Tired. Tired. Tired. So, I think that's why my postings have been rather lame of late. I do have a draft of a post about Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, but no energy to finish it.
I was reading my blogroll tonight, which includes America Magazine's blog, In All Things and found this link to Time Magazine's article about the making of saints. Some on people the list are either blessed or venerables, some are possibles and others not even close.
Still, I like reading about saints of the past, modern-day saints and possible saints of the future. Worth having a look.
Showing posts with label saints. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saints. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Is the Impossible Possible?
Today I was privileged to see a relic of St. Jude Thaddeus at the Cathedral Basilica here in town. The Dominican Friars from the Shrine of St. Jude in Chicago have brought the relic to my archdiocese again. A rosary was recited, then an opportunity for Confession before Mass celebrated with the Archbishop and the friars. Following Mass there was time for personal veneration of the relic and then an other opportunity for Confession. When I left, I left after the rosary, as I really couldn't stay for the Mass, there were huge lines for the confessionals. Quite honestly, the times I've been to confession this year (remember I just made my first Confession in a long, long time this year), there have always been long lines. Needless to say, I could have gone, as both my pastor and the rector at the Cathedral said that the priests hearing confessions wouldn't know us. Maybe that's why the lines were so long, ;-)
I know people jokingly make comments about not having to go to Confession. Archbishop Sheehan recently addressed the subject of Confession and the misconceptions of not having to go to Confession (or was that Mass? He talked about that recently too.) I've had a former Catholic friend tell me that it was done away with long ago and of course I said no, "it's one of the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church, and when you come back to the Church fully, you'll need to go to Confession before you can receive the Eucharist." '
Needless to say, that didn't go over well with my friend.
Anyway, this post isn't about Confession per se but seeing the relic of a Saint who lived during the time of Christ. A relic from a man who was one of the Twelve. Someone who is believed to have been a cousin of Jesus. How could I not experience that? Another short bio of St. Jude here.
I took my camera with me and for some reason, I did not take a picture of the relic as it processed up to the the table before the altar where it was placed and since I did not stay for Mass or the veneration, I didn't get a photograph of it at all. I searched google for images and found only a couple. This one is from the Aquinas Newman Center at UNM, which is staffed by Dominicans. It will end up there after it's soujourn in Santa Fe and arrival in Albuquerque.
This is the text of the prayer we prayed after the rosary was said.
Most Holy Apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered your beloved Master into the hands of his enemies has caused you to be forgotten by many. But the Church honors you, and I invoke you as the special advocate of those who are in trouble and almost without hope. Help me to realize that through our faith we triumph over life's difficulties by the power of Jesus who loved us and gave his life for us. Come to my assistance that I may receive the consolation and succor of heaven in all my needs, trials, and sufferings, particularly ( here make your request ) and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever.
St. Jude, apostle of the Word of God, pray for us.
St. Jude, follower of the Son of God, pray for us.
St. Jude, preacher of the love of God, pray for us.
St. Jude, intercessor before God, pray for us.
St. Jude, friend of all in need, pray for us.
St. Jude, pray for us, and for all who invoke your aid.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Feasts and Memorials of late.
While I missed posting about the Feast of the Archangels and the memorial of St. Jerome, today is the memorial of St. Theresa of the Child of Jesus.
St. Theresa, often called the Little Flower, was born in Normandy, France, in 1873. She was the youngest of the five daughters born to Louis and Zelie Martin. Theresa was a very lively, lovable little girl. Her father called her his "little queen." Yet she could be too sensitive and irritable. In the story she wrote of her life, she tells how the Infant Jesus helped her overcome this weakness. It was Theresa's great desire to enter the Carmelite convent where two of her sisters were already nuns. But since she was only fifteen, permission was not granted. Theresa felt sure that Jesus wanted her to spend her life loving him alone. She kept praying and asking the superior to admit her. She even dared to ask Pope Leo XIII himself to grant her heart's desire. And finally she was allowed to enter. Although she was only fifteen, Theresa did not expect to be babied. "Obedience, prayer and sacrifice" were her program. She had a thirst to suffer for love of God. Theresa had the spiritual courage of a real heroine. "May Jesus make me a martyr of the heart or of the body-or better, both!" she wrote. And she meant it. In winter she suffered from the bitter cold and dampness of her plain bedroom. There were other kinds of sufferings, too. Whenever she was humiliated, she would offer her pain to her beloved Jesus. She would hide her hurts under a smile. She told Jesus to do with her whatever was his will. Sister Theresa tried hard to be humble. She called her great confidence in God her "little way" to holiness. She always had a burning desire to become a saint. The young nun wanted to find a "short cut," an "elevator," to take her quickly to sanctity. So she looked in the Bible, and found the words, "Whoever is a little one, come to me." When she lay dying, she could say: "I have never given the good God anything but love, and it is with love that he will repay. After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good on earth." The Little Flower died on September 30, 1897. She was proclaimed a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1925. "O Jesus, my love, my vocation, at last I have found it. My vocation is LOVE!" 
