The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Here is how it looks early this morning out the window; not sure you can tell it's snowing hard — hope we can get to Church to sing for a wedding! (Don't worry, we can always plow our way out in the truck — hope the bride can make it!)
The weather has been wild — I had to take my wreaths off their hangers on the front door lest they fly away in the high winds the other day.
We're almost there! How is your preparation going? Mine is going by fits and starts, as usual, as you can see by how I keep showing you the same exact project, and how I have this little tree that goes in the music box stand (because it's artificial and therefore I already had it), but not the tree tree. Sigh, working on it.
On to our links!
- A conversation with a friend led me to the amazing treasure from the past, which is sadly not available in print anymore (unless you are super lucky at a book sale or have big bucks). But here it is online: Ten Saints by Eleanor Farjeon with the most adorable illustrations by Helen Sewell. I think it is copyright-free in the US, but I can't exactly tell. I'm sure it's okay to look at it for private use. How I wish that some wonderful publisher would simply reprint these lovely books. We have lost so much and really, to make new books that are worthy, we need these reference points. They are too wonderful to lose in themselves, and how will we train our eye if we don't have them?
- I have a great devotion to John Henry Newman, reinforced by a visit this spring to the beautiful Brompton Oratory in London. Delve into this long article about his idea of sanctity — but if you find it's too long, skip to the end where the author lists Newman's simple, straightforward points for becoming a saint — you may be surprised.
- It's a testimony to the greatness of the movie It's A Wonderful Life that essays and responses to essays have been written about it, especially about its economics. Sukie sent me this one, It's A Wonderful Strife — we're not in agreement with all its points (I'm not sure you can call George Bailey an entrepreneur), but “it has good points about the moral order and illusions of permanence” (Sukie).
- Do you know about this priest, Fr. Solanus Casey? I love him so. You can read about him here — would you in your kindness please pray one prayer through his intercession for a special intention of mine? And I will pray one for your intentions! Thank you!
From the archives:
Today in the Liturgy: The O Antiphons, explained.
And it's Sukie's birthday! Happy birthday, Sukie!
~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~
M. says
Happy Birthday, Susie. Leila, Fr. Casey is a favorite here, too. Be assured of my prayer for your special intention. God bless all there. Keep warm and dry.
Jane F. says
I found Farjean’s Ten Saints at our local library! Such a lovely surprise.
Michelle Kolozsvary says
I love Fr. Solanus too! I live in a suburb of Detroit and have visited his tomb and the solanus Casey center many times! Thank God ahead of time, just like Fr. Solanus says. I will pray for your intention.
Carol Kennedy says
On the subject of the economics of It’s A Wonderful Life, I saw this one this week. http://www.tommullen.net/featured/in-defense-of-henry-potter-in-its-a-wonderful-life/
I haven’t thoroughly read the article you shared, but the one above seems to be more tongue in cheek while making a completely different point about Bailey vs Potter.
Lisa G. says
Did you make that wreath, Leila? It’s just beautiful! I am gearing myself up to making one, probably right after Christmas, since I have one, so I want to keep the pressure off and try to enjoy learning to do it.
Happy Birthday to Sukie!
Leila says
No, Lisa — it’s two wreaths, which I realize you can’t really see, and I found them at Michael’s! I wanted artificial ones so I can know that these doors (the “real” front that doesn’t get used much) will be decorated in the future. They were half off and exactly what I wanted — pretty nice, huh?
Win!
Rain says
I love your little tree. Thanks for the link to the Cardinal Newman essay. I said a prayer for your intention.
God Bless.
NY Mom says
Wouldn’t those blue and white endpaper illustrations from the Eleanor Farjeon book make the most wonderful wallpaper? Real wallpaper, for say a book nook or a child’s wall? Love it… Thank you!
Leila says
NY mom — yes!! What a great idea! I need to be in charge of a printing press!
Kimberlee says
Thanks for the Ten Saints rec. Bookfinder has a number of copies for under fifteen dollars, which is not too bad for an old gem. We love Fargeon here, The Little Bookroom being a family favorite.
I was happy to pray to for your intention through Fr. Solanus. And Happy Birthday Sukie! May God grant you many happy, blessed years!
