10 Favorite Posts, The 2012 Edition

January 1 will be the fourth anniversary of this blog.  This past year has been a light one, as my posts have been particularly few and far between.  I expect this will be the case for quite a while, at least until the school year ends in June.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  We had a busy, but quiet, one here at home (Relatively quiet, that is, considering we had twelve people here including one AMAZING AND ADORABLE three-week-old baby plus two dogs), and I spent the day after Christmas doing literally nothing.  The next few days will be busier; you'll find me grocery shopping, cleaning up from Christmas, and catching up on some mundane tasks I've been putting off since before Thanksgiving.

We've seen our new nephew twice now since he was born in early December.   His mommy, my sister-in-law Jenn, has a wonderful blog called The Cookie Jar Adventures where she has been posting lots of cute photos and video of "Baby E."  Yesterday we got to spend some time playing with him, watching him wiggle, holding him, and taking some family photos with him.  Jenn posted some of their photos and memories of E's first Christmas here!  I can't wait until we see them again!

Last year around this time I published a list of my ten favorite posts of 2011.  Since 2012 has been a light blogging year (I've posted nothing since the tragic shooting in Connecticut, for instance; I've kind of been at a loss for words on that one), in the spirit of Seven Quick takes I figured I'd choose only seven of my faves from this year.  When I came up with eight and didn't want to eliminate one, I thought, oh heck, surely I can find two more good ones.   Here they are, in chronological order (click on the title to read each post):

--1--

7 Takes, 7 Choices, The 2012 Edition

Each year on January 22, Jill Stanek invites prolife bloggers to ask, "What exactly do you mean by choice?"  This was my seven-part question.


--2--

Get Thee To the Church:  St. Stephen Martyr, Washington, DC

In which Joe and I spend a night on the town, and enjoy Mass and a pretty spring walk the next morning.


--3--

Take a walk down this Broken Path

In which I, somewhat reluctantly, review a book and learn a little something in the process.


--4--

Get Thee To the Woods: A Couple of Blacksburg Parks

I like to blog about our adventures in the out-of-doors; here we explore two parks while visiting my parents for Easter.


--5--

Today

I picked this one because it was the last day of CCD classes last spring, and I really miss teaching CCD! (despite the fact that with so much going on in our lives, not teaching has been kind of nice, too)


--6--

The Marvelous Gift of...well...

Possibly my most bizarre post ever.  But there are lots of pretty pictures, and links to some cool animal sounds.  Besides, I had fun posting it.  So there.


--7--

Friendship. Loss. Rock and Roll. Gavin DeGraw. And Rick Springfield.

Mostly Gavin DeGraw.  In which I act like a teenager one memorable evening.


--8--

7 Long Days: The Alaska Edition

Lots of photos of our summer vacation.  You'd be hard-pressed to find prettier scenery, and I expect it will be quite a while before we go anywhere like this again.


--9--

Get Thee To the Church:  Immaculate Conception, Fairbanks, Alaska

The first place we went after arriving in Alaska.  Possibly the prettiest little church in the 49th state.  One of the oldest, anyway.


--10--

A Visit to Monticello:  Life, Slavery, and the Pursuit of Religious Freedom.

In which we spend a wonderful day with my parents at Thomas Jefferson's home, and I share some random thoughts.

My apologies for not including any posts this year from my other blog, Cooking Nick's Books; for one thing,  I've all but abandoned it (temporarily, I hope), plus I'm hoping to publish another "7 Quick Takes" over there highlighting some of my favorite posts (and if I can't find 7 good ones from this year, perhaps I'll include some earlier ones, too).  Maybe that will motivate me to jump-start that one again, and maybe chew on some ideas to make it better.

UPDATE:  Done.  Read it here.

Merry Christmas, and many blessings for the coming year!

And for more Quick Takes, visit Jenn's Conversion Diary blog.  And be sure to read her post; you'll laugh your head off!  Have a wonderful Last Weekend of 2012!

A Visit to Monticello: Life, Slavery, and the Pursuit of Religious Freedom

Monticello called us.

It was Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.  The weather was beautiful, I hadn't been to Thomas Jefferson's home in years, and the boys had never seen it.   My parents were visiting, and it was their suggestion and their treat.  (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)

The tour guide (Oh, sorry, docent) said something that gave me pause:  When Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, he stated that we are given (I don't think she mentioned God or the Creator, come to think of it) specific rights, including liberty; but that ironically, he owned slaves.  I resisted the temptation to point out that the first right he mentioned was life, and wasn't it ironic that we now allow the rampant killing of unborn children in the womb, and act as though it's another inalienable right?

I was thinking about that again this morning.  I realized that back in Jefferson's day, slaves were considered non-persons, and that's how people justified the buying and selling them as personal property and treating them however they pleased.   Nowadays, we know better.  In 1973 the Supreme Court decided that unborn children were non-persons and therefore can be disposed of as a piece of unwanted garbage.  We are right 

back where we started, it seems to me.

On our way out we stopped by Thomas Jefferson's grave.  When I read the inscription on the tombstone ("Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia") I realized I was standing on sacred ground.  Even though Jefferson's religious views were a little bit unconventional--I'm told he wrote his own version of the Bible that eliminates all references to Jesus' miracles and makes no mention of anything supernatural--he understood the importance of our right to practice our religion without interference from the government.

...Almighty God hath created the mind free;

That all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and therefore are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, who being Lord, both of body and mind yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as was in his Almighty power to do,

That the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time; 

That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical...

(Source:  Wikipedia.  Emphasis mine.)

Jefferson noted that we are to be free to exercise our faith without coercion, without ridicule, without the threat of being sued, and without having to pay any taxes or penalties.  

Standing there I thought of the HHS mandate that forces employers to pay for contraceptives and abortifacient drugs even when it violates their religious beliefs.   I wonder how Thomas Jefferson would feel to see the United States government giving faithful Christians and Catholics the finger.  I think he would weep.

