Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Prayer of the Day - Saint Robert Bellarmine

Prayer to St. Robert Bellarmine

V. The Lord loved him, and adorned him, alleluia.
R. He clothed him with a robe of glory, alleluia.

O Doctor right excellent, O light of Holy Church, O blessed Robert, lover of the divine law, entreat for us the Son of God. Alleluia.
Let us pray.

O God, who didst adorn blessed Robert, thy Bishop and Doctor, with marvelous learning and virtue to expose the deceptions of error and to defend the rights of the Apostolic See, grant by his merits and intercession, that love for the truth may increase in us, and the souls that do wander may return to the unity of thy Church. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

V. Right dear in the sight of the Lord, alleluia.
R. Is the death of his saints, alleluia.

I first encountered the above prayer in the book St. Robert Bellarmine by Shaun McAfee. It is a marvellous prayer and and I wanted to share it separately from the review. Shout out to Shaun for introducing me to the Saint and the prayer. You should check out the link to the review! Ans below is a second pray I have found to this saint.
Prayer to Saint Robert Bellarmine

God our Father,
you gave Robert Bellarmine
wisdom and goodness
to defend the faith of your 
Church. By his prayers may
we always rejoice in the
profession of our faith.
We ask this through our Lord
Jesus Christ, your Son,
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.


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Monday, 19 March 2018

Feast of Saint Joseph 2018 Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary Principal Patron of Canada

Feast of Saint Joseph 2018
Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Principal Patron of Canada

 In Canada we have 4 Patron saints, but the principal Patron Saint is Saint Joseph. The others are:
Saint Anne, Mother of Mary
Saint Jean de Brébeuf
Canadian Martyrs, a group comprised of:
St. René Goupil (1642)
St. Isaac Jogues (1646)
St. Jean de Lalande (1646)
St. Antoine Daniel (1648)
St. Jean de Brébeuf (1649)
St. Noël Chabanel (1649)
St. Charles Garnier (1649)
St. Gabriel Lalemant (1649)
Those Canadian Martyrs are sometimes known as the North American Martyrs. But today is the universal feast of Saint Joseph and also a mass with special readings in Canada, from the Canadian Council of Bishops. 

 First Reading 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-15, 16
Responsorial Psalm 80: 1-4, 26, 28 Response 36
Second Reading Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
Gospel Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24

 As a husband and father I find that my devotion to saint Joseph is constantly growing. I need to turn to him for help. And though we do not know a lot about him directly from scripture, we know much about his character. And many books have been written about him. There are different theories about Joseph being an older man, and a celibate marriage not being a big deal. There are some who believe he was the normal marring age and the celibacy was more of a factor. And to be honest I do not know. But I know he cared for the woman he loved in very hard circumstances. I know that he accepted the role of foster father to the son of God. I know that he was anguished when Jesus was missing and they found him in the temple. I know that he listened to God's promptings in his dreams, and messages from angels, and did all he could to protect, and provide for Jesus and Mary. I know that he worked hard and was known to be skilled at his trade and an honest and hard worker. 

 And all of those are traits I can strive to emulate. And I often fail. Yesterday I worked 11 and a half hours, and worked 30 hours over time this week. Not my normal practice any more, and thankfully not something I need to do often. But I was tired and ended up being short with my youngest. When she came back downstairs, I apologised for hurting her feelings. We hugged for a long time. It is not something I talk about often but I am often in pain, daily pain with bad knees and bad shoulders. For months now I have woken in pain and done to bed in pain. I did a lot of stupid things when I was younger. I played a lot of sports. I was hurt at work and kept working … the list goes on. But I am finding in this new state I can pray more often. Each time I am in pain I can pray, pray to draw closer to God, pray to be a better husband, and pray to be a better father, better son, better brother, better friend, and better employee. I can offer it to God. Because of the division of labour in our home I get up most days at 5, and leave by 5:50 to walk 20 minutes to my bus for work. My wife does the whole morning routine and gets our kids and half the time 2 other kids fed, read, and off to school. But I am home before they arrive home. I prepare the afternoon snacks, suppers, get ready for karate, music lessons, … I pray while walking home every evening for my kids and on those days the other two that will be here. 

 And so today I am thankful for Saint Joseph and his example that I in my shabby way attempt to learn from and emulate.

 So to all my friends who are father, and my fellow Canadians, blessed feast of saint Joseph!




Prayer to Saint Joseph:

Oh, Saint Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires.
Oh, Saint Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiving and homage to the most Loving of Fathers.
Oh, Saint Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss his fine head for me and ask him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath.

