Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at Sunday Snippets. Thanks once again to RAnn for hosting!

Semper Gaudete!: Lent Begins In March



Semper Gaudete!: EWTN.com - Dr. Bernard Nathanson Remembered For His Profound Pro-life Conversion



Semper Gaudete!: The Missing Book



Semper Gaudete!: Defunding threat finds Planned Parenthood at vulnerable point in its contentious history :: EWTN News



Semper Gaudete!: Books Read in the Past Week

Books Read in the Past Week

"Books I Love"
{started last week, finished on Monday}
(non-fiction)
[Former library book, discarded and put on sale.
How could I resist a book with that title???]


"Under The Lilacs"
by Louisa May Alcott
{started last week, finished on Monday}
(children's fiction)

"Danika's Totally Terrible Toss"
{read on Tuesday}
by Dannah Gresh
[e-book]
"Just Call Me Kate"
{read on Tuesday
by Dannah Gresh and Janet Mylin
[e-book]
"Yuzi's False Alarm"
{read on Tuesday}
by Dannah Gresh and Chizuruoke Anderson
[e-book]
"T is for AnTONIa"
by Dannah Gresh and Suzy Weibel
{read on Tuesday}
[e-book]
(children's fiction, Christian {Protestant} )
[Secret Keeper Girls series]

Defunding threat finds Planned Parenthood at vulnerable point in its contentious history :: EWTN News

Defunding threat finds Planned Parenthood at vulnerable point in its contentious history :: EWTN News

Let's pray that ALL abortion clinics will be shut down, or, better yet, transformed
into places that SUPPORT life.

The Missing Book

I recently read "Two Chalet School Girls In India", by Priyadarshini Narendra. This is one of the fill-ins to
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer's original "Chalet School" series.
So why am I calling this post "The Lost Manuscript"?
Well, to quote the late Helen McClelland's foreword:
"No question about it: Elinor M. Brent-Dyer did undoubtedly
write a book with the title Two Chalet School Girls in India.
She refers to it at various times during the Chalet School
series. But the mystery of what happened to this story
is still unsolved."
Helen McClelland speculated that the book may not have
had a close enough connection to the Chalet School.
"Or could it have been that, at some stage, the story dealt
with Jo's conversion to Roman Catholicism, which might in
those days have been thought unsuitable for a school readership?"
Personally, I think that this is very possible. The New York Public Library banned "Heaven To Betsy", by Maud Hart Lovelace, due to Betsy and Julia's conversion from the Baptist to the Episcopal church. (The ban has since been lifted.)
Elinor M. Brent-Dyer's manuscript may still be lying around
somewhere. And perhaps it will turn up and FINALLY be
published. I, for one, would love to read it.
It would be so interesting to compare the two versions.

EWTN.com - Dr. Bernard Nathanson Remembered For His Profound Pro-life Conversion

EWTN.com - Dr. Bernard Nathanson Remembered For His Profound Pro-life Conversion

God rest his soul. I wonder how many babies were
SAVED due to Dr. Nathanson's pro-life testimonies?

Lent Begins In March

It feels a bit strange to still be eating chocolate so late in February!

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at Sunday Snippets.
Thanks once again to RAnn for hosting!

Semper Gaudete!: Books Read In The Past Week




Semper Gaudete!: Not In Any Of The Usual Ways



Semper Gaudete!: What Would She Say?

Books Read In The Past Week

"The New Chalet School"
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
"Gillian Of The Chalet School"
by Carol Allan
[fill-in]
"Two Chalet School Girls In India"
by Priyadarshini Narendra
[concurrent, in part, with "Gillian".
There are a few discrepancies between the two
books, because they were published by two different companies.]
"The Chalet School In Exile"
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
(children's fiction)

Not In Any Of The Usual Ways

Those of you who have been reading my blog know that
I am a Jewish convert to the Catholic Church. What you
may not know, however, is that I am also a revert. Yes,
I was, for several years, NOT a practicing Catholic.
I can't go into why I left the Church. All I will say is
that it involved several people from my parish, one man
in particular. (No, not a priest. I want to make that clear, in the light of the recent scandals.)
Okay. The important part, the crux of the matter, is what
led me back to the Church. Let's just say, I was not brought
back in any of the usual ways.
I didn't discover EWTN while channel-surfing; in fact,
it was several years AFTER my return that I started watching
EWTN.
I didn't find, hidden in a drawer, one of my old rosaries
or medals.
I didn't come across one of my forgotten Catholic books.
So, what, or rather who, got me back into the Church?
Well, first of all, of course, God.
But who was His instrument? Well, hold on to your hats!
I was moved to return to the Church by a Catholic character by the name of Joe Carlino on the now defunct soap opera, "Another World".
Joe was very much a Catholic character. Not that he never did anything wrong; like all well-written characters, he had his flaws.
But what I remember most was how often he prayed. And it
never seemed forced; it seemed like the most natural thing
in the world for him to pray.
Not that watching Joe live out his Faith got me back right away. No. It took a couple of years. I felt a tug, but I wasn't
QUITE ready yet.
Or so I thought, until February 17th, 1997, when Gabe McNamara, the captain of the 23rd Precinct, under whom Joe served as a detective, was shot.
I still remember the scene at the hospital. The doctors were
working over Gabe, and Joe was standing there, to the side,
praying, and praying, and praying. By the time Gabe was
pronounced dead, there wasn't a viewer of "Another World"
who did not know the Hail Mary.
And, as Joe prayed, I heard myself praying with him. Yes, I
knew it was just a tv show, and yet, it seemed so RIGHT to
be repeating those words, those words I hadn't spoken in
years.
I thought, and I prayed, and, one week plus one day later,
I walked over to the Rectory.
The next morning, I went to Mass and received Holy Communion for the first time in too many years.
God DEFINITELY moves in mysterious ways sometimes.

