tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post7987136804012712561..comments2024-03-05T14:07:28.062-08:00Comments on Ask Sister Mary Martha: Yes, Virginia, There is a ChristmasSister Mary Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00580244097177195453noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-80492313833654696782008-01-03T22:44:00.000-08:002008-01-03T22:44:00.000-08:00You tell'em Sister!Tell. Dem.It's easy to give gif...You tell'em Sister!<BR/>Tell. Dem.<BR/>It's easy to give gifts, but how tedious it is to give love.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-34495173106360576222007-12-28T20:39:00.000-08:002007-12-28T20:39:00.000-08:00What a fabulous post, Sister. Love our enemies, i...What a fabulous post, Sister. Love our enemies, indeed.<BR/><BR/>Thank you! I needed to read this right now.The Dangerous Mezzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08431535159253974395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-9711978694410401342007-12-28T14:57:00.000-08:002007-12-28T14:57:00.000-08:00I just find, if I can 'love' people just the way S...I just find, if I can 'love' people just the way Sister Martha does here, I have it all figured out! Keep the faith, Sister! I dont know any nuns who call peoples' Uncles 'windbags' but you must be one of those progressive sisters! Yay, you, you go, um, Girl?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-89911171437299114252007-12-26T20:35:00.000-08:002007-12-26T20:35:00.000-08:00I read somewhere that celebration of Christmas gre...I read somewhere that celebration of Christmas grew out of the Ancient Roman practice of celebrating the birthday of the Emperor as a huge feast day. <BR/>Since they celebrated the birthday of their earthly ruler, people naturally wished to celebrate the birthday of the Christ the King. The Jews at that time did not celebrate individual birthdays, which is why we do not have the exact date of Jesus' birth, so the solstice was chosen. Given the importance of the Incarnation, the Church encouraged the idea from the beginning.PraiseDivineMercyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15000747762174079070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-89804860549182127912007-12-26T19:02:00.000-08:002007-12-26T19:02:00.000-08:00A very happy, merry Christmas to you, Sister, from...A very happy, merry Christmas to you, Sister, from northern California! Thank you for your blog, which is a great blessing, and best wishes to you and yours.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-18258648562824470752007-12-26T17:42:00.000-08:002007-12-26T17:42:00.000-08:00Actually, I don't think eyesight problems account ...Actually, I don't think eyesight problems account for their closeness and their constant touching of one... but alas.<BR/><BR/>Would it be too horrible to simply opt out of Christmas Eve next year? I'd feel guilty, but ohhhhh so much less dread and stress!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-35908963453341651792007-12-26T11:55:00.000-08:002007-12-26T11:55:00.000-08:00"Anonymous said... Sister, is it a sin to pray for..."Anonymous said... <BR/>Sister, is it a sin to pray for God to kill someone? If so, are there exceptions?<BR/><BR/>7:21 PM"<BR/><BR/>Say what?...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-63377911239166306372007-12-26T10:42:00.000-08:002007-12-26T10:42:00.000-08:00All I can say is Thank God he told us to love them...All I can say is Thank God he told us to love them and not to like them. And if all I can muster is the ability to pray for evil-doers, then by definition I don't hate them. <BR/><BR/>So, yes, then I really do love people who belong to Planned Parenthood. And the Taliban. And my sister who had her third kid with her third boyfriend and is making remarks about being "bisexual".<BR/><BR/>Just don't ask me to invite them over, within earshot of my kids. I love them enough to pray for them real, real hard and that's the best I can do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-48722373223195162152007-12-26T08:22:00.000-08:002007-12-26T08:22:00.000-08:00Merry Christmas, Sister!I hope yours got off to a ...Merry Christmas, Sister!<BR/><BR/>I hope yours got off to a lovely start. Twelve days of feasting, right?Sparkihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17030775118609358427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-18011011217085738532007-12-26T03:38:00.000-08:002007-12-26T03:38:00.000-08:00Merry Christmas Sister.Merry Christmas Sister.Theresehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04866840456840793793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-47471129840698622372007-12-25T20:42:00.000-08:002007-12-25T20:42:00.000-08:00Merry Christmas, Sister! I hope you were able to e...Merry Christmas, Sister! I hope you were able to enjoy some spiked eggnog!Vicki aka Diva Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01228807165737429440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-31443020688486269372007-12-25T20:01:00.000-08:002007-12-25T20:01:00.000-08:00It's still Christmas for another 2 hours....Merry ...It's still Christmas for another 2 hours....