... its not you, its me. I just think we need to take a little break.
Love, The Cannonball.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
dear blog...
St. Bernardine of Siena...
...Most of the saints suffer great personal opposition, even persecution. Bernardine, by contrast, seems more like a human dynamo who simply took on the needs of the world.
He was the greatest preacher of his time, journeying across Italy, calming strife-torn cities, attacking the paganism he found rampant, attracting crowds of 30,000, following St. Francis’s admonition to preach about “vice and virtue, punishment and glory.”
Compared with St. Paul by the pope, Bernardine had a keen intuition of the needs of the time, along with solid holiness and boundless energy and joy. He accomplished all this despite having a very weak and hoarse voice, miraculously improved later because of his devotion to Mary.
When he was 20, the plague was at its height in his hometown, Siena. Sometimes as many as 20 people died in one day at the hospital. Bernardine offered to run the hospital and, with the help of other young men, nursed patients there for four months. He escaped the plague but was so exhausted that a fever confined him for several months. He spent another year caring for a beloved aunt (her parents had died when he was a child) and at her death began to fast and pray to know God’s will for him.
At 22, he entered the Franciscan Order and was ordained two years later. For almost a dozen years he lived in solitude and prayer, but his gifts ultimately caused him to be sent to preach. He always traveled on foot, sometimes speaking for hours in one place, then doing the same in another town.
Especially known for his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, Bernardine devised a symbol—IHS, the first three letters of the name of Jesus in Greek, in Gothic letters on a blazing sun. This was to displace the superstitious symbols of the day, as well as the insignia of factions (for example, Guelphs and Ghibellines). The devotion spread, and the symbol began to appear in churches, homes and public buildings. Opposition arose from those who thought it a dangerous innovation. Three attempts were made to have the pope take action against him, but Bernardine’s holiness, orthodoxy and intelligence were evidence of his faithfulness.
General of a branch of the Franciscan Order, the Friars of the Strict Observance, he strongly emphasized scholarship and further study of theology and canon law. When he started there were 300 friars in the community; when he died there were 4,000. He returned to preaching the last two years of his life, dying while traveling.
Comment:
Another dynamic saint once said, “...I will not be a burden, for I want not what is yours, but you.... I will most gladly spend and be utterly spent for your sakes” (2 Corinthians 12:14). There is danger that we see only the whirlwind of activity in the Bernardines of faith—taking care of the sick, preaching, studying, administering, always driving—and forget the source of their energy. We should not say that Bernardine could have been a great contemplative if he had had the chance. He had the chance, every day, and he took it.Symbols: IHS within a circle of golden rays; open book; pile of vanities in flames; Often portrayed as: A Franciscan holding a sun upon which the Name of Jesus is inscribed.
Patron: advertisers; advertising; against hoarseness; communications; compulsive or uncontrolled gambling; gambling addicts; lungs; public relations; chest, respiratory, or lung problems; Aquila, Italy; diocese of San Bernardino, California; Italy;
Things to Do:
Our saint's glowing love for the holy Name of Jesus fills us with admiration. Keep this blessed Name on your lips, and more so in your heart. It is a Name that always arouses love for Christ. Never use it lightly or irreverently.
From the Catholic Culture Library: St. Bernardino Fostered Holy Name Devotion
Lectio from the Office of St. Bernadine of Siena...
Job 1:21
Thus says the Lord: The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away.
And I reply: Lord, I exist only by your love.
When all is taken away, you and your love remain.
May I love you first and above all,
so that I may then love everyone else. 
so I got this saint...
... I'm really fond of and I have been praying particularly hard for her intercession with a personal need.
If my petitions get answered what would be an appropriate way to honor said saint?
Monday, May 19, 2008
I hate technology...
... did I mention I hate technology? I flippin hate technology.
I've been on hold with tech support for two flippin hours because I can't login in to view the course materials for this online class I'm taking... even after I paid their hifreakinway robbery extortion fees.
I emailed the instructor asking for this weeks assignments and explained the situation. She said I need to call tech support back & have them email her as verification I am having issues. Oh yeah, lady, I'm having issues. She suggested I call tech support back and go Cannonball on them for their 48 hour response time they promised me. This is an accelerated summer course. I don't have 48 hours to wait for some techie to call me back and ask me if I tried rebooting my computer.
