{bits & pieces}
I went into a store the other day and chuckled at the clean sweep that had been effected — from cozy holiday-mode to bright spiff-it-up and start-your-workouts mode. I admit I’m ready (well, maybe not for workouts per se).
But we’ll stay Christmas-like for a few more weeks anyway!
The liturgical year still has little gifts to offer us: the theophanies of Christ’s baptism, finding in the Temple, and miracle at Cana. The readings emphasize these manifestations, exhorting us to turn away from idolatry and worldliness.
And Candlemas is coming! Now is the time to source your candles for the coming year so they can be blessed. (I found those green ones on my mantel in a thrift store. Now I want all green candles!)
I am finishing up the gargantuan draft of my book to send to the publisher, and trying my best not to add any content here until I do!
But I am thinking ahead to a possible St. Greg’s Pocket “Pocket Book” (as Deirdre calls it) — a reading we could do together. Have you ever heard of Wendy Shalit’s A Return to Modesty? (affiliate link) I was thinking of our reading that if there was any interest. It always astonishes me that modesty, which after all is a virtue, is entirely rejected by many, and that fact alone makes me want to forge ahead!
Past guided readings have included The Spirit of the Liturgy (both books, by Ratzinger and Guardini, linked here). You can find a good round-up of my suggestions for your Pocket/book club here — suggestions that go to our need for deep (not necessarily long) reading that will significantly further our spiritual and moral development. This sort of reading helps bond our community, I think. We have a basis for going forward, which is important, because I consider these communities as the bedrock of the renewal of life together in these difficult times. Any of the readings can be done at any time, and I’m always here to discuss/answer questions to the best of my ability/find someone to help.
bits & pieces
A good explanation of the workings of conscience from my friend Leila Miller, using the rather macabre example of clinic workers laughing at dead babies. Yes, it’s disturbing, but it can help us understand ourselves and give us insight when we encounter someone who laughs evil off — knowing when someone suffers from a bad conscience can help us be better parents and neighbors. Leila breaks down conscience (following the teaching of the redoubtable J. Budziszewski) — this is a must-read.
The best New Year’s resolution, in my humble opinion, is to get serious about rooting out sinful behavior and living a life in union with God. In this way we will transform the world around us! Only personal sanctity matters! An examination of conscience based on the 10 Commandments. Here’s another one, with a shorter one linked at the end.
We probably all think we would oppose any political attempt to override our parental rights and duties. But what if the usurpation occurs as a matter of bureaucratic fiat and under cover of something that seems unobjectionable, like routine medical care? Be aware of bills like the one discussed in this article, perhaps already passed or coming up in your state soon.
How a Catholic Monk Saved Honeybees From Near Extinction: “After 70 years of apiarian work, Brother Adam succeeded in developing one of the most popular bee strains used today, known as the beekeepers’ bee: docile, disease resistant, and fertile, with a high production of honey.”
Erasing Thomas à Becket from medieval manuscripts “can be seen as part of the Reformation’s project of iconoclasm, and the efforts to eliminate idolatry and ‘superstition’ from the religion of England. Like Mother Like Daughter.