(P.S.  I may not be using Blogger much longer.  When I went to upload my photos I was informed that I'd used up all my space on their photo sharing site, and if I wanted more I'd have to pay $2.99 a month.  Since I'm a cheapskate and this blog generates zero income for me, I'm not willing to do that.  I deleted quite a number of photos that I'd published on older posts, and that seemed to do the trick--we'll see if they're also deleted from the posts--but at some point I will run out of space again.  Wordpress is looking quite attractive today.  I'll keep you posted...)

7 Quick Takes, The Sunday Edition

--1--

I've been trying to put my thoughts into words over the last week and a half since the election.  I pound away at my keyboard and push "Delete" over and over.  How do I express my profound disappointment without sounding like a sore loser and a whiner?  How do I say that four more years of Barack Obama will turn our country on its head and it will be almost impossible to get back what the Founding Fathers gave us without sounding like an alarmist?  How do I lament the fact that so many people seem more interested in getting handouts than taking risks without sounding like a snob who doesn't care about people in need?  And how do I (finally, after four years) admit that Barack Hussein Obama is in fact anti-American, has no interest in our national security, doesn't give a crap about you or me or anyone else except himself and his own twisted agenda to make America weaker and poorer without sounding like a loony conspiracy theorist?  I've heard many conservatives rant about how people who voted for Obama are fools, crazy liberal extremists, Kool-Aid drinkers; some Catholic bishops even went so far as to imply that because of Obama's pro-abortion record, voting for him would constitute a mortal sin.  Well, I know plenty of people who support Obama, and they're not any of these things (and I'm certainly not about to point any fingers and yell "sinner" at anyone).  They are kind and generous people who, like you and me, want the best possible future for their children and our country.  We just disagree (quite strongly, to be honest) about what that might look like and who would better serve our nation.  There are certainly some raving lunatics and Kool-Aid drinkers on both sides, and I'm convinced that the results of the election (assuming there was minimal voter fraud and Obama won fair and square--although did you see this story fromPhiladelphia?) is a reflection of our culture's moving away from God and from basic moral principles and our adoption of if-it-feels-good-do-it and how-dare-you-judge-me attitudes.  If I say abortion is always wrong, I'm an extremist.  If I don't want to pay for your birth control, I don't care about women.  If I say that marriage is between one man and one woman, I'm a bigot.  Am I racist if I criticize Obama?  Most people I know wouldn't accuse me of that, but remember when Jimmy Carter said that people who were against Obama just couldn't deal with having a black man in the White House?  We have a challenging four years ahead of us, but I am not going to sit around and whine about it.  I've made a promise to myself to be more kind, more patient, and more generous.  Every day I pray for four things:  tirelessness, selflessness, wisdom, and joy.  (I don't pray for patience; that always gets me into trouble.  I figure "wisdom" is much better, don't you think?)  If we all had more of those things, how much more wonderful this world would be.

--2--

Do you know this is the Year of Faith?  Truthfully I haven't really thought much about it; other than to tell myself perhaps I should start reading the Bible daily again and pray more regularly and consistently.  I have done one thing, though:  Flocknote has a very cool way you can read the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  I have one sitting on my shelf that I've barely touched.  Well, you can sign up to receive daily emails with a little bit of the Catechism in each one, and if you keep up you'll read it all the way through in a year.  I've already fallen behind, but every few days I'll read several of them at once, so hopefully it won't get too far ahead of me.  Interested?  Go here.

--3--

Saturday I ran my first 5K.  I shouldn't say I ran it; I walked some and ran some.  I originally signed up for it because Curly and Moe are preparing to test for their black belts (hopefully in January) and they need to do some "endurance events" between now and then.  The 5K was a fundraiser for the Special Education program at the Catholic high school up the road from us; and although our kids don't attend, many of their friends do.  I figured this would be a great way for us to get out and get some exercise, give a little something for a good cause, and help the boys earn their black belts.  I even downloaded a totally boss app on my phone to help me get into a running routine, and for the last few weeks I've been pretty faithfully doing my little running/walking workout up and down the street.  (AND, I say the Rosary while I'm doing it.  That's the best part.)  As it happened, Moe came down with an upper respiratory infection this week, and although he's much better we decided he should forego the race; and Curly, well, he just decided he didn't want to do it. (He owes me $15.)   I thought seriously of skipping it altogether, but decided to go ahead and do it.  I was a little nervous not knowing what to expect, whether anyone I knew would be there, and hoping I wouldn't be the only one who would mostly be walking.  I did see a few people there I knew, and there were many people who walked the whole three miles and had a great time doing it.  I finished in a little under 44 minutes, and I think this will be the first of many 5K races I'll participate in.  Next time I'm going to drag my family with me, assuming no one is sick...

--4--

Joe got a new car last weekend.  Want to know why?  On Friday as he was turning left through an intersection a woman driving a minivan sped around a curve, ran the red light, and slammed into him.   The whole front of his car was smashed.  I'm just glad she didn't hit the driver's side door, and that no one was injured.  Now he has a 2011 Hyundai, with automatic transmission that he can take to work and Larry can learn to drive; he's already talking about the two-seater sports car he'll someday get to drive on the weekends.

--5--

And now for our family entertainment report:  Moe made all-county chorus, and he got to spend a day at one of the area high schools practicing for the concert that was held in the evening.  He stood in the front row, and you can imagine how proud it made me seeing him standing up there singing his heart out.  Last weekend (in the middle of all the excitement with the accident) Larry starred as the prince in a musical production of Cinderella.  My parents came and stayed with us for the weekend, and Joe's mom and my brother and sister-in-law spent time with us and came to the show as well.  And this week, Curly and Moe auditioned for the school production of Disney's The Little Mermaid.  Curly will play Chef Pierre, and Moe snagged the most coveted part--Sebastian the crab.  Needless to say we'll be hearing this a lot in our house these next few months:

--6--

In the past we've traditionally traveled to my or Joe's parents' house for Thanksgiving; this year I'm hosting for the first time.  Yesterday I picked up my turkey at the farmers' market (I'm told he--she?--lived a happy life on the farm until Friday morning), and today's agenda (besides Mass, of course) will be to do finalize my menu plan, make my shopping list, and do some of the cleaning around the house that I didn't do yesterday. (BAD mom, BAD!)  My dad sent me a recipe for gluten free stuffing, and I expect I'll be browsing the Internet for some more of those; and my mother-in-law has already given me lots of great advice about cooking the turkey.

