5 Quick Takes Saturday - Vol 21

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Greetings this fine day, oh fair readers! I pray thou will forgive mine form of speech this day. For I am of a Shakespearian turn of mind this weekend! On the fair forum we art having a party - aye, and a fine one at that - to celebrate All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and the second anniversary of our Forum! 'Tis a wonderous good time we are having... all masquerading as characters from the plays of Shakespeare. I am enjoying this verily much!

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"Can one desire too much of a good thing?" - As You Like It

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Aye, and another thing of Shakespearian turn that I am looking forward too with eagerness is the release of the November "Ink and Fairydust". Quite excited am I, for it has been transformed into the shape of a magazine this month... with 44 pages! By Jove, what a joy that shall be to read! Here is the cover for this month, is it not comely to behold?

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I have a confession to maketh to thee all... I have become quite entranced with Shakespeare! Those of ye who have heard me proclaim Shakespeare to be dry and dull in my youth shall wag their heads at me, but 'tis the truth. Verily I like him now!

The change didst come upon me with an adventure upon our forum. 'Twas revealed that one of the members was in truth Laertes of Hamlet fame, and his sister was the fair Ophelia. Having not read that play, and being curious to read a classical work featuring one of mine friends, I took up the book and was snared. I have since re-read As You Like It for the third time and started Macbeth. I plan next to cast mine eyes upon A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew... and as many as I can well fit into my school year!

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I shalt now leave thee with some o' mine favorite quotes.... Rose and Lanta style.

"Is this a bubble I see before me?"

"Oh happy bubble! This is thy sheathe! There pop and let me die!"

"To pop, or not to pop? That is the question!"

"Were we to call a bubble by any other name, 'twould pop just as well!"

"All the world's a bubble, and the men and women merely pop it."

"Frailty, thy name is bubble!"

"But bubbles are bubbles; the best sometimes pop. "

"Be not afraid of bubbles: some are born bubbles, some achieve bubbliness , and some have bubbles thrust upon them."

More stuff to make you laugh

Because you know, the more you laugh the longer you'll live!

(Though how anyone ever proved that...)

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Sometimes newspaper headlines just go a little screwy:

Grandmother of eight makes hole in one

Deaf mute gets new hearing in killing

Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers

House passes gas tax onto senate

Stiff opposition expected to casketless funeral plan

Two convicts evade noose, jury hung

Milk drinkers are turning to powder

Safety experts say school bus passengers should be belted

Quarter of a million Chinese live on water

Farmer bill dies in house

Iraqi head seeks arms

Eye drops off shelf

Squad helps dog bite victim

Dealers will hear car talk at noon

Enraged cow injures farmer with ax

Lawmen from Mexico barbecue guests

Miners refuse to work after death

Two Soviet ships collide - one dies

Two sisters reunite after eighteen years at checkout counter

Nicaragua sets goal to wipe out literacy

Drunk drivers paid $1,000 in 1984

Autos killing 110 a day, let's resolve to do better

If strike isn't settled quickly it may last a while

War dims hope for peace

Smokers are productive, but death cuts efficiency

Cold wave linked to temperatures

Blind woman gets new kidney from dad she hasn't seen in years

Man is fatally slain

Something went wrong in jet crash, experts say

Death causes loneliness, feeling of isolation.

Man murdered, police suspect foul play.

Include Your Children when baking cookies

Clinton wins on budget, but more lies ahead

Plane too close to ground, crash probe told

Juvenile court to try shooting defendant

Stolen painting found by tree

Red tape holds up new bridges

Kids make nutritious snacks

Hospitals are sued by 7 foot doctors

New Vaccine may contain rabies

Man struck by lightening faces battery charge

Feast Day!

Today is the feast day of one of my closest Saint friends... Saint Jude Thaddeus. I first really discovered and came to know Saint Jude about two years ago. My theatrical group I am with was preparing for our first production of "The Seven Last Words of Christ", and in addition to being given the part of one of the angry mob, I was also made one of the apostles at the Last Supper. Our directoress randomly assigned all of us an apostle - I was given Saint Jude. I wanted to really get to know him, so I could do better with my part... and the rest, as they say, is history!

