Leila Marie Lawler's Blog, page 20
March 20, 2021
Currently reading!
Some new publications to share with you — books I am currently enjoying very much or have recently finished:
Mary’s Voice in the Gospel According to John. (affiliate link) Our friend Michael Pakaluk has written a “formal equivalence” translation (as opposed to the misleading “dynamic equivalence” one preferred by our bishops today) that highlights what he presumes is the influence of the Blessed Virgin on “the disciple Jesus loved.”
I say presumes because the Gospels attest to her whole being and the unique witness that it represents — what could be more natural than that her voice would come through John’s writing, especially, as he is her son bestowed on her by her Son; thus Michael’s approach in this translation and in the exegesis he offers for each chapter as we read.
Lots to ponder here. Michael’s emphases and choices make the familiar words new, sharp, and invigorating, like the air at the top of a mountain — sort of hyper-oxygenated. His explanations are insightful and his love for Our Lady shines through as he offers us her point of view in her motherly attentiveness, purity, and devotion.
Of great interest to me is his final word regarding what we ought to translate as “Life Everlasting.” There is a school of thought, Universalism, that teaches that all will be saved, and David Bentley Hart is its prophet (at least in our times).
The arguments turn on translation, and Michael mounts a convincing and elegant refutation. The topic leads naturally to the question of the tradition of Mary’s Assumption (or Dormition). All in all, a readable, accessible, yet impeccably scholarly book!
Deeper Heaven: A Reader’s Guide to C. S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy. As I said when I found Michael Ward’s Planet Narnia, (affiliate links) if I can’t be reading Lewis, I can at least be reading about Lewis — if that something is worthy! When I saw that Michael Ward recommended Deeper Heaven, which looks at Lewis’s Space Trilogy (the author insists it should be called the Ransom Trilogy), I had to read it.
I am halfway through and appreciating it mightily. The breadth and depth of Lewis’s scholarship (and sheer life-long reading enjoyment) inform his works, so that ever more inquiry can be brought to them with delightful results. As with other true classics, study of his books only increases the pleasure of knowing them.
When the reader learns more about Lewis’s influences from ancient literature and the medieval conception of the universe (one that has resonance in Scripture and ancient thought as well — in fact, with all human thought except for that of our own era), he will know more about what Lewis was trying to convey in his own works and appreciate them even more. What might have seemed like unevenness or randomness comes into harmony when we look at it from the right perspective.
The author, Christiana Hale, is herself well enough steeped in classical learning that her approach has the air of a familiar guide offering you her mature insights (as opposed to the strained and often boring efforts of a mere researcher). Lewis’s cosmology and his philosophical understanding underlie everything he created, and she is able to show us in his texts where these influences can be found. In one as young as she, it’s an impressive achievement. This book can go next to Ward’s on the shelf; the reader who knows Lewis’s works well will often refer to them both for enlargement of his own observations.
Understanding Marriage & Family: A Catholic Perspective. I heard a podcast with Fr. Sebastian Walshe and was so impressed with his calm and clear way of talking that I bought his book immediately. In it, he offers an explanation for all the teachings of the Church on marriage from a Thomistic viewpoint of the causes of things, and their ends or goals. By using a “questions and answers” format and tackling objections head on, he is able to offer clarity based on sound reasoning in the light of Scripture and human experience.
Perhaps some of you are a bit mystified as to how to answer questions about marriage, divorce, homosexuality, and so on… or have only heard explanations based on the theology of the body. Fr. Walshe’s lucid arguments will help you clarify matters for yourself and others.
Benedictus — like Magnificat, but for the Traditional Latin Mass! We go to the Novus Ordo daily Mass at the nearby Abbey, but I find that reading the traditional ordo for the Mass of the day (the Propers — the prayers in the liturgy that are particular to the day) helps my prayer immensely — more than I would have thought.
I have subscribed even though I won’t be able to use it much, other than on Sundays — just seems like a great initiative to support!
Don’t forget Peter Kwasniewski’s Holy Bread of Eternal Life! What can be more fruitful than recovering our devotion to the Holy Eucharist?
Lots of good reading this Lent. Have you read anything you’d recommend? I’d love to hear about it!
bits & piecesWhat to grow in an unheated greenhouse (like my little one).The Shroud of TurinDeadnaming matters. “Words matter, and not just because it’s nearly impossible to win a fight in which every rule is set by your opponent. In practice, using the other side’s terms amounts to—or, at least, appears as—conceding the substance of their points.”Critical race theory database — find out if the university you’re sending your child to (and paying for) will indoctrinate himThe Iliad in a Nutshell, by Joseph Pearce (the first of an on-going “in a nutshell” articles about great works of literature!).from the archivesHow to be more hospitableLearning warm family life from a children’s bookliturgical livingTomorrow begins Passiontide.
follow us everywhere!My new “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest (you can still get a lot of inspiration here! and say a prayer for her!). Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Currently reading! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
March 13, 2021
Lenten doings
Outdoor Stations of the Cross at the St. Benedict Abbey yesterday. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing hard! But it was good to get out there and pray with the monks and friends.
I think I will have to skip planting and just go ahead and harvest these greens! Things are getting out of control here…
And the most flattering photo of my DIY “greenhouse.” I give it a C- for aesthetics, an upgrade from last year, because I figured out how to use the 10 x 25′ plastic sheet as optimally as I am able, and so my OCD is somewhat pacified, or was — this photo was from yesterday and today I woke up to find that the intense wind we had last night blew it over, sigh…
I will put the process of making it in my Instagram highlights at some point. (It will not be hard to set up again, I’m pretty sure! And then I will get around to putting the bins of water on the lower shelves, which will help anchor it.)
