of Pontoise was a French saint, born in the 11th century in Andainville. He was a professor of philosophy and rhetoric before becoming a Benedictine monk at Rebais. He was appointed to be the abbot of a new foundation despite his protests by Phillip I.

He left Pontoise to become a monk at Cluny under Hugh but later had to return. He attempted to escape his job, going so far as to hand his resignation into the Pope (who sent him home and told him to stay put this time). When that failed, he began a campaign against the abuses and corruptions of his fellow Benedictines....and was promptly beaten and imprisoned.

This time, when he was released, he went back to work and quite trying so hard to get kicked out.

I mean, there's basically nothing on this guy, like three paragraphs, and all of it talks about how badly he tried to get away from his job! I thought I had issues with my job? Oh no, I'm a happy camper compared to St. Walter of Pontoise.

He is the patron of prisoners, POWs, and is invoked against job-related stress.....so maybe he's the patron of disgruntled employees as well?

Even the picture of the guy looks like he'd rather be any where else!

Ah well. That's part of why we love the Church, isn't it? Because Her heroes are humans, and they get irritated and short-tempered and have bad habits. It makes us feel less alone.

Anyway, thanks for tuning in for this week's Saint.

Yours always,
Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. Sebastian

Today's edition of Saturdays with the Saints features St. Sebastian.

St. Sebastian was born at Narbonne, Gaul, and became a Roman soldier in 283 under Emperor Carinus to defend confessors and martyrs without drawing attention to himself. He encouraged many Christians and even converted the master of the rolls Nicostratus who was in charge of the prisoners, and the jailer Claudius, as well as many others.

He was named captain of the praetorian guards by Diocletian and again by Maximian. His faith was not discovered until Maximian's persecution of Christians, when his execution was ordered. He was shot with arrows and left for dead, but was discovered still alive and was nursed back to health by the widow of St. Castulus, St. Irene. He then intercepted the Emperor, gave him a lecture on the appalling nature of his cruelty, and was then beaten to death on the Emperor's orders in 288.


He was venerated in Milan as earlier as the time of St. Ambrose and was buried on the Appian Way. He is the patron of athletes, archers, soldiers, and is appealed to for protection against plagues.

He is sometimes referred to as the Saint that was martyred twice because of how he was left for dead, nursed back to health, and then beaten to death.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Some of these stories are really interesting.

Yours always,
Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. Fabiola of Rome

Today's edition of Saturdays with the Saints is about St. Fabiola of Rome.

St. Fabiola, a Roman noble woman, was married to a vile man and obtained a divorce in accordance with Roman law. She then remarried contrary to the ordinances of the Church. She was not received back into the church until after the death of her second husband when she followed the influence of St. Jerome, and did public penance for her sin.

Following this, St. Fabiola renounced all earthly wealth, and devoted her substantial wealth to the needs of the poor and the sick.

She erected a hospital and cared for it's patients herself.

She moved to Bethlehem in 395 and worked at a hospice there, while studying the scriptures and working to fund the building of a large hospice in Rome.

She died in either 399 or 400.

Her feast day is December 27 and she is the patron of Divorced people, difficult marriages, victims of abuse, adultery, unfaithfulness, widows, and the hospice movement.

Until next time!

Yours always,
Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. Jane of Valois

Today's edition of Saturdays with the Saints is on St. Jane of Valois.

She was the daughter of Louis XI of France and apparently was not very enamored with the glitter of court life. She much preferred to spend her time in solitude, praying and meditating. She was married to Louis, Duke of Orleans in 1486. He was an even bigger twit than her father, and shortly after he became king, he requested an annulment. Since he'd protested practically all the way to the alter, this was, of course, granted.

After that, she formed a religious community with a group of other young women called the Sisters of the Annunciation of Mary. She was buried in a vault at her church when she died.


Years later, the French revolution saw her disinterred, stabbed with swords, and burned.

Supposedly, her body was incorrupt at the time she was disinterred, and when they stabbed her body, it bled.

I don't know either way, I just know that approximately 200-300 years had passed between her death and the revolution.

Yours always,
Tara

Yesterday and today: Doctor's appointment, RCIA, and why cooking channels are brilliant

I mention the brilliance of cooking channels, but I should add a caveat to that.....they're brilliant until watching them makes you forget to get on and write your blog post. Yep, that's what happened. I got distracted by Chopped, and then an episode of this show on ABC called Forever. An immortal medical examiner who solves crimes.....even if he weren't really attractive and in possession of a nice accent, the concept would probably still be enough to grab my attention. But I'm not going to complain about the rest of it.

So to recap yesterday, I got up late, puttered around the house, went to the doctor's (apparently, I'm in good health and should not need to see her again for another year.) visited my mom and sister, came home, backed chocolate pumpkin muffins, dashed off to class, came home, had a beer, and wrestled with unanswerable philosophical questions.

All in all, not a bad day. Even if the beer wasn't quite what I was hoping for. I keep hoping to find something with a similar flavor to Guinness but without the weight of a Guinness....if that makes any sense at all.

Anyway, today I got up early, went to mass, puttered around Savannah (with some grumbling at my clock for moving so slowly) and went to Saints and Shamrocks. I love going into that store, but I need to be very careful when I do because I want to take half of the store home. And I just can't afford to do that.

