08.10.10
Posted in Question Box, Really random at 9:31 pm by ginny
(How’s THAT for an unwieldy title?)
1. Yes, it’s still chilly here. I have worn flannel pajamas every night since returning from New Hampshire, and from the way the wind is howling outside, I will not be breaking the trend tonight. The cold summer is a major topic of conversation around here these days. I don’t think anyone settles in crowded overpriced earthquake country for weather like THIS .
2. I think Matthew is starting to understand the concept of states, and countries, and distance. This morning we were talking about New Hampshire. ”It’s really far away,” he said.
“That’s right,” I told him.
“If you walked there,” he observed seriously, ”it would take a really really long time.”
Thank God for air travel.
3. I’m currently gloating over the fact that I bought a dress at J C Penney’s today for the paltry sum of $29.99. It’s really cute, and fits amazingly well, and has enough coverage that I can wear it teaching. Plus it is washable (huzzah!) and dark enough not to show sweat stains, which, I have learned over the years, is a prerequisite for most teaching attire. No matter how chilly it has been all summer, it is guaranteed to become sweltering hot the minute that school starts again. That is how it works.
4. If you want a little dose of Mary today, you can check out my latest answer on BustedHalo.com. It’s all about being a good son, and about having a great mom.
Off to make some tea (hot — not iced).
Permalink
07.31.10
Posted in Question Box at 12:29 am by ginny
Is it bad to pray to Mary more than Jesus?
What do you think?
I weigh in on BustedHalo.com.
Permalink
04.21.10
Posted in Question Box, Really random at 9:57 pm by ginny
1. Okay, I know I’m an English teacher, and therefore I pay obsessive attention to things like punctuation. But I find it empirically odd that the label for Luke’s current prescription says GIVE “LUKE” 4 MLs TWICE A DAY FOR TEN DAYS. What’s with the quotation marks ? Am I calling him by the wrong name? It’s like the Walgreens people are saying, “Well, go ahead and CALL him “Luke,” if that makes you happy. We know better.”
2. I’ve been pretty remiss about linking to my BustedHalo Mary questions. If you would like to know how many times Mary talks in the Bible, or how she relates to the communion of saints, or how she was treated after Jesus died, then click away.
3. I absolutely adore lilacs. It’s weird and primal and totally beyond any semblance of control. I see a lilac bush and I stop dead in my tracks, sniffing and gazing in rapture, like some sort of botanical maniac. (They are not very common here in CA, alas, though I have spied a few in my neighborhood, which gives me hope that one day I can have a lovely lilac of my own.) So imagine my emotion when my friend Lisa posted a link to the Rochester, NY Lilac Festival. I look at their photos and my heart beats faster. Yes, I am a freak — a freak who is getting a great new idea about taking an impromptu cross-country trip.
Happily, there are no volcanic ash clouds between here and Rochester.
Permalink
02.10.10
Posted in Question Box at 1:30 am by ginny
When I was a kid, I always identified with Snow White as a character. Maybe it’s the fact that she was one of the few brunette heroines in the fairytale book, so I instinctively related to her on that level (my blonde sister, on the other hand, could claim a kinship with Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty … proof that when it comes to fairytales, blondes DO have more fun).
Anyhow, in spite of that, I had a whole lot of fun researching this question: “Are there Marian themes in the story of Snow White?” Check it out!
Permalink
01.24.10
Posted in Images of Mary, Question Box at 12:08 am by ginny
Beautiful, isn’t it? I just love this picture.
(Oh, and if you’ve ever wondered where the term “Madonna” comes from, there’s a brief explanation here.)
Image from Holy Cards For Your Inspiration
Permalink
12.27.09
Posted in Question Box at 5:20 am by ginny
I got a great question through the BustedHalo Question Box a while back:
“Why does Mary go to visit her cousin Elizabeth? It doesn’t make sense for a pregnant woman to make such a long journey.”
Honestly, I could write volumes on this! I love the Visitation, mostly because of the role it’s played in my own life at a crucial moment (I go into detail in Mary and Me), and also because of what I learned about it while talking to other women. The Visitation is more than just a nice subject for artists to paint; it’s a powerful statement of the way we are called to support each other in good times and in bad, in joyous times and in confusing times, and, frankly, in every kind of time there is.
But enough of that. I’ll let my Question Box Answer say the rest.
Permalink
10.27.09
Posted in Question Box at 5:14 am by ginny
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.
Is this nursery rhyme about the Virgin Mary? Find out at BustedHalo.com!
Illustration by Jessie Wilcox Smith, courtesy of Project Gutenberg
Permalink
10.19.09
Posted in Question Box at 5:46 am by ginny
Okay, really quick: Who is this nun? (hint: it’s not Sally Field).
Give up?
It’s St. Catherine Labouré, the nineteenth-century French nun who forever changed the face of Catholic accessorizing (with a little help from Mary, of course).
You can read more about her, Mary, and the Miraculous Medal on BustedHalo.com.
Permalink
09.29.09
Posted in Question Box at 5:51 am by ginny
So the bishop’s phone rings. On the other end is a person in his diocese, claiming to have had an apparition of the Virgin Mary.
How does the bishop respond?
Read my latest BustedHalo answer and find out !
Permalink
09.13.09
Posted in Images of Mary, Question Box at 5:34 am by ginny
… it’s still a good time to ask the question: Did Mary have labor pains?
You can check out my answer here, at the BustedHalo Question Box. And if you have a question about any Catholic topic — Marian or not — pitch it on the website! BH promises an answer to every question, even if it’s one you feel silly about asking. (And you know, of course, that there are no dumb questions when it comes to faith. One of the biggest reasons that I’m no longer a lapsed Catholic is because people listened, seriously and non-judgmentally, to the emotionally charged questions I plunked in front of them). So ask away!
The Nativity by an Unknown Austrian Master, c. 1400
Permalink
« Previous entries Next Page » Next Page »
