Encouraging news about EWTN's Fr. Anthony

Fr. Anthony hopes to be back on the air in the near future.  Oh, HOW I'm praying for that to happen!


https://franciscanmissionaries.com/father-anthony-mary-update/

The Share-Care-Prayer Club is Back!

Here is the new address.

http://share-care-prayer.blogspot.com/

My computer isn't letting me make links in posts.

A Fond, Sad Goodbye

Rochelle Browncreated the group The Share-Care-Prayer Club

I just needed to find a really good, reliable host site.

I posted the above in May, 2014.  Well, today I have to post that The Share-Care-Prayer Club will soon be gone.  The host site,  awestruck.tv, is closing.

Updated Reading Plan

These are the categories I'm now reading in:

The Bible book I'm currently reading

My daily devotional book for the year

1 work of Catholic spirituality 

1 work of Judaica 

1 collection of poetry

1 play or collection of plays

1 book of essays

1-3 works of nonfiction

1 autobiography, biography, or collection of  short biographies

1 collection of letters, not counting the Epistles in the Bible

1-3 works of fiction, which may or may not include a collection of short stories

1 comic book, both for enjoyment and as a safeguard against literary snobbishness

1 collection of potpourri, containing writings in several categories.

I've also started reading one picture book a day.  This is the only book I read through in one sitting.

Some books fit more than one category.  For example,
 "The Chosen," by Chaim Potok, would  count as both fiction and Judaica.  

News About EWTN's Fr. Anthony

I've found out why Fr. Anthony hasn't been celebrating the televised Mass on EWTN.

I'm having computer issues, and can't create a link, but here is the URL for the post. 

https://www.facebook.com/MFVAFriars/posts/1857478694300879

New Post At Last

After a prolonged, and not entirely planned hiatus, I'm back to writing new posts.

I'll start with a brief statement:

I have not been, as someone said in a comment which I deleted, in a spiritual coma.  

So why haven't I posted anything new in such a long time?

For one thing, I was dealing with stuff I did not want to blog about.  For another, I was tired of putting up weekly reading lists.

I may, now and then, mention a book I am reading or have recently read, but there will be, at least for now, no more reading lists. I will, however, say that I've just added "Letters" to the categories I read in every day.

I will, however, say that I've added "Letters" to the categories I read in every day.  Epistles in the Bible don't count.

  

Little Things [reposted]

I love this quote from my Patron Saint, Therese of Lisieux, whose feast we celebrate today:

"Pick up a pin for the love of God, and you may save a soul."
How right, how wise! We may not be called to do great things, but we can do the little, everyday tasks for the love of God, and then how great, how valuable those little tasks become.
No work is menial if it is done for the love of God.

My Friend Tony [old post]

And yep, I mean St. Anthony of Padua, whose Feast is today!

How many times have people prayed some version of the prayer:

"Tony, Tony, come around.

Something's lost and must be found"?

I know St. Anthony is ALWAYS helping me find stuff.

Years ago, when I had just recently converted to Catholicism, I called

Mom at work (It was her usual break time.)

Mom said, "I can't talk right now. We're missing an important file and

we've looked all over for it."

"Okay," I said, "call me back when it turns up."

Well, within five minutes she called me. The file had been found.

"Aren't you going to thank me?" I asked.

"Thank you? What for? You're not even here."

"I know," I said, "but who do you think prayed to St. Anthony?"

More recently, I was chatting with a couple of my online friends, and

one of them was going slightly nuts because she had misplaced something, and couldn't find it anywhere. I said a prayer to St. Anthony, and then typed,

"Try looking again."

She didn't want to, but I persuaded her. And then she typed, in caps

"I FOUND IT!!!!!!"

I wasn't a bit surprised!

Does St. Anthony ALWAYS get lost articles back for me? Well, almost! One morning I couldn't find my Rosary. I looked. I prayed. To my surprise, I still did

not find it. But later that morning, I received a brand-new, beautiful Rosary from a Catholic organization. I'm almost SURE I heard St. Anthony chuckling.

BTW, the lost Rosary did turn up eventually.

Of course, there's much more to St. Anthony than just running the Lost and Found! :)

St. Anthony of Padua

Updated in 2013 to add Fr. Anthony's very inspirational homily.

Anniversary

Some of you may remember the time when I was trying... oh, was I trying... to form a good, active online group, but with no success, until................

