1. These will probably not post until Saturday. Today was get the kids ready alone, quick pre-school activity, Mass for First Friday, playdate, naptime (workout video and shower), get ready for sitter, new faculty dinner at M's school, talking to my sister about labor, finishing Miss Marple episode. Now I am attempting to do a few quicktakes.
2. Speaking of First Friday Mass we went to a church near our home but not St. Agnes. After communion, G asked me "Why did they not use the kneeler?" pointing to the communion rail. Exactly. I love St. Agnes liturgies. They know how it is done.
3. I went to a women's Bible study at St. Agnes given by our pastor. I went to Mass alone without children, had a dinner with other ladies that I did not cook, and listened to a lecture on scripture. It is a monthly event, and I am really excited to participate in it. Plus, the other ladies in my small group seem very nice.
4. L is obsessed with bathtime because of the toy ducks and fish she plays with in the tub. So much so that she calls bathtime, "Duckfish". We have been imagining a creature that is a combination of a duck and fish. Today on Motherhood on a Dime's 20 Freebies list was this kindle book: DUCKFISH. This caused a fit of giggles for my husband and I at the end of the day, and we downloaded the book to a kindle app and discovered it was not even to be considered a work of literature. I will show L the picture of the duckfish at least.
5. Speaking of children's literature I plan to start a series on here reviewing worthwhile children's literature and why individual books/authors are awesome. I am tired of bad children's literature.
6. I need to tell you all that Cajetan and Garrigou-Lagrange are not evil, contrary to what I was taught in college. Further DeLubac demonized them unnecessarily or he was a bad scholar. If you want the evidence talk to my husband. I am still getting over the negative aversions instilled in me when I hear those names.
7. On a lighter note I have embarked this week on my goal to learn easy, pretty updos for long hair now that my hair has gotten long again. I am branching out from the ponytail. This blog seems to have some good tutorials.
Confessions of a Catholic Mom and Philosopher's Wife
Friday, September 7, 2012
Friday, August 31, 2012
Friday Quick Takes-Aug 31
1. L's favorite book these days is Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. If you have read children's books at any point in the last 50 years, you have read this one. Though her method of "participating" in the book is to search aggressively for the "young mouse" on each page. As M or I read her the book, she shouts "MOUSE!" and points all over the page. When I put her to bed at nap or nighttime if I don't say "Goodnight Bears and Goodnight Chairs" to her bears and then "Goodnight Mouse" she throws a fit. Yesterday she started pointing to the words in the book and saying "Letters." I am certain that the mouse-hunt and letter recognition are signs of genius.
2. I encouraged G to look at her Bible during quiet time yesterday showing her all the pictures of the stories about Jesus which she is familiar with. I told her after her quiet time we could talk about the stories. The one she zeroed in on was the story of the beheading of St. John the Baptist. Maybe it is because we talked about how it had been the Gospel at Mass on Wednesday so she had heard the story there. But she asked for it in particular for her naptime story today. The priest at Mass on the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist spoke about how he died because he defended marriage. It seems that he would be a great saint to pray to for the preservation of traditional marriage in our society.
3. If you want a recommendation on a Bible for children and don't mind a blue eyed, blonde Jesus, the Golden Children's Bible is a really good one for being true to Biblical texts and not oversimplifying the content. G who is three seems to understand the stories in it as long as I explain some of the details to her, and she really enjoys the illustrations.
4. I know I said this on Facebook already, but we went to the Minnesota State Fair this week which was just about what one would expect from a state fair. There were farm animals, greasy foods, and rides! Though my favorite part was the draft root beer. Apparently I am making up for not being allowed to drink by drinking excessive (for me) amounts of root beer whenever I get the chance. Also, G stopped her princess play after the fair and decided to pretend she was a pig who won first prize at the fair. :)
5. I come to accept that going places with children takes time and it no longer bothers me. Maybe it is pregnancy fatigue, but maybe it is me finally getting used to being a mother.
6. Saw this linked the other day and it looks pretty cool. Toddler leggings made from knee high socks. Now I just need to find some cool looking socks for cheaper than the on-sale, clearanced leggings I usually purchase for G.
7. Earlier this week M and I were talking about why a sitz bath is called a "sitz" bath. M joked that it comes from German and means sitting in the bath. It turns out he was right. From dictionary.com:
That's all folks!
