{bits & pieces}
The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
See, I did mow!
Now on to the weed whacking…
[Not an actual baby.]
Is there anyone interested in starting a St. Gregory Pocket in Berkeley or thereabouts? Our dear friend Phyllis is moving out there with her family; she would love to meet you and help you get things started! Email Suki at suzanneelizabeth [at] gmail [dot] com to get connected.
Last week I met several different ladies who had formed Pockets or were about to. The Pocket is completely compatible with your projected or existing book club, because of course friends share reading and conversation (and maybe a glass of wine!). It’s so much more, so it’s really worth making the effort. If you are feeling like you have a nice time with your reading group but aren’t sure that it’s actually a community (for instance, what about children and spouses? what about the future?), do think about making a Pocket. To see where there are already existing ones, go here. If you have questions, first read this! (E.g. Do I need to be Catholic? Does starting a Pocket make me the leader?)
On to our links!
A Father’s Day MUST READ (yes, all caps shouting!) from Deirdre — A doctor heeds his father’s advice to forgo billions — yes, billions — of dollars of profit on a life-saving invention and goes on to provide care for the dying. This story (scroll down to page three) is inspiring, giving a vision for what end-of-life care could look like, and why we should turn away, definitively, from euthanasia.
How have you seen the success of this approach?
At Calvary we treat 6,000 patients a year, and no one, after they have been here for 24 hours, asks for assisted suicide. No one: no matter what’s wrong, and we’ve seen some terrible cases. Not when you reach out with arms of love. When I enter a patient’s room, I always stop on the saddle of the door, and I pray, “My dear Lord God, my love for You brings me here for Your greater glory.” Then it is no longer a patient’s a room; it’s now a sanctuary. When you ask God to
come, He comes. I know He’s there. I can feel it. And when someone is dying, you think that room is part of this earth? No! You are not in this world. You have entered the vestibule of heaven.
One of the reasons I started blogging, long ago in the mists of time, is that I saw that a lot of parenting advice is either not based on good authority (just the whim or fantasy of the parent of all girls or in fact ill-behaved children of both sexes) or is based on bad authority (for instance, on the thinking of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, notorious bad philosopher who, despite verifiably abysmal parenting, continues to inspire experts everywhere). An antidote: St. John Chrysostom on how to raise children.
Another St. Peter’s List gem: Knowledge and Wisdom.
This past week marked the anniversary of the death of G. K. Chesterton. In his honor, an inspiring essay about his poetry.
A long read, but this interview with James Matthew Wilson may help you find new reserves of inspiration for this adventure we call educating our children. The title makes it sound like it’s about politics, but really it’s about so much more — the good life and how to keep it.
More in educational inspiration: Hillsdale College’s Top Ten Reading Picks. Everyone will have their own, but this one is quite good.
I know I take some engineering feats, like a tunnel through a mountain, for granted.
Speaking of books, do you know and love Dorothy Sayers like I do? Great summer reading, and just the thing to shake you out of any bad reading habits you might have. (If you haven’t read her, I recommend starting with Strong Poison.) NB: After you’ve read the Lord Peter books, should you find that you have a sense you missed some of the literary allusions, go back and read Shakespeare, Dickens, and Wodehouse. Then re-read the Lord Peter books!
Today is the feast of another wonderful Gregory, St. Gregory Barbarigo. Tomorrow most regions celebrate Corpus Christi, the solemn and beautiful commemoration of the institution of the Eucharist. I hope you have a procession to join! If you take a picture, I’d love to see it (my Instagram account is linked below).
From the archives:
We are in full wedding swing here — you too? Did you know that Deirdre wrote a whole series about how to have a beautiful wedding? Here are two that are specifically about the reception: The Wholesome, Good-Times Reception and How to Get the Wedding Reception You Really Want. Do read all the posts and pass them along to your favorite bride!
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