90th Anniversary of the miracle at Fatima.

The first reading from today's Mass reminded me of the miracle at Fatima. It seemed providential to have this reading for the 13th of October.

"Sun and moon are darkened, and the stars withhold their brightness..." - Joel 4

I wondered why Heaven chooses to reveal these things to children, and not to the Bishops or the Pope. It seems to me it would be easier if the Pope would be the one to speak the requests of Our Lady, perhaps everyone would listen then. Maybe not. And as we know, sometimes Bishops don't speak up when they ought to.

Elena of Tea At Trianon has a good post on the events of October 13, 1917.

Many people claim to have seen the miracle of the sun at other contemporary alleged apparition sites. I guarantee you - whatever they saw was not on the magnitude of what went on in Fatima 90 years ago today.

Does someone really have to tell you?

Do parents have to be told their kids are fat?

DENVER – In an effort to combat the problem of childhood obesity, the Denver Public School District is sending home student health reports to keep parents informed. However, one parent says it should not have been sent home in her daughter's backpack because she read it.

"The part that upset her the most as she started reading it, there it stated that she was overweight and she started to cry saying, 'Mom, that school tells me I'm fat.' So, it was very heart wrenching," said Flaurette Martinez. - School sends home obesity notices on students.

This must mean the girl didn't know she was fat before the notice?

(Photo: Not the girl in the story.)

Contraception...

You must read this post, "Did I Kill My Little Girl?"

What follows is an excerpt:

A few years ago, I was involved in a "long-term relationship", and we used contraception. I remember my willful ignorance, most of which I gained from "informed" sources, even when that information was contradicted. I had a roommate, a left-wing liberal Democrat social worker, who told me that contraception does, in fact, cause abortions. It does this because contraception cannnot necessarily suppress ovulation. And if ovulation occurs, and a child is conceived, that zygote cannot be implanted. Contraception makes the womb uninhabitable and flushes the new life out and away and into death. - Adoro

Art: "Drawing of a Young Girl" by Adoro.

Just a heads up for Cathy...

NASCAR cooties

House Homeland Security Committee staffers are on a peculiar mission to study "public health issues at events involving mass gatherings," which has personally insulted Rep. Robin Hayes of Concord, North Carolina.

The event: NASCAR.

The rub: the requirement that the Democrat and Republican staffers attending first be immunized against Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and influenza.

"I have never heard of immunizations for domestic travel, and as the representative for Concord, North Carolina, I feel compelled to ask why the heck the committee feels that immunizations are needed to travel to my hometown," Mr. Hayes, a Republican, said in a letter to Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat and committee chairman.

"I have been to numerous NASCAR races, and the folks who attend these events certainly do not pose any health hazard to congressional staffers or anyone else," Mr. Hayes said. - Fishwrap News

Who is this blogger?

Go here to find out - she's pretty smart too. (Hint: She signs her comments "Swiss Miss" as if the photo didn't give that away!)

FRIDAY penitential update: My apologies Monica. I have no training in photo shop, but I used paint to make you more modest. Now you are all presentable for Fr. Altier.

Cathy at home...

Cathy in her couch dress, all snuggled up - just watchin' football.

(Thanks for the photo Jeron!)

Clerical dog collars...

I've never heard them called that before - it must be a British thing. Although the above clerical collar is not what has been in the news recently. It seems advisers to the Church in the UK are warning clerics not to wear their collars in public for fear of being assaulted. I doubt this is a very big problem with clergy of the American Church - many older priests rarely wear clerics. They already know the prejudice against priests because of the abuse scandals of recent years. Many good priests suffer because of the crimes of a few.

My family.

There is nothing to blog about so I thought I'd post a photo of my family. We weren't always this happy, but it is a nice picture, don't you agree?

Racey...

For Talladega - it was very free of incident.

Meme...meme...meme...me...me...

Titling this post, I realized Memes are all about me - so you would think that I could be more cooperative in responding to them. I think Salve Regina is the first person to pass this meme along, then Angela Messenger. There is nothing to blog about, so I'll do it today.

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?

I attend the Novus Ordo Mass. I grew up with the TLM and have assisted at the TLM a few times in recent years. The local parish that currently offers the Mass is several miles away and the Mass is late morning. I prefer to attend Mass very early in the morning, after my daily Lectio Divina. This may sound strange, but I completely accept the teaching of the Church that the Novus Ordo is a valid, licit Mass.

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?

I covered that in the last question - it seems like 300 miles.

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be?

Roman Catholic.

4. Are you a comment junkie?

Kinda, sorta. I would like at least 78 comments per post.

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?

Sometimes, especially if I'm having fun with the blogger. However, if I place a serious comment, it isn't for the sake of argument - I say what I want to and that is it - it wasn't a question. I usually think of my posts in the same way.

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog?

Kinda, sorta. Only when I'm playing with someone who knows me - then I leave celebrity names - and they know it is me. I think nasty anonymous comments are cheap shots - and hypocritical - they are like sucker punches.

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on?

The people I link to.

8. Which blog is the first one you check?

Tea at Trianon or Cathy and Angie, then Ray for the local news.

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?

Yes - in court at the defamation hearings.

10. What are you reading?

I'm still working on "Bergdorf Blondes". I want to reread Vanna White's autobiography when I finish.