2. I encouraged G to look at her Bible during quiet time yesterday showing her all the pictures of the stories about Jesus which she is familiar with. I told her after her quiet time we could talk about the stories. The one she zeroed in on was the story of the beheading of St. John the Baptist. Maybe it is because we talked about how it had been the Gospel at Mass on Wednesday so she had heard the story there. But she asked for it in particular for her naptime story today. The priest at Mass on the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist spoke about how he died because he defended marriage. It seems that he would be a great saint to pray to for the preservation of traditional marriage in our society.
3. If you want a recommendation on a Bible for children and don't mind a blue eyed, blonde Jesus, the Golden Children's Bible is a really good one for being true to Biblical texts and not oversimplifying the content. G who is three seems to understand the stories in it as long as I explain some of the details to her, and she really enjoys the illustrations.
4. I know I said this on Facebook already, but we went to the Minnesota State Fair this week which was just about what one would expect from a state fair. There were farm animals, greasy foods, and rides! Though my favorite part was the draft root beer. Apparently I am making up for not being allowed to drink by drinking excessive (for me) amounts of root beer whenever I get the chance. Also, G stopped her princess play after the fair and decided to pretend she was a pig who won first prize at the fair. :)
5. I come to accept that going places with children takes time and it no longer bothers me. Maybe it is pregnancy fatigue, but maybe it is me finally getting used to being a mother.
6. Saw this linked the other day and it looks pretty cool. Toddler leggings made from knee high socks. Now I just need to find some cool looking socks for cheaper than the on-sale, clearanced leggings I usually purchase for G.
7. Earlier this week M and I were talking about why a sitz bath is called a "sitz" bath. M joked that it comes from German and means sitting in the bath. It turns out he was right. From dictionary.com:
That's all folks!
On School Masses
I went to public grade school, so I never experienced the "school mass" as a child, but I have experienced many as an adult attending daily Mass. In fact I thought I had attended enough to say I never needed to go again. The typical school Mass that I have gone to has included many of the following elements: watered down prayers for children, oversimplified Eucharistic prayers for children, children's choirs singing off-key, hand motions, children "lectors" etc. To sum it up, one could say not a very reverent Mass experience. It seems that the planners of these "children's Masses" forget one very important fact about the Mass and that is that it is different from the everyday. It is Heaven touching Earth. And I am convinced that children can handle much more than the simplified versions of just about everything out there that is for kids. (For example, shortening children's books that were already made for children and making them into short board books or "readers.")
Yesterday, my family and I went to daily Mass at our new parish, St. Agnes. Now there is also a school at St. Agnes and when we saw that Mass was in the upstairs Church and not in the basement chapel we knew it was a school Mass. My initial reaction when I think of going to a school Mass is bracing myself to tolerate whatever irreverence may occur during Mass because it is children centered and not God centered. However, the only children in the sanctuary at this post-conciliar Novus Ordo Mass were the altar boys in cassocks and surplices. The priest still said Mass "ad orientem", that is facing the liturgical East of the tabernacle/Jesus. The prayers were all those of the new translation for the day. The communion rail was used. The other priests in residence came to help distribute communion (All these things St. Agnes does for all Masses whether Latin, English, Ordinary or Extraordidary). And the school children sat still, paid attention, knelt during communion. They understood reverence. They are being taught that Mass is different from the everyday and they can handle it!
I am thrilled that St. Agnes knows how to do liturgies and is not too good to be true. If you want to see their music selections check out the website I linked above.
And while the school children could behave at Mass, my children are a different story...
Yesterday, my family and I went to daily Mass at our new parish, St. Agnes. Now there is also a school at St. Agnes and when we saw that Mass was in the upstairs Church and not in the basement chapel we knew it was a school Mass. My initial reaction when I think of going to a school Mass is bracing myself to tolerate whatever irreverence may occur during Mass because it is children centered and not God centered. However, the only children in the sanctuary at this post-conciliar Novus Ordo Mass were the altar boys in cassocks and surplices. The priest still said Mass "ad orientem", that is facing the liturgical East of the tabernacle/Jesus. The prayers were all those of the new translation for the day. The communion rail was used. The other priests in residence came to help distribute communion (All these things St. Agnes does for all Masses whether Latin, English, Ordinary or Extraordidary). And the school children sat still, paid attention, knelt during communion. They understood reverence. They are being taught that Mass is different from the everyday and they can handle it!
I am thrilled that St. Agnes knows how to do liturgies and is not too good to be true. If you want to see their music selections check out the website I linked above.
And while the school children could behave at Mass, my children are a different story...
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