STA-Live: Streaming Mass, Faith, and Community

Our priest live streamed the Mass on Facebook this morning. It really won't be a big deal to people who aren't parish members, but his homily was wonderful (as always) and you might like it. It is about 22 minutes in. His closing comments at about 54 minutes are also good.

I found my husband's comments equally inspiring when he shared it on Facebook. He doesn't talk about his faith much (make that "ever") so you know he was moved by watching the Mass and our community:

While I consider myself a faithful Catholic I am certainly no zealot. Watching a Mass online does nothing for me. But this Mass from our parish of 30 years proved how much I see community as my connection to God. It shows me how community is inherently local. Most of you will not get the same feeling from this Mass from our parish. But it is what "church" is to me. I could easily find a Mass online with better production values (multi-camera, mic'd to the hilt) but this is my community.

For me, community is where faith is put into action. You will rarely see most of the acts of support and mercy that are happening. But they are out there. Yesterday, Julie and I raced through two grocery stores to get supplies for a sick friend (and fellow parishioner) who should not be going out into the world right now. To the others in the stores we looked like everyone else getting ready for our "social separation". But I am sure many of the other shoppers were like us.

Here's the Mass video. 22 minutes into this video is a beautiful homily from Father Libone and at 54 minutes he gives an eloquent blessing for the times.

Thus Sayeth the Lord E-book Released TODAY!

Thus Sayeth the Lord had a March 31 release date but right now, as you can imagine, Amazon isn’t sending out orders on anything other than essential items.

SO, the publisher has released the e-book today and the print book will release when shipping loosens up some.

That means this very day you can have the prophets to help you get through hard times ... and everyday life.

Get it at Amazon now!

What I'm Reading: Mirabile by Janet Kagan

I've seen it reported that people are reading and watching movies about contagions.

This mystifies me. Real life isn't enough for them? As always, when faced with stressful circumstances in life I turn to light, entertaining books to get away from it all.

This book is one I'd forgotten I had until browsing through my Kindle library. It's just what the doctor ordered!

That year the Ribeiro's daffodils seeded early and they seeded cockroaches. Now, ecologically speaking, even a cockroach has its place -- but these suckers bit. That didn't sound Earth-authentic to me. Not that I care, mind you, all I ask is useful. I wasn't betting on that either.

A light, enjoyable collection of connected short stories told in a pleasing voice. These strike me as perfect juvenile stories though I can see how they'd be fun if encountered in sf magazines. There is little character development, what you see is what you get. Not that there's anything wrong with that for entertaining reading.

They are largely problem solving tales, wrapped in the intriguing environment of human colonists on Mirabile. Scientists who packed the colony ships with embryos also planned for emergency redundancy with some gene twisting so that each species contains the genes for other species. Which is super until your computer has a glitch that loses how to turn those genes off or on. When the Earth species react to the alien environment they reproduce with different species altogether, or sometimes with unexpected results of genes that mixed to produce monsters. My favorite — the Kangaroo Rex.

The fun is in watching Jason, the planet's genetic/environmental problem solver, evaluate and handle the various mutations along the way.

Hannah & Rose discuss the early 2000s metal scene, the loneliness of the long distance vampire ...

... and the respective merits of vampire versus human blood in bestowing superpowers as they watch Queen of the Damned (2002). Get it at More is More, a bad movie podcast.

Eggplant with Molten Mozzarella

A delicious Friday meatless meal ... the mozzarella is a variation so if you just see eggplant at the store and no mozzarella, we've got you covered! It's also perfect for using the vegetables that others might not be buying. Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Well Said: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world?

The great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought?

The answer is very simple: God.... He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about our origin and destiny: faith, hope and love. It is only because of our hardness of heart that we think this is too little. Yes indeed, God's power works quietly in this world, but it is the true and the lasting power. Again and again, God's cause seems to be in its death throes. Yet over and over again it proves to be the thing that truly endures and saves.

-- Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth

Great Train Robbery

N.C. Wyeth, Great Train Robbery

All In Good Fun: Taskmaster

This is a British comedy show that you can see here on YouTube. It is ostensibly a game show but really is watched for the comedy.

