Sharing a note I received...

Some may know that one of my best friends since I was like 16 is Br. Maximilian Mary, CFR. He lives in the Bronx, in a really really rough area. His primary job, through his vocation is to serve the poor. Given he has a vow of poverty, he only sends us notes to treasure for Christmas. This year the Brs. got email, this is from him....(side note..if you are looking for something to do with any old Gilbert's you may have, he's happily take them!)

Merry Christmas! I thought a Christmas poem from G.K. Chesterton would be a gift that would be both deeper than most greeting cards, and in my price range :

The House of Christmas by G.K. Chesterton

“There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.

For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.
Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the yule tale was begun.

A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost---how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky’s dome.

This world is wild as an old wives’ tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.”

Good news for NFP

Dec. 12, 2007

Making NFP relevant: CCL enlists revitalized presentation and JPII in new program
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Couple to Couple League, a leading provider of training in Natural Family Planning, was facing a problem: stale materials and a skeptical audience. Its leaders responded boldly, deciding to overhaul all of their outreach materials and methods. After three years of work, CCL is now unveiling brand-new materials animated by modern technology and a more personal approach based on the timeless theology of Pope John Paul II.
At the heart of the change, said Executive Director Andy Alderson, is the realization that young Catholics are harder than ever to reach. "'Because the church says so' is not good enough anymore," he said. "They need to be reached in a new manner and engaged on multiple levels."
To do that, CCL teachers will now use an instructional DVD embedded with video clips of experts, including a priest and a medical doctor. It also features computer animation of ovulation and implantation. CCL's thick, monochrome reference manual has been replaced by a full-color, graphics-rich workbook that couples can write in throughout class. Classroom instruction will be much more interactive. Couples will roll up their sleeves and fill out charts within 45 minutes of the start of the first class; before, that didn't occur until well into the second class.
Because the new materials simplify the science of the Sympto-Thermal Method, they make room for greater emphasis on another important element: NFP's rich marital benefits. That altered emphasis is reflected in the line added to CCL's slogan: "NFP: safe, healthy and effective...and it can change your hearts in surprising ways." "It's a little teaser," explained Publications Director Ann Gundlach. "We want couples to know that if they start living this way, they're likely to see a change. And the teachers emphasize this by sharing parts of their own experience in each class."
All the training materials are wrapped in the wisdom of Pope John Paul II, incorporating principles and language from his seminal masterpiece "Theology of the Body." The level of incorporation is
what most impresses Father Richard Hogan, a key editor of CCL's new program. "It's refreshing to see how CCL has adopted the ideas of John Paul II, the Great, and sprinkled them throughout all of their programs," he said, "from teacher training, to printed materials, to the public instructional program." When Board Chair Linda Kracht participated in the program pilot, she witnessed the lasting power of the late pontiff. "The teachings of John Paul II ring true with couples," she said. "This makes it easier to teach the moral reasons behind NFP to our students."
Embracing the Internet will also add ease, Alderson said. For example, couples will be able to meet in an online forum to find support for their counter-cultural practice. They can also optionally track their fertility signs in a new electronic charting program, and easily send data to their teachers for any needed follow-up. This brings NFP to the students' computers, right where they send their e-mails and grab their news and pay their bills.
Meanwhile, the web access will enable CCL trainers, who used to rely on a cumbersome paper process to train NFP teachers, to support, evaluate and certify candidates much more swiftly. The polished new materials will persuade many couples to become CCL teachers, Alderson said, while the online format will make training much easier, allowing them to start and stop whenever they want. As a result, CCL is aiming for a 20 percent increase in teaching couples each year.
Early observers are equally optimistic. "NFP has generally resided on the periphery of most Catholic parishes and dioceses. It's still a small percentage of engaged couples who even take an NFP class," said John Gagliardi, chair of the Twin Cities chapter. "CCL is committed to truly mainstreaming NFP. Because of this, we're confident that many more parishes and dioceses will make the new CCL course a normal part of marriage preparation."
Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis echoed that enthusiasm. "The Couple to Couple League is paying a double homage to Pope John Paul II: answering his call for a New Evangelization and incorporating his theology. I anticipate a profound impact."
The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as declared by Pope John Paul II, makes an apt occasion for CCL to unveil its new approach to NFP training. The pontiff placed under Our Lady's motherly care the innocent lives of children and the unborn.
For an online video explaining the new CCL teaching program and other related information, visit http://ccli.org/news.
About CCL
The Couple to Couple League teaches more than 7,000 couples in the United States every year. Since its founding in 1971, the organization has instructed more than 185,000 couples. CCL is made up of a network of more than 850 teaching couples who offer classes in natural family planning throughout the United States and in other parts of the world.

Feast days and Feasting

With Advent, comes many, many of our favorite feast days. And with feast days in our home, comes special food. It seems that my kids have come up with a special meal for every saint on the calendar. This month we've had, St. Francis Xavier (a patron of one child), and Chinese food, St. Nick and Mediterranean food, St. Juan Diego, Mexican. Later this week we will have St. Lucy, sweet rolls, Our Lady of Guadalupe, more Mexican food. The saints are cause for great celebrations, or mini-celebrations as often as we can have them.

The food really adds to the celebration. First of all, it heps the kids remember the feast days of a good number of saints, simply because they like the food they think of with that saint. Second, they are able to learn a little geography. Third, knowing about where the saint is from has helped them to think of the people still there. It leads to conversations and remembering of forgotten history lessons. We had a great talk about Turkey and the Byzantine Empire on the feast of St. Nick. We remember to pray for the Mexican people on the feast of Juan Diego, and are more thankful for the many abundances we have in the US.

I've used the book, A Continual Feast for some of the recipes, but usually make up a few recipes. We try to come up with cultural recipes, like for St. Mary of Egypt, Kusherie, a lentil dish from Egypt; or for St. Josemaria (and the many feast days we celebrate for him) Paella or tapas. It becomes a challenge for me, but worth every minute. I hope the memories made with the meals will help my kids remember the saints in their lives as they grow. The simple act of cooking is feeding them in soul as well as body.

New Post at L2L Movies

One of my favorite Childhood Books turned movies, now at Love2Learn Movies.

Simple Joy of the First Snow

There is just something majestic about the first real snow. We got our first snow last night. I didn't have to drive in it, so it still held beauty today, when the roads were clear, and we got to go for a short hike. This is our favorite spot to "hang out", where we hike. It is secluded, and we watch the carp, sunfish and turtles for hours some hot days. I think we love it so much because it is always beautiful, no matter the season. the two images are what we see facing East and West, there are woods to the North and South.We only saw deer prints today, but we got to stand and wonder how the fish are, if that really big one will be back next year, and reminisce about how much fun the cicadas were this year.

Over the winter we will visit it many times, and look for fish, knowing that the first warm sunny day we have, they will appear, like magic. We will throw rocks, and listen to the "plink" of the rock hitting thin ice, we will have contests to see who can break the ice; Dad always wins. We will see many deer, all of which will be named by the 3 year old, who names everything we see. We might see a fox, if we sit still. There is so much beauty around us in our little "secret spot". It is as if this spot were created by God, just for us, to create memories.

Want to help the Enviroment? Stay married

Sure seems a lot easier (and more fun) than many other way of helping the enviroment