Saturday, April 26, 2014

Sunday Snippets-- A Catholic Carnival


Well, here it is time once more for Sunday Snippets  ! Thanks to RAnn for hosting!  I've discovered some wonderful blogs here.  How about sharing yours? 
As you can see, I've made some changes to this blog.



Books Read in the Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

"Marion Howard or Trials and Triumphs" #
by May Ramsay
[Catholic fiction]
(free Google book)
"Love God And Do What You Please"
by St. Alphonsus Liguori
adapted by M. J. Huber
[spiritual reading]
a favorite of mine; thank God it wasn't one of the books
lost when I moved!
{reserved for Sunday}

Bible books(s) read this week:
"1 Corinthians"
"2 Corinthians"


"Home for the Holidays" #
by Heather Vogel Frederick
[fiction]
{carried over from last week}
(Kindle book)

"First We Have Coffee
and then we talk"
by Margaret Jensen
[Christian (Protestant) nonfiction]
{carried over from last week}

"Beezus and Ramona"
"Henry and the Paper Route"
"Henry and the Clubhouse"
{carrying over into next week}
by Beverly Cleary
[children's fiction]
(openlibrary.org loans)
(it's just a coincidence that I'm reading
that last book at this time, but LOL!)


"Penina Levine is a Potato Pancake" #
by Rebecca O'Connell
[children's fiction, Judaica]


"grace notes"
by Dandi Daley Mackall
[children's/YA fiction, Christian (Protestant), Blog On! series)
(Google Book, replacing copy lost when I moved.)

"Betsy-Tacy"
by Maud Hart Lovelace
(children's fiction)
I started re-reading the Betsy-Tacy books (and the three Deep Valley books in which Betsy is NOT the main character)  yesterday (Friday), on the anniversary of the day "Betsy" and "Tacy" became friends.  I'm reading no more than ONE book a day; I finished Betsy-Tacy  today, and will go on to Winona's Pony Cart tomorrow.

"Try Giving Yourself Away, Third Edition"
by David Dunn
[nonfiction]
(This is another dearly beloved book lost when I moved,
and now replaced.  The edition I now have gives some interesting information about David Dunn!)
{carrying over into next week}

"The Books You Read"
by Charles E. Jones
[nonfiction]
(another lost book, recently replaced)
{carrying over into next week}

David Dunn, Author of "Try Giving Yourself Away"

I've mentioned that, in my recent move, many of my books were lost.  One great favorite among those lost books was "Try Giving Yourself Away, Third Edition," by David Dunn.
Well, I replaced that book this week.  The copy I have was published in 1987, ten years after the author's death. 
It turns out that David Dunn's real name was Robert R.
Updegraff, and that he also wrote several books under his given name.  I've already added one of them, "Obvious Adams," published in 1916, to my free Google books. 
(Thank God for newly discovered books!)
I also went to findagrave.com and left this note.

An "A-Ha!" Moment

I wanted to set up a really successful online club for awhile now, but it just didn't  work out.   I also wanted to spruce up this blog a bit; maybe (probably!) because I've started reading Dandi Daley Mackall's "Blog On!" series again. 
And then it came to me that I could do both!  (The "A-Ha!" moment).  Instead of setting up a new club, I could enhance this blog by turning it into a club.  I could even have a virtual clubhouse by making a few new blogs, naming them
"rooms", and linking all of them to each other.  
The club members would be me (of course!), and anyone who commented, or had previously commented, on any post here.
So I made the new blogs... and added a doorway!
So what sort of things do I plan to post here, in the Main Room, now that this is a Club?
Exactly the kind of things I've always posted here.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Throwback Thursday

Rejoicing Texts

From Pollyanna:
"Well, that's what father used to call 'em," she laughed. "Of course the Bible didn't name 'em that. But it's all those that begin 'Be glad in the Lord,' or 'Rejoice greatly,' or 'Shout for joy,' and all that, you know--such a lot of 'em. Once, when father felt specially bad, he counted 'em. There were eight hundred of 'em."

"Eight hundred!"
 "Yes--that told you to rejoice and be glad, you know; that's why father named 'em the 'rejoicing texts.' "
 I'm going to look for verses and texts about giving thanks to God.


