St. Ninian's Tartan

I'm a bit of a fabric-fan, so I read with interest that a new tartan has been created for Pope Benedict in honor of his visit to Scotland tomorrow.

As is fitting for such an important gift, every detail is rich in meaning:

The white line on blue field draws upon Scotland's national colours while the green reflects the lichens growing on the stones of Whithorn in Galloway. It was there that Ninian first brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to Scottish shores over 1,600 years ago.

The white lines are also accompanied by a pair of red lines, reflecting the colours of Cardinal Newman's crest. And finally, the thin yellow lines in the tartan, together with the white, reflect the colours of the Vatican.

Each white line on the green contains exactly eight threads, one for each Catholic diocese in Scotland. There are 452 threads in the design from pivot to pivot, representing the number of Catholic parishes.

Wouldn't this be a great gift for that nice Catholic gentleman on your Christmas list?

I can't find any details about purchasing such a thing,

but will post an update if I discover anything.

Today's Word

It's possible that this is an error that is specific to my parish, but most often I hear the entire room in which Mass takes place referred to as "the sanctuary." In reality, what they probably mean is the nave.

Sanctuary (SANK-tshoo-ehr-ee)

A sanctuary is the holiest part of a sacred space. It's the place containing the altar (or the high altar if there are several). The sanctuary is the center of the liturgical ceremony, and is set apart by a raised floor, altar rail, distinct decorations, etc.

Nave (NAYV)

The nave is the central, open part of a church reserved for worshipers. This word is from the Latin, navis, meaning ship and speaks of the image of the Church as the Ship of Salvation. We members are the passengers being safely guided through the stormy waters of life. Isn't that a beautiful image?

Today's Word

While on vacation this summer, I attended Mass at a church with beautiful stained glass windows of the Parables.

Parable (from the Catholic Encyclopedia):
The word parable signifies in general a comparison, or a parallel, by which one thing is used to illustrate another. It is a likeness taken from the sphere of real, or sensible, or earthly incidents, in order to convey an ideal, or spiritual, or heavenly meaning. It abounds in lively speaking figures, and stands midway between the literalism of mere prose and the abstractions of philosophy.

The Good Samaritan

The Good Shepherd

The Wise and Foolish Virgins

Today's Word

This weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Mass at a beautiful old church that has been closed for the past seven years and is being reopened and restored to house a newly established group of Franciscans. Their bare feet and rough wool habits led to some discussion about what makes them different from the diocesan priests we usually see, and like most good conversation, that led to learning something new, which in turn leads to Today's Word.

Evangelical Counsels

The vows (promises) of poverty, chastity, and obedience taken by those in consecrated life. These vows were first made in the twelfth century by Saint Francis and those in his newly established group, and now form the basis of the life and conduct of all religious communities.

Thrifty Gifts: Recycling Edition

(I plan to save my other Thrifty Gift ideas for a little later in the year, but this one requires a bit of planning, so I'm posting it early.)

When my kids were elementary school aged one of their favorite "toys" involved a box of stuff that easily could have qualified as garbage. And a roll of tape. We called it the junk box (creative group, aren't we?), and it was filled with things like plastic strawberry baskets, toilet paper tubes, small yogurt tubs, bits of yarn, Popsicle sticks, bubble wrap, foam trays (but not meat trays - I don't think you could get them clean enough), Pringle's cans, rubber bands, chenille sticks, oatmeal containers, plastic lids, paper plates, thread spools, old greeting cards, etc.

It was a very fluid inventory, but the one constant was tape. I'd recommend the cheapest cellophane tape you can find and lots of it! Duct tape and packing tape are helpful for projects that need a bit more support, but since the entire cost of this gift is in the tape, you can keep the price pretty reasonable. Put everything in the right sized box and share it with your favorite creative 7-year-old. I happened to find a copy of the book pictured above to jump start some ideas, and there are lots of similar publications if you actually want to spend money on the gift, but really, it's not necessary.

What is it with kids and tape? I'm pretty sure I could not find an intact roll of tape in the house for the first 10 years of my life as a parent. It helped to be able to remind them that their tape was in the junk box.

NOTES:

• My copy of the book was free from an online book exchange, but it's also available at Amazon.
• It's not uncommon during the Christmas shopping season for stores to offer great deals on tape (sometimes even free).

DISCLAIMER: Consider your recipient carefully. Not everyone will appreciate you giving their children a box of recycling, but if you know a kindred spirit who will see the potential, this is a fun, creative idea. I have a godson who's 5, so I'm just saving the choicest pieces of junk so far, but in a couple year I know he's going to LOVE it!

Today's Word

I had the pleasure of holding a newly baptized baby recently and was reminded once again that one of the best smells ever is that of chrism on a infant's head. Surely if The Goodness of God could be bottled, it would smell like these blessings of life and salvation and grace!

