About Me

My photo
Life is tough. Nuns are tougher.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Infant Shopping

We have a lot of pew polishing to do this week, so today we have a short question to answer.

Hi ... I am in search of a statue of the baby infant of prague...my grandmother had one that was under a glass dome screwed to a brown wooden plate it was porcelain and the robe had a velvety touch.

My goodness! Ebay!  It depends on how much you want to spend on the statue. You can go to any religious goods store online. Does he have to be under a glass dome?

Here's a little information on the Infant of Prague. Have a quick read. I'll wait.

Okay, so you can get anything from a little statue made of plastic or plaster (which means he'll always be in his traditional red cape rendered in plastic), to the fancy in kind that is just like the original and you change the little outfits.  I actually have one of the former, and now we also have a little plaster one with a removable cloth cape.  We just leave it on him. It's always chilly in our house because California houses are not insulated.Or you can spring for an more full size statue with all his different outfits. Outfits sold separately.

You could conceivably get one like mine with a removable cape and then make a velour one and replace the doll clothes one. The one we have is made from whatever that stuff is out of which doll clothes are made. But it does have a nice sort of white lace like trim on it.

Since you clearly know how to use the internet, just google "Infant of Prague Statue".  There is one in a dome on Ebay as we speak, but it's a pricey one. There are many, many others at very affordable price points.

A very holy Holy Week to everyone. We'll post between polishing if we can. 





Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Martyrs

It's HOLY WEEK!  The final sprint of Lent.  Perhaps "sprint" is not term we want to use. I had a reader long ago who described Lent as "rubbing along".  So, somewhere between sprinting and rubbing along is where we stand. It's a busy week of Mass and Passion, so we're going to spring clean our question list.

Martyrs. Are they automatically saints or do they also need to  perform miracles? I'm particularly interested in Thomas Byles who, instead of taking a life boat off of the Titanic, stayed behind to administer sacraments to those about to die. Does that make him a martyr?


Technically, no. Father Thomas was on his way to New York to officiate at the wedding of his younger brother when the great ship went down to the bottom of the sea.  He did indeed refuse a seat on a lifeboat twice to stay behind and hear confessions and grant absolution. 


Martyrs are automatically saints, no miracles required. But bravery is not martyrdom. A martyr is someone who dies defending the faith. To be a martyr, someone would have had to say to Father Thomas, "If you deny that Jesus is God, or your Savior, then you can get on a lifeboat."  Father Thomas simply chose to stay and do his job.


That's not to say it wasn't wholly heroic. But it would be hard to prove sainthood without miracles.


To start with, clergy is held to a higher sin standard, because they are responsible for the souls of others.  It's why the new Pope is constantly asking for your prayers, because when he fails even in small ways, the repercussions are massive.

Then the Church would study the life of Father Thomas to see if he lived a life of heroic virtue. He certainly did at the end there.  Then we need two miracles.


You could take up the cause for his sainthood!


There are other people whose martyrdom is in question. The one who springs to mind is St. Edith Stein. She is often called a martyr, but technically speaking, I don't think she actually qualifies. She was a Jewish girl who converted and became a nun. In question is whether or not she was arrested and sent to the gas chamber for being a nun or for being Jewish.  If it was because she was a nun, then she did die for her faith. The thing is, she was arrested for being a Jew (she and her sister had been forced to wear the yellow star, prior to their arrest).


Not to worry, though, she has at least one miracle under her belt, a little girl who was dying from an overdose of Tylenol and survived after her family and friends prayed for the intercession of Edith. Because she is more or less seen as a martyr, she was canonized. But there have been people who have questioned the martyr issue.


I'm with you!  Surely, Father Thomas is in Heaven!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Tattoos on the Heart

Sister, my brother has a a heartbreaking problem with. his son who is 11 and losing his faith. My brother has divorced and remarried (there was an annulment), and now this kid spends half his time with his mother (who has since divorced & remarried twice), and the other half in my brother's new home. Very ugly circumstances--the "natural" mother has had little interest in raising her son, though she wants "her share" of custody. He is in counseling, Catholic school, attends Mass and the sacraments, and in my brother's house practices the faith devoutly. But he is sinking under. Is there a saint whose intercession we could beg? Anything we could give him to read? How can we help this poor kid?

Poor kid. 

We could turn to the Holy Family.  But that's not my recommendation for today. Not that is ever a bad idea.  It's just that when we think of the Holy Family we call to mind a family full of love and peace and compassion for each other and the people around them, not a family blown apart by divorce and rancor.

Wait a minute.

I've changed my mind. That is my recommendation. Because what that boy needs is a family full of love and peace and compassion for one another and the people around them, including his poor mother. Whatever she may be or how ever she may fall short, she is his mother. 

In order for the child to have faith, everyone around him must live theirs.  That is the very best you can do.

