I Am Not a Soccer Mom...and I Vote

I'm a Catholic wife and mother of 3, a homemaker and a Secular Franciscan.

All of those things come into play when I consider the upcoming elections.

I've got one week to choose the candidate I feel best represents my views on what's good for our nation and our world (because anyone who thinks that this election only affects this country is living in a dream world.)

I'm not a soccer mom. For one thing, I don't have the wardrobe for it. And none of my kids play soccer! So it's not about soccer moms and how they supposedly vote. If they vote pro-choice, I'm definitely not a soccer mom!

Maybe the Kitchen Madonna has it right in describing the new voting demographic as the Apron Mom. I've got the wardrobe for that. I own several aprons and wear them proudly. They are my uniform when I work around my home, doing laundry, cleaning up, cooking and baking for my family.

It's a good idea to link aprons to elections. Aprons are worn by people who serve others. We need to remember that our elected officials are to do just that--serve the people of our nation! And we have been given the responsibility of choosing the ones who will serve us.

I can never support a pro-abortion candidate. I would like to find a candidate who is not only prolife when it comes to abortion, but also carries this view across the board: anti-death penalty; anti-assisted suicide; anti-euthanasia, anti-embryonic stem cell research. I would like to find a candidate who knows what it means to serve, and that to do so can be both a blessing and a burden, and who is not afraid to seek divine guidance when making those important decisions.

Simply the Best

That's what we want for our families and for those we love.

And I think that was behind my post last week about my Secular Franciscan family and our slightly-past-Christmas Extraction of Saints.

At our Council meeting we decided not to dwell on "who prays for me" and we tried to gently steer the discussion off that topic when it veered there. And we knew it would, because it always does. And no matter what we said, it was going to happen, because that's where some of our members are. There was one member who spent the evening making a list of "who prays for whom" on the back of the prayer page.

We had to let that go.

It occurred to me this morning that this whole thing frustrates us because we want the best for our family--in this case our Franciscan family. We want our brothers and sisters to truly benefit from what is truly a spiritual event in our fraternal life.

And it's OK to do a little joking here and there, like we did when the virtue of Hospitality was chosen for our Minister and everyone told him that this meant his wife was off the hook for cleaning duty when they entertain. I think that was offset by the smiles or kind and heartfelt "thank yous" that were exchanged when announcements were made of who would benefit from special prayer by a certain member this coming year.

Our Fraternity can and will grow in love and virtue because we do have many wonderful members who truly care about each other, and we do have members who care about the ongoing formation of our members. When you love someone, you want the best for them.

Decaf is not going to cut it today

I'm tired. It's been a really nutty couple of days, and I think it has finally all caught up with me.

First, on Wednesday, Middle Sister was home with a slight fever. The contractor was busy installing my new back door, and I was keeping warm (since there was a big hole in the back of the house) by giving the bathroom (upstairs) a good scrubbing. Then the phone rang: the school nurse. "Please come right away and get Little Brother. He has head lice."

Immediately I was itching all over. All you have to do is mention bugs to me and I start to itch. I went tearing out of here and over to the school, where a nurse I had never seen before had an office full of kids and it was really crazy. She told me to sign him out, take him home, treat his head, check everyone else and keep him home until Monday.

When I got home, I called a friend; I was supposed to pick up her daughter after school and I was sure she didn't want to expose her child to lice. She asked if I had gotten anything to treat it with and told me to stay put because she had some stuff at home and would bring it right over.

The contractor had been a little surprised when I ran out of here and came home 20 minutes later with an apparently healthy child dressed in a school uniform, and he was a little grossed out too, when he asked what the matter was.

My friend brought over a natural lice remedy (not the toxic stuff that cannot be touched by human hands) and I used it on Little Brother's head. Then I used the little metal comb and checked him super carefully. Didn't find a thing.

I spent a good chunk of the rest of the day stripping beds, washing the afghans we keep on the couch, washing sheets and other bedding, washing Little Brother's coat and hat....and the phone rang again at 2:00. It was the regular school nurse, asking me if the substitute we'd seen in the morning had shown me what she found in Little Brother's head.