Saint Joseph, Patron of departed souls – pray for me. 
Amen

Other reviews and articles about Saint Joseph:
Consecration to St. Joseph - Fr. Donald Calloway
Favorite Prayers to St. Joseph Compiled from Traditional Sources- TAN Books
Prayer to Saint Joseph Prayer of the Day
Joseph of Nazareth - Federico Suarez
Devotion to St. Joseph - F. Declaux
Go to St. Joseph: Do Whatever He Tells You - Brian Kiczek
Saint Joseph: Help for Life's Emergencies - Kathryn J. Hermes
Feast of Saint Joseph 2018 Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary Principal Patron of Canada
Companion to Saint Joseph - J.B. Midgley - CTS Companions Series
Saints of the Roman Canon - Julien Chilcott-Monk - CTS Living the Liturgy Series
Seven Saints for Seven Virtues - Jean M. Heimann

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Sunday, 18 March 2018

Fifth Sunday of Lent 2018

Fifth Sunday of Lent 2018

This is the last week of lent where there are two set of options for readings. I did not know what our church would be doing so I have read each a few times this week. But it is also a deepening of the season of lent. There are no plants on the altar. Christ is covered up, both behind the altar and the cross used in the procession. In a way the altar feels stark and bare. But in that paring down we are drawn into the upcoming passion. Next week is psalm Sunday, a great celebration, but also the beginning of the passion week.  

 The first is:

 First Reading Jeremiah 31:31-34
Responsorial Psalm 51: 1-2, 10-13 Response 10
Second Reading Hebrews 5:7-9
Gospel John 12:20-33

 And the second is:

 First Reading Ezekiel 37:12-14
Responsorial Psalm 130: 1-8, Response 7
Second Reading Romans 8:8-11
Gospel John 11:1-45

 In the sermon tonight at mass Deacon Ed MacIntosh, spoke powerfully about how our culture prepares for almost everything, except death. And death indeed is coming for us all. In Catholic theology there are numerous books, and talks about the four last things; Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. In fact a quick search on Amazon.ca turns up almost 300 books, Amazon.com is almost 1200. And google turns up almost 4 million results. And that is part of our focus this week. As Catholics, as Christians we believe in a life here after, and we believe that what we do here should be preparing us for that. And lent is our annual refocus.  

 The response today from the first reading options is:

 Create in me a clean heart, O God.

 That is my prayer, today and every day. As lent is drawing to its conclusion let us indeed prepare him the way and be preparing for the four last things.






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Saturday, 17 March 2018

The Trials of Saint Patrick - Paul McCusker - The Augustine Institute

The Trials of Saint Patrick
Paul McCusker (Author)
John Rhys-Davies (Narrator)
Sean O Meallaigh (Narrator)
Dame Sian Phillips (Narrator)
Guy Siner (Narrator)
Ian McNeice (Narrator)
The Augustine Institute
ASIN B0716N6C2Z
ASIN B06XX4345H


One of the biggest advantages of a parish subscription to Formed is all the great content. I wrote a review of Formed and love it more every week. And this audio drama on the life of Saint Patrick is an amazing presentation. It is 3 hours and 21 minutes in length. It brings to life this saint, in a vivid way. Having read a few versions of Patrick's The Confessions of Saint Patrick and Letter to Coroticus, it would appear to serve as source material. This presentation presents an man, a man who made mistakes, a man who found God, and a man who spent his life in service of God. It is told from the perspective of Patrick being under trial, and his role as bishop in jeopardy. The story is told back and forth from the trial to Patrick's memory spanning his whole life.

Two different actors play the voice of Patrick; John Rhys-Davies as Patrick the elder and Seán T. Ó Meallaigh as young Patrick. The story begins on the day of his capture by Pirates and goes until he is preparing to head to an island on Lough Derg. It was awesome just closing my eyes and listening to this presentation. My son who is 10 came in when I was almost done and asked if I could start over and listen to it with him. (One of his middle names is Patrick and he has a devotion to the saint.

This story presents not just the great saint but the man. His trials in school, in ministry and even the literal trial he underwent. It is very well done and I am thankful to have listened to such an excellent production. If you are a fan of the Saint, or just love all things Irish you should give this story a listen.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2018 Catholic Reading Plan!

