Fun With Baby Blaise!

He has a nice touch. :-)

Having trouble getting these videos to work....still working on it.

My son John is loving trying to teach my grandson Blaise many things...like improvising on the piano, throwing rolled up napkins across the dinner table, and, as pictured above, kicking a ball.

Could anything be more fun than babysitting for grandkids? Maybe not. It's especially fun when there are so many other adoring adults involved. And we all agree. Cutest baby in the world. No arguments. It's great.

Sometimes You Just Have to Transplant

Some years ago I planted a dwarf hibiscus (Actually Hibiscus X Ruby Dot, I believe), also called Rosemallow, along my front sidewalk. Dwarf should mean small, right? I thought it might grow to be a foot or two. Well. It became a good three feet tall and probably had a diameter of about the same. It sprawled over the walkway, blocking a good portion of it.

But it was beautiful, as  you can see from the above photo. It would cover itself with these blooms and they were magnificent, each one so delicate and only lasting a day or two. It was a great living metaphor for the loveliness and brevity of life.

But it blocked the walk. It took over too much space and dwarfed all the other little flowers I planted along the bed. In short, it didn't fit. It had been planted (by me) in the wrong location.

So I asked my friend Sally (horticulture major) if it was possible to transplant such a big plant.  She said, "Sure. Just dig it up and move it."

I thought I might kill it, but it seemed worth a try. I moved it to the back yard in a sunny location. At first, it looked hopeless. Just a few dead looking sticks protruding from the ground. (Mind you, that's how it always looks in the early Spring. But this seemed to be the case for quite a while.)

Then, lo and behold, there were little leaves starting to emerge. It had survived!!

A few weeks later it looked like this...

I think it may like this location even better. There is a lot of sun and lots of room to spread out, without getting in anyone's way.

And finally, in all its glory.... BLOOMIMG!!!!!!

Sometimes you just have to transplant. Perhaps a metaphor for life here?

How and why might the Lord transplant us?

Sometimes he transplants us because the situation (job, friendships, etc.) we're in is not healthy. Like a plant, there may not be enough sun (too much negativity). The soil might not be right. (The situation does not bring out the best in us, does not use our gifts, or leads us to sin.) Sometimes, we might not know the reason, but follow the Lord's call anyway.

God always wants what's best for us, but our ability to see (really see!) what he has in mind is terribly limited. It's like looking through a tiny hole in a solid fence when there's an entire world on the other side. We look though a glass darkly! (1Corinthians 13:12)

When we are pulled up by the roots, it's painful and scary. Placement in a new location or situation is disorienting. Like the plant, sometimes roots are bruised or broken. We need a lot of water (grace) right away or we can wither. We need to be tended to (taking care of ourselves), and treated gently.

The Lord is always faithful and always good. We must trust him that our roots will grow. We will be fed and watered and....we will bloom again. God is good. All the time.

Justice for Harambe?

Harambe, a silver-backed gorilla at the Cinncinnati Zoo was killed recently to protect the life of a three-year-old boy who had fallen into the gorilla's enclosure. Thankfully, the little boy is all right, despite having fallen 15 feet into a moat and then dragged repeatedly around by a 450 pound agitated gorilla.

It was a tragedy, especially so because the gorilla was an endangered species.

As Christians we have a responsibility to care for all creation and to respect and honor the nature of all of God's creatures. When a species is endangered, it naturally deserves special protection and care.

But does that mean that a gorilla has rights? 

Merriam Webster defines a right as something to which one has a just claim: (as in) a. the power or privilege to which one is justly entitled. If Harambe has suffered an injustice, as some claim, is that because Harambe has rights tantamount to human rights?

No, Harambe is not entitled to human rights.  He is not a human and, no, animals are not persons as some are actually claiming.

Did Harambe have a right to have his life protected even when a three-year-old child had fallen into his enclosure and the child's life was in grave danger?

Harambe did not have that right. And, therefore, there was no injustice. Whether he intended harm to the child or not is irrelevant. The behavior of animals is morally neutral. He was neither innocent nor guilty. He was a gorilla. And gorillas cannot safely be in proximity with humans.

Raising the concept of justice in regards to this case is troubling. It anthropomorphizes the gorilla. Thankfully even PETA is not saying that the gorilla should not have been sacrificed to save the life of the child. But they are saying that this was an injustice and therefore someone must be held accountable. And it is the mother who is receiving their disapproving gaze.