"No, and I treated his head and checked him, and I didn't find a thing."

She told me to bring him back in the morning and she would check him with me right there. Apparently there had been some false alarms....but the laundry was in progress and I had to finish what I started there. Plus I had to finish cleaning the bathroom since the tub had been sitting under a layer of cleaner and was threatening to disintegrate before my eyes if I didn't rinse it off.

Back to school we went yesterday, and the only thing the nurse found in Little Brother's hair was a "fuzzy" from his hat. So he was off to class and I went back home where I reassured the contractor (now working on the front door) that there were no bugs in my house or anyone's hair.

Just in time, too, because Big Brother had 5 friends over for a birthday party last night (they have no school today). Fortunately the rest of us managed to sleep over the sounds of 6 teenage boys playing video games and watching movies.

They've all gone home; the trash is out and the French toast has been eaten up.

I really need to mop the floors, but I think I need sleep more.

Either that, or some real coffee.

Marian Holy Card

Micki at Holy Cards for Your Inspiration has this beautiful card today:


The quote she has accompanying this card is not to be missed:

You never think of Mary without Mary thinking of God on your behalf.
Neither do you ever praise and honor God without Mary praising and honoring God in union with you.
--St. Louis Grignion de Montfort

Today, when I would guess that more Rosaries are being prayed in our country than any other day, many people are thinking of Mary. I add my prayers to those: O Virgin conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Pray for young women who feel trapped in unwanted pregnancies and who feel that abortion is their only way out. Pray for parents, husbands and boyfriends who pressure these women into killing their babies. Pray for abortion providers that they may have a change of heart. Pray for post-abortive women who grieve those little lives lost. Pray for our government that a reverence for life may permeate our country. And pray for all who work toward a culture of life.

Roe v. Wade: 35th Anniversary

This election year, the issue of abortion is once again in the limelight.

Pray hard for an end to abortion and a reverence for life from conception to natural death.

From Danielle Bean:

Pope John Paul II's Pro-Life Prayer
Oh Mary, we entrust to you the cause of life.
Look down upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born.
Grant all who believe in your Son to proclaim the Gospel of Life.
Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, to bear witness to it resolutely, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and Lover of Life.
Amen.

Live video feed: March for Life 2008

Who Needs Toys When There's a Box Around?

My kids have always enjoyed seeing the possibilities in a huge cardboard box. They use the boxes for forts, castles, firehouses, hideouts, and submarines until the boxes no longer resemble rectangles.

We haven't had a box for a while, so Little Brother was happy when a 4-foot-high box came into the house last week. He immediately claimed it, and today Big Brother used his Brand-New Big Honking Camping Knife to cut peepholes, a window and a door into the box.

I asked Little Brother if he was going to decorate his new clubhouse. "No way," he told me. "If I do that, everyone will know it's me in there."

Coming Soon: "Watch Your Tone!"

Amazingly, it's not my kids to whom I'd like to address that statement. (Usually it is, but not this time.)

It's my Franciscan brothers and sisters in my Secular Franciscan Fraternity.

Next Friday we will begin our year together with our traditional Extraction of Saints. At the Extraction we receive not only the name of a saint (often a Franciscan saint, but not always) to study and even emulate during the year, but also a virtue which we should try to cultivate, a Franciscan quote to inspire us, and the name of another member of the Fraternity or a friar or Sister from our parish to keep in special prayer during the year.

Doesn't that sound nice? It really is nice. But there's something that's been going on in past years that frustrates me, and I'm stewing about how to head it off at the pass.

I really should be praying about it. And I will.

Here's the situation. Everyone winds up winking and nodding about the virtues that come up. Sometimes it's a compliment, like "You are already so patient, why would you need to work on that?" and sometimes it's more like "wink wink nudge nudge, God sure knew what He was doing when he picked that for you." And worse than that, it winds up being an evening of "what's in it for me" as people only want to know who is praying for them. Sure, it's nice that someone in the Fraternity is going to hold you and your intentions in special prayer this year. But what you really need to remember is that you are expected to the same for someone else! It has gotten to the point that someone in attendance is asked to keep a list of "who prays for whom."

