The House of God

Tomorrow, my sweet baby, we will go to the house of God.  Because it is the house of God, I will wear a pretty skirt and shirt, and my Sunday shoes, and a chapel veil.  Because it is the house of God, I will dress you in a pretty dress, and your daddy will wear a coat and tie.  Because people are there to pray in the house of God, we will be quiet in church.  When you are happy and start to coo, even though I am glad you are happy, I will say, "shh" instead of striking up a conversation with you like I would at home.  This is not our house; it is the house of God.

7 Quick Takes (vol. 4)

1.  I'm trying to remember to pray the Angelus morning, noon, and evening.  (post ideas about reminding myself)

2.  My baby has apparently decided that the carseat is a good place to poop.  Since the episode last Saturday, she has done it several more times, including one that necessitated changing a diaper in the cemetery.

3.  I love this post from Testosterhome.  I have had similar experiences recently; when I finally buckle down and clean up the clutter that has been bothering me, it makes me happy to look at it for several days.  Amazingly, this seems to spill over into every part of my life, making me generally more cheerful, patient, and mindful of things that need to be done.

4.  We had tuna salad sandwiches last night for dinner, even though it wasn't Friday.  Tonight will probably be some sort of beans and rice concoction.  When I get that perfected, I'll post my recipe for that as well.

5.  I've been thinking about good example.  How do I teach my child to pray if she doesn't see and hear me do so?  Better pray.  Out loud.  Every day.   How do I teach her to eat well?  I guess I should eat better myself.  And the list goes on.  I will be posting more about this later.

6.  Happy Name Day (yesterday), Charlotte at Waltzing Mathilda!  One of my names is also a derivative of Charles, and although my parents had no such thing in mind when naming me (I am a convert), I claim Charles Borromeo as a patron as well.

7. This is what I do while standing up rocking my baby until she falls deeply asleep enough so that I can put her in her crib.  It sure makes five minutes go by faster.

Find more Quick Takes at Conversion Diary

Friday Recipes

On all the Fridays of the year, we abstain from meat.  We do this because it is a penitential day.  According to Canon Law: 

Can. 1250   All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the universal Church.  

Can. 1251  Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities.

The USCCB has allowed for some other form of penance to be substituted on the Fridays outside of Lent, but "give first place to the abstinence from flesh meat."

So here's one of our favorite meatless recipes:

Anne's Tuna Salad Sandwiches
2 5-oz. cans of tuna
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon mustard
2 Tablespoons Tiger Sauce
Flake tuna, and stir in other ingredients.  Serve on bread for sandwiches. 

This serves two adults for dinner.

Angelus

Here's another indulgenced prayer that takes about a minute to say.  Traditionally, the angelus is said at 6 am, 12 noon, and 6 pm, and a partial indulgence is granted to those who recite it at any or all of these times.  I realized today that I am generally holding a baby and walking around at all three of these times, so a memorized prayer would be really easy to do at those times.

Here's the text of the prayer in Latin:

     V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ.
     R. Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto.
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostræ. Amen.
     V. Ecce Ancilla Domini.
     R. Fiat mihi secundum Verbum tuum.
Ave Maria...
     V. Et Verbum caro factum est.
     R. Et habitavit in nobis.
Ave Maria...
     V. Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genetrix.
     R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.
     Oremus: Gratiam tuam quæsumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde; ut qui, angelo nuntiante,
Christi Filii tui Incarnationem cognovimus, per passionem eius et crucem, ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

And here is the prayer in English:

     V.  The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
     R.  And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.  Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.  Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.  Amen.
     V.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
     R.  Be it done to me according to thy word.
Hail Mary ...
     V.  And the Word was made flesh.
     R.  And dwelt amongst us.
Hail Mary ...
     V.  Pray for us, O holy mother of God.
     R.  That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
     Let us pray.  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

All Souls Daybook

Outside my window ...
it's a grey, stormy day today.

I am hearing ...
raindrops hitting the windows. 

I am thinking ...
about the holy souls in purgatory and the church's very generous rules for gaining a plenary indulgence on their behalf during this week after the Feast of All Saints.

I am praying ...
to Our Lady of Prompt Succor.

I am thankful ...
that our priest has decided to have an extraordinary form Mass today.

From the kitchen ...
just sandwiches for dinner tonight.  After the extra effort to get the baby ready and rehearse the music, and then sing the propers of the Requiem Mass, and then take care of the baby again, and then stop by the cemetery on the way home, we were exhausted.  So we had sandwiches and rested.

I am wearing ...
black for All Souls.

I am reading ...
Guiding your Catholic Preschooler.  I'm not sure about this one yet.  Maybe it's just that I've only ever been a Catholic adult, so I'm having trouble seeing the Catholic faith through the eyes of a small child.

A picture thought I am sharing ...

more Daybooks

Feast of All Saints

O almighty, everlasting God, who hast granted us to venerate in one solemnity the merits of all thy saints; we beseech thee, that as our intercessors are multiplied, thou wouldst bestow upon us the desired abundance of thy mercy. 
               Collect from the Feast of All Saints

With so many to pray for us, let us not forget to pray for the dead.  All this week (November 1st through 8th), "a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted to the faithful who ... devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, if only mentally, for the departed."  (from the current Manual of Indulgences)  It is also necessary to be free from attachment to any sin, receive a sacramental confession, communion, and pray for the intentions of the Pope. 

The document The Gift of the Indulgence states that it is sufficient to have made a sacramental confession "within several days (about 20)" before or after doing the prescribed work.  This is much more generous than the old requirement of "within the octave" and this permission is still in effect (not only for the Jubilee year).

Since the church is so generous, let us not fail to send this abundance of mercy to the aid of the poor souls in purgatory.

Christ the King

Almighty everlasting God, who in thy beloved Son, King of the whole world, didst will to restore all things:  grant in thy mercy, that all kindreds of the nations, torn asunder by the wound of sin, may be subjected to the sweet yoke of his rule. 
                        -- Collect from the Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King

Bind up the wounds of the church militant, O almighty and everlasting God, that she may continue to fight the good fight and bring the Gospel to every corner of the world.  Perfect her in holiness, that she may assist the suffering souls, and together with them and all the saints who have gone before be united to her King in triumph.