Rochelle Browncreated the group The Share-Care-Prayer Club

I just needed to find a really good, reliable host site.

That was four years ago today, and The Share-Care-Prayer Club is still going strong, with over 700 members.

I'm not bragging, but I most definitely AM thankful.

Sample Reading Lists [Updated]

Here are some strictly  hypothetical examples of how my current reading list might look at any given time.  A # means that I'm actually reading the book mentioned at the time of this writing.  Books that fit two categories are listed twice, and are marked with an asterisk. *

I'm giving the titles only.

1
The shortest list I could have... 11 books

Bible book :
Romans

Daily Devotional: 
Saint And Thought For Every Day#

Catholic spirituality or biography/autobiography:
The Story Of A Soul*

Judaica:
Try For A Dream*

Play or collection of plays:
As You Like It

Poetry:
Come Hither#

Essays:
Enjoy, Enjoy


Nonfiction:
What A Word! 

Educational:
Teach Yourself Visually Algebra

Autobiography, biography, or collection of short biographies:
The Story Of A Soul*

Fiction:
Try For A Dream*

Comic book:

Sugar And Spike Archives Vol. 1

Potpourri:
Peppermint: The Best From The Scholastic Writing Awards Junior Division#

2
The longest list I could have.... 17 books

Bible book :
Sirach

Daily Devotional: 
Saint And Thought For Every Day#

Catholic spirituality or biography/autobiography:
The Secret of the Rosary

Judaica:
The Other Side Of The Story

Play or collection of plays:
Humorous Plays For Teenagers 

Poetry:
Leaves of Grass

Essays:
Emerson's Essays


Nonfiction:
What A Word! 
Of Swedish Ways
Spice On The Wind

Educational:
Teach Yourself Visually Algebra

Autobiography, biography, or collection of short biographies:
The Alcotts As I Knew Them

Fiction:
Rose In Bloom#
How Green Was My Valley
Told Under The Stars and Stripes

Comic book:

Little Lulu In Paris

Potpourri:
A Jesse Stuart Reader

 3
A list that falls in the middle... 14  books

Bible book :
1st Corinthians

Daily Devotional: 
Saint And Thought For Every Day#

Catholic spirituality or biography/autobiography:
The Imitation of Christ

Judaica:
The Chosen

Play or collection of plays:
The Glass Menagerie#

Poetry: 
This Singing World

Essays:
Reproachfully Yours#

Nonfiction:
Why Did They Name It?
Love and Knishes

Educational:
Journey Through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics#

Autobiography, biography, or collection of short biographies:
Fifth Chinese Daughter

Fiction:
The Chosen
Told Under The Stars And Stripes

Comic book:

The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told

Potpourri:
The Saturday Evening Post Treasury

New Category

I've added a new category, Potpourri, to my daily reading plan. Potpourri, in my system, simply means any book containing more than one kind of writing, for example, a mixture of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.
I'm starting off with "Peppermint: The Best From Scholastic Writing Awards Junior Division," a book
I've loved since I was in junior high school.

Yearly Reading Customs, and My Current System

My regular readers know that I've been reading "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens every December 24th for many years now.

Well, for the past several years, I have read "Norah and the Cable Car," by Rita Shields, on St. Patrick's Day.  This is the perfect choice, because the book covers the year from St. Patrick's Day 1873 to St. Patrick's Day 1874.

Of course, I'm not skipping any of the other books I'm currently reading, and since I started that system, I don't read ANY book in one sitting. One day, sometimes, but not one sitting.

'

My Current Reading Pattern [Updated]

I like to have a nice variety of  books "going" at the same time: 

The Bible book I'm currently reading

My daily devotional book for this year

1 work of Catholic spirituality or biography/autobiography

1 work of Judaica, fiction or nonfiction 

1 collection of poetry

1 play or collection of plays

1 book of essays

1-3 works of nonfiction

1 autobiography, biography, or collection of  short biographies

1 purely educational book in addition to the categories listed above

1-3 works of fiction, which may or may not include a collection of short stories

1 comic book, both for enjoyment and as a safeguard against literary snobbishness

1 collection of potpourri, containing writingd in several categories.

A Big Change In My Life

There was a big... and I mean MAJOR...change in my life on the Wednesday before Christmas.  I moved to an unattached studio apartment on Kathryn and Paul's property.  Winky did not come with me; we couldn't get him into his carrier.  Paul and Kathryn had to go back for him.
The funny thing is that the carrier has become one of Winky's favorite spots, his apartment within an apartment.

