Coucoumellisms

I'm playing in a volleyball tournament tomorrow, so I won't be able to make it to mass. I went today at 4:30 pm, after Dominic's soccer game. I didn't make it to Holy Communion though, for two reasons. 1. My kids were so disruptive, and sometimes I had to grab one while I was still holding on to another, to make them stay put or behave. I was certainly in no spiritual readiness to receive Jesus. I always hesitate in times like those though, because I don't know if, out of respect when I am just so darn mad, I should refrain from receiving Holy Communion, or if it is the devil attacking me at that precise moment when I am feeling out of sorts and need Holy Communion the most, and making me feel I should not go. 2. The choir did that unorthodox thing again, where they sing the whole first part of the Eucharistic Prayer except for the words of Jesus which they let the priest say. The Instruction Redemptionis Sacrementum has this to say, in Chapter Three : [52.] The pr

This is my favourite saint - It is is feast day today. Jean-Alexandre is named for him. Dominic is named for Dominic Savio who went to the school for boys that John Bosco opened. I have always liked St John Bosco, and since working with Salesians in a home for street kids in Paraguay, I appreciate him even more. An amazing Saint! This doesn't even begin to tell it... he's also one of the incorruptables. ST. JOHN BOSCO John Bosco was born in Turin, Italy, on August 16, 1815. His parents were poor farmers. When John was two, his father died. John's mother struggled to keep the family together. As soon as he was old enough, John, too, worked as hard as he could to help his mother. He was intelligent and full of life. John started to think about becoming a priest. He didn't say anything to his mother because he knew they couldn't afford the seminary education. Besides, his mother needed help at home. So John waited and prayed and hoped. Finally, a holy priest, St. J

From Gerard Manly Hopkins, that my grade eleven English teacher, Mr. Maclean, had me discover... Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918. Pied Beauty GLORY be to God for dappled things— For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings; Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough; And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim. All things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?) With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him. I like his style. It's different. And the way he uses words or turns father into a verb... The Windhover To Christ our Lord I CAUGHT this morning morning’s minion, king- dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding High there, how he rung upon the rein of

I think I signed on to this Care2 newsletter because they had something to do with human rights somewhere... but since then I have been receiving e-mails like the following: Hello Jeanne, Last week, the U.S. state of Alaska announced its plans to challenge the federal decision to protect Cook Inlet beluga whales under America's Endangered Species Act in court. America's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service declared the whales, with a population of roughly 300, an endangered species in October 2008. Express your disappointment by signing the petition letter to Alaska's Governor, Sarah Palin >> The state of Alaska is well known for its amazing wildlife and stunning natural beauty. But scientists have determined that if nothing is done, these magnificent whales that may have once numbered as many as 1,300 are headed toward extinction. You may recall Governor Sarah Palin's now-famous words, "Drill, baby drill!" spoken durin

I have always liked poetry, and just thought I would share some here: The Road not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Copyright © 1962, 1967, 1970 by Leslie Frost Ballantine. Robert Frost on his own poetry:" One stanza of 'The Road Not Taken' was written while I was sitting on a sofa in

You know, I've never read any of his writings. I know it's good stuff. But I've also heard it's pretty heavy stuff. Maybe I should try it anyway... ST. THOMAS AQUINAS Thomas lived in the thirteenth century. He was the son of a noble family of Italy. He was very intelligent, but he never boasted about it. He knew that his mind was a gift from God. Thomas was one of nine children. His parents hoped that he would become a Benedictine abbot some day. The family castle was in Rocca Secca, just north of Monte Cassino where the monks lived. Thomas was sent to the abbey for schooling when he was five. When he was eighteen, he went to Naples to finish his studies. There he met a new group of religious men called the Order of Preachers. Their founder, St. Dominic, was still living. Thomas knew he wanted to become a priest. He felt that he was called to join these men who would become known in popular language as "Dominicans." His parents were angry with him. When he

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/01/26/lorne-gunter-an-endeless-repetition-of-the-same-mistakes.aspx 'The lives of Indians are hugely governed by law, to a degree that would surely be unacceptable in the mainstream." In that one line, perhaps, is captured the spirit of Gordon Gibson's remarkable new book A New Look at Canadian Indian Policy: Respect the Collective --Promote the Individual. The weight of the Indian Act -- a piece of legislation more than a century old in its basic precepts -- bows the legs and strains the backs of natives on an almost daily basis. It governs everything from their relationship with Ottawa to their right to own property to the very definition of who is an Indian. (By some estimates, Gibson points out, there are as many as 750,000 Canadians -- in addition to the 750,000 who already have Indian legal status -- who would claim it if the law provided a more inclusive definition.) Were your life and mine so defined

... or rather, the lack of one. Oh and on arguing with people who must always be right, no matter what... I got myself into some political discussion this morning. Not because I wanted to. I didn't. Political discussions with said person don,t always go over so well. He made a comment, more than one in fact, and eventually, instead of pretending I hear nothing I had to add my two-cents worth. It started off with Harper being compared to Bush. As in he wants to go to war. A quick reminder to the person that the LIBERAL governement sent the Canadian soldiers to Afghanistan in the first place. So he made some comment about comments Harper has made about how Israel should be able to attack anyone they please. Ummm, yeah... that is most likely the telephone game version of Harper saying "Israel should be able to defend itself" which is a common conservative view. One that I don't necessarily agree or disagree with. But I've been into that already. We got on the subject

