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

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

A tiny Irish apparition and the dramatics that can come with my job

I've recently added a few new things to my little ( for now) collection of Catholic odds and ends. I've bought a small statue of Our Lady of Grace, the Shining Lights doll version of Our Lady of Knock, and tomorrow or Monday (depending on when I make it over there) I'm going to pick up a small statue of St. Patrick from Saints and Shamrocks. I'm actually kind of hoping they'll have St. Barbara as well, but if not, that's fine.

I also bought a second Shining Lights St. Nicholas. I figured it would be a good gift for Little Bird, while not being too Catholic, which would bother my mom. St. Nicholas and St. Patrick, she could probably live with. Maybe even St. Francis, though I'm not willing to bet on it. But um....any one else? Especially one of the Apparition dolls (Marian apparitions from around the world)....yeah, no. That's just a little too Catholic for my mother, I'm sure.

She gave away Christmas ornaments from Ettal Abbey because they had the Madonna and Child on them! I mean, okay, so they went to a friend whose family is Catholic, but still! Simple gold colored ornaments with the Madonna and Child. They were a set, two royal blue ones with the Abbey on them, two gold ones with the Madonna and Child. Explain to me why the Abbey is acceptable but the Madonna and Child is not?

Anyway, my huffing and puffing aside, I'm hoping that I didn't make a mistake and misjudge it....but mom knows I like the more traditional St. Nicholas figure (and always have) so hopefully it won't be a problem.

Oh! The drama of my job! So, first off, I'm not a secretary, but, for some reason, the wisdom of the people here says I am to answer the phone. Keep in mind, I don't know half of what we offer here, and I have trouble finding everything for the other half. So, I had a lady call wanting information I didn't have, and instead of someone taking and picking up the phone to take the call, I'm given a convoluted set of instructions on how to get to the information. Needless to say, it didn't work. And then! Not to long ago, I had a lady call her ride, loudly, asking where where they and didn't they realize she needed to be picked up 40 minutes ago, and they know that's when she needed to be picked up!

Ah, such fun.

I'll be honest, I like my job, even if the climate control leaves something to be desired and the communication breakdown is of epic proportions. I do still like my job, but some days.....some days would be better with something stronger than coffee.

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

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

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

Heat, walking shoes, and mail

Once again the chiller is out, which means that it is hot at work again. I can't say I'm to terribly surprised, but it's getting ridiculous. It makes me a little nervous about winter, because I heard they close the building when it gets really cold, which means that I probably wouldn't be working, which, of course, means no paycheck. It's enough to make you sick.

In other news, my dad decided to ask the sales rep at the Nike store near where he lives about walking shoes for women, since I mentioned I needed to get a good pair of walking shoes for Tuesday mornings. Did I mention that I have issues with paying more than $40 for shoes? Even my Doc Martens! I bought them off ebay for $35! And he's talking about $80 walking shoes!

Not that I can't see the value, it's just something I struggle with.

I got a package in the mail today from catholicprayercards.org. It was great! I ordered several saint medals, a St. Brigid's Cross charm, a small Pope Francis pectoral cross, and several rosary centers and crucifixes. I'm most excited about the two rosary centers and the crucifixes I picked to go with them though. I've got some beads in mind for the Pope Francis rosary, but I haven't decided on the beads for the Pieta one.

There were two things I really loved about ordering with catholicprayercards.org. First was interaction. Originally, I had ordered a St. Bernadette/Our Lady of Lourdes medal, but they didn't have it in stock. I received an email letting me know and offering me the choice of any equal priced medal. Second, I loved how fast it shipped. As soon as I had let them know which medal I'd like, they shipped the package and it arrived four days later. Everything was in excellent condition and like I said, I'm really excited about the rosaries.

Another thing that I liked was the prayer cards that came with it for free. I thought that was a nice little touch to make the experience that much more memorable.

Good night for now!

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

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.

Saturdays with the Saints: St. John of God

Today's randomly generated saint is St. John of God. He's the patron of alcoholics, booksellers, the dying, firefighters, heart patients, hospitals, nurses, publishers, printers and the sick.

