The Least of All the Faithful

Feast of St. Nino: Apostle of Georgia

2011-01-15T10:15:00.001-05:00

January 14 is the feast of St. Nino the Apostle of Georgia.
No, not that Georgia.

This Georgia-

I'll bet Georgians have an awful time with this one when they visit the US!

Georgia is a fascinating country. It has a long, mostly traumatic history of invasions and war, yet in the 300's (that's right, 4th Cent.) Georgia earned the distinction of being one of the first Christian nations in the whole world. This remarkably quick conversion is traditionally due to the amazing witness of one young lady, St. Nino. Hence she has been titled the Apostle (one who first brings the good news) of Georgia.

In the icon above, you can see that St. Nino has been depicted with all the traditional trappings of an evangelist (the Bible) and a saint (the halo). What makes her distinct from other saints is the cross she holds, which was made from a grapevine. Consequently, the crossbar of St. Nino's cross is always shown as bent downward on both ends.
St. Nino was supposedly taken as a slave into Georgia where she performed a miracle and won (as is typical) the respect of the Queen, who was her first major convert. The King (as usual) was harder to convince, but once he converted, he imposed conversion on his entire kingdom (so the story goes).
You'll notice, after looking at depictions of other famous ancient Georgians, the distinctive long, dark braids make St. Nino look particularly Georgian (see the picture below of Queen Tamar, Georgia's most powerful monarch).

Over the years these beautiful Georgian braids have grown to unrealistic lengths. Online I've seen a whole troop of Georgian dancers with equally sized (can anyone get braids this skinny? I can't!) three foot long braids. I say to myself, "They must be hair pieces!" but I have no idea really. Maybe most Georgian ladies are blessed with perfectly braid-able hair?

As you can probably guess from the amount of time I'm spending talking about braids, Georgian culture, with its familiarity with all things medieval, has me enthralled. It all started with one video.

It is really a must-see in my opinion.

So, I figure, since St. Nino's life is mostly shrouded in mystery, and because I can't find if native Georgians do anything special on St. Nino's day, it's a perfect day to learn about Georgian culture, specifically two amazing looking traditional Georgian foods:

Georgian cheese bread or Khachapuri

Georgian meat dumplings or Khinkali (Note from wikipedia, you're not supposed to eat the pleated top because it's quite tough.)

I love cheese bread and meat dumplings. I was not shocked that these were two of the most popular national dishes. Personally, I think this cuisine is the perfect meeting of oriental and occidental foods. It's like a Chinese-Italian smoosh with some great Middle Eastern flavors (pomegranate anyone?) thrown in.

Georgian national dress and dance are both magical. Samaia is a dance that honors the memory of the great Queen Tamar. I've read different interpretations of why there are three girls that represent the one queen (her overwhelming power?), but I'm convinced the hands are held in such a way because they are mimicking the poses shown in medieval frescoes.

I'm having trouble finding much upbeat Georgian music in iTunes. Most of the authentically Georgian music that is available for purchase over here in the West are slower polyphonic ballads. If you love Greek and Russian Orthodox chanting, you'll love Georgian traditional music.

This a culture worth celebrating in my opinion. Thank God for St. Nino and her humble mission!

P.S. I would ignore Wikipedia's insistence that Catholics celebrate this feast on Jan. 15. I find other sources to be more trustworthy in these matters.

Low budget plans for the Feast of St. Cecilia

2010-11-22T13:27:00.000-05:00

Even though I'd like to say we're doing something traditionally Roman for the feast of the martyr Cecilia, the menu developed more from a desire to save money than anything else.

Meatloaf (with no eggs) topped with sauerbraten sauce
Onion and leek soup
Carrots
Garlic bread

St. Cecilia, ora pro nobis!

St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Elizabeth of Hungary

2010-11-17T08:43:00.001-05:00

What a great pair! I love these two being back to back, though it does make for a lot of dishes to wash.

Our Feast Day menus:

November 16- St. Margaret of Scotland:
Scottish Pies (ground beef, seasonings, and some really easy hot water pastry) Next time I make these I'm going to up the sauce. It was a bit dry for my taste. I made these by smashing together a few recipes because I couldn't find one that was not in metric and authentic.

Roasted Red Potatoes
Spinach on ciabatta with cheese on top
Scottish shortbread ( This was a really good recipe. I tried to make my own designs with a knife and then with a toothpick. It kind of worked. I had to take it out of the oven to emphasize the designs when they were almost finished baking because they started to disappear. Maybe someday we can splurge on a mold.)

November 17- St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Hungarian Goulash (What else?!) in the slow cooker (really easy) over egg noodles.
Glazed Carrots
Beigli (if we're lucky) This is a Hungarian desert that features walnuts or poppy seeds. They are typically made for Christmas, so I thought today would be the perfect day to give them a test run. The dough is a risen yeast dough, so I'm not sure when I'll have the time for these.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary is one of my favorite saints. She died at the young age of 24 after having been married, been queen, had three children, become a widow, and lived as a servant of the poor. It encourages me that even though your life on this earth might not be that long, God still has plenty of plans for you to impact his world for the good.

All Saints is fast approaching!

2010-10-30T10:04:00.000-04:00

Where has the time gone? It's almost November 1st the feast of All Saints!

As a side note, I've found the popular story as to why Halloween is on Oct. 31st to be a bit misleading. Halloween is the eve of All Hallows (All Saints) Day. It's placement in the calendar is just so because it is (used to be) the vigil fast before one of the most important feast days.

So, the real question is, why is All Saints on November 1st? Pope Gregory III dedicated an oratory in the original St. Peter's Basilica to All Saints on November 1st in the mid 700's. So, as to the argument that ancient Celtic peoples celebrated this day as the day of the dead and therefore All Saints was placed there to help Christianize them doesn't hold water.

1. Ireland began to be Christianized in the mid 400's thanks to Palladius and St. Patrick.
2. In the 400's the universal church (East and West) was celebrating All Saints on May 13.
3. By the 600's Ireland was sending missionaries out to convert other people (probably safe to guess that most of Ireland is fully converted).
4. Mid 700's Pope Gregory III, of Syrian extraction, dedicates the oratory to All Saints on Nov. 1st. Was he thinking about pagan Celtic tradition? I don't think so. The Irish didn't need accommodations for ancient pagan beliefs. They had already been celebrating All Saints on May 13 with no issues in Ireland for hundreds of years.
5. Even though the saints are dead, both Christian theology and popular understanding see the saints as alive in heaven, able to enjoy the company of God, Jesus and the other saints. Would that be the day of the dead or day of the living?
(For more details see: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0199.html)

I love Medieval art depicting groups of Virgin Martyrs. The way the artists incorporate the symbolism is like a new discovery to me. The best type of paintings in this category (in my opinion) are the Virgo inter Virgines "Virgin among the Virgins." Unfortunately, there has only been one thorough, scholarly study of these types of paintings, a dissertation by Stanley Edward Weed in 2002. You can find an abstract of the article online, but you have to pay/belong to a research library to read the real dissertation.

However, I can show you the few Virgo inter Virgines paintings I could find.

This is by the Master of the St. Lucy Legend (an anonymous artist known by his most famous work of art). L-R- St. Apollonia (holding her tooth in a pair of tongs), St. Ursula (a very tiny piece of arrow sticking out from under her skirt), St. Lucy holding her eyes on a plate, an unidentified saint with a bell and a crown, St. Catherine of Alexandria (her wheel decorates her dress), St. Mary Magdalene (holding nard perfume), St. Barbara (her cloak decorated with her symbol, the tower), St. Margaret (holding a cross, and St. George slaying the dragon in the distance behind her), St. Agnes (identified by her lamb), St. Agatha (holding her breast in a pair of tongs), St. Cunera (a companion of St. Ursula, holding a crib, and an arrow).