<BR/><BR/>Merry Christmas from Minnesota, where, right on cue, it snowed today!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-15595835504946390202007-12-25T19:21:00.000-08:002007-12-25T19:21:00.000-08:00Sister, is it a sin to pray for God to kill someon...Sister, is it a sin to pray for God to kill someone? If so, are there exceptions?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-66727255869520022462007-12-25T17:27:00.000-08:002007-12-25T17:27:00.000-08:00I have a brother who is a fundamentalist and used ...I have a brother who is a fundamentalist and used to bring up the subject of our differences. I actually credit him for getting me to know my faith better. I have searched for answers I thought would be for him only to find out they were for me along with the benefit of the journey they lead me on. And as for the "if it's not in the Bible, it didn't happen" school of thought...are these people here and were their births noted in the Bible? And yet, they live...hmmm...<BR/>By the way...<BR/>Merry Christmas....another from Maryland!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-88459374386565726672007-12-25T17:11:00.000-08:002007-12-25T17:11:00.000-08:00Janet- our priest even spoke of Christmas includin...Janet- our priest even spoke of Christmas including some 'awkward family gatherings'. You are in the majority if your family has some people who just don't hit it off. If polite is all you could muster then that is fine. We were discussing my cousin's ex who sat in a corner one year and didn't speak to anyone- my dad was afraid he was the type to leave and come back with a gun shooting!<BR/>Sarah "learn about your faith" is great so is just having faith. When Sister says just let it go-that is usually really easy for me. God will explain things to me if and when He wants to. Why worry about the stuff He is taking care of?<BR/>Sister I am highly sensitive to both incense and many scents, including in candles. If your mom likes scented candles has she tried Yankee candles? They are the only ones I can use.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-6655032364535146542007-12-25T07:10:00.000-08:002007-12-25T07:10:00.000-08:00The commenter who asked the question sounds like s...The commenter who asked the question sounds like she could have been talking to me about 5 years ago. I thought everything we did had to be explicitly spelled out in the Bible, and "Show me that from the Bible" was my favorite challenge to pose to other Christians. Now I'm in RCIA. (Yay!) Please, please don't buy the fundamentalist idea that if it's not in the Bible it is necessarily unlawful. Learn about your faith. Read Catholic apologists. Learn your Bible and what the Church teaches about it. Please take it from someone who has been there - the fact that the Bible writers didn't record a direct command to celebrate Christmas doesn't mean that much.<BR/><BR/>SarahAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-71046859027282010672007-12-24T23:40:00.000-08:002007-12-24T23:40:00.000-08:00I have found that people who stand too close to yo...I have found that people who stand too close to you and keep leaning in even when you lean away are often near sighted... or far sighted...some kind of eye thing.<BR/><BR/>Apologize to them for for the incense. Maybe they'll drop it then. My mother gets down right sick from scented candles. Some things really really bother some people.<BR/><BR/>Zero in on their humanity, not their foibles. Have a laugh with them.<BR/><BR/>It's not a serious sin to be annoyed with people. It becomes a serious sin when it festers into anger and hate.Sister Mary Marthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00580244097177195453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-12045506628245504252007-12-24T21:57:00.000-08:002007-12-24T21:57:00.000-08:00Oh, this is painful... having just come from the f...Oh, this is painful... having just come from the family celebration. My sister has taken to inviting cousins who a) invade my physical space; b) invade my psychological space; c) get no hints by spoken or body language to back up; d) outright insult me. I tried as hard as I could to be polite but I was stiff and not friendly and I know my sister is annoyed with me. (Her son hates it that they come, too, so we huddled together for a bit. But it was well-nigh impossible to avoid them.)<BR/><BR/>I'll confess it in confession, but I wonder how grievous a sin it is that I could only be stiffly polite to people who insult my religion (and still carp about the incense at my 1997 wedding)? I *tried* to be nice... I just failed.<BR/><BR/>Sigh.<BR/><BR/>Off to Mass!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com