I bought a few new saint medals to add to my charm necklace, two laminated prayer cards to go with the chaplet and the rosary on Etsy, a little statue of Our Lady of Grace, and a copy of Gaelic Storm's "The Full Irish: Greatest Hits".

I kind of feel like I've passed a milestone here. I now own a statue of our Mother. Okay, yeah, it's not the biggest, nor the most detailed, but it's still a very nice little statue. It just makes it all a little more real, if that makes sense.

As for Gaelic Storm, what can I say? I love celtic rock.

I'm hoping to get the listings up by the end of the week. I'm not sure how well it will do, but I hope it'll work out. I've got some ideas for more chaplets, as well as a few other crafts. I've got my heart set on a resin kit for jewelry making that I think will be brilliant, but the stuff I'm listing now needs to do well first.

Anyway, hopefully I'll remember to drag myself away from the tv tomorrow night as well.

Yours always,
Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. John Bosco

Today's edition of Saturdays with the Saints features St. Giovanni Melchior Bosco, better known as St. John Bosco. In an interesting twist of fate, if you will, it turns out that I didn't have to decide between a randomly generated saint and a saintly Fransican, because according to franciscan-archive.org, St. John Bosco was a member of the Franciscan Third Order of Penance. So, he fits both criteria.

I think that works out quite nicely, don't you?

St. John Bosco was born on August 16, 1815 in Becchi, Italy. He was the youngest of three, and was born in a time of famine and want. He had dreams starting at the age of nine about his mission to help boys with no homes.

He left home at the age of 12 due to difficulties with his older brother, Antonio. He eventually found work, but would not begin proper schooling for another two years. It was 1830 when a priest, Joseph Cafasso identified that he had a natural talent and sought to cultivate it.

He entered the seminary five years later, and after six years of study was ordained on the eve of Trinity Sunday by Archbishop Franzoni of Turin.

While fulfilling his duties, he visited a prison and saw a large number of boys between the ages of 12 and 18 were locked up and desired to help them. After meeting a boy who was in a similar situation while preparing for mass, he began the Oratorio.

The purpose of this mission was to keep young boys off the streets. The Oratorio was forced to move several times, and St. John Bosco was almost committed to an asylum at one point. When St. John's mother, "Mama Margaret" joined her son on his mission, things began to look up and the first Salesian Home was founded.

Adding to the positive outlook was the fact that municipal authorities finally recognized the value of the work that St. John was trying to so. With the authorities finally behind him, he was able to raise money to build technical schools and workshops to help the boys.

At the time of his death, January 31, 1888, there were 250 houses in the Salesian Society containing over 130,000 children.

His feast day is January 31st, and he's the patron saint of apprentices, boys, editors, Mexican young people, laborers, schoolchildren, students, and young people.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and maybe learned something you didn't know. I'll be back again next week with another Saturdays with the Saints!

Yours always,
Tara

RCIA, and shows I need to either catch up on or abandon

Today was week three of RCIA classes. We were in the Lower Chapel tonight, which was interesting because I had only a vague idea of where that was. I got it right, and showed up in the right place, which was a huge relief, but I felt like every move I made was ten times louder than usual. I feel that way most times I enter a church, with a few exceptions.

Anyway, we were discussing the hierarchy in the church and some of the history behind it, which was interesting. I still haven't reached the point where I'm incredibly comfortable or anything, but I imagine I'll be a little less anxious by the time the Holidays roll around.

At least, I hope so.

Speaking of holidays, I'm almost finished with the blanket, which means I'll have to cast on to one of my Christmas knits immediately following that. I'm thinking the shawl for Granma, and then maybe the socks for mom. I have to alter the pattern slightly, because she asked for socks like the yellow ones that I made, but with a fold over cuff. I'll probably add a few stitches and invert the pattern so that when she folds it over, the ribbing faces outwards as it should.

I left early for class this evening because I needed to run into Savannah and I know what a nightmare the traffic can be. I had to go to the mall to pick up a shirt that I had delivered to the store for Aunt D. She saw the one I had and really liked it. Anyway, while there I picked up a new wallet with Daryl from the Walking Dead on it.

Now I like the Walking Dead just fine, but I've really only seen about 4 episodes from the first season. And honestly, I like Daryl because, dude, he has a crossbow. A crossbow! I'm an archery fan, and I've been entertaining thoughts about getting a crossbow for years, as well as getting a better recurve bow (mine being a decent quality, but still cheap set). No compounds though. I firmly maintain that a compound bow is cheating.

Why isn't using a crossbow cheating? Because reload time sucks compared to a standard or compound bow. Accuracy is much improved, but reload is crap.

Anyway! Not the point here. The point is I like Daryl because I can actually see him surviving the apocalypse and I like that he uses a crossbow. That's about it. I still can't get over what an idiot Rick was in the first episode. Yeah, sure, he manned up and took charge, but he's still a bit of an idiot.

But this brings me to my tv problem. See, I don't watch a lot of television, and the stuff I do watch tends to be old (M*A*S*H, I Dream of Jennie, ect), travel related (Anthony Bourdain is my hero), food related, or nostalgia related (American Restoration, American Pickers, Pawn Stars). Add in a dash of Catholic tv, through in a few crappy action films and the entire Disney film collection and you have my film library.