So wow, this guy has a crazy story. Apparently St. John was an incredibly impulsive person who threw himself head long into everything he did, hence the long list of patronages. At the age of 8 he left home to follow a priest who he travel with for several years before becoming ill. He was taken in by a man who managed a large estate and nursed back to health and basically adopted by the man. He stayed there for many years taking care of the sheep before running off to war to escape the pressures to marry the man's daughter, who he thought of like a sister. As a soldier he was hardly a model of holiness and was well known for drinking, fighting, and gambling. After being thrown off a stolen horse in enemy territory, he made a promise to clean up his act, and upon returning to his camp, he did. He made every one there angry by pushing them to give up their carousing as well, and narrowly escaped being hanged. He then returned to the estate and worked for many years until the next war. After that war, he decided to try to find his birth parents and was heartbroken to learn that they had died in his absence. 

He then decided to go to Africa to free captive Christians, only on the way there he met a noble family who were being exiled and  pledged to be their servant. The family fell sick after they arrived, and he nursed them back to health while working to build fortifications. The experience shook his faith, due to the cruel treatment he received from people who called themselves Catholics, and after the family was well and pardoned, he went to Spain to study.

He found so much joy in reading that he decided to sell books, first becoming a peddler, and then opening a store in Grananda. After hearing a sermon from John of Avila  he was over come with grief at his own sins that he destroyed all the secular books he had in his store, gave away the Christian books and all of his money. Because of his apparent madness, he was taken to the Royal Hospital and interred as a lunatic. He was there for 40 days before John of Avila came to visit him, and had him moved to a better part of the hospital. 

Now able to move around, he worked as an unpaid nurse in the hospital before leaving to start his own. He had no money, and so he sold wood in the square to take care of people right out on the streets. After a while he found a building that he rented, before begging for anything that people would be willing to give to furnish it. The he carried his patients there himself. Eventually he was able to move his hospital into an old Carmelite monastery. When Royal Hospital caught on fire, he rushed to the rescue, carrying the patients out before running back in to remove valuable bedding and mattress, before cutting the burning portion of the building away with an ax. He fell through the roof but emerged unharmed.

When he heard that flooding was bringing valuable driftwood towards them, he went out, with no regards to his poor health, to collect it. One of his companions fell into the river and St. John attempted to save him, but was unable to. He caught pneumonia and died on March 8th, his 55th birthday.

Basically this guy was crazy! I mean, seriously, you can't make a story like this up. He just threw himself head first into everything he did and then he managed to survive to 55? Wow. 

Until later, dear readers, I remain,

Yours always,

Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. Joseph

Today's saint is St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus Christ. There is very little known about St. Joseph. We know that he was a descendant of the line of David, though Luke and Matthew disagree on the exact lineage, and that he was a carpenter. He was not wealthy, indeed, when they went to the temple 40 days after Mary gave birth for her to be cleansed and Christ to be circumcised, they sacrificed two turtledoves, which was only done if you were unable to afford a goat. 

In spite of being poor, they still made the trip to Jerusalem for the Passover as was expected of devout Jews. We know that Joseph was a kind man, as he planned to "put her (Mary) away quietly" when he found her pregnant, before learning that it was the Child of God. Given that Mary would likely have been stoned to death had he done so publicly, this shows that he was a caring man. We know he cared greatly for Jesus, and that he was willing, first to live in Egypt, and then to move to Nazareth in order to protect Mary and Jesus from Herod. 

Given that St. Joseph is not mentioned during the ministry of Jesus, it is commonly believed that he died before Jesus began his public ministry. 

St. Joseph is the patron saint of the dying, the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice. 

He has two feast days: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 as Joseph the Worker.

Tiny Saints, Bad Catholics, and Cabbage patch dolls

My Shining Light Dolls came today. I left St. Nicholas at home, but I brought St. Patrick with me. It's nice to have him sitting on the computer smiling at me while I work. It's silly, but it makes me smile every time I look at him.

I've also been reading more of my Bad Catholic's Guide series. I haven't finished Wine, Whiskey, and Song yet, but I'm also reading a little bit of Good Living. I adore the writing. The humor alone is worth the price, and you don't have to be Catholic, or even considering Catholicism to really enjoy them.