So after my third call to tech support and going full scale Cannonball... I am happy to report I have access to the course assignments, syllabus and outlines. And it only cost me my sanity! Yay!
boo freakin hoo...
... its called politics, Obama, and its a nasty business. If you can't take a little campaign heat then how do you propose to handle the stresses of being Commander in Chief?
This Cannonball has no sympathies for cry babies.
Lectio from the Office of St. Celestine...
1 Tim 1:1
Thus says the Lord: Christ Jesus our hope.
And I reply: Lord, here in time we cannot know our future
but we trust in your grace, mercy and love.
St. Theophilus of Corte ...
If we expect saints to do marvelous things continually and to leave us many memorable quotes, we are bound to be disappointed with St. Theophilus. The mystery of God's grace in a person's life, however, has a beauty all its own.
Theophilus was born in Corsica of rich and noble parents. As a young man he entered the Franciscans and soon showed his love for solitude and prayer. After admirably completing his studies, he was ordained and assigned to a retreat house near Subiaco. Inspired by the austere life of the Franciscans there, he founded other such houses in Corsica and Tuscany. Over the years, he became famous for his preaching as well as his missionary efforts.
Though he was always somewhat sickly, Theophilus generously served the needs of God's people in the confessional, in the sickroom and at the graveside. Worn out by his labors, he died on June 17, 1740. He was canonized in 1930.
Comment:
There is a certain dynamism in all the saints that prompts them to find ever more selfless ways of responding to God's grace. As time went on, Theophilus gave more and more singlehearted service to God and to God's sons and daughters. Honoring the saints will make no sense unless we are thus drawn to live as generously as they did. Their holiness can never substitute for our own.Quote:
Francis used to say, "Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God, for up to now we have made little or no progress" (1 Celano, #193).
obama and a world with out spiders...
... crude language. Delicate sensibilities be warned. Thom is sure to be offended.
Thanks, Pax, for the source link.
Friday, May 16, 2008
that's funny...
... it never occurred to me before; but when I think about a parish "home" I think here.
I just never gave it serious thought before because it doesn't meet each week and I'd have to change rites. Plus, I feel Roman to the core and I haven't given the Mass in Extraordinary Form a fair shot. However; nothing has given me more peace then the Divine Liturgy.
if only...
... I never had to hear anything from the Gather Hymnal for the rest of my life.
Pax, thank you kindly for the links.
Friday of Whit Embertide...
Collect
O God, you led your holy apostles to ordain ministers in every place: Grant that your Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may choose suitable persons for the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and may uphold them in their work for the extension of your kingdom; through him who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.readings.
mark your calendars, Charlotte...
The Oratorio Singers of Charlotte Chamber Chorus is delighted to present a spectacular program of music associated with the great Basilica of San Marco in Venice. VENETIAN VESPERS featuring MONTEVERDI’S VESPERS OF 1610.
Myers Park Baptist Church
Friday, May 23rd at 8:00pm
Tickets: $10/ students $5.
Available at the Symphony Box Office or at the door.
704-972-2000
Introduction to Mass in the Extraordinary Form
St. Ann’s
May 21st at 7:00 p.m.
We will be in the church
Mass in the Extraordinary Form
Saturday @ 8am
May 31th
St. Anne's
Divine Liturgy
Saturday @ 5pm
May 24th
St. Basil's Ukrainian Catholic Church
Charlotte Catholic HS Chapel
7702 Pineville Matthews Rd
Charlotte, NC 28226
St. Margaret of Cortona ...
Margaret was born of farming parents in Laviano, Tuscany. Her mother died when Margaret was seven; life with her stepmother was so difficult that Margaret moved out. For nine years she lived with Arsenio, though they were not married, and she bore him a son. In those years, she had doubts about her situation. Somewhat like St. Augustine she prayed for purity—but not just yet.
One day she was waiting for Arsenio and was instead met by his dog. The animal led Margaret into the forest where she found Arsenio murdered. This crime shocked Margaret into a life of penance. She and her son returned to Laviano, where she was not well received by her stepmother. They then went to Cortona, where her son eventually became a friar.