Mrs. B. says
Oh, that corner in the first photo! A blanket, a book or knitting, hot tea, and it’s perfect! But it’s Saturday, and there is still so much work to do around the house 🙁 We’re decorating a bit every day: we got the tree earlier than usual this year because the bad weather we’re having would have pushed us too close to Christmas , and we decorated it this morning – the toddler was in heaven! I think by Christmas he’ll have crushed all the candy canes we’ve hung… We started praying the Christmas Novena last night, and tonight we’ll hang the first O Antiphon ornament: for the kids it’s like the official countdown to Christmas, they are so excited 🙂
Thank you for all the links: we’re watching It’s a W. L. tonight 🙂 And the first item on Blessed JHN’s list (Get out of bed!) reminded me of St. JM Escriva’s saying that getting up in the morning when we should is the very first battle we have to fight against the devil every single day!
Happy Birthday, Sukie – I wish I had known before!!
Mrs. B. says
I forgot to thank you for introducing me to Fr. Casey – I will gladly pray for your intention, and I’d be grateful if you prayed for mine 🙂
KC says
Not a fan of much in the Wonderful Strife article *aside* from the fact that change is continual. Rant commences:
The elevation of entrepreneurs in that article is ridiculous; there is nothing that guarantees entrepreneurs will be more generous towards the world than, say, grocery clerks or senators, and if one looks at the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley, there’s more in common with the idea of consolidating wealth (a tiny rich class made richer, in most cases, by removing stable remunerative employment from entire groups of people via technological innovation) than working towards a feasible autonomous family life for a greater population. (and I say this as an idealistic entrepreneur)
I’m also not a huge fan of many suburbs – I think family life improves when commutes are short, and community life improves when circumstances (walkability, for one; not-attached-garages; outdoor work such as laundry-drying and gardening being permitted [which are against HOA rules in some places!]) work *with* prioritization of interactive life instead of against it. (this is partly based on experiences in various housing varieties and partly on research I’ve read; some “features” definitely work against you getting to know your neighbors) Some suburbs have community-friendly features, but it’s not an inherent quality of suburbs (and neither is socioeconomic mobility or racial integration; many housing developments have had interesting policies to keep “them” out).
Obviously, if you’re forced to choose between poorly-built, poorly-designed slums vs. welcoming and reasonably functional suburbs, sure, the suburbs will win! But that’s a false forced choice; there can be smaller centers of industry each surrounded by housing (as, if I recall correctly, advised in the pattern language book), which enables short commutes (more time with family! lower commuting expenses!), individually-specific housing instead of identical boxes, and more local community identity. We’re currently living in a very small city with basically a maximum 10 minute commute time, which is spectacular for family life and flexibility, and also very good for community life. Over the last hundred years, this city has changed and grown; some industries have increased and others have decreased; there are also a few regrettably poorly-designed housing developments with identical treeless duplexes; but on the whole, it is feasible/affordable to have a non-cookie-cutter house with real neighbors within a very short commute, which is lovely. While the problem of how to fit as many people as want to be there in, say, NYC, is and will remain a problem, there are other options when you remove the implied necessity of a single central city “serving” that many people.
And families being self-governing can be defeated by entrepreneurial actions at least as much as enabled; it all depends on what entrepreneurial efforts you’re talking about!
An interesting read, anyway – thank you for linking!
Leila says
KC, Sukie and I agree with you, that we don’t agree with all Forster says, although we do agree that Dineen’s analysis is not correct — except in his critique of suburbs…
It’s complicated… I don’t get calling George Bailey an entrepreneur — bankers, even bankers of small savings and loans, are not entrepreneurs. So that fact somewhat mars the analysis. I think George is more of one of the pillars of the community who should give some thought as to how his actions will affect it — maybe the bank can work with the builders to encourage better community life than just plunking houses out in the middle of nowhere… but to be *that* person, he needs what I think of as “leftover” energy — his energy can’t be consumed by keeping himself, his family, and the Building and Loans from the doorstep of destruction.
I think that entrepreneurial spirit is just part of human nature, and when the *other* parts of human nature are in good balance, it will be channeled correctly. Forster is correct that Potter doesn’t have the common good in mind. Development simply has to be overseen by *local* (emphasis – -local!) community leaders (a phrase that is much corrupted in our time, but which to me means the established people who have the leisure, experience, and wisdom to think about the big picture and plan for a harmonious future for the citizens).
All the best towns and cities were planned — even planned to a high degree. Many people don’t realize this, because it happened long ago and they just enjoy the result — and don’t realize the degree to which this sort of planning is compatible with free market principles, when it is locally controlled. None of that is dealt with in IAWL — the people helped by the Baileys just seem to land wherever they land, I guess… Bedford Falls has become quite disordered by the time George is working out his own salvation.
