Reminder to please pray for Sister Channing Dale tomorrow, as she will be receiving the Holy Habit and moving up to the novitiate in Carmel. I will be sure to carry all the needs and intentions of my readers with me when I go to the Mass in Elysburg. That trip will entail leaving at 3:30 AM, which I realized today is appropriately Carmelite. After all, The Dark Night by St. John of the Cross begin thus:
One dark night,
fired with love’s urgent longings
–ah, the sheer grace!–
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.
This Sunday is the Feast of The Presentation of the Lord, otherwise known as Candlemas, because it is on this day that the candles to be used in the church throughout the entire year are blessed. Be sure to bring in some votive candles with you and have the priest bless them; every Catholic home should have blessed candles on hand for use during an Anointing of the Sick.
One side effect of Catholic new and social media is that I’ve encountered or gotten to know several married couples who met and wed after one or both spouses went through some form of discernment to the priesthood or religious life. I don’t quite know why, but whenever I read about that it always makes me kind of uneasy. I guess it is because I recognize that there is still a possibility (however small) that God intends for my life to end of that way, and that is a hugely daunting prospect. I’m just picturing what I’d likely have to do and it seems…impossible. I mean, really, quit work, go back to college full-time, at some place where I’d have no friends, no support structure, a decade older than almost everyone else there, trying to do the thing I’ve repeatedly failed to do on my own? Ridiculous!
I should be grateful for the clarity this insight provides (in knowing which path is certainly not for me) but it still causes me stress for some reason. Like I said, can’t tell you why, but at least this serves as a warning to any nice Catholic girls who might get foolish notions: keep on walking.
I did not watch the State of the Union address, because I had zero interest in hearing what the President had to say, especially stretched out over the duration of an entire hour. Instead, I opted for hockey (Sabres vs. Capitals), which was a vastly superior choice. And that is saying something, because my Buffalo Sabres a) lost in overtime, and b) are one of the worst teams in the league this year.
OMGOSH LOOK!
That’s right, it’s a new Serenity graphic novel, this one taking place approximately nine months after the events of the feature film. No spoilers, but the first issue is really good. We’ll have to see if Leaves On The Wind measures up to Better Days, my favorite of the three previous Serenity GNs.
And speaking of the Dark Horse-House of Whedon alliance…I saw today that Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaccs, the creative team behind Angel & Faith, are going to be moving over to center stage and running the upcoming “season” of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. At first I was somewhat distraught, since I absolutely loved what they did with A&F, and I’m not crazy about a new team taking over on of my favorite series. However, on further reflection, I’ve become more sanguine (no pun intended). This is most definitely a promotion for Gage and Isaacs, which means that the Powers That Be like what they did with A&F, and hopefully the new team will bring a similar level of talent to the table.
At very least, the comic book Buffy will now bear an actual physical resemblance to Sarah Michelle Gellar (the fact that she didn’t in previous seasons was a HUGE pet peeve of mine).
Finally picked up two new albums that I’d wanted for a while but on which I had been holding off: Silver Sky by The Infamous Stringdusters (my favorite bluegrass band) and The Ragpicker’s Dream by Mark Knopfler, who is kind of a British blues rocker (not entirely sure how to classify him; I just know that I love his music). Both are great albums that work exceptionally well as a whole package, as well as containing some fantastic standalone songs.
Of course, the album for which I’m really excited for is Lent At Ephesus by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, coming out on February 11! These cloistered nuns sound absolutely angelic, and they are probably the artists I listen to the most on a day-to-day basis. I encourage you to buy directly from them, since they benefit the most that way.
One funny thing that I noticed in reviewing my Twitter habits is that the way I use Twitter varies in a rather consistent manner depending on the time of day. In the mornings, my tweets are almost always links and RTs of various articles or blogs, in the evenings I tend to put out more “original” content, the majority of which is about Catholic stuff, and then at night I’m largely just wasting time or chatting with people. Since I am looking to par down my social media usage, this is a useful insight. Going forward, I should probably restrict my Twitter time to the evenings, since it is then that it feels at least semi-beneficial and interesting.
Winter needs to end soon. Not because the low temperatures are getting to me (though it has been bitter cold this year), but because of all the bloody road salt! Seriously, that stuff is so freaking gross and I’m sick of it caking my car.
Have a great weekend!
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