In 1277, three years after her conversion, Margaret became a Franciscan tertiary. Under the direction of her confessor, who sometimes had to order her to moderate her self-denial, she pursued a life of prayer and penance at Cortona. There she established a hospital and founded a congregation of tertiary sisters. The poor and humble Margaret was, like Francis, devoted to the Eucharist and to the passion of Jesus. These devotions fueled her great charity and drew sinners to her for advice and inspiration. She was canonized in 1728.
Comment:
Seeking forgiveness is sometimes difficult work. It is made easier by meeting people who, without trivializing our sins, assure us that God rejoices over our repentance. Being forgiven lifts a weight and prompts us to acts of charity.Quote:
"Let us raise ourselves from our fall and not give up hope as long as we free ourselves from sin. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. ‘O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!’ (Psalm 95:6). The Word calls us to repentance, crying out: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). There is, then, a way to salvation if we are willing to follow it" (Letter of Saint Basil the Great).
c'mon, now...
... homosexuals don't really want to get married. All this is to them is a another chance to force Americans to view their disorder as normal and acceptable. [puh-lease.]
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Voices from the couch...
...the meme no one asked for, created by Terry.
Rules: Write whatever comes to your mind about yourself.
1- blogging.
I actually hate blogging. It has become too all consuming. I think about blogging when I'm not blogging. I call myself and leave messages to remind myself about some blog topic. I make blog notes for myself. Its obsessive and scary. I've vowed to delete the whole damn thing. There will be no fan fare or goodbyes. Just one day it will gone, presumably before I go completely mad.2- writing.
My biggest mistake with this blog was not being anonymous. I feel inhibited to post what I really want to say half the time. I am restrained. Maybe I'll delete this blog and start another completely anonymous.
I love to write. I've kept a journal since I was 10 years old. I have my whole life documented. That is actually why I started blogging. I've always wanted to write a book, about what I have no idea. I've also been harboring this secret desire to create a Catholic Zine. The local diocese rag is liberal bird cage liner.3- art.
I'm a visual person. It was through my love of art that I came to convert to Catholicism. That is why it drives me bat shit crazy to have converted to the visually anemic atmosphere of Vatican II. I feel duped.4- crazy dreams.
My dream job would be in art restoration. On my off time I would paint icons in my own studio and make retablos for my family & friends.
I have visual terrifying dreams, when I am not suffering from insomnia. My dreams are apocalyptic and violent. I had a reoccurring dream when I was 6 or so about the devil and his head being mounted on my living room wall like a trophy. More recently, I keep having dreams about the human race being enslaved to demons. Another one I have involves flying demons with no eyes who can hear thoughts and they swoop down and attack people they hear praying. They pull my eyes out while I scream the "Hail Mary" and clutch my son in my arms. Lovely, eh?5- nuns.
See, this is the kind of bat shit crazy stuff I don't post about. This is where being an anonymous blogger would come in handy. Seeing as how I plan on deleting this blog one day I don't suppose I care much anymore.
I missed my vocation. If I hadn't squandered my youth being a godless know-it-all punk heathen I might have realized it then. As it is, its too late. I 'nun gaze' because I long.
6- music.
When no one is around I dance like Elaine Benes from Seinfeld. I dance to the Beastie Boys. My altar ego is a sinister skate punk riot grrl named Kat-Rock. I thought I killed her ten years ago but she haunts me every time I listen to Avail or Operation Ivy. I don't suppose any convent would ever really have me with her lurking around inside me.7- normalcy.
Despite all my attempts at it I fail miserably; happily so.If your name or your blog's name starts with the letter "C" consider yourself tagged.
a patron saint for crunchy cons, perhaps...
...St. Isidore the Farmer
When he was barely old enough to wield a hoe, Isidore entered the service of John de Vergas, a wealthy landowner from Madrid, and worked faithfully on his estate outside the city for the rest of his life. He married a young woman as simple and upright as himself who also became a saint-Maria de la Cabeza. They had one son, who died as a child.
