Honoring Mothers

Women have been historically abused and put down by the power of men. Men often believe themselves superior to women, especially if they are mediocre themselves, and claim that they are great because they are men and they have a right to use women for their pleasure. For thousands of years this has been the attitude of the world at large, that women are defective, weak, and can be enjoyed as objects. Even to this day the great atrocity of selling little girls to men as play things to be used, abused, raped, and then killed goes on everywhere, even in this country. However, I cannot continue on that subject or I'll be sick. Great thinkers have long thought women deficient. Aristotle viewed women as deficient males, lacking the essentials of a human being. Thomas Aquinas and Augustine too took this view as well as other intelligent people, but this just goes to show that even the most intelligent folks can be very wrong at times.

What was woman's reaction to all of this? Eventually she rebelled. Every rebellion has in it at least an ounce of truth, but always tends to excess. Woman wanted to be recognized as a human being having rights and a soul, but she eventually pursued the idea of equality meaning no difference, no variation. Simone de Beauvoir is revered as a champion of woman's rights and she certainly had good cause, but she went on to claim that there is no difference between men and women, that they should do the same things, and to be freed from the indignity that lies in being feminine. The only thing which stood between woman and man was the fact that woman was charged with the continuation of the race, so then we must rid woman of that responsibility; it is wrong to think of her in the context of the home where she has been unjustly confined for so many years. According to Miss de Beauvoir housework is pointless and torturous, and pregnancy unfortunate. Therefore, we welcome birth control that woman no longer be tied to her sexuality and be as free as men can be, send women to higher education to get degrees, dress them in pants and suits, cut off their hair, etc. Now she is free to be a man!

When our Lord was ascending Calvary he met several women beating their breasts and crying out in sorrow for the evils done to him. He did not thank them for their sorrow for he told them "do not weep for me but for your children, for the day is coming when people will say 'blessed are those wombs which never bore and breasts which never nursed'." That day has certainly come. While the rest of the world allows itself to be complacent with radical shifts in society, it is the woman who embraces her femininity and stands barefoot in her kitchen with a baby on each hip who will affect the redemption of the world.

In the midst of all such stupidity around us, many Catholic women are still standing against the tyranny of secularism by embracing life. Our church holds a baby shower for every expectant mother, whether it is her first or her seventh child, and in this way seeks to honor every mother for her choice to follow such a sacred vocation.


Lena's baby arrived and was baptized before the shower could take place.
Mallory was quite overwhelmed by everyone's generosity, and the fact that she received notes from both her mother and her mother-in-law who live out of state.


Emily is a new arrival to the church and quite happy to receive so much for her second baby.
Rowanne is expecting her 4th girl and this was the very first baby shower she had ever had. The poor dear was quite overcome.

November Nor'easter

Just about every decade we have a fairly severe storm down here in Southern Virginia, and this was it for us. We had tides 7.8 feet above normal, which spells trouble for certain parts of Hampton Roads, especially Norfolk and Portsmouth which have large sections either at or lower than city level. Since I did not take my camera with me, I can't show you all the submerged cars I saw on my way to work. It proved to be an excellent decision of Dad's to take the 12 passenger van through Norfolk, and we made it through several tight spots despite having to make numerous u-turns and drive through parking lots. We accidentally found the Opera house on the way, so if I ever make it out, I'll know where it is. =) Sadly, our beloved chinaberry tree was split in half during the storm. My brothers and Dad and I spent almost an entire day chopping it up and carting it off. Nothing like common work to bring a family together.



Daniel's a sturdy young helper, though the saw was a bit too big for him.
We threw the branches over the back fence where they will decompose and be gone in a few years.


Unfortunately, one of the wind turbans was damaged so my father and brother climbed on up there to have a look.

Living Simply

As one attempts to grow in virtue, he finds that there are certain virtues which are more difficult to come by than others. One of these for me is simplicity. I have taken on a great deal of the materialism surrounding me in this world, and every time I leave the house I am always searching for lovely Catholic music, modest skirts and tops, and chocolate. I'm very frugal about it all, for I can get three skirts for $10 at the thrift store...but the amount of clothing which I possess is astounding and enough to clothe 3 or 4 or me without having to share clothes from day to day!

Simplicity is not necessarily a moral virtue, but is definitely a virtue which aids one in developing moral virtue. If one lives in a detached manner, with few and simpler possessions, there would have to be fewer occasions of sin simply because there isn't enough material about to promote vanity and anger towards family members who mess up your stuff. It is shameful how much "extra" stuff people own which is never used but only pushed around and dusted. I often think thoughts on this line as I angrily step over the clutter around my room.

These people take this teaching to a whole new level. Actually, it is a very old level, but they take it to the extreme. Plain Catholics live their lives in as simple as possible a way in something. I think it may be linked to the "back to the land" movement as well. I'm not advocating this whole thing, because we must still live in this world, but it is an interesting idea.

New Job, New Period in Life

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new period in my life: I finally have a full-time, legitimate position. I have a registered nurse position in a pediatric emergency room. Since the program begins with class time and clinical, it should be an easy transition for newly graduated nursing students. It is nice to find a place that welcomes new nurses.

All through school our teachers and the general public were always telling us how we would have no trouble getting a job. However, supposedly due to the economy, no one would take a new nurse. Why? well, we are a liability since we have so little experience, and then the other thing is that they want experienced nurses, ones they don't have to watch out for, people who already know their way around. It kinda goes to show that while book knowledge is great, there is nothing that can really take the place of lived experience, experiential knowledge. However, one would like to wonder that if no one will allow me experience how the heck am I gonna get any!?!? These things go in cycles, however, and any good economist would probably have something to say about all the various causes of such cycles. I am certainly happy though to have such a position and thank ful that it did come exactly 6 months after graduation. Now to pay off my loans. =)

Downfall of the Free Thinker.

A good reflection from The Ball and the Cross by GK, the apostle of common sense. Eerie how right he was on most things

"No, the great Freethinker, with his genuine ability and honesty, does not in practice destroy Christianity. What he does destroy is the Freethinker who went before. Free-thought may be suggestive, it may be inspiring, it may have as much as you please of the merits that come from vivacity and variety. But there is one thing Free-though can never be by any possibility: Free-thought can never be progressive. It can never be progressive because it will accept nothing from the past; it begins every time again from the beginning; and it goes every time in a different direction. all the rational philosophers have gone along different roads, so it is impossible to say which has gone furthest. Who can discuss whether Emerson was a better optimist than Schopenhauer was pessimist?"