Really? I will grant you that it is highly unusual for a child to enter a gorilla enclosure with the mom standing right there. But she WAS standing right there. She also had other children with her. I prefer to assume, not that this mother was negligent, but that this three-year-old must have been one wiry, active little boy. Witnesses say that it all happened in a matter of seconds.

Had the mother been holding the hand of each child (never mind that she only has two hands), perhaps this would not have happened. Maybe had she turned to her son one nanosecond sooner, she could have grabbed him and stopped him. The fact that she looked away for a few seconds hardly makes her a negligent mother.

That a magnificent gorilla, an endangered species, had to be killed to protect a young child is a tragedy. It would have been an even greater tragedy had the zoo not acted and the child been killed by the gorilla.

We live in a fallen world. We do our best to make moral choices and to honor God (and his creation) as well as our neighbor.

Sometimes, accidents are accidents and not anyone's fault. It would seem that this is one of those times.

StoryRunners-- Taking the Gospel to All Nations Through Stories!!

The other night my husband and I met with a recent University of Michigan graduate, Allyssa, who is going to spend the next year with StoryRunners, a ministry of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ.) Allyssa is a dear girl who majored in Performing Arts Management, and what an inspiring decision she has made to use her theatre skills to tell others about Christ!!

StoryRunners sends people to remote parts of the world where languages are spoken into which the Bible has not been translated, and the people are largely illiterate.  StoryRunners works with native speakers who act as translators who learn the 42 stories about Jesus that the ministry has prepared. These translators then go out and tell these stories to the people.

I love that this ministry is evangelizing people who would not otherwise have an opportunity to hear about Jesus. What a tremendously blessed ministry.

Cru has no central funds for salary and ministry expenses. Allyssa is raising money for this internship opportunity, in order to be able to go.

Would you like to donate? It might mean someone learning about Jesus who would never otherwise have the chance. We cannot all go out to the remotest parts of the world, but we can all help spread the Gospel to all nations!!

Click HERE to help Allyssa spread the Gospel to people who can only hear it through storytelling!!!

Saint Philip Neri-- Saint of Joy!

May we all be saints of joy!!

From Magnificat this morning, quoting Blessed John Henry Newman:

Nothing was too high for him, nothing too low. He taught poor begging women to use mental prayers; he took out boys to play, he protected orphans....Cardinals hung about his room, and popes asked for his miraculous aid in disease....It was his mission to save people, not from, but in, the world.

Nothing was too high for him or low. God is no respecter of persons. (Acts 10:34). What a good reminder this holy saint gives us.

How easily we slip into thinking we are better than others. Some think they are better than the poor. (They must not work hard enough. They must not be very "together.") Some look down on the rich. (After all, surely they are attached to their possessions. Surely they are guilty of materialism. Surely they are haughty.)

Does education make a person superior? Nice clothing? Status? Money? Power?

God is no respecter of persons. May we never forget that we are all poor broken children, in need of the Redeemer.

And like Saint Philip Neri, may we never pass up an opportunity to share the joy of Christ with every person we meet.

And The Winner of the Book Drawing is.....AnneMarie!!!

The winner of a free copy of this book is Anne Marie!!! Congratulations!!

If you were hoping to win, you can enter another drawing by posting a comment after my review at http://www.catholic365.com/article/4328/review-and-book-giveaway-of-learning-to-love-with-the-saints-a-spiritual-memoir-by-jean-heimann.html That drawing will be on the morning of May 25, 2016!!

(Hint: As of this moment no one has commented on the review at that site. You could have a very good chance....)

Baptism Photos Part 2.... Had enough yet??

 Blaise with (from left to right) his godmother, his mother, his father, and his godfather

 Blaise with his grandfather, his great grandfather, his grandmother, his godfather, his mother, his godmother, and his father...

 Blaise with his grandfather, his godfather, his parents, his godmother, and me (his grandmother)

This is one of those priceless shots. Blaise with his grandfather and four generations....Blaise, his father, his paternal grandmother, and his great grandfather! (his Grandma Colette's father) I love it! I never knew any of my great grandparents. Blaise has three living great grandparents!!!!!

Blaise with his Uncle Jim!

Little do these two guys know that someday they're going to be good friends.