Taskmaster Greg Davies set a series of simple and bizarre challenges to five comedians who are the contestants.  The tasks – usually performed alone, but sometimes in teams – are funny and challenging.

The first season included such things as doing something that will look impressive in reverse, cooking a meal using ingredients representing every letter of the alphabet (this one had us looking up what begins with X), making a huge block of ice disappear, and drawing a picture while riding on the back of a trotting horse.

Part of the fun comes in listening to the contestants justify their methods and results — they are comedians, after all, and can get hilariously creative as they think outside the box.

We just finished season one and I'm delighted to see that there are eight more seasons awaiting us.

Queen of the Court of Carnival Flowers

Helen Guenther, Queen of the Court of Carnival Flowers in San Antonio, 1911
via Traces of Texas

To the Victor Belong the Spoils!

My hero!

I was worried I was going to have to get to know the neighbors over more than a cup of sugar. Going door to door to borrow a roll of toilet paper is more of an ice breaker than I really want. But we'd been searching stores since last Friday without success.

Then Tom returned triumphant! He snagged one of the four packages at the store!

And there was great rejoicing!

Under lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Italians break out in song from rooftops, balconies and windows.

ROME — It started with the national anthem. Then came the piano chords, trumpet blasts, violin serenades and even the clanging of pots and pans — all of it spilling from people’s homes, out of windows and from balconies, and rippling across rooftops.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon, a nationwide round of applause broke out for the doctors on the medical front lines fighting the spread of Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak.

“It was from our hearts, to say thanks and show that we can get past this,” said Emma Santachiara, 73, who came out onto the terrace of her apartment in the Monteverde section of Rome to clap with her granddaughters.

Here's a lovely story from the New York Times, which is free (woohoo!) so go read it all. It will lift your spirits! (Thanks to Patsy for pointing it out.)

Inspiration – Daily Mass from Bishop Barron's Chapel

From Word on Fire:

Friends, in an effort to continue the practice of our faith in these trying times, when many parishes have closed due to restrictions around the coronavirus, we invite you to join us online for daily Mass from Bishop Barron's chapel, celebrated either by Bishop Barron himself or by Fr. Steve Grunow, CEO of Word on Fire.

The video will be posted below at 8:15am ET each day.

Finally, please continue to pray for all those affected by the coronavirus.

There's also a link to a virtual tour of the chapel. Get it all here.

We are merely here as pilgrims

We are now at the end of 1761. Today the New Year of 1762 had begun. How many saw the beginning of the year that has just gone but did not live to see its end! We should give thanks to God that we are allowed to see its conclusion. But do we know whether we shall see the end of this year? Certainly, many will not see it. Who knows if we shall not among this number? A year must dawn for us that will be our last.

We should awaken our faith and strive for the remainder of our lives to live according to the maxims of our faith. Why should we wait until death overtakes us and finds us living according to the maxims of the world? Let us awaken our faith to realize that this earth is not our true home but that we are merely here as pilgrims.

Our faith will give us confidence in our difficulties, teaching us that whoever prays will be saved. May our faith make us always live with the thought of eternity. Let's keep ever before our eyes this great thought - everything in this world comes to an end, whether it be prosperity or adversity. Eternity alone never ends.

St. Aphonsus Liguori

This seems just as appropriate for right now as for the beginning of a new year. Faced with a pandemic, appropriately happening during Lent when we repent and turn again toward the Lord, we are nudged (or shoved) into self-reflection. We're not so different from the folks in 1762.

Receiving Line

Belinda Del Pesco, Receiving Line

UPDATED: Help in coping with corona virus — Homeschooling Help, Free school age audiobooks, free Magnificat online

Free audiobooks for those home from school

B.J. Harrison from The Classic Tales podcast has a great resource.

Do you have kids at home right now? I've decided to release a few titles for free through my website to help those who may be home from school. The titles are selected for those in grades K-12.

They will remain free for the duration of the COVID-19/Corona virus outbreak.

You can find the free selections by tapping this text link.

