An interesting

and touching story...

Man Plants Guitar Shaped Forest in Memory of His Wife

(Given how much napping I've been doing due to my health all my wife could do would be to plant a forest in the shape of a bed. Or maybe a set of consecutive 'Z's. Thanks for the link SWMBO!)

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Goodbye, little Avery,

and Godspeed. Rest comfortably in God's arms until you can see your Mommy and Daddy again.

Baby Avery, whose parents created 'bucket list,' dies

God bless them, too, and everyone who loved you.

Here's her blog:

Avery Lynn Canahuati

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Oh, yes...

Happy Hallowe'en!



(If you're one of those folks who celebrate the occasion...

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Despite what people seem to think today

there appears to be great joy in the work and lives of many of the 'old school' nuns who now look back on their lives.

100-year-old nuns: Serving God made for a ‘beautiful life'

I had the wonderful experience of being taught, and nursed, by nuns like this. I'm glad of it and wouldn't change the experience for anything...

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Our animal family members

are most likely more devoted, generous, protecting and loving than a lot of our human family members.

Heartbroken Dog Refuses to Leave Owner’s Grave

We're the ones who attach the label 'heartbroken' to the dog, but what we do know is that he's so attached to his owner, so devoted to the one person who has shown him love and attention, that he won't leave the spot where the human part of his companion rests. It really is touching...

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Today's little lesson

comes from Handbook on Faith, Hope, and Love, by St. Augustine:

"And now regarding love, which the apostle says is greater than the other two—that is, faith and hope—for the more richly it dwells in a man, the better the man in whom it dwells. For when we ask whether someone is a good man, we are not asking what he believes, or hopes, but what he loves. Now, beyond all doubt, he who loves aright believes and hopes rightly. Likewise, he who does not love believes in vain, even if what he believes is true; he hopes in vain, even if what he hopes for is generally agreed to pertain to true happiness, unless he believes and hopes for this: that he may through prayer obtain the gift of love. For, although it is true that he cannot hope without love, it may be that there is something without which, if he does not love it, he cannot realize the object of his hopes. An example of this would be if a man hopes for life eternal—and who is there who does not love that?—and yet does not love righteousness, without which no one comes to it."

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We don't understand them as well as we think we do

but they do love us as much (or more) than we think they do, as well...

In Defence of Dogs by John Bradshaw

And, on top of that, we should all open our families to them. Personal opinion, of course, and rescue dogs and non-pedigree dogs are by far the best...

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An 'awwww' story

from Oprah...

Why family adopted a grown man

It really is a story about caring...

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Prepare to be touched

by an article by Michael Coren, of all people...

God looks after, not down upon, Horse

For something similar, check out a book called Harry My Friend by the late Stephen Grosso. It's a true story, in a short book, that will melt the most hard-hearted amongst us. And if you want to read it, it's only $3.00! I re-read it often.

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Narcissism? Hostility? Really?

A Generation’s Vanity, Heard Through Lyrics

The sarcasm in the title doesn't come through well at all on the intertubes. Always a problem...

The hostility surprises me a LITTLE bit, but the narcissism makes perfect sense. Who is more concerned about themselves than people going through the teen and adolescent years? Still, more and more, music isn't about any kind of 'us', but all about 'me'. (The image they use with the article is really great. 'I heart I'...)

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Books, books, books...


Membership Libraries: Exclusive playgrounds for book lovers

We have one of the most used public libraries in the country in my city. It may have something to do with the long, cold winters, perhaps. None-the-less, I certainly support it, and we make regular use of it. In this time of electronic information and financial cutbacks it needs all the support it can get to keep it free and available for everyone. Having a library worker in the family I know, too, about the changing attitudes people have toward libraries. Often they're little more than a place to sit while you use the 'net.

Still, my love of books and research and reading makes the idea of a member library a very attractive idea...

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Following a link

in an article from the ever-interesting Catholic and Enjoying It!, takes you to

Sedevacantist Singles,

a website for Traditionalist Catholic singles looking for true love. There's a website specifically for everyone these days. (Sedevacantists are Traditional Catholics who believe that the Chair of Peter in Rome has been vacant since the death of Pope Pius XII, and that none of the Popes since that time have really been Pope.)

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I truly believe

that if we could have more time of adoration in our parish churches we could very well see an explosion of devotion and renewal like this in many places.


'WE ARE A CHURCH ON FIRE': Eucharistic Adoration transforms Acushnet parish

God is there waiting for us, and with only short periods for Mass and the occasional day of adoration, we don't spend enough time with Him...

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Personally,

I don't celebrate Hallowe'... er,

Valentine's Day.

(I get Hallowe'en and Valentine's Day mixed up. They're both scary.)

It's too much of a manufactured celebration for the benefit of the greeting card companies...

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This is wonderful!




Cottage Med/Caring in Community

The link above is to a website. It's a medical clinic in the U.S., but take a look at the pages. It really is worth browsing, if for no other reason than to read of their mission. The person who seems central to it also seems to be related to The Society of Friends (Quakers). It's incredibly refreshing, and encouraging. I found it while searching out software. Theirs is free. They don't mince words about the medical system in their area or about big business in medicine.

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Yes, it's mushy. So what?

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Such a good thing

Stephen Ministry

Few of us know what to do instinctively to help people who are hurting. We need help to know what is a good thing to do or say, and what may be even more hurtful and damaging. Caregivers need trainging...

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It's not a test

Heaven Can Wait

"...what matters is whether you live the unique and strange vocation you were given in a way that makes it possible for Christ's fingerprints to be seen on your face."

What a great sentence!

An interesting article...

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Miracles

are all around us...

Doctor in Waiting

"The amazing story of one woman's journey from homelessness to hope"

When people touch others with kindness, gentleness and God's love, miracles do happen. The story isn't over yet...

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I don't know...

Matches Made in Heaven?

"Busted Halo examines three popular Catholic internet dating services"

I've always thought that the most important thing is that someone would be able to put up with me (not an easy task at the best of times!).

Really, though, I'd have to say that both SWMBO and I would agree that our faith is a pretty big part of our relationship (he says, as both recover from a Parish Council meeting...)

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