| Friday, December 25, 2009 |
| MERRY CHRISTMAS |
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!!!!
May Our Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly with love and joy in this season commemorating His birth!
"Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see!
Hail th'Incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel!
Hark! The herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King!" |
posted by Kristin @ 2:14 AM  |
|
|
|
| Wednesday, December 23, 2009 |
| NEW LAYOUT!!! :-D |
Do you like???
Charisse made this on Monday, adapted from a layout I got on a website. I wanted it to have a bit of Pittsburgh in it (hence the black and gold), as well as some of Rome (hence the picture of St. Peter's, taken this April when I went with a group from school). Charisse graciously combined these two aspects to form what you see in front of you. Thank you, Charisse! :-D |
| posted by Kristin @ 12:34 PM |
|
|
|
| Monday, December 21, 2009 |
| Getting closer... |
Flight booked? Check.
Credit card cleared for use? Check.
Italian Visa? Planning on applying for tomorrow.
Excitement and anticipation builds as I realize this is actually happening... :-D
Oh, and although my program ends on June 2, I found out that June 3 is the Feast of Corpus Christi and there's a huge Eucharistic Procession for it in Rome, so I'm staying until June 4th. I love the Feast of Corpus Christi, so it's hard to pass up this blessed opportunity. Though I'm going to have to pay to stay somewhere those last 2 days, I'm looking forward to it!!! |
| posted by Kristin @ 2:52 PM |
|
|
|
| Thursday, December 17, 2009 |
| Which debate? |
Here's what one person said about the health care debate in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Letters to the Editor, posted today and printed in today's newspaper:
So if they are indeed all aware of this fact, and they are still working against major changes to the current inequitable system that is responsible for this untenable situation, then isn't it fair to say that they have made a value judgment, whether consciously or unconsciously, that killing at least 10,000 people each year is acceptable to them? What does this tell us about their ethics and values? I'd really be curious to know how they rationalize this to themselves and how they are able to sleep at night. Of course, I guess if you value money and power over human lives, it's no problem.
And now I ask you to read it again. This time, think of it in terms of the injustice of abortion. Substitute "10,000" for "1.2 million."
This is the problem with the health care reform as it stands right now. It's not that the Catholic Church doesn't want to see people get adequate medical coverage. I can name you three Catholic hospitals or medical organizations within the Pittsburgh area alone which will turn that argument over on its head. It's not that the Catholic Church doesn't care for the poor. Again, I can name you at least five initiatives in the Diocese of Pittsburgh which will bring that argument to ashes. The fact of the matter is, we can't turn a blind eye to the fact that the youngest and frailest members among us, namely, the unborn children, our future generations, our children and grandchildren, will be killed in greater numbers. We would destroy our future for our own convenience. I would love to see everyone get all the medical coverage they need. But please, let that extend to ALL Americans. That means the unborn Americans too. |
| posted by Kristin @ 1:21 PM |
|
|
|
| Wednesday, December 16, 2009 |
| Spiritual Family for Rome |
I had written this back in September sometime, and posted it elsewhere until I had a Rome blog. Well, now that I have one, I want to post it here too! :-D
For my preparation to go to Rome, for the trip itself, and for all time thereafter, I take these saints as my spiritual "family." Though the saints "find" us first, I have been deeply influenced by these as of late, and I hope to learn from them even further:
I take as my spiritual father St. Philip Neri, Apostle of Rome, from whom I might learn to live the Gospel cheerfully and faithfully. St. Philip Neri specifically has inspired in me a desire to be knowledgeable about the faith and to present it to a culture which stands against the morals of the Gospel. I hope that, by His guidance, I may learn to live and to teach the Gospel, to deal with my brothers and sisters faithfully and cheerfully, and to grow in love for the Lord every day. St. Philip Neri, through whom I have learned much in the past two years, please pray for me, that I may more ardently love God and live out my life joyfully trusting in Him.
I take as my spiritual brother Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Man of the Beatitudes, from whom I might learn to live charitably and humbly without counting the cost. From his example, I have learned of the many ways in which I fail in charity and true humility, and I hope to better imitate his love for the poor, his service to them, his holy boldness in facing a culture contrary to the Gospel, his Christ-like charity, his immense humility, his distaste for status and wealth, and his true compassion for others. I pray that, like him, I may use my time of my youth to serve Christ more vigorously (for sloth pervades me constantly) and that I may learn to give my time more earnestly to service of the poor. Blessed Pier Giorgio, my dear friend and spiritual brother, pray for me to God, for I am a selfish sinner, and I wish to repent of my past selfishness.
