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Grizzly Mama

There's a Grizzly who has escaped the City of Brotherly Love..(and she's going back to homeschooling!!)

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Location: Out of Philly, Pennsylvania, United States

"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth." Aristotle - Greek Philosopher.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Confirmation



"...be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit."

My oldest daughter received the Sacrament of Confirmation yesterday. This is a pretty big deal. All of the sacraments are a big deal, really. They are important rites of passage. The sacrament of Confirmation is a sacrament of initiation - closely tied to the sacrament of Baptism and to the Eucharist as well. Confirmation means all that Baptism means. As the Bishop explained to the Confirmands, in Confirmation the Holy Spirit comes to you in a new way. In Confirmation, one is anointed with oil. In addition the Bishop lays his hands upon their heads - each individually - and names them. In all of my growing up, everyone I know who was Catholic picked a Confirmation name. This is studied in the months leading up to the reception of the sacrament. The name picked is a Saint's name. Someone whose life you can relate to, or who overcame hardships in a way that has meaning for you. You draw inspiration from the Saint that you pick.

"All powerful God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by water and the Holy Spirit you freed your sons and daughters from sin and gave them new life. Send your Holy Spirit upon them to be their Helper and Guide. Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence. Fill them with the spirit of wonder and awe in your presence."

This enumerates the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgement, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence, Wonder and Awe.

Most of the time the minister of Confirmation is the Bishop, as it was for us this year. The Bishop can delegate these duties to the priests of the parish, and for most sacraments the priest will minister. For Confirmation, it's the Bishop. The Bishop - from what I understand - is the only one who can consecrate the oils as well. Apparently this is done on Holy Thursday every year in a special mass called the Chrism Mass. There are three types of holy oil. The oil of catechumens, the oil of the sick, and the oil of chrism. The oil of catechumens is used for adult catechumens and infants, the second for anointing the sick, and the sacred oil of chrism is used for Baptism, Confirmation, the ordination of priests and for consecrating the altar.

Not only is Holy Chrism involved - but there was plenty of incense to go around. I'm a sucker for oil and incense. I can't get enough of them. The symbolism is deep.

Oil is a symbol of strength, healing and agility. I personally feel that it has a strong protective property as well. The word 'Christ' means 'anointed one'. When we are the recipients of the holy oils, we are anointed as well. This again - as so often I have observed - ties us symbolically to a community. To be a part of something bigger is important to humans.

The smoke of incense ascends like our prayers. It helps us to focus on the invisible realities. For me, it also carries suggestion of purification.

My ties to the Catholic Church seem to be inseverable. The Church remains the same. My arguments with it continue to challenge. I am not perfect, but the meaning that I am able to extract from my sometimes tumultuous inner struggle with the Church keeps me tied to it.

God bless my little girls, who are growing into beautiful young ladies.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The Mount Vernon Statement

Conservative leaders released a statement of conservative principles. The left seems to be doing its best to pooh-pooh it. I think it's a good statement, and I think that it's one that conservatives/libertarians can all agree with. Will the tea party movement rally behind it? Will the Republican leadership take it seriously? Will it make any difference at all?

As seen as American Power.

Link

Friday, February 12, 2010

Somewhere In Lancaster County, PA

Me --- trying to smile after shoveling. Next major purchase? A snow blower...



The car is buried:



The flag took a beating and will have to be given to the Boy Scouts to be disposed of properly:



The girls with the ice-encased rose bush:



The 'car cubby' - which I shoveled out the old fashioned way. OUCH!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

What Personality Is Your Blog?

The analysis indicates that the author of Grizzly Mama is of the type:

ESTP - The Doers

The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.








Kind of interesting. I saw this at Why Homeschool.

Link

Friday, February 05, 2010

We're Getting Slammed

***NEW UPDATED WEATHER MAP!!***


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You can see that in Southeastern PA, they are predicting 12-24 inches of snow. THAT'S a snowstorm! I heard a reporter say 'the worst in history'. Bull - we had 3 feet of snow in Philly in 1996. I remember it well because 8 months later our oldest was born! (She was a little early..)

I made it into work, and will be here until noon Saturday. So, here's hoping that the plows will be working well before noon so that I can get home. I've got a shovel, my outdoor broom and a bag of kitty litter in the car. The girlies are once again safely put to bed at Mom-Mom's house, and Troll is preparing for a possible all nighter at the airport tomorrow night.



In the above image, viewed at Wunderground.com, you can see that down south they're getting slammed, too. But it's torrential rain and I heard tornado warnings for the Outer Banks area. Nasty stuff. The District of Columbia (Washington DC), Maryland and Virginia are getting hit with snow real hard. The southern Jersey Shore is predicted to experience high winds with heavy snow - blizzard warnings. Wouldn't want to be on the boardwalk in Atlantic City right about now!

Mother Nature still has it going on, doesn't she? All we can do is batten down the hatches and ride it out.

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