Support your priests

On Sunday, Oct. 26, Catholic parishes throughout the United States will show support for their priests with prayer, celebration and dialogue.

Priesthood Sunday was established by the National Federation of Priests’ Councils in 2003 to provide a way for Catholic communities to express appreciation for devoted priests who serve them so faithfully. Such a celebration is increasingly relevant in light of the declining number of priests in the United States. Only about 4,000 of the 19,000 parishes in this country currently have more than one priest. Many priests serve two or more parishes by themselves. Clearly, there is a great need for a show of love and support for the priesthood.

For more information about how people can participate in Priesthood Sunday, all are invited to visit www.priestsunday.org for many ideas on suggested liturgies, social celebrations, activities, reflections, and downloadable graphics, guides and posters. A complete downloadable 2008 Celebration Starter Kit can be found at these Web sites. Requests for printed material may be directed to the national office of Serra USA in Chicago at 888-777-6681.

Suggested activities that have been used to affirm and celebrate priests:

Plan a liturgy and include petitions for your priests during the Prayer of the Faithful.

Recite the World Priest Day Prayer as a Communion meditation at all weekend liturgies.

Incorporate your priest’s favorite hymn(s) into the liturgy for all weekend Masses.

Send cards/balloons/flowers/cookies/goodie baskets to your parish priest or bishop, telling them what their priesthood/leadership/friendship means to you.

Invite a priest or seminarian to a meal hosted by your parish, group or community.

Remember those particular priests who have ministered to you in the past and send a note/make a phone call/contact them and let them know of your gratitude.

Introduce yourself and family to your priest or bishop whom you have not met personally, either in person or by mail.

Take time before or after the weekend liturgies to recognize and appreciate your pastor and priests.

Compliment your priests as often as possible.

Get Catholic schools or religious education classes to participate in a poster or essay contest about what the priesthood means to them or involve them in writing notes/drawing pictures for the pastor/priests stationed at their parish; have them make special homemade gifts for their priests.

Conduct an all-night eucharistic vigil for the health, welfare and spiritual growth of all priests.

Solicit prayer/spiritual bouquets from parishioners and present them to the clergy.

Organize a parish potluck supper to celebrate “Father’s Day.”

Hold a coffee cake/donuts/pastry reception “honoring Father” following the Masses that weekend.

Create a banner to be displayed in front of the church.

Publish an open letter of appreciation for the pastor/priests in the parish bulletin.
[full Boston Pilot Article]
[car magnet information]

Power to Church Ladies!

The 100 members of the women’s council “meet on Tuesday mornings in the back of the church,” she said. “We are excited, and the council women bought a stained glass window of the Blessed Mother for the new church.”
[full Florida Catholic article]

Knitting for Dummies

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love." [Mother Teresa]

Long ago, I resigned myself to the fact that the most favorable compliment about my forays in knitting were that the plain knit scarves were consistent. As a child, I was taught to knit like a Brit by a Scottish house-guest. Her week long visit was long enough for exactly that: learning the knit stitch and casting off.

My prowess never extended beyond plain knitting. I couldn't find any resources on how to purl English style when I first needed them in the early 90s, and assumed they didn't exist. When I started up The Little Flower Project (Scarves for Priests), I resigned myself to a lesson in humility and a lifetime of diligently made plain scarves, varying only in color, while I enviously watched Therese and Gianna make lacy sweaters and teddy bears on our regional road trips.

Then yesterday, I encountered Knitting for Dummies, which had visual instructions in both English and Continental style. In 5 minutes, I was purling! In 15 minutes, I could make stockinette! In half an hour, seed stitch! And by tonight, cables!

Knitting for Dummies (and its companion book, Knitting Patterns for Dummies) are excellent resources for the knitting novice.

Rain, rain go away

Some options to protect Church Ladies from autumn storms (and an exercise in ecumenism to boot!): umbrellas based on the architecture of Washington DC's National Cathedral. Visit the Cathedral store online for more information about the vaulted and rose window designs.

St Bruno

Your church ladies are pleased to remind you that today is the feast of St Bruno, the French Carthusian biblical scholar and patron of beer makers. So quaff one, preferably while toasting Our Lady's University.

You can also read more about Bruno's contributions to Catholic culture in one of our favorite books, The Bad Catholic's Guide to Wine, Whiskey, and Song. Consult our friends at the Catholic Beer Review for beverage recommendations. I will be serving this slow cooker ale stew with beer bread and Leffe Abbey Ale (developed at the abbey of Notre Dame da Leffe) for dinner to the local Carthusian hermit.

If Father is around, he can bless your beer, using the following formula from the Roman Ritual:

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

Bless, + O Lord, this creature beer, which thou hast deigned to produce from the fat of grain: that it may be a salutary remedy to the human race, and grant through the invocation of thy holy name; that, whoever shall drink it, may gain health in body and peace in soul. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

The beer is then sprinkled with holy water.

St Therese

A happy name-day to all Thereses, and especially our own!

Therese is a great patron for church ladies, since we strive to live out her words, "In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love." In the legacy of St Therese, pray today for all priests, especially missionaries.

A China Pattern for Church Ladies

Gladding, McBean & Co., was founded in 1875 to produce sewer tile for the rapidly developing American West, but their fame began with production of Franciscan dinnerware in 1934 at their plant in Glendale, California. The name Franciscan is an allusion to Franciscan monks and reflected the simple, informal style of Mexican folk pottery. The most famous of this period, Franciscan Apple first produced in 1940 and Franciscan Desert Rose first produced in 1941, are still produced today although early pieces are what collectors seek. It has been observed that Desert rose is the most popular American dinnerware of all time, a claim that even if not true accurately reflects its sustained popularity from continuous production since the inception of the design.(source)

40 Days For Life Begins!

Please consider joining with thousands of others nationwide in prayer and fasting during these 40 days leading up to the election.

The goals of this initiate are to:

• Dramatically reduce abortions in your community...
• Mobilize hundreds of new pro-life volunteers...
• Help post-abortive women find healing...
• Generate prominent pro-life news coverage...
• Make LIFE the most important issue in 2008...

This year, more than 170 communities in both the United States and Canada, in 45 states and two provinces, have plans to participate in the 40 Days for Life campaign. Each location has a link you can click to see what that location is doing for the campaign, and how to sign up to participate in your area.

Add it to your calendar

The Feminine Genius at Work in the World
Mary Beth Bonacci
Wednesday, October 22
O'Shaughnessy Educational Center
University of St. Thomas, 7:30 p.m.

Part of a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Mulieris Dignitatem.

NB - There will be another event in this series on November 6-8 at the University of Notre Dame, sponsored by the Center for Ethics & Culture.
The Family: Searching for Fairest Love (with special sessions devoted to the 20th anniversary of Mulieris Dignitatem and the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitate)

Image Credit:
My very favorite internet art source

Episcopal approval

For nice stationery, as illustrated by a recent missive from my former local ordinary. His Lordship uses a fountain pen, to boot! This is an art I am attempting to master, having recently received a fountain pen as a gift- any other fountain pen users out there?