Obama: ‘Freedom of Religion Is Under Threat’

Here's the article.

Barck Obama is concerned about freedom of religion in other countries, while here in the United States of America... need I say any more?

Throwback Thursday

Jolly Book

In Pollyanna Grows Up, by Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna goes to Boston and meets a boy named Jamie. Jamie is in a wheelchair, and has a book he calls his "Jolly Book".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"But you haven't told me yet about-the Jolly Book," prompted Pollyanna, after a minute.
The boy stirred and laughed shamefacedly.
" Well, you see, it ain't much, after all, except to me. You wouldn't see much in it. I started it a year ago. I was feelin' 'specially bad that day. Nothin' was right. For a while I grumped it out, just thinkin'; and then I picked tip one of father's books and tried to read. And the first thing I see was this: I learned it afterwards, so I can say it now.

   'Pleasures lie thickest where no pleasures seem;
    There's not a leaf that falls upon the ground
    But holds some joy, of silence or of sound."

"Well, I was mad. I wished I could put the guy that wrote that in my place, and see what kind of joy
he'd find in my 'leaves.' I was so mad I made up my mind I'd prove he didn't know what he was talkin' about, so I begun to hunt for 'em-the joys in my 'leaves,' you know. I took a little old empty notebook that Jerry had given me, and I said to myself that I'd write 'em down. Everythin' that had anythin' about it that I liked I'd put down in the book. Then I'd just show how many ' joys' I had."
" Yes, yes! " cried Pollyanna, absorbedly, as the boy paused for breath.
" Well, I didn't expect to get many, but-do you know?-I got a lot. There was somethin' about 'most everythin' that I liked a little, so in it had to go. The very first one was the book itself-that I'd got it, you know, to write in. Then somebody give me a flower in a pot, and Jerry found a dandy book in the subway. After that it was really fun to hunt 'em out-I'd find 'em in such queer places, sometimes. Then one day Jerry got hold of the little notebook, and found out what 'twas. Then he give it its name-the Jolly Book. And-and that's all."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pollyanna, of course, is delighted.
I've been thinking about getting a blank journal and keeping a book like that; writing
down all the good things that happen, all the little and not-so-little blessings, and
then sharing at least some of them in this blog.
One more thing: Thank God for books in the public domain that I can quote from at length
without having to be concerned about copyright infringements!

Originally posted on October 1st, 2010

New Painting in my Rosary Art Collection

The newest item in my collection is a painting of "The Presentation" by Rembrandt.

Sunday Snippets-- A Catholic Carnival

Come one come all, to Sunday Snippets! Thanks to RAnn for hosting!  I've discovered some wonderful blogs here.  How about sharing yours?

Semper Gaudete!: Throwback Thursday

Semper Gaudete!: This Week's Fan Fiction

Semper Gaudete!: Books Read in the Past Week

Books Read in the Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

"In A Great Tradition
Tribute to Dame Laurentia McLachlan,
Abbess of Stanbrook" #
by The Benedictines of Stanbrook
(I am very glad to have this book.  Rumer Godden
wrote in In This House of Brede: "All of the characters
in this book are imaginary, but many of the episodes
are based on fact; some are taken from the life and
sayings of Dame Laurentia McLachlan and Sister Mary
Ann McArdle of Stanbrook Abbey."

"In This House of Brede,"
by Rumer Godden
[fiction]
{Sunday Books}

"The Imitation of Mary In Four Books" #
by Alexander De Rouville
Revised and Edited by Matthew J. O'Connell
[devotional reading, Catholic]
(one chapter a day; more on Sunday)

"The Honest Dollar"
by Dorothy Simpson
[children's fiction]
{carried over from last week}

"A Sundae With Judy"
by Frieda Friedman
(children's fiction)

"Here's Lily!"
"Lily Robbins, M. D.
(Medical Dabbler)"
"Lily and the Creep"
by Nancy Rue
[children's fiction, Christian, Protestant, no denomination specified.]

"A Difficult Term for
the Chalet School" #
by Lisa Townsend
(fill-in)
"The Chalet School and the Island"
"Peggy of the Chalet School"
by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
(children's fiction)

"You Can't Eat Peanuts in Church
and Other Little-known Laws"
by Barbara Seuling
[nonfiction]
(openlibrary.org loan)

"The Clubwoman's Manual"
by Kate M. Monro and Isabel S. Monro
[nonfiction]
{carrying over into next week}

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"
by Mark Twain
[fiction]
(reading online)
Started on Saturday; reading for my
online book club
{carrying over into next week}

This Week's Fan Fiction

23rd Precinct

New chapters added.

False Alarm
New chapter added.

Throwback Thursday

WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2012

To Veil, or Not To Veil, that WAS the Question

This post, adapted and expanded from an older one, has so much new material that I am  considering it to be a brand-new post.
For some time after my return to the Catholic Church, I weighed the pros and cons of wearing a prayer veil, or mantilla.  And I must  admit that I was concerned about how others may view it.  Would they see it as a silent admission of my inferiority to men?   On the other hand, would they see it as showing off?  "Look how pious I am; I'm wearing a veil!"
But then I realized that I shouldn't worry about what others might think about my wearing a veil.  The question was whether or not I felt that wearing a veil was right for me.  
(It was so much simpler when women and girls  were  EXPECTED to cover their heads in Church.) 
I debated back and forth with myself, "Should I wear a veil?  Shouldn't I wear a veil?" but to no avail.  
What finally made me decide in favor of the mantilla? 
Part of it was that I am a Jewish convert, and Jewish women ALWAYS cover their heads in the synagogue. 
Part was watching the live Mass on EWTN, and seeing some of the women and girls there with their heads veiled. 
Part of it was that I'm on a fixed income, and really dressy clothes 
are not it my budget, especially since I am seldom able to get to Mass.
A nice lace veil would make my head, at least, look dressy for the Lord, and at the same time be a sign of humility, of submission to God.
I waited for a few weeks, to make sure that wearing a veil wasn't just a whim on my part, and then I made my decision:
I was going to buy, and wear, a veil.
I  now have three prayer veils, which I  purchased through  the EWTN Religious Catalogue.
I wear the mantilla whose color I consider appropriate for the day [black for weekdays, blue, shown above, for Saturdays and Our Lady's feast days, and white for Sundays] at the following times:
1: When I am able to get to Mass.
2: When I watch the live Mass on EWTN.
3: When I watch Benediction and Devotions, Sunday evenings on EWTN.
4: When I pray the Liturgy of the Hours.
5: When I visit a live online Adoration site.

 For me,  wearing a prayer veil at these times enhances the mitzvah. (I love that Jewish word, mitzvah, and praying is definitely a mitzvah!)