The unidentified saint drives me crazy! I wish I could figure out who it is. Maybe it was meant to be St. Gudule holding a lantern?

This is Gerard David's masterpiece, and my favorite of the whole genre. I searched high and low for the identities of a few of the saints who are very small or who seemed to have no identifying marks. I finally found a French website that listed their names. I haven't been able to corroborate the names with another site, so take this for what it's worth.
L-R- St. Dorothy, recognized by her basket, (man above her is the donor), St. Catherine of Alexandria (crown), St. Agnes (lamb), unidentified saint, St. Fausta (holding a saw, instrument of her martyrdom), Mary and baby Jesus, St. Apollonia (holding her tooth), St. Godelieve (wearing the scarf that was the instrument of her martyrdom), St. Cecilia (looking at her musical instrument), St. Barbara (a tiny, tiny tower on her cap), donor's wife, St. Lucy (holding a ring).

I wonder if the unidentified saint is really the daughter of the donor. She only has her face to identify her.

Happy All Saints and All Saint's Eve!

Happy Sukkot

2010-09-24T18:42:00.000-04:00

I must admit. This is one of the holidays I envy the most. I would love to celebrate it. Maybe next year... Maybe next year in Jerusalem :) Just teasing.

Happy Sukkot

The best thing about Sukkot is the tent-like structures. Yes, it recalls forty years of wandering in the desert.

Yes, it's probably every Jewish kid's dream come true. Camping in our own backyard all together?! My sister and I always had to camp in our backyard by ourselves. Our parents were much to grown up to leave their mattress behind. Pity.

Thinking about wandering around the desert between Egypt and Israel made me wonder if there is any parallel in the New Testament.

Ahhh... of course.

You should totally check out this movie if you haven't seen it. It's about Sukkot in Jerusalem.

Modesty Update

2010-09-17T09:04:00.003-04:00

A long time ago, I mentioned my interest in developing a fashion style that was modest and comfortable.

I've come to a few conclusions about what needs to be included in my fashion line.

1. Tunics- great for casual days over jeans, and also ok for dressier days over slacks.

2. Pockets are a must!- I love to wear skirts, but they never have pockets these days. I think we should bring pockets back.

ReVamp Vintage

From Revamp Vintage (click the photo for link)

3. I don't want to mess with zippers or button holes, so I'm going to make lace up bodices.

4. Today lace up bodices are associated with corsets and weddings or corsets and lingerie. Therefore, I'll make a few stomachers to hide the laces or have the laces go straight across.

5. The above photo of a stomacher and bodice has a great kerchief that covers of the neckline and makes the dress more modest. It tucks into the bodice. That's a great idea!

6. You've gotta have an apron! Also, this look will be compatible with different types of headcoverings. More about those later.

6. As for the silhouette of these dresses, I'm going with a 1916 look. I think 1916 was the best fashion year. Plus, it will easily translate to modern clothing. It's also not elaborate, but still feminine.

Look out world 1350, 1760 and 1916 are going to join forces in defense of fashion, modesty, and lack of sewing skills!

Awesome symbolism

2010-09-17T08:34:00.001-04:00

This year has been a great one for symbolism.

Back in April Easter Sunday fell very close to Passover. Since the original Easter happened shortly after Passover. I thought this coincidence was very fitting.

This Saturday September 18 is another joint Catholic and Jewish celebration day. For both faiths it is a day of fasting.

For Catholics (Traditional ones because around Vatican II these days were dropped from the calendar) September 15, 17 and 18 are days of fasting called Ember Days. These days were meant for fasting and public prayer and petition for the forgiveness of our sins. There are four other sets of Ember Days throughout the year. A fun rhyme was invented to help laypeople to remember when these days occurred.

"Fasting days and Emberings be

Lent, Whitsun, Holyrood, and Lucie."

From this little rhyme you can see that Ember Days occur after the first Sunday in Lent (usually), after Whitsun Day (or Whitsunday) which is better known as Pentecost, after Holyrood (Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which is Sept. 14, it's still not too late to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the Cross!) and after St. Lucy's Day (Dec. 13). So there are Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter times to fast. As you can probably guess, these fasting times were especially important to medieval society since they were completely at the mercy of nature and harvest each year. (Maybe in modern times we should have four times a year to fast and pray for our government and economy since we're at their mercy?)

So, each set of Ember Days includes a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Wednesday and Friday are traditional fasting times for Christians. To this day, observant Orthodox Christians fast on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year. Friday, also observed by traditional Catholics, was the day of the week Jesus gave his life for our sins. Wednesday, only observed today by the Orthodox, was the day of the week Judas betrayed Our Savior. Saturday is a fasting day in memory of Jesus being placed in the tomb.

In another awesome coincidence, the extra day of fasting on Saturday this week coincides with Yom Kippur, the most solemn fast and petition for the forgiveness of sins in the Jewish calendar.

Maybe this symbolism of the two fasting days happening on the same day is a call to prayer and fasting?

What's to come? If you look at a Jewish calendar around the December 15, 17, and 18 Ember Days, you'll see that Asera Be'Tevet falls on December 16th. This day is a day of fasting in remembrance for the day Nebuchadnezzar began his siege of Jerusalem.

Sts. Monica and Augustine

2010-08-27T21:07:00.000-04:00

Happy feasts of Sts. (plural abbreviation for saint) Monica and Augustine! Today (August 27) is St. Monica's feast and tomorrow (August 28) is Augustine's. St. Monica was the longsuffering, mother of St. Augustine. Even though you wouldn't know it from Augustine's current rep he was quite the ne're-do-well as a young man. His mother prayed for years for Augustine's salvation, and just before she died she saw him convert to Christianity! I love this story because it's a great encouragement for all of us who have family members that have not yet come to love Christ.

These two saints are also awesome because St. Monica was most likely Berber (northern African people group... look them up, they're cool) and her husband was probably of Roman extraction. They lived in a Roman colony in the north of Africa. That would make St. Augustine the first mixed-race saint (that I can think of). Augustine is also a great ecumenical (trans-denominational) saint. He's one of the few early church Fathers that Protestants and Catholics both agree was awesome.

I tried to read Augustine's confessions two weeks ago. They had a copy at our library. Unfortunately, the translation was made in 1920 something, so it was very formal. It was like reading Shakespeare. I can enjoy Shakespeare because I know I'm reading exactly what he wrote, but in translation flourishes and thee's and thou's are just too much! It's a translation! You can make a translation readable if you want to. - Rant over-

The part of the Confessions I did force myself to read was awesome. Augustine describes his conversion moment with detail and emotion. I've never heard of a grown man admitting to so many tears. It's definitely worth a read.

Maria Goretti

2010-07-06T11:50:00.001-04:00

This blog has become quite neglected, but it was all worthwhile because now I have finished my first year of teaching, and turned in my master's thesis. My husband and I have also purchased our first home!

What day better to come back to the blog than the Feast of St. Maria Goretti. One of the youngest saints ever. She was filled with the life of Christ at a young age, and joined him in heaven at a young age as well. Sadly, she's one of the 20th century saints that we do not have a picture of. Her family was very poor. I like the depiction of her posted below.

I like this statue because it is symbolic as well as realistic. Maria is depicted as a young girl, but she has a womanly confidence about her. She is barefoot and carries the instrument of her martyrdom. Maria Goretti died before her twelfth birthday, defending herself from a neighbor boy who wanted to rape her. She was very poor, so her discalced (shoe-less) appearance is right on target. She was a mature (although vulnerable) young girl. She stayed at home alone to care for the baby of the family and the household chores while her mother, brothers and older sister worked in the fields. For her defense of her virginity until the end, Maria is considered a martyr. I won't go into the grusome details about how exactly she was killed. You can look that up yourself. The important thing is, with her dying breaths she forgave her attacker.

