How do you introduce Christ to a room full of people?

I laughed, I cried ... and I said, "Amen!"

I also wish I had been in that room full of people.

Found via New Advent, at Patrick Madrid's blog.

Thank you.

Gratitude is inextricably tied up with the virtue of humility. Gratitude shows that we’re paying attention to the acts of service people perform for us and that we truly understand how those acts make our life better, easier, and happier. The ungrateful man is callous; he’s come to think that all the good things that happen to him and all the service rendered him are an automatic response to his impeachable awesomeness. He deserves all that stuff and more. Thus, he never takes notice of the good things that happen to him. And he’s never really happy with what he has. He deserves only the best in life, and concentrates solely on the ways in which this ideal hasn’t been met.

The grateful man is a humble man. He has no illusions of his grandeur. He knows that bad things happen to good people. He knows how easily a rally can turn into a slump. He knows how much worse off many others are than he is. He understands the sacrifices others make on his behalf. And he deeply, deeply appreciates them.

The Art of Manliness is a blog that I highly recommend and it is not simply for men, although some features really are just going to be of interest to guys. They are not shy about tackling subjects that every person needs to know such as how to reconnect with old friends or starting a journal.

Right now they are running a 30 day series entitled, "30 Days to a Better Man" and day 5 was Cultivate Your Gratitude.

Reading approvingly through the post, I was struck by the idea that I am long overdue in saying, "thank you" to you, my friends who come and visit.

I have gotten many hours of enjoyment from not only writing posts and discussions in the comments boxes, but also in considering subjects and thinking over how best to talk about them. As well, let's not forget about the spirited conversations about movies, television and books. It has made me into a better writer, a more charitable person (at least a tad, I hope!), and a more thoughtful, grateful Catholic. I could still put the blog out there and enjoy it, but if no one came ... well, it wouldn't be the party that it is for me.

I could still be much more humble but I'm working on it. But I am always thankful and I wanted to let you know.

In appreciation, let's take another look at Validation because I am not sure you know how great you are!

D-Day or Operation Overlord: May God Be On Our Side

From Neatorama comes the link for this: "From the archives of Life magazine comes a collection of magnificent photos associated with D-Day, some showing soldiers in a lighter moment, others the chaos of battle."

Many of the most iconic and riveting photos of D-Day were taken by Robert Capa, born Endre Emo Friedmann, a Hungarian who is considered one of finest war photojournalists who ever lived. "If your picture isn't good enough, you're not close enough," he said.

See them all here at Time Life.

This 'N' That

All About Eve
There is a reason this was nominated for 14 Academy Awards: fantastic acting, witty and knowing dialogue, and insight into human nature. Margo Channing, an aging toast of the theatrical world (Bette Davis) struggles with the idea that Eve Harrington, a young fan (Anne Baxter), is trying to take her place as an actress ... and more. Eve is nothing but respectful and making herself of service to the actress she worships. The question becomes whether Margo is paranoid ... or not. Brilliant. Hadn't seen this for many, many years until Rose requested it for her birthday. She, Tom, and I delighted especially in Bette Davis' and George Sanders' acting. I also loved the clothing, which did snag an Oscar. A classic that is worth viewing or revisiting.

Boxer news
It is amazing to me that in a short week the two new Boxers have settled into routine that is livable for the rest of us. Having both Zoe and Wash learn to use the dog door so quickly was very helpful in that regard, as you may imagine.

Baby Bobbi Bear
Knitted another for a dear friend who is having her first baby soon. My question is why I followed the pattern faithfully again but this bear is not quite the same as the previous bear? I won't say why because I might run into some pals at the shower who read the blog, but this is frustrating. Oh well, it was made with love and that, hopefully, will make the recipient overlook any deficiencies!

Mad Men
Began watching the first season, which my dear sis gave Tom and me for a joint birthday gift. Only have seen the first episode. However, as you can imagine, we've been eagerly looking forward to getting our hands on this since we're all about advertising and it is from advertising's heyday. Also, I've been reading everyone's rave reviews. So far, sooooo good!

Book-ishly
A few tidbits about my latest reading:

• Amateur Gourmet: A fine little, light-hearted introduction to the world of cooking and helping people not fear the kitchen.
  