When I brought home the bird yesterday I found myself talking like the Swedish Chef.  I may be doing that quite a bit this week.

--7--

Our prayers continue to be with the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  Seeing the devastation and hearing the stories of communities coming together and helping each other reminds me of how much I truly have to be thankful for. 

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, no matter who you voted for (haha) !

For more Quick Takes, visit Jenn's Conversion Diary blog.  Happy Sunday!

7 Quick Takes, Volume 44

The TV has been filled with sad news all week. First, the school shooting in Ohio; then the devastating tornadoes; not to mention the madness in Syria and our soldiers being targeted in Afghanistan. It's easy to shake our heads and ask "why?" and weep for the victims, but do we remember to pray for them?

Tonight I discovered that my clothes dryer isn't working. Normally this kind of thing would make me pull my hair out. Tonight it doesn't seem important; I can go to the laundromat, we know the dryer was on its last leg anyway, and we can afford a new one. We have our home and our family and each other. We are truly blessed.

OK, on with the Quick Takes:

--1--

Joe teased me last Friday night when he caught be blogging while he and the boys watched Star Trek on Netflix. He said he thought I was giving that up for Lent. I said no, it was Facebook and Twitter, not blogging. He said isn't it all the same thing? Maybe. But I'm learning to blog more efficiently. At least that's what I like to tell myself. (Perhaps that's why I've posted so many videos here this week, since I can't post them on those other places...)

First, some links of interest:

The new preschool where I work was featured on Monday in an article in our local newspaper. The day the photographer and reporter came to the school I had taken Curly to the orthopedist to get his cast put on his arm, so (thank goodness) there are no pictures of me.

Read this moving piece from Kathy of Faith on a High Wire blog about a recent hour she spent praying at an abortion clinic during a 40 Days for Life vigil.

The other day I made this tuna casserole. My bloggy/Twitter friend Christine posted the recipe on her blog. I modified it slightly (you can read the comment I left in her combox explaining how), and it was amazing. A quick, easy, delicious meal for Lent.

Finally, I'm sure you've all read about the fighting that's been going on here in Virginia about a bill that would require women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound first. Christina posted some interesting thoughts on her blog, Real Choice, about why she is actually against ultrasound laws, even though she is prolife; and why she feels that right-to-redress laws would be much more effective in helping women make more informed choices. Check it out!

--2--

On Saturday morning I opened up the daily email I get from 40 Days for Life during every campaign. Their post for that day features a very powerful video from a 40 Days campaign in Australia.

--3--

Did you notice what was written on the side of the medical waste truck, the one that carries the bodies of aborted children away? "Sweeney Todd." That's the name of an actual medical waste disposal company. (I don't know how on earth they came up with THAT name.) Sweeney Todd is the main character in a musical by the same name. He opens up a barber shop above a restaurant in London that serves meat pies. He has a sinister partnership with the owner of the restaurant; he regularly kills his customers who come to his shop for a haircut or a shave (usually unwanted, unloved, and homeless people who presumably would not be missed), throws them into the incinerator underneath the restaurant, and the meat pie lady cooks them and serves them to the general public. People come from all around to eat her pies, which are the best-tasting meat pies in London.

The abortion industry is like Sweeney Todd, isn't it? People posing as "doctors" lure frightened women into their shops, telling them all they're getting is a little procedure to remove some unwanted cells. Like a haircut; easy as pie. Their children are dumped into a truck to be thrown out with the garbage, the mothers walk away scarred, and folks sing the praises of these doctors who lead them to believe that they can solve any woman's problems if she'll just offer their children to him for sacrifice.

I always thought Sweeney Todd was a only dark comedy, a made-up story of a man seeking revenge. It may actually be more truthful than I realized. And maybe the company's name is supposed to imply how conveniently they get rid of all those aborted children. (Did you see how Johnny Depp just sent his victims down the chute right to his fire-y furnace?)

--4--

One of Joe's co-workers loaned him a ham radio antenna. On Saturday he rigged it to a tree, dragged his old ham radio equipment out of a basement closet, and he and Curly spent the weekend talking to other ham radio operators all over the world. Curly was in heaven. They talked to France, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Bosnia, and several U.S. states including Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Catalina Island off the coast of California. They had a long conversation with a fellow in Dallas, about how Joe had been an avid ham radio user as a teenager, this was the first time in 30 years he had operated it, and how he was introducing the hobby to his twelve- (almost thirteen) year old son. The guy congratulated them and said he guessed Joe was most likely in his early fifties (to which we suppressed the urge to burst out laughing; but truthfully he wasn't too far off the mark).

Moe took a few turns at the mic as well, but quickly lost interest. He found this strange activity immensely boring; and besides, "It's nothing but a bunch of nerds and old guys!" He's right. Joe is both.

And what better way to top off a weekend of Ham Radio Fun than by watching one of my favorite movies, Frequency?

It's amazing how young Caviezel looks in that film. He looks a little bit like Joe's brother, in fact. After the movie I told Moe I would call him on the radio after he went to sleep...and talk to him in the future! MWAHAHAHA!!!

He just rolled his eyes.

--5--

All over town I'm noticing daffodils blooming. It's too early for that. But they are beautiful.