The story of Maria Goretti has come under attack by various people and groups. The first was a general response by feminists (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3735/is_200410/ai_n9478273/) that the veneration of Maria Goretti promoted virginity at all costs, and the idea that it is better to be dead than raped. This is kind of like the question raised by so many pogroms and the Holocaust, would you spit on the Bible if someone threatened to kill you if you didn't? I agree that we should preserve life if at all possible, including our own, but when it comes to dying for what you believe in, when does the greater import shift to our honorable death, rather than attempting to preserve our life?

In addition, an Italian writer has taken issue with basically the entire story about Maria Goretti. He claims that she could not have physically fended off her attacker and therefore did not die a virgin. This raises the question are virgins only virgins physically? Is there not a spiritual side? I suggest this based on the following scripture verse:

Matthew 5:28: "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

If someone looks lustfully and committs adultery in their heart (but not physically), God sees this as a sin. Therefore, if someone is raped, but is pure in heart (even if not a virgin physically) does God see the physical reality or the heart condition? This reminds me of the suggestion that because Mary gave birth to Jesus, her womb was no longer "virgin" and therefore she was no longer a virgin.

My outlook about Maria Goretti is this: Yes, she said, she'd rather die than be raped. I would argue she wasn't concerned as much for her own physical virginity, but for her attacker's soul. Of course, that can be debated. What is clear is that Maria Goretti did not kill herself by that statement. Her attacker decided to pull out a knife and stab her. How quickly his lust changed to hatred! She did not in any way kill herself or put herself in danger. Who's to say that his intention wasn't to kill her in the first place?

There is also a cultural difference that needs to be considered. In Southern Italy, there had long been a custom of young men winning a bride by rape and/or abduction. Maria Goretti, although young, was no doubt old enough to know about this cultural norm. She still insisted that it was a sin, even if the young man intended to marry her afterward. Of course, we do not know that's what he intended, but it has been argued, so I thought I'd bring it up. For further information about this custom, see especially Franca Viola's story.

Pentecost!

2010-05-23T12:29:00.001-04:00

Happy Pentecost everyone!

Thank the Lord for sending us the Helper!

You can read about Passover in the Book of Acts. All of the disciples had been gathered for nine days praying together and the Holy Spirit came down and graced them all with the gift of tongues simultaneously, which was awesome because Pentecost was one of the three Jewish festivals that required pilgrimage to the Temple for everyone who did not live in Jerusalem. So, the city was filled with Jews from all over the known world who spoke many different languages.

The tongues of fire which came down and rested on the disciples' heads is the most common depiction of Pentecost, hence the above picture. And before you point out (like my husband did) yes I realize the picture is a bit.... romanticized. :) I can't help it. I really like this painting.

Of course, according to the Jewish calendar we already had Pentecost. It began at sunset on the 18th of May. Pentecost is the Feast of "Weeks" or Shavuot. It comes after Passover and serves as a book end to the celebratory season of Passover. In the Bible Shavuot is a holiday in which one brings the first fruits to the Temple and has a celebratory feast. Traditions surrounding the holiday developed and the holiday got a new focus. This makes sense since most Jews today are not living in agricultural societies. The new focus is on the Torah, God's Law. Some Jews participate in all night Torah study sessions, which I was inspired to do, but sadly it was a weeknight and so it wasn't doable. A second tradition is reading the Book of Ruth, which does tie to first fruits I suppose since there's a whole lot of gleaning in that book. Third, one is supposed to partake of dairy! I love dairy, but being lactose intolerant we celebrated dairy in a round about way.

We made soy cheesecake (which the husband has been asking for for months), and tofu manicotti. Our manicotti was not as pretty as that though. Finally, one is supposed to decorate the house with greenery and flowers. This we didn't do.

A more modern tradition for a Christian celebration of Pentecost is to have red foods. Some people have red velvet cake, and some people have strawberries! We went for the second route since they are much healthier and also on sale because of the bumper crop California had this year.

So, however you celebrate Pentecost, I wish you a joyful one! Keep in mind this feast is also the official end to the Easter season. This really makes sense if you look at it in the light that Pentecost marked the end to the joyful Passover season (hence the term Paschal Season).

Irish Thursdays- Happy Annunciation Day!

2010-03-25T08:36:00.002-04:00

Today is a two in one! Yes, the first is an Irish lamb :)

The Lamb of God! God became flesh and died for us!

I love how Mary is always shown reading a book. Was she religious, or a book worm? I'm glad in the last picture, Waterhouse depicts her reading a scroll. That's much more likely, since books weren't invented yet. You have to love Waterhouse's color palette too.

Miracle Monday

2010-03-22T06:58:00.002-04:00

New series I just thought of, Miracle Mondays! (Isn't it nice when it alliterates? I didn't have the same luck with Irish Thursdays.) I'll post miracle stories from the Church Fathers and the lives of the saints. I can already think of some fun ones!

St. Columba

St. Columba started out life the same way a lot of saints did, a rich kid who got himself in trouble. He was similar to St. Patrick in this way. He started a battle between two clans over possession of a book, which just goes to show how important books were back then. As penance, he exiled himself from Ireland and made is way into pagan Scotland.

Now, under Brehon Law (Irish Law), the worst penalty was exile. (They did not have capital punishment.) In a clan based society, your livelihood depended entirely on your family, your people. They would put an exiled man in a boat with no oars and a bit of food and water (not enough to survive on for long), and basically give him over to God's mercy. Later, men who wished to emulate the Desert Fathers of the East set out in boats like exiled men looking for a "desert in the sea," where they could pray and separate themselves from the world. These men were called peregrinato.

Iona is an island labeled A. It looks like it's attached to the mainland in this map, but it's not. It's just so small, you just can't really see it, but I wanted to show you how far he went from Northern Ireland.

So, St. Columba willingly undertook this worst of all penalties, and set sail from his home in northern Ireland towards the islands of Scotland to find one that was uninhabited.

This story is from the vita (life) of St. Columba of Iona written by Adamnan (Ad'-av-nawn) the ninth abbot of Iona, who succeeded St. Columba.

Iona Today

St. Columba was well-known for his prophesy. God gave him knowledge of many future things: the outcome of battles, when and where people would die, and apparently even sins that were being committed far away.

One night he woke up his fellow monks and urged them all to pray because at that moment a horrible sin was being committed. Later Lugaid, another monk, but one who did not live at Iona, came to visit the island, bringing with him a penitent man who came to search for the healing of his soul. When the boat they were coming on neared the shore, St. Columba suddenly sat up and called to Dermot, a younger monk, and told him to run down to the shore and command the penitent man to not set food on the island. The man told Dermot that he would not eat food anymore if he could not see St. Columba right away. St. Columba knew that this was the man who had committed the grievous sin. He was reluctant to do anything for him. Another monk lectured St. Columba telling him about how God forgives sinners. Obviously, Columba knew this, so he told his fellow monk. "Yes, but this is the man who has committed the sin of Cain (killed his brother) and also lain with his mother!"
St. Columba finally went down to the shore and saw that the man was kneeling on the shore! St. Columba said to him, "If you do not return home to Ireland, but spend 12 years being a missionary among the Britons (pagans at the time), then God may forgive you." So, the man left, contented, but St. Columba was troubled. He said to his fellow monks, "Pray for this man because he will not remain in Briton, but he will return to Ireland and not seek forgiveness for his sins. Because of this he will be given over to the hands of his enemies when he returns." All of what St. Columba foretold came true.