Blaise with Mom and Dad!

 Blaise's Uncle Mike and Uncle Jim.

 Blaise with Father Ed!

 Blaise with his Uncle Jim and Father Ed. I distinctly remember Father Ed playing with Jim at about the same age!

And Blaise with his Grandpa Bogdan, whom many people think he resembles...at least for now.

Baptism Photos!!

Here is little Blaise moments before his Baptism. To the right of the priest is his godmother (my daughter Mary), his godfather Ian( Zach's brother) and Zach and Anne (my daughter) who are Blaise's parents. I love how attentively Blaise is listening to the prayers of his Baptism. :-) He did that the entire time.

 The moment of Baptism. How beautiful that the waters of Baptism are reflected on Blaise's parents and godparents, aptly symbolizing the grace on everyone at that moment.

 Mary tending to the needs of her little godson...

And here he is! The new creation, forever marked as belonging to God!!!

The Heirloom Baptismal Gown

Here is Blaise modeling the ninety year old Baptismal gown. His great grandfather wore it. His grandmother (me) and his great aunt and uncle (my brother and sister) were all baptized in it. As were his mother and three uncles and two aunts. Yes, Blaise was the eleventh person to be baptized in this gown.

Above: Blaise with his mother who was also baptized in this gown. Judging by the look on his face, I'd say Blaise likes it. I can almost see my father smiling.

What is it about heirlooms that warm our heart. Only my father, the original owner of the gown, is gone. The nine other people are still with us and eight of them were even at the Baptism.

And yet everyone smiles at the knowledge that this is a family Baptismal gown.

We are physical beings. I look at this gown and it's very tiny, beautiful lace edging and I wonder how many mothers have fingered it and who made it. Was it my father's grandmother? I don't remember his mother ever sewing, so could it have been the even earlier generation? Is it possible that someone wore it even before my father?

Somehow this gown binds us generationally. Somehow it connects us to people who have gone before. Somehow it unites us spiritually and even with a mystical physicalness in the very gown itself. It is not ours. It belongs to the family. As do we.

Tomorrow-- pictures of the Baptism!

Happy Pentecost!! Come Holy Spirit.

From In Conversation With God Volume Two: Lent and Eastertide,  by Father Francis Fernandez...

When we realize that our sanctification and the apostolic effectiveness of our lives depend upon our correspondence with the motions of the Holy Spirit, we feel the need to ask Him often to wash what is stained, water our dryness, heal our infirmity, enkindle our tepidity, and direct our straying steps, (Sequence for the Mass of Pentecost) since we know that within us there are many defects-- lukewarmness, stains, areas which do not give the fruit they should because they have dried up, elements which are diseased, as well as little deviations which must be corrected....

     If we want to have a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit, nothing is so effective as a close friendship with Mary....

Jean Heimann's "Learning to Love with the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir"

Jean Heimann's latest book, Learning to Love with the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir was published by Mercy Press on May 13, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, 2016. (If you would like to win a free copy of this book, enter the drawing by leaving your name in the Comments section of this post. Winner will be drawn May 21. If your comment does not link to a way to contact you, please leave your email as well.)

When hearing the name Jean Heimann, those who traffic the Catholic blogosphere will think first of the award-winning blog Catholic Fire. Visually lovely and evangelistic in tone, Jean's blog is chockfull of biographies of saints of the day, prayers, novenas, informative posts on Catholic feasts, video reflections, and lovely photos. It is a gem of a Catholic blog. If you've ever wondered who this creative and very Catholic blogger is, Jean's new book will tell you.

Jean Heimann is a free lance writer, wife, an Oblate with the Community of Saint John, an evangelist, psychologist, speaker, and the author of Seven Saints for Seven Virtues (Servant Books 2014).

Her new book, Learning to Love with the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir  details the events of her life and how saints have drawn her to the truth and to a deeper relationship with the Creator. The reader will learn about Jean herself and also the lives of St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Avila, Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, Pope St. John Paul II, St. John the Evangelist, Blessed John Henry Newman, and St. Sharbel.

Each chapter begins with one or more quotes of the saint whose message deepened Jean's love for God, some during the events of the chapter and some retrospectively.

Jean Heimann's life began in a loving, devout Catholic family, complete with a statue of Mary on the console TV, family rosaries, and singing of hymns during car rides. It was Jean's mother who introduced her to Therese of Lisieux and her Little Way.