He really is an amazing saint. Saint Jude was the brother of Saint James the Lesser and a blood relative of Jesus. He is reported to have resembled Our Lord greatly in looks - hence the reason Saint Jude is sometimes pictured holding a medal of Our Lord.

Saint Jude is traditionally venerated as the patron saint of lost or impossible causes. This stems from the fact that his name is very similar to Judas Iscariot, the traitor. (A variant of Jude often used in the Bible is Judas.) Because of this similarity, people would confuse the two. They did not ask for Saint Jude's intercession, basically rendering him "a lost cause". (Things have improved since then. ;) )

Here are two of my favorite prayers to Saint Jude.

Saint Jude Prayer in the Morning
Saint Jude, giver of hope, let the promise of this new day fill me with wonder. Goodness surrounds me this morning. The sun rising to greet the earth recalls the joy of Easter morning, when Christ's light burst forth, showing the world His glory. St. Jude, place a spark of hope in my heart and ignite in me a fire burning with the love of God. Help me in my work today. Help me to forgive readily and to know and do God's holy and true will. May everything I am bring glory to God, and lead me closer to you, my ever-loving friend. Amen.

Saint Jude Prayer at Night
Come St. Jude, dearest companion. Quiet my heart and free my spirit. Help me to recognize the gifts of this day. I go now to rest. Refresh me this night with peacful sleep. Hold me and my loved ones close to you, keep us safe, and protect us from the evil one. Guide and heal my tired mind and body. Bring me safely to another day, that I may live to serve Jesus and walk with you in hope toward my heavenly reward. Amen

Saint Jude... pray for us!

Random Funniness

Yay! A long week of studying for the ACT is done and over with, as is the test. Now all I have to do is wait for the scores to come in and my voice to become un-lost. (I managed to lose it somewhere yesterday. =P )

In the meantime, here's something to make you laugh.

Letter from Mom

Dear Son,
Just a few lines to let you know that I am still alive. I'm writing this letter slowly, because I know that you cannot read fast. You won't know the house when you come home. We've moved.
About your father. He has a lovely new job. He has 5,000 men under him. He is cutting grass at the cemetery.
There was a washing machine in the new house when we moved in, but it isn't working too good. Last week I put 14 shirts into it, pulled the chain and I haven't seen the shirks since.
Your sister had a baby this morning. I haven't found out whether it is a boy or a girl so I don't know whether you are an aunt or an uncle.
Your Uncle Dick drowned last week in a vat of whiskey at Dublin's Brewery. Some of his workmates dived in to save him, but he fought them off bravely. We cremated his body, and it took us three days to put out the fire.
Your father didn't have much to drink at Christmas. I put a bottle of castor oil in his pint of beer and it kept him going until New Year's Day.
I went to the doctor on Thursday, and your father went with me. The doctor put a little glass tube in my mouth and told me not to open it for ten minutes. Your father offered to buy it from him.
It only rained twice last week. First for four days and then for three days. Monday it was so windy that one of our hens laid the same egg four times.
We had a letter from the undertaker. He said that if the last installment wasn't paid on your grandmother within seven days... UP SHE COMES!

Your loving mother

P.S. I was going to send you $10 but I had already sealed the envelope.

ACT

Just asking for prayers for tomorrow! I'll be taking the ACT, starting at 8 in the morning. I'm pretty confident about it (all but the Math section =P ) but prayers would be great none the less! Especially since I got a sore throat this morning... ick.

So remember me in your prayers, please!

5 Quick Takes Saturday - Vol 20

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Gosh, it's been quite a while since I've done one of these! My Saturdays have been a wee bit full though. Not that I've minded... usually it's with fun stuff. Like last Saturday when we had our annual fall festival/barn party. We invite everyone we know out to our house, they all bring a dish for dinner, we set up tables and chairs in our barn and just talk or play games or sing or dance... whatever we want! It's so much fun.