I think of Father Greg Boyle, the Jesuit who has spent his life working with gang bangers, the lowest of the low, the meanest of the mean. He approaches only with love.

“Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.” 
― Gregory BoyleTattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion


He isn't just talking about a lack of money and what that causes people to do. He is also talking about the poor of spirit and also reminds us:

“Kinship– not serving the other, but being one with the other. Jesus was not “a man for others”; he was one with them. There is a world of difference in that.” 
― Gregory BoyleTattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion


If Father Boyle can make as much headway as he does with these people, imagine what we can do, leading by example, with more 'ordinary' folks!

Don't run around with your hair on fire. It's also perfectly normal for an eleven year old boy to question religion and philosophy. Children at this age are figuring out who they are, who they want to emulate and more than anything else, they yearn for autonomy from their parents and authority figures. It sounds as though the family has already done everything they can to give him a firm base from which to grow. Sometimes questioning your faith helps reaffirm it.

Teach him the Memorare. 

Remember, Oh most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known, that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly to thee, Oh virgin of virgins, my mother. To thee I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. Oh mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petition, but in they mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

Tell him the name of the prayer is "Remember".  He will, for his whole life and in times of great need.

And call on St. Nicholas, the patron saint of children.  Santa Claus never let anyone down.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

White Smoke

We have to take a break from the raging discussion in the comments section on my comments on evangelizing Mormons (and Mormons evangelizing) to wipe our tears of joy from our exciting day yesterday.

Welcome to our new Pope, Pope Francis I.  We happened to have the tube on when the chimney suddenly started pouring out white smoke. A handsome Italian correspondent had been blabbing to some lady on the news about how everyone was standing in the rain and what time it was in Rome, when there it was.  It was so very exciting to be a part of that moment and then wait holding our breath to see who had been chosen.

Do nuns always cry when a new Pope is elected? Not always. I didn't cry when Pope Benedict was elected. I figured he was a shoe in.  I wished I had had a bet in Vegas on that one.

But this was so thrilling and unexpected.

It was his name that did me in. Francis.  That is a message to the world.

We've talked about St. Francis of Assisi many times here in the cyber convent. He is everyone's favorite saint for his beautiful and thorough humility and love, his poetry and compassion.  He was the most faithful follower of Christ's teachings that I can bring to mind, and his simple philosophy caused the numbers in his order and other orders of priests and monks and nuns to balloon in his own lifetime.
the travels of St. Francis Xavier

I know there are some who think he choose Francis after St. Francis Xavier, who was also a Jesuit like the new Pope. But those in the know in the Vatican (if we are to believe the handsome Italian correspondent) say the new Pope was thinking of St. Francis of Assisi.

Of course, St. Francis Xavier was no slouch. He was one of the founders of the Jesuit order and he traveled to India, Japan and Borneo.  He converted more people around the globe than St. Paul and he was sharp as a tack, learning that languages of the people he sought to convert and changing his tactics to get their attention when whatever he was doing wasn't working.

Our new Pope has such big shoes to fill.  When he first stepped onto the balcony, I was struck by how burdened he looked. So did the other people out there with him, shuffling around with the microphones and banners and flags.  Pope Francis' first remarks were comforting.  His job is overwhelming.

The world is overwhelming.

It's still Lent. A today, we know exactly where to offer our suffering.

White Smoke

We have to take a break from the raging discussion in the comments section on my comments on evangelizing Mormons (and Mormons evangelizing) to wipe our tears of joy from our exciting day yesterday.

Welcome to our new Pope, Pope Francis I.  We happened to have the tube on when the suddenly started pouring out white. A handsome Italian correspondent had been blabbing to some lady on the news about how everyone was standing in the rain and what time it was in Rome, when there it was.  It was so very exciting to be a part of that moment and then wait holding our breath to see who had been chosen.

Do nuns always cry when a new Pope is elected? Not always. I didn't cry when Pope Benedict was elected. I figured he was a shoe in.  I wished I had had a bet in Vegas on that one.

But this was so thrilling and unexpected.

It was his name that did me in. Francis.  That is a message to the world.

We've talked about St. Francis of Assisi many times here in the cyber convent. He is everyone's favorite saint for his beautiful and thorough humility and love, his poetry and compassion.  He was the most faithful follower of Christ's teachings that I can bring to mind, and his simple philosophy caused the numbers in his order and other orders of priests and monks and nuns to balloon in his own lifetime.
the travels of St. Francis Xavier

I know there are some who think he choose Francis after St. Francis Xavier, who was also a Jesuit like the new Pope. But those in the know in the Vatican (if we are to believe the handsome Italian correspondent) say the new Pope was thinking of St. Francis of Assisi.