Those who grew up in the 60s and 70s will recognize the push/pull of a culture coming unhinged. Confusion, spiritual and otherwise, was rampant. Licentiousness was celebrated over authentic freedom. And I do mean celebrated. Cultural mores were not only abandoned; they were held in contempt. To Jean's credit she never stopped attending church during that period, but wishes she could have read then Pope Saint John Paul II's Theology of the Body. How his wisdom would have changed things and what insight it gave her later as she contemplated those years. Jean unknowingly married an abusive and addicted man who filled her life with turmoil and fear for two years. A victim of the often inadequate catechesis of that time, Jean thought a divorce would require that she abandon her Catholic faith. Finally, her own safety required divorce, and she sadly stopped going to church.

Jean then immersed herself in her education and later in her work, excelling in both. After a number of years, she did return to her faith after learning that she was indeed still welcome, and after seeing her parents' touching veneration of the cross on Good Friday. She writes,

On Good Friday that year, I watched my dad fall to his knees and hug the large cross, tenderly kissing the feet of Jesus. Then, in an instant, my mom was reaching out, bending low, nearly falling off her wheelchair to her knees, to embrace and reverently kiss the feet of the life-sized corpus. It was at that moment that I recognized where the void was in my life. Jesus had been missing! Only His love could fill that hole.

Jean's parents had always presented a model of love for her, as did Saints Louis and Zelie Martin. Before her father died he told Jean's mother "that he would come back for her and take her to heaven with him." What a touching example of authentic love.

St. Teresa of Avila was Jean's inspiration as she faced many more years of suffering. She quotes the great saint:

Let nothing trouble you, let nothing frighten you.
All things are passing; God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who possesses God lacks nothing:
God alone suffices. 

There were her own health problems and illnesses afflicting her loved ones. Still, she remained faithful to the Lord, joining the Charismatic Renewal and becoming an Oblate with the Community of St. John. Of St. Teresa, Jean writes, "St. Teresa of Avila helped me to focus more on God and less on myself and my pain. Like her, I developed a love of prayer, contemplation, and a strong devotion to St. Joseph."

There were more crosses and yet also joy for Jean Heimann. Her marriage had been annulled, and she met a wonderful man at a Catholic Charismatic Conference. He was on the music team, and how beautifully the Holy Spirit worked to bring about their meeting and subsequent marriage.

Later, Jean experienced financial and other challenges, all of which she describes with humility and transparency. Through these struggles, she learned to keep her eyes on Jesus, and to grow more and more in love. She writes, "Suffering has a way of perfecting us. It humbles us and heals us of our pride. It releases us from self-reliance and independence and forces us to rely on God.." Indeed.

Pity the people whose lives are so easy they never feel the desperate need to rely on God. The rest of us will find Jean Heimann's spiritual memoir an encouragement to reach out to the Communion of Saints for wisdom and inspiration, as we carry the inevitable crosses of life, in our quest to fall more and more deeply in love with our God, and to rest in his peace.

If you'd like to purchase either the kindle edition ($2.99) or the paperback edition($13.99), you can do so HERE.

If you'd like more information about Jean's wonderful book, check out the reviews at the following excellent blogs, as part of the blog tour.

Friday, May 13 -- Ellen Gable Hrkach, Review, Plot, Line, and Sinker
https://ellengable.wordpress.com/

Sunday, May 15 -- Carolyn Astfalk, Review, My Scribbler’s Heart Blog
http://www.carolynastfalk.com/category/my-scribblers-heart-blog/

Monday, May 16 -- Lisa Mladinich, Interview, Patheos http://www.patheos.com/About-Patheos/Lisa-Mladinich

Tuesday, May 17—Nancy HC Ward, Review, Joy Alive in our Hearts http://joyalive.net/

Wednesday, May 18 -- Esther Gefroh, Review, A Catholic Mom in Hawaii
http://hicatholicmom.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 19 -- Barb Szyskiewvicz, Review, Franciscan Mom http://franciscanmom.com/
and Catholic Mom http://catholicmom.com/

Friday, May 20-- Jeannie Ewing, Interview, Love Alone Creates http://lovealonecreates.com/

Saturday, May 21-- Patrice Faganant McArthur, Review, Spiritual Woman
http://spiritualwomanthoughts.blogspot.com/

