Posted at 10:49 PM on 3/16/2010 | Permalink
Icon by Nicholas Markell
March 17, 2010:
Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent / St. Patrick's Day
The prayer of the Lorica (breastplate) is attributed to St. Patrick. It's a powerful text and makes for a wonderful Lenten prayer, complete with a renunciation of evil befitting a people of faith preparing for baptism and for the renewal of baptismal promises.
The Lorica of St. Patrick
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion and his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection and his ascension...
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of angels...
In the hope of the resurrection,
In the prayers of ancestors in the faith,
In the preaching of the apostles,
In the faith of martyrs
In the innocence and purity of the deeds of the righteous.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against false prophets, false laws and idolatry...
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every one who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation St. Patrick (ca. 377)
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Posted at 8:18 PM on 3/16/2010 | Permalink
Christopher West left a jarring first impression when I listened to him in 2002. Gathered in a Vancouver living room, we were a dozen Catholic men watching one of his DVD presentations about John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Our group consisted of good friends, but we suddenly became a little uncomfortable in each [...]
Posted at 8:01 PM on 3/16/2010 | Permalink
Outside my window... 55 degrees, but it sure feels colder than that with the wind. It is supposed to rain.
I am thinking ... about how lame this blog is lately . . . I can't seem to find anything worthwhile to put on here.
From the kitchen...we are having orange chicken with rice for dinner tonight. Don't know about the rest of the week.
I am thankful . . . that tomorrow's biology class for the kids will be the last one. We've been driving into the big city twice a week for 5 weeks because we have had an overlap of enrollments. What was I thinking??
From the schoolroom . . .Lil Guhl is starting on fractions, working on adjectives, and reading about The Mysteries of the Rosary. Boyson is learning about transitive verbs, decimals and fractions, and the precepts of the Church. We are learning about other things too, but that's what I remember for today.
I am wearing... my black work-out pants, a red shirt and my black fleece zip up sweater.
I am creating... nothing. I am sort of pooped after the Resurrection Eggs and the Stations of the Cross boxes.
I am hoping ... to come up with some good ideas for an outing on Saturday with friends.
I am reading... The Whistling Season still. Can you believe it? I am not lovin' it, but I will try to finish.
I am hearing ... the kids watching a movie.
Around the house... sold a dresser on Craigslist. This particular piece of furniture has been a thorn in my side (for some other people in the house as well) for some time now, and I finally sold it today. I got a pittance for it, but at least it's gone.
One of my favorite things...the wide open space on my calendar next week. We don't usually take spring break off from school - usually we use the opportunity to catch up and work hard since there is nothing else interfering with our days.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Science class for the kids, volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul, PE class
A picture thought I am sharing:
This was 'my dinner' that Lil Guhl made me the other night. There is a taco on the upper left, a piece of toast on the lower left, butter in the center. In the tea cup is strawberry tea and creamer to its left.
And a coupon to boot!
Posted at 4:02 PM on 3/16/2010 | Permalink
It’s hard to believe but World Youth Day is celebrating its silver anniversary!
Twenty-five years ago Venerable John Paul II launched the annual meeting for young people and Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this milestone in his annual World Youth Day message which was released on Monday.
Apart from the international World Youth Day gatherings, most recently [...]
Posted at 3:20 PM on 3/16/2010 | Permalink
On March 26, the Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project (DMWST project) will be discussed on the CatholicTV talk show “This is the Day”. The DMWST Project works with high schools and colleges to produce the play “Dead Man Walking” which was written by actor Tim Robbins and is based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean which was also made into a film starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon. This is the 6th season that the play has been presented as part of academic and theater curriculums in schools.
Sister Helen’s books are accounts of her friendship with 2 death-row inmates and her call to end capital punishment. Sister Helen commits herself to the protection of life, both innocent and guilty.
This is the Day airs at 10:30AM ET at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV. This is the Day is hosted by the Director of the CatholicTV Network, Father Robert Reed, and General Manager, Jay Fadden.
Steven Crimaldi (pictured above) will be interviewed on This is the Day. Steven is National Coordinator of The Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project. Steve is currently working on the award-winning Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break. The specific purpose of the Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break is to bring students together for five days of anti-death penalty activism, education and fun. This is the place to be if you want to become a part of the next generation of human rights leaders. The 2010 event features six innocent death row exonerees: Shujaa Graham, Curtis McCarty, Ron Keine, Derrick Jamison, Perry Cobb and Juan Melendez. They are attending alternative spring break to speak with participants about how innocent people can end up on death row. Altogether, the six exonerees attending the alternative spring break spent a total of about 65 years on death row for crimes they did not commit.
More information on the Dead Man Walking School Theater Project and the Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break may be found at http://dmwplay.org/ and http://www.springbreakalternative.org/deathpenalty/