--6--

I've been working on this post off and on all week; moving takes around, adding some, deleting some, saving some for later; I was about to hit "Publish" when I realized I didn't have a Take Number Six.

By the way, I don't know why Blogger keeps changing my font style in the middle of my posts. I don't have time nor the energy to try and fix it tonight.

--7--

I'm sure you've heard this song over and over in the last few days. It was the number one song the day I was born:

I found myself getting misty-eyed when I heard the news of Davy Jones' death on the car radio. Of course I immediately began singing the song.

I was surprised when the boys said they know who Davy Jones was. Check out this short clip from Spongebob Squarepants! (The embed is disabled on this one, unfortunately.)

Rest in peace, Davy.

Have a wonderful weekend! I think much of mine will be spent in the laundromat...

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes: Volume 41

--1--

Thanks for all the wonderful comments on my last post! It's your words of encouragement that keep me blogging. I don't write about life issues as often as I would like, and knowing that these stories have touched you all reminds me how important it is to speak up for the defenseless. Katie asked why stories like Chrisin's aren't being told, and I often wonder the same thing. I first stumbled across Christin's story on Christina Dunigan's blog, Real Choice. Each day, Christina posts stories about real women who have died at the hands of abortionists. She includes links to each one so readers can read more about them if they wish. I don't read every post (if I did I think it would depress me), but Christin's story really touched my heart. Roe v. Wade MUST be overturned. Abortion MUST be stopped.

And about the Obama administration's recent mandate for ALL employers to cover contraception and sterilization in their insurance plans, including Catholic institutions...that one was a complete jaw-dropper. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we have a President and HHS secretary who are, well, tyrants. You WILL do as we say or else. We don't care if you have religious objections. We're in charge and we make the rules so screw you. More on that later when I'm thinking more clearly.

--2--

You may or may not know this, but I have a second blog, Cooking Nick's Books. It's a food blog, based (mostly) on the bestselling novels by Nicholas Sparks. I've been neglecting that one lately (I tend to go back and forth, posting a lot on one blog and ignoring the other; recently I've been focusing more on this one), but the other day I updated it with some recipes and photos of some of the yummy delights we prepared on New Year's Eve (also Nicholas Sparks' birthday). I'd love for you to check it out! (I have three followers there, and eight through Networked Blogs, including myself. I'd love to have more...) My next post on that blog will be the lamb chop dinner I made that was, if I may say so, restaurant worthy. You don't want to miss that one. Tell your friends!

--3--

The landscaping project is finally done!

(The plants will grow bigger, of course!)

(Can you see Moe peeking at me?)

This week, they put the finishing touches on, like river rock by the steps to control the erosion, and a little natural stone wall by the lake.

--4--

I made a rather long list of New Year's resolutions this year. I am hoping to keep most if not all of them, and I want to try and to focus on certain ones every month, develop those good habits gradually so that by the end of the year I'll have accomplished most--or at least some--of those goals. In January, I've been focusing on my spiritual habits; for me this seems to be the easiest one to fulfill--getting up earlier, praying more, going to Mass more, etc. On most weekdays, I've been setting my alarm for 4:30 am(!)--on the weekends I get up only slightly later since the dog doesn't let me sleep in anyway--and spending more time in prayer and even taking the time to journal a little bit. (Although, much of that prayer is in front of my computer and with my phone in my hand--I need to move away from using technology to help me pray back to a good old-fashioned quiet corner, a Bible, and a Rosary.) I'm finding that my journaling (mostly typing my thoughts into a Word document--I do have a notebook for journaling too but I don't use it much) is giving me ideas for this blog. I have gone to some extra Masses this month, including for the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, which was a nice way to end the Christmas season. I went to confession early in January, and I hope to go once a month--which means I'll need to go sometime this week. I had hoped to read more--one spiritual and one secular book per month--and I have not met that goal, although I have been doing a little bit more reading.

In February I'm hoping to focus on my physical health--specifically to develop a consistent exercise routine--and more consistent housecleaning. We've started with a new system for doing household chores, and I'm hoping in February to really get into getting chores done so we can always be proud to open the door to people and not have to say, "sorry about the mess..." And Lent starts in February. I'm planning on giving up social networking, especially Twitter and Facebook. We'll see how that goes. I might pop in on Sundays to read a few blogs and check my Facebook news feed...and I might still tweet the daily updates from 40 Days for Life...maybe I'll temporarily delete the Twitter app from my iPad.

--5--

As a catechist, I'm supposed to make sure the kids memorize certain traditional Catholic prayers. Each year, they are given a booklet of prayers and ideally, they say these prayers regularly at home with their families, and a volunteer at church tests their knowledge of them by hearing the students recite them. (They are also expected to learn the ten commandments and the seven sacraments in second grade; and in third grade, the Rosary--all the mysteries, prayers, and the structure of the prayer.) For the last couple of years I haven't had a teaching assistant or a "prayer aide", so it's left up to me to assess the kids. I don't have time in class to test each child individually, so often I will give them a written fill-in-the-blank test. I gave them the Ten Commandments test last week, and laughed so hard reading some of them my children thought I was losing it:

"You shall not witness your neighbor's wife."

"You shall not hate your neighbor's wife."

"You shall not commit Murdery."

"You shall not covet your neighbor's husband."

"You shall not dare."

And my favorite: "Honor your mom and your dad."

I can tell that boy honors his.