Well, I don't want to do that. I don't think that's what we're there for, to be so busy worrying about "who prays for me." If we all work to foster a connection (through prayer and maybe even an occasional note, phone call or verbal wish of encouragement) with the person we are keeping in prayer this year, we won't need that list.

I find it hard to take a stand in my Fraternity because of my age....it's a "don't disagree with your elders" thing. I can write very diplomatically but don't put me in a room and ask me to correct the behavior of another adult, especially an older adult.

Tomorrow night I will be bringing this issue up at our Council meeting. Please pray that I will find the right way to approach this issue at Council and on Friday at our Extraction of Saints, so that it will be a prayerful and fruitful experience for our members and guests.

UPDATED: I really appreciate the comments I have gotten on this post and I have been thinking of how to handle all of this nicely. I did come up with one suggestion that I will make to Council tonight: put addresses and phone #s on the card with the names. We can announce before we begin that we have done this, so that it will be easier for us to contact our "prayer partner" to ask if they have prayer requests, or send an encouraging note.

Interdisciplinary

Little Brother has been really into puzzles lately. He will do the same jigsaw puzzles over and over. Yesterday, my parents came to visit and Mom brought along a few puzzles that she had in her house. One of them was a foam-rubber puzzle of a helicopter, and had probably originally belonged to Big Brother.

He's put together that helicopter at least three times this morning, and just now when he put in the last piece, he stood the puzzle on one end and asked TheDad and me if one of us could hold it up.

"Just lean it on the leg of the coffee table," we told him, figuring that he wanted to display his work.

"No, that won't work! I need to use it for a hurdle," was his reply.

Bears Have the Right Idea

It's winter. It's cold. The sky is gray and soon some freezing-cold stuff will fall out of it.
My nose is cold. One of my college roommates would say, "That means you're a healthy puppy."
Can I use all this as an excuse for my current mood? I'm just feeling a little down, a lot lazy, and kind of sleepy. And completely unmotivated.
I did exercise today, for half my usual time as I'm nursing a sore knee from all the bending and carrying and stair-climbing involved in helping move the school library from its temporary quarters to its newly renovated home.
I got a couple of errands done that meant I could complete some "easy to put off because they don't affect your ability to live in the house, but annoying if you don't fix them" home-improvement chores.
I mopped the floors (including the Mysterious Sticky Stuff in the kitchen).
I treated myself to lunch at Chick-Fil-A.
I contacted the Vietnam Veterans to schedule a pickup of clothes (mostly mine) that I've cleaned out of closets.
Usually all of those things give me a little lift. But not today.
I am pleased to report that Big Brother let me know he'll be home right after school today, so he can watch Little Brother here while I take Middle Sister to her physical therapy appointment. Amusing a 5-year-old in a waiting room for more than an hour can be torture for all concerned (including the receptionist!) So I will have a chance to sip my decaf coffee and read...hey, wait a minute...I'm reading a really good, but sad, book (The Kite Runner).
I think I just figured out the reason for my mood.
Maybe I'll bring along something funny, or a cookbook, or my current nonfiction read (It's So You: Fitting Fashion to Your Life by Mary Sheehan Warren.)

Happy Birthday, Big Brother

Big Brother turned 16 today, which means I am halfway through with my first teenager. Today, Father H. told me that Big Brother is "an honorable young man," which is high praise. So please indulge me in a moment of Mommy-Bragging. Big Brother is 3 school days away from achieving straight A's for this quarter (that would be the first time ever that he's done so). He's a Life Scout, having been involved in Scouting since he was 6. And he's hanging in there with the track team, even though he had to run 7 miles in hard rain yesterday and 6 in snow flurries today. His friends at school are good kids, good students, and involved in lots of activities. Middle Sister wants to follow him onto the track team (with his encouragement). Little Brother wants to follow him everywhere.

