Mindful Mondays: Ethiopia

Mindful Monday cause:
Ethiopian children are being sold for as little as US $1.20 to work as domestic workers or prostitutes, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on 20 October 2005. Up to 20,000 children, some 10 years old, are sold each year by their parents and trafficked by unscrupulous brokers to work in cities across Ethiopia, the IOM added. The figures were announced as the Ethiopian government, the UN and the IOM launched a campaign to highlight the suffering endured by vulnerable children in this Horn of Africa nation. Dubbed "Ethiopia's Campaign for Vulnerable Children", the campaign encourages candidates running in local elections scheduled for early 2006 to push the issue onto the agenda. [source]

Mindful Monday Recipe: Ethiopian Lentils & Sweet Potatoes
Mindful Monday Cookbook: More with Less

Million Rosary Campaign

Unless you gave up all media contact for Lent, you're probably aware of the controversy caused by Fr. Jenkins of the University of Notre Dame when he invited President Obama to be this year's commencement speaker and recipient of an honorary degree.  In response to this scandal, the campus Right to Life group has joined with a number of other student groups in "respect, prayerfulness, outspoken fidelty to the Church, and true concern for the good of our University."

Go to their site to learn more about the events, read press releases, see the updated list of supporters (including faculty, Holy Cross priests, and over 30 bishops) and see what you can do. 

Of particular interest may be their campaign for one million Rosaries prayed for the "change of heart of President Obama, particularly regarding the sanctity of life; for the Catholic character of the University of Notre Dame; and for a greater respect for human life around the world."

The Practical Problems of Celibacy

From Father Dwight Longenecker:

...we need to love our priests, pray for our priests and realize how very difficult it is for many of them.

Today's assignment ...

Many thanks to our friends at The Art of Manliness for their  recent article on the art of letter writing.

In the days of cell phones, email, and text messages, letter writing can seem hopelessly outdated. But it’s an art worth bringing back, and not because of  some misplaced sense of nostalgia either. The writing and reception of letters will always offer an experience that modern technology cannot touch. Twitter is effective for broadcasting what you’re eating for lunch, and email is fantastic for quick exchanges on the most pertinent pieces of information. But when it comes to sharing one’s true thoughts, sincere sympathies, ardent love, and deepest gratitude, words traveling along an invisible superhighway will never suffice. Why?

Because sending a letter is the next best thing to showing up personally at someone’s door. Ink from your pen touches the stationary, your fingers touch the paper, your saliva seals the envelope. Something tangible from your world travels through machines and hands, and deposits itself in another’s mailbox. Your letter is then carried inside as an invited guest. The paper that was sitting on your desk, now sits on another’s. The recipient handles the paper that you handled. Letters create a connection that modern, impersonal forms of communication will never approach.

The Church Ladies are most enthusiastically in agreement with such wisdom and suggest the following as your assignment for the day:

1. Read the post for inspiration, links to supplies, and other practical advice.
2. Write a letter to at least one person this week.  (And at least one next week, and every week until it becomes a habit.)

Of course, love letters should be at the top of this list, but of equal value are letters encouraging others in their faith, and letters of appreciation to all those who make your life a little nicer in some way.   As so often happens, there is a great Catholic tradition of patrons to encourage us in this endeavor and it would be particularly appropriate to ask the intercession of the beloved Epistle writer, Saint Paul, in this year where we are celebrating his life.

Go!  Get off the computer and pick up your pen!

Image Credit: Gerard Terborch, Woman Writing a Letter found at the Web Gallery of Art

Mindful Mondays: We are Family

The real measure of a successful Lent is not whether we can discipline ourselves to make a sacrifice for 40 days, but whether we can re-evaluate our lives and make permanent changes for the better.

I believe that mindfulness is increasing, perhaps as a side effect of the current economic situation and greater environmental awareness. People are analyzing what they really need, and are making a concerted effort to waste less, and in that asceticism, seeking inner peace.