In other news, I've also started on a hat for Little Bird that looks like a Cabbage Patch Dolls hair. Pigtails and yarn loop bangs. Yarn loops! Do you have any idea how hard it was to get that awful loop stitch? Ugh! I was so thankful that St. Patrick is the patron of Ireland and has heard far worse than my grumbling as I tried to make this stupid stitch work. I finally got it right, and I apologized for my less than charitable thoughts toward the inventor of the Loop stitch, the writer of the pattern, and my yarn, but still.

While my tiny Saint keeps smiling, I'm sure St. Patrick himself is continually rolling his eyes at me.

I'm hoping to finish this hat before I drop my truck off to get the alignment fixed, that way I can give it to my mom along with the blanket I bought for Little Bird. It's purple and green and has two little birds at the bottom. It's so cute! And not pink!

Why is EVERYTHING for little girls pink? You have to wait until they hit 1yr. before you get other color options! (Unless you're buying green or yellow, green and yellow are, apparently, gender neutral.) It's a color! Why? Have I mentioned how much I hate assigning genders to colors?

Do you realize that pink was considered a boy color up until the 1950s? and that the only reason it changes is because the Nazis had homosexuals in the concentration camps wear pink triangles? Blue was a girl color, because it was considered calming and delicate.

They are colors! It doesn't matter pink or blue! It's a color! How ridiculous!

Not that I'm against pink. I mean, it's not my favorite color or anything, but I don't mind it. It's just that I find it ridiculous how all that you can find, for the most part, is a wall of pastel pink!

It's a bit much, by my way of thinking.

I did make an appointment with the doctor. It's not until September, but I'll be able to make it until then. I'm hoping that, if I watch what I'm eating, I might be able to avoid a repeat performance of this morning.

Truthfully, it was easier to make the appointment than I had thought it would be. The lady on the other line was very helpful, and it made it easier. I'm still not happy about it, but such is life.

I would appreciate your prayers, especially since I have to get up early tomorrow morning. I'm praying for a good day tomorrow. If I make it to morning mass, I usually have a good day after wards.

I'm going to call it a night, and get to work on that Cabbage patch hat.
Yours always,
Tara

A truly profitable if somewhat hectic day

As has become my custom, I dragged my tired and lazy body out of bed at 6 o'clock in the morning to get ready for mass. Truthfully, I could leave it until 6:30, because I usually only take about 5 minutes to get ready anyway, but getting up at 6 gives me time to check my email (I get the Morning Offering from the Catholic Company) and maybe grab some toast with a liberal amount of marmalade if I'm so inclined.

Mass was lovely, as always. It's nice to get there a little early, and see how the alter glows when they turn the lights up. I'm still stumbling my way through mass, but everyone is kind enough not to say anything.

After  mass I got some breakfast and walked through the cemetery reading the plaques until the office opened at 9. They weren't there, so I killed another 15 minutes walking to the nearest store and getting some tea before heading back. I went ahead and put my name down to be contacted about the RCIA classes in September, and I already talked to my boss about working on a different day so I can attend the classes.

This was followed by a quick stop at the catholic store, where I got a new rosary and another guide to mass, as I gave the other one to L. I had to rescue my scarf (with it's tempting tassels) from an adorable dog at the catholic store, I then proceeded back to the Cathedral for a few moments of prayer before braving traffic in Savannah.

I then headed to my college to pick up my Serve Safe certificate and stopped by Michael's to pick up some chain and wire for the OL Star of the Sea chaplet (rosary? chaplet? we shall see) and while there picked up brown yarn for a cabbage patch doll hat for Little Bird. I also swung by World Market and picked up a fork, spoon, and plate for work. I'll add a coffee cup a little later in the season....and possibly a tea pot and cozy.

I purchased two of the Shining Light dolls last night. St. Patrick and St. Nicholas will be arriving tomorrow, along with a cute little purple and green bird themed baby blanket. I might get OL of Knock and OL of Lourdes later. I'll be honest, I still really want the plush St. Patrick.

Speaking of plush toys, my beloved teddy bear, who has slept in my bed and kept monsters at bay for nearly 20 years, is in need of repair....again. His heads coming off again. This time on the other side. I've decided to cut all the strings and just reattach it all the way around instead of trying to do a patch job. It's a terrifying thought, but it needs to be done.