(List subject to grow in the days to come :-D)
The reason this post came to mind right now is that Barbara and I have decided to go to Turin this April to see the Shroud of Turin!!! The Shroud is in the Cathedral of Turin, which is where Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's tomb is!!! :-D I'm so excited I get to visit his tomb--even though I already saw him at World Youth Day in 2008, now that I have learned more about him and taken him as a patron of sorts, the visit means even more!! :-D
And the list is subject to grow...I'll just write the addition in (I know there's at least one :-D) at a later time!Labels: spiritual family |
| posted by Kristin @ 4:36 PM |
|
|
|
| Sunday, December 13, 2009 |
| Snow Day and CCD |
Well, my CCD class was cancelled for the morning due to ice and freezing rain. Unfortunately, though I wanted to go to the High Mass (Latin Mass) at St. Boniface, I hear the parkway is closed, so I don't think I'll be able to get there. I suppose I'll just be walking to the Oratory at 11.
It's kind of a throwback to the olden days of Pittsburgh, how it must have been when the immigrants first came over. Visit any of the communities around the city, and you'll see two, three, four, or even more churches, Catholic or Protestant, within blocks of each other. Because this was before the time when many immigrants had cars, they all erected their own churches hearkening back to their cultural heritages (be it Italian, Croatian, Polish, Irish, etc, etc, etc), and as a result, many churches arose in the same neighborhoods, and residents had enough churches around that they could walk to Mass every Sunday. (Given that many had no cars, they had to walk.) So today, on this "snow" day, as a 4th generation Pittsburgher, I will be partaking in the tradition of my ancestors and walking to the neighborhood church for Mass. It's almost exciting that it's a "snow" day when you look at it that way. :-D |
| posted by Kristin @ 9:50 AM |
|
|
|
| Sunday, December 6, 2009 |
| St. Nick's Day! |
Happy St. Nick's Day, everybody!!! :-D
Every year, my family celebrates St. Nick's Day because it was my grandma's birthday. What I think is most unique about our St. Nick's Day is that it was the day my cousins and I always got our Christmas stockings from our grandparents on this day. What's most significant and unique about that was that it was my grandma's birthday, so she did what many people say they want to do, but never actually follow through with--she gave us gifts on her birthday. I realized the significance of this far later than I should have.
This was our first St. Nick's Day without Grandma to celebrate with us. She died this May. May 25th, a day I still remember quite clearly. So while this was a more subdued St. Nick's Day than usual, everyone did their best to keep her St. Nick's spirit alive.
So in all, here's how I celebrated St. Nick's Day:
~CCD. Today we talked about how Christmas is Jesus' birthday, and I decided to make cupcakes for the kids, as per suggestions in the CCD curriculum. The kids had fun, and they weren't too sugar high when they left. (Though, I didn't realize the significance of talking about birthdays today until long after the fact.)
~Latin Mass. I'm being drawn to this more and more--I went 2 consecutive weeks, hoping to make it 3 next week! Good sermon about staying alert and knowing we're in spiritual warfare.
~Visited Grandma. I didn't realize until I got there that I didn't even know exactly where the mausoleum was, let alone where Grandma was laid in there. It took me about 15 minutes total to figure out where to go, but I found her! :) I said a decade with her Rosary (which I ended up inheriting from her) and then left to go home.
~St. Nick's Day party!!! :-D Like I said, more subdued, but everyone kept the spirit alive. All my dad's brothers and sisters and their spouses worked to put together the traditional stockings, while my mom, my cousin Ashley, her niece Chiara, and I all helped to make the mini hot dog crescents. That used to be our Grandma's job, so it definitely felt like a "passing of the torch."
All in all, a good St. Nick's Day, but with a huge gaping hole that none of us could fill, not with stockings or food or even laughter. But my grandma's memory lives on in the love that she gave to all of us and the traditions she gave us. I still pray for her soul every day, that God might guide her soul with Him into Heaven.
Bernadette Catherine Gottron
12.6.1933-5.25.2009
In paradisum deducant Angeli in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiant et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem. |
| posted by Kristin @ 11:06 PM |
|
|
|
|
| About Me |
|
Name: Kristin
Home: Pittsburgh, PA, United States
About Me: Seeking my true Fatherland as I travel this spiritual journey with Our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope, with the help of God, to follow in the example of the saints and strive for holiness.
See my complete profile
|
| Previous Post |
|
| Archives |
|
|
| Links |
|
|
|
|