What you have to understand (and maybe you do understand if you live in the country in New England) is that to me this is a scene of unbelievable hope, greenery or some sort of whiff of it, and promise, not as you might think by looking at it, one of dismal sad barren sogginess, over the permafrost.
And so, having a big pillar of plastic in my yard is not repugnant to me! Soon it will be filled with my cold-tolerant plants (after the beginning of the coming week when temps in the teens and snow are predicted due to Third Winter being upon us!).
The changing of the seasons is a miracle, but spring is a miracle above and beyond. I don’t know that people really stop to think of how dependable the seasons are. Even when an expected change is delayed and we become anxious (“it snowed in May!”), that is proof that we depend completely on the world turning in the way it does and always has.
There is order and pattern in life that is completely given. There is nothing we can do to disrupt it. The leaves will fall from the trees; the wind will blow in March. Or whatever it does where you live, as the world turns.
As we try to live in harmony with this pattern, we become aware of a pattern above it, or underlying it (its cause, you might say). If the material world conforms to an unshakeable order, it’s the mind that perceives it to be so and discerns that order. The mind is not material — it is immaterial — spiritual.
The spiritual world is real and has a pattern of its own, one that is not aloof from the natural, material one. I think that the more we are aware of the one, the more open we are to the other, and the richer our life becomes, for ourselves and for others.
Lent is certainly one part of the rhythm. Even though we are deep in the middle of it, and that can be wearying, it’s good to know that we are part of this ineluctable cycle, and that we can depend on the promise it offers.
bits & piecesA really fun drone video (90 seconds) that is attracting a lot of attention.In many places, it’s getting hard to pray and worship. I was just reminded of a great little interview that Bishop Schneider gave a bit more than a year ago, on how to raise children in hard times. I wanted to post it here again: this article in LifeSite News explains how my book The Little Oratory (affiliate link) helps families and friends pray in the home, exactly as he describes, and his interview is linked within. This 230-year-old oak gave its life for the new Notre Dame spire.This “Statement of Conscience to Awaken Conscience” is written by a friend of mine, Catherine Pakaluk. I think it expresses very well the moral dangers, past, present, and future, of medical products that in some way use aborted fetal tissue, and the dangers to conscience. I urge you to read, sign, and share. My husband wrote about it here.Fr. Pokorsky: Don’t put Jesus on ValiumThe complement to last week’s post on when a man proposes, from John Cuddeback: When a woman says yes.Fr. Emil Kapaun’s story transcends the expectations we have for normal human behavior. The saints are miracles; they challenge us to live differently. What shines through the details is Fr. Kapaun’s… cheerfulness. Even though I hate reading about war and its horrors, I love reading about Fr. Kapaun; the article is about the good news that his remains have been identified.from the archivesHow to get the kids doing dishes — and opening upThe bossiness cureliturgical livingTomorrow is Laetare Sunday! Plan now for extra merriment to keep spirits up!
follow us everywhere!My new “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others:
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Lenten doings appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
March 6, 2021
{bits & pieces}
Making a home takes a lot of thought!
Let’s take bedding. This will be a really trivial example, but I know you are up for it.
How many beds do I have in my house? I’m not sure I even know… 9? not counting cribs or the pullout sofa or mattresses stowed under the beds in case of a sudden influx; all of which do need sheets and so on?
That’s a lot of bedding. One day I was looking at a pair of cute pillowcases in a thrift store and I thought, well, why not mix and match? Only the pillowcases and the tops of the top sheets show, and sheets don’t wear out the way the cases do.
To keep the cases that go with the sheets from wearing out first (which is what happens), I use them on the bottom of the two pillows on the adults’ beds. Where the single beds’ pillowcases have worn out, I just have been using whatever thrifted pillowcase is available (and that works well — I like the look of the vintage ones I have found).
I also started buying pairs of white ones at Marshall’s or TJMaxx when I came across them, especially on clearance.
But I find my OCD twitching when I can’t find the matches for my double beds, though I try to keep them together in the laundry. What’s to match, you might ask? Well, some have one kind of little trim, others have a slight weave variation, and so on… it’s impossible to contemplate them not matching exactly without danger of hyperventilation!
One even later day in the life of my housekeeping (that is, about three weeks ago), I wondered if I could just buy white pillowcases in bulk. In the same vein as having non-unique socks, a good supply of identical pillowcases is quite liberating.
Of course, the challenge is evaluating the quality, but I took the plunge. These are fine, and come in packs of 12. (Edited to say, actually, the ones I ordered are no longer available in that quantity, but I am leaving the link here so that I can find it again. Maybe you can go in with 10 of your closest friends — it would be cheaper!)
They are not satiny, particularly, though a lot of the reviews say they are, and they are not percale, but they are cotton and certainly not microfiber [shudder]. (I suppose I could have ironed them… not really… )
As you can see, I still have my flannel sheets on my bed… I’m hoping that can change soon… spring is not too far off!
bits & piecesLeila Miller put together a book, Primal Loss, that lets adult children of divorce say what they really think. I am an adult child of divorce and I can say without hesitation that this book offered me insight about and healing of the trauma I suffered as a child and still bear the scars of today. She wrote a post to respond to those who denigrate the message of the book: You’re Not Mocking Me, You’re Mocking Them. An important, well researched article about the pervasiveness of aborted fetal parts in our medical supply (and elsewhere too, but that’s for another time). Do we give in? Or do we resist? I wrote about this too, here.Another life-affirming post from John Cuddeback: When a Man Proposes.The Doublethinkers by Natan Scharansky. Scharansky spent nine years in Soviet prison.“In the democratic society in which you live, can you express your individual views loudly, in public and in private, on social media and at rallies, without fear of being shamed, excommunicated, or cancelled?”