This current mindfulness movement in secular society reminds me of St Bernard's first and second stages of love in On Loving God. People are mindful because it creates a more flattering self image and has direct positive personal implications. The challenge is to move to the third stage: loving God for His sake, or being mindful of others for their sake. I believe that only through a Christian worldview can one be truly mindful.

Today, more than ever, as we may struggle with less, we are called to be aware of those who have less. During Lent, we focused on putting to death our own inclinations towards concupiscence. Perhaps for the rest of the year, we can remain in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in need, suffering from the sins of others: the victims of hunger, human trafficking, genocide, and poverty.

Too often, the message about the needy is rejected because we can't support the group presenting awareness of it due to other theological or moral positions they hold. I would be disingenous if I ignored the secular mindfulness movement's anti-child position. However, the orthodoxy of the messenger does not determine the legitimacy of the cause. Personal prayer and reparation, however, give us a way, in good conscience, to be mindful of the atrocities afflicted on fellow members of the human family.

Mindful Mondays call us, as Christians, strengthened from the spiritual benefits of the Sunday Eucharist, to be more aware of the needs of others in thought and deed. Our spiritual ancestors such as St Benedict provide a path to holiness in writings about charity. Perhaps it is also time to embrace another aspect of the Benedictine life: simple fare. Through the deliberate consumption of simple, meatless food one night a week, we can reflect on how much closer that is to what the rest of the world eats. In a spirit of ecumenism, let us consider the Episcopalian grace before meals:
Give us grateful hearts, O Father, for all thy mercies, and make us mindful of the needs of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Mindful Monday cause: Human Trafficking in Cambodia
Mindful Monday Recipe: Eggplant in Ginger Sauce
Mindful Monday Cookbook of the Week: From A Monastery Kitchen
Diet for a Small Planet Article in America Magazine

Happy birthday, Holy Father!

A Sachertorte for our Papa!

Quote of the Day

"My first pastoral letter's gonna be a condemnation of light beer and instant mashed potatoes -- I hate those two things."

--Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York

(Cloche Tip: Whispers in the Loggia)

Knitted with Care

Fellow Raveler Laylock has generously offered these gift tags with garment care instructions for your free use. Attach them to your hand knit gifts!

I can now haz cheeseburger

For perfectly shaped hamburger patties, fill a round half cup measuring cup with ground meat mixture, decant into the hot pan, and use the bottom of the cup to flatten.

What to do with all those Easter Eggs?

From Fabulous Living:

Okay. Easter is over. A good time was had by all. There were chocolates and grand style feasting, and of course, Easter Eggs. Lots and lots of Easter Eggs. So many Easter Eggs. Never have you and your family turned out such masterpieces of Easter art. You just couldn't stop!

But what are you left with after the bunny goes home? A couple of extra pounds from all the chocolate, a pile of brightly colored egg shells and lots and lots of hard boiled eggs.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH ALL THOSE EGGS?

We love coloring eggs as much as anyone. But we HATE wasting food. What follows is a list of ten fabulous things to make with leftover eggs. Oh, by the way, you don't have to wait till Easter to enjoy these recipes.

1. Scotch Eggs -- Britain's favorite bar food makes a great snack, hot or cold.

2. Deviled Eggs -- Why wait till your next party to serve this great hors d'ouervre?

3. Pickled Eggs -- Another pub favorite!

4. Beet Pickled Eggs -- Brightly colored pub food. Yummm!

5. Egg and Arugula Stuffed Tomato -- Cut up a tomato and stuff it with a special egg salad. Almost instant lunch.

6. Egg Salad Sandwich -- A classic: egg salad spread it on bread, topped with lettuce and sliced tomato (pumpernickel bread is especially good).

7. Meatloaf -- Bury a few of hard boiled eggs in a meatloaf for a visual and taste surprise.

8. Potato Salad -- Bet you never think of this favorite picnic side dish until summer, but it makes a great way to use extra boiled eggs now.

9. Cobb Salad -- Eggs add the perfect flavor touch to Hollywood's most famous salad.

10. Scalloped Eggs -- This is an old fashioned recipe that was a favorite in your grandmother's (or great grandmother's) day.