Monday the 30th: Saints of the Week

 *Monday is St. Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate, known for his bad temper, and for his dedication to assisting pilgrims in Bethlehem in his old age.

*Tuesday will be the memorial of St. Therese of Lisieux, a French Carmelite who died at 24 from tuberculosis but dedicated her life to loving God, praying for the Missions, and growing in humility and her Little Way.

*Wednesday will be Guardian Angels, a memorial dedicated to remembering those angels who are dedicated to each of our souls, guiding and protecting us to the extent that they can save us from ourselves.

*Friday will be the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, died in 1226 in Italy, founder of the Franciscans, known for his radical dedication to poverty, love of all Creation, and God's word.

*Saturday will be St. Faustina Kowalska or Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos, both optional memorials. St. Faustina is newer to the calendar; she was born in Poland in 1905 and died of tuberculosis in 1938. She is best known for receiving the visions that led to the devotion to the Divine Mercy of Jesus.

(Found on Pinterest: St Jerome in his Study (detail),1480, Fresco, Ognissanti, Florence by Domenico Ghirlandaio (b. 1449, Firenze, d. 1494, Firenze))

Friday the 27th: random lists

 *We make a lot of lists in our house. This particular one belongs to YMC, and he wanted to remember what he can do for snacks when he's hungry.

 

 

Tuesday the 26th: Music of the Week

 *Work music: Concert pieces are coming together; musical pieces are hard but starting to gel a little bit. 

*Church music: I have just one Mass this weekend, and the music is already learned. In October several parishes are switching to new Mass settings, but they so far are all switching to the same Mass setting (Mass of Renewal). 

*All other music: nothing else to work on except for hanon exercises right now. I'm trying to portion out my psychic energy.

Wednesday the 25th: Food of the Week

*Saturday we went to Thai Orchid for Pad Thai and fried rice with fried chicken.

 *Sunday we did grilled pork cutlets, mashed potatoes with cheddar cheese in them, and green beans. The recipe makes a lot of cutlets (about 7?) so it's nice leftovers for the week.

*Yesterday I made a garlic shrimp pasta with white sauce and broccoli, almost the same as the linked recipe. This was really tasty and again made plenty of leftovers.

*Tomorrow night I'm making Sweet and Sour Popcorn Chicken when Big C gets back from his work trip. It's easy but really good. Between now and then I will eat leftovers.

*Friday I will make a tuna salad with nice tuna, vinaigrette, and some capers, to have on nice bread. 

Tuesday the 24th: Cool Trees

 I spent two long weekends teaching in Wamego. One evening we took a nice walk around the city park, and I was amazed by the growths on this particular tree, still thriving, but obviously had survived several stresses and infestations.

 

 

Monday the 23rd: Saints of the Week

 *Today is the memorial of St. Pius of Pietrelcina, better known at Padre Pio. An Italian Capuchin with gifts of bilocation, reading souls, and the stigmata, he died in 1968 and was canonized in 2002. I grew up in an Italian parish with people that had met him, so always have a special corner of my heart for this day.

*Thursday is the optional memorial of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, very early saints (3rd century) in the Syria/Turkey area; they were supposedly doctors who took care of the poor and were killed in persecutions. They are mentioned in the first list of saints in First Eucharistic Prayer.

*Friday is the memorial of St. Vincent de Paul. I saw his skeleton inside a wax frame in Paris, France, in 1999. He was a 17th to 18th century French priest who founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity with St. Louise de Marillac; his heart is in their motherhouse chapel, incorrupt, and I got to see that as well. Quote: The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it. – Saint Vincent de Paul

*Saturday is the optional memorial of either St. Lorenzo Ruiz of Manila or St. Wenceslaus of Bohemia. I always do Wenceslaus since I am Bohemian; he was a Duke murdered by his brother Boleslaus for political reasons that were tied up with religious reasons. He is the subject of the song Good King Wenceslaus.

 

Friday the 20th: New Organ

 This is a different organ, the one getting built at our parish. It should be finished this week or next and ready for us to start breaking it in.

 

 

Wednesday the 19th: Music and Food

 *Yesterday was pretty busy but I thought I got everything done until this morning when I realized I never wrote my blog for yesterday.

*Music first: Just continuing forward progress with all of the songs for the concert and the musical. I have two Masses on Sunday, including one for a new choir that includes trombone, guitar, and flute in addition to voices and piano/organ.

*Sunday we made Skillet Chicken Fajitas. They are some work in terms of different prep styles, but then everything comes together pretty quickly. With a helper it's not too much work. 

*Monday I made bacon, waffles, and scrambled eggs. We have my mom's recipe for the waffles, and they're quite good. 

*Wednesday I made Hamburger Stew with Croutons. It's quite good. I need to remember it's always tasty, pretty healthy, and simple.

That's it for this week. It's busy and we have enough leftovers to work through for the rest of the week.

Tuesday the 17th: Retreat organ

 

 I got to play this little organ on retreat in Schuyler, Nebraska. It was originally in a Lutheran church in Papillion, Nebraska, but was moved to the retreat center when they built a new church. I played this organ at the Lutheran church for my grandpa Ward's funeral, so it was nice to come home to the organ.

 

 

Monday the 16th: Saints of the Week

 *Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian are the memorial today. They are third century martyrs, one a pope and one a bishop, who disagreed over treatment of apostates but agreed on protecting the faith.

*Tuesday is the optional memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine or St. Hildegard von Bingen. This year I'll talk about St. Hildegard, a 12th century nun gifted with visions that she interpreted into songs, poems, and other forms of art. She's considered unique for what we have from learned women at this time because so little was preserved that we have no real sense of what was made at the time.

*Thursday is the optional memorial of St. Januarius. He is a fourth century bishop-martyr during the persecutions of Diocletian. His blood liquifies on his feast day and on other day(s).

*Friday is the memorial of the martyrs of Korea. These are hundreds of martyrs who died during persecutions in 1839, 1846, and 1847. The list includes lay people, priests, and missionaries, both natives of Korea and those who came to bring the faith.

*We end the week with a feast day, St. Matthew the Apostle/Evangelist. His gospel was written for a Jewish audience, showing how the Messiah is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.

(Sts. C and C found on pinterest, no source given)