There is a problem with that though. See, I like Doctor Who, I like Walking Dead, I like Sherlock, and Supernatural, and more.....but I don't keep up with the episodes, I'll watch half a season in a day and then not touch it for two months, and I see nothing wrong with spoilers and watch things out of order.

This, apparently, bothers people.

Now let's be honest. I care about what most people think about as much as I speak Greek, that is to say, not at all. However, I do care (stupidly, in this case) what my friends say, and this does bother some of them. So, choices? Either watch, or don't, and try not to get attached to characters you know next to nothing about (Daryl, for example). This is a bit of a problem because I've never cared, and truthfully, don't much care now except for one teeny tiny fact.

It makes me feel awkward.

Yep, say you like a show but only watch a few episodes sporadically and if that show has any sort of fan base some one will be willing to stone you for "not being a real fan". Now I know my friends won't do that, and their ribbing is friendly in nature, but other people aren't so understanding and God knows I'm not a nice person.

We're working on that, but it's very slow going because my brain-to-mouth filter doesn't always kick in before I say something mean.

TV shows can bring out the worst in people and telling them to take a long walk off a short pier is, for some reason, less acceptable than their form bullying.

So, do I watch the shows? Abandon them? Continue with my sporadic and out-of-order enjoyment?

Yeah, we'll go with option C. And hopefully, God will only place idiots in my path when He knows the filter is functioning.

Yours always,
Tara

One step closer to "Home" and the great part about an Irish Catholic Store

First things first, as of today I am now officially a parishioner of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, Ga.  I'm incredibly pleased with this fact because I just feel so much more at home when I'm at the Cathedral than when I attend my mother's church and I feel like officially joining just makes that a bit more of a reality.

So, to recap my day. I started with (reluctantly) dragging my lazy bum out of bed and quickly getting dressed in long sleeves. (YES!) I was still cold even with the long sleeves, and had to make use of my sweater, but this is all a good thing because it means that I can start wearing my jackets and layers again and I LOVE that!

Having dragged myself out bed and gotten ready for the day, I went to mass, which was, as always, lovely. I like going to mass. It's a nice way to start the day.

After mass, I went down the road to the fancy Parker's and got breakfast and some change. I walked back to my truck, added a little more time to the meter, and then went and walked around the Colonial Park Cemetery for about half and hour. Then I took the long way back to the rectory office and officially joined the parish. (Yay!)

I then walked around Savannah for another 30 minutes, including briefly stopping in the SCAD shop  (waste of time that, and not in a good way) before heading to Saints and Shamrocks.

Have I mentioned how much I love this little shop? While it's certainly not the greatest Catholic book shop ever, it is actually really well stocked for it's small size. I bought a cross for my wall (it's celtic style and has St. Patrick on it.) as well as buying two books and a pack of two really pretty green pocket handkerchiefs with a lovely clover design embroidered on them. The books are St. Patrick: His Confession and Other Works and Three Irish Saints: A Guide to Finding Your Spiritual Style by Kevin Vost. I've already cracked both of them open to get an idea of what they'll be like.

Vost's book isn't really my normal reading style, but it sounded interesting, and I'm not one to turn down a chance to learn more about St. Patrick, so....I figured what the heck? It can't hurt to read it. I'm most excited about the first book though.

I love St. Patrick. I mean, I admire and respect a lot of saints, but I have a particular love for St. Patrick....even if he didn't drive any snakes out of Ireland.

Actually, I don't mind snakes all that much, and would much rather deal with snakes than rodents, but that's not the point here. My point is that I have a special place in my heart for the not-really-Irish Irishman (they claimed him, he's been adopted by the whole country for centuries, he's Irish.) Added to that is the fact that I'm pretty sure he's been working with Mother Mary to bring me to the Catholic church, and you can kind of understand why this book might be of particular interest to me.

I'm slowly getting used to the fact that most Catholics don't think I'm out of my mind when I say "I'm being (gently) dragged to the Catholic church by the Blessed Mother and St. Patrick." Yes, God's involved too, but I think the Good Lord understands that the gentle prodding of Mary, combined with St. Patrick's experience of being called on by generations of Irish Catholics (with their bad tempers and foul mouths) would get the best results. (That being excitement on my part.)

Plus, I'm pretty sure someone out there is the great wide wonder is laughing at me. Not sure who, but someone is laughing at me.

So, what's the great part about an Irish Catholic store? Easy. I can get a lot of my Catholic needs (books, tchotchkes, etc). And then, I can turn around and get lovely little Irish knick-knacks! Did I mention that I love tchotckes?

Seriously, I love kitsch. Shamelessly enjoy these sometimes over-the-top items. I also have a long-standing and deep-set love of the entire British Isles, Ireland and Scotland in particular.

I'm not sure what it says about me that I have this fascination with two groups of people known for having bad tempers, high alcohol tolerance, and a healthy appreciation for knock-down drag-out fights that end with every one having another beer, but there you have it. Proofs in the pudding, so to speak.

Actually, having re-read that paragraph, I think that says a lot about me. Except the alcohol tolerance. I've never actually tried to figure out what my tolerance level is.

Oh well.

Anyway, time for me to sign off for the evening. Take care all!