Sunday, May 22 -- Melanie Jean Juneau, Review, Association of Catholic Women Bloggers
http://associationofcatholicwomenbloggers.blogspot.com/ and Joy of Nine
https://melaniejeanjuneau.wordpress.com/

Monday, May 23-- Virginia Lieto Review, Virginia Lieto http://virginialieto.com/

Tuesday, May 24 -- Tony Agnesi, Review, Finding God’s Grace in Everyday Life
http://tonyagnesi.com/

Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. In today's readings in Magnificat we find a short summary of the Fatima apparitions and Mary's message. (And if you don't have a paper or online subscription to Magnificat, I highly recommend it.)

This feast commemorates the first of six appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three Portuguese shepherd children in 1917. Mary exhorted them to "Pray, pray very much. Make sacrifices for sinners. Many souls go to hell, because no one is willing to help them with sacrifice." On her third appearance, she showed the children a vision of hell as a state of eternal pain and despair. She asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart. "In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph," she reassured the children. On October 31, 1942, Pope Pius XII consecrated "the whole world torn by bitter strife" to the Immaculate Heart.

It was during the Fatima apparitions that the renowned Miracle of the Sun occurred. Some 30,000-40,000 people witnessed this miracle.

For those of you who will only accept testimony of a miracle from non-believers, I offer a news account written by a secular journalist at the time. Read the article HERE. (Although I might point out that witnesses of a miracle do not stay non-believers for long. :-)

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!!!!

Built a Log Cabin For A Visiting Relative?!

This little log cabin is located right by the historic Parker Grist Mill on Geddes Rd. (for those of you who live around here.)

I love to ride my bike here along a path that originates in Gallup Park. (my favorite biking destination.) And, yes, that is my bike, complete with convenient basket which often holds my camera and, yes, that is my helmet and my coke on the the little porch. I consider it quite a treat to ride my bike to this spot and then indulge in a coke as a reward.

I always find myself reading this marker and wondering about what it says. The cabin is over 130 years old. But it was built "to house a visiting relative from England." Really??

I looked up how long it would take settlers to build a log cabin.  One man working alone could build one in a few weeks. I assume a few men could build one faster than that. Imagine how strong these people were. Most men today would probably have trouble even lifting one end of a single log.

They built it for a visiting relative? Maybe their own cabin was too small. Or maybe this relative was not well liked and they couldn't stomach sharing close quarters with them? Or maybe the relatives were very well liked, and the Parker family wanted to honor them with their own private quarters.

In any event, it seems pretty impressive to build a log cabin with your bare hands for a visiting relative. Those who came before us were very hardy people.

Learn more about Parker Mill County Park from the above video. (And you can also see the inside of the cabin.)

Beauty In The Weathered-- The Common Year Theme for April

 Yeah, yeah, I know. April is almost over. But better late than never, right?

The Common Year presents the April theme of Beauty in the Weathered.

I especially like David Rausch's contribution. It has a universal message for us all. Don't judge!

From David Rausch's essay.... 

"It's one thing to judge a person's actions but most of us usually take it a big step farther-- we put ourselves in the position of God. We cast judgment on the person. We look down on them. We judge their heart and question their character. But we do so without the ability to see what God sees-- that people are more than just a collection of their worst moments."

Read the entire contribution HERE.

The message of Jesus to not judge is commonly misunderstood today. The important warning to not accuse in our thoughts and to not put ourselves above others, has morphed in the minds of many to mean we should not acknowledge a right and wrong. This is absurd and must be the subject of another post.

David Rausch has reminded us that the most disagreeable of people, those engaging in the most unbecoming of behavior, are all still loved by God to an infinite degree. Who are we to look down on anyone? We can, of course, object to a person's behavior, but that is entirely different from identifying the behavior with the person, who is a unique and treasured child of God. He has beautiful qualities even if they are not evident. If we can't see the beauty in an individual, it is because we do not know him well enough. We must acknowledge that fact if we are to truly love our neighbor.

It might help to recall in our own lives the stupid, thoughtless things we have said or done. Would we want those times to identify who we are? As Christians we are called to give others the benefit of the doubt. Yes, just as we would like others to give us.