What Would She Say?

If Margaret Sanger could come back today,
And speak just once more, what would she say?
I believe she would say, in a voice clear and strong
Just three simple words, "I was wrong."

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at Sunday Snippets.
Thanks once again to RAnn for hosting.


Sponsor Doug



Semper Gaudete!: "Everyone Against Abortion, Please Raise Your Hand!"



Semper Gaudete!: Books Read in the Past Week

Books Read in the Past Week

"Rose In Bloom"
{started last week, finished on Sunday }
by Louisa May Alcott

"A week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers"
[mentioned in "Rose In Bloom"]
{started last week}
by Henry David Thoreau
[Google e-book (free!) ]
(non-fiction)
So far, I'm enjoying this book, although I do not
agree with what Thoreau says about religion.

"Meet Hattie"
{started on Sunday, finished on Monday}
"Hattie's Faraway Family"
{read on Monday}
"Hattie's Holidays"
{read on Monday}
"Hattie's Adventures"
{read on Monday}
by Marie Hibma Frost
(children's fiction, Christian [Protestant] )

"Mostly The Meldons"
{read on Monday}
by Decie Merwin
(children's fiction)

"Books I Love"
{started on Monday}
(non-fiction)
[Former library book, discarded and put on sale.
How could I resist a book with that title???]

"A Yardstick For Jessica"
{read on Tuesday}
"Jill's Story"
{read on Wednesday}
by Jean Fiedler
(children's fiction)

"The New House At The Chalet School"
{started on Wednesday, finished on Thursday}
"Jo Returns To The Chalet School"
{started on Thursday, finished on Saturday}
"The New Chalet School"
{started on Saturday}
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
(children's fiction)

Please help sponsor EWTN's Doug Barry in this year's Nun Run.
Sponsor Doug

"Everyone Against Abortion, Please Raise Your Hand!"

This is a hand that will never wave "hello" or "goodbye". A hand that will never pet a dog or a cat. A hand that will never catch a ball. A hand that will never write a poem, paint a picture, play an instrument. This is a hand that will never hold another hand.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at Sunday Snippets. Thanks to RAnn for hosting!


Semper Gaudete!: The Chicken Said "Thank You"



Semper Gaudete!: Books Read in the Past Week

Books Read in the Past Week

"What Jane Austen ATE and Charles Dickens KNEW
From Fox Hunting to Whist-the Facts of Daily Life
in 19th-Century England"
{reading a little at a time; I may, however, put it aside
until I start on some 19th-Century English novels.}
by Daniel Poole
(non-fiction)

"Betsy and The Great World"
{started on Thursday, finished on Monday}
"Betsy's Wedding"
{started on Monday, finished on Thursday}
by Maud Hart Lovelace
(children's/young adult fiction)

"The Betsy-Tacy Companion"
by Sharla Scannell Whalen
(non-fiction, biographical)
{finished on Thursday}

"The Home Has A Heart"
[February chapter only]
{read on Tuesday}
(non-fiction)

"Rose In Bloom"
{started on Thursday}
by Louisa May Alcott

"A week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers"

{started on Friday}
by Henry David Thoreau
[Google e-book (free!) ]
(non-fiction)
So far, I'm enjoying this book, although I do not
agree with what Thoreau says about religion.

The Chicken Said "Thank You"

Since this is the Chinese New Year, I'd like to share
something that happened in Chinatown when I was a little girl, perhaps nine years old.
I don't really remember why Mom and I were in Chinatown that day. A promised treat, or a
spur-of-the-moment impulse? Oh, well. That doesn't really matter.
At one point during our for-whatever-reason, (or for-no-particular-reason)trip to
Chinatown, Mom and I stopped at a place whose name I can't remember (If I do, I will
edit this post! :) ). It may have been an arcade, or perhaps it was The Chinese Museum.
{Note to self: Stop rambling and tell the story already!}
Okay. On with the story, then. Among the attractions at this arcade? museum? was a
Fortune Telling Chicken. Anyone wanting his or her fortune told by this chicken would
deposit a coin, (I think it was a dime, but it may have been a quarter) into a slot.
This would cause some grain to pour into the chicken's dish. The chicken would pluck a
little cardboard fortune, and then eat the grain.
Well, on this day that poor chicken hadn't been doing much business, apparently. The dish was empty, and people were passing her by with hardly a glance. I felt sorry for her; she seemed
so hungry.
Okay, to (belatedly) make a long story short, I dropped a coin into the slot, and the grain trickled into the dish. Now, let me tell you, that was one conscientious chicken! She gave
me my fortune BEFORE eating any of the grain, even though she was hungry.
And now, I come to the part where the chicken said "Thank you."
After she had eaten, she cocked her head at me, and then she plucked a second fortune and
handed (or should I say beaked?) it to me!
From then on, that chicken had a loyal customer whenever I went to Chinatown.
I never realized it fully until just now, but I learned a couple of things from that chicken:
Always say "thank you", even if you can't say it with words.
Whenever you can, give a little more than is required or expected.