 Other articles about Saint Patrick:
The Confessions of Saint Patrick and Letter to Coroticus
Happy Saint Patricks Day 2012 With Saint Patrick Prayers
Patrick and The Fire - Cornelia Mary Bilinsky and Maggie Coburn
Twenty Tales of Irish Saint - Alice Curtayne
More Tales of Irish Saints - Alice Curtayne
The Secret of the Shamrock - Lisa M. Hendey and Jenn Bower
Brigid and the Butter - Pamela Love and Apryl Stott
Prayer of the day - Saint Patrick's Rune
The Trials of Saint Patrick.
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Friday, 16 March 2018

Becoming Madeleine A Biography of the Author of a Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters - Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy

Becoming Madeleine
A Biography of the Author of a Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters
Charlotte Jones Voiklis
Léna Roy
Farrar Straus Giroux
ISBN 9780374307646
eISBN 9780374307653
ASIN B073TSKR3C


I was introduced to the works of Madeleine L'Engle in the fall of 1995, as the age of 25 I was a little older to be discovering the woman and her works. But within three years I would have read 33 of her books. Reading all the local library had, and any I could get through interlibrary loans. And then I got to spend a weekend with L'Engle at a conference / retreat where she was the keynote speaker. I have been fascinated with the woman and her works since I first encountered them and have been a fan for nearly 25 years now. So, when I found out that there was a new biography coming out to celebrate the centenary of her birth and that it was written by two of her granddaughters I was extremely excited.

This book did not disappoint. The book is written with insight that only close family members would have. It celebrates the life and the works of Madeleine L'Engle 1918-2007. It is written with a middle grade audience in mind, but to be honest is so well written any fan of L'Engle or her works will appreciate the history. L'Engle herself wrote many non-fiction books and a number of those were autobiographical in nature. But this book looks at her life from a very different angle. The book begins with a quote from Circle of Quiet, one of L'Engle's autobiographical works:

"A self is not something static, tied up in a pretty parcel and handed to the child, finished and complete. A self is always becoming."

And the prologue begins with these words:

"We were young when our grandmother, Madeleine L'Engle, started sharing with us the patchwork of events, relationships, and emotions that shaped her into the person she was always becoming. She described her childhood as solitary, and we thought it must have been lonely-after all, even we, who had each other, had periods of loneliness. But her stories about growing up and becoming the writer and grandmother we knew gave us the assurance that, just like her, we could survive the hurts and joys of childhood and adolescence."

The chapters in this volume are:
Prologue
Before Madeleine
A New York City Childhood
Trouble at School
Switzerland
From Child to Teen
The Eustace Affair
Senior Year
The College Years
The Best School for a Writer
Making a Living
Work and Love
Marriage and Children
Making the Leap
Epilogue
Authors' Note

The authors note at the end of the book begins with this:

"Writing this book has been quite a journey. We were reluctant at first to try to tackle our grandmother's biography. After all, she herself spoke and wrote about her life a good deal, and we were aware of the fact that the lines between fiction, nonfiction, and memoir can be blurry, for our grandmother no less than for everyone else. How could we write about her in a way that would bring her to life in all her contradictory richness? That would do her justice and honor? That would be honest and fair?"

But their fears were unwarranted. They have written a wonderful book. It is open and honest. It shares L'Engle's troubles, sorrows, triumphs and maintains a balance I believe many would find hard to achieve. The only regret I have about this book is for the most part it ends with the publishing of A Wrinkle in Time. The rest of her life is summed up very briefly. I only home that there will be a second volume that continues in more details like the majority of this book but begins with the publishing of A Wrinkle in Time and goes unto her passing.

Madeleine did write about life, and for her that line between faith, fiction and autobiography were often blurred. Maybe for that reason Canon Tallisis one of my favorite characters, like Madeleine put parts of her self and her story in many of her characters and stories, Tallis crosses all the lines in the stories, he appears in the Kairos books, the Chronos books and in the autobiographical works. The authors of this work state:

"As we read more and more of her books, and heard more and more of her own personal stories, we began to see how connected they were. Many of her own experiences were given to Camilla in Camilla Dickinson, Katherine in A Small Rain, and Flip in And Both Were Young. Many of her own characteristics were given to Meg in A Wrinkle in Time and Vicky in Meet the Austins." 

I throughout my university career, which spanned 20 years, I often quoted L'Engle, form my notes of her speaking at a conference and from many of her works. This is a book I would have drawn from to write about life, about faith and about art. I will likely circle back in a few years after reading some of L'Engle's works with my children and reread this book with them.

This is a wonderful book about an amazing woman. If you are a fan in any way shape or form, you owe it to yourself to read this book!


 Related Articles:
Madeleine L'Engle Bibliography
Becoming Madeleine A Biography of the Author of a Wrinkle in Time - Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy
A Light So Lovely The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine L'Engle, Author of A Wrinkle in Time - Sarah Arthur
…


Reviews of Books by Madeleine L'Engle:
Penguins and Golden Calves
Bright Evening Star
The Rock That Is Higher

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Thursday, 15 March 2018

Ginger Raspberry Squeeze Smoothie

Ginger Raspberry Squeeze Smoothie

Ingredients:
The juice of:
1 lemon
1 lime
1 orange
1 grapefruit

and

1 cup frozen raspberries
3 drops doTerra Ginger Essential Oil
1 tbsp maca powder
1 tbsp goji berries

Hand juice the citrus fruit and add to blender. Add all dry ingredients, then add the frozen raspberries, and 1-5 drops of ginger essential oil. (Start low and add each time you make it until you find your perfect taste.