Isidore had deep religious instincts. He rose early in the morning to go to church and spent many a holiday devoutly visiting the churches of Madrid and surrounding areas. All day long, as he walked behind the plow, he communed with God. His devotion, one might say, became a problem, for his fellow workers sometimes complained that he often showed up late because of lingering in church too long.
He was known for his love of the poor, and there are accounts of Isidore's supplying them miraculously with food. He had a great concern for the proper treatment of animals.
He died May 15, 1130, and was declared a saint in 1622 with Ignatius of Loyola, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila and Philip Neri. Together, the group is known in Spain as "the five saints." [learn more]
Patron: Farmers; farm workers; ranchers; rural communities; Madrid, Spain; United States National Catholic Rural Life Conference; death of children; for rain; livestock.
Symbols: White oxen; spade; hoe or rake; plough.
Lectio from the Office of St. Pachomius...
Rule of St. Benedict 41-8
Thus says the Lord: Everything can be finished by daylight.
and I reply: By tying the life of the community into the seasonal changes,
a natural rhythm of life can be developed.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
help, I've just been robbed...
... by my flippin' college.
Why is it that the reading material for each class is suspiciously written by the professor teaching it. Why is it you have to buy the book new in order to obtain some flippin' access code to take the course online. If you buy the book used it doesn't come with said access code. Coincidence? I think not! Highfreakinway robbery I tell ya!
parish situation...
... I've firmly resolved to leave my home parish.
Since coming to this conclusion the inner conflict has ceased. A burden has been lifted. Burdens are a funny thing. You never notice how heavy they are until you've laid them down. If you carry them around long enough you get used to the weight.
Now I find myself without a parish. Its a bit like being a boat adrift without a dock.
Wednesday of Whit Embertide...
Collect
Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine providence you have appointed various orders in the Church: Give grace to all who are [now] called to any office and ministry for your people; and so fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.for readings click here.
These times are spent fasting and partially abstaining in penance and with the intentions of thanking God for the gifts He gives us in nature and beseeching Him for the discipline to use them in moderation.
Hymn for St. Matthias Feast...
...taken from the Menaea of the Greeks. The Menaea is the Eastern Breviary which is primarily ecclesiastical poetry.
O blessed Mathias! spiritual Eden! thou didst flow, like a full river, from the divine fountain; thou didst water the earth with thy mystic rivulets, and make it fruitful. Do thou, therefore, beseech the Lord that he grant peace and much mercy to our souls.
O apostle Mathias! thou didst complete the sacred college, from which Judas had fallen; and by the power of the Holy Ghost, thou didst put to flight the darkness of idolatry by the admirable lightnings of thy wise words. Do thou now beseech the Lord that he grant peace and much mercy to our souls.
He that is the true Vine sent thee, a fruitful branch, bearing the grapes that give out the wine of salvation. When they drank it that before were slaves to ignorance, they turned from the drunkenness of error.
Being made, O glorious Mathias, the chariot of God's word, thou didst break for ever the wheels of error, and the chariots of iniquity. By the divine power, thou didst defeat the idolaters, and destroy the pillars and the temples; but thou didst build up to the Trinity other temples, which echoed with these words All ye people, praise Christ above all for ever!
O venerable Mathias! thou, like a spiritual firmament, didst proclaim the glory of the only-begotten Son of God. Let us with one glad voice celebrate the praise of this apostle, who was effulgent with the Holy Ghost; he was the fisher of them that had gone astray, the light that reflected the divine brightness, the teacher of the mysteries.
O blessed apostle! the Savior called thee his friend, because thou didst keep his commandments. Thou art heir to his kingdom, and thou art to sit with him, on a throne, at the last terrible day, O most wise Mathias, who didst complete the number of the apostolic college.
Guided by the sail of the cross, thou, O blessed one, didst pass over the troubled sea of life, and didst reach the haven of rest. Do thou now vouchsafe to join the glad choir of the apostles, and beseech the infinite Judge, that he would show himself a merciful Lord unto us.
Thy tongue was a bright lamp of glittering gold, burning with the flame of the Holy Ghost. Thou didst consume all strange doctrines, thou didst quench all fire that was profane, and to them that sat in the darkness of ignorance, thou, O wise Mathias, didst show a brilliant light.
Mathias was one of the first to follow our Savior...