1. Why is it that you can take a sleeping 3 year old out of his carseat, put him into the stroller, walk around with him, put him back into his carseat, and back into the stroller again, and back into the carseat, drive home, take him out, bring him in, take off his boots, all without him making a peep. But as soon as you try to lay him down in his bed, he wakes up and resists? Perhaps the answer is to be had in the very sleepy but plaintive voice I heard this morning when I tried putting him to bed. "You will leave me." The child knows, darn it. As long as he is in a carseat or a stroller, I am nearby. Put him in bed, and I will go off to the next room and busy myself there. Even asleep he knows this. ******************** 2. Why does Barbie have hair so thick that if she were alive she wouldn't be able to put two hands around her ponytail, while I am stuck with hair so thin, my pinkie finger can easily wrap itself around the ponytail? Life is NOT fair. *****************

Just got this in my e-mail: Hours ago, President Obama signed executive orders to close Guantánamo Bay and end the use of torture. This is amazing news -- first that it happened at all, but secondly that it happened so quickly. This would never have happened without your hard work. You deserve enormous credit for today’s actions. Your tireless campaigning built pressure that couldn’t be ignored. Almost 150,000 of you signed the tearitdown.org petition. Thousands visited last year’s Guantánamo Cell Tour. And several hundred of you met face to face with government officials just this past year. You should be of proud of your accomplishment today. There are some important concerns however about the executive orders: There is potentially a year-long review before detainees know their fate. This timeline should be expedited whenever prudent and possible. There is no commitment to accept any detainee into the U.S., something Amnesty International has called for. Without this, other countrie

Lorne Gunter, National Post Editorial Page, Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Well, at least Barack Obama doesn't have that goofy, Gomer Pyle grin on his face the way George W. Bush did every time he made an important speech. Mr. Bush often had serious things to say and sometimes said them very well. His Sept. 20, 2001, address to Congress -- "you are with us or you are with the terrorists" -- is a case in point. (Umm, I beg to differ... I believe that was a bit extreme myself. I don't believe that it was so black or white. Jeanne) Still, Mr. Bush frequently had a tough time getting listeners to believe he was taking important subjects seriously because of his infuriating cat-that-swallowed-the-canary smirk. By contrast, Mr. Obama can deliver a stem-winder with all the gravitas and pace it deserves ... perfectly punctuated ... by poignant ... pauses. So powerful are his oratorical skills, it's easy to imagine him prompting swells of patriotic pride in a fast food worke

It all started with an e-mail from my sister Rose Anne, saying that she wanted to visit a friend in Montreal on the week-end of the 17, and asking if she could come stay with us. Now there is nothing suspicious about Rose Anne coming to stay with us, although I was pleasantly surprised that she was coming back so soon after the last time. (Christmas) So I thought nothing of it, not even after Marc told me we couldn't switch ice-fishing to that weekend because he already had something. He wouldn't tell me what. Okay, fine, whatever. It was when I got another e-mail from Rose Anne, telling me she'd call as soon as she knew what time she would be arriving, that something suddenly clicked in my brain. She's coming on the very same weekend that Marc had something planned that he wouldn't tell me about? That was the first time I thought maybe, whatever it was, included me too. I went to get some gin a few days before Rose Anne was to arrive, and called Marc asking if he w

Affirms That War Zone Is Contrary to Human Dignity ROME, JAN. 9, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- Cardinal Renato Martino says his comment Wednesday that compared the Gaza Strip to a "big concentration camp" cannot be interpreted as anti-Israeli, after certain Jewish leaders protested the reference. Some media reports said the cardinal, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and his comparison could have compromised Benedict XVI's trip to the Holy Land planned for May. Commentators agree, however, that that trip is perhaps already on shaky ground, considering the continuing bloodshed in the area. But Cardinal Martino told the Italian daily "La Repubblica," which first reported the comparison, that the situation in the Gaza Strip is indeed "horrible," and "contrary to human dignity."He said to journalist Marco Politi, "I say that the conditions people are living in there should be looked at: surrounded by a wall that is difficult

First, I received these lovely flowers from my bestest neighbour. Well, technically, they were for the whole family, but whatever... Then I got a card, thanking me for things I've done for him, with a check for a lot more than whatever it cost me to do it, and him insisting I use it to treat myself. My mother-in-law gave us money, as she does every year, and as usual, we divide it up among the children and us. I get part of this, and I usually use it to treat myself, versus putting it into the account for paying bills as I used to do. My sister gave me not one but three gifts this year at Christmas... I'm feeling more than a little spoiled. I am so infinitely grateful for friends and family. First of all, I absolutely adore my mother-in-law. We get along really well, and she has never been anything but supportive, never saying we have too many kids or making comments about how we bring them up ar anything, unlike other mother-in-laws from hell that I have heard of. My bestest n

According to this interesting (albeit sometimes confusing) article: http://www.itsonlysteam.com/articles/landscheidt_minimum_part2.html , we are now at the end of an interglaciation period of an ice age. The period when the ice cover recedes. Any time between now and the next 800-1000 years, we should be entering the next ice age, and glaciation period. And when this happens, the temperatures will drop rapidly within a few years only. That, to me, is more scary than the whole global warming conspiracy. I would much rather live on a warm planet than an extremely cold one. This also refutes the whole idea of global warming, as this whole warming up and cooling down and warming up again as already happened, a number of times, in fairly recent history... if the global warming "experts" cared to look at the evidence... I, for one, am enjoying this year's COLDER winter, having more days to skate on the pond, not having to jump on right away before it melts.... I was gettin