Faith in Action

This was posted on the American Chesterton Society Blog and is SO worth sharing.

We helped with a project for a missionary in Angola last year, I think this year, the kids and I will be scrounging our pennies to support this project. The actions of a few can bring hope to many.

Can't make heads or tails of the Health Care Plan?

Neither can I, but Sean over at the Blue Boar took the time to break down a few things. It is very worth reading. It is good there are people to read through it and explain it to my dumb sea cucumber self.

Festival of Hope

With all the talk about hope from some political camps, you'd think they owned the market on it, BUT, we are celebrating the 1st anniversary of Salvi Spes, the encyclical on Hope by our dear Benedict XVI. His writing on hope is about true hope, the hope we find in our Lord, Jesus Christ. Visit the Festival of hope, there are a great number of people contributing, including my favorite dinner guest this year, Nancy Brown. Did I mention they have give-aways?

New post over at L2L Movies

I review Nancy Drew, the movie.

This weekend I saw people

Okay, dumb title, but true. I got to see, and spend time with some of the loveliest people around. The ILCHC was held this weekend, and it was the place to be, if you are a Catholic blogger, or related to one.

I saw the parents of Sean over at Blue Boar, who always used his middle name, which I found cute, but it made me wonder what kind of a child he was! Then I got to meet John at Lunch Break's very lovely wife and adorable baby. Next up was Maureen Wittmann and her beautiful daughters, who sold me a book I've been reading since I got home. Then of course, there was Regina Doman, of House Art Journal, whose books my daughter and I are fighting over, I want them first! I'm sure there are a few I've missed. It was great conference, one of the best I've been to locally.

I met SO many wonderful people, I forgot HOW MUCH I really thrive on being around lots of different people. I was so fortunate to be able to work for CHC this weekend and meet so many. I loved how many people I already knew, but hadn't seen in years. My husband, who helped me out, is convinced I either knew everyone there, or knew someone that they knew. He keep teasing me that that old Kevin Bacon game could be played with me. I beg to differ, but I can't help being social!

All in all it was a great weekend, oh, I got a ton of books, too, but stayed in my budget, which thankfully was pretty high this year. I'll post about some of the books I got later, quite a few are newer and look really interesting.

Great new Blog

I recently came across First Heralds, a blog dedicated to helping toddler and pre-schoolers learn about their Catholic Faith. I am very impressed by what I have seen so far. This particular are of religious education is of great interest to me, not just because I have a 3 year old, but people too often assume that this age group needs no religious education. I beg to differ. These are the most tender years, the ground for planting seeds is so fertile.

We have been blessed to use Catechesis of the Good Shepherd off and on. We are even more blessed because my husband's Aunt Tina wrote many of the materials and is a great encouragement to us. We are very fortunate to have been put on a good path for our children's religious education early on, many others are not. I see sites like First Heralds helping with the situation. Best of luck to them in all of their efforts!

Check out my 1st Post at Love2Learn Movies

It should look a bit familiar. I hope to post many more reviews in the near future.

My Favorite Movie

Love2learn has started a movie Blog! This makes me very happy. In my very early days of homeschooling I discovered Love2learn, and it is my absolute favorite resource for all things Catholic, family and Homeschooling. The new addition of the movie site is very timely, we started doing Netflix a couple months ago and have been trying to find great films for the family, and sometimes just for the grown-ups.

I noticed that they have not yet reviewed my favorite film, though. This time of year, Hitchcock film air frequently on the movie channels, but one is almost always over looked, I Confess. This 1953 film is one of the most Catholic movies Hitchcock ever made. Hitchcock was a devote Catholic, and this movie makes it no secret. I was given I Confess as a gift a few years ago, and have made just about every person I know watch it. So far, every one has loved it. Why? Because it is classic Hitchcock, full of suspense, mystery and drama. It is also a quick favorite among my friends because of the role the sacrament of Confession plays and the implications the seal of it holds.

Shot in Montreal, I, Confess is stunningly beautiful. The acting is not the best in a Hitchcock film, but the roles are convincing enough. The plot is simple, a man commits murder, confesses and frames the priest he confessed to. Simple, but all of the situations that surround the murder, the murder and the priest are what make it so good. I often wonder if Hitchcock was reading Father Brown stories while making this film, there are a few subtle resemblances. This is a great movie for teens, there are a few mature situations, but due to it being 1953, they are alluded to rather than explicit. I love this movie on cold fall nights with a nice hot cup of cider. Cuddle up next to your husband or wife and enjoy the plot twists and turns, and the simple joy of a really good movie.