  
• King of the Holly Hop by Les Roberts: Good enough for what it is, hard boiled detective story. However, not as good as some of his others. The detective goes to his high school reunion, murder ensues, and he is hired to find the real killer keep a former classmate from being arrested. Too much time is spent going over and over the revelations that the high school friends aren't the great folks that he remembered from his youth. As if this is news. Or maybe it is just that I'm not crazy about either high school or reunions thereof.
  
  
• No Price Too High by Alex Jones: Interesting story of how digging back into Church history and how the first Christians prayed led a Pentecostal preacher, his wife, and 55 others to the Catholic Church. So far, about halfway through, the part I find most fascinating is the recounting of how Jones is pulling together the historical and scriptural to gain understanding of what the early Church was truly like ... as opposed to how his Pentecostal brethren practice their faith.
  
  
• Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi: What do you do if you are an alien race who wants to open friendly relations with humans but knows from watching television and movies that we are likely to see them as "bad aliens" due to outward appearances? If you are as steeped in pop culture as these aliens are, then it is obvious. Hire a Hollywood agent! John Scalzi takes us on a light-hearted romp that also is a keen look at pop culture and how it shapes our lives, as well as making excellent observations about human nature in general. I loved this book. (Scalzi's Old Man's War is on the stack, getting ready to be read.)
  
  
• Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies by John Scalzi: After I found out that the author of the highly enjoyable Agent to the Stars also writes nonfiction, I became interested in this book. In a nice bit of synchronicity, Rose gave it to me for my birthday without being aware of my newfound interest. Meant to be read, wouldn't you say? So far it is entertaining, informative, and enjoyable as billed in the synopsis:

  The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies is a comprehensive guide to the 'final frontier' of film. It explores our fascination with space exploration, time travel, fantastical worlds and alternative futures. This guide explains how everything from the philosophy of Plato to classic Victorian tales and cult comic books have helped to create one of cinema's most engaging genres. Discover the classics from Mexico, Russia and Japan, not forgetting the Anime science fiction tradition, along with everything else you need to know from Metropolis to Star Wars, via Blade Runner, 2001 and Alien. The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies is your essential guide to a galaxy of film unbounded by time or space.

Catholic New Media Conference in San Antone

I forgot to mention this but Tom and I are signed up for the ultimate geekfest ... the Catholic New Media Conference. (Please note that I use "geek" in the most positive of ways. After all, we're going, right? Around our house "geek" is a good thing.)

Anyway, never having gone to a con of any sort (not Star Trek, not Star Wars, not even ... Galaxy Quest), we're looking forward to this. Not only the Riverwalk and the Alamo (which I LOVE) but many Catholic bloggers and podcasters and videocasters. Also there will be Chris Cash from The Catholic Company where I get many fine review books and who I have actually spoken with on the phone! (Told ya I was a geek ... look at how I get my thrills ... and then boast about it!).

I think they still have room but I wanted to be sure that I got my spot, especially since they're in my neck of the woods this year. Can't wait to meet everyone!

Truly, he has a dizzying intellect.

As one of those "undereducated people" to which John C. Wright's commenter keeps referring in her Ulysses/James Joyce rant, I was pleased to be able to pick right up on this allusion in his response (and it made me giggle).

If your argument is that I do not understand ULYSSES because I lack education, all I can say is that you have made one of the two classic blunders. The first is never get involved in a land war in Asia. The second, only slightly less well known, is not to challenge the education of someone who graduated with honors from Mortimer Alder's "Great Books" program when death is on the line. I do not mind allusions in writer. I use them myself frequently. Some of them are obscure, or come from movies or comic books, as well as from classical literature. ...

For those tragically undereducated who have never seen The Princess Bride, here is the Cliff Notes version.

Answer This in 40 Seconds: "I'd be interested to know: why are you a Christian?"

Jen at Conversion Diary asks:

OK, Christian readers. Here's a scenario for you:

You and a young man, perhaps in his early 20's, step into an elevator at the same time. You're both going to the tenth floor. He notices something that indicates that you're a Christian (maybe you're wearing a cross necklace, or he saw a bumper sticker for your church on your car outside, etc.)

"I don't believe in God or anything like that, but you seem like a reasonable enough person," he says as the doors close. "I'd be interested to know: why are you a Christian?"

