{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.)
No matter how supernatural and detached I try to be, I can’t help resisting the passage of summer and the coming of fall. It is hard for me to remain sanguine as the days get shorter.
Especially this year, where the temps were high for so long, wow, it was hard to let go. But finally I did, and the truth is that after the first frost, I do find that I can pull in from all the outside activity, turn my mind to cozying things up in the house, and accept that next year is another year.
We will try to plant garlic soon (if it will stop raining). Huge mistake last year letting that go. Repairing the raised beds, cleaning up the yard, tucking in the bees… there are still things to do out there, but now we are quieting down.
November is the month to remember those who have gone before us. In the little oratory, I have placed the cards we’ve gathered at funerals and wakes on the mantelpiece. Some of these went on after a long life; others were taken so soon. We pray for their souls, as we have hope that those we leave behind here, someday, will remember us and pray for our souls as well.
If you are wondering about how to have a place of prayer and beauty in your home (one that reflects your family with its particular preferences and ways), five years ago I co-authored a book just for that!
It’s called The Little Oratory and if you haven’t read it yet, do take a peek to see what you think. We didn’t base it on our own devotional practices, but on the Liturgy and on very traditional ways for the family to be connected to it.
In the book we make the case that to pray, we will be greatly helped to have a little place in our home that radiates the reality of our faith. When we have the desire to pray, we are already praying. This is what the spiritual masters, the saints, God’s friends, have always taught.
Thus, when our eye is drawn to a place where there is a sacred image, a place of simple, humble beauty in our home, we have already begun to pray — and so have our children.
Little by little, as we go through the Liturgical Year with the entire Church in her universal prayer, God draws us closer to him. The prayer place, table, corner, or oratory helps us. (The book is also a “kit” for starting your own oratory or icon corner, if you like — there are beautifully printed icons in the back ready to be detached and framed, and we give detailed information about how to go about doing it all.)
I will be talking about the importance — the indispensability — of this Christian way of life in the home, in union with the life of the Church, this month in Great Falls, Virginia, on November 29th. I hope you can join me!
On to our links:
In other news, my husband’s book is out. Last year he published* Lost Shepherd; this year he was compelled by his position as the veteran observer of the scandals in the Church to write a book that gives the deep background to the new revelations regarding then-Cardinal McCarrick and the testimonies of Archbishop Viganò.
Although we can probably all agree that the cover of this book is rather intense, you will find that in Smoke of Satan Phil is able to calmly and thoroughly present the facts without descending into un-sourced speculation and destructive conspiracy mongering. The bishops will meet in another week; this is the book you need to understand what is going on.
*Actually the book was written a year ago but published this March. That was actually a frustration. We are really pleased with this publisher, who made the commitment to come out with the book as soon as it was finished, and held up the bargain admirably.
I’m a tad obsessed with old Sears houses, bought from kits and shipped by rail.
The question of censorship is a fascinating one — standards vs. civility, history vs. right and wrong. Now that we are experiencing the removal of monuments and statues, it’s worth thinking through what the criteria are. One Statue Worthy of Destruction?
John Taylor Gatto died this past week. Many readers here know I consider him an inspiration to homeschoolers: John Taylor Gatto (1935-2018): Remembering America’s Most Courageous Teacher.
Once you become conscience of the scourge of sentimentalism, you realize how corrupting it is. Samuel Gregg on the idolatry of feelings. I have been noticing how often homilists speak of a “blockage” to God’s grace or love, rather than a sin. Therapeutic language right there!
I didn’t have a chance to see the Gosnell movie, but here is a review that is written by a journalist who was at the trial: Eyewitness: My Perspective on the Gosnell Movie.
I’ve been noticing a rise of interest among Christians in Nietzsche, which makes sense, but in one very important way (that his philosophy is incompatible with Christianity) it is troubling. Understanding Nietzsche (well, getting started), will be important, because the “entire modern and post-modern obsession with power comes from Nietzsche, whether those who espouse theories of power (in terms of race, class, or gender) realize this or not.” A Primer for Conservatives on Friedrich Nietzsche.
A life in culture: Lionel Trilling.
Three Saints and the Art of Anamorphosis.
The Bookish Life — a reflection on reading by Joseph Epstein.
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