Yours always,
Tara

Long days and sitting on edge

Last night was a longer than usual night, which means that today has been a very long and tiring day. I have been tired and short tempered all day, and my vocabulary has sounded like a drunken sailors....sadly, no alcohol was imbibed to aid my colorful language. Nor will it be for a few days, at most, because my mother is expecting to go into labor either tonight or tomorrow.

Apparently, my little sister has decided that she's waited long enough, thank you very much, and she's quite tired of waiting. Mom hasn't gone into labor yet, but she's in the early stages, so she's expecting it to start up very soon.

I'm both excited, and terrified.

I like kids. I will swear up and down, left and right, that children are monsters and I want nothing to do with them, but the truth is a little more complicated.

Truth is, until my parent's got divorced, it literally never occurred to me that I might not get married and have kids. I certainly didn't plan on going out and settling with the first fellow I found and having a litter of little people, but I did think that, one day, I would find some one and have an undetermined number of kids.

My parents got divorced, forcing me to question pretty much everything I thought I knew about love and marriage, and I swore left, right, and center that I was never getting married and never having kids to any one who even remotely suggested that I might one day want that.

Honest truth. I want that. I want to get married and have kids. I want to have that. Especially now, as I'm entering the Catholic church, because there's so much that I would love to experience. Christening and first communion and all those lovely little milestones that parents prepare their kids for and that I'd like, God willing, to one day prepare my own kids for.

The thing is, it's been so long, and I've said it for so long, that I actually feel a little awkward around kids now. And I'm not willing to admit it out loud to my family that, yes, I would one day like to have kids. But I'm going to have a little sister and I'm torn between being excited and being scared out of my mind because I haven't taken care of a baby since P was born ten years ago, and yeah, I won't be taking care of her all the time, but I will take care of her occasionally.

I want her to grow up to be what I'm not. I want her to be strong, and confident, and easy-going, and to be the kind of person that people love to love. I want her to have every opportunity in life because there are so many things that I never got to try and I wish that I could have tried them.

I want her to be the person who always makes the world better.

I also don't want to step on my mother's toes any because we already have a slightly precarious relationship, largely because we just don't operate on the same wave-length. My mother is emotional, and I'm more logical, and the two do not always go well together.

All the fun.

In other news, tonight was the second night of RCIA classes. Monsignor O'Neal was teaching us tonight. It was actually really nice. The teaching bit was a bit dull, we were going over the order of mass, but not in a way that really helps me. What would help me is a comprehensive understanding of when to sit and when to stand. I've about got the standing and kneeling bit figured out completely. I don't always have to look at the people around me for that part, but the earlier part I haven't got a figured out. Anyway, it was more of a breakdown of the different parts of the mass. The best part was the Monsignor himself. He's an older Irish gentleman, and he's got a great sense of humor.

Anyway, I'll talk to ya'll again tomorrow.

Yours always,
Tara

Inking bust, blanket progress, and rosary news

Saturday was a long, long day, and it was made longer by the fact that I was supposed to be getting a tattoo done....and it never happened.

I'm incredibly disappointed, not only that I didn't get my tattoo, but also that no one had the decency to call and let me know that they wouldn't be there. I had an appointment for 1pm, and of course, I showed up about 15 minutes early. The shop was closed, with a sign that said "Appointment only". Okay, no big deal, like I said, I had an appointment. I knocked. I waited half an hour. I called three times. The place looked like it had pretty much been cleared out. No one called me and said "Hey, we need to reschedule." or even, "you need to find a different tattoo parlor."

So, instead, the money I set aside for my ink is going to a trip to St. Augustine with Aunt D. We're going to go see the shrine to Our Lady of La Leche and the Mission there, and maybe see the Cathedral Basilica while we're there, if it's opened. They're restoring it right now, so we won't see the full splendor, but I heard it's worth visiting anyway.

I guess that's just how life works. I've already started putting back a little money again, and I've got a place in mind for the next time I care to try. Maybe I'll be able to go by the time my sister comes down to visit again. I'll probably head in about a week or two before with my mock up, and a few questions.

In other news, the blanket is still coming along at a slow but steady pace, which wouldn't be a problem except that Little Bird seems very anxious to enter the world. I'm expecting to get a phone call any day now saying that my baby sister is making her entrance into the world. I'd like to have the blanket finished by then, but I've got at least seven squares left, plus the final stitching to make sure it holds up.

I also bought the yarn for my mom's Christmas present today, as well as buying H's Christmas. I was going to make him socks, but he asked for a particular pocket watch, and as a lover of pocket watches myself, it's hard not to encourage that. I'm also looking at maybe visiting my dad this holiday season, which would be nice, except for the fact that I hate the cold.

Of course, I'll be honest and say I don't hate it near as much as I say I do. I just like to whine about it.

In other news, I got the beads for one of the rosaries I have planned today. Black glass pearls and dark blue drop-shaped crystals will look great with the Pieta center and the crucifix that I have to go with it, which depicts Jesus being taken down off of the cross. I'm hoping to get the beads for the Pope Francis/St. Francis of Assisi rosary tomorrow, and then I'll set them aside for my Etsy shop. I still have two crucifixes that I'm not positive what I want to do with them.

Let me rephrase, I don't have a finished product in mind yet. The centers I have will work fine with one of the crucifixes, but I think the other one might need something a little different. Either way, soon as I figure it out, I'll get the beads and get it made.