Just an FYI: Neonatal equipment can transmit toxicity to developing babies’ endocrine systems.A list of dough sizes by weight! Hooray! I personally would go ahead and round up or down these measurements, but they are nevertheless extremely helpful when you are like me and totally winging it when it comes to mixing dough, but needing to know what the heck size buns, pizza round, loaf, bagel, or what have you, to form! Or for that matter, you have an oddly shaped pan or a recipe that you’d like to convert from one sort of shape to another.Could Alexander the Great’s father be seen as great also? from the archivesOne question was — have you planted your seeds too soon, Auntie Leila? Well, it is unusually cold here! However, the sap is flowing and soon I hope to set up my little DIY greenhouse, where I can move my cold-tolerant seedlings and make room for my tender ones! It’s good for mother to be in the kitchen — but that doesn’t mean you can’t be efficient! Learn how to stash away certain ingredients and prepared items to streamline your food prep. 12 Things to Stash!Lent is a good time to begin a simple prayer life with children. liturgical livingAll the saints who give spiritual advice tell us the same thing: we must pray! Start with five minutes a day (there’s your Lent for you!) and here is a suggestion fit for “liturgical living”: if you aren’t already praying the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours, perhaps occasionally you could use the 2nd reading, which is usually a little sermon or treatise from a Church Father, in your prayer. I can’t tell you how many times this reading has struck an arrow right into my heart! You can find the Office here — look for “Office of Readings,” click, and scroll down to the 2nd reading (of course, praying the whole thing is a good idea too!). (We can discuss the Traditional Divine Office vs. the Novus Ordo Liturgy of the Hours another time.)
follow us everywhere!My new “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Rosie’s photo project on IG continues! Follow her there “if you’re not a creeper” (her account is set to private but you can go ahead and request).
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest. Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post {bits & pieces} appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
February 27, 2021
On teaching a foreign language to your child
Want your child to have what people call “critical thinking skills”? Make sure he learns a foreign language.
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to give your child something that you yourself do not have, and it might be that learning a language is in that category. If you never studied Latin, French, Spanish, or any language other than English, you might find it daunting to add it to your curriculum.
Remember, though, that educating your children doesn’t mean teaching them everything yourself. With younger children you can learn along with them; older children can study on their own and benefit from a class or a tutor.
The two main advantages that learning a language at a young age offers are that one can then communicate in that language (this one is rather self-evident, sorry) and that the brain is patterned at a time when the patterning is good. There is no use lamenting the lack of “critical thinking skills” in the curriculum when we fail to provide the essential intellectual basis for that thinking.
Grammar is one of the important ways we learn patterns (after all, language is fundamental to human nature); it is akin to algebra in opening the mind to see things syntactically and according to their relationships. If a child is studying grammar, algebra, and Euclid, his mind will become flexible and strong. The patterns these subjects offer are ones of reason, of going from step to step in a supported way, of not making ungrounded assumptions — a skill the lack of which renders the person incapable of higher-level rational thought. Intuition must be backed up by clarity; without formation in analysis the person is left to bumble about in what Dorothy Sayers calls “the Wood where Things have no Names.”
The problem is that English is not an inflected language, so our grammar is hodgepodge — the rules we have must be mastered without the road map of a language where the parts must agree in gender, number, tense, and other qualities.
The pre-eminent language for this purpose (for the English speaker – a case could be made for Greek and I wouldn’t oppose learning both!) is Latin. The study of Latin provides the key to the grammar and structure of many other languages, and the reverse is not true, as modern languages lack its precision. Besides, learning Latin makes learning the vocabulary of those other languages much easier.
And besides that, the reader will be lost, in all but the most contemporary works which don’t use them, without the ability to decipher phrases and tags in Latin. For a delightful and informative explanation of the uses and joys of Latin and how to teach it, read Dorothy Sayers’ speech on the subject, The Greatest Single Defect of My Own Latin Education.
(Of all her observations, this one is perhaps my favorite: “There is also the matter of derivation, as distinct from vocabulary. I cannot help feeling that it is wholesome, for example, to know that “civility” has some connection with the civitas; that “justice” is more closely akin to righteousness than to equality; and that there was once some dim and forgotten connection between reality and thought.”)
If one is studying Latin, one might as well also study French and Spanish, and really, any language at all (of course, not all languages are derived from Latin, but far be it from me to restrict you to those)! Children will have no difficulty learning more than one language at once, by the way; I well remember in 7th grade going between my French to German classes with nary a hiccup. I only wish I had known to study Latin.
For Latin, I recommend the excellent offerings of Memoria Press for all ages.
For younger children learning French, use Language Together’s French for Kids: 10 First Reader Books with Online Audio and 100 Vocabulary Words (Beginning to Learn French) Set 1. (affiliate link)
For older children, the excellent (if by now vintage) program (but there are no replacements of its caliber) called French in Action teaches by the “natural method” of immersion. You can find the videos on the Annenberg Learner site and the books online (French in Action: A Beginning Course in Language and Culture: The Capretz Method) — you need both textbooks and workbooks. The CDs are not easy to find, but the videos along with the book work well.