--6--

I have some mixed feelings about requiring kids to memorize traditional prayers. As a convert, I have grown to love them, and certainly we need to encourage our children to learn them and pray them regularly, but sometimes I wonder if we might put too much pressure on some kids to memorize them. One year when I was an assistant catechist, it was my job to test the kids. One little girl was really struggling to learn them, and I knew that her parents spoke little English and that they went to Mass regularly. I asked the religious education director at the time if perhaps someone who was fluent in Spanish might be able to test her, because I suspected she did know some of those prayers--in Spanish. I was told that the kids needed to learn them in English, because that's the language we speak here. (That director has retired--she was and is a wonderful lady and I am in no way trying to criticize her; I honestly don't know if that was her rule, or the pastor's, or the diocese's, but I must admit I was a little disappointed for that little girl's sake.) I remember years ago in my pre-blogging, pre-social networking days having a conversation on a discussion forum with a woman who left the Catholic church because her sister, who had Down Syndrome, was denied confirmation because she hadn't memorized all the prayers. I responded to that as best I could, trying to assure her that the decision to deny confirmation to her sister was a bad one made my an unwise pastor, and that I think--I hope--most church leaders would show compassion and allow her sister to be confirmed, assuming she at least had a basic understanding of the Catholic faith and the love of Christ for her.

When I was growing up, my Sunday School teachers at my Baptist church used to encourage us to memorize certain Bible verses and passages, but I honestly don't think we were ever required to learn them. Perhaps this is why I'm not always so strict as a Catechist about memorizing the Hail Mary or the Act of Contrition or the Guardian Angel Prayer. If we pray them often enough, the kids will learn them. And some parents won't teach them the prayers whether it's on the report card or not.

What do you think, readers? How important is it, really, for the kids to memorize prayers in CCD? Should certain prayers be required before receiving First Communion, for example? Thoughts?

--7--

Last week I got an email from a writer for our diocesan newspaper. She explained that she was working on an article about moms in our diocese who have blogs, and she stumbled across mine and noticed pictures of my own church and wondered if she could call me. I emailed her my number and a link to Ginny's blog, Small Things (because Ginny has the best blog EVER--and I know many would agree, why else would she have over a thousand followers?), and said sure, but it makes me nervous! She did call me and we chatted for a little while (and then Ginny emailed me to give me a friendly scolding for calling out her blog--tee hee!), and to make a long story short, the article will hopefully be printed in next week's edition. I'm kind of excited and nervous about it at the same time; there are many people in my parish who know me but don't know I blog--and they read the diocesan paper. EEK!

I'll post a link to that article when it comes out.

Be sure to visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

7 Takes, 7 Choices, The 2012 Edition

Sunday, Janurary 22, is the 39th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, that legalized abortion in the United States. Once again, (click here to read my post from last year) the prolife activist Jill Stanek is encouraging bloggers, in response to NARAL's "Blog For Choice Day" campaign, to ask our prochoice friends: "What exactly do you mean by 'choice?' "

--1--

Once upon a time there was a girl named Christin Gilbert. She was a beautiful girl, full of smiles and laughter; and she had Down Syndrome. One day when Christin was nineteen years old, an evil man decided to have his way with her, and she became pregnant. We don't know why Christin's mother and father decided that her baby must not be born. Perhaps they perceived that Christin was frightened of having a baby. Perhaps they felt embarrassed and ashamed. Or perhaps the child would be born with Down's, like their daughter. Whatever the case, they took Christin on a road trip to Kansas, to a place called Women's Health Care Services. There were two nice doctors there named Dr. Tiller and Dr. Carhart who promised to take good care of Christin. It will take us a couple of days to kill your grandchild and make your daughter unpregnant, they said, so why don't you check into this nice hotel down the street and make yourselves at home? So they gave Christin some "medicine" and told her mother and father to call them in the morning.

Christin became sick; very sick indeed. Even though Christin was vomiting and bleeding heavily and passing out, her parents decided not to take her to the hospital; instead they trusted the nice doctor who told them Christin would be just fine. When Christin became unconscious and stopped breathing at the abortion clinic, Dr. Carhart and his minions--oh, sorry...nurses--shuffled Christin's parents into another room (we'll take care of her, don't you worry, it's all under control, nothing to see here), called 911, told the dispatchers a vague story about a patient who needed to go to the hospital, and asked them to please tell the ambulance driver not to turn on the lights or the siren. There is no need to make a big fuss over this.

Three days after her first visit to the clinic, Christin died of systemic organ failure. She had been bleeding from every orifice in her body.

Read the horrific details of Christin's death from a safe, legal abortion, and then tell me: Is this what you mean by "choice?"

--2--

Today in Corpus Christi, Texas, there is a fourteen-year-old girl who is pregnant. She lives (correction: used to live) with her grandmother and two of her cousins. Grandma & Co. want this girl to have an abortion, but she wants to give birth to her child. They made an appointment for her at an abortion mill, and when the young mother refused to go, they slapped her around and threatened her to get her to change her mind. She got a temporary restraining order against her oh-so-loving family, and has filed a lawsuit to try to prevent them from forcing her to kill her unborn baby.

These kinds of things are happening every day, all over these United States. Parents, family members, boyfriends, husbands, all telling their loved ones: Abort or else; you don't have a choice.

Is this what you mean by "choice?"

(CNN reports that the girl's case has now been "resolved." I would assume this means she will carry her baby to term. Let's keep this girl, her family, and her baby in our prayers!)

--3--

Last Friday, Planned Parenthood posted this on their official Twitter page:

RT [re-tweet] if you think being #prochoice is #sexy!

Telling, that. Go ahead, kids, have at it. Have as much sex as you want with whoever you want, with as many people as you want. The more the better. More sex, more unplanned pregnancies, more abortions, more money in our pockets. (Woo-Hoo!)

At least we know what Planned Parenthood means by "choice," now, don't we?

--4--

How cute is this little boy?

His name is Noah, and his parents couldn't be prouder of him. He is one of only ten percent of children with Down Syndrome to make it out of the womb alive. The other 90 percent are aborted, and we all--not just their parents--are deprived of the chance to know and love them.

When you say "choice," do you mean Noah? Or Ryan, or Melissa, or Matt? Would the world be a better place if they had been killed?

Noah's dad has a fabulous blog, where he shares adorable videos and photos, and the joys and challenges of raising a Down Syndrome baby. Check it out! (Warning: Extremely addictive!)

