In
our civilization, and under our republican form of government, intelligence is
so highly honored that it is rewarded by exemption from the cares of office.
- Ambrose Bierce
Thursday, December 1, 2011
A Holy Day is Approaching . . .
December 8th - Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Mother! A mistake is that this refers to the conception of Jesus when, in fact, it refers to Mary being conceived without Original Sin. It makes sense because carrying the baby Jesus in a sinful woman wouldn't make sense so God, in His literally infinite wisdom, made sense of it!
Hail, Queen of the heavens!
Hail, Mistress of earth!
Hail, Virgin most pure,
Of immaculate bith!
Clear star of the morning,
In beauty enshrined!
O Lady, make speed
To the help of mankind!
(Anonymous: Salve mundi domina Tr. Caswall 19th century)
Hail, Queen of the heavens!
Hail, Mistress of earth!
Hail, Virgin most pure,
Of immaculate bith!
Clear star of the morning,
In beauty enshrined!
O Lady, make speed
To the help of mankind!
(Anonymous: Salve mundi domina Tr. Caswall 19th century)
The beginning of a new friendship . . .
I got some sad news today. Our family has been supporting two children and a seminarian overseas in some of the countries faced with poverty. We go through Christian Foundation for the Children and Aging - http://www.cfcausa.org/ and have been helping and corresponding with a sweet, little girl in Colombia, a feisty boy in Guatemala, and a seminarian in Colombia. Today, we were informed that the seminarian wasn't totally in line with the foundations requirements and is no longer with the program which means we are no longer in touch with or supporting this young man.
Even as I was already missing his letters and our relationship, I knew there was a reason and immediately went on line to find another person to help in his place. What a decision! I went through dozens of pictures and profiles trying to figure out how on earth I could decide who needed us most . . . as all the children were in critical situations. I finally kept coming back to a seven year old who wasn't smiling in her picture and looked a little forbidding. Her name us Juana, she is seven years old, and I think her expression is more anxious and worried than forbidding. Poverty isn't something we really understand the depths of so how could I really judge? Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting her information packet, a more recent picture, and beginning a new friendship.
Although we often fall short, we do try to tithe and discovered that helping these children was a good way to share what we have with someone strugging to afford school fees and to have enough to eat. It is amazing how far the foundation stretches the $30 a month for each child. We have been doing this for over ten years and I can't imagine my refrigerator not having at least three faces reminding me that they exist, need love, help, and prayers!
Even as I was already missing his letters and our relationship, I knew there was a reason and immediately went on line to find another person to help in his place. What a decision! I went through dozens of pictures and profiles trying to figure out how on earth I could decide who needed us most . . . as all the children were in critical situations. I finally kept coming back to a seven year old who wasn't smiling in her picture and looked a little forbidding. Her name us Juana, she is seven years old, and I think her expression is more anxious and worried than forbidding. Poverty isn't something we really understand the depths of so how could I really judge? Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting her information packet, a more recent picture, and beginning a new friendship.
Although we often fall short, we do try to tithe and discovered that helping these children was a good way to share what we have with someone strugging to afford school fees and to have enough to eat. It is amazing how far the foundation stretches the $30 a month for each child. We have been doing this for over ten years and I can't imagine my refrigerator not having at least three faces reminding me that they exist, need love, help, and prayers!
Scary but not surprising . . .
Vatican Cardinal Burke: ‘We’re well on the way’ to Christian persecution in the U.S.
John-Henry Westen
VATICAN, November 28, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One of the highest ranking cardinals in the Vatican has said that the United States is "well on the way" to the persecution of Christians.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, former Archbishop of St. Louis and now the head of the Vatican’s highest court, told Catholic News Agency that he could envision a time when the Catholic Church in the U.S., "even by announcing her own teaching," is accused of "engaging in illegal activity, for instance, in its teaching on human sexuality."
Asked if the cardinal could even see American Catholics being arrested for their faith he replied, "I can see it happening, yes."
In his remarks to several U.S. Bishops meeting with him Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI made similarly emphatic warnings about the U.S. The pope told the bishops that "the seriousness of the challenges which the Church in America, under your leadership, is called to confront in the near future cannot be underestimated."
He added: "The obstacles to Christian faith and practice raised by a secularized culture also affect the lives of believers."
In the interview published today, Cardinal Burke declared that "it is a war" and "critical at this time that Christians stand up for the natural moral law." Should they not, he warned, "secularization will in fact predominate and it will destroy us."
Pope Benedict too urged the bishops of the United States to speak out in defense of morality. "The present moment can thus be seen, in positive terms, as a summons to exercise the prophetic dimension of your episcopal ministry by speaking out, humbly yet insistently, in defense of moral truth, and offering a word of hope, capable of opening hearts and minds to the truth that sets us free," he said.
Catholic League President Bill Donohue told LifeSiteNews that Cardinal Burke’s remarks were accurate and not exaggerations. "Secularism has become militant," he said. "Many elites are taking an aggressive secular approach. They have lined up against the Catholic Church and other Christian churches particularly for their stand on moral values."
Donohue pointed to New York where gay ‘marriage’ was passed without debate or exemptions for clerks who objected to having to grant such licenses. He also noted the closing of Catholic adoption and foster care agencies since they were unable to comply with laws forcing homosexual adoptions.