I also received my books today. I received the following:
The Bad Catholic's Guide to a Good Life
The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey & Song
The Bad Catholic's Guide to the Catechism
The Protestant Dilemma
Rediscovering Catholicism
Vampire Knits
and the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

So far I've already read the Protestant Dilemma, which pointed out things I already knew about Protestantism and gave the Catholic truth (jury still ou...oh who am I kidding? We all know how this will end!) instead. I've also started in on The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey & Song.

Can I just say how much I love this book? It's funny! It has all sorts of lovely little tidbits and a fantastic flow. And the jokes regarding the subject (such as suggesting that Frenchmen burning a liquor producing Abbey as being proof of the reality and activity of Satan) make it an entirely too funny read!

That, I think, is one of the more brilliant aspects of Catholicism. It's summed up in a quote I've heard a few times "Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, there's always laughter and good red wine".  There's a fantastic love and enjoyment for life in the Catholic church when it's following it's own teachings. Protestants can often forget that we are allowed to enjoy.

Oh! I mentioned earlier I bought a new rosary. It's truly a practical move. I bought a fairly plain and inexpensive one to use instead of my Connemara rosary because marble is not a very good material to make a rosary (or truthfully much of anything else) out of. Use of it causes the marble to break down over time, and I'd like to keep it in good condition for as long as possible. The new one is nice enough for what I paid, but the Aves and Paters look more or less the same, and I tend to prefer there be a noticeable difference between them.

Anyway, that's my Wednesday. Tomorrow I've got cleaning and a few more packages, more reading to do, and another baby knit project to cast on. I'm not sure if I should do the booties, the mittens, or the last hat. I've already made a blue hat and a green hat. I'm thinking of doing the booties, and then ignoring her if she suggests that they need to be any longer. I'm extending them by a few stitches, not so much that it'll make it to hard to adjust the pattern, but enough to add the extra inch or so.

Still tempted just to throw the yarn at her.

Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow!
Yours always,
Tara

A finished chaplet, and a truck load of books

Starting with the first thing, I finally finished the chaplet of St. Dymphna that I was making for my sister.

 

The picture quality isn't the best, but you can still see it fairly well. I wasn't sure what to use as the center, since the only St. Dymphna center I could find was more than I could afford, so I ended up using a Sacred Heart center. The book My Treasury of Chaplets says "This  chaplet in honor of St. Dymphna is made up of 17 beads, 15 for the 15 years of her life and 2 for the Holy Father's intentions. This chaplet comes in red, white, or green. The red chaplet is recited in honor of her martyrdom, the white in honor of her virginity, and the green for the hope of relief of emotional disorders." 

I'm really hoping it helps her. I mean, I know it's too much to expect her to magically get better because of it, but still. Maybe it can help ground her when she's overwhelmed, you know?

I ordered a bunch of books from Amazon earlier. I think the final count was 7 or 8, not including the four Let Us Keep the Feast books that I bought in the Kindle section (a purchase I lay square at the feet of the Catholic Librarian). Most of the books were Catholic lifestyle and apologetics, though I'm pretty sure I bought a knitting book too. Yeah, I know, it's terrible that I can't remember.

I also made another purchase from knitpicks, but this time it's all pre-wound into handy little balls. Does anyone know if they'll do that for you? Because the best I can do at home it stretch the hank of yarn across two chairs and pray. 

I'm just about done with the baby knitting for Shawna. She wants me to make two extra pair of booties that are a little bit longer, so that they last a couple of months. I feel like a terrible person, but I kind of wanted to toss the yarn at her when she said that. I mean, I know those booties aren't huge or anything, but baby feet aren't that big! They probably will last two or three months, but oh well. What's one more pair of booties, right? At least until I can get started on the angel dress for little bird, that has booties with it too. Hopefully by then I won't hate knitting little shoes.

It's Monday, and so far, I still haven't heard from the Priest. I did call the Cathedral to find out when RCIA classes started. I'd really rather not go that route because I hate causing trouble for other people (i.e. my boss) but at the same time, maybe the difficulty I've been having is God's way of telling me to go to the classes. 

Anyway, that's it for right now, I'll be back on later, as usual.