The movie is about just this — that George is only given, at the end, a foothold on a way off the cliff of sheer survival. Maybe the sequel (haha!) is about how he then turns his mind to the common good and realizes that not only do these people need a way to have housing, but the housing needs to be overseen for quality of life.
I just liked that there IS all this writing and thinking about the movie. It’s interesting to live in a time when a work of art emerges as really lasting and important, especially a film, since in general I think it’s a form that is difficult to bring up to any kind of unity of expression, which is a prerequisite for art.
When I was a girl, this movie was not considered much of anything. Now it has definitely taken its place in the first rank. I find it fascinating!
Thanks for your comments!
Nancy says
I will pray for you & your intention.
Clara says
I just discovered Fr. Solanus Casey – he is wonderful! I will certainly ask his intercession for your special intention! A friend sent me his relic badge. I believe you can contact the Fr. Solanus Guild and get one (or more) if you are interested. I’m looking forward to reading through the links- a highlight of my Saturday. 🙂
KC says
I think the Deneen piece is also somewhat off, but it at least preserves three possibilities – that of a tighter-knit on-foot community, that of the slums, and that of the suburbs. Also, I think it’s accurate that with the newer, less-rooted pattern of society (enabled and partly indicated by attached-garage suburbs), someone who had grown up without a continuous community and who became suspected of embezzlement would perhaps be less likely to have the accumulated “street cred” to have a pile of money dropped on them by the people they know. 🙂
I assume that’s a definition difference for entrepreneur – there are enough positive associations with the term (as opposed to our post-lending-crisis estimation of “bankers”) that I think people like to adopt it even when it’s a bit of a stretch. The dictionary definition would probably let in George, but I’m not totally sure.
I mostly objected to the repeated “entrepreneurs are great for the world!” thing because I feel that entrepreneurship is a bit like being an artist or being charismatic (in the “social skills” or politician sense, not in the church sense) – they are talents/inclinations and can be used for good or for evil, and there’s nothing especially inherent in the capability, or in the population that possesses those talents, that means these gifts will “of course” be used towards the good of the world or community (or to right injustice!).
Certainly things like street layout, etc. need some planning; I think a mix of local leaders and outside experts (particularly if one could borrow someone from the city over there who just did a sensible development project) would probably be likely to generate the best outcome. A bit like most things from nutrition to gardening to engineering – an exterior expert can save a lot of people from common pitfalls, while an expert in the locality and specific circumstances can adjust things for a better fit than a cookie-cutter solution could provide. How to create/generate/encourage generous leaders at all levels is a quandary, though – the “I will pick up this piece of litter because it’s my community, even though the litter isn’t mine” attitude needs to be fostered all the way up. (can you imagine what would happen if all our politicians felt like this?)
But, anyway, it’s a ton of fun when people look at what cultural classics (movies, books, songs) are saying in various senses, and how plausible their various metanarratives are! (as well as analyzing and spotlighting what’s missing from real life about different formulations-for-the-screen, as movies are almost always severe simplifications)
I think it’s particularly useful since we tend to acquire part of our estimation of what is “plausible” or true or good/bad from cultural ingestion in the form of movies and books (and music and art, etc.); it’s great to be able to say “this item was technically well-done and successfully hit these emotional buttons, *but* it’s missing these things” so that our measures of things can be hopefully less impeded by the force of items that are shiny/appealing but wrong on various levels.
(as a side note, it looks like the book with pretty pictures is out of copyright in Canada but is likely still under copyright according to US law, unless it was never renewed, which is possible but not enormously likely. Sorry!)
Janet says
Love the 10 Saints link. While waiting for someone to re-publish it, I’m printing it out and making a hand-bound booklet for my grandchildren.
Reading them reminded me of when I was teaching German in public schools. I always told my students the stories of St. Martin and St. Nicholas on their feast days. Many children had so little context that they initially misinterpreted these saints’ days as German Halloween and asked whether Dec. 6 was when Germans celebrate Christmas.I told the story of St. Barbara, and many kids were surprised to learn that a martyr is someone willing to die for the faith, not someone willing to commit acts of terrorism. We also listened to Bach cantatas. My little acts of civil freedom while the rest of the school was getting into generic “Winter Holiday”–I figured the powers that be would look pretty foolish if they tried to ban Bach, or prevent foreign language teachers from talking about what holidays are