The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature from Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Leila here for {bits & pieces} this week while Deirdre goofs off. Actually, she has something important to do, I just can't remember what it is. More important than us!
Just kidding, she loves us.
So yes, we had a busy couple of weeks here at the homestead, trying to attend to some nagging projects. Every year, during the Advent and Christmas seasons, while I'm completely wrapped up in preparations, I think to myself that this new year I am going to get some things done — I think of them as “deep background” projects that hang over me and really bug me, you guessed it, round about the holidays.
Then I'm usually too deep in hibernation in January to do anything — and last year in January I was recovering from surgery and had no energy even beyond the very teensy bit of energy I usually have in winter.
But this year I actually did tackle those deep background things like I always say I will. Well, not the pictures. (Pictures! ugh! the burden of being the family curator and having to choose the right and reasonable and equitable way of dealing with photos!) But the closet and the kitchen bricks — yay!
Don't expect too much more from me now.
But haha, see that box up there? That's the collection of DVDs that I haven't put away. Just plain forgot about them. They're still there in the dining room. No wonder the closet seems so empty!
This week's links:
- Now, DC area people! If you want something wonderful to do this very afternoon, go to hear Thomas Tallis' Spem in Alium! Early music! The best! You might see Sukie and The Quack there! It's at 3:30 at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Church in DC. Read the details here. And while you are perusing the rest of this post, you can listen to the music in another tab (couldn't see how to embed it).
- Next week, Deirdre (and Finnabee of course) will be at the Behold Conference in East Peoria, IL. She is speaking there! You can register right up to Wednesday!
There is also a get-together for bloggers the evening before all that happens. And after that get-together, there is a reception for registered guests and bloggers, so you should email for information about that! It all sounds very inspiring.
- It's no secret that men and women are not doing a great job of holding their relationships together. Some of us have a strong feeling that feminism is not helping. I've written a bunch here about true leadership in the family and how husband and wife need to work things out.
St. Paul understood how easy it is for people to get a hold of the wrong end of the stick, thinking that, having grasped a principle, they need to impose it without reference to the balance of all the other principles, especially grace. “I told him to his face that he was wrong,” Paul says about Peter, when he stopped eating with the Gentiles. Peter listened, and ultimately made the decision — it was his to make as head of the Church. That's leadership. That's authority. It's not power, it is what it is — something quite outside our normal way of thinking.
As I say, we've tried to discuss some of that as it relates to marriage and the way the Church explains it. I did very much enjoy this take, from an understanding of Scripture, of the roles of men and women, from Mary Pride. Reminded me a bit about Pius XI's characterization of the woman's role (what Pride — the author, not the sin — calls “Matriarchy”) as “her truly regal throne.”
(By the way, a great Lenten idea to do with your friends is to read Casti Connubii together. Last year we did it here on the blog, and if you look at this post, you will find all my ramblings listed at the end, in order — it all amounts to a study guide, surprisingly — plus a link to a PDF file of the encyclical that you could even print out if you like. I can tell you that many people have had their lives changed by reading this document. I'm thinking about what to read together this Lent…)
- If we don't do something to correct our understanding of marriage and morality, we are going to end up in distopia — a Brave New World. This essay, which isn't very long, sums up what is happening to how we view life.
- The best defense is a great offense. Celebration goes a long way to putting the heart back into you. We attended this event, and I can attest that these toasts, given on the occasion of the annual Burns Night at Thomas More College were even more hilarious and rousing than they seem when you merely read them. Tae the Lads and Tae the Lasses!
- This was fun: The cast of The Princess Bride, re-united. If you haven't seen this movie, do! There's no way to explain it, because it's in a category of its own and transcends description. Our family loves it and quotes it endlessly. It's suitable for those who have reached the age of reason. It features the Cliffs of Insanity, a holocaust cloak, and the Pit of Despair (torture chamber), so use your discretion. But don't miss it.
- Those of us who commit to raising a family on one income, take note here of a wise family for you to emulate, as reported by The Onion, when it comes to establishing a college fund for your offspring.
- I don't know how edifying this selection is, but it did make me laugh. Dave Barry is so funny, and this is his take on a return to manliness.
- I tend to resist sentimental stories, especially if it means I have to watch a video. But I really urge you to watch this one.
Actually, it's not sentimental at all, although I did get choked up. It's a very straightforward look at the life of a man with a disability so severe that I am sure that many like him haven't been allowed to see the light of day. What's so striking about the story, though, apart from how much you love him, is the goodness of the people around him as depicted in the video, especially his parents.
If ever there was a practical, loving, sweet couple whom we should all take as our role models, they are that couple. Their philosophy is as grounded as their personalities. When the dad says how after the day Richie was born, he just wanted to take him home, and how “he was such a cute little boy,” well, melt my heart. There are real men after all, Dave Barry! Love the mom too — love them all.