"The real big one," he added, "is the HHS of the Obama Administration." The forcing of abortifacient and contraceptive coverage in private health care plans under penalty of fines was described by the Catholic League President as the Obama Administration "on a full court press to shove its values down the throats of the Catholic Church."
See the full interview with Cardinal Burke with Catholic News Agency
Sour Cream Twists
When I want to fill out a Christmas cookie plate, I make these 'cookie size'. They are also great for a holiday breakfast and work well on a larger scale. No matter which way you make them, a cup of coffee or hot chocolate goes well with them.
Sour Cream Twists
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup shortening
½ cup butter
1 tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup sour cream
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks, well-beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar with tablespoon of cinnamon.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift flour, salt into mixing bowl, cut in shortening/butter. Dissolve yeast in water. Stir into flour mixture with sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.
Roll half the dough on cinnamon-sugared board into an oblong. Fold ends toward center, ends overlapping. Sprinkle with sugar, roll again to the same size. Repeat a third time. Roll about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into srips about 1x4-inch wide. Twist ends in opposite directions, stretching dough slightly. Put on lightly greased baking sheets in shape of horseshoe and press ends to keep shape. Repeat with rest of dough.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until delicately browned. Take from baking sheet immediately to cool. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Sour Cream Twists
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup shortening
½ cup butter
1 tablespoon yeast
1/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup sour cream
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks, well-beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar with tablespoon of cinnamon.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sift flour, salt into mixing bowl, cut in shortening/butter. Dissolve yeast in water. Stir into flour mixture with sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.
Roll half the dough on cinnamon-sugared board into an oblong. Fold ends toward center, ends overlapping. Sprinkle with sugar, roll again to the same size. Repeat a third time. Roll about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into srips about 1x4-inch wide. Twist ends in opposite directions, stretching dough slightly. Put on lightly greased baking sheets in shape of horseshoe and press ends to keep shape. Repeat with rest of dough.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until delicately browned. Take from baking sheet immediately to cool. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Another Day of Baking . . .
The top, right, is a new idea! I used the Crispy Oatmeal recipe but added 1 2/3 cups of cinnamon chips to it. It is interesting, almost like eating a bowl of oatmeal.
The bottom left are the chocolate-apricot cookies heading for the oven. They are very fudgy with a fruity tang from the dried apricots. They came about because I had two, leftover egg whites and noticed this recipe called for just that amount. Waste not, want not . . .
The last picture has a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe divided in half. One half had chocolate and peanut butter chips. The second half was mixed with peppermint and chocolate chips. Both are two favorite flavor combinations in our family.
The kitchen is clean, again. The cookies are packed away in the freezer. There is a plate on the table with one of each type I made today for my husband's culinary inspection. He likes Christmas baking and trying whatever I come up with while he is at work. It's his treat after a long day at the office!
Prayer Request . . .
If anyone has an extra prayer today, a friend's fellow seminarian could certainly use it. The young man is under serious spiritual attack with some physical manifestations. The young man is a devout, serious person with a great longing to become a priest. We are praying that all this doesn't get him off track through fear.
Our world today . . . ?
"Much of the social history of the Western world over the past
three decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good."
-- Thomas Sowell
-- Thomas Sowell
Very noticeable in our current administration!
"The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem,
it is generally employed only by small children and large nations."
-- David Friedman
-- David Friedman
History to the present proves this one out!
"The trouble with America is that there are far too many wide-open
spaces surrounded by teeth."
-- Charles Luckman
-- Charles Luckman
No thought behind the words!
A Description of Motherhood . . .
"I long to accomplish a great
and noble
task, but it is my chief duty to
accomplish small tasks as if
they were great and noble." - Helen Keller
task, but it is my chief duty to
accomplish small tasks as if
they were great and noble." - Helen Keller
Super-Wealthy Walnut Bars
One of cookies I baked, yesterday. It is one of my husband's favorite cookies. The hint of orange brings out the walnut/coconut blend. They are very rich so a small one with a cup of tea is just about right . . . until you need another cup of tea, that is! Very easy recipe with great results.
Super-Wealthy Walnut Bars
Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 stick butter
Topping:
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 cup corn syrup
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
Grated zest of one orange
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
½ cup shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 11x9-inch pan.
For the crust, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter and mix until the dough comes together. Using a food processor will speed up the operation.
Press the dough in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until golden around the edges, about ten minutes. Cool in the refrigerator while you prepare the topping.
Using a whisk, beat the sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, orange extract, butter, flour, eggs, and zest until blended. Stir in the walnuts and coconut and spread over the crust. Bake about 20 minutes or until set and golden brown. Cool completely before cutting. Makes about a dozen and a half small bars.
Super-Wealthy Walnut Bars
Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 stick butter
Topping:
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/3 cup corn syrup
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
Grated zest of one orange
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
½ cup shredded coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 11x9-inch pan.
For the crust, combine the flour and sugar. Cut in the butter and mix until the dough comes together. Using a food processor will speed up the operation.
Press the dough in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until golden around the edges, about ten minutes. Cool in the refrigerator while you prepare the topping.
Using a whisk, beat the sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, orange extract, butter, flour, eggs, and zest until blended. Stir in the walnuts and coconut and spread over the crust. Bake about 20 minutes or until set and golden brown. Cool completely before cutting. Makes about a dozen and a half small bars.
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