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We had this video e-mailed to us, and I thought I would share it with you. I found it really interesting and wonderful that someone actually said that Obama did not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize because of his stance on abortion. Hurray for Rachel!

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Just a little FYI... I have two new pages up on my website! Hopefully I'll get some more up soon, please pray that I do!

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I be now goin' to speak like a scurvy pirate while I wrack me brain fer another quick take. Hmmm.... thinkin'.... need somethin' else to scribe 'bout! Ooh, we had rotten apple cinnamon pancakes fer breakfast 'tis mornin', wit' steamin' rotten apple cider. (It wasn't rotten, 'tis tavern just translated it so. It was really jolly!)

Speakin' 'o band 'o pirates... on th' current adventure over at Bayport we're havin' a flashback adventure 'n I be in me role as cap'n Fox Turner... plague 'o me uncle Capn' Jack. I be goin' to start a mutiny, that be a ruckas!

[IMG]http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp248/catholicrose/other%20pictures/capnfox.png[/IMG]

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If ye be lookin' fer some nice music to listen to, I'd like to direct ye over to Alot o' Scottish Nonsense 'bout Nuttin'. Danny has a great playlist 'o music from th' movie Braveheart, (which I put together fer him.) bin absolutely fallen in love wit' that music, 'tis extra pretty, 'n inspirin' 'n just plain nice to listen to.

Well, I be out 'o the hour fer this day folks. Remember, God made ye special 'n He loves ye extra much! jolly bye!

The Joys of Having an Amazing School Schedule

I have an amazing school schedule this year. It's an absolute dream. I get up, go to Mass - don't have to take any of my subjects in the car - get home just in time to start my first subject and finish at 3 in the afternoon. All the subjects are working out splendidly, I don't exceed my allotted time slots for any of them. *sighs contentedly*

Though it does cause problems when the car doesn't start so you can't go to Mass, so you just sit around until 9 because that's when you think you start and after starting at 9 realize that you weren't actually supposed to start until 9:30... then you finish at 10:30 and are sitting there with absolutely nothing to do because if you do your after lunch subjects, you won't have anything to do after lunch!

That happened to me today, but instead of sitting around for an hour and a half doing zilch, I decided to make lunch. I whipped up a double batch of chocolate chip cookies and then made cheeseburgers for everyone for lunch. Impromptu home economics class saves the day!

In addition to cookin' midday meal fer me dear family, I found a way to turn me normal way 'o speakin' into scurvy pirate speak! tis was found by me "sister" 'n bucko Elena. She posted th' link on her blog this day, so bin be tryin' it out. 'tis really a ruckas! ye give a go' it! I just might have to do all me messages 'tis way! Here be th' link so ye can give a go' it out! Well, that's all I have the hour fer this day folks, spy wit' ye eye ye later!

Though 'tis temptin' to just keep typin' random nonsense into th' tavern... but I suppose I'll save that fer another day.

The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

In honor of today being the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, I would like to share with you this article by Fr. William Saunders about the history of the Rosary.

The rosary is one of the most cherished prayers of our Catholic Church. Introduced by the Creed, the Our Father, three Hail Marys and the Doxology ("Glory Be"), and concluded with the Salve Regina, the rosary involves the recitation of five decades consisting of the Our Father, 10 Hail Marys and the Doxology. During this recitation, the individual meditates on the saving mysteries of our Lord's life and the faithful witness of our Blessed Mother.

Journeying through the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries of the rosary, the individual brings to mind our Lord's incarnation, His passion and death and His resurrection from the dead. In so doing, the rosary assists us in growing in a deeper appreciation of these mysteries, in uniting our life more closely to our Lord and in imploring His graced assistance to live the faith. We also ask for the prayers of our Blessed Mother, who leads all believers to her Son.

The origins of the rosary are "sketchy" at best. The use of "prayer beads" and the repeated recitation of prayers to aid in meditation stem from the earliest days of the Church and has roots in pre-Christian times. Evidence exists from the Middle Ages that strings of beads were used to count Our Fathers and Hail Marys. Actually, these strings of beads became known as "Paternosters," the Latin for "Our Father."

