A Visit to Church

According to the current Manual of Indulgences, "A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, while carrying out their duties and enduring the hardships of life, riase their minds in humble trust to God and make, at least mentally, some pious invocation."

Baby and I went to church yesterday to make a visit and drop something off for the pastor.  On the way, she pooped.  She had been saving up for about twenty-four hours, so it was overwhelming.  It was on her clothes.  It was on the carseat.  It was all up her back.  I changed her diaper on the back seat of the car, and used every wipe I had to clean things up as well as I could.  Then I closed the diaper, but it seems I closed it too tightly, becuase the poo came oozing out -- on the car seat, on the floor, on the container of wipes ...
So anyway I had one wipe left, reserved to "wash" my hands, so I wrapped everything up in the changing pad and wiped up as much of the rest of the mess as I could, and we went to make our visit.  By this time the church door was locked, but we could see into the church, so I pointed out Jesus in the tabernacle to my baby, and we said an Our Father, and went on our way.

In the morning before all this I made a general intention to gain all the indulgences I could for the holy souls in Purgatory.  So.  I gained an indulgence for all this, right?

7 Quick Takes (vol. 3)

1.  Apparently the devil has no knees.  "... there is a story that comes from the sayings of the Desert Fathers, according to which the devil was compelled by God to show himself to a certain Abba Apollo.  He looked black and ugly, with frighteningly thin limbs, but, most strikingly, he had no knees.  The inability to kneel is seen as the very essence of the diabolical"  (Cardinal Ratzinger in The Spirit of the Liturgy).  There is a wealth of Christian culture and history in this book.

2.  I've been pondering the different ways we see God at Mass.   There are images, like the crucifix and the stations of the cross.  There are symbols, like the altar and vestments.  There are sacraments:  the Eucharist and the Priesthood.  And we are each created in the image and likeness of God.

3.  I am praying for the unity of the church.  Obviously God alone can heal a rift a thousand years old, but since the conversion of hearts in the domain of grace given by almighty God, he alone can heal the rifts in the church both old and new. 

4.  Since the unexpected death of a friend a couple weeks ago, I have a new found devotion to praying for the holy souls in purgatory, and to gaining as many indulgences as I can, both partial and plenary, for their benefit.

5.  In the pursuit of holiness in everyday things, I am gradually building small prayers into my daily routine.  This week I am working on making a morning offering.

6.  Since yesterday was the feast of Ss. Simon and Jude, a second class feast, we used the china for dinner and had dessert and coffee afterward.  Here's a picture of my pretty table:



7.  I recently found some folks who explain very well the reasons for wearing a chapel veil.  It seems it is more fashionable these days to call them mantillas these days. So I ask...

more Quick Takes at Conversion Diary

Daybook for the feast of Ss. Simon and Jude

Outside my window...
hot and muggy.  Apparently I just thought autumn had arrived around here.

I am listening to ...
Bach.  Specifically the Brandenburg Concertos.  Classical music seems to make my baby happy.

I am thinking...
about all the ways we see God.

I am praying ...
the blessings before and after meals, and making a morning offering.

I am thankful...
for a baby who can spend an hour awake at church during Exposition, and make just enough baby noises that everyone there knows there is a baby in the room, and yet not so much as to be a disruption.

From the kitchen...
Chocolate cherry cake!  It's my very first attempt at a layer cake, and I only made a slight mess of it.

Living the liturgical year at home...
It's a second class feast today, so we will be using the china and having dessert and coffee after dinner.  It's not much, but it's the beginning of a habit of marking the major feast days of the year.

I am creating...
a Christmas dress for my baby.  Considering the length of time it took to make the last one, I think I'd better get started.

The baby will be wearing...
her new dress this Saturday when we go to a special brunch.

I am reading...
Guiding your Catholic Preschooler by Kathy Pierce and Lori Rowland.  I think it's going to be a quick read.
Pondering these words...
"I shall never forget the devotion and heartfelt care with which my father and mother made the sign of the Cross on the forehead, mouth, and breast of us children when we went away from home ...  I believe that this blessing which is a perfect expression of the common priesthood of the baptized, should come back in a much stronger way into our daily life and permeate it with the power of the love that comes from the Lord."
                                    -- Cardinal Ratzinger in The Spirit of the Liturgy

One of my favorite things...
Lemon curd.  I'm still enjoying it.

A picture thought I am sharing...

from The Simple Woman's Daybook

Wordless Wednesday

Finally finished.

Wordless Wednesday

Indulgences

I just learned yesterday that one of the things I do every day can gain a partial indulgence:  say the blessings before and after meals.  If you say both the blessing before meals and the blessing after meals as a pair and make the intention to gain the indulgence, then you can gain a partial indulgence. 
Find them in English and Latin here.

Morning Offering

One habit I have never acquired since becoming Catholic is that of saying a morning offering prayer every morning.  Since this is a habit I would like to teach my children, I need to cultivate it in myself.  Because at this season of my life I stagger out of bed in the morning to go change and feed the baby, I need to associate this prayer with the act of changing the morning's first diaper.

Here's how I'm going to do this:

I've written the prayer large enough that I can read it from across the room.  This way, I can read the prayer either while I'm changing a diaper or after sitting down to nurse.

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer Thee all my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Thy Sacred Heart, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all our associates, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father.

22nd Sunday after Pentecost

O God, our refuge and our strength, give ear to the holy prayers of thy Church, O thou, the author of holiness; and grant, that what we ask with faith, we may effectually obtain. 
                     Collect from the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

Let us ask with faith that which is consonant with holiness.  May God grant that all our Christian bretheren may be united in the fullness of one faith in one fold.  As the Gradual says:  Behold, how good and pleasant it is for bretheren to dwell together in unity!