So, what are we to make of this? To modern sensibilities this seems like an unforgiving kind of Christianity. That may be the case, but I think there is more to the story than a crotchety old man and a very wayward young man. First of all, think of Iona as a safe haven from which the monks can pray and seek God. They have purposely separated themselves from the world to do this more fully. They see their prayers as powerful tools that the Lord can use to impact the lives of his children that are in the world for good. So, the monks live lives that are similar to Jesus'. They're not married, they live simply, they pray a lot, they support themselves by working the land. They also served as missionaries. Often they did not have to go to people, often people came to them, as seen in this story. The island of Iona is a symbol of the purity of the group of monks. St. Columba's admonition that the (un)penitent sinner not be allowed to set food on the land was a practical one. He did not want the sin of the man to infect his monastery. It might seem silly to us, but see it as a symbol. Sin is like a disease, in that it can spread from person to person. So, the pure haven of the monks was tained by the footstep of the sinful man.
Now, this man was not just sinful, he was pretty far gone. He was so bad that:

Well, who would even do what he did. It's just nasty.
He disobeyed direct orders from the abbot.
He did not behave in a humble way. He demanded to be seen, threatening to kill himself if Columba did not come.
He did not follow through on the penance that was given to him. He was looking for a quick fix. He wanted to play chess with God. I did this, you do this back to me and we're square right? That's not true penitence.

Could St. Columba have done more for the guy? I don't think so. He prayed when the guy was committing the horrible sin. He knew the punishment for such a sin would be horrible. He tried to demonstrate how the guy should be humble and wait for God's help instead of being demanding. He even gave him a final way out, a final opportunity to change from his wicked ways. The guy didn't take it. It wasn't smart of him.

This story reminds me of the story in Kings when Naaman comes to Elisha's house to find a cure for leprosy. Elisha will not come out to Naaman, but sends his servant Gehazi instead to give him instructions. This angers Naaman so much that he is about to not go and follow the simple instructions that were given to him. How could he not come out to see me!? He was so angry. His servants had to sweet talk him into doing what the prophet had ordered. Was Naaman's real problem leprosy, or was it a lack of humility?

Naaman and the young man from this story are people who demand God to work on their own schedule. What makes the young man from St. Columba's story worse than Naaman is that the young man was supposedly a Christian and should have known better. Naaman was a pagan and idol worshiper and he eventually did what God's prophet asked him to do. The young sinner was quite a different story.

Happy St. Joseph's Day!

2010-03-19T07:52:00.011-04:00

Yes, today is the 5th Friday of Lent, but it's also St. Joseph's Feast Day!

Here are our plans:

1. Eat a meatless feast.
Italians have a special love for St. Joseph, so it seemed fitting for the feast to be an Italian one. We're going to have homemade spinach stromboli and the easy version of zeppole. These are basically creme puffs. I'm going to be making mango pudding as the filling. It's lactose free! (It's milk free for that matter.)

2. Go to Stations of the Cross.

Irish Thursdays

2010-03-18T08:31:00.007-04:00

New tradition on "Least of All the Faithful"! Irish Thursdays!
All photographs are taken by me, and therefore, please don't sell them :)

Giveaway!

2010-03-17T12:13:00.001-04:00

I have yet to win one, but you never know! Here's another giveaway to share with you all!

http://www.cookingforseven.com/2010/03/review-giveaway-malachis-harvest-granola/

By the way, I love this blog! She has some great food ideas and recipes!

Title Reveal!

2010-03-17T09:26:00.000-04:00

(I think) I've been waiting for this day to finally reveal what the title of this blog comes from.

I'm sure some of you already knew this, and I might have let it slip earlier, but here's the full quotation on this beautiful day!

St. Patrick's Confessio

1 I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon Calpurnius, son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement [vicus] of Bannavem Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was taken captive. I was at that time about sixteen years of age. I did not, indeed, know the true God; and I was taken into captivity in Ireland with many thousands of people, according to our desserts, for quite drawn away from God, we did not keep his precepts, nor were we obedient to our priests who used to remind us of our salvation. And the Lord brought down on us the fury of his being and scattered us among many nations, even to the ends of the earth, where I, in my smallness, am now to be found among foreigners.
2 And there the Lord opened my mind to an awareness of my unbelief, in order that, even so late, I might remember my transgressions and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God, who had regard for my insignificance and pitied my youth and ignorance. And he watched over me before I knew him, and before I learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he protected me, and consoled me as a father would his son.
3 Therefore, indeed, I cannot keep silent, nor would it be proper, so many favours and graces has the Lord deigned to bestow on me in the land of my captivity. For after chastisement from God, and recognizing him, our way to repay him is to exalt him and confess his wonders before every nation under heaven.
4 For there is no other God, nor ever was before, nor shall be hereafter, but God the Father, unbegotten and without beginning, in whom all things began, whose are all things, as we have been taught;and his son Jesus Christ, who manifestly always existed with the Father, before the beginning of time in the spirit with the Father,indescribably begotten before all things, and all things visible and invisible were made by him. He was made man, conquered death and was received into Heaven, to the Father who gave him all power over every name in Heaven and on Earth and in Hell, so that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, in whom we believe. And we look to his imminent coming again, the judge of the living and the dead, who will render to each according to his deeds. And he poured out his Holy Spirit on us in abundance, the gift and pledge of immortality, which makes the believers and the obedient into sons of God and co-heirs of Christ who is revealed, and we worship one God in the Trinity of holy name.
5 He himself said through the prophet: 'Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.' And again: 'It is right to reveal and publish abroad the works of God.'

In case it's not immediately obvious :) a "confessio" is a confession. St. Patrick wrote this when he came under attack from bishops and priests back home. They accused him of being an upstart basically, they might have been afraid of how quickly he had managed to convert the majority of Ireland and they were probably a tad jealous, since the Germanic tribes they were working on were far more stubborn.

If you read through the confession you can learn a few major things.
1. Saint Patrick is a picture of humility.
2. Saint Patrick wasn't perfect. He admits to having committed a grievous sin in his youth. Scholars still debate what the sin might have been.
3. Saint Patrick knew his Bible!
4. Saint Patrick was courageous. He went through a lot.

There's also a letter attributed to him written to Coroticus, a leader of supposedly Christian men. This letter is fascinating. The main purpose of the letter is to beg for the release of Christian Irish men and women who were taken into slavery by Coroticus' men. As you know, Patrick himself was taken into slavery by Irish pirates, so for this to happen to his own recently converted Irish, it must have been devastating to him.

As you can read on the sign, in Irish he is called Naomh Pádraig (neehv pah-drigc)
I wish we had some more historically accurate renditions of St. Patrick. He probably didn't wear green, or even a bishop's hat, I bet he did have the staff though.

And, yes, the banishing of the snakes is a myth, but one with a purpose. It's believed there never were snakes in Ireland at all since the Ice Age. The story worked as a way of explaining why there were no snakes, and as a way of demonstrating that St. Pádriag's God was real, because God gave the saint power over nature.

Another idea is that the druids may have been known as "snakes," so the story is meant to be read as St. Patrick cast out the druids.

Yes! I got a good one!

2010-03-17T08:53:00.000-04:00

I tried to avoid purposely picking Augustine... he's pretty obvious to pick out from some of the questions, if you've read a little of his writing. So, I ended up with Justin Martyr, which is really cool!

You’re St. Justin Martyr!

You have a positive and hopeful attitude toward the world. You think that nature, history, and even the pagan philosophers were often guided by God in preparation for the Advent of the Christ. You find “seeds of the Word” in unexpected places. You’re patient and willing to explain the faith to unbelievers.

Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!