I've also got a few ideas rattling around for auto-rosaries, including one that can go on the steering wheel, which I liked because I don't feel comfortable handling beads while driving, but I also lose count if I'm not physically touching something. This is why I like to have an obvious difference between the Aves and the Paters. It makes it a little easier to use. The one I saw that hooked onto the steering wheel seems like it'd be a good alternative to my usual practice of using the knuckles on my fingers.

I'll be back on tomorrow to fill you in on my second RCIA class and my adventures with trying to find the right beads. Aunt D will be out of town, so I'm not sure if I'll hang around Downtown or not. I do want to get a wall crucifix, and I've been eyeing a couple of different ones at Saints and Shamrocks. We'll just have to see how willing I am to kill time tomorrow.

Goodnight all!

Yours always,
Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. Guntramnus

Today's edition of Saturdays with the Saints features St. Guntramnus....who is also known by about 8 different names.

Contran

Gontram

Gontran

Gontrano

Gontranno

Gunthrammus

Gunthramnus

Guntram

Guntrammo

Because I don't have a hard enough time remembering peoples' names. 

I couldn't find out a lot about him, but here's what I do have. He was the son of a king and a saint, and the brother of two kings. He divorced his wife, and when her physician couldn't heal her, he killed the physician. (ouch! And people think Malpractice suites are bad!) Upon his conversion he was filled with remorse and so devoted his time, energy, and money to building the church. He was a generous, compassionate, and forgiving ruler, who was known for justly enforcing the laws, regardless of station.

He is the patron saint of divorced people, guardians, and reformed murderers. 

His feast day is March 28th. 

And that's it. That's all I've got. I hope you enjoyed today's edition of Saturdays with the Saints. See you again on Monday!

Yours always,

Tara

RCIA class #1 and the hunt for a small wall crucifix without a scary price tag

Ehem.

RCIA. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. Let me be incredibly honest, in the hours leading up to this class, my stomach was in knots. Why? Because I'm not, by nature, an out going person. I like people, don't get me wrong. I like groups of people too. But only if I know them all and have at least a minimum level of friendship with them. So classes of any kind are a bit intimidating.

Of course, everyone reading this who has been through these classes at the Cathedral knows that there was really no reason to be worried. There were a few tables with chairs, extra chairs along the wall, and a grand total of about 40 or so people there. I didn't count.

I took along my knitting, but did not actually pull it out. I probably should have. Knitting helps to relieve nervous energy, and most people are more fascinated by it than annoyed by it. I think I've lost one of my needles in my floor though. St. Anthony has his work cut out for him helping me find it.

My room exists in a state of semi-permanent chaos, with a vague sense of organization where my craft supplies are concerned. I still have boxes that I haven't unpacked, and quite frankly might never get around to unpacking....which is all the more reason to unpack them, because I probably need to get rid of 95% of the stuff in the boxes.

Anyway! The class! Today was a basic intro class. Father Shrek (yes, I did spell that correctly, thank you....I think) gave us a small syllabus (yay!) to give us an idea of what we'll be covering and when we will be out of class, such as St. Patrick's Day. Smart move that one. Savannah is crazy on St. Pat's!  We start to actually get into things more next week.

He also mentioned the blessings thing. Many of you may recall that, for a time, I would go up to receive a blessing during the communion procession. I stopped after reading some stuff that implied that this recent tradition was not well received by those in authority. I'm still conflicted about the whole thing, and honestly, I'm probably going to go nuts trying to figure out what to do. According to Father Shrek, it's fine to do so. I'm still not sure whether I should, or whether I should stay in my seat.

There's some things that I do that I know a lot of people argue over, and frankly, for most of it, I can't really bring myself to care. There is no definitive "this is how it should be" so I figure, as long as I do my best to follow the rules, I'm fine. I'm not going to stop doing something just because a few people don't like it. But in this case, I'm not really sure what to think.

Now that I'm off on Tuesdays, my weekday mass service has been changed from Wednesday to Tuesdays. Added to this is a new exercise regime for Aunt D and I. After mass, we walk. Just, you know, where ever. We walked around for a few hours before stopping by Saints and Shamrocks. Every time I go in there I look at the wall crucifixes, and every time the price tags are scary.

I'm not sure why it is, but depending on the object, my "scary price tag" could be anywhere from $15 to $200. It all depends on the object. Restaurants where everything is $10 or more....scary price tags. A wall crucifix for $50.....scary price tag. A book for $30....scary price tag. Now that's not to say I never make purchases for things with "scary price tags" but I do try to keep it to a minimum. Scary price tags are called that for a reason, after all.

And honestly, I balk at spending $50 for most things. Which does not in any way negate the fact that I realize spending $100 for the complete M*A*S*H series plus the movie and a disc of bonus features is a really good deal. It just means that I still looked every where before finally making the purchase. What can I say? The joys of online shopping. I don't have to ask for help because it's already at my finger tips, I have the option of shopping multiple stores at the same time, and I don't have to deal with people. Brilliant.

Oh! Some quick shop news. While I will be doing a lot of work on personal projects, I am hoping to start on some items for the Etsy store shorty. It's my hope that I will be able to officially open for business by the end of October, beginning of November. I'll be sure to post a link when I open for business.