Of course, St. Francis Xavier was no slouch. He was one of the founders of the Jesuit order and he traveled to India, Japan and Borneo.  He converted more people around the globe than St. Paul and he was sharp as a tack, learning that languages of the people he sought to convert and changing his tactics to get their attention when whatever he was doing wasn't working.

Our new Pope has such big shoes to fill.  When he first stepped onto the balcony, I was struck by how burdened he looked. So did the other people out there with him, shuffling around with the microphones and banners and flags.  Pope Francis' first remarks were comforting.  His job is overwhelming.

The world is overwhelming.

It's still Lent. A today, we know exactly where to offer our suffering.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Missionary On the Phone

I't's always a good day for me when the question takes up almost the whole post. I shall confess my laziness later and polish the pews with extra vigor.


Dear Sister, A few years ago members of the LDS church were courting me. I started talking to them because I needed someone (anyone) to talk to about God. I am a practicing Catholic and knew right away that I would never convert because you just can't get the Eucharist any where else! But after a while I did realize that the Book of Mormon is really suspect and I don't agree with much of what they preach at all, so I broke it off with them. About a month ago I listened to a CD from Lighthouse media called "From Mormon Missionary to the Catholic Church" by Thomas Smith. I was wowed by his advice and experiences, but I also felt that maybe I'd wasted a good opportunity to point out what the scripture really has to say about some important issues for the LDS church (Smith goes in to a lot of this in his talk. He says that when he was a missionary he had never sought out other translations or even looked at the verses they use to back up their theology in their original context.  He was introduced to other ways of reading the verses through his missionary work with a woman who had a NRSV Bible).

So, today I got a call from the LDS again, asking if anything had changed in my life and if I'd like to learn more about their church. I said no... but now I feel like maybe I should call them back?

Nothing has changed for me, except that I may be better prepared to be a Catholic missionary to the LDS missionaries. My dilemma is that I want to talk to them in order to give context to some of the material they use to back up their claims... in order to make them take a look at their faith in LDS... but that seems dishonest to me. I know I'm on the right spiritual path for me... but should I be messing with theirs under the pretence that I want to know more about their faith?
Is it better to pretend not to know about some of their teachings in order to shed some light for them, or is it better to be honest and let them stay in the dark?


Oh, it gets better. Now all I have to do to inspire you is post this link to the saint of the day, St. John Olgilvie.

No one is asking you to tough it out in Scotland or even Utah. 

To get to your question, should you call them back under the pretense of wanting to know more? No. That would be dishonest.  St. Augustine believed that lying was the very worst sin. Or maybe it was St. Thomas Aquinas. One of those two thought that.  

Should you let them stay in the dark?  You don't have to.

They didn't call you and ask, "do you want to join our church?"  They called and said, "Has anything changed?"  And the answer to that is, "Yes! I researched a lot about your tenets of faith and I am happy to tell you I have found my faith! In the Catholic Church." You could call them back and say you realized that you didn't answer the question they had fully.  "Thanks for calling me!  I realized that I wasn't fully present when you called and I'd like to tell you the answer to the question that you asked."

My bet is that they won't hang up on you.  These are people that go door to door. They LOVE to argue about their teachings. When I was a child my mother always let them in when they came to the door and we had quite the discussion on every occasion.  I don't know if we got through to them.  But we certainly listened to what they had to say about Joseph Smith and his Golden Ticket that got lost in a haystack after he was the only person to see it.  That was enough for me as a ten year old to cast serious doubt on this religion, not founded by Jesus at all. Although I think there was something in there about Jesus having come here to the United States in a canoe. I couldn't take any of it seriously, but the people that came to the door were lovely, polite young men.  

Meanwhile, if it was good enough to inspire St. John Olgilvie, it's good enough to inspire us. Here is little Cindy Bush, whoever she is, singing a favorite of mine, "Come Unto Him" from Handel's "Messiah".

"Come unto Him, all ye that labor. Come unto Him ye that are heavy laden, and he shall give ye rest. Take His yolk upon you and learn of Him. For He is meek and lowly of heart. And ye shall find rest. And ye shall find rest unto your soul."

A wonderful thing to keep in mind for Lent.

It's odd to me that everyone seems to think the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's "Messiah" is a Christmas song. It isn't. Handel's famous number tells the story of the whole life of Christ and the "Hallelujah Chorus" is the big finale after the Resurrection. In my mind it is more properly an Easter song.  Maybe we'll start an "Messiah" for Easter campaign.

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

No Voodoo and Day of the Dead

Weight Watchers Charm Bracelet
I'm not trying to be facetious, but how is wearing a saint's medal or a scapular different from wearing a charm?

That's a fair question. Oddly, I was wondering just the other day why no one has asked that one. The answer is very, very simple. 

It  is completely different.