Lent- It affects us all to different degrees :)

2010-03-11T14:02:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, Lent.
I really admire Orthodox Christians, but the Lord was gracious enough to give this Southern Protestant a Catholic instead of Orthodox husband.

In Orthodoxy the fasting is serious business. Fish Fridays are a cake walk compared to what they do! I'm awe inspired and impressed. We're talking no meat throughout all of Lent (all 40 days), no dairy throughout all of Lent, no olive oil or wine except on Saturday and Sunday and feast days. Oh yes, and also on certain feast days you can have fish!

Here is an amazing humorous look at Lent from the Orthodox perspective.

This blogger is actually amazing in general, and even this non-Orthodox gal gets most of his humor. Check it out. He writes some really funny cartoons about Orthodoxy, but most Christians should be able to relate.

Giveaway!

2010-03-11T13:17:00.000-05:00

Hello All!

The lovely lady at Free To Cover is giving away two white lace mantillas! Go over to her site to enter your name here to be included for a chance to be the lucky winner.

Giveaways are so sweet! I love them :)

So Excited!

2010-02-17T12:35:00.002-05:00

I found my first blog comment! (It was put there a while ago, and I didn't notice... sad). So, I signed up for comment notification because I want to be excited again!
Yup, that's it.

Meals for Meatless Friday

2010-02-17T12:34:00.001-05:00

Friday's in Lent should be serious. You shouldn't fast just because you have to. If you have kids over 14 years old, or you yourself is over 14, Fridays in Lent should not be "pizza night" or "pancake night." Seriously, my few Catholic ancestors would be turning in their graves if they knew that people had pancakes on Fridays during Lent! Yes, technically, you're not eating meat, but you're missing the whole point. I think not eating meat probably meant a lot more to our ancestors. It still means a lot to my husband. He loves meat.

Anyway, I think the best things to eat for Fridays in Lent (and every Friday if you're up for it) are things like soups, rice dishes, and plain pasta dishes.
However, I don't think we should sacrifice our health just because we're fasting. Your body is still the Temple of the Holy Spirit, after all. If you know how to eat a balanced meal, then you should do so. So, get your protein! We're talking beans, legumes, cheese, eggs and fish! Lebanese food lends itself very well to this. Apparently there are a lot of ways to use chickpeas and yogurt! Now, if only I can find some lactose-free Greek yogurt.... hmmm....

Our Ash Wednesday meal: one hard boiled each, steamed and sauted kale, one boiled sweet potato between us both, one tin of sardines and some artisan bread. Here you've got your protein, Omega-3s, Vitamin C, A, K, good sugar, whole grains, fiber, and calcium (eating the sardines whole).

Our line up for Fridays:
Haddock and Colcannon (very Irish)
Mdardara (Lebanese rice and lentils)
Adas Bi Hamoud (Lebanese chard, lentil and potato soup)
Fatteh with Hummus (Lebanese Chickpeas and yogurt)
Siyyadiyeh (Lebanese fish over rice)
Tofu lasagna (Since I can't eat cottage cheese or ricotta. Man, ricotta really did a number on my stomach. I've mourned the loss of cannoli ever since. I have never had a good cannoli and I might not have one ever!)

By the way, this might be helpful. The following fish are mercury-free, and no, canned tuna is not safe.
List of safe fish:
Wild Pacific Salmon (comes in a can sometimes! If it comes in a can, then eat the bones, they're good for you! If you're buying a fillet... don't eat the bones :)
Summer flounder
Croaker
Sardines (totally yummy!)
Haddock (my fav!)
Tilapia (really cheap)

Ash Wednesday

2010-02-17T11:55:00.001-05:00

Today is a day for
feeling sorry for your sin,
repenting, and
asking for God's forgiveness.

Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust. The world is fading a way. The flowers fade and the grasses wither and die.

Sackcloth and Ashes

Before the time of Christ, the Hebrews would put on sackcloth and pour ashes over their heads as a sign of sorrow, humility or morning. By doing this, they were telling God that they wanted to return to him and that they were repenting of their sin.

I used to think of this day as a needlessly somber day. Then I started thinking about it in terms of how much my sin, and the sin of the whole world has offended God. In that respect we could stand to be somber for one day, at least. Jesus wants us to rejoice with him, but we can also cry with him.

How Long, O Lord?

I'm not sure if you have ever experienced this, but has anything ever hurt your soul in a way that you thought: "I'm feeling what God feels right now"? Sometimes I feel that way. If I am reminded of abortion, abuse, helplessness, tragedy, most of the time I think, "that's sad," and move on. But sometimes I burst into tears at the slightest mention of it. Have you ever wailed over someone you never knew? I have. As human beings, we're not programmed to do that. My own selfishness usually keeps me from feeling that strongly for a person I never knew and never will know. I think sometimes God gives us a little taste of what it's like to be like him. He is so pure, and the darkness of sin causes him such anguish.

After all, Paul didn't just say that we're going to share in Christ's resurrection. We should also share in his sufferings (Phil. 3:10).

Those are my thoughts on Ash Wednesday.
If only I didn't have to work today so I could spend more time praying. I guess, that's my Ash Wednesday sorrow.

Little Known Christian Holidays

2010-02-04T12:13:00.002-05:00

This past week was a week chock full of awesome Christian holidays.
Because of my love of history and the whole Body of Christ, I enjoy commemorating Catholic, Orthodox and even Jewish holidays. The Catholic calendar is by far the easiest one to keep up with. The Jewish calendar has months based on the moon, and since my culture doesn't pay much attention to the moon I get confused. In addition, the sunset beginnings to the holidays really throw me off. It's difficult to follow Orthodox holidays as well because the majority of Orthodox Christians are still following the Julian Calendar. This calendar was named for Julius Caesar, and was put in place before the birth of Christ. It was the calendar of the early Church. The only problem was that the Julian Calendar got off kilter because they didn't quite understand (but were really close) leap years. Pope Gregory fixed these problems, instituting the Gregorian Calendar which we follow today. So, it's awfully hard for a non-Julian Calendar person to celebrate Orthodox feasts because they just seem out of place. Orthodox Christmas comes around during Gregorian January, for instance.
The Catholic calendar of holidays and feasts also has a lot of people and events even the most Protestant of Protestants will already be familiar with.

Valentine's Day is really a Christian holiday commemorating the death of St. Valentine, a martyr of the early church.

St. Patrick was the missionary who converted Ireland to Christianity.

Hallowe'en is "All Hallows Eve" better known as the night before All Saints' Day, which is just a catch all day to celebrate every person who died and went to heaven. We can't possibly know all of God's saints, so they created this day to celebrate the ones we don't know and the ones we knew personally, but aren't remembered by the whole world.
Well, this past week had some holidays that might not sound familiar at all, but they were great!

February 1- the (optional) feast of St. Brigid of Kildare. St. Brigid is very important to Irish Christianity. St. Brigid's Cross, pictured, is the most famous symbol associated with her. I posted about her life further down in this blog. The stories of her life are, to put it bluntly, a little suspect. We don't have the same kind of historical proof for St. Brigid that we have for St. Patrick, for instance. You also have to be careful also because the "celtic" brand of "paganism" celebrates Feb. 1st as a pagan holiday. It's thought that St. Brigid may have been used as a replacement for Brigantia, a pagan celtic goddess. The long and short of it is, even if her miracles are a bit outlandish, her stories are there to spread the news that Brigid's God, the Christian God, has power over nature and is therefore the highest power.