One thing I've been looking into is a metal casting service. Sadly, metal casting is a bit beyond my skills, but I'd really like to see a better medal for Our Lady Star of the Sea. The primary ones that I've found all look a little.....clinical. I can't help but think that any devotion to our Mother deserves to be a little more vibrant. Not necessarily colorful, but more detailed perhaps. Especially since we have so many beautiful medals for the saints, and other devotions to the Blessed Mother, easily available to us.

There's a lot of beautiful devotions to Mary that don't get a lot of attention. I'm not sure why, maybe because they aren't apparitions? But another really beautiful one is Our Lady of La Leche. I guess maybe I like that one so much because my mother breast fed my brothers, and will do so for my sister as well, but I just think it's lovely to see our Mother like that.

Anyway, I've gone off into rambling again. I really need to stop doing that. So I'm going to sign off, and call it a night. It's been a long, productive day.

Oh! Shameless plug for my favorite (well, a favorite) show on EWTN. Saints Alive! comes on tomorrow night at 5pm Eastern!

Goodnight all!

Yours always,
Tara

Music Box, Stella Maris, and lots of excitement.

So I finished the music box Saturday afternoon and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. That's the outside. It's a fairly decent sized box that looks like a book.

I went into Photoshop and used some digital scrap-booking patterns and pictures to make the background, bought the little bird and the dragons at Michael's (a container with six dragons cost the same as one large dragon), and got the string lights and music box online. The cover that the bird is sitting on is just some cardboard that I covered with glittery scrapbook paper. Hot glue and staples were very helpful. I have some ideas of what I'm doing now, so the next one should look better.

I want to find a different way to secure the lights though. The staples stuck out and then had to be pushed in and it just....it works, but I'd like something better.

I'm also trying to figure out if I should try to illuminate the smaller ones. Yeah, I'm going to make some smaller ones. I've got an idea of how I want to go about it, so now I just have to give it a shot. I'm thinking something Phantom of the Opera-esque.

There's the inside of the bird's perch. Inside is the battery operated switch for the lights and music box movement itself. I bought the ones in the case because at the time when I bought them, I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with them.

I think, after mine, I'll just purchase the movements, sans cases, and make something for it myself. For one thing, this will save space, and for another, it won't be as difficult to work with.

Ha! It worked! Sorry, been having a little trouble with getting my pictures where I want them to be. That's the one thing I'm not fond of with most blogging sites. I know where I want my picture, just let me put it there!

Anyway, that's my terrible artwork you see to the right. I was trying to keep it within an oval shaped frame, like most of the medals you see, but um....well, I decided making our Blessed Mother look as good as my (really poor) skills would allow was bit more important. I tried.

There's a few things I like about this picture. The sea doesn't look as bad as I had thought it did. And I manages not to completely mess up the hands....I think.

Other than that, I think it's terrible. Really and truly terrible.

I'm a little disappointed at how little there is for Our Lady Star of the Sea. I mean, I know it's not the most popular title our Mother has, but still! It's one of the oldest Marian devotions there is! And it's a beautiful one too.

Although, I'll be honest, part of why I love it might be because I love nautical stuff, despite the fact that I'd sink like a rock.

Anyway, tomorrow is the start of RCIA classes. I'm so excited! I can't wait! I'm also vaguely terrified because *eek* people! but I'll survive. I'm meeting Aunt D for Morning mass, followed by breakfast and walking, then I'm running some errands for my mother, and then who knows what I'll do until time to leave for class.

Can you tell I'm excited? I'm thrilled!

I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!
Yours Always,
Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. Monica of Hippo

In today's edition of Saturdays with the Saints we are pleased to introduce St. Monica of Hippo, mother of the very well known saint and doctor of the church, St. Augustine of Hippo.

St. Monica lived from about AD 331-387. She was married to a man named Patricius, a pagan who had an official position in Tagaste (what is now Souk Ahras, Algeria). Both her husband and her mother-in-law had bad tempers and were not known for their good behavior. St. Monica's alms-giving and prayer life annoyed her husband, but he did respect her.

She had three children who survived infancy: sons Augustine and Navigus, and daughter Perpetua. She was unable to have her children baptized, even after Augustine fell ill and then recovered.

Augustine fell into a terrible lifestyle, which he wrote about in his confessions, that caused his mother a great deal of grief. After his return from Carthage, deep in Manichaeism, St. Monica banned him from her table for a time. She later had a vision which convinced her to reconcile with him.

She followed him to Rome, and then, finding that he had left, she followed him further to Milan, where they came to be under the teaching of St. Ambrose, who led St. Augustine to conversion.

Both St. Augustine and St Monica went to Africa where Monica died, at Ostia.

St. Monica is the patron of wives, abuse victims, and her feast day is August 27th.

Thanks for joining me for another Saturday with the Saints!

Yours always,
Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. Maurice

Welcome to today's edition of Saturdays with the Saints! Our saint today, see on the left, is St. Maurice, a well-loved and well-respected saint in both the Roman Catholic church and the Oriental Orthodox church.

St. Maurice was the leader of the Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century. He was born in AD 250 in Thebes, Egypt, near where the Aswan Dam is today. He grew up there and joined the legion. There he worked his way up through the ranks and became the leader of the 6,600 man legion.