The poor are all around us. Some of them are even wealthy. And the Lord, Jesus, is present in each one. May we never fail to recognize him and give to him the dignity he deserves. Because Jesus is always there in what Mother Theresa has described as "the distressing disguise of the poor."

I love Peggy Noonan's writing. She always hits the nail right on the head.
Her recent opinion piece, "That Moment When 2016 Hits You" is one such example.
Hopefully, you can read the entire essay HERE. If not, I suggest you subscribe to WSJ.com. :-)
Here is a snippet:

I was offended that those curiously quick to write essays about who broke the party were usually those who’d backed the policies that broke it. Lately conservative thinkers and journalists had taken to making clear their disdain for the white working class. I had actually not known they looked down on them. I deeply resented it and it pained me. If you’re a writer lucky enough to have thoughts and be paid to express them and there are Americans on the ground struggling, suffering—some of them making mistakes, some unlucky—you don’t owe them your airy, well-put contempt, you owe them your loyalty. They too have given a portion of their love to this great project, and they are in trouble.

Yes, there is an ugliness in the current election cycle.  There is the boorishness of Donal Trump. The foolishness of Bernie Sanders. The smugness of Ted Cruz. And the barking dishonesty of Hilary Clinton. I am appalled at the insensitivity to persecuted Christian refugees in the Middle East and the contempt directed at immigrants, legal and illegal.

Noonan describes her friends' reactions to what is going on. And then how she herself came to end up in tears. "Because too much is being lost. Because the great choice in a nation of 320 million may come down to Crazy Man versus Criminal."

Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, and Carly Fiorina had the potential to be great statesmen. But the voters have rejected them in favor of louder candidates. Yes, there is Ted Cruz. Yes, Ted. He loves the Constitution. He loves this country. But he lacks the skills of great oratory and the masses are preferring the circus act over real ideas.

Is moral relativism to blame? If there is no truth, are there no ideas to reference? No principles to invoke? Is it all about what's-in-it-for me? Or has the average politician become so materialist, so lustful for power, so slimy that the transparency of Donald Trump trumps everything else one might want in a candidate. 

Were I not a Christian I could look at this election cycle with despair. But my God reigns and I know he has a plan.  Perhaps we are being given the candidates we deserve. A case could certainly be made for that.

But it is with not a little consternation that I realize I may indeed need to decide to vote for either the Liar or the Lunatic.

The Glory of God Is All Over Everything!!

Is it here, really? Is it Spring????

For the life of me, I cannot understand how one could regard this kind of natural beauty and remain an atheist. Seriously? This was an accidental arranging of molecules? And they all happened to arrange themselves, each organism independently, to all form living things of such exquisite beauty, all at the same time??

The glory of God is all over everything!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Vatican Invitation to Bernie Sanders

Much has been made of Bernie Sander’s visit to the Vatican to speak at a conference of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Members of both sides of the political spectrum fretted over the question of exactly from where the invitation originated.

Those on the left reveled in the speculation that perhaps Pope Francis approves of Sanders’ candidacy for president, and perhaps the invitation originated with him. Conservatives, especially pro-lifers, refused to believe that the Holy Father would extend an invitation to the radically pro-abortion Sanders.

Where did the invitation come from? Margaret Archer, president of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences, denied that the invitation had originated with the Academy.  She told Bloomberg News that, “Sanders made the first move for obvious reasons.”  She even said specifically that Sanders “made the first move two or three days ago.”  And that “she did not know whom he or his representatives contacted.” She considered the invitation a “breach of protocol.”

Monsignor Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences, replied, “This is not true and she knows it. I invited him with her consensus.” Sorondo later added that the invitation, “…does not signify any support of the campaign.”

When asked who initiated the contact, Monsignor Sorondo repeatedly declined to answer. This is the key question. Sanders definitely received an invitation and he is not being dishonest in saying so. But did someone in his campaign contact the Pontifical Academy first? Why would Monsignor Sorondo not answer that question directly when asked more than once?  Adding to the confusion, the Daily Beast reported that Sorondo volunteered “…Perhaps the others [candidates] would have been interested but they did not request to come.”

Bloomberg.com said of the controversy, “The office of the Pope moved to distance the pontiff from the visit. Father Frederico Lombardi, the Pope’s spokesman, said Sanders had been invited ‘not by the pope but by the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences.’”