To begin with, let's point out that the word "charm" has more than one meaning.  There's charm, as in a an attractive trait  a person might have. Like Mame. I believe she charmed the husk right off of the corn. If only she had also charmed the corn right off the the cob, she would have been so useful in the kitchen.


There's a charm, like the little things that dangle off a charm bracelet. No evil to be found there among the little musical instruments and tea pots and tiny elephants.


Then there is that to which you refer, a charm that  some is believed to hold some sort of magical power. The charm and its magical power are both nonsense, so of course, you are not allowed to give any of that silliness any credence.


When we wear a scapular or a saint's medal, we don't claim (I hope!) that they have magical powers. They do represent very powerful things: the amazing life of a saint, the boundless forgiveness of God, the life to which we should all aspire.  We wear them to call these things to mind.


They are really more akin to your charm bracelet, without the frivolity.  Unless your charm bracelet is a voodoo charm bracelet with little skulls on it. 


We do bless these objects, which are called "sacramentals", but it doesn't give them magical powers. It simply means the object is dedicated to God's service. It might seem crazy to bless a car. We're not making a car holy or giving it special powers. We're dedicating it to God's service.


Calm now?


That was easy. This one, not so much:
Can Catholics donate their bodies to science? Or their organs--can their organs be harvested?

This is a very controversial topic. Yes. No.  That's the answer.


The Catholic Church has no problem with you donating your organs or your body. As long as your body is treated with dignity.  And as long as your are completely dead when your organs are harvested.


That is where the controversy lies.  Often, in order to harvest organs such as the heart, a person is actually kept alive through artificial means so the organ is as fresh as possible. That's a no no.  Many Catholics don't want to take the chance that that might happen and so they insist it should not be done. But not all organs are harvested this way.  


There are two  rules: The person has to have had made clear that they wanted to donate their organs and you can't give away anything you need to stay alive if you are alive.  So you can unload that other kidney and bless your heart for it. 


Some kind soul put together some pertinent papal decrees on the subject, all in one place for your perusal.


Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Oh, for Pete's Sake

I have to assume that the expression, "for Pete's sake!" has something to do with St. Peter. I can't think what it would be, but today I'm glad to call on St. Peter to talk some sense into people. Since our last post about the haunted house we've had a loony discussion in the comments section that I feel we must address. 

 I am wondering whether those haunting the house have a message of healing to offer, and keeping on being ignored just makes it harder for them to offer it? Logically, this is a possibility offered by process of elimination, consulting the options Sister has discussed so far: "Their purpose may be to teach or warn, or request some favor of the living." Thus, if I had the courage, I might ask what it is each remaining one wants, or to offer that is helpful.

What part of "don't talk to the ghosts" did you miss? Don't talk to 'ghosts'.  We don't know what they are but, whatever they are, it can't be good.  The author who talked about ghosts being there to teach or to warn wasn't talking about some type of spirit that endlessly hangs around a house smoking cigars and rattling the dinnerware.  He was talking about an apparition, like when you suddenly see your dead Aunt Margie and she is motioning to you.  (She is motioning to you to pray for her, no doubt.)

What about the people like the long island medium who believe the dead can talk to/through them? She seems sincere, and it appears that she comes up with things that she has no way of knowing -- it gives so much comfort to people, I can't believe a demon would do anything to comfort anyone. She says she's a practicing Catholic, but I'd love to know if she has discussed her powers with her parish priest, and if so, what he told her.
'
If she talked to a priest he told her, "don't talk to ghosts".  It's against canon law to be a "medium", so any priest would tell her to cut that out, no matter what she believes she's doing. We thank another reader for setting things straight:

Meg commented: I can't believe a demon would do anything to comfort anyone Why not? If it causes you to run to psychics or mediums or the like, they've done their job.


I couldn't have stated it better.

If you've used blessed salt, and it hasn't bothered them (quantity wouldn't matter, it's the faith with which it is used), they probably are souls in purgatory. These souls are only allowed to manifest themselves to ask for prayers, so I really think that what you are doing (praying for them) is the right thing. I'll pray for them, too, and for you!

No, they are not souls in Purgatory, because no one has Purgatory in their house or yard or old hotel. Purgatory is outside time and space.  You're right that souls from Purgatory have sometimes asked for prayers, but, again, they ask and that's the end of it. Even Jacob Marley didn't spend the rest of Christmas Eve badgering Scrooge. He gave Scrooge the what for and took off.

This idea that anyone would have to endlessly hang around to get their point across is why, ultimately, the apparitions at Medjugorje have never been approved by the Church. If Our Lady hasn't delivered her message by now, after daily apparitions to a bunch of children for years on end, we have to wonder what's up with Our Lady. 

At this rate, I'm surprised no one has mentioned trying a Ouija Board or some Tarot cards. Trying to talk to the dead is on the same "do not try this at home" list of sins as those things. I hope this settles the matter. We have questions that need answering!