... and he was an eye-witness of all His divine actions up to the very day of the Ascension. He was one of the seventy-two disciples; but our Lord had not conferred upon him the dignity of an apostle. And yet, he was to have this great glory, for it was of him that David spoke, when he prophesied that another should take the bishopric left vacant by the apostasy of Judas the traitor. In the interval between Jesus' Ascension and the descent of the Holy Ghost, the apostolic college had to complete the mystic number fixed by our Lord Himself, so that there might be the twelve on that solemn day, when the Church, filled with the Holy Ghost, was to manifest herself to the Synagogue. The lot fell on Mathias; he shared with his brother-apostles the persecution in Jerusalem, and, when the time came for the ambassadors of Christ to separate, he set out for the countries allotted to him. Tradition tells us that these were Cappadocia and the provinces bordering on the Caspian Sea.
The virtues, labor, and sufferings of St. Mathias have not been handed down to us: this explains the lack of proper lessons on his life, such as we have for the feasts of the rest of the apostles. Clement of Alexandria records in his writings several sayings of our holy apostle. One of these is so very appropriate to the spirit of the present season, that we consider it a duty to quote it. 'It behooves us to combat the flesh, and make use of it, without pampering it by unlawful gratifications. As to the soul, we must develop her power by faith and knowledge.' How profound is the teaching contained in these few words! Sin has deranged the order which the Creator had established. It gave the outward man such a tendency to grovel in things which degrade him, that the only means left us for the restoration of the image and likeness of God unto which we were created, is the forcible subjection of the body to the spirit. But the spirit itself, that is, the soul, was also impaired by original sin, and her inclinations were made prone to evil; what is to be her protection? Faith and knowledge. Faith humbles her, and then exalts and rewards her; and the reward is knowledge.
Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.
Symbols: Halbert; lance; carpenter's square; sword held by its point; axe; saw; scroll; scimitar and book; stone; battle axe; two stones; long cross; hatchet.
Patron: Alcoholism; carpenters; reformed alcoholics; smallpox; tailors; diocese of Gary; Indiana; diocese of Great Falls-Billings, Montana
St. Matthias...
...According to Acts 1:15-26, during the days after the Ascension, Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (about 120 of Jesus’ followers). Now that Judas had betrayed his ministry, it was necessary, Peter said, to fulfill the scriptural recommendation: “May another take his office.” “Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection” (Acts 1:21-22).
They nominated two men: Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. They prayed and drew lots. The choice fell upon Matthias, who was added to the Eleven.
Comment:
What was the holiness of Matthias? Obviously he was suited for apostleship by the experience of being with Jesus from his baptism to his ascension. He must also have been suited personally, or he would not have been nominated for so great a responsibility. Must we not remind ourselves that the fundamental holiness of Matthias was his receiving gladly the relationship with the Father offered him by Jesus and completed by the Holy Spirit? If the apostles are the foundations of our faith by their witness, they must also be reminders, if only implicitly, that holiness is entirely a matter of God’s giving, and it is offered to all, in the everyday circumstances of life. We receive, and even for this God supplies the power of freedom.Quote:
Jesus speaks of the apostles’ function of being judges, that is, rulers. He said, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).
Lectio from the Office of St Matthias...
Jn 15:12
Thus says the Lord: Love one another as I have loved you.
And I reply: Lord, for you nothing is impossible.
Give us the enormous help we will need
to love everyone we meet with your total love.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
it amazes me...
... gas is a million dollars a gallon and people still drive 80 mph. 
The price of gas has driven me out of my home. I can no longer afford the commute to/from work anymore so I stay with my folks in town a few nights a week.
Here are some of my gas saving tips:
1-drive 5 miles slower than the posted speed limit. Here's it's 65 mph so driving 60 is still pretty fast.
2- don't let your tank fall below half full. The more air in your tank the quicker the gas evaporates.
3- pump slower at the pump. When you pump your gas on the fastest setting you are getting more air mixed with the gas to increase the speed of gas flow into from the pump into your tank.
4- drive with the windows up on the interstate.
5- keep enough space between you and the driver in front of you to avoid stop/go.
... got anymore tips you care to share add them to the com-box.