I don’t really have specific recommendations for other languages. Feel free to chime in!
bits & piecesPrepare to be cancelled, says my husband — and what to do in that case… (Consider getting this blog and my other one by email, for one thing. I am not fond of being on every email list, but it might be good for us to be connected that way.)Erasing Family is a documentary I haven’t seen, but this article convinces me that it is important. ‘“Erasing Family” speaks to extreme post-divorce behavior because so-called amicable, everyone-is-smiling-politely divorces don’t make for an interesting documentary. But don’t kid yourself. For children, there’s no such thing as a “good divorce,” and the erasure of a parent is not required for kids to experience profound, life-long fallout from family breakdown.’
A good explanation of the importance of the Last Gospel in the Traditional Latin Mass, dropped when the changes of Vatican II were implemented.“The Last Gospel may have lost a great deal of its liturgical status. It has not, however, lost either its theological or philosophical significance. As the Word, it avoids the one-sidedness of the Cartesian, Nietzschean, and Marxist heresies, while opening the door to a rich and profound meditation that unites the Beginning with the Redemption. The Last Gospel represents the Alpha and the Omega of the Christian story.”
Does it matter that the President claims to be a Catholic — not just a Catholic, but “devout” — so devout that he said “The next Republican that tells me I’m not religious I’m going to shove my rosary beads down their throat”? It does matter. It’s a challenge, in fact, to the Church — one that cannot be ignored. Fr. Jerry Pokorsky explains why. Senator Rand Paul lays out the nature of the “transgender” attack on youth involving irreversible genital mutilation and hormone manipulation — resulting in sterility and suicide, in the hearings of Rachel Levine. He declined to give anything but a canned non-response. Since this topic will be coming to an institution, church, or young person near you, I urge you to watch. Amazon has taken the documentary of Justice Clarence Thomas off its platform, just in time for the end of Black History Month. Maybe it’s a good time to watch Created Equal? The Chief and I found it compelling — a well told story about an impressive man. As of now, it is still on You Tube.Every once in a while I come across a discrete “pattern” from one of my favorite books, Christopher Alexander’s A Pattern Language (which I wrote about here), and it’s just so clear and true that I have to share it. Pattern 130: Entrance Room might give you insight as to why it is that your entryway isn’t quite working for your family or guests, and ways to solve the problem. (It’s wonderful to own the book but I am happy that the patterns can be found online as well.)The question of obedience has reached a crisis in our culture and in our church — very often we are told simply to obey when we know something is off. Here is a sermon from a Traditionalist priest (FSSP) on the subject. I highly recommend listening to it; he explains the virtue of prudence — that is, conscience. He tells a story of an experiment that I think is worth listening to — and talking to your children about as well.from the archivesYou can’t avoid February burnout before it happens, because February is almost over, but you can still do the things I suggest in this post! Lenten soups!I saved my “seed bench tour” in my IG highlights in case you would like to watch/hear a chopped-up video of me going over what I’ve planted so far! In my fabulous thrifted seed starting setup! But seriously, this is the topic that is burning into my soul right now… what, I ask you, could be more interesting than planting seeds!! Are you worried that it’s too early? Do you wonder what I’ve planted? Do you have a critique of my methods?? Hop on over!
liturgical livingfollow us everywhere!My new “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Rosie’s photo project on IG continues! Follow her there “if you’re not a creeper” (her account is set to private but you can go ahead and request).
Stay abreast of the posts here when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. In the current situation, if we can’t meet here, it would be good for us to be connected by email!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest. Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post On teaching a foreign language to your child appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
February 20, 2021
The seeds they are sprouting
My husband has spent the last few months working hard on a new book (which you will hear about shortly I am sure!). He just didn’t have time to make me a proper grow-light shelf. I was searching and searching for a second-hand setup, and amazingly, I found one for sale by a fellow who was downsizing to a condo!
The only place I have to put it is in the living room! (I really don’t want to haul this thing upstairs… )
And now my seeds are already sprouting! These are cold-weather seeds (onions, shallots, lettuce, spinach, beets, herbs, and so on), so they can be growing here (and later in my home-made greenhouse) until planting time without worry.
In a few more weeks I will start the tender plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers, so that they will be strong and ready to plant at the end of May.
bits & piecesI want to tell you of a little experiment — I will be posting the sort of thing I would normally post on Facebook or Twitter on a new blog: Happy Despite Them!
My new blog! I look forward to conversations over there about subjects that don’t naturally lend themselves to a pretty picture (the way we do here). As to social media, I just can’t handle a new platform (like Gab or Mewe), but the old ones are getting pretty insufferable.
On Happy Despite Them I will also post longer pieces occasionally; once the book I’m working on is at the printer* I will probably start posting thoughts for a new book about what to do after feminism. So I hope to see you there! (Of course I will continue to post here!)
*The title is The Summa Domestica and it’s a compendium of what I’ve written here on the blog in three volumes!
Catholic [sic] articles telling you that you don’t have to deny yourself during Lent)On a lighter (but still abstemious) note, doesn’t this recipe for gordita crunch tacos look good? They would be fine with refried beans instead of meat! I’m going to try it.A Lenten calendar for coloring here, from Liturgy of the Home! and here, made by Lydia, Latin and Eastern! from the archivesLast week I wasn’t able to post here, so I missed linking to my extensive Lenten archive. But there’s always time to “begin again” (one of the most important phrases in the spiritual life!). So here you go: the Lenten archive!
liturgical yearSts. Francisco & Jacinta Marto
follow us everywhere!Rosie’s photo project on IG continues! Follow her there “if you’re not a creeper” (her account is set to private but you can go ahead and request).