February 2- The Presentation of the Lord, aka Candlemas, aka The Purification of the Virgin Mary, aka Hypapante "the meeting." This is the celebration of the story from Luke, where Joseph and Mary take the baby Jesus into the Temple to sacrifice to the Lord, according to the Law of Moses. This is an important holiday because in it we remember that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and fulfilled the Law so that we could be saved. The Greek name for this feast emphasizes the second important part, the meeting between Simeon and Jesus and Anna and Jesus. In these meetings, Jesus is recognized as the Messiah. This day is also known as Candlemas because Simeon said that Jesus would be a light to the gentiles, allowing us to be accepted into the Heavenly Kingdom, which makes me very thankful. It's called the Purification of the Virgin Mary because according to the Law, after your firstborn child you could not enter the Temple for a time, and then after the appointed time you would take your sin offering in the form of a dove and burnt offering in the form of a lamb to the Temple and ceremonially become clean again.
We read in Luke that Mary and Joseph brought two doves to the Temple. This tells us that they were too poor to offer a lamb for a burnt offering. It's hard to escape the symbolism that although they could not bring a lamb, they brought the Lamb of God to the Temple, who would be the perfect sacrifice for all! How poignant. I think this is one of my favorite holidays.

Traditions on this holiday include burning candles, and making crepes. We did both. We had dinner by candlelight only. It was very beautiful. I wanted to cook by candlelight as well, but my husband wanted to read. Oh well.

February 3- optional feast of St. Blaise. St. Blaise is another early Christian martyr whose history is largely unknown. However, he became associated with throats because of a story that he saved a child from choking to death on a fish bone. Even though we don't know much about him, it's a sweet tradition to pray to the Lord today for protection over our throats. Although, medieval tradition usually focuses on diseases of the throat, we can also focus on other throaty aspects. We can pray that God will use our voice to spread the Gospel and to sing His praises.

February 5- feast of St. Agatha. This is another celebration of an early saint who died under the persecutions of Decius. Her story has largely been lost to history, but tradition has it that she died from being rolled on coals, among various other tortures. Because of the association with coals, on this day we can pray specifically to God for victims of fires, protection for our homes against fire, and for firemen. In the picture to the right, Agatha is depicted with a (yellow) palm branch that is a symbol of her martyrdom and a plate with her two breasts, which were supposed to be cut off in the process of torturing her to get her to turn away from God. That part may or may not be true, but there you have it. She is also sometimes associated with bread. I think because to someone who didn't know her story, it kind of looks like she has a plate of buns instead of breasts. There are plenty of other saints to associate with bread, though, like St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who I will write about closer to her feast day.

As Americans, products of the Enlightenment and the Reformation, we tend to pride ourselves on our Reason. However, even though the details of some of the lives of the saints are lost to history, that does not mean we should forget our brothers and sisters who suffered and died for the sake of Christ. They were normal people like us, but they had to prove that dying for Christ was gain. We should live for Christ in our free country and pray that God gives us the faith and courage that He gave his children who had to lose everything for His sake.

So About that Thesis...

2010-01-23T21:13:00.000-05:00

So, unfortunately, I've been working on one project since last October or so. I say unfortunately because I was never one to enjoy projects that take this long.
Yes, I'm still trying to write my thesis. Every time Eric asks me how many pages I have, and I say, 23 or 24. He says "yay!" And I say.... boo, because I wish I were finished.
I adore the two people I'm writing about. One because he's old and grumpy and really smart. I bet he was a smarty pants and you probably wouldn't have liked him much, John Wyclif. I like the other because he was young and on fire for God and died trying to bring the Church back to the way it was. Unfortunately for Jan Hus, he was accused of heresy for believing things that the Church professes now. He thought that the laity could receive in both kinds (which is a fancy word for saying "take both the bread and the wine at communion"). He believed that bishops and priests shouldn't buy their positions, imagine that?
The last point is my main topic for comparing these two medieval trouble makers. It's this lovely little thing called Simony. It's a sin named after Simon Magus or Simon the Magician... depending on if you're reading a modern translation or the goodie but oldie version. Anyways, Simon attempted to buy the Holy Spirit from Peter and in that one disastrous move became 1) the patron saint of all corrupt Church officials and 2) the first documented unforgiven sinner. You see, Wyclif and Hus both connected the sin of Simony and the sin against the Holy Spirit, which Jesus said was unforgivable, in this life and the next! Yowzer! As a young Christian, I used to worry that I might do this... but I've been since reassured that if you actually did sin like that, you wouldn't want to be forgiven, hence how you could not be forgiven. Nevertheless, it's probably still safer to pray you never blaspheme the Holy Spirit. :)
That's your little church history for the day. It was very unhistorical on purpose. I'm tired of writing history. I want it to be over.

Menu for this week

2009-10-28T10:28:00.000-04:00

I love having a good menu for the week. It gives me something to look forward to!
Tuesday- stromboli-it was amazing! I have found the best whole wheat pizza dough recipe .
Wednesday- chinese steamed dumplings (ground turkey instead of pork)
Thursday- beef roast in a slow cooker with beer and veggies plus cabbage (a twist on corned beef and cabbage)
Friday- sausage lasagna. I'm going to try to substitute tofu for ricotta. The last time the lactose in the ricotta really got to me.
Saturday/ Sunday- leftovers and beef short rib stew

CBS Reports

2009-10-26T12:46:00.000-04:00

You have to read this story. CBS uncovers how many h1n1 cases are really h1n1 or influenza. Shocker? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/21/cbsnews_investigates/main5404829.shtml

Who wore it best?

2009-10-23T10:05:00.001-04:00

Who hasn't met the pope?
There has been a lot of talk online recently about Obama's meeting with the pope and Michelle's veil. I wanted to put up a post comparing how first ladies and British royals have carried the veil and black dress tradition when meeting the pope. The question here is, who wore it best?

Here we see Mrs. Kennedy being escorted by a cardinal to meet the pope. This is probably due to the times and the fashion of the day, but kutos to her for wearing a long high collar dress. It's modest and still you can tell she's a woman. I love her long veil! She has a great hairstyle for the veil too.

Flash forward a few decades. Nancy Regan meets JP2 who (hands-down) wins the award for best looking pope ever. What I love about Nancy's look is the pill box hat that she wears under the veil, retro and classy. It's also a great way to keep the veil from slipping. Pin it to a hat pinned to your head!

Another picture from the 80's I think. Lady Di meets the pope. Props to her for her long sleeves! I'm still not a fan of the shiny fabric or the poofy shoulders... oh well. At least she's got the veil. I'm not really a fan of the veil and bangs though. What do you think?

Hillary meets the pope. In the 90's it seems it became ok to see the pope in a skirt that was not full length. In this picture she's got the veil, which is great. I think this was early on in their presidency.

Here she is meeting the pope again, sans veil and sans dress. She looks much more masculine in this picture. Maybe if she styled her hair a bit that would have helped. Those were the 90's though. Remember that look? Jennifer Aniston-esque?

And here we have the current pope meeting the previous first lady. Modesty again! High neckline and long sleeves. I love the button detail too. The veil looks very sweet on her. Maybe bangs are ok for veiled brunettes? Jury is still out. I might get over it. I'm just upset I look bad with bangs :)

Finally, our first lady of the moment and pope of the moment, Michelle looks modest and trendy in this outfit. Hillary already set the short skirt precedent, and I think Michelle's skirt is longer. Man is she tall! I love the pointy flats... she is really tall. The best thing about this outfit is the belt. I'm impressed with the long sleeves and high neckline as well. I wonder where she found that blouse/ dress. My only critique of Michelle's look is that she should have worn a shorter veil. It's a little too habit-like. Perhaps if it were an airier lace it would have not added weight.