You have about 40 seconds to answer. What do you say?

I can answer in about four seconds.

Because now I am happy. Really, truly happy. No matter if circumstances are good or bad, there is an underlying peace and joy. Because I found Jesus Christ.

In this, I am like Herman Cohen who I first heard about through one of my favorite theologians, Father Raniero Cantalamessa.

I was reading recently the story of the famous convert of the 19th century, Hermann Cohen, a brilliant musician, idolized as a the young prodigy of his time in the salons of central Europe: a kind of modern version of the young Francis.

After his conversion he wrote to a friend: "I looked for happiness everywhere: in the elegant life of the salons, in the deafening noise of balls and parties, in accumulating money, in the excitement of gambling, in artistic glory, in friendship with famous people, in the pleasures of the senses. Now I have found happiness, I have an overflowing heart and I want to share it with you. ... You say, 'But I don't believe in Jesus Christ.' I say to you, 'Neither did I and that is why I was unhappy.'"

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

Its All Downhill From Here

Our choice for demotivational poster of the week from Despair.com.

2009 Catholic Media Awards

I see that voting has begun. Both Happy Catholic and Forgotten Classics (where we are reading Uncle Tom's Cabin) have been nominated in several categories ... and I deeply thank those who honored me by doing so. I think that the wild card category of People's Choice definitely works for Forgotten Classics, especially in the Catholic context.

You have to register in order to vote, may vote only once, and voting goes through June.

They previously had mentioned having a two-part voting process this time to allow discovery of new blogs and then to whittle down the voluminous nominations before final votes. This is how many of the blogging awards are set up. However, the FAQ doesn’t mention that for these awards. Pity. They used to be a lot more fun in the good ol' days of five (or so) nominees per category. Ah well, times change ...

At any rate, you certainly can find a lot of interesting looking blogs by looking through the nominations. So go take a look and, of course, vote if the urge comes over you.

Simple Chorizo

Now being dished out at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Thinking About the Murder of George Tiller

I tend to avoid the regular news most of the time and have been trying to stay off the computer more on the weekends (not to mention the Lost Weekend that was devoted almost totally to Boxers this weekend). Therefore it was just this morning I discovered that a gunman murdered abortionist Dr. George Tiller in his church Sunday.

I pondered it as I walked Zoe this morning, delighting in the fact that someone spent time giving her obedience training. She heeled, she sat when I stopped, she obeyed the "down" hand signal. As I made these discoveries, my mind continually returned to the tragic choice of occupation made by Dr. Tiller. I call it tragic not because he was killed, but because he himself killed habitually for a living. I pondered also the tragic choice made by the gunman to cut short a soul's journey, to take from Dr. Tiller his free will and opportunity to redeem himself by discovering his mistakes and become a defender of life, as others have done. I thought of the fact that Christ loves both these souls, no matter how heinous their actions. I wondered how they went so terribly astray. I wondered what little temptations and rationalizations, one after another, led to such extreme choices in the end.

I returned home to see that God was using my thoughts to prepare me to read today's In Conversation with God. It is by keeping Christ as the cornerstone of our lives that we help keep from grievous error such as that on display by Dr. Tiller and his murderer. I share some key passages below.

Error is often presented decked out in the noble garments of art, science or freedom ... But faith has to be, indeed is, stronger than error. It is the powerful light that enables us to see, lurking behind what appers to be good, the evil that lies hidden beneath the surface of an otherwise good literary work, of a beauty that conceals ugliness. It is Christ who must be the cornerstone of every building.

Let us ask Our Lord for his grace so that we may live in a way totally compatible and utterly coherent with our Christian faith. In this way we will never think of our faith as a limiting factor -- I can't do this, I can't go there. Rather it will be a light that enables us to recognize the reality of things and events, without ever forgetting that the devil will try to make an ally of human ignorance. (which cannot see the complete reality contained in this literary work or in that doctrine) and of the pride and concupiscence that all of us drag along behind us. Christ is the crucible that assays the gold there is in all human beings Anything that does not stand up to the testing clarity of his teaching is a lie and deceptive, even though it may be adorned with the appearance of some attractive good or perfection.

[...]