Please note: new customers will need to create an account and will be automatically subscribed to our newsletter. I'm sorry I don't have a way around this. Feel free to unsubscribe immediately.

Further note: One of my distributors has approached me, and we are issuing a longer list of free audiobooks to schools. If your school has access to digital audiobooks, they may have access to a longer list of free audiobooks from myself and other publishers.

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HOMESCHOOLING HELP

How to Homeschool Temporarily (in the Event of Quarantine)

I liked the original post from Darwin Catholic when it first came out. Now I see there are further explanations, which I myself would find valuable were I in the unfortunate situation of having to take on my children's schooling. As I have a friend who is now faced with that very thing — and who has the same exact feelings I would have in her place — I submit these pieces which seem very helpful.

• How to Homeschool Temporarily (in the Event of Quarantine)
• How to Homeschool Temporarily, Part 2 -- the Little Kids
• How to Homeschool Temporarily, Part 3 -- The Middle Grades

Bonus: I also really liked Darwin's post about breaking infection connections. So here's Social Networks and Pandemics.

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Free Online Magnificat

During this challenging time, many of the faithful may be unable to attend Mass.
Magnificat is honored to provide complimentary access to our online version to help people pray from home.

Get it here. Just click on the magazine page image to read it.

Just one more reason to love Whataburger ... and Texas

Photo: Anita Kay Duran / Facebook

Whataburger Delivers Food To H-E-B Workers Working Long Hours to Keep Shelves Stocked

Whataburger decided to help out their fellow Texans working at H-E-B in New Braunfels by bringing them food.

H-E-B has been dealing with a ton of customers panic buying as fears of coronavirus grow, which has led to a major shortage of supplies and tons of long hours for H-E-B workers trying to keep the shelves stocked for customers.

The long lines didn't stop Whataburger workers from helping, though. They brought tons of food to their fellow Texans in their time of need.

Texas Memes

Sunday in a Time of Canceled Mass

In Dallas all Masses are cancelled through March 29 and we were pondering how to keep the day holy in a special way.

We're going to:

• Read the Mass readings aloud (courtesy of Word Among Us which I have on my Kindle, but you can get them at the USCCB)
• Listen to Bishop Barron's Sunday homily (read or listen at Word on Fire)
• The Our Father and our own prayers of the faithful, ending with the Act of Spiritual Communion below.

I especially wanted to share this prayer with everyone, which is wonderfully appropriate for now ... but really is good for anytime. I came across it in A Year With the Eucharist and was struck by its beauty.

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy sacrament. I love you above all things: I desire to receive you into my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace you, and I unite myself entirely to you, as if you had already come. Do not permit me to be ever separated from you.

Jesus, source of all my good, my sweet love, wound, inflame this heart of mine, that it may always burn for you.

Act of Spiritual Communion,

Alphonsus de Liguori

You are all in my prayers as we go through uncertain days together.

Panic in a Time of Corona Virus

I always thought I'd read so many apocalyptic scenario books that I'd be ready for quick decisions in a panic.

Then I went to pick up a prescription at the local grocery store and was bemused by how full the parking lot was. Was surprised at no carts. Was amused at every single line open and full. Aha. This is that panic I'd been hearing about.

Then Hannah called, saying that she was at our favorite store and all the bread and meat were flying off the shelves.

Which is how I found myself vaguely wandering the aisles with a bag of lemons, three onions, and four pork chops. Wondering, what do I buy now? (I mean - without a list how do I even do this?)

All that reading of World War Z, The Stand, etc. did me no good at all!

You want bonkers? Dabangg delivers.

This masala film delivers entertainment and action, though not always in a way that we can agree with. Hannah and Rose discuss the 2010 Salman Khan film Dabangg, about a corrupt cop who lives fearlessly. This is the end of their cop movie series.

Get it at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

Distant View of Niagara Falls

Distant View of Niagara Falls, Thomas Cole
public domain from the Art Institute of Chicago

Click here to see it larger and more glorious. I remember when an exhibit of the Hudson River School came to the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth. Tom and I went to see it. Simply magnificent. I loved all those paintings.