Did the Sanders campaign ask for an invitation? That would explain why Monsignor Sorondo declined to answer the question of who initiated the contact. Is this a conflict between Margaret Archer, the president of the Pontifical Academy, and the chancellor, Monsignor Sorondo? Perhaps Monsignor Sorondo chose to invite him without consulting Margaret Archer and does not want to admit it?

We will probably never know, although Monsignor’s comment that the other candidates “did not request to come, “ raises some questions.

We do know that the invitation did not come from Pope Francis.

Contrary to earlier reports, Senator Sanders was able to meet the Pope.  The New York Times reported that a personal secretary of the Holy Father told Sanders that if he were in the foyer of the Casa Santa Marta, where the pope resides and where Senator Sanders was staying, at 6:00 AM, when the pope would be heading to the airport, he could speak briefly with him.

The Holy Father said of the meeting, “This morning when I was leaving, Senator Sanders was there…He knew I was leaving at that time, and he had the courtesy to greet me.”

No photos were permitted at the meeting.

The Times reported that the Holy Father said, “I shook his hand and nothing more. If someone thinks that greeting someone means getting involved in politics,” (laughing), “I recommend that he find a psychiatrist.”

Blaise Meets His Great-Grandma!!

We recently traveled to Florida to introduce Blaise to his Great-Grandma. Mom (my mother-in-law) could not keep her eyes off him.

Mom could talk of nothing else. How adorable he is! How intelligent he looks! How strong he is. Truly exceptional. :-) Of course, she got no argument from us.

Blaise was the star of the dining room. Not only did he absorb all of Mom's attention, everyone there wanted to watch Blaise. Come over here, they would gesture to my daughter. Bring him to see us. And, on the rare occasion that he was crying a little, they would all holler advice, You need a rocking chair, Honey!

There is something so very special about having four generations of family all in one place. The parent child bond is very powerful, as is the grandparent-grandchild bond. When the great grandparent is added, the generational ties feel all the more precious. I guess it is because quite often the great-grandparents are not around when a baby is born and that connection is felt only in pictures and stories.
                                            

Since Great-Grandma lives in Florida, there was the mandatory trip to the beach....Blaise's first glimpse of the ocean.

All covered up! Of course!

Then back to Grandma's at dinnertime. She could scarcely take her eyes off him. It was adorable.

Blaise will not remember this trip. But one day he will see this picture of his great-grandmother, his grandfather, his mother, and himself as an infant. 

Four generations in one photo. Heirloom material. We all agreed it was a trip well taken.

Cursive Writing-- Is It Valuable?

Should cursive writing no longer be taught in the schools? I have read with alarm this suggestion. There are so many important uses for cursive writing. There are lists and notes to write. What would constitute a signature if we no longer used cursive?

Handwritten notes and letters have a unique role to play in human communication. A handwritten thank you note is more meaningful than an email or a text. Emails and texts are, by their very nature, abbreviated and to the point. Such messaging is convenient, efficient, and very useful. 

But a letter written in cursive serves a much broader purpose. The handwriting itself is personal. We still recognize the handwriting of those close to us. Because a letter is not intended to communicate quick information, its content is also considerably different from electronic communication. When I write a letter to one of my children, I talk about incidental events of the day: what I've done, what I will be doing, activities of other family members, the weather, random thoughts, etc. It's a kind of snapshot of what is on my mind on that particular day. A letter is very personal, very warm, and very reflective of the writer's thoughts and even of the writer's feelings toward the reader.

Today's Wall Street Journal contains a fascinating piece by Robert Lee Hotz entitled "The Power of Handwriting." The article discusses the results of studies comparing the effectiveness of notes taken by college students using a laptop and notes taken by hand. Those typing their notes record about 33 words per minutes, while those handwriting them only get about 22. But those using the longhand notes remember more of the material, even a week later. Part of the reason may be that those typing tend to record what they are hearing verbatim, while those using longhand do not.

For me, I think typing notes would be difficult and less effective for another reason. My notes always take on a kind of outline form. A main topic starts at the left margin and subtopics are indented. That kind of form is time consuming, if you're typing. You have to use tabs and hyphens and who knows what the laptop might think you're trying to do and thus mess up the format you're trying to use. (I find computers are the most aggravating when they are trying to be "helpful.")

Anyway, so note taking is another useful way to use cursive handwriting that just may be more helpful than tapping those full sentences out on your laptop.