Originally posted on April 20, 2009

Monday, April 21, 2014

Sunday, April 20, 2014

New Painting in My Rosary Art Collection

I've added a new painting to my Rosary Art Collection.   It's a painting of The Resurrection, of course!

Changes to my Sunday Observance

I've made a few changes to the way I observe Sunday.  Some of these changes were necessary.
When I moved, several important Sunday items were lost:
My nice Sunday clothes
My electric votive candle
My pretty tablecloths.
Many of my Sunday books
I bought a box of battery-operated candles, so I'm still able light a candle on Saturday evening.  The clothes and the tablecloths can wait; I'm on a fixed income and these things, while beautiful, are not essential.
And, thank God, I still have quite a few of my Sunday books.

My prayer schedule for Sunday, especially in regard to the Liturgy of the Hours, remains unchanged.
On weekdays, I pray one Daytime Hour, usually Midday Prayer, but sometimes, Midafternoon Prayer.  On Sundays, I pray all three Daytime Hours. 
 And I think I've mentioned that I rotate which Hour is current, and which two are complementary.

As for the games I play on Sunday, well, here is an excerpt, slightly edited, from an older post.
I don't think that innocent amusements are wrong on Sunday, in fact, they can help to enhance the observance, as long as they don't take precedence. How many times have we heard, "What's allowed on Monday is allowed on Sunday?"
I love to play games on the computer, and on my TV, but mostly on the computer. However, on Sundays I like to play different games than I do during the week.
On weekdays, I play a variety of games, both online and offline, but on Sundays, I play only
Beach Solitaire (on my TV) and mah-jonng.  I also do several online jigsaw puzzles,
The reason I play different games on Sunday from those I play during the week is that I like a change on Sunday.

This has not changed.

From another old post:
On Sundays, (and that means from Evening Prayer 1 to Evening Prayer 2), I put aside whatever non-Catholic books I may be reading. On Sunday, I read only Catholic books.
The book can be fiction or non-fiction, but it absolutely MUST be something I'll want to carry into the next week. Dull, dry books are not welcome! 
This HAS changed.  I've come to the conclusion, or perhaps the realization, that any good, wholesome book is suitable for my Sundays.  However, there are some books, some lovely books, that I will read ONLY on Sundays. 

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Something I Almost Never Do (Please Read)

This is probably the first time that I've added a post AFTER publishing my "Sunday Snippets" post for the week.
However, I feel that this is important... and thank God I can moderate "Guest" reviews before they are published. Here is what somebody wrote about this story: (one word changed)
[BLEEP] YOU THIS IS SO RACIST AND HOMOPHOBIBIB [sic]
 
Huh???? What's racist and/or homophobic about this story?

And yes, that review upset me.  Again, thank God it was a "Guest" review, so I could delete it before it was published.

Sunday Snippets-- A Catholic Carnival


Well, here it is time once more for Sunday Snippets  ! Thanks to RAnn for hosting!  I've discovered some wonderful blogs here.  How about sharing yours? 
I have a special request this week: Please pray for the repose of the soul of RAnn's father,
and the consolation of his loved ones.


Semper Gaudete!: EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network To Air Exclusive Pre-Canonization Specials

Semper Gaudete!: This Week's Fan Fiction
a meditation that turned into a story


Books Read in the Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

"Marion Howard or Trials and Triumphs" #
by May Ramsay
[Catholic fiction]
(free Google book)
"Love God And Do What You Please"
by St. Alphonsus Liguori
adapted by M. J. Huber
[spiritual reading]
a favorite of mine; thank God it wasn't one of the books
lost when I moved!
{Sunday books}

Bible books(s) read this week:
"Sirach"
"1 Corinthians"
  
"Pride and Prejudice" #
by Jane Austen
[fiction]
{carried over from last week}

"Pies and Prejudice" #
{carried over from last week}
"Home for the Holidays" #
{carrying over into next week}
by Heather Vogel Frederick
[fiction]
(Kindle books)

"Emily's Runaway Imagination"
by Beverly Cleary
[children's fiction]
{carried over from last week
(openlibrary.org loan)

"Lily's in London?!"
"Lily's Passport to Paris"
by Nancy Rue
[children's fiction, Christian, Protestant, no denomination specified.

"First We Have Coffee
and then we talk"
by Margaret Jensen
[Christian (Protestant) nonfiction]

{carrying over into next week}

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Why is This Night Different from All Other Nights?

