Today's Word

The recent post at NLM on the Watts Book of English Church Embroidery is interesting enough, but stay on their site a little longer and drool over the amazing fabrics and vestments. Even the banners are impressive!

And as long as we have such a perfect visual aide, let's move into today's word:

Cope
The vestment worn by clergy at Benediction, processions, and solemn celebrations of the Liturgy of the Hours. A cope is a floor length garment and is fastened around the neck by a clasp. A hood shaped like a shield is usually on the back of the cope.

For today's to-do list

Mother Teresa stamps go on sale today. I plan to buy a ridiculous quantity.

Word of the Day*

When I first read about Elizabeth Scalia's new "Word of the Day" feature, my immediate thought was "why didn't I think of that?" Ever since I worked with a parish group that rejected the use of a picture of a thurible on a t-shirt because "no one knows what that is anymore," I have been on a mission to use my tiny sphere of influence toward using proper terms, defining things, and introducing others to the beautiful vocabulary of the Church.

With that in mind, it just seems right to begin with a word that is near and dear to us -

Sodality (so-DAL-ih-tee)

A group, usually of lay people, formed to promote pious and charitible acts. The Code of Canon Law tells us:

In the Church there are associations which are distinct from institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life. In these associations, Christ's faithful, whether clerics or laity, or clerics and laity together, strive with a common effort to foster a more perfect life, or to promote public worship or Christian teaching. They may also devote themselves to other works of the apostolate, such as initiatives for evangelisation, works of piety or charity, and those which animate the temporal order with the Christian spirit.

Christ's faithful are to join especially those associations which have been established, praised or recommended by the competent ecclesiastical authority. (Can. 298 §1 and §2)

*I need to add some qualifiers here. (1) I guarantee there will not be a word each and every day. Maybe Word of the Week would be more realistic. Sometimes Word of the Month may be closer to the truth. (2) I can also guarantee that every entry will not be a single word; there are just too many interesting phrases to learn. Perhaps a more accurate title would be The Church Ladies Sporadically Write About Words and Phrases That Currently Catch Their Attention. Or perhaps we'll just use Today's Word ;-)

I love cooking with the liturgical year and all

But I am not making today's recommended dish for St Louis, King of France.

Directions
Cut the eel in rounds. Mix with it yolks of eggs, parsley, mushrooms, asparagus, soft roes, verjuice, or gooseberries if in season, and do not stint either butter, or salt, or pepper. Spread this on an undercrust and cover it with pastry. In order to hold it together, butter narrow bands of paper, and putting them around the pastry, bind them lightly on. Bake the pâté and, when it is cooked, mix the yolks of three eggs with a dash of verjuice and a little nutmeg; and when you are ready to serve, pour in your sauce into the pâté and mix it well. Open the pâté and serve with the crust cut in four.

Margaret Mary suggests French toast instead...

Image source

St Bernard

"And I glory in tribulations if I have been counted worthy
to endure any for the sake of the Church.
This, truly, is my glory and the lifting up of my head:
the triumph of the Church.
For if we have been sharers of her troubles,
we shall be also of her consolation.
We must work and suffer with our mother."
[St Bernard of Clairvaux]

Cistercian Vocations
The Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank (monks)
The Abbey of the Genesee (monks)
Valley of Our Lady Monastery (nuns)
Santa Rita's Abbey (nuns)

Feast of the Assumption

"What son would not bring his mother back to life
and would not bring her into paradise after her death if he could?"
(St Francis de Sales)

Feast of the Assumption links:
*Pope Pius XII's Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus: Defining the Dogma of the Assumption (November 1950).

*Celebrating the Feast of the Assumption in the domestic church (Mary Reed Newland)

*Catholic Cuisine's Feast of the Assumption recipes

Image source:
Pietro Perugino, "Assumption of the Virgin"
c. 1506

Swatching it up

On Friday, Therese and I are going to the biggest button store in New England. We are pretty excited.

Whenever possible, I like to purchase buttons after a project is finished. For one thing, you have a better idea of how many buttons you'll need. But being an urban, pedestrian Church Lady, I don't have the option of lugging several almost finished projects with me to the button store.

Instead, I've come upon a technique that gets extra mileage out of your gauge swatch. After you've worked the requisite number of rows, knit a few rows in garter stitch, then, while knitting in the button band stitch pattern, work a button hole every few rows. You'll get a sense of how much the buttonhole stretches and what size button you should purchase. You can also experiment with different kinds of buttonholes to see what works best with the fiber. And on a lighter note, all you'll have to carry is the gauge swatch.

Image source

All things work together...

This story has nothing in particular to do with being a Church Lady, but it's an inspirational reminder of God's hand in the details.

And Romans 8:28 is one of my favorite verses.

And it's a great testament to the power of the Rosary.

And Evelyn Waugh is mentioned.

:-)

Taking a Break

The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.

Read more here on the vital topic of stress and burnout among members of the clergy. Although most of the article is written about the issues Protestant clergy face, I can't help thinking about the priests I know. Do they get a break? Do they have regular down time? How demanding of them am I? And perhaps most important, what can I do to better support them?

The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for August

General Intention: The Unemployed and the Homeless

That those who are without work or homes or who are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties.

Missionary Intention: Victims of Discrimination, Hunger and Forced Emigration

That the Church may be a “home” for all people, ready to open its doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger, or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries.

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer You all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day

for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart,

in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

throughout the world,

in reparation for my sins,

for the intentions of all our associates,

and in particular for the intentions

of the Holy Father for this month.

Amen.