This Year's Daily Devotional Book

The book I'm using  for my daily devotions this year is:                                                                                                                 

"Saint and Thought For Every Day''

Profiles of saints by The Daughters of St. Paul

Thoughts by Rev. James Alberione, SSP, STD

                                                         

Changes to this Blog

You've probably noticed that there was no book list last week.  That's one of the changes... I will no longer post a regular list of the books I've read, but I WILL mention books fom time to time.  

I'll start now, in fact, by saying that of course I read ''A Christmas Carol'' by Charles Dickens on the 24th!
There will be other  changes, which will be introduced gradually.

I'm back to say.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND BLESSINGS FOR THE NEW YEAR!!!!

This Year's Resolutions

Well, here it is Advent again, and that means it is time for this year's resolutions.  I make them on the First Sunday in Advent instead of on January 1st.

 1: Pray more chaplet every day than I did last year.s.  This can mean either praying different chaplets, or praying the same chaplet twice or more in one day.

2: Read at least one nonfiction book a week, not counting plays/autobiographies/biographies/memoirs/journals/diaries.

Books Read In The Past Week

A # indicates a book read for the first time

Books are listed by author (or series creator)

"My Daily Spiritual Companion"

by Marci Alborghetti

daily devotional reading for 2017

I liked the book I used last year better 

"The Way of the Fathers
Praying with the Early Christians" 

by Mike Aquilina

[Catholic spirituality]

"The Home Has A Heart"

by Thyra Ferre Bjorn
[nonfiction; Christian (Protestant) themes, recipes, 
anecdotes]
(December chapter only)

''P.S. Longer Letter Later''

(openlibrary.org loan)
''Snail Mail No More''
(physical copy)
by Paula Danziger and Ann M. Martin
[children's/YA fiction]

''B is for Betsy''
''Betsy and Billy''
''Here's A Penny''
(physical copies)
''Penny and Peter''
''C is For Cupcake'' #
(openlibrary.org loans)
''Penny Goes To Camp''
[physical copy]
by Carolyn Haywood
[children's fiction]


"Whose Cat Is That?" 

by Virginia Kahl
[picture book]

(openlibrary.org loan)

''If I Love You, Am I Trapped Forever?'' 

by M. E. Kerr

[YA fiction]
(openlibrary.org loan)

''Lassie and the Kittens'' #
by Robert Maxwell and Co.
[picture book based on the tv show]
(openlibrary.org loan)

''The New Diary''

by Tristine Rainer
[nonfiction]

''Sideways Stories From Wayside School''
''Wayside School Is Falling Down''
by Louis Sachar
[children's fiction] 
( openlibrary.org loans)

''Dorrie's Book''
by Marilyn Sachs
[children's fiction]

 "Pink Slippers, Bat Mitzvah Blues"

by Ferida Wolff

[children's fiction, Jewish] 
 

Draft, Parts One and Two

When I began writing this post, I gave it the title New Collection: Yes?  No?


DRAFT, PART ONE
I'm thinking about starting a new collection, since my current collections seem to have leveled off.  At least, I haven't been able to add to them lately.
So, what shall I collect?  Space and cost will be factors in my decision, since this will be a physical collection.]
I definitely won't collect stamps; too expensive, and with my perceptual problem and poor eye-hand co-ordination, I don't think I'd be able to put them into a stamp album properly.  More to the point, I've never been interested in collecting stamps.
Also, whatever I decide to collect, should I have a general collection, or limit it to a specific category?   For example, if I collect postcards, should I have all kinds, or just scenic cards?
New postcards, vintage, or both?                                                                   
Of course, I may not decide on postcards at all.
Actually,
[I stopped here]

And now, I will finish this draft and turn it into a post.

DRAFT, PART  TWO

So did I start a new collection?

The answer turns out to be a loud YES... I've started a new offline, physical collection... BOOKMARKS. I have three so far, and each one came free with a book I'd recently ordered.
I plan, in the future, to BUY some bookmarks online, both new and vintage.
Right now my collection is in a plastic bag, the kind that changes color on top when sealed, but I might, sometime in the future, move it to a box.

FINAL NOTE:

I could, of course, have simply rewritten the original draft, but this was SO much more fun!