This smoothie has amazing flavor and taste. Fit is the first time that I have added oils to a smoothie but will not be the last. Up until now I had just been adding them to room temperature water, or in my favorite hot drink, Lemon Lime Peppermint Water.

I love making smoothies and the wonderful thing about a simple one like this is it is so easy to make variation. Below are some optional ingredients to add or swap out.

Optional Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
1tbsp Chia Seeds
1tbsp Flax Seeds
1tbsp Hemp Hearts
1tbsp coconut flakes

Frozen Ingredients:
1 cup frozen peaches
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen kale
1 cup frozen mixed berries

You could also swap out one or more of the citrus fruits for juiced carrots. I have so many new smoothies I want to try and many doTerra oils to experiment with. I will continue to post new recipes from time to time as I experiment with Smoothie and Juice recipes. And I collect mine and favourites from around the web you can find them shared here in a OneNote notebook, there are subsections for Juices, Smoothies, Gluten Free Options and Other. I also have another notebook for my essential oils research and notes.

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Wednesday, 14 March 2018

Time Bomb - Joelle Charbonneau

Time Bomb
Joelle Charbonneau
HMH Books for Young Readers
ISBN 9780544416703
eISBN 9781328476869
ASIN B073XY1MZ4

I have not kept up on all of Joelle Charbonneau's books, but after reading this one I was reminder that I should be! This was the fifth novel or novella that I have read by Charbonneau and all of them were excellent. This is one of those novels that could be taken from the news headlines. But it has a number of unique twists in the plot. I will warn you once you start reading this book you will not want to put it down. Charbonneau's The Testing, was in excellent dystopian novel, and beginning of a trilogy. Her book Need, pushes the bounds of social experiments, and how far someone would go to get what they want. And in this book a thriller with more than one big bang.

 The dedication of this book is: "To the students and teachers of Fenton High School - you taught me first impressions are never as important as what comes after." And that sentiment will play a major role in this story. And this story begins with a quote from George R.R. Martin "Nobody is the villain in their own story.", and we see that play out in the unfolding of this story as well. The first chapter of this book is title 1:51 PM, but then flips to earlier that day 8:35 AM and the 45th chapter begins at 2:05 PM. The majority of this story takes place over those 6 hours. 

 Our Cast of Characters are:
Diana - congressman's daughter
Rashid - young Islamic teen
Z - mother has just passed away, and is being evicted  
Tad - a gay football player
Cas - musician, overweight, outcast, bullied
Frankie - captain of the football team, had a moment with Tad
Kaitlin - badly injured

 Around 12:03 PM a bomb goes off in the school. From the introductions to most of our characters it is possible they were responsible. Kaitlin is the only one who does not seem a possible suspect. But once the bomb goes off each of these 7 are trying to survive and as they are making their way through the wreckage a second bomb goes off. Emergency responders are injured in the second blast, thus slowing the search and rescue efforts. Also, they have heard that a bomber was caught, but one of the 7 is also in on the plot. 

 This book takes the high school experience to the most intense levels. It looks are very real situations that students face every day. It has questions about religious persecution, bullying, taking responsibility, wanting to kill yourself and more. And Puts it all in a very tense and stressful situation. And it des it very realistically.  

 As stated this is a book that once you begin reading you will not want to stop. It was very hard to put down. And the only thing that helped me do so was the requirement to begin my day at work. You will find yourself connecting with the characters, you will also think on your own interactions with others and the impact your words and actions have. Another great read from the pen of Charbonneau, she has an ability to craft addictive stories and this is one of them. 

 Books by Joelle Charbonneau:
Need
Time Bomb

 Dividing Eden:
0.5 Into the Garden
1.0 Dividing Eden
2.0 Eden Conquered 
2.5 Forbidden Fruit 

The Testing:
The Testing Guide - Short Story Prequel
The Testing - The Testing Book #1
Independent Study - The Testing Book #2
Graduation Day - The Testing Book #3

The Skating Series:
Skating on the Edge
Skating Over the Line
Skating Around the Law
Skating Under the Wire

The Glee Club Series:
Murder for Choir
End Me A Tenor
A Chorus Lineup

 Contributed to:
Among The Shadows: 13 Stories of Darkness & Light
Terminal Damage: A Do Some Damage Collection
Collateral Damage: A Do Some Damage Collection
Crime Factory Issue 7

 Author Profile and Interview with Joelle Charbonneau


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