A Christian, who will have built his life upon the cornerstone who is Christ, has his own personality, his own way of seeing the world and its happenings. He has a scale of values very different from that of the pagan, who does not live by faith and who has a purely worldly conception of things. A weak and lukewarm Christian faith, however, which exerts very little influence on ordinary life, can provoke in some people that kind of inferiority complex which manifests itself in an immoderate desire to "humanize" Christianity, to "popularize" the Church, to make it somehow seem to conform to the value-judgments prevalent in the world at a given time (J. Orlandis).

That is why, as well as being immersed in our secular activities, as Christians we need to be immersed in God, through prayer, the sacraments and the sanctification of our daily work. We need to be faithful disciples of Jesus in the middle of the world, in our ordinary everyday life, with all the constant effort and hard decisions this entails. In this way we will be able to put into practice the advice Saint Paul gave to the first Christians in Rome when he alerted them to the risks of accommodating themselves to the pagan customs of the day: Do not be conformed to this world (Rom 12:2). Sometimes this refusal to conform will lead us to row against the current and run the risk of being misunderstood by many of our contemporaries. The Christian must not forget that he is leaven (Matt 13:33) hidden in the lump of dough that has to be fermented by him...

Jesus of Nazareth continues to be the cornerstone of every man's life. Any building constructed without Christ is raised in vain. Let us think as we finish our prayer, whether the Faith we profess is coming to bear more and more influence on our existence, on the way we view the world and mankind, and on the way we behave.

In Conversation With God Vol 3

I pray for the soul of Dr. Tiller, for the soul of his murderer, and for myself and all of us, that we may immerse ourselves in God, keep our eyes on Truth, and follow His will.

Hurricane Lexy Zoe Has Landed

Oh me, oh my!

A 10-month-old Boxer (Zoe, formerly known as Lexy, who we must still call that until we get her somewhat used to the household) who has a limitless supply of energy being dropped into a household with a 10-year-old reclusive Lab/Dane mix (Pepper) and a 9-week-old Boxer (Wash) is ... well ... exciting to say the least.

The two youngest like to play but Lexy/Zoe overpowers the baby to the point where he is constantly seeking out shelter (under couches, under chairs, between peoples' leg) from the relentless onslaught of fun, Fun, FUN!

The venerable oldster had retreated semi-permanently to his bed in our bedroom to escape Wash. However, when Zoe/Lexy showed up we were delighted to see that he, surprisingly, was interested. All of us have experienced a bit of disorientation when he and she come running into a room as our brains automatically reference the previous pair of Daffy and Pepper and then must shake free to adjust to Lexy/Zoe and Pepper ... and their shadow, Wash. Clearly, Pepper feels that Boxer familiarity also. He was interested enough to follow her outdoors and then to assume his post on "Pride Rock" (also known as the top step into our sunken living room) to keep an eye on proceedings. They occasionally do a sniff-down, "nice to meet you" ritual. Biggest of all, Pepper actually has growled and bared his teeth at Lexy/Zoe when he had a bone and she tried to take it. Perpetually gentle and allowing himself to be bullied by any dog but Daffy, his self assertion was cheered and praised by the family ... and he is accepted by all as king of the pack.

She is a really sweet dog, with good manners (and house trained!) except for the occasional lapse of following someone up onto the furniture in a fit of enthusiasm. At which reprimands, she often just proceeds over the back of the couch onto the other side.

It is like a three-ring-circus but we can already see her quieting down occasionally. If we all live through this huge wind of energy she is injecting until she adjusts to everything, this is going to be tons of fun for everyone in the household. Already we have been laughing our heads off most of the time.

The Other New Member of the Happy Catholic Household

Also joining us will be a 10-month-old female whose family travels so much they gave her up for adoption.

Rose and I will be going to pick her up today for her 5-day trial period, meaning that the check won't be cashed until after that time. She sounds like a dream dog ... still puppyish but house trained (woohoo!)

There was quite a lot of conversation last night about names. In the end, the only set of names we could agree on was either Buster and Lucille (from Arrested Development) or Zoe and Wash (from Firefly).

The winners: Zoe and Wash.

Although calling the puppy Wash does seem rather odd right now.