Big Brother is a big fan of apple pie, especially homemade apple pie. So this morning I was busily peeling two kinds of apples and putting together his requested birthday dessert.

Happy birthday, Big Brother! I hope you enjoy your birthday pie.

With Age Comes...Dinner

Earlier this evening, Little Brother was complaining that he never gets to pick what we have for dinner.

Naturally, I gave him the Standard Mean-Mommy Answer: "When you have a job and earn money to buy food, and you learn how to cook the food, then you get to pick what you eat."

He thought about that for a minute and cheerfully said, "That's what I'll do! Just as soon as I'm SIX!"

Useless Information About Me(me)

Found this one over at Ellen's and then discovered that Jean tagged me.

1. Do you wear a name tag at work? No. All my kids know my name by now.

2. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy Uplander

3. What do you order when you go to Taco Bell? I cannot believe how many people do not eat at Taco Hell! I have one within walking distance, which means that I can have my fill of Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes and Spicy Chicken Soft Tacos. YUM! Hmm, what's for lunch?

4. Have you ever had a garage sale? No

5. What color is your iPod? I have an mp3 player, not an iPod. It's white and has a cool blue glow when it's turned on.

6. What kind of dog do you have? None.

7. What's for dinner tonight? It will be just me and Little Brother. We're probably having hot dogs.

8. What is the last alcoholic beverage you had? That was probably my senior year in college. I don't drink alcohol.

9. Stupidest thing you ever did with your cell phone? Dialed someone without realizing it because the phone was not "locked" and something bumped it in my purse.

10. Last time you were sick? Fall 2007.

11. How long is your hair? About shoulder-length, but I did trim my bangs last week. I can't keep away from the scissors once the bangs get in my eyes.

12. Are you happy right now? For the most part....

13. What did you say last? "Hi, Adventure Boy! Come on in!"

14. Who came over last? Adventure Boy and Girl Next Door

15. Do you drink beer? No

16. Have your brothers or sisters ever told you that you were adopted? I doubt it. They usually tell me that I am my mom's "clone" since we look, speak and think very much alike (but she got the curly hair).

17. What is your favorite key chain on your keys? The cool "boomerang" one that an Australian pen pal sent me.

18. What did you get for graduation? Which time?

19. Whats in your pocket? These pants don't have pockets, unfortunately.

20. Who introduced you to Dane Cook? Who?

21. Has someone ever made you a Build-A-Bear? No

22. What DVD is in your DVD player? Whatever's in there, it's not mine.

23. What's something fun you did today? Listened to my new Eagles album! Let's play it again! (The kids love it sooooo much!)

24. Who is/was the principal of your high school? Sister Pat

25. Has your house ever been TP'd? Not my house, but the big pine tree in front was, once. I still think my kids did it but they insist they're innocent.

26. What do you think of when you hear the word "meow"? Girls being catty.

27. What are you listening to right now? Little Brother and his friends playing the Wii.

28. Drinking? Coffee (decaf), of course!

29. What is your favorite aisle at Wal-Mart? Whatever's on sale.

30. When is your mom's birthday? July 2

31. When is your birthday? July 28

32. What's the area code for your cell phone? One of the NJ area codes

33. Where did you buy the shirt you're wearing now? Land's End

34. Is there anything hanging from your rear view mirror? No - too distracting for me

35. How many states in the US have you been to? 36

36. What kind of milk do you drink? Whole milk, white, icy cold.

37. What are you going to do after this? Probably more laundry, then work on taking down Christmas decorations.

38. Who was the last person you went shopping with? Middle Sister and Little Brother. We got some bargains at Old Navy!

39. What is your favorite fruit? Pineapple

40. What about your favorite dessert? Coffee ice cream

41. What is something you need to go shopping for? A new sofa

42. Do you have the same name as one of your relatives? Yes

43. What kind of car does one of your siblings drive? Ford Explorer

44. Do you like pickles? Yes, especially the sour, garlicky ones.

45. How about olives? Sure, but I don't like the pits.

46. What is your favorite kind of gum? Cinnamon

47. What is your favorite kind of juice? Ruby Red grapefruit juice

48. Do you have any tan lines? That would mean I'd have to have a TAN. I have burn lines....

49. What hospital were you born in? a North Jersey hospital

Now, are you ready for the quiz?