Chrism (KRIH-zuhm)

Typically a mixture of olive oil and balsam, chrism is consecrated by a bishop for use in anointing at Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, and the blessing of an altar.

Writing this reminded me of an article I read at Faith and Family where a reader recommended a candle that smells "remarkably close to this scent."

The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for September

General Intention: The Word of God as Sign of Social Development

That in less developed parts of the world the proclamation of the Word of God may renew people’s hearts, encouraging them to work actively toward authentic social progress.

Missionary Intention: The End of War

That by opening our hearts to love we may put an end to the numerous wars and conflicts which continue to bloody our world.

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.

Today's Word

Of course, after mentioning it yesterday, the next logical word is

Novitiate (no-VIH-shee-eht)

A period of training and discernment for one seeking admission to a religious order. Like a postulant, Novices have not yet taken vows and are free to leave at any time. This is also a period of discernment for the order, and the Superior (leader) is also free to dismiss a novice if the arrangement is not discerned to be a good mutual fit.

From the ever-helpful Wikipedia:

After initial contact with the community, and usually a period of time as a postulant (a more or less formal period of candidacy for the novitiate), the person will be received as a novice in a ceremony that most often involves being clothed with the religious habit (traditional garb) of the particular religious community. The novice's habit is often slightly different from those of professed members of the order. For instance, in communities of women that wear a dark veil over the head, novices often wear a white one; among Franciscan communities of men, novices wear an additional shirt-like chest piece over the traditional Franciscan robe; Carthusian novices wear a dark cloak over the usual white habit; etc.

Novices are not admitted to vows until they have successfully completed the prescribed period of training and proving, called the novitiate. This usually lasts one year, the minimum required by Canon Law, though in some orders and communities it is two. Novices typically have dormitories in separate areas within a monastery or community and are under the direct supervision of a novice master or novice mistress.

Even more helpful is this page on the stages of formation of religious life from the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. The above photo is also from their site showing a postulant, a novice and a fully-professed sister.

The place where novices live is also know as a novitiate.

Today's Word

Postulant (PAHS-stoo-luhnt)

A candidate for a religious order who is entering the pre-novitiate period of his/her discernment. The length of this time varies from one order to another, but during this time the postulant participates as fully as possible in the prayer and work life of the community. Since no vows are yet taken, this is a time for the candidate to discern the Lord's will.

You may have read the recent interview with Harvard's 2010 Valedictorian, Mary Anne Marks, who is about to move into life as a postulant with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you haven't, please do! It's a thoughtful reflection on one woman's discernment process and the Church in the modern world.

Uniting the Faith with Daily Life

In this week's Lesson Plan feature in the Catholic Spirit (diocesan paper of St. Paul/Minneapolis) Maria Wiering has a great article on simple ways you can work to build a Catholic culture in your family.

Do you go to Mass on Sunday, but feel like Monday — and Tuesday, Wednesday and the rest — are detached from what you experience at church? For many Catholics, it’s a challenge to unite faith and the normal tasks of daily life. There’s something about a meeting at the office, or washing dishes, or shopping for groceries that seems very ordinary and outside of God’s interest in our lives.

Yet, St. Ignatius of Loyola preached that it is possible to find God in all things. With this in mind, it doesn’t hurt to add a few things in your day that are specifically about reminding yourself that what you have on Sunday should be part of every day.

I've listed the basics below so you can grade yourself, but go to her article for the details of each. There are simple ideas and some that will require a little more commitment. Almost all will work with family members of every age and there are definitely some you can try today.

1. ___Feast on feasts
2. ___Talk about the readings at Sunday brunch
3. ___Say your bedtime prayers
4. ___Learn about each day's saint
5. ___Follow the liturgical seasons
6. ___Greet the day
7. ___Pray the Rosary
8. ___Hang your crucifixes
9. ___Attend a funeral
10. ___Have your home blessed
11. ___Make a pilgrimage
12. ___Recite the Angelus
13. ___Bless your door
14. ___Thank your priest
15. ___Pray before car rides
16. ___Attend religious ed.
17. ___Give something up
18. ___Mail a holy card
19. ___Read a book
20. ___Open your Bible
21. ___Attend a daily Mass
22. ___Look at art
23. ___Eat together
24. ___Pray for the Pope's intentions
25. ___Pray for the Pope
26. ___Volunteer for a cause
27. ___Talk about God
28. ___Memorize a psalm
29. ___Visit an empty church
30. ___List your prayers
31. ___Plant a garden
32. ___Be grateful
33. ___Light a candle
34. ___Try adoration
35. ___Leave out your nativity set
36. ___Make a confession
37. ___Schedule that retreat

And this is my prayer: that your live may increase

ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception,

to discern what is of value, so that you may be

pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

filled with the fruit of righteousness

that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

~Philippians 1: 9-11