--5--

Thanks to the courageous efforts of people like Abby Johnson and Lila Rose, we are learning more and more about Planned Parenthood and their diabolical motives. Not long ago, Abby exposed a secret that Planned Parenthood has been guarding since 1969--a little one-page document they put out called the Jaffe Memo. Our friends at Planned Parenthood came up with a list of brilliant ideas they thought might take care of a little problem called "overpopulation." Some of their "Proposed Measures to Reduce U.S. Fertility" include (emphasis mine):

"Social Constraints," like "Restructure Family...alter image of ideal family size." "Encourage increased homosexuality." "Fertility Agents in Water Supply."

"Economic Deterrents," such as "Tax married more than single." "Reduce/Eliminate paid maternity leave or benefits." "Require women to work and provide few child care facilities." "Limit/eliminate public financed medical care, scholarships, housing loans, and subsidies to families with more than N children."

"Social Controls:" (This may be the scariest section) "Compulsory abortion for out-of-wedlock pregnancies." "Compulsory sterilization of all who have two children except for a few who would be allowed three." "Confine childbearing to only a limited number of adults."

And do these sound familiar?

"Abortion and sterilization on demand." "Allow certain contraceptives to be distributed non-medically." "Make contraception truly available to all."

There are just too many people cluttering this Earth of ours, and Planned Parenthood is willing to destroy humanity by any means necessary. (Don't believe me? See for yourself.)

Is this what you mean by "choice?"

--6--

There is an abortion facility in Richmond, Virginia called "A Capital Women's Health Clinic." They have a nice pretty website, with pictures of flowers and smiling women on every page. They use words like "caring," "safe," "confidential," and "dedicated to the health care of women."

"Great News! Low income women can now receive funding for abortion...Give us a call..." (We fight poverty by aborting the poor!)

On one page, you're given descriptions of the gentle and caring abortion services they provide, like how they use a vacuum to "empty the contents of your uterus" and things like that. They also tell you about the safe and convenient RU-486 abortion pills they hand out. Check out this wise piece of advice: "You should not choose the pill if you live with a loved one who doesn't know you are doing the abortion by pill. The symptoms you will have at home will not be ones you can hide."

In other words, if your parents don't know you're pregnant, don't have a medical abortion because they'll find out.

Would you want your daughter to have an abortion without your knowledge? Is that what you mean by "choice?"

--7--

I've saved the best for last.

LaSondra knows what Planned Parenthood means by "choice." Bravo to her for speaking the truth.

-------------------------------------------------------

To all of you who will be participating in the March for Life on Monday, as well as the many marches for the unborn across the United States in the next few days, my prayers are with you. I'm unable to attend this year, but I'll be recording the footage of the Washington, DC March and the San Francisco Walk for Life, and cheering you on from home.

Safe travels to all, and thank you for standing up for the preciousness of life.

(And be sure to visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!)

Seven Sorrows of Mary for LIfe

Since today (September 15) is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, for my Seven Quick Takes this week I want to share something I've been working on for a while now. Last spring after meeting Immaculee' Ilibagiza and reading her book, Our Lady of Kibeho, I started praying the Our Lady of Sorrows Rosary. (Mind you, I don't pray this on a regular basis like I should--Our Lady recommends every Tuesday in addition to the daily Rosary which I don't always say either--but it is a devotion I turn to every so often. Actually, I think it was when my cousin Greg died that I first started exploring the Seven Sorrows of Mary devotion as a way to pray for my Aunt A. who had lost her only son.)

Then last spring during 40 Days for Life I went over to Priests for Life's website to see if there was a pro-life meditation on the Seven Sorrows of Mary. When my friends and I pray in front of the abortion clinic in Richmond, we pray using Father Frank's pro-life mysteries; and I've seen his Stations of the Cross for life as well. I wanted some pro-life reflections on the Seven Sorrows of Mary; and when I couldn't find any of those, I decided to write some. How hard could it be?

Harder than you think. It took forever. I'll probably tweak them a few times. (And I was hoping to get them out in time for the Seven Sorrows Novena, which ended today. Or maybe yesterday, I'm not quite sure.)

PRO-LIFE MEDITATIONS ON THE SEVEN SORROWS OF MARY

(To pray the Seven Sorrows Rosary, start with the Act of Contrition, and after announcing each sorrow, pray the Our Father and seven Hail Marys.)

First Sorrow: The Prophecy of Simeon

Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms and blessed him. He told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart because of the sufferings of this child, and Mary was deeply troubled by this.

Mothers are often told that their unborn children will cause much suffering for them. They are told that their babies should die because they will be forced to quit school, because they will cause shame in their families, because the child will be poor, because the father is a criminal, because the child has an abnormality.

Pray that mothers facing pregnancy and difficult circumstances will be given the grace and courage to choose life for their babies. A sword may one day pierce her heart, but abortion forever pierces the hearts of both the mother and the baby.

Our Father... Hail Mary... (7x)

Second Sorrow: The Flight into Egypt

Mary was sorrowful when Joseph woke her and the child Jesus and immediately took them to Egypt. Herod had learned of the child and wanted him killed. Mary had to leave her home and the people she loved so that her child would be safe.

Many mothers are faced with difficult circumstances, and the pressure to abort is great. Pray that there will always be a place for a mother to go for help when she needs it. Pray for pregnancy resource centers, that they will have the support they need to help women bring their babies into the world. Pray for the establishment of new centers, and the expansion of existing ones. An unplanned pregnancy can be frightening; let us pray that help will always be available.

Our Father... Hail Mary... (7x)

Third Sorrow: The Loss of Jesus in the Temple

When Mary discovered that Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem, her heart was filled with worry. She and Joseph searched for three days, and with each passing hour they were more and more anxious. Mary could not bear to be separated from her Son.