The structure of the rosary gradually evolved between the 12th and 15th centuries. Eventually 50 Hail Marys were recited and linked with verses of psalms or other phrases evoking the lives of Jesus and Mary. During this time, this prayer form became known as the rosarium ("rose garden"), actually a common term to designate a collection of similar material, such as an anthology of stories on the same subject or theme. During the 16th century, the structure of the five-decade rosary based on the three sets of mysteries prevailed.

Tradition does hold that St. Dominic (d. 1221) devised the rosary as we know it. Moved by a vision of our Blessed Mother, he preached the use of the rosary in his missionary work among the Albigensians, who had denied the mystery of Christ. Some scholars take exception to St. Dominic's role in forming the rosary. The earliest accounts of his life do not mention it, the Dominican constitutions do not link him with it and contemporaneous portraits do not include it as a symbol to identify the saint.

In 1922, Dom Louis Cougaud stated, "The various elements which enter into the composition of that Catholic devotion commonly called the rosary are the product of a long and gradual development which began before St. Dominic's time, which continued without his having any share in it, and which only attained its final shape several centuries after his death." However, other scholars would rebut that St. Dominic not so much "invented" the rosary as he preached its use to convert sinners and those who had strayed from the faith. Moreover, at least a dozen popes have mentioned St. Dominic's connection with the rosary, sanctioning his role as at least a "pious belief."

The rosary gained greater popularity in the 1500s, when Moslem Turks were ravaging Eastern Europe. Recall that in 1453, Constantinople had fallen to the Moslems, leaving the Balkans and Hungary open to conquest. With Moslems raiding even the coast of Italy, the control of the Mediterranean was now at stake.

In 1571, Pope Pius V organized a fleet under the command of Don Juan of Austria the half-brother of King Philip II of Spain. While preparations were underway, the Holy Father asked all of the faithful to say the rosary and implore our Blessed Mother's prayers, under the title Our Lady of Victory, that our Lord would grant victory to the Christians. Although the Moslem fleet outnumbered that of the Christians in both vessels and sailors, the forces were ready to meet in battle. The Christian flagship flew a blue banner depicting Christ crucified. On October 7, 1571, the Moslems were defeated at the Battle of Lepanto. The following year, Pope St. Pius V established the Feast of the Holy Rosary on October 7, where the faithful would not only remember this victory, but also give thanks to the Lord for all of His benefits and remember the powerful intercession of our Blessed Mother.

The fact that our Church continues to include the Feast of the Holy Rosary on the liturgical calendar testifies to the importance and goodness of this form of prayer. Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, "The rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and there enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. The power of the rosary is beyond description."

~ Courtesy of EWTN

Our Lady of the Rosary, Pray for us!

I Love to Laugh!

I hope you love to laugh too, because you certainly will after reading these!

