Have A Blessed Michaelmas!

Michaelmas is now celebrated as the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, September 29th. Traditionally it is a day of eating goose and blackberries.

The goose comes from old laws. Michaelmas was a 'quarter day' in England and other lands of the UK. Peasants would have to pay up their debts and rents. Often this was done with a goose. If you'd like to say the great wings of the goose remind us of the wings of St. Michael, however, I'm not going to stop you.

The blackberries comes from an Irish legend, where it was told that Lucifer, when expelled from Heaven and sent down to Earth, landed in a blackberry patch. Anyone who has seen such a patch knows of their thorns, so Lucifer cursed the blackberry patches of the world, and returns to do so every Michaelmas. It is unwise, therefor, to eat blackberries after today.

I've also heard of a custom that may be more contemporary, but seems Catholic in its heart, of lighting a tall white candle, and a tall red candle as centerpieces for the Michaelmas feast. At the start of dinner the red candle is blown out, to show St. Michael's victory over Satan. A black candle would work just as well, in my opinion.

So Monday night I'll be having roast goose with baked apples and a blackberry crumble for dessert with my friends and family. I hope you have a Blessed Michaelmas!

P.S. I had to post this tonight, because tomorrow is my sister's wedding, and I imagined I would be quite busy. Pray for her and her new husband!

Viva, il Papa!

It has arrived. That point where I no longer remember what it was like not to have an earthly head of my church. When getting into arguments with protestants I forget that they may not have such an authority and it seems ridiculous to me. I find myself wishing they'd hurry up and form a catechism, or just tell me who their 'Pope' is so that I can read his writings and debate them from it.

You know you're Catholic when you're frustrated at protestants' lack of organization.

So I'd like to take a moment just to be thankful for Our Lord's gift of the papacy, and His son, Pope Benedict XVI, who is solidly guiding the Ship back into familiar, dare I say, traditional, waters. May the rest of the Church follow his lead and pay heed to his authority (I'm looking at you, French Bishops).

Say a Hail Mary for our Holy Father today, and be thankful that we have him, and are not lost in the stormy waters of protesant teachings.

Joyfully Catholic

On Fisheaters we were talking about what it means to be "Joyfully Catholic". Some seemed to be worried that they were too somber, and not showing their fellow man the happiness and joy of being a memeber of Christ's Church.

A valid point. With our bloody crucifixes, our quiet rosaries, our smokey incense and solemn saints it may appear that Catholics are not a very lively bunch. This ignores, however, the joy of the Domestic Church, and disregards silent joy.

Much of the joy felt by Catholics cannot be seen externally. Trust us, the Elevation of the Host during Mass can fill us with exstatic happiness. Completeing a pilgramige promised to Our Lady makes us burst. You won't see this though. In Catholic Culture it isn't right to be happy-go-lucky about such things. That's not to say you can't talk about them with others who will appreciate it, but we've gotten so used to having eyes rolled at us when we mention it that we've sort of given up.

Within the Domestic Church is where you'll really see us shine. We have no qualms about celebrating Christmas for 12 days with some seriously good food, games, and traditions. Easter goes on for eight WEEKS and you can sense that exuberence the entire time. We'll put a crown on a child to celebrate their Saint Day, sneak chocolate coins into shoes on St. Nicholas Day. March enthusiastically in a Spirit of Chartres walk or sing "Ave Maria" around the house for October.

We'll light candles, counting down the Sundays to Christmas in Advent. We leave flowers for saints, our brothers and sisters. We crown our King and Queen of Heaven with prayers and gestures. We have more feast days then can be fully celebrated in a year.

We compose Litanies, Novenas, Hymns and prayers. We get together and give gifts on Baptisms, Confirmations, First Communions, Marriages and Ordinations. We carry each other's joys by joining in thanks for prayers answered. We feel our brothers and sister's support as we're going through a tough time, and that too can bring us joy.

To be Catholic is almost intrinsically joyful. How can we not be a celebratory people when we have Christ among us, and Holy Mother Church guiding us?

Devotions

I'm lying in bed, about to watch a movie as I type this on my laptop. Above me is an olive wood crucifix with a silver corpus. It hangs above my bed every night, I've even packed it along with me on trips and hung it above wherever I'm sleeping that night. You'd be surprised at how easy it is to do this often without putting further holes in a wall.

Anyway, the point is not that I hate sleeping in protestant surroundings. The point is the incarnation, and not just that the crucifix represents this, but that all our devotions, our sacramentals, represent this.

It is Catholic teaching that when He became human, took on a phyiscal form, Our Lord sanctified the physical world. This is part of why our Sacraments all have a necessary physical component. Our Lord is the true leader and king of this world. Satan is but the prince of air. The trees, dirt, roads, buildings, and even laptops with which we blog all belong rightfully to Him.

When I say this to protestants they tend to agree. They fail to make an innocent step in logic, however, and see that it stands to reason that we can then use physical items in our devotions and prayers. I don't understand why. Maybe once I knew, but if so I've forgotten it.

My crucifix reminds me, very forcefully as a matter of fact, that Christ watches over me (especially at that most unholy of hours 3:00AM, the hour opposite the moment Our Lord died and acted as the sacrifice for us all). I feel safer when it is there. Should I? Maybe, maybe not, but the fact remains that I do. Do I think that without that crucifix that Christ could not watch over and protect me? Of course not. The crucifix is for ME, Christ doesn't need it.

But Christ does understand that. As He has been human, He knows our weaknesses and desire for tangible things. He is a loving king, and so provides us with them. Let us not forget God's instructions to build the ark of the covenant (and cover it with images of seraphim) or the copper snake (which He allowed to be the instrument of His grace in healing His children).

So as I drift off, listening to my movie, I'll see reflected in the finger-print covered screen of my laptop a silver corpus, looking down on me, and I'll remember that in Heaven there is a true God, looking down in the same way.