Stay abreast of the posts when they happen:
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
My new “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing!
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest. Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post The seeds they are sprouting appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
February 6, 2021
Giveaway – Beautiful baptismal candle!
Do you know someone who will be baptized soon? Let me recommend Gina Switzer’s baptismal candles! And allow me to offer you the chance to win one!
I can attest that these candles are well made and add dignity and beauty to the baptismal rite. You can bring your own candle, you know (and it’s personalized!) and your own baptismal gown (which already is a white garment, when you think about it).
This baptismal candle makes a great godparent gift! Also — think of your RCIA candidates…
More:
Gina Switzer, artist and owner of Regina Candles, designs and hand decorates artisanal Paschal and Baptismal candles. She uses 51% beeswax, liturgical grade candles made by Root Candle Co. in Medina, OH. Gina is a Lay Dominican with a degree in Theology from Ohio Dominican University. She has studied and practiced art in many forms her entire life. Gina’s candle designs are reproductions of her own original paintings. The images are printed on a special film then metal leaf is hand applied before each section is carefully affixed to the candle. Each design features gilded Christocentric pictures to ignite the sacramental imagination of the viewer.
To have a chance to win, please leave a comment here.
For another chance to win, if you are on Instagram, please follow Gina’s account over there! Then leave a second comment here.
Thank you!
bits & piecesThe story of Franz Jägerstätter is so moving. The movie A Hidden Life is well worth seeing, and I appreciated this article about Franz and his wife, Franziska, as well.A delightful job: studying baby laughter!The president of Hillsdale College, Larry Arnn, on 1984 and today.Requiescat in Pace, Christopher Plummer. As I was watching this clip of the Captain and Maria dancing the traditional Viennese waltz called the Ländler, I was thinking about dance and its meaning in culture and in the relations between the sexes. Rock music has rendered dancing an analogue for sex — and as such, rather dangerous to the inner life. But folk and classical (traditional) dances are an analogue for conversation. Watch them: she is the picture of modesty; he is the model of restraint. But they are communicating! You (and your young people) can learn this dance too (look up tutorials)! I happened upon this site that offers vintage dress patterns — and the owner danced this dance at her wedding!from the archivesTo be happy at homeGood chocolate cake!liturgical livingSt. Paul Miki and Companions, St. Titus in the Traditional calendar.
follow us everywhere!Rosie’s “photo a day” project on IG continues! Follow her there “if you’re not a creeper” (her account is set to private but you can go ahead and request).
Stay abreast of the posts when they happen:
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow — my posts are public — sometimes I share articles here that don’t make it into {bits & pieces})
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest. Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Giveaway – Beautiful baptismal candle! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
January 30, 2021
Ask Auntie Leila: Rescuing history
Dear Stephanie asked:
As our country heads towards more censorship and a rewriting of our own history, I’d like to start a history book collection that is solid. I don’t really know where to start. Do you have any recommendations?
Dear Stephanie,
Since early on, I’ve been posting about good books in my own laconic, desultory fashion. In my defense, it would be impossible to provide a comprehensive list of good books even on one topic, such as history; what I’ve always tried to do is to point out the sort of book you should be looking for, on the theory that once you get started, you soon find others, because friends make suggestions, lists overlap, or even search engines (such as on Amazon) offer similar examples.
Another difficulty is that you need books for all ages, from kindergarten through high school. And history is about the whole world, throughout time.
Obviously, given the extremely large number of factoids one could choose when one multiplies every second of every day since time began by every person who ever lived, choices have to be made.
The necessity of choice leads me to something everyone has to understand: All history is written with a point of view. Last fall I posted on Facebook about an article criticizing certain curricula chosen by conservative Catholic homeschoolers. You can read it here, along with the comments. I was actually pretty angry about the article, since I happen to know a bit about Cortez and the Aztecs, so I admit, I went in swinging.
The author of the piece actually got in touch with me and we had an exchange that confirmed to me that while he is open to discussion, and I appreciate that, he himself lacks self-awareness about the prevailing point of view that leads him to criticize traditional curricula. Having accepted critical race theory (and Marxist theory in general, whether he realizes it or not), he is blind to his own bias. And of course, the editors of the magazine have their own purposes in undermining homeschoolers’ attempts to protect their children from ideological attack.
In my post about this article, I acknowledge my own “west-o-centric” viewpoint, for the very good reason that it is the only one that cares to examine events at all. One simply doesn’t find the objectivity necessary to try to make sense of past events in an academic way in non-western cultures. One simply doesn’t find the idea of “the academy” in non-western cultures.
(I actually highly recommend the book that is the main subject of his critique, Anne Carroll’s Christ the King Lord of History. But I recommend that you use it as an outline to help guide you in making your own course of study using more lively materials. In the Facebook post I explain its virtue, that it offers the only possible organizing principle for studying the vastness of the past.)
On top of all of of these problems, there’s the pedagogical issue, completely not understood in our time: that education is not about having a boatload of facts to pound into a child, nor is it about mainlining ideology into them, either.
True education helps the child open up to reality, giving him principles, keeping him connected to those who have gone before. Today, education has been hijacked by those who try to do the opposite by severing connections, including connections to truth — yes, they lie (I’ll link to an important essay I’ve shared in the past, below, on how that happens specifically in the study of history).