However, Zoe and Wash do both typify our family's personality (TV-wise) especially since Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog didn't have any memorably named characters that we wanted to be caught shouting in public after our dogs. Not that we're Joss-Whedon-centric or anything. Ahem.

As well, Zoe and Wash's personalities fit the Boxer personality best. Although all this is after-the-moment rationalization. But you knew that already. Right?

The Vendor Client relationship - in real world situations

This is just like some of our clients ... sad but true.

The Newest Member of the Happy Catholic Household

9 weeks old, he is known currently as Boxer Boy since we are trying to decide on a name. As we plan on soon acquiring a worthy playmate in the form of a Boxer Girl, we are looking at names that work well in pairs.

So far here's what we've come up with. These names reflect either Boxer personality traits or our family funny bone. We're waiting for Rose to get home to see if she has anything to add. If y'all have any ideas, just speak up!

• Bonnie and Clyde
• Fred and Ginger
• Ruff and Tumble
• Gomez and Morticia
• Bogie and Bacall
• Mickey and Minnie
• Kang and Kodos
• Tarzan and Jane
• Boris and Natasha
  

2009 Cannonball Awards ...

... are now official!

Even if you don't care about these anti-awards, go read Carolina Cannonball's comments on each category. If you aren't laughing by the time you get through, then you need St. Phillip Neri's intercession to tune up your funny bone.

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

Eona is known as Eon. She has been masquerading as a boy in order to be eligible in training for a chance to become a Dragoneye. When the ascendancy tranfers from one to another of the 12 energy dragons that protect China, a new Dragoneye is chosen to help direct that power. Eon must hide her secret while simultaneously thwarting a plot to overthrow the throne. As well there is soul searching and a knowledge of self that is examined through several characters, not the least of which, of course, is experienced by Eon.

This sounds cliche but don't let that stop you. Some of the plot elements are predictable. For example, it was not difficult to guess what the problem was with the Mirror Dragon. Nonetheless, this book is anything but a cliche, I assure you. Set in a mythical land with echoes of ancient Japan and China, Alison Goodman has created something unique and compelling in this YA story that deserves to be read by adult fantasy readers as well. I originally read about this book in a review by Orson Scott Card that I encourage you to read as well. He describes more of the plot though without spoiling it and said:

"It's a terrific first novel in a fascinating world, fully realized by a writer who knows her craft and can spin a story.

... Eon deserves to be a smashing success."

I concur.

Once Again, Let Us Celebrate the Third Most Important Day of the Year

First is Easter, then is Christmas, then is ... my birthday!

As I have mentioned before, some people ignore their birthdays or don't want much fuss made. Not me. I OWN my birthday ... just something about it. Everyone in the household knows it too. (To be fair, they all regard their birthdays to be the third most important day of the year.)

You notice that only Jesus trumps this day for me ... so then imagine the place He holds to overcome a lifetime of "most important day of the year" before I became Christian.

Hannah showed the proper spirit several years ago when she was filling out a job application on Sunday and asked me what the date was. Then she answered her own question with, "Oh, wait. It must be the 22nd because I know Wednesday is the 25th." Yep, just like Christmas. All other dates are figured around this one.

I think that I am going to make a French strawberry tart. A very short crust, vanilla custard on the bottom, whole strawberries placed atop that, then brushed with a thin glaze of currant jelly (melted and cooled). Then refrigerated briefly to set the glaze. With some whipped cream perhaps? Yes, perhaps.

Also it is St. (Padre) Pio's birthday which is very cool. I couldn't find anything online that communicates the sense of joy and light-heartedness that I received while reading a biography of him. It was a photo of him with his head thrown back laughing that first made me notice him. I thought, "Now there is someone I could talk to..."

While praying before a cross, he received the stigmata on 20 September 1918, the first priest ever to be so blessed. As word spread, especially after American soldiers brought home stories of Padre Pio following WWII, the priest himself became a point of pilgrimage for both the pious and the curious. He would hear confessions by the hour, reportedly able to read the consciences of those who held back. Reportedly able to bilocate, levitate, and heal by touch. Founded the House for the Relief of Suffering in 1956, a hospital that serves 60,000 a year. In the 1920's he started a series of prayer groups that continue today with over 400,000 members worldwide.