Yours always,

Tara

Saturdays with the Saints: St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Today's randomly generated saint is St. Aloysius Gonzaga, patron saint of teenagers, plague victims, AIDS patients and their caregivers. His feast day is June 21.

He was born March 9, 1568, and was the oldest of seven children to be born to Ferrante Gonzaga, Marquis of Castiglione, and Marta Tana di Santena, the daughter of a baron. 

As the oldest son, he was expected to inherit his father's title and so received vigorous military training from a young age. Growing up in a violent Renaissance Italy, he witnessed the murders of two of his brothers. At 8, he was sent to Florence for further education and there fell ill with kidney problems that plagued him his whole life. While ill, he devoted much of his time to learning about the saints and praying, and is said to have taken a private vow of chastity at the age of 9.

After returning to Castiglione, he met Cardinal Charles Borromeo and received his First Communion from him on July 22, 1580. He felt strongly called to be a missionary, and practiced teaching catechism classes to young boys in Castiglione. 

His family moved to Spain in 1581 to assist the Holy Roman Empress Marie of Austria. It was here that Aloysius decided to join the Jesuits, but was unable to due to his father.

The family returned to Italy in 1584, and many relatives attempted to convince Aloysius, if not to abandon his desire to be a priest, then instead to become a secular priest, and so maintain his inheritance to no avail. In November 1585, Aloysius gave up his inheritance and joined the Jesuits. 

He continued to have health problems, not only with his kidneys, but also with skin disease, chronic headaches, and insomnia.

In May 1590, he claimed that the Archangel Gabriel had appeared and told him that he would die within a year. In 1591, the plague broke out in Rome, and the Jesuits opened a hospital to care for them. Aloysius volunteered and was placed in a ward without plague victims because they did not want to lose him. None the less, one of the men in the ward had the plague, and within a short time Aloysius began to show signs of it himself. However, to everyones surprise, he recovered, though his health was worse than ever.

While he was ill, he spoke often with his confessor, the cardinal and later saint, Robert Bellarmine, and told him that he had received another vision, that said he would die on the Octave of the feast of Corpus Christi. On that day, he appeared to be quite well in the morning, but gradually got worse through out the day. Bellarmine gave him the last rites, and he recited the prayers for the dying. Aloysius died just before midnight.

He was beatified by Pope Paul V on October 19, 1605 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on December 31, 1726. 

What joy is in the Blessing!

Have I mentioned how much I love morning mass? I mean, there are fewer people, so if I goof up, it's a lot more noticeable, but there are also fewer people to see, and they're kind enough to not point it out. Anyway! Not the point!

Normally, when I go to mass, I just sort of sit awkwardly during the Eucharist because, well, I'm not Catholic, but I was advised that Tuesday that I could go forward and receive a blessing (I'd heard that you could do such, but I generally don't trust the internet), so I did so this morning. Aside from the initial nerves (which is pretty close to my usual state), it was fantastic! I've had warm fuzzy feeling ever since!

After mass I decided to kill some time until a certain store opened up. I'm pretty sure it's the closest thing to a Catholic book store we have, which is kind of sad, but I picked up a few things, including a pocket guide to mass! It's meant for kids, but still! This is what I've been hoping to find for a month now!

Anyway, killing time! I ran into a...friend? Acquaintance? Some one I knew, and we had coffee, and walked around until the store opened. Aside from the little guide, I picked up two little saint medals, St. Brigid and Blessed Teresa, a saint card for St. Dymphna to send to my sister along with the chaplet, a card of Mary with Hail, Holy Queen on the back (in hopes of helping me memorize it), and a small crucifix for a rosary. 

When I finished up there, my friend and I walked back to the Cathedral. He's never been inside before! How can you be near a church like that for months and never go in? Or am I just weird? I'm just weird, never mind. 

There's an older gentleman who always sits outside the front door. I think he's homeless, but he's very nice. I like to talk to him when I can spare the time. Apparently he had a rough night last night, which I don't really understand. He's such a nice person, I don't know why anyone would want to hurt him or cause him trouble. 

Anyway, bet that sounds incredibly naive, doesn't it? 

I've got to figure out what I want for lunch, and what to pack for dinner, as well as finish some laundry. I'll talk to you later!

Yours always,

Tara