I Don't Get It

Yesterday Little Brother walked in the front door after school and put down his schoolbag and lunchbox--just inside the door, blocking the entrance. If it's a nice day, and fairly warm, we leave the main door open since there's a storm door.

Shortly afterward, TheDad came home from work with his briefcase and a couple of bags from the sporting-goods store. He stepped over the schoolbag and lunchbox, came in and started packing things for a weekend Boy Scout camping trip.

Big Brother and TheDad went in and out the door, stepping over the schoolbag and lunchbox, as they loaded up the car for camping.

Finally they were ready to go. They said goodbye to me, Middle Sister, and Little Brother, stepped over the schoolbag and lunchbox, and headed out the door.

That's when I realized that this had been going on all afternoon.

They had to see the things in the doorway, as they never tripped. But they never moved them.

If they hadn't directly been blocking the main door, which we have to close and lock at night or whenever we leave the house, how long would those things have sat there?

My New Favorite Song

The lyrics are strange, but the sound is fantastic! Enjoy! I'm driving the kids bananas, listening to it over and over and over and over and over....


How Long Lyrics

The Wrong Kind of Self-Help

Deliver me from "self-help" writers who haven't left the "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" mindset.

I have always had an interest in architecture, and a few years ago I read and enjoyed The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka. We had recently moved from our very small "starter home" to this bigger house, and I was discovering that just because a home is bigger doesn't make it better. In our smaller house, every inch of space was designed for efficient use. Not so with this house, and that drives me crazy sometimes. Susanka's architecture book was full of interesting designs and ideas that made sense to me.

Anyway, I discovered that Susanka had written a new book, and I found it at the library.

I'm glad I didn't pay for it. I didn't get too far into it before I realized that it was NOT for me. First of all, it was a self-help book, not a book about architecture. In the introduction, I read that

It's possible to start living a Not So Big Life of full, rich, vivid moments where everything that happens to us is experienced fully, and where spirit and connection have room to thrive.

At that point it was very clear that I was reading a book written from an extremely narcissistic viewpoint. I felt like I was reading nonfiction written by Richard Bach, because Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Illusions: the Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah were both advocating the same school of thought.

Out of curiosity, I turned to the index and looked up "religion." Only one page was listed, and I flipped to that one to see the tiny mention that gave away Susanka's whole outlook: "to see that my inner experience was real and didn't require validation by a spiritual institution."

I don't need to go to a book to have my faith practices scorned. And I don't need or want "freedom" from religion. On the contrary, I am sure that if I really work at practicing what I believe, the simplicity I seek will follow.

Last night's Evening Prayer contained the following intercession:

Help those who do not know God but seek your presence in the shadows and projections of the human mind; make them new persons in the light of Christ.

Amen.

Weatherguessers

We've had weird weather here the past few days: very warm, in the 60's, and now very windy.

I was helping Little Brother get a jacket out of the closet for school today. I told him that it's warm, but would be windy and maybe rainy later.

He turned around to TheDad and asked, "Dad, is the weatherman right or wrong today?"

"The weatherman is right," TheDad replied.

Little Brother put on his waterproof windbreaker without argument. Good thing, too, because he should just be getting off the school bus at school, and it's raining now.

Toward a Standard of Maternity Leave--for Students

I just read, over at "The World...IMHO" that many high schools do not have a policy in place that grants adequate maternity leave to pregnant students.

I've worked as a homebound tutor for over 13 years. In the school districts where I have worked, young moms were entitled to 6 weeks at home, with tutors. (Girls who underwent C-sections were given more recovery time). I had no idea that this was not the standard.