Text taken from "Saint of the Day" but there is more about her here, at Catholic Online. Father Jim Martin, over at America Magazine posts this nice reflection on her here. She is my mother's patron saint. She is named for her exactly. I used to laugh at her name, I thought it was funny to be named Theresa of the Child of Jesus-- of course her name is in Spanish and it made even less sense to me. However, now as I read about holy men and women and learn more about the history of the Church and understand its traditions, I've begun to understand the devotions and why children are named in honor of these holy people.
Her parents have been beatified and one day may become saints just like their daughter.
St. Theresa, often called the Little Flower, was born in Normandy, France, in 1873. She was the youngest of the five daughters born to Louis and Zelie Martin. Theresa was a very lively, lovable little girl. Her father called her his "little queen." Yet she could be too sensitive and irritable. In the story she wrote of her life, she tells how the Infant Jesus helped her overcome this weakness. It was Theresa's great desire to enter the Carmelite convent where two of her sisters were already nuns. But since she was only fifteen, permission was not granted. Theresa felt sure that Jesus wanted her to spend her life loving him alone. She kept praying and asking the superior to admit her. She even dared to ask Pope Leo XIII himself to grant her heart's desire. And finally she was allowed to enter. Although she was only fifteen, Theresa did not expect to be babied. "Obedience, prayer and sacrifice" were her program. She had a thirst to suffer for love of God. Theresa had the spiritual courage of a real heroine. "May Jesus make me a martyr of the heart or of the body-or better, both!" she wrote. And she meant it. In winter she suffered from the bitter cold and dampness of her plain bedroom. There were other kinds of sufferings, too. Whenever she was humiliated, she would offer her pain to her beloved Jesus. She would hide her hurts under a smile. She told Jesus to do with her whatever was his will. Sister Theresa tried hard to be humble. She called her great confidence in God her "little way" to holiness. She always had a burning desire to become a saint. The young nun wanted to find a "short cut," an "elevator," to take her quickly to sanctity. So she looked in the Bible, and found the words, "Whoever is a little one, come to me." When she lay dying, she could say: "I have never given the good God anything but love, and it is with love that he will repay. After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good on earth." The Little Flower died on September 30, 1897. She was proclaimed a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1925. "O Jesus, my love, my vocation, at last I have found it. My vocation is LOVE!" 
Text taken from "Saint of the Day" but there is more about her here, at Catholic Online. Father Jim Martin, over at America Magazine posts this nice reflection on her here. She is my mother's patron saint. She is named for her exactly. I used to laugh at her name, I thought it was funny to be named Theresa of the Child of Jesus-- of course her name is in Spanish and it made even less sense to me. However, now as I read about holy men and women and learn more about the history of the Church and understand its traditions, I've begun to understand the devotions and why children are named in honor of these holy people.
Her parents have been beatified and one day may become saints just like their daughter.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
This is an interesting bit about St. Januarius, a Saint I don't know a thing about, but it was his feast day on Friday.
Here's a bit about him from Catholic Online.
St. Januarius
photo credit from Patron Saints Index
Here's a bit about him from Catholic Online.
St. Januarius
Feastday: September 19
St. Januarius was born in Italy and was bishop of Benevento during the Emperor Diocletion persecution. Bishop Januarius went to visit two deacons and two laymen in prison. He was then also imprison along with his deacon and lector. They were thrown to the wild beasts, but when the animals did not attack them, they were beheaded. What is believed to be Januarius' blood is kept in Naples, as a relic. It liquifies and bubbles when exposed in the cathedral. Scientists have not been able to explain this miracle to date. St. Januarius lived and died around 305 A.D. and his feast day is September 19th.
photo credit from Patron Saints Index
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Quickie update. A couple of posts ago I linked to the news about Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish's new statue of the Blessed Mother and its journey to Santa Fe. A couple of Sundays ago the New Mexican ran a news story about it and put up a slide show. These are photos taken by the photographer from the blog I linked to, but they're complied in a nice show so I thought I'd add a link to it.
