First and most importantly!
Today is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and a Holy Day of Obligation. That means, my dear Catholic brothers and sisters, that you MUST go to Mass today! For those of you who are not Catholic, what we are celebrating is not the conception of Christ (which we celebrate at the Annunciation), but the conception of Mary.
So, people...GO TO MASS! I will be attending this evening in the middle of our first big snowstorm since I was too lazy to get my butt out of bed for the 8 am Mass, which I'm guessing was a school Mass, anyway. And I have to admit I'm not a fan of school Masses: a parade of readers, a different kid offering each petition, singing pithy songs to make sure we all know that "All Are Welcome". Ugh. It's an exercise in reinforcing and perpetuating the misunderstanding of "full and active participation" as opposed to what the kids should REALLY be learning about Mass and what it is, and cultivating in them a spirit of prayer...not activity.
But I digress.
Next piece of news:
I'm not very bright. (That part isn't news. That's a given.)
For a long time, ever since I had to put my greyhound to sleep, I've been pondering the idea of fostering. Most of the dog rescue groups in our area are foster-home based, and as I have a German Shepherd, I looked into one that tends to specialize in the breed. Last night I spoke with the woman in charge of coordinating these things, and got some more information, most of which was on their website. Foster homes don't incur expenses....the organization provides for food, veterinary care, a crate if needed, etc. All the fosters provide is a nice warm home, time (many of the dogs need at least rudimentary training), etc.
Well, in the midst of our discussion I kinda said...uh....Yes... (That's the news part.)
The dog she had in mind for me is from Missouri. Apparently the South is being overrun with German Shepherds, so they're transporting them to Minnesota for adoption, as the breed is in demand up here. I'll be getting a male, no idea how big he is, but I do know he's strong as an ox and has absolutely no manners. Just a winning personality!
I am still pondering this, going back and forth as it IS hard to have two dogs, especially considering I don't have a fenced yard. And with this oncoming snowstorm, I know that walking two dogs at once is going to get even MORE difficult!
But, alas...that is my idiocy. I was thinking with my heart again instead of my brain. Still, a dog like that will probably be adopted quickly and maybe I need something to shake up my life a little, and do something that will benefit someone else in the long term. My little Christmas Gift to someone who is looking for a good pet.Someone talk me out of this.
Oh, and I need to provide a name and number to them as a reference. They'll be doing a home visit to verify my living conditions (ie that I live where I claim to live, I'm not an animal hoarder - they're ok with book hoarding - and that in fact, my dog is healthy and happy and doesn't seem to be abused!).
Yeah, my little cream puff is currently hanging out on the couch snoozing. Spoiled dog!
Poor thing...she has NO IDEA what is about to happen...hope she is agreeable....
In Other News: GOOD JESUITS!
There are some really great, orthodox Jesuits out there and they are asking for help from we bloggers! From Fr. V. at Adam's Ale comes this announcement:
From AA's correspondent in Rome we receive news of this new site which was launched on December 1st. Fr. O reports, "This is a new online magazine that offers articles from Jesuits who are committed to orthodox teaching. There are two guys from the Biblicum on their editorial board (John Gavin and Jim Swetnam), and I can attest that they are priests of the highest caliber. Both of them teach Biblical Greek there (Swetnam is retired). Gavin is also well versed in Patristics, and Swetnam has spent much of his life studying Priesthood in the Letter to the Hebrews. They asked if we could get the word out to any "orthodox bloggers" that we knew."
Now, go check out their publication, New Jesuit Review!
6 comments:
Alas, in Canada, this is no Holy Day of Obligation, but it being a Holy Day regardless of where one happens to be celebrating it, and I being able (which is the deciding factor), I shall be attending Mass early this evening before dinner. Surprisingly, we are not expecting a snowstorm this evening.
Adoro, have you ever considered snowshoes?
Happy Holy-Day, Adoro! I'll be at Mass this evening if the snow-plow comes around and breaks us out.
I'm happy to hear you are considering fostering. I'm betting that your dog will welcome the newcomer, after getting acquainted with him; they're pretty social. Speaking from our experience of having a male German Shepherd; I hope the one you get is neutered. We would have saved ourselves a lot of problems with "wandering" and territorialism by getting that taken care of earlier than we did.
Hidden One ~ Snowshoes would be fun, I'd like to try it eventually. I broke my cross country ski boots so can't use the skis!
Melody ~ Sounds like he WILL be neutered by the time he gets here, but I'm quite sure I'll have to keep a close eye on the leg-lifting problem, especially given he was quite literally raised in a barn.
My female shepherd may be very offended at an interlocutor but she does love to play with other dogs so I'm hoping that social aspect of her personality wins the battle!
As far as wandering and such...since I don't have a fenced yard, he'll never be off leash, so not too worried about that part.
Happy holy day, Adoro. I had the pleasure of going to an EF Mass in an FSSP church here in France, which was beautiful with a great, succinct sermon. I agree with your sentiments on school masses. At my local church at home, whenever there are school masses the liturgy goes from being acceptable to a horrible hustle and bustle, with even occasions where a child reads the Gospel, so I try to avoid them.
Je vous salue, Marie, pleine de grâce.
Blessed feast day, Adoro! I went to Mass in the bone chilling cold and offered it up to God. What a beautiful feast day!
I hope you do foster. So many dogs are stuck in shelters -- or worse, euthanized because no one will adopt them. I think it is a wonderful thing your heart is considering.
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