Canticle of Zechariah

Seems appropriate in the face of what the United States government is trying to do to people of faith today. The fifth stanza is most telling of what should be right in the world!

Canticle of Zechariah

Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Israel;
He has come to His people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,
Born of the house of His servant David.

Through His holy prophets He promised of old
That He would save us from our enemies,
From the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers
And to remember His holy Covenant.

This was the oath He swore to our father Abraham:
To set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship Him without fear,
Holy and righteous in His sight
All the days of our life.

You, My child shall be called
The prophet of the Most High,
For you will go before the Lord to prepare His way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our Lord
The dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
And the shadow of death,
And to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father,
and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning.
is now, and will be forever.

Amen.

Homemade Candy . . .

Various versions of this recipe have been around for years. I ran into it in an ancient cookbook and decided to print it out to try this week. Thought other people might like to include it in their summer dinner parties and festivities . . . or just because everyone wants some homemade candy!

Homemade Chocolate Nut Crunch
4 sticks of butter (Margarine won't work!)
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 cups chopped almonds (I toast them a bit and leave them unblanched)
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts for topping

Melt butter over low heat in a large cooking pot. Add the sugar and stir constantly until melted. Add in the water and  corn syrup. Cook and stir constantly to prevent burning until a candy thermometer registers 290 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in the 2 cups of chopped nuts. Spread immediately into a vegetable-oiled sprayed pan, approximately 9 x 13 or whatever you have that will work. You can always do this is two, small pans. Refrigerate until candy is hard.

Melt the chocolate and spread over cold candy and immediately sprinkle with the finely chopped nuts. When the chocolate is set, break into pieces and enjoy!

Ideas . . .
You can also top it with melted white chocolate chips and sprinkle with colorful sugar or decorations.
You can add a smidge of cinnamon to the nut crunch portion just as you finish cooking it.

Where are the priorities?

The prayer petitions at our Mass are always . . . interesting. Today, they were for fairness in the workplace, a worthy thing to pray about. In honor of St. John the Baptist's feast day, they made mention of the safety of the unborn - something that is seldom included in the prayer petitions from the altar. I waded through the diocesan-prescribed petitions and . . . no mention of the obama mandate regarding our potential loss of religious freedoms and no mention of the Fortnight for Freedom and recitation of the special prayer that is making the rounds of everywhere except, seemingly, from our pulpit. I find that very sad. We are a one, Catholic, universal Church so why aren't all Catholics and clergy strongly and loudly behind this push to fight the loss of our religious freedoms?

There are bishops in the United States that have been very vocal about the injustice of obama's mandate against Catholics and Christians. It is pretty quiet here in California. I may be wrong but I haven't seen/heard any of our clergy crossing the line and appearing on any media reports. Yes, I'm sure they are worried about it in their own way but, like the proverbial flock of sheep, we need our shepherds to bring this matter forcefully to the forefront of our attention and prayers. I have had friends who tried to talk to fellow Catholics and run into a mental brick wall because so many don't understand the impact this mandate will have on religion.

A friend told me, years ago, that soon it will be the people in the pew who have to set the world straight about what is right and wrong. I guess all that believe in the Constitution and how it is supposed to protect our right to Faith will have to do their best to spread the world from their corners of the country.

Still, it would be nice to have heard it from the altar today. And, if I were in charge (scary thought!), I sure would have ongoing prayer petitions for the protection of the unborn and an end to artificial methods of birth control every day a Mass was celebrated. It wouldn't hurt to include petitions for a return to modesty, purity, and spiritual awareness for the world especially our teens.

Truth, Facts, and Smiles through Quotes . . .

"We have so much time and so little to do. Strike that, reverse it."
-- Roald Dahl

"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
-- Krishnamurti

"I can think of nothing less pleasurable than a life devoted to pleasure."
-- John D. Rockefeller

Eggplant IS good!

 Strange as it may seem, I actually have three of my four children who enjoy and look forward to dinner even more when I'm serving eggplant. I never knew this vegetable when I was growing up and only started cooking it about ten years into my marriage. Eggplant with homemade sauce, Provolone, Feta, and Romano cheese is a definite favorite. It isn't difficult, just a bit time-consuming but, after all, it is my job to feed and care for my family so I enjoy the process. My husband's contribution to the meal preparation? His homegrown green beans which he happily cleans and cuts for me. Anyone interested in a recipe, let me know, however, a quick Google search would turn up any number of equally good versions of this meatless meal that doesn't make you feel deprived of meat!

Hoping for the best . . .

We had decided to take the remaining three kittens and their mother to the Humane Society Animal Shelter yesterday. At the last minute, my husband decided to give us another week to find an alternataive situation for the little balls of fluff. A local pet supply shop has adoption days where they bring in an assortment of dogs and cats they have been fostering in hopes of finding homes for them. I spoke to the woman in charge and she was rather rude and abrupt. She even got on the phone in the middle of our conversation so I just left. She did, however, inform me that being it is 'kitten season', any cats we take to the shelter will be put down almost immediately.

In the back of my mind, I do understand that there is a chance that stray animals may end up being killed for lack of homes/room, etc. at the public shelters. The idea of actually handing over these sweet kittens and knowing for a fact that it is their last day wasn't something I could cope with and do. We have now put an all-points bulletin out to let people know we have the kittens and to spread the word. Meanwhile, we continue to feel like a kitten farm with three of them inside the house and three of them living on the front porch.

It is frustrating that there are so many people allowing their cats to have litter after litter of kittens that either end up feral or mistreated in the wilds and having to scrape and scrape for food. We are planning on having the two mother cats spayed and keeping them. My husband plans to build them a protective shelter outside. They do like to come in the house and sit in the stone entry way as a treat once a day.

In the meantime, anyone in the Southern California area that desperately wants a sweet kitten, I happen to know of three very adoptable sweethearts!