Don’t forget about the Seven Sundays of St. Joseph devotion! Tomorrow will be the fourth Sunday and it’s not too late to jump on the bandwagon if you missed the first three!
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Auntie Leila’s Pinterest.
Rosie’s Pinterest.
Sukie’s Pinterest.
Deirdre’s Pinterest.
Habou’s Pinterest.
Auntie Leila’s Ravelry
Anne Marie says
In the top 10 of my bucket list – hear Spem in Alium performed live. One of my favorite pieces of music EVER.
Rosie says
Hey, my husband and his friends organized that Tallis performance! Hope lots of people are there – they’re working pretty hard to get it together 🙂
Kathy@9peas says
We were neighbors with the Fahey’s when we lived in Front Royal, I wish we lived close enough for our children to attend Thomas Moore college. I always follow both Amy & William’s writing – they are wonderful people, have a lovely family and I know are a big reason Thomas Moore is such a great college to be a part of.
We quote The Princess Bride constantly, thank you for that link. I cannot wait to share it with my older boys!
Janet says
Speaking of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Church in DC, do you follow the blog that its pastor, Msgr. Charles Pope, writes for the Archdiocese of Washington DC?:
http://blog.adw.org
It’s catechesis for the masses. I often include links to my favorite posts in my emails to parents in our PREP/CCD.
Susan says
Thank you for posting the link to the article on Artificial Reproduction/Same Sex Marriage. This is what I’ve been trying to tell people: that same-sex marriage will necessitate and normalize the use of high-tech reproduction, and that the state will become a guarantor of one’s “right to have children”, it will pay for those procedures too, and it will force unwilling birth parents and adoption agencies to adopt babies out to gay couples. In short, gay marriage isn’t about “love”, which means putting another first, esp. a child. It’s about really short-term, incomplete thinking. So it’s gratifying to see it spelled out better than I ever could. But, big sigh. Also, I’ve got to tell you that though I’m not Catholic (yet), honestly the church’s understanding on the topic vs. the direction that the rest of the culture is heading keeps pulling me towards the church. The rest of the culture is looking increasingly insane to me, and it seems like the only place sanity and truth may be holding out is within your church. Love the blog and your picks on Saturdays! Keep sharing!
Rayna says
Leila, if you ever have the chance, I would love for you to put forth your ideas about how feminism is really doing a number on family life, how what started out as a good idea has somehow gotten completely distorted along the way, causing many of us women to recognize that there’s a problem but without the courage or wherewithal to articulate it in an intelligent way (that’s why we have you!).
Several years ago when I decided to quit work and stay home, someone said, “I knew it! What everyone said is true! You just want to be a housewife!”.
And that pretty much sums up what a lot of people think.
Feminism has fooled both women and men into thinking that babies are either something to a) accomplish or b) acquire, merely so that we can all continue with our free and easy (childless) ways. Quite impossible, but that’s the standard!
I wish more women – with the support of their husbands – would turn their hearts more toward home (and husband and children). It’s everything that feminism is meant to be, allowing us women to bring our strengths to the fore, but in a way that is, I suppose, contrary to what feminists would endorse.
Camille Paglia recently wrote an article – for Newsweek? Time? I can’t remember – about how in our effort to equalize the sexes, we’ve basically only emasculated the males. Not at all what feminists set out to do (at least I don’t think so…).
This comment is really too long, and I bet it doesn’t make a lot of sense! I’d love to hear more about what YOU have to say on the subject (and I know you’ve already said a lot!).
(You really deserve an even bigger platform. I have lots of ideas for you! A series of books! A talk show! A radio show! A podcast at least! Basically, I don’t want you to rest 😉 )
Rayna says
(Later…) My mom, who also considers motherhood an under-appreciated and true vocation told me earlier today that although not without its flaws, she’s still grateful to the feminists for giving women more choices career-wise, for framing “the choice to stay at home” as such. (See how grounding? This is why I no longer have a blog! The need to listen more, talk less!)
April L says
I LOVED that Mary Pride article. Thanks for linking it!
Margo, Thrift at Home says
oh my word, I cried with laughter when I read Dave Barry’s piece. Thanks for a relaxing Sunday laugh!
Mrs. B. says
We had to miss the Tallis performance, but Msgr. Pope sent Fr. Z. a video of a rehearsal: http://wdtprs.com/blog/2014/02/washington-dc-thomas-tallis-spem-in-alium-for-40-voices/
Mrs. B. says
By the way, I recognize Mr. Lang directing: he is the Music Director at our wonderful parish… I wish he had said something about the performance!
Nancy says
Great links….and looks like a great conference. We lived in the Peoria diocese in our early married years.