Mary's Dower

My daughter Emilie told me this morning that Cardinal Newman, John Henry Newman of the "Oxford Movement" which brought so many English souls back to the Faith, has been beatified. Surely this is a ray of hope for the return of England to what it once was, Our Lady's own land--once again to be Mary's Dower, as it was known because of the great love for Our Blessed Mother which was there. All you holy English martyrs and Venerable Cardinal Newman, pray for us, that we may one day behold the Light which you now see!

The only way...

"You can only come to the morning through the shadows."

---J.R.R. Tolkien

Words mean something

How often we forget that words mean something. This seems self-evident, but how much pain, how much confusion, how much anguish our words can carry though it was never our intention for them to do so. To measure one's words is an obligation too often forgotten. And the consequences are all too visible.

Ready for the storm...

Clips from the "Horatio Hornblower" series set to a beautiful song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eorc-M7AoyA

Things are not always as they seem...

A lovely song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6bHyc-pU8o

Yet to come...

The evening is cool and deep and green. Mary sits in the garden, pulling weeds and singing as the fireflies dance all about her like tiny flying stars flickering in the air as night approaches. So many wonders before me, so much for one pair of eyes to see. I wish that I could keep it all in my memory; but memories fade over time. So I am content to be here, rejoicing in the beauty of the moments before me. There is so much good here now, there is so much more yet to come.

This morning...

How wondrously cool it is this morning, as was the night--not at all the way it usually is in this part of the world on the first of July, but what a gift! The birds are hushed, no doubt wondering where in the world they woke up. I feel the same way. What a grace it is to be here in this world, to have the gift of this life! Thank you, dear God, for everything, especially for this breath of fresh air.