Fortunately, once you understand the great divide between those who, understanding the inherent problems of the enterprise, do their best to offer a coherent understanding of events, and those who, determined to separate future generations from the past, falsify and ideologically massage events and subvert the very institutions they occupy, you can at least identify the latter and keep their works off of your shelves.
So what do I recommend?
As always, stick mainly with old books. I’m not sure about the exact time period, but somewhere from the late 40s to the early 70s, the main publishers produced a plethora of excellent works aimed at children from the early-reading stage to high school. I’ve pictured a few here — there are many, and looking up some leads you to others.
The Landmark Series is perhaps the outstanding example of history books for children. This article captures their quality (mainly due to choosing actual interesting authors to write about fascinating subjects):
“The books first sold for $1.50 (about $13.25 today)—not bad for a hardcover. Random House wisely packaged them with inviting dust jackets for the general reader, and in reinforced bindings for libraries (often with the dust jacket image embossed on the front cover). The paper was of the highest quality: even today the pages haven’t yellowed. All the books came in just under 200 pages, with a legible Caslon font, reasonably wide margins, and even comprehensive indexes. They were illustrated, then the norm for children’s books. Each Landmark volume had about 10 one-color block prints, although in the 1960s photographs became more common. Cerf [the publisher] shrewdly linked them to the Book-of-the-Month Club: about 70,000 Young Readers of America, as they were called, received Landmark books on a regular basis, along with a “personal” letter from the author, inviting the reader to dive right in.”
Look for them second hand. Library binding offers longevity and satisfying durability.
While teaching history, teach geography too! I’ve written about the Twins books, by Lucy Fitch Perkins. Super not PC. But you know what? Children need stories and love to think of other little children wearing different clothes and eating different foods, and the Twins books are a charming way to offer this picture of a wide world. (And some are more historical than others.) Lapbooks can be a great way to help a child assimilate what he has read.
Read history books that you love — any high school senior can read them too. Ones that top our list at the moment: Anything by David McCullough, Paul Johnson’s History of the American People (look for a used hardback edition), Arguing about Slavery: John Quincy Adams and the Great Battle in the United States Congress…
Historical fiction is another way to learn more. A few of my favorites: for adults: Kristin Lavransdattar (for seniors and older, due to her bad life choices, for which she has to spend her life atoning, but sometimes that lesson is lost on someone too young), In a Dark Wood Wandering, Helena (the biting satire of which might be lost on those not familiar with the Anglican world inhabited by Evelyn Waugh — yet another reason for entering into other eras alertly, rather than imposing on them as if we know everything — you miss the joke). My husband just finished Robert Harris’ An Officer and a Spy, a novel about the Dreyfus Affair. Gates of Fire is “An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae” — I couldn’t get comfy with it but your intense teenage boy will love it. Janice Holt Giles wrote a series of historical novels about Kentucky — my favorite is Hannah Fowler, which I wrote about here.
For younger ones: The Killer Angels (high school), The Bronze Bow, Come Rack! Come Rope!, Johnny Tremain, The Little House Books. Laura Ingalls Wilder has already come under attack for being racist, and honestly, this critique demonstrates for me the determination of some to wrench everything into their binary world view. A good rebuttal can be found here, and also in a calm reading of her books.
I’ve linked a bunch to Amazon here (with affiliate links, thank you) — but really, try to find hardback versions, used, when possible. One’s library is enhanced by well produced books.
Memoria Press offers an excellent catalogue. Ambleside Online has booklists galore. Go to my list of lists — many of the most beloved books are historical in nature and will round out your library.
Timelines will help organize and systematize. I cannot emphasize enough, and it took me so long to realize this, that each child making his own timeline of history is so important. This is an ongoing project that can (and will) take several forms. Charlotte Mason has her century books, you can have a family timeline that marches along the wall, and each student can have a timeline in a binder (sounds not like a line but works very well). This latter form allows scope for adding maps, essays, lists, and what have you.
By the way, in an ongoing attempt to do my part in educating readers here on the blog about this ideological warfare that is waged in our schools and now, gaining traction, in our town squares and news outlets, I post just about every week some essay on the subject. So do go back through the bits & pieces archives to see what you may have missed — maybe you thought, “now why would I be interested in that” — well, the intellectual assault we are enduring right now is why!