The story goes that the Emperor Maximian ordered the Legion, composed (supposedly) entirely of Christians, to make sacrifices to false gods to ensure victory, and to harass fellow Christians. They refused, and every tenth man was killed in a military punishment known as "decimation". They continued to resist, and a second decimation occurred. When they still refused to comply and use violence against their fellow Christians, they were all executed. This execution occurred in Switzerland, in Agaunum, in what is now known as Saint Maurice-en-Valais, where the Abbey of Saint Maurice-en-Valais is.

This is the first version of the story, contained in the public letter Eucherius, bishop of Lyon, addressed to fellow bishop Salvius. Other variation say that the Legion refused to follow orders after discovering that a town they had destroyed was inhabited by innocent Christians, or that they were executed because they would not make sacrifices to false gods.

St. Maurice was the patron saint of the Holy Roman Emperors. In 926, Henry I (919-936) ceded the present Swiss canton of Aargua to the abbey in exchange for the sword, lance, and spurs of Saint Maurice. The sword and spurs were used in the coronation of the Austro-Hungarian Emperors until 1916.

He is traditionally depicted in full armor, and has come to be connected to the legend of the Spear of Destiny, which he supposedly carried into battle. There are over 650 religious organizations devoted to him in France and other European countries.

He is the patron of the Duchy of Savoy and of the Valais, as well as soldiers, swordsmiths, armies, infantryman, and, for some strange reason, weavers and dyers. He's also invoked against menstrual cramps.

I'll be honest, I don't understand why he's the patron of weavers and dyers, or why he's invoked against menstrual cramps, but hey, that's what the sites say, so there! His feast day is coming up on September 22.

Hope you have a great day!

Yours always,
Tara

Livestream issues and pumpkin baby hats

As usual, I pulled up the EWTN radio link to listen to Catholic Answers Live, only for what ever reason the link did not want to work, so I had to find a different link. Thank you Ave Maria Radio for your handy live-stream.

I set the baby blanket aside. I just don't have enough time to finish it, so I've casted on a baby hat in orange. I'll add a stem and leaves and make it a pumpkin hat. Little Bird is supposed to be born a little more than a week before Halloween, so it's appropriate.

I've just about finished reading The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey & Song. I love this book! So does H, based on what she's heard from me. Apparently, the 7.1 liters of alcohol consumed by her Slavic ancestors at a normal wedding is something to be proud of. I can't blame her, I feel great pride at shenanigans of my Irish ancestors (as chronicled under Irish Cream, among other entries.)

I am so looking forward to the weekend, and, other than my mother's baby-shower, I have no plans what-so-ever. That sounds nice. I'm going to knock out this hat, work on that blanket, and sleep!

I'm not sure if I want to get up and go to mass in the morning or not. I'm tired, but I don't know if that's because I didn't get enough sleep, or if I've gotten too much sleep lately. All the joy of the human body.

My granma thinks I need to mention it to the doctor when I go on the 12th, but I really think it's just a cycle that I need to break. Get ten minutes too much sleep and you might end up feeling even more like a zombie than if you got ten too few.

I feel better when I drag myself out of bed, but I'm a lazy bum and don't get up if I don't have to. All the fun.

Of course, adding to my lethargy is the weather, with it's on-again-off-again raining. This is good at bedtime when I'm trying to go to bed, but not so much when I'm bored out of my mind at work.

There's a new program on EWTN tonight that I'm looking forward to called Catholics Come Home. It looks like it'll be good.

Anyway, I'm signing off for the night.

Yours always,
Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. Catherine of Bologna

Joining us for today's edition of Saturdays with the Saints is St. Catherine of Bologna.

Born Catherine de Vigri, she was the daughter of Giovanni de Vigri, a diplomatic agent to the Marquis of Ferrara. She was raised in the Duke's court and received an education through her position of Lady-in-waiting to the Duke's daughter, Margherita d'Este.

In 1426 she left the court and entered the convent of Corpus Dominici there at Ferrara. At the time the convent was experiencing some distress as they attempted to decided whether to continue following the Augustian rule or to change instead (as they eventually did) to Fransican.

In  1433, St. Catherine and several other young ladies founded a monastery of the Order of Poor Clares.

In 1456, she returned to Bologna at the request of her superiors and the governor of Bologna to be the founder and Abbess of a monastery of the same order there in Bologna.

She died on March 9, 1463 at the age of 49. Eighteen days after her death, after numerous accounts of miraculous grave-side healing, her body was exhumed and placed in the chapel of the Poor Clares in Bologna, next to the church of Corpus Dominici, where it remains, seated upright, and dressed in her religious habit, behind glass.

Some of her art and writings still remain today, including, most famously Treatise on the Seven Spiritual Weapons Necessary for Spiritual Warfare.  This work was instrumental in her canonization, and speaks of her visions of both God and Satan.

St. Catherine of Bologna is the patron saint of artists and her feast day is March 9th.

A Truly Brilliant morning!

I decided to go to mass this morning, despite a late night (12:50) and having gone yesterday and I'm so glad that I did!