Mary's separation from Jesus was temporary. Abortion forever separates a mother from her child. Pray that women who have had abortions will find peace and forgiveness and healing. They are permanently scarred from the choice they have made. They will never hold their children or see them grow up. May God give them peace, and the courage to help other women avoid this great sorrow and choose life.

Our Father... Hail Mary... (7x)

Fourth Sorrow: Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary

Mary followed Jesus on the Way of the Cross, as He was forced to carry the heavy Cross to his death on Calvary. She wished that she could carry it for him, but with sorrow she knew that this was God's plan. As Jesus struggled to bear the Cross--after he had already been scourged almost to the point of death--Mary sorrowfully walked by his side to comfort Him.

The cross of an unplanned pregnancy can be a tremendous burden to bear, and there can be an overwhelming temptation to abort. Pray that Mary, through the love encouragement of others, will walk beside women who are struggling with this choice, and comfort them during their difficult time. Mary knew that Jesus' suffering and death would lead to eternal life for mankind. Pray that these frightened mothers will, despite the struggles they face, choose life for their babies, and that pro-life people will give them the support and encouragement that they need.

Our Father... Hail Mary... (7x)

Fifth sorrow: Mary Stands at the Foot of the Cross

Mary couldn't bear to see her precious Son suffering on the Cross. She stayed with him as the soldiers drove nails into His hands and feet and hung Him up to die. She stayed with him through the many hours of His unspeakable suffering as He hung on the cross, and as the life slowly left His body. She knew that this ordeal would end in His death, yet she stood beside Him and never left His side.

Sometimes a mother is told that her unborn baby is sick, or deformed, or abnormal, and that if her child is allowed to be born, he will only suffer and die. These sorrowful mothers face great pressure and temptation to end the life of their babies, because they are told that doing so will avoid "unnecessary" suffering for their children. They know that when their babies are born, they will be faced with hardship and suffering; pray that they will be encouraged to stay by the side of their children, and carry their babies to term, even if their suffering or death seems likely. As Jesus hung on the cross in agony, he felt the presence of His grieving Mother beside him, and was strengthened by Her love. May the babies who are faced with suffering be comforted and strengthened by their own mothers' love, even if their lives are made difficult, or even shortened, by illness or abnormality.

Our Father... Hail Mary... (7x)

Sixth Sorrow: Mary Receives the Dead Body of Jesus

Our Lady was overcome with grief as the broken, mangled body of her Son was placed in her arms. She wept as she looked at his bloody face, his pierced hands and feet, and the deep scourge marks on his body.

Abortion tells women that their babies are just blobs of tissue; that they have no arms or legs or head or heart. The mothers do not see their children's severed limbs, their bloody faces, their crushed heads and mutilated bodies. Pray that through the work of pro-lifers, the world will recognize the dignity and humanity of the tiniest of human beings, and that all mothers will, by choosing life, joyfully receive their newly born babies into their arms.

Our Father... Hail Mary... (7x)

Seventh Sorrow: Jesus is Placed in the Tomb

With a heavy heart, Mary wrapped her dead Son in burial cloths and laid Him in the tomb.

In this Culture of Death, aborted children are labeled "medical waste" and thrown away. A mother's womb, which is made by God to be a place of warmth and protection and peace, becomes a chamber of death. We know that Jesus rose again after three days, and His tomb was transformed from a dark place of death to a gateway to eternal life. Pray that abortion will one day be abolished, and a mother's womb will always be a place where babies can grow and develop and be given life.

Our Father... Hail Mary... (7x)

It seems there are several options for concluding prayers; some like to say three more Hail Marys and/or the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be. The one from Immaculee's pamphlet on the Seven Sorrows goes like this:

Queen of Martyrs, your heart suffered so much . I beg you by the merits of the tears you shed, in these terrible and sorrowful times, obtain for me and all the sinners of the world, the grace of complete sincerity and repentance. Amen.

Mary, who was conceived without sin and suffered for us, pray for us. (3x)

Father Frank Pavone inspired these meditations. These last couple of days, I've been reading about how his bishop, Most Reverend Patrick Zurek of Amarillo, decided to order Father Frank to stop his full-time prolife work and return to the Diocese of Amarillo. Bishop Zurek apparently has some concerns about the finances of Priests for Life, but doesn't accuse Father Pavone of any wrongdoing. It seems very strange; you can read Father Pavone's official statement about it here.

Father Pavone is a hero for all life. Please keep him and Priests for Life in your prayers!

And for more Quick Takes, check out Jen's Conversion Diary blog.

Have a blessed weekend!

All The Missing People

I wanted to post something about the September 11 attacks today, since we're commemorating the tenth anniversary of that terrible day. I have all these thoughts swirling through my head, and I'm sitting here wondering--how do I put them into words?

Larry had just started his second year of preschool. Moe was less than a year old. I had dropped Larry off at his Montessori school and driven Curly and Moe back home, all the while listening to a Barney CD in the minivan. Soon after we arrived home the phone rang and it was my friend L. calling to tell me to turn on the TV. I wasn't sure what I was seeing at first; I only knew the World Trade Center was on fire. I don't remember whether I turned on the TV before or after the second plane hit, because the images were so horrifying that I kept flipping the channel to PBS so the kids would see Barney on the screen instead. I kept flipping it back and forth, and saw the plane that hit the second tower being replayed over and over. I talked to L. several times over the course of that morning; at one point she called to report the attack at the Pentagon. My husband was supposed to fly to Texas that day on a business trip. I called him at work, where he and his colleagues were all gathered around the television. He told me then that all flights had been grounded and that he would be home with us that night. I was supposed to meet L. that day in the park for a picnic lunch with our kids, and when the first tower fell she called me in tears to tell me that she just couldn't; she needed to stay at home where it was safe. I briefly flipped the channel again from Barney to the sight of only one tower standing, and lots of smoke and dust surrounding it. The reporters were in shock; I don't think they had quite grasped the enormity of what was happening just yet. Barney stayed on our television for the rest of the morning after that. Sometime in the middle of all this Larry's school called to tell me they were sending everyone home early. When I picked him up, he said, "Mommy, we didn't play outside today." I wanted to cry.