bits & piecesIn general matters touching the study of history:
Most decent people, while aware that scholars might have their own interpretations of history, resist the thought that they would deliberately falsilfy it. Most who are not in academe today may not be aware that falsifying history is considered rather the thing, not least because it’s easier. The incomparable Gertrude Himmelfarb explains: Tradition and Creativity in the Writing of HistoryThere’s no doubt that our cultural institutions have been subverted. The Long March through the institutions has been accomplished. Building your own library and educating your own children is the appropriate response for sure.Does all of this sound extreme? We are actually at the endpoint — where not only is it happening (as it has been for decades), but the rhetoric has been perfected to make what is not good seem good — seem equitable, anti-racist, inclusive, and so on, when in fact it is the opposite. California’s proposed ethnic studies curriculum is a case in point; don’t be surprised if your state contemplates something similar.On a more positive note:
A sweet interactive page — click on the bird and wait a few seconds — you will hear a recording of its song. Linked within is this page, from Cornell Labs, with more extensive information. Even more.I never stop repeating: the goal of education is to learn what we ought to love (and to learn what not to love).How to make a home altar (to go along with your little oratory!).Just thinking about things:
A lecture about Frédéric Bastiat; he has a lot to say to us today, I believe.Regarding the Covid vaccine: A long article exploring the reasons given by theologians to accept (with reservations) immorally derived vaccines. If you scroll down, you will see my comment, registering my objections. from the archivesThe best and simplest pot roast you’ll ever make. It has one ingredient that you can keep in your pantry until you need it (it makes your tomato sauce better too). Really. Try it. (And if you use the Instant Pot, you can even skip the browning. I find that my meats brown up in there without any separate step!) The reasonably clean bathroom. (For the story of the minor miracle of matching that great paint color, go here)liturgical livingSt. Martina — patron of nursing mothers!Tomorrow the Seven Sundays of St. Joseph begin. (I think I told you before that you can tell they’re beginning because of the Super Bowl, but calendars are hard.) I love St. Joseph so much and have posted about this a lot. For ideas on how to observe this preparation for his feast, go here.Candlemas is Tuesday. Ask your priest to bless your candles!follow us everywhere!Rosie’s “photo a day” project on IG continues! Follow her there “if you’re not a creeper” (her account is set to private but you can go ahead and request).
Stay abreast of the posts when they happen:
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow — my posts are public — sometimes I share articles here that don’t make it into {bits & pieces})
The boards of the others:
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Ask Auntie Leila: Rescuing history appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
January 23, 2021
Cute fox mittens if I do say so myself
Well, the moment I saw these in my Instagram feed, I had to make them! My son’s company has fox in the name, so making them for my littlest grandson had to happen!
I knew I had just the right orange wool (I can’t remember what I had made before with it) — did I have any white? Yes… but at the bottom of my stash box… just a little…
In my typical fashion, I made it with only a tiny bit to spare — but enough to tweak the pattern to make the thumb tips white too, which I just think is the cute icing on the cuteness cake, don’t you?
Notes: The pattern is found here on DROPS — I (of course) made a mistake in following the pattern, so when I redid it, I left out the little white accents in the body of the mitten by mistake. But I added the little “tails” on the thumbs so I think we’re square!
I have gone over to making my ribbing (in socks too) by knitting the knit stitches in the back — seems to keep the cuff from getting stretched out. I make a crochet I-cord to keep naughty kittens from losing their mittens (much easier than a knitted one).
bits & piecesAn interview with Natan Sharansky, Soviet-era dissident, on his book Fear No Evil and his experiences with the Communist dictatorship that put him in prison for 9 years. I highly recommend for you and your high school students too.— an exemplary model of grace under pressure. (Did you know that he converted to Catholicism?) Knitters — a method for making top-down hats without a pattern (but I think you still have to figure out your gauge, no matter what she says, and I may or may not be bad at that).Bradley J. Birzer on Edmund Burke’s view of the French Revolution (with implications for our day, I must say). Do you suffer from migraines? Perhaps this supplement can help. The info came my way via my friend Shyla, from a pediatric neurologist who has good results in his practice. (I have no stake in this product, just passing it along.) I have been growing feverfew in my garden and look forward next year to making infusions of it (for arthritis, as my migraines have subsided as I have gotten older). Conscience and the Covid vaccine. If nothing else, we as a society must confront the entrenchment of the trafficking in aborted fetal body parts. There are other ways to derive, test, and produce medical and other products. from the archivesCandlemas is coming! (click on the internal link for more information about the day itself)The Reasonably Clean Houseliturgical livingfollow us everywhere!Rosie’s “photo a day” project on IG continues! Follow her there “if you’re not a creeper” (her account is set to private but you can go ahead and request).
Stay abreast of the posts when they happen:
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow — my posts are public — sometimes I share articles here that don’t make it into {bits & pieces})
The boards of the others:
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Cute fox mittens if I do say so myself appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
January 19, 2021
Candlemas is Coming!
… and a coupon code…
First, old business: The giveaway for Peter Kwasniewski’s new book, The Holy Bread of Eternal Life, is now closed. If you are the winner, an email is headed your way.
If you are not a winner, we all win, because Sophia Institute Press is kindly offering a 30% discount on the book through the season of Lent!
Use the code 30Leila at checkout! EDIT: Try it now?
If you are buying from Amazon, here is my affiliate link for the book.
New business: Your reminder that Candlemas is coming — February 2. Perhaps it will be possible for your priest to bless your candles this year. I usually take a basket with my household candles, and that means making my order this week (I actually did it last week!).
Pictured above are the ones I ordered — I don’t know if I have figured out the best possible value for money, and I still need to get some more tapers, but I will share what I have purchased (these are affiliate links, thanks!):
12 Hyoola 10″ beeswax tapers — these seem to fit nicely in my normal candleholders;
12 sage green tapers, in an attempt to find some to replace the pair that I found in a thrift store and just really like the color of, one stub of which you can see in this post (I don’t think I’ve succeeded);
shorter and slightly smaller diameter candles to fit into the odd assortment of smaller candle holders I have accumulated, one of which you can see in the photo– these say they are 100% beeswax;
votives; we use a lot of these as tapers can be tricky on the kitchen table with the kids reaching across, and votives are lovely in glass holders in the little oratory and various mantels or other places that need a little candlelight
As I said, I will try to get more tapers and next time I go to the grocery store I will pick up some of those longer-burning votives — they come in handy when the power goes out and we need a light in the bathroom.
The post Candlemas is Coming! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
January 16, 2021
Giveaway: Holy Bread of Eternal Life book!