Actual Label Instructions In case you needed further proof that the Human Race is doomed through stupidity, here are some actual label instructions on consumer products: 1. On a blanket from Taiwan - NOT TO BE USED AS PROTECTION FROM A TORNADO. 2. On a helmet mounted mirror used by US cyclists - REMEMBER, OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE ACTUALLY BEHIND YOU. 3. On a Taiwanese shampoo - USE REPEATEDLY FOR SEVERE DAMAGE. 4. On the bottle-top of a (UK) flavoured milk drink - AFTER OPENING, KEEP UPRIGHT. 5. On a New Zealand insect spray - THIS PRODUCT NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS. 6. In a US guide to setting up a new computer - TO AVOID CONDENSATION FORMING, ALLOW THE BOXES TO WARM UP TO ROOM TEMPERATURE BEFORE OPENING. (Sensible, but the instruction was INSIDE the box.) 7. In some countries, on the bottom of Coke bottles - OPEN OTHER END. 8. On a packet of Sunmaid raisins - WHY NOT TRY TOSSING OVER YOUR FAVORITE BREAKFAST CEREAL? 9. On a Sears hairdryer - DO NOT USE WHILE SLEEPING. 10. On a bag of Frito's - YOU COULD BE A WINNER! NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. DETAILS INSIDE. (The shoplifter special?!?) 11. On a bar of Dial soap - DIRECTIONS - USE LIKE REGULAR SOAP. (And that would be how?) 12. On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom of the box) - DO NOT TURN UPSIDE DOWN. (Too late! You lose!) 13. On Marks & Spencer Bread Pudding - PRODUCT WILL BE HOT AFTER HEATING. (Are you sure? Let's experiment.) 14. On a Korean kitchen knife - WARNING: KEEP OUT OF CHILDREN. (Shoot! Who are they to tell me what to do with my kids?) 15. On a string of Chinese-made Christmas lights - FOR INDOOR OR OUTDOOR USE ONLY. (As opposed to what?...use in outer space?) 16. On a Japanese food processor - NOT TO BE USED FOR THE OTHER USE. (Now I'm curious.) 17. On Sainsbury's peanuts - WARNING - CONTAINS NUTS. (Really? Peanuts contain nuts?) 18. On an American Airlines packet of nuts INSTRUCTIONS - OPEN PACKET, EAT NUTS. (I'm glad they cleared that up.) 19. On a child's superman costume - WEARING OF THIS GARMENT DOES NOT ENABLE YOU TO FLY. (That's right, destroy a universal childhood fantasy!) 20. On some frozen dinners: SERVING SUGGESTION: DEFROST. ( OK lets eat it frozen!!!) 21. On a hotel provided shower cap in a box: FITS ONE HEAD. 22. On packaging for a Rowenta iron: DO NOT IRON CLOTHES ON BODY. 23. On Boot's "Children's" cough medicine: DO NOT DRIVE CAR OR OPERATE MACHINERY.(Kids no more driving) 4. On Nightly sleep aid: WARNING: MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS.

Ink and Fairydust!

I'm pretty sure I mentioned on here before about Ink and Fairydust, the official newsletter of The Fairy Tale Novels Forum the online home of all Regina Doman fans. Our second issue was released just the other day, and this time you can read it online!

It's totally awesome, fantastic and amazing. You all MUST read it! And then after you read it, you must go and subscribe to get it, just in case I forget to publish the link next time. (Gasp) You can send your subscription to inkandfairydust@yahoo.com with the subject "Ink and Fairydust Subscription".

In case you had any doubts, I can 100% promise you that Elena (our editor, and to whom you'd be submitting your e-mail) is real and would never ever give away your e-mail address or spam you. =) So you have no excuses!

Now, here is the link to Ink and Fairydust! I write under the name of 'Lady Rose', so anything with that name is by me. Enjoy!

Read Ink and Fairydust HERE.

Respect Life Sunday

Prayer for Reverence of Life

All mighty God, giver of all that is good. We thank you for the precious gift of human life.

For life in womb, coming from your creative power
For the life of children, making us glad with their freshness and promise
For the life of young people, hoping for a better world
For the life of the handicapped and disabled, teaching us humility
For the life of the elderly, witnessing the ageless values of patience and wisdom.

Like Blessed Mary, may we always say yes to your gift. May we defend it and promote it from conception to it's natural end and bring us at last oh Father to eternal life, in Jesus Christ our lord. AMEN

Happy Feast Day to the Little Flower

Today for Saint Therese's feast day my family, some friends and I made a pilgrimage to a Shrine dedicated to her. There was a Mass, we walked through the little museum, watched a short video about her and attended a talk by a Carmelite brother.

It's amazing when you stop and think about it - how well known Saint Therese is around the world. The brother stated in his talk, Therese is probably the most popular saint in the world. I can believe it, so many girls are named after her, so many churches... if people only know about one saint, chances are it's Saint Therese. About 400 people came to the mass today - an 11:30 Mass... on a Thursday!

And what really makes you stop and wonder in awe is when you find out that only 30 people came to Saint Therese's funeral.


Happy Feast Day Saint Therese!