{bits & pieces}
The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter! (This will all look and work better if you click on the actual post and do not remain on the main page.)
This past week was mostly taken up with Bridget’s break from school — having fun with her and her friend Maire, enjoying listening to them fiddle, enjoying the peace and quiet as they diligently studied, and getting together with friends and family.
When I think about this being her last year in college, my baby, I want to encourage all of you who are just starting out to persevere in encouraging your children to find their own path. Just forget about the world’s seeming confidence that it knows the exact formula for success. Now that all my children are grown, I see that it would have been impossible for us to have predicted how interesting and flourishing they all turned out to be, each in a way quite different from the others.
Each person is unique — we hear that all the time, don’t we! — and there is a lot of anxiety when you are first starting out — you can’t see where it is all going and you’re afraid of failing! It’s tempting to think that there is a certain process that you can rely on for success. I well understand that! But pursue what you love, let them pursue what they love, and make your home the center of your family’s life, along with the life of the Church. The years will unfold and reveal their delightful surprises!
The last night they were here, the girls played me my favorite tune, The Highlander’s Farewell — until Maire’s E-string broke! Here’s a little snippet!
This month, live along with the Church as she focuses our attention on the Holy Souls.
On to our links!
Some thoughts on how to use your space (even if you haven’t recently moved!): Before You Unpack.
Why You Hate Contemporary Architecture, is a great rant (warning, some language!), not only because it just comes out and says that things are ugly (and stunningly inappropriate — just look at the picture with the Tour Montparnasse!), but because it fails to articulate the solution, prompting, in my opinion, a deeper reflection on what beauty is, whether it is objective, and what we can do about getting it.
It’s not enough to say that we need more decoration or ornament, for instance; I think we could have a rant about Rococo architecture that would have us all secretly wishing we could just find a nice concrete bunker to enjoy (I jest, I hate concrete bunkers, but all that sugary overdoneness does get to be too much!). I am not convinced by the political left/right lens as applied in the piece. Nor can we be satisfied with this: “We should ask ourselves: why is it that we can’t build another Prague or Florence? Why can’t we build like the ancient mosques in Persia or the temples in India? Well, there’s no reason why we can’t.” Yes, there is a reason why we can’t — it’s because Prague and Florence have at their heart and were built around churches, by believers who weren’t afraid to sacrifice; it’s worship that gave these places culture. For that matter, even mosques and temples satisfied something in the human soul that somehow goes starving today, now that we’ve removed even a dim or flawed seeking for God from our environment. It’s so telling that the references in this parting plea are to sacred spaces and the cities that arose from them!
I have recommended lots of reading on this subject. There’s Roger Scruton, Stratford Caldecott, and David Clayton’s Way of Beauty (in which he explains how the pleasingness of, say, the Beacon Hill street mentioned in the article, comes from each element fitting not with the others except insofar as they each agree with an objective harmony — contrary to what the authors assert). In The Little Oratory, drawing on the writings of Jean Corbon and Scripture itself, we made the suggestion that when one prays with the Liturgy, beauty and transformation of the culture are the result. Anyway, as a rant, I found the article refreshing!
Edmund Burke’s observations and insights into free markets, by Samuel Gregg.
Joseph Pearce on Robert Southwell, poet and martyr. Perhaps his best known poem: The Burning Babe.
I’ve written a lot about the unique importance of the Liturgical Year — but really, you should just read this. Call it remote preparation for Advent!
The Swedish Art of Death Cleaning. (For the record, my Swedish friend had never heard of this, but if Konmari-ing things isn’t working — if, as another friend says, “apparently everything I own sparks joy, you can read the article and then move on to our very own Reasonably Clean House series!)
Jane Austen, Public Theologian.
A new site: The Liturgical Arts Journal — lots of beautiful information about the liturgy!
I guess we can all deplore what is happening out in the world, but how will it be in our families? Here are a couple of posts about that!
Standards and solidarity: Ten ways to give your child the gift of purity.
Dating Rules for Teenagers
Today is the feast of the great St. Charles Borromeo!
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