Today I am offering a giveaway of a book by my prolific friend Peter Kwasniewski that I believe will help tremendously with the spiritual life of all who read it.
The Holy Bread of Eternal Life: Restoring Eucharistic Reverence in an Age of Impiety is the spiritual reading we need now.
Sophia Institute, the publisher, has organized a novena in reparation for the Eucharistic abuses that have occurred — “but also to reintroduce proper respect and awe for the Holy Eucharist” — which is what this book is all about. (For information about the novena you can view and sign up here.)
I decided that a perfect way to prepare for this novena, for my own spiritual growth, and especially for the coming Lent, is to have solid spiritual reading, particularly on the subject of the incredible life-giving bread of heaven, the Eucharist, and so that is exactly what I am doing — using this book as my own reading that I take to prayer!
Holy Bread offers a door into the mind of the Church, from antiquity and through the ages, on the meaning and importance of reverent and worthy reception of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ — a door we all desperately need to enter. Prof. Kwasniewski offers the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas on the Eucharist, insights into reverent reception, questions about posture and ministers of the Eucharist, and more.
Everything he writes will help us to renew our love of Christ so that we can renew the world around us.
You know, spiritual reading isn’t just for information — it is carefully chosen daily reading that nourishes the soul and prepares us to have good dispositions for life — and for prayer in particular.
Often we sit down to pray but find frustration in the dryness we feel. There are many reasons for dryness, but one often overlooked one is that we tend to expect certain emotions, when really what we need is holy things to think about and talk to God about!
This book provides those holy ideas — while also being quite informative.
I especially appreciate that Prof. Kwasniewski emphasizes the need for examination of conscience, a fundamental spiritual step that has been buried under a desire for us to know that God loves us. He does, of course, love us! But for us to have a relationship with him — to be in communion with him — he sets the condition, that we repent and believe the Gospel, that he himself is the remedy for sin.
Repentance cannot take place without the deep interior examination in the light of the Commandments and the teachings of Christ. This “purgative way” is lacking in contemporary spirituality… and yet there is really no other way…
Two passages that have already jumped out at me:
Benedict XVI: “Kneeling in adoration before the Eucharist is the most valid and radical remedy against the idolatries of yesterday and today.”
(This reminds me to mention here a quote that I stumbled upon from Moses Maimonides, 12th Century Jewish philosopher:
“The first purpose of the whole law is to remove idolatry and to wipe out its traces and all that belongs to it, even in memory.”
The Guide of the Perplexed, Bk. 3, ch. 29
Peter Kwasniewski: “At the very least, right here and right now, every layman and laywoman can make a firm commitment, for the glory of God and the sanctification of their souls, always to receive Our Lord kneeling and on the tongue, at every Mass they attend, anywhere, at any time.”
I have made this commitment (as well as the commitment to wear a head covering at Mass). I’m getting older, so sometimes kneeling isn’t the easiest thing to do — especially the getting up from the floor — but I decided during Lent of last year that I had to do it.
How about you? Are you interested in learning more? Enter a comment below to be in the running to win a copy of this book.
The giveaway will be short, so that the publisher has time to send the winner the book before the novena begins. We’ll end on Tuesday, when I’ll offer you a coupon code if you happen not to be the winner. Don’t delay in making a comment! This giveaway is for US residents only.
bits & piecesA thorough article on spiritual reading and why we need it in our “rule of life” (which simply means the practices we have chosen, in the presence of God and one hopes, a good spiritual director, to incorporate in our daily life as a Christian). Bad reading can unmake a soul. Good reading can make a saint!The Great Adventure Bible Study offers a well thought out curriculum based on a timeline of salvation history. These podcasts from Fr. Mike Schmidt allow one to do the study in a year (they are short, so you can also compress/catch up when necessary). Give your children freedom to grow, without screens.The Spiritual Quest [not in a good way] of Identity Politics — an interview and a transcript. Takes a few minutes to get going, but lots of interesting observations about the turn our political life has taken, towards a pagan conception of “the enemy.”French bishops call on their people to fast and pray as a bioethics bill goes to their Senate. Archbishop Michel Aupetit:“Is there not violence, indeed, when a child is deliberately deprived of a father, when selective abortions are arranged in the case of multiple pregnancies, when the child discovers that the embryo it was might just as well have ended up under a researcher’s microscope or in a landfill after a more or less lengthy period of freezing?
from the archivesSet up your Little Oratory now! Between deepening your Eucharistic commitment and making a beautiful (if simple and humble) place of prayer in your home, the renewal can begin. Buy the book here (affiliate link). See others’ little oratories here, and by searching that hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.I had posted about my cream of broccoli soup on IG and realized I should link to this post about how to make cream of ANYTHING soup! Charlotte from Waltzing Matilda told me she printed it out and calls it “Auntie Leila’s Cream of Kitchen Soup”! liturgical livingSt. Marcellus and St. Honoratus
follow us everywhere!Rosie’s “photo a day” project on IG continues! Follow her there “if you’re not a creeper” (her account is set to private but you can go ahead and request).
Stay abreast of the posts when they happen:
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram. Sukie’s Instagram. Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
If you want politics, rants, and takes on what is going on in the Church:
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow — my posts are public — sometimes I share articles here that don’t make it into {bits & pieces})
The boards of the others:
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Bridget’s Pinterest.
The post Giveaway: Holy Bread of Eternal Life book! appeared first on Like Mother Like Daughter.