Who wins the contest? Jackie O for her style and Laura for her cuteness :)

Note: if you want to be a female politician wear long sleeves and high necks. It seems to be a trend. :-)

Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses

2009-10-23T09:11:00.000-04:00

Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses

I'm calling it Bay Breezes. It's a retro but casual dress.
It's a square neck dress with a full skirt that has seams on the bodice to make it feminine. The sleeves are drawstring, so you can go from a shorter short sleeve to a longer short sleeve. This makes it perfect for spring because you never know if you'll be hot or cold! The best part of all is there are pockets hidden in the side seams! Boys have pockets in every garment they wear, and I've always been envious. Why not have a dress with pockets?
I was thinking a light cotton, linen or another lightweight fabric. If the color is light, the bodice may have to be lined.
For colors- anything but white on account of the fabric being too light. I could see this dress in a sky blue or brown. A springy purple color might be nice as well. I think it could work in many colors.

Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses

P.S. Please excuse the lack of artistic talent.

Blessed are the extroverts?

2009-10-19T10:55:00.001-04:00

All my life I have been asked, "Are you always this quiet?" Other times, I have been outright branded as "quiet" or an "introvert." I always believed them. I thought it was my character flaw. I thought to myself, "If only if I could be more talkative, more interesting, more popular, better with people." Yet, people always talked to me. I was the person the outsiders turned to. The unpopular people were drawn to me. I made them feel comfortable, I think. I wasn't bad with people. That was not the problem and it was not my character flaw.
Instead, the problem is with society and the people who believe in it. There are those who believe in Jesus, but their religion is society. They keep society's commandments and worship her idols. They believe, "Thou shalt be outspoken and popular." They proclaim, "Thou shalt be loud and bubbly." Don't forget the age old adage, "If you make someone feel uncomfortable about the way they are living (ie if you don't drink at parties or don't join in gambling) then those who feel uncomfortable should make YOU feel uncomfortable and as if you are WRONG, because you obviously are, right?"
This is a lie. Plain and simple.
What did Jesus say? "Blessed are the meek. They will inherit the earth." (Matt. 5)
What is a meek, you say? A fuzzy animal that you make into a coat?

Let's review.
Meek-
1. enduring injury with patience and without resentment
2. not violent

Are the meek loud or are they quiet?
I'm not introverted. I'm not quiet. I am meek. I endeavor to speak when the Lord tells me to and not before. I know that the tongue is the part of the body that gets most people into trouble most often. It's hard to control. Sometimes you'd think it has a mind of its own (James 3).

Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those who endure less than polite treatment. Blessed are those who obey God given authority. Blessed are the quiet and calm. Blessed are the less popular.

The ironic thing here? It is not just the non-religious or non-Christians in my life that accuse me of being quiet, it is the churched and the Jesus followers as well.

Satan is tricky. He's convinced us that in this age of "equality" and "rights" for everyone, that means we should all make our opinions known all the time, as loudly as possible. I'm willing to bet he is wrong. I believe, as Christians, we should be meek.

Ze Frank is hillarious.

2009-10-14T18:42:00.002-04:00

Get ready for a shake up!

2009-10-14T07:40:00.003-04:00

This should prove an interesting time in the English speaking part of the Catholic Church.

Beautiful Reminder-- Blessed are the humble.

2009-10-13T13:08:00.005-04:00

From the Horse's Mouth

2009-10-13T13:02:00.001-04:00

Do you think global warming is a huge issue? Or do you think it's a non-issue? Either way you should read what BBC has to say. Interesting stuff.

Happy Michaelmas!

2009-09-29T08:49:00.000-04:00

Happy Michaelmas! Welcome to the fall. Besides it being the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, today is the day that marks the fall term in English schools. From now until Christmas is Michaelmas term. According to legend you better eat your fill of blackberries today because tomorrow they will be rotten. Satan comes and snatches them up or something :) It's a cute legend.

Here is Michael himself. It took me a long time to find a manly portrait. He's still got girly hair. Who says angels have long hair? The Renaissance strikes again!
Either way, I'm sure glad I'm on the right side of this guy :) His sword is intimidating enough.

Rev 12:7-12ab

War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is called the Devil and Satan,
who deceived the whole world,
was thrown down to earth,
and its angels were thrown down with it.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
“Now have salvation and power come,
and the Kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who accuses them before our God day and night.
They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them.”

Hallelujah. Victory belongs to our God! AMEN

Names of the week

2009-09-01T09:06:00.001-04:00

This week I am putting up a couple names. I've been obsessing about them equally. It's a strange obsession because in the past I have had very few favorite names that start with 's.'

Sunniva- (soon-EEva) (sun-EEva) This is a Norwegian name that means "sun gift." It was derived from Sunngifu a name that reportedly belonged to an Irish princess, but the name has Old English elements. The story goes that in the 900's an Irish princess fled with her brother and maidens from the prospect of an unhappy marriage. They settled in a cave on the coast of Norway. After a while, locals found the cave closed off by a landslide. In the 11th century King Olaf Tryggvason came along and decided to excavate. He was reported to have found the saint's body intact and he built a church in her honor.
Here is a statue of Sunniva in the Bergen museum.

Siri- (See-ree) This is a shortened form of Sigrid, which means "beautiful victory." I always thought Nordic names were the worst out of all European varieties, but then I found out that they don't pronounce 'd' as harshly as we do in English. Here is a link to the Norwegian pronunciation of Sigrid.

Solveig- Another name that looks ugly but sounds quite pretty in Norwegian. It means "sun way" most likely, but also possibly "sun strength." A few ladies spell this name Solvei so that it is easier to pronounce for English speakers. An extra plus to this name is Grieg's Peer Gynt. Solveig's Song is beautiful.

Suvi- This is a Finnish name. It is the poetic word for "summer." It's pronounced here. I just find it beautiful!
So, four 'S' names. How to choose?!

Birthday dinner!

2009-08-26T20:07:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday to the husband today! We'll call him "Tunes" here since he likes to play guitar and it seems like a manly enough nickname. :)
For his birthday I gave him three options and he went for the butternut squash and pasta, which surprised me. He chose well!

1 medium butternut squash cut into 1 inch cubes

1 bag of whole wheat egg noodles

2 cups of milk

4 tablespoons of butter

4 tablespoons of flour

1 slice of provolone

Parmesan cheese

Breadcrumbs

Rosemary

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Toss squash in salt, pepper, olive oil and rosemary. Roast in 425 degree oven on a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil for 30 mins or until tender. You'll have to turn the pieces over twice or so. Cook the pasta and drain. Make white sauce. Melt butter on medium low heat. Mix in flour and cook for a few mins. Add milk and cook on low until thickened. Take off heat and add in provolone. Stir well. Grease a 9x11 casserole dish. Put pasta in the casserole. Place squash over pasta. Pour sauce over everything. Top with breadcrumbs and a generous amount of Parmesan. Heat in 400 degree oven for 10 mins or until cheese is melted! Serve warm.

We had this meal with roasted onions and garlic. Roasting is amazing. I had never done it before.

Desert was great! "Tunes" requested cinnamon buns. I used chai spices on one batch. The blue icing was hazelnut flavored and the green was butter flavored. I think using flavorings other than vanilla really helps this plain icing. Next time I won't color it though.

I made this with the scraps that were left over.

This week's menu

2009-08-25T09:18:00.000-04:00

This week's menu flip flops meat and vegetarian meals to save money.

Monday- chicken wings, pumpkin soup, and brown rice.
Tuesday- spinach and onion quiche
Wednesday- salmon alfredo
Thursday- butternut squash pasta
Friday- tuna risotto

I'll probably post pictures of the meals for you.

Attitudes and headscarves

2009-08-21T09:06:00.005-04:00

"She wore a headscarf, but her attitude was just the same."