A couple of weekends ago, my mom and I went to the Spanish Market. I had hoped to get a picture of the statue to put up in the blog, but it was covered, as it's not going to be official unveiled for another week, I think on the Feast of the Assumption, which is also the birthday of a former best friend of mine, but I won't go into why she's a former friend, but if I wanted to forget her birthday I couldn't. I'll say an extra prayer just for her at Mass next week anyway. So... no pictures of my own till then.
Back to the Spanish Market, some years I've found some lovely artwork that calls me to buy it. Some years, I haven't. Sometimes a retablo of a special saint just calls out to me, some years, I'm looking for a specific saint, and those years I usually don't find the one I'l seeking out. Last year I saw a lovely La Conquistadora-- but it was at least $800 over my budget. I'd also stumbled upon an Infant Jesus of Prague, but that was a bit pricey, so last year I went away without spending any money. This year, I stopped by the booth of an artist whose work I like. I have a St. Therese of Lisieux he painted from about four years ago. He had a lovely Infant Jesus of Prague and I ended up bringing him home. The artist's name is Arturo Olivas and his work can be found here. So, check it out for a lovely example of New Mexico Spanish Colonial Art.
A couple of weekends ago, my mom and I went to the Spanish Market. I had hoped to get a picture of the statue to put up in the blog, but it was covered, as it's not going to be official unveiled for another week, I think on the Feast of the Assumption, which is also the birthday of a former best friend of mine, but I won't go into why she's a former friend, but if I wanted to forget her birthday I couldn't. I'll say an extra prayer just for her at Mass next week anyway. So... no pictures of my own till then.
Back to the Spanish Market, some years I've found some lovely artwork that calls me to buy it. Some years, I haven't. Sometimes a retablo of a special saint just calls out to me, some years, I'm looking for a specific saint, and those years I usually don't find the one I'l seeking out. Last year I saw a lovely La Conquistadora-- but it was at least $800 over my budget. I'd also stumbled upon an Infant Jesus of Prague, but that was a bit pricey, so last year I went away without spending any money. This year, I stopped by the booth of an artist whose work I like. I have a St. Therese of Lisieux he painted from about four years ago. He had a lovely Infant Jesus of Prague and I ended up bringing him home. The artist's name is Arturo Olivas and his work can be found here. So, check it out for a lovely example of New Mexico Spanish Colonial Art.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
I was going to post this...
And instead I went off on a mini-rant of my own.
I love reading the lives of the saints. Their lives and stories engage me. I can't fathom leading the lives that they lead. And what astounds me most is that they (with the exception of Angels, etc) were living, breathing people.
Aside from my patron saint of any representation of Mary, the mother of God or the many other St. Mary's that exist. St. Felicity is my other patron saint. I stumbled on this today on the Internets! I'd read the story recently, but I thought I'd save it somewhere, where I could find it quickly again.
I love reading the lives of the saints. Their lives and stories engage me. I can't fathom leading the lives that they lead. And what astounds me most is that they (with the exception of Angels, etc) were living, breathing people.
Aside from my patron saint of any representation of Mary, the mother of God or the many other St. Mary's that exist. St. Felicity is my other patron saint. I stumbled on this today on the Internets! I'd read the story recently, but I thought I'd save it somewhere, where I could find it quickly again.
St. Felicity and her Seven Sons:
Felicity was a noble Christian woman of
I also noticed her patronage is to Mothers who’ve lost children.
These are the contents of my head...
I think this blog is shaping up to be the place where I talk about Catholic stuff as well as my real life. I think I'm on the verge of going back to the Church on a regular basis, not just on Holidays, weddings, and funerals. The only problem I have is on the little corner of the world that's the Internet. On blogs, forums, websites, I see so much disdain for liberal Catholics from fellow Catholics. I can't even contemplate all the anti-catholic crap I've encountered out there, but it's there too. I just hate to see all the disdain coming from one Catholic about another. I am a bleeding heart liberal in whole sense of the world. I keep my feelings about religion and politics separate. I don't take religion into the voting booth, nor do I take politics into the church. However, I support those liberal causes many of my fellow Catholics deem unacceptable and today I read a commentary on forums and other places on the Internet that liberal Catholics should just leave the church because they can't accept all and everything the church teaches. I've seen it before and I could find links, but there's no point... I'm sure one good google search will find posts in the same vein.