Immediately following mass I ran outside to put a quarter in the meter (mass ends about 7 minutes before 8, which is when the meter starts to really be an issue) and met a lovely lady who I shall simply refer to as Aunt D. Aunt D is new, and moving here shortly. I actually saw her at mass yesterday, but I was in a rush yesterday (bad Tara!) and didn't say anything. Today though, it turned out really well.

While we where talking, I was led to give her the Our Lady Star of the Sea chaplet that I made. I paid the meter and went inside to sit in front of Mother Mary and finish the rosary I had started to say before mass began (I can usual get a decade or so in before mass starts), and then Aunt D and I went to breakfast.

There's this really nice Parker's on Drayton that I call the Fancy Parker's because it's got all sorts of little gourmet or really high quality food items, and we went there and had breakfast. It was really nice because we sat and talked for about an hour before I showed her where Saints and Shamrocks (the closest thing we have to a Catholic bookstore, as far as I know) and then parted ways.

There are two things that make this whole thing so fantastic! Number one is how happy Aunt D was! She loved the chaplet! And was so happy to just sit and talk over breakfast. Second great thing is that I got an aunt out of it! I love when you just click with people and become friends! And when you become family? Brilliant!

Of course, I'm at work now. Speaking of! I just picked up 8 more hours so I am officially full time again! Isn't that great? And my boss and I have already talked about me having Tuesdays off come September for the RCIA classes.

There's also a place not to far from the church that has beginner's Irish dance classes about an hour before the RCIA classes, so I'm hoping I can take that, and the RCIA, plus pick up a class or two for the fall mini-mester at STC.

Yeah, I gave up on trying to be really sneaky about where I'm at. Anyone who knows South Georgia worth a fig knows where the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is. No point hiding it. I live within easy driving distance of Savannah, Ga.

Anyway. Aunt D and I also saw the strangest thing while in the Fancy Parker's. Giant Wooden Rosary beads. And I don't mean like the ones you get for teaching toddlers to pray the rosary (no, I'm not secretly looking at baby stuff in the hopes of one day having progeny of my own despite telling my parents and everyone else that I am "never having kids", not at all *pfft*) I mean like 4 1/2- 5 ft long rosaries made of 1/4 in to 1/2in wooden beads and a 2 1/2 in long crucifix. And it was white.

Weirdo that I am, I'm tempted to go back and get one, just because it's such an interesting rosary, though I'll be honest, I'd probably have it a week before attacking it with brightly colored acrylics. Either way, I'm leaving it be for now. I can probably make one myself, or find one else where cheaper.

Aunt D also gave me a lovely turquois and gold rosary over breakfast. We were talking about it (because of the giant wooden ones) and I mentioned my strange relationship with rosaries (I partially blame them for the fact that I'm converting) and she just pulled it out and gave it to me. It was nice. I'm going to pray with it tonight just for her.

We talked about a lot of things. Her daughter, my mother, my pub that I want to open, her parents, and it was brilliant! I'm so glad that it happened. Nothing like this ever happened while I was attending the Baptist church. I feel like today is just a taste of what might be in my future if I allow it to be.

I'm also incredibly thankful for second chances, because I could have given it to her yesterday, but because of my nervousness and rushing I missed the chance. But God and Mother Mary (yes, I know she had a hand in this whole thing, it's got her name written all over it!) knew that we both needed this, and it all worked out!

Aunt D is headed back to her home to tie up lose ends, and then she'll be moving to Savannah and I'm so excited! It'll be nice to know someone at the Cathedral when I go (Besides Mr. J, I mean. I don't see him every time). I'm thinking about maybe inviting Father Shrek over for dinner one day, but that I think can wait for a little while. It's not like I live alone, after all, and my granma might be opposed to that. I don't think she would be, but it's best to make sure, you know?

Downside to the new hours is that I have to reschedule my appointment with the tattoo artist. I don't really mind to much, I mean, those hours will help me out a lot, but at the same time, I'm really interested in seeing what she did with my (really pitiful) rough draft. and to talk color. Of course, H is still a little disappointed that I haven't gone to see her guy (because he's the best, obviously) but I like this place. It's where I got my first tattoo (same artist too) and I was really pleased with it. It's also really close to the mall, so when I (inevitably) get the munchies after getting inked, I have lots of options.

Also, I'm almost finished with the stole! I'm a little more than half-way through the crocheted edging and boy does that make me feel like I'm all thumbs! I miss my knitting needles! It's been a while since I last crocheted anything, so I feel so awkward! But it's good practice for that sweater I really want to make. As soon as I finish I'm going to finish the other bootie and then make my socks! Then a pair of mittens and a hat, followed by Christmas knitting! I've got the yarn and the pattern for a lovely butterfly shawl for my granma (she loves butterflies) and that's where I'll start. Then socks for Sasquatch, and part one of the knitted advent calendar, that is to say, the garland it sits on. Hopefully by then I'll have money again and can buy the yarn for Little Bird's Christmas stocking and P's socks, as well as the eyelash yarn for Little Bird's dress. I've also still got to make her pumpkin hat. That, thankfully, will not be as bad as that awful cabbage patch hat.

Wow, I've written a lot tonight. I am so sorry. You are all wonderful for reading this far!

So, question time! Have you ever had something happen that just had Mother Mary's hand-writing all over it? Have you ever had a priest over for dinner before? Let me know! I'd love to hear from you!

Yours always,
Tara