My sister was just telling me a story about a girl in her class who converted to Islam. Even though outwardly this girl appeared different, the way she behaved in class remained the same. She was reportedly rude and disruptive in class the whole way through despite her change in religion.
Now, I'll be the first to admit, changing your way of life takes time. Some of us struggle the most with what comes out of our mouth. For this girl it may have been easier to make a wardrobe change than an attitude change. I could understand that. However, there is another way to look at it. Maybe she wasn't converting to Islam because of an internal change. What if she was converting because Islam supported modesty in a way that she respected and yearned for?

This is where the Western church has been failing our women. Since the 1960's, churches all across the board (excluding the Amish and Old Order Mennonites of course) have been placing modesty on the back burner. Up until Vatican II it was imperative for women to have a headcovering and their shoulders covered in a Catholic church. After Vatican II, the church did not say headcovering was discouraged. On the contrary, I think the comment that is republished time and again that "headcoverings were not being discussed" is the simple truth. They weren't going to talk about it because they thought it was a moot point. Headcoverings are Biblical and traditional, and although they shouldn't be a stumbling block that keeps someone away from God, they should be encouraged. But this lack of information was interpreted as "the mantilla has been retired." The rest is history.

A symbol of patriarchy? No, my personal decision:

I made the decision to wear a headscarf after reading 1 Corinthians 11. I feel the scripture is fairly clear that women should don headcoverings when praying or prophesying in public. Although others consider the verse that calls us to pray without ceasing and concludes we should veil without ceasing (see Anabaptists) I have not come to that conclusion just yet.

In my opinion, in 1 Cor. 11 Paul says that the headcovering is a symbol of woman's place in creation. She is under the authority of man who is under the authority of Christ. For those of you who are Christians but are wincing at that past statement, I understand where you're coming from. You think of discrimination against women, chauvinism, and abuse. Yes, in a fallen world those things happen (a lot), but I believe as a response to this we women should not strive to take the same place as men in God's plan for the church. Women and men are different and thus have different roles. It isn't that men are better; it's that they are different. Many people don't buy the nature not nurture argument, but I do. Do you think it plausible that monkey/humans would jump out of the jungle with the male saying to the female, "Now you're a girl, go do something feminine while I do something masculine"? Could the idea of femininity really have evolved in every society on earth independently? Ok, I realize this is going on a tangent... let's just say. I'm a supporter of femininity, and--

Yes, we should be submissive to our husbands. (Eph. 5:22)
Yes, men are to be in the authority positions in church (1 Cor 14: 34)

Does that make women less? No! Does it make us useless? Of course not.
Can modesty be a tool for evangelism? I think it can. Don't you think many women are yearning for modesty in this over exposed society of ours? You bet they are!

Do you think I've gone overboard? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Fashion inspired by the Renaissance

2009-08-20T12:42:00.002-04:00

I think the dress in this painting is intriguing. It looks as though the sleeves are removable. What a great idea to take a dress from summer to winter! This is just a teaser. More about fashion later.

The name of the week

2009-08-20T10:05:00.001-04:00

Bridget
Source: Anglicized Irish
Variations: Irish- Brighid, Bríd; English- Brigid; Germanic/ Scandinavian- Brigitta, French- Brigitte, Finnish- Piritta, Welsh- Ffraid, Polish- Brygida.
Meaning: "exalted one"
Nickname: Biddy, Britta, Britt

Bridget is a wonderful place to start off this series. It is a name that has history and mystery.

In Irish this name is Brighid or Bríd. Both of which would be pronounced like "breed." Originally Brighid was a Celtic goddess. She is found all over the old Celtic world. She was the goddess of fire and poetry. In Roman Britain she was referred to as Brigantia. Representations of the goddess took an Athena-like form.

Christianity came to Ireland in a unique way. Irish traditions were not completely swept away from Roman traditions. Instead, the original Irish Christians took a lot of the culture with them when they converted. No one knows whether or not there really was a Saint Brigid. The life of Saint Brigid that survives has many stories that sound like they were influenced by the ancient pagan traditions. In these tales, Brigid displays her sainthood through hanging her clothing out to dry on a rainbow and other miracles. One thing that is certain. She was seen as a saint of the home and the abbey. The miracles that are attributed to her early life have to do with churning, milking, sewing and other household duties.

Brigid is thought to have founded a double monestary at Kildare in 470. Double monestaries are interesting. They would be built like a typical monestary for men, but they would have either a divided church with two entrances (one side for monks and one for nuns) that would be served by one priest; or they may have two separate chapels for the nuns and monks. Even though Brigid would have been the abbess of her nuns, there would have been a male authority in charge of the monks and essentially the nuns as well. Kildare Abbey became a great center of learning. The original abbey was destroyed in the 12th century, which probably means it was sacked Vikings. The following is a picture of the church buildings that stand on the spot today. By my approximation it is a late Medieval building. The abbey was again closed under the reign of Elizabeth I.

Even though much of what is known about Brigid from the lives is most likely legend, I greatly admire the Irish instinct to take their culture and traditions and rework them in a God-centered way. I don't think her pagan past makes Brigid unacceptable. Instead, I see evidence of enthusiastic conversion on the part of the Irish. Even the old gods must be converted to Christianity.

If you want to know more about St. Brigid here are a few links.
St. Brigid feast traditions from Fish Eaters
Catholic Encyclopedia
Information about Kildare Abbey
Behind the Name info
Not to be confused with St. Bridget/Brigitta of Sweden

French Onion Soup

2009-08-20T09:24:00.001-04:00

One of my husband's all time favorite dinners is French Onion soup. I made this soup in the crockpot and it was so easy. The best thing about it is that it is a very flexible soup. I didn't really follow the recipe I had, so it's kind of my own and I don't mind posting it.

4 or 5 medium yellow onions or 7 small yellow onions
14 oz or so of beef broth or chicken broth
1/2 c. dry red wine
At least a slice of baguette or other small round bread rolls per person (I used three small slices of bread per bowl. We love bread.)
Gruyere, Emmentaler, Jarlsberg or swiss cheese. Mozzarella may be used to make it more kid friendly.

Slice the onions from pole to pole. Slice each half into wedges. Heat a large frying pan on medium with a splash of olive oil. Cook the onions in olive oil until softened. Transfer to a medium crockpot making sure to scrape all of the tasty burnt bits into the pot. Fill the crockpot with the wine and broth until it is between half and 3/4 of the way full. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hrs or on high for 4 to 5 hours.
Ladle soup into ovenproof dishes like ramekins. Cover soup with slices of french bread or something similar. (I used homemade whole wheat rolls that I sliced longways into thirds.) Top bread with grated cheese. The traditional cheese used in this recipe is gruyere. However, if gruyere is not exactly budget friendly you have more options. Emmentaler is a great substitute with a similar taste to Gruyere. I have used Jarlsberg before as well. Both can be on the pricey side. Swiss cheese is what I used and it is much more affordable.

Adaptations:
Kids- Mozzarella can be used to make the dish more kid friendly. You may also want to lower the wine to 1/4 cup for the little ones or substitute a splash of real grape juice.
Pregnancy- I wouldn't put in the wine at all. The alcohol might get cooked off, but you can never be too careful. A good substitute for red wine in recipes is a good strong grape juice. However, it I wouldn't use much in this soup. It has more taste as a savory soup and the sweetness of certain juices might combat that.

The cultural and religious significance of this dish:
Lent- This dish would make for a great Lenten meal. You can substitute vegetable broth if you are very serious about avoiding meat.
France- Of course, it is obvious that this dish hails from France. There are many versions of onion soup in Europe. For some reason this one is the only one I know of that has made it into the American repertoire. I would suggest researching other onion soups if you have other ingredients you would like to use.
Humility- It's a great example of how wonderful food can be made from very humble ingredients. Use this meal as a way to emphasize how things that are simple can be comforting and satisfying.