And it is the Venerable Bede's saint day which is also very cool. You will never read a better death than that of the Venerable Bede ("Write faster!").

Even on the day of his death (the vigil of the Ascension, 735) the saint was still busy dictating a translation of the Gospel of St. John. In the evening the boy Wilbert, who was writing it, said to him: "There is still one sentence, dear master, which is not written down." And when this had been supplied, and the boy had told him it was finished, "Thou hast spoken truth", Bede answered, "it is finished. Take my head in thy hands for it much delights me to sit opposite any holy place where I used to pray, that so sitting I may call upon my Father." And thus upon the floor of his cell singing, "Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost" and the rest, he peacefully breathed his last breath.

Update
Many thanks to those who commented or emailed with birthday greetings!

The French Strawberry Tart was indeed divine and I am going to post the recipe soon. My loving family gave me some movies and books ... all much coveted with one surprise movie that I'd never heard of thrown in there. And dishes were washed, trash taken out, and many small favors done. I was Queen for a Day.

ALSO, now that we were back from our big summer trip, Tom put into action our pet search. We love Boxers and thought it would be great to have two of them at one time so they could truly play as they love to. Our first Boxer, Tory, was paired with our Chow Chow, who was a great dog but certainly didn't play the way she did. The second Boxer, Daffy, was paired with Pepper who, as a Black Lab-Great Dane mix, also didn't play the way she did. Through Craig's List we got a line on a sweet little 9-week-old male who we picked up yesterday evening. He is adorable and clearly is a people puppy from the get-go. When tired he loves nothing more than draping himself over someone's foot and conking out completely. This morning he continued to charm us with the fierce way he conquered a little nylabone ... jumping at it, sharply barking and growling at it, and then throwing himself on it to chew. Of course, there is the less charming fact that babies aren't so good at knowing when they are going to need to wet, but he's partway trained there so we just have to keep a good eye on him.

Next up, seeking the female to make up the pair ...

May 24 is a Day of Prayer for The Church in China

I have always had a particular interest in China and more recently a conviction that I should be praying for Christians there so I was delighted to see Pope Benedict's declaration that today is a day dedicated to prayer for the Church in China.

Dear Pastors and all the faithful, the date 24 May could in the future become an occasion for the Catholics of the whole world to be united in prayer with the Church which is in China. This day is dedicated to the liturgical memorial of Our Lady, Help of Christians, who is venerated with great devotion at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.

I would like that date to be kept by you as a day of prayer for the Church in China. I encourage you to celebrate it by renewing your communion of faith in Jesus our Lord and of faithfulness to the Pope, and by praying that the unity among you may become ever deeper and more visible. I remind you, moreover, of the commandment that Jesus gave us, to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us, as well as the invitation of the Apostle Saint Paul: "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:1-4).

On that same day, the Catholics of the whole world – in particular those who are of Chinese origin – will demonstrate their fraternal solidarity and solicitude for you, asking the Lord of history for the gift of perseverance in witness, in the certainty that your sufferings past and present for the Holy Name of Jesus and your intrepid loyalty to his Vicar on earth will be rewarded, even if at times everything can seem a failure.

Pope Benedict XVI, Letter to the Church in China

Here is the prayer that Pope Benedict composed for this day.

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title “Help of Christians”,
the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother’s care, guide them
along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.

When you obediently said “yes” in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God’s eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously cooperated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
standing beside your Son, who died that we might live.

From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in his footsteps by taking up his Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God’s loving presence.

Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
who, amid their daily trials, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!

For those interested in Our Lady, Help of Christians, and May 24, here is some good info.

Amy Welborn also has oodles of good links about this entire subject.

Why the "Road to Emmaus" is One of My Very Favorite Stories

Here's the thing I have newfound appreciation for: In spite that instruction from the Master on a seven-mile walk to the village, it wasn't until "the breaking of the bread" that "their eyes were opened" and they recognized Jesus.

There they were, with the best teacher in the world literally giving them chapter and verse from God's own word, but they didn't or couldn't connect the dots until they stopped to eat in precisely the fashion that Jesus had commanded when he said "Do this in memory of Me."

And we all said, "Amen!"

The Paragraph Farmer has this "aha" moment in a very specific context that hadn't occurred to me. Go read it.