Earlier this week, in countless Jewish homes, at countless Seders, the youngest son, or, if there was no son, the youngest daughter, (not counting babies, of course!) asked the traditional Four Questions, beginning
"Why is this night different from all other nights?"

(In my family, I was the one who asked those Questions.)
And now, for me, as a Jewish convert to Catholicism, these words have an even deeper meaning as a foreshadowing of the night of the Last Supper... the night on which Our Lord instituted the Eucharist. 

The Gratitude Attitude Game


For those unfamiliar with the Pollyanna books and/or movies, the idea of the "Glad Game"
is to find something to be glad about when things go wrong,
or if you don't like the situation you are in. And that is both the premise of, and the problem with,
the Glad Game. Something has to go wrong before you can play!

Pollyanna herself points this out in Pollyanna Grows Up.
"Always, before, there have been bad things for folks to play the game on, and the badder they are
the more fun 'tis to get them out-find the things to be glad for, I mean. But where there aren't any
bad things, I shouldn't know how to play the game myself."

Well, I decided to take the game one step further, and to start looking, not for reasons to be glad, but for
reasons to be thankful. That way, I don't have to wait for something to go wrong before I can play!

I approach this game from two angles, depending on whether something is good or bad...
or perhaps I should say whether I like or dislike it. I may think something is bad, but God
knows that it is really good.
If it's something I don't like, I try to find something in it to be thankful for. I admit that sometimes
all I can say is, "Thank You, God, for whatever good You have planned for me through this."

As for the good things, it's not so much a matter of LOOKING for them as it is NOTICING them.

Throwback Thursday

Originally posted on October 1, 2010



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!


Monday, April 14, 2014

Practicing Catholics

Why do we call ourselves "practicing Catholics?" Timothy Cardinal Dolan tells us what he thinks in this post.   

EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network To Air Exclusive Pre-Canonization Specials




EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network
To Air Exclusive Pre-Canonization Specials


Irondale, AL – Looking for experienced and knowledgeable coverage of the canonizations of two Popes in Rome on April 26? Look no further than EWTN Rome Bureau Chief Joan Lewis and “Catholic Connection” Host Teresa Tomeo, two fabulous women of EWTN who will be on the ground in Rome with up-to-the-minute coverage of the canonizations you just won’t be able to get anywhere except the EWTN Global Catholic Radio Network!
Set up a reminder for yourself so you don’t miss “Countdown to Canonizations.” EWTN Radio Program Director Thom Price and Producer Elena Rodriguez will anchor in the studio with Tomeo in the field. The program will air live at 10:30 a.m. ET, Friday, April 25, and 10:30 a.m. ET, Saturday, April 26.
 
Tomeo, whose popular radio program normally can be heard weekdays at 9 a.m. ET, says she will report on the impact of the canonizations on the City of Rome, and provide a pilgrim’s perspective of the events. In addition, she will talk to people who knew the two Popes about who they were and what they were like and how people remember them.  “They’ll be lots of personal stories, stories of healings of all types including spiritual healings,” she said.
 
Many of EWTN’s radio managers from across the U.S. will also be interviewed. You can also expect a visit from British Journalist Joanna Bogle, whose EWTN television special “In the Footsteps of John Paul the Great,” takes viewers through the streets and villages where young Karol Wojtyla played, studied, and hid from the Nazis.
 
EWTN Rome Bureau Chief Joan Lewis, who received much acclaim from EWTN’s viewers for her knowledgeable commentary during the transition time between Pope Benedict and the election of Pope Francis, will once again regale listeners with her insider’s knowledge of the lives and works of the Popes and their lives.
 
Among her guests will be Pope John XXIII’s secretary, 98-year-old Cardinal Loris Capovilla, and she will get the inside perspective of a Swiss Guard. She will also share many exclusive photos, including one she took herself during a 1961 audience! Joan’s shows will also air live at 10 a.m. ET, Friday, April 25, and 10 am. ET, Saturday, April 26.
 
The programs above may be listened to live via streaming audio on the Internet (http://origin.ewtn.com/audiovideo/index.asp), shortwave (http://www.ewtn.com/radio/freq.htm), EWTN mobile (http://www.ewtnapps.com/), on the EWTN Radio Network via our affiliates, (http://www.ewtn.com/radio/radioaffiliatemap), on SiriusXM satellite radio channel #130 (http://www.sirius.com/ewtn), or on iHeartRadio (www.ewtn.com/radio).
 
EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 33rd year, is available in over 230 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM & FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website www.ewtn.com, electronic and print news services, and publishing arm, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world.
 

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Books Read in the Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

"Marion Howard or Trials and Triumphs" #
by May Ramsay
[Catholic fiction]
(free Google book)
"Love God And Do What You Please"
by St. Alphonsus Liguori
adapted by M. J. Huber
[spiritual reading]
{Sunday books}

Bible books(s) read this week:
"Sirach"


"I Met a Boy I Used to Know"
{carried over from last week}
"Angel in Heavy Shoes"
by Lenora Mattingly Weber
[YA fiction]
  
"Pride and Prejudice" #
by Jane Austen
[fiction]
{carrying over into next week}

"Pies and Prejudice" #
by Heather Vogel Frederick
[fiction]
(Kindle book]
{carrying over into next week}


"Henry and Beezus"
"Henry and Ribsy"
"Emily's Runaway Imagination"
{carrying over into next week}
by Beverly Cleary
[children's fiction]
(openlibrary.org loans)

Once again, I'm juggling books!  I have three carry-overs, not counting my Sunday books.



This Week's Fan Fiction

 
New chapter added.

Book Clubs.. Dislike 'Em, Love 'Em

    I dislike, and also love, book clubs.   I dislike the type of book clubs where, once you join, 
you are obligated to buy a certain number of books a year... and if the brochure is delayed in 
the mail, you could wind up with a book you either already have, or do not want.
( Sidenote: School book clubs, where the students get the brochures in class, and only receive the books they actually order, are another matter.  I remember getting quite a few good books that way.)

I love the kind of book clubs where people meet, either in person or online, to discuss books.  
Some of these clubs are unofficial, local and intimate, and the members all know each other. 
These clubs often focus on one author or theme each year.

There are many official book clubs, with national, or even international, memberships.  It is not possible for all of the members to know each other, although some
do manage to get in touch via the Internet. 
This year, I became member of two of these clubs:
The Betsy-Tacy Society
[Joined on February 24th]
[Joined on April 11th]

In addition to actual book clubs, there are books about book clubs, such as the "Mother-Daughter Book Club"  series, by Heather Vogel Frederick.  
[As of this posting, I'm enjoying the fourth book in the series, "Pies and Prejudice." I'm also reading the book the MDBC is reading, which is, of course, "Pride and Prejudice."   
That's one of the books I always meant to read, but somehow never got around to until now.]

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Throwback Thursday

Sitting on the Stoop

I remember sitting on the stoop (actually just a long, low, red step) in front of my old apartment building:
Reading comic books.
Eating ices.
Listening to the radio.
Eating David's Pumpkin Seeds (the shells were covered with salt; they were more salt than seed!)
Talking with my friends,
Eating Button Candy (and getting paper in my mouth every time!)
Not all at the same time, of course!

Originally posted on November 23, 2011

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

EWTN To Air Divine Mercy Events On Same Day “Mercy Pope” Will Be Canonized


Irondale, AL – If not for the support of soon-to-be St. John Paul II, the Divine Mercy devotion might never have been officially approved by the Catholic Church. It is fitting, therefore, that the late Pope, also known as the Mercy Pope, not only be canonized on this feast day, but that EWTN Global Catholic Network broadcast events celebrating the Feast of Divine Mercy from the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass., official promoters of the Divine Mercy message.
 
Join more than 20,000 people on the grounds of the Shrine and millions more who will follow the Divine Mercy Celebration and more on EWTN. 
 
This year’s lineup includes:
  • “Divine Mercy Preview Show:” The theme for this year’s program, hosted by Fr. Michael Gaitley, MIC, and Fr. Joseph Roesch, MIC, is “Mercy in Action.” Learn how Popes John Paul II and John XXIII lived mercy and how you can too. The program airs live atnoon ET, Sunday, April 27, from the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass., with an encore at midnight.
  • “Mass & Celebration of Divine Mercy:” Airs live from the National Shrine of Divine Mercy at 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, April 27, with an encore at 1 a.m. ET, Monday, Sept. 28.
  • “Divine Mercy Holy Hour:” Airs live from the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Ala. at 4 p.m. ET, Sunday, April 27, with encores at 3:30 a.m. ET, Thursday, May 12 p.m. ET, Friday, May 2.
  • “Living Mercy:” Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church's amazing impact on the Baton Rouge, Louisiana community, through their devotion to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and especially their annual Lenten Novena, which draws Catholics and even non-Catholics by the thousands. This half-hour program airs 5 p.m. ET, Sunday, April 27.
Learn more about the Divine Mercy Devotion at http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/index.htm.
 