It's time to realize that high-school girls who are willing to carry a pregnancy to term deserve academic support and a good deal of guidance during the time following childbirth, right through their graduation. It's well worth the investment in the young moms and their children.

The Roof Over My Head

I am sitting here at what is normally a very quiet time of day in the house. Any other Monday, you'd probably hear nothing but the washing machine and dryer running, and maybe the vacuum cleaner or some water running as I clean up the mess leftover from the weekend.

But today, they are removing the roof. The sound of thumps and scrapes and bumps and heavy boots walking overhead drowns out the buzz of the dryer's "I'm done" signal. I can hear a radio but I can't make out what's playing on it.

Having a roof done in January is iffy business, but when we started to see water damage on Middle Sister's ceiling, we knew we couldn't put it off any longer. Fortunately the weather today is gorgeous with temps climbing through the 50s, and tomorrow will be even better.

It was a shame that Little Brother had already headed off to school when the big truck with the built-in "claw lift thingamajig" pulled up and started offloading pallets of shingles right onto the roof. The rest of the kids in the neighborhood, who take a later bus, had some entertainment while they stood on the corner waiting for their ride.

It's noisy now, but it will be leakproof later. And then they'll replace my ugly front door, and the back door with the cracked windowpane, with pretty new doors and frosted-glass sidelights in the front. And I'll get to go to the Big Box Home Improvement Store and choose a paint color for the front door (and the shutters, which someone in the house who shall remain nameless did not even realize we have).

TheDad asked me this morning if I was excited about getting the new roof. Not really. It's the doors that I'm waiting for. That's something I look at and use every day. It'll be nice to look at something pretty for a change.

New Year's Meme

I found this one at Esther's.

1. WHO WERE YOU NAMED AFTER?
My middle name is the same as my mom's first name. That's as close as I get.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Today at church when we sang "Drummer Boy." I never fail to cry when I sing that song. (Yes, I know, it's not appropriate to sing that one in church. I have no control over the choice of music.)

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I could do better

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Ham, sliced really thin (and served on seeded rye bread with good mustard)

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yes

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I don't know

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Way more than I should.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
You couldn't pay me enough.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Honeycomb, though now I only like the generic kind because the brand-name kind has been "improved."

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Yes

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Coffee

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
How tall they are

15. RED OR PINK?
pink

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU?
I don't know.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My family; they are over 2 hours away.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Khaki pants and my new awesome brown shoes

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
some amazing chocolate cake with fudge icing

2o. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
the hum of my laptop "cooling tower"

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
periwinkle

22. FAVORITE SMELLS?
baking bread

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Middle Sister

24. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yes

25. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Notre Dame football, or basketball

26. HAIR COLOR?
brown, with some gray creeping in

27. EYE COLOR?
brown

28. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No! Never! I can't stand anything in my eyes.

29. FAVORITE FOOD?
My tastes are all over the map so this answer would change weekly!

30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy endings

31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
In theatres? I have no idea.

32. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
black

33. SUMMER OR WINTER?
I hate extremes of weather! Fall and spring are my favorites!

34. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs

35. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Coffee ice cream

36. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
I'm between books at the moment but I have a tall stack waiting for me

37. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
I don't use one

38. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Absolutely nothing

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Silence

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Ireland

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
nothing exceptional

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
closer to the North Pole than where I currently live!

TAG! Anyone who wants to play!

In solidarity

Dan at Faithmouse has drawn a new proposal for a logo for the Beijing Olympics:



Religious expression such as the sale of Bibles, use of rosaries, and the consecrated religious life are banned in China under the current government. Secular Franciscans must meet secretly. In addition, their policy of limiting families to one child means that the atrocity of abortion continues in that country.

Sometimes it takes the thought of what Chinese Catholics and other Christians must go through to make you realize just how blessed we are. We can go to church at any time, carry a rosary or Bible in our pocket, and not worry about our government telling us we must not have more than one child.

Pray for those who must live in these conditions in China.