I remember playing outside with the kids later on that day and being keenly aware of the silence around us. Even on the quietest of days and nights at our house, there is almost always some traffic noise; we're so used to it that we often don't even notice. There is a pretty busy highway that runs close by, and there are always cars driving up and down our street. That day, there were none; everyone was somewhere watching the tragic events on television. Or at church praying, where I probably should have been. I remember hearing the sound of a plane overhead, and it was an eerie feeling. It seemed out of place in the silence. It sounded like one of those large military cargo planes, and I wondered what its mission must have been. That night Joe and I sat numbly in front of the television, watching the replays of the events over and over; the news conferences, people running and screaming, buildings crumbling, news reporters weeping. When asked how many people had died in the attacks, Mayor Giuliani told one reporter he really didn't know; it could be in the tens of thousands, and that the number of dead would likely be more than anyone could bear. One image that has stayed with me was of a man in a suit, covered in dust, talking with his wife on his cell phone, breathlessly telling her that the towers had fallen but that he was safe. As he looked up at the smoke-filled sky, he kept saying, "There are people in there. There are people in there."

We later learned that nearly three thousand people died that day. (The weird thing was, I almost felt relieved because I was sure the number would be much higher). Three thousand innocent people, going about their daily lives. Many of them were firefighters and police officers who rushed into the buildings while others were running out, even jumping out of windows to their deaths. In the days, weeks, and months that followed, we saw television and newspaper images of pictures that people had tacked to walls of their missing loved ones. We cried and prayed for all the missing people and their grieving families. We came together and vowed to never let this horrible act of violence ever happen to us again.

And yet, every day in the United States, we allow horrible acts of violence take place in abortion mills all across the country. Every day, more than three thousand innocent children are murdered under the guise of "women's health." That's more than the number of people killed on 9/11. Every single day. And 1.4 million innocents die every year. Since 1973, more than fifty million Americans have been systematically slaughtered by other Americans, and I can only imagine the amount of blood money that has exchanged hands in these homicidal hits. And too many of us just look the other way, and don't even care. Why? Because we've been fed a pack of lies by organizations like Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and the National Abortion Federation. We're told that a preborn child is nothing more than a parasite, a cancer, a part of a woman's body that she can discard if she so chooses. We're told that abortion is good and liberating for women--when in fact, it leads to increases in depression, alcoholism, drug use; even breast cancer and suicide.

The September 11 attacks happened on live television. We watched the towers burning and falling, saw the gaping, smoldering hole in the Pentagon. We saw the hole in the ground where United Flight 93 crashed. We saw the photos of the people who were dead and missing. We heard about the heroes who ran into the buildings to save the victims, who worked for days and days searching for survivors in the wreckage, the passengers on Flight 93 who bravely fought the hijackers to bring down the plane that would have killed hundreds more. Abortion is the ultimate act of terrorism, and it's done very quietly right under our noses. We don't see the babies being dismembered and crushed and thrown in the garbage. We don't hear the screams and cries of the mothers who grieve for their dead children, wishing they could bring them back.

The number of dead children by abortion in America is more than we can bear. Sometimes when I'm walking through a crowd, I look around me and wonder, "Who's missing? What would this world be like if there were no such thing as abortion?" I daresay it would be a happier place. (Do you know that as we waded through the crowds in Ocean City and Baltimore recently, I did not see a single person with Down's Syndrome? Not on the boardwalk, on the beach, in the restaurants, in the grandstands, on the streets--not one. Is this because 90 per cent of people with Down's aren't allowed to be born? It made me very sad.) In the last ten years, we have sent thousands of men and women overseas to make sure the kind of attack that took place in September 2001 never, ever happens again. Over five thousand of those never came back. These people are heroes--and no matter what your opinion might be about whether or not these wars have been justified, I think you would agree. (My brave cousin Tyler just returned to Afghanistan after a short time at home on leave. Please join me in praying that God will keep him safe from harm until he returns to his family.) We must also fight to make sure that the evil scourge of abortion is abolished forever.

The unborn have heroes fighting for them, too--people like Abby Johnson, Alveda King, David Bereit, Shawn Carney, Father Frank Pavone--the list goes on and on. At the end of this month, the fall 40 Days for Life campaign will begin, and thousands of ordinary people like you and me will stand in front of abortion clinics, quietly praying for the killings to end. We'll pray for the mothers, the fathers, the babies, and the abortionists. I am always heartened by the number of women who decide not to abort their babies, and the numbers get higher at every campaign. Abortion clinic workers leave the industry and begin to speak out for the unborn. Planned Parenthood is losing funding and clinics are closing. Our prayers are working. Life is winning, but the fight is far from over: we're still seeing new abortion centers being built, pro-abortion forces are pushing to block bills that would defund Planned Parenthood and put restrictions on abortion, and meanwhile pro-lifers are accused of being violent extremists who are out to take away women's rights and undermine women's health.

Today we pray for our country. We pray for the victims of the worst terrorist attack on American soil. We pray for their families and friends. We pray for the men and women in our armed forces who risk their lives to keep America safe from those who would do us harm. Let us also pray for the most vulnerable among us--the children in their mothers' wombs. I'll leave you with this reflection that was printed in our church bulletin today:

On this anniversary of 9/11, we pray for all those in our country and throughout the world at war, whose lives have been shattered by violence. We also pray today for all those who have lost a child, a grandchild, a brother or sister to abortion. We lift up the abortion providers in our communities, that they might use their gifts and talents to support non-violent solutions to unplanned pregnancy. And we pray for those who have personally experienced the pain of abortion, that they may experience authentic forgiveness that comes only from God. (Theresa Burke, Founder of Rachel's Vineyard Ministries, 9/04)

Never forget. Never give up.