The programs above may be watched or listened to live on EWTN television by cable or satellite (www.ewtn.com/channelfinder), streaming audio or video on the Internet (http://origin.ewtn.com/audiovideo/index.asp), shortwave (http://www.ewtn.com/radio/freq.htm), EWTN mobile (http://www.ewtnapps.com/), on the EWTN Radio Network via our affiliates, (http://www.ewtn.com/radio/radioaffiliatemap), on SIRIUS satellite radio channel #130 (http://www.sirius.com/ewtn), or on iHeartRadio (www.ewtn.com/radio) , as well as on EWTN’s own YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/ewtn).


I will be watching!

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Baby Charged With Attempted Murder

Yep!  You read that right!
Now, this is one of the weirdest, craziest, most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!  It's also very frightening.  What kind of mentality, what kind of mindset could even THINK of including a nine-month-old baby in a crowd of rock-throwers?
I'm glad that the officer who made the charge has been suspended without pay.  That baby probably (did I say
"probably?") has more sense than he does!

Update

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Sunday Snippets-- A Catholic Carnival

Well, here it is time once more for Sunday Snippets ! Thanks to RAnn for hosting!  I've discovered some wonderful blogs here.  How about sharing yours? 



Books Read in the Past Week

Books read for the first time are marked with a #

"Marion Howard" #
by May Ramsay
[fiction]
(free Google book)
{Sunday Book}

  
"Dear Pen Pal" #
by Heather Vogel Frederick

[fiction]

(Kindle book]

{carried over from last week} 



"Richie Rich Digest Winners"

[comic digest]

(openlibrary.org loan)

"The Secret Language"

by Ursula Nordstrom
[children's fiction]
(openlibrary.org loan)

"N 2 Deep" 

by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton
"Please Reply!"
by Dandi Daley Mackall
"4Give  & 4Get"
by Kristi Holl
( todays.girls.com series, created by Terry K. Brown;
children's fiction, Christian, [Protestant, denomination
not specified] )

"Just Patty" #

by Jean Webster
[fiction]
(read online, free)

"Truly Elizabeth"

by Edna Weiss
[children's fiction]

"Henry Huggins"

by Beverly Cleary
[children's fiction]
(openlibrary.org loan)

"A New and Different Summer"
"I Met a Boy I Used to Know"
{carrying over into next week}
by Lenora Mattingly Weber

[YA fiction]


I know this looks like a long list, but many of the books on it are children's books, and quick reads.

Memorizing Bible Verses

This is adapted, and very much expanded, from a post in one of my old blogs.


I loved the tv show "The Waltons", but I didn't agree, and still don't agree, with the way Olivia sometimes punished her children by making them memorize Bible verses. IMO, the Bible should NOT be used for punishment.

As for having children memorize Bible verses, that, in itself, is a good practice, especially if the parents also learn new verses.  For example,there is the following sentence in "The Long Winter," by Laura Ingalls Wilder:
First Grace, then Carrie, then Laura and Mary, and Ma repeated their verses.

When should children begin memorizing Bible verses?  Please keep in mind that I'm no expert, but I believe that they can start learning them at a very early age, before they are aware that they are learning Bible verses.
Simply repeat several "child friendly" verses as a matter of course, just as you would repeat, let us say, "Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?"
By the time the child is old enough to understand the words, those Bible verses will have become loved and familiar, in good part because your child will associate them with a voice that is loved and familiar... your voice.


Thursday, April 3, 2014

Throwback Thursday

Connecting a Picture and a Quote




I always connect this Garth Williams illustration from Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder with these words from Walden, by Henry David Thoreau:
"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."
If Laura Ingalls, at the age she was in the picture, had heard that quotation, I'm sure she would have agreed perfectly!


Originally posted on July 29, 2012

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.c...