Nonetheless, it pisses me off because I never once grew up to hear that message. I really hope that these messages are from a very small and vocal minority. These are many of the folks who are excited about the Latin Mass returning with fewer restrictions, which is fine with me, I think there is plenty of room for TLM and the Novus Ordo. I grew up post Vatican II. I've never attended Mass in Latin. I'm sure it's a very beautiful thing and I don't think that the Pope is trying to take the church back in time, but I don't anticipate attending TLM, with the exception of checking it out every now and then. I think easing restrictions on its use is probably a good thing. I do think many people from my parents' generation, many from the baby boomers and even my fellow GenXers' are looking forward to attending TLM. I am not a traditionalist--as I said-- I'm a liberal and I find that the New Mass, which is said here, is quite lovely. I think it's done with reverence and respect. Most of our hymns are in Spanish, so we don't usually get all the touchy-feely stuff the conservatives seem to complain about. I've read the hymnal, I don't disagree at all with them on that one.
I guess the more I think about coming back to the faith, something invariably drives me away.
I think I need to stay off the Internets!
I don't want to be another religion because for me Catholicism runs deep. It is both spiritual and cultural and I can't separate the two. As frustrating as it is sometimes, I find myself at church knowing it's where I belong, it's what I believe and feel and it doesn't matter that I'm a liberal. Sunday at Mass was a baptism and it was lovely to see and hear all those babies. I kept thinking, and now I'm praying for the day, that I will be up there with my own baby being baptized, on a glorious Sunday like it was the other day. I want to share my faith-- culturally and spiritually-- with a child of mine. I really can't wait for that day and yes, I pray for that day.
So, I know I can't go off and leave the Catholic church and become something else. No other church can be so much a part of my culture and my soul as the catholic church.
How this post went off on such a tangent, I don't know. I still didn't say the things I really wanted to say. I may one day articulate why I'm a liberal and not a conservative.
Nonetheless, it pisses me off because I never once grew up to hear that message. I really hope that these messages are from a very small and vocal minority. These are many of the folks who are excited about the Latin Mass returning with fewer restrictions, which is fine with me, I think there is plenty of room for TLM and the Novus Ordo. I grew up post Vatican II. I've never attended Mass in Latin. I'm sure it's a very beautiful thing and I don't think that the Pope is trying to take the church back in time, but I don't anticipate attending TLM, with the exception of checking it out every now and then. I think easing restrictions on its use is probably a good thing. I do think many people from my parents' generation, many from the baby boomers and even my fellow GenXers' are looking forward to attending TLM. I am not a traditionalist--as I said-- I'm a liberal and I find that the New Mass, which is said here, is quite lovely. I think it's done with reverence and respect. Most of our hymns are in Spanish, so we don't usually get all the touchy-feely stuff the conservatives seem to complain about. I've read the hymnal, I don't disagree at all with them on that one.
I guess the more I think about coming back to the faith, something invariably drives me away.
I think I need to stay off the Internets!
I don't want to be another religion because for me Catholicism runs deep. It is both spiritual and cultural and I can't separate the two. As frustrating as it is sometimes, I find myself at church knowing it's where I belong, it's what I believe and feel and it doesn't matter that I'm a liberal. Sunday at Mass was a baptism and it was lovely to see and hear all those babies. I kept thinking, and now I'm praying for the day, that I will be up there with my own baby being baptized, on a glorious Sunday like it was the other day. I want to share my faith-- culturally and spiritually-- with a child of mine. I really can't wait for that day and yes, I pray for that day.
So, I know I can't go off and leave the Catholic church and become something else. No other church can be so much a part of my culture and my soul as the catholic church.
How this post went off on such a tangent, I don't know. I still didn't say the things I really wanted to say. I may one day articulate why I'm a liberal and not a conservative.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Devotions...
I'm not quite sure why I linked to this Ask Sister Mary Martha: post about The Infant of Prague but, I do have a new fondness for the Infant of Prague. I think in many ways it's not so unlike our devotion to La Conquistadora. (See links on sidebar for more info.) I like that it has origins in Spain and made its way to Bohemia as a wedding gift for the young princess, who was Spanish but married into a Bohemian (Czech) family. So, maybe for some reason that's what I find so fascinating. Devotions have long been a tradition of the Catholic faith and still continue today. It is not worship. I think it's comforting that as well as praying to God directly, we can also ask the saints, and those others in heaven to offer prayers for us. It's comforting to know that we can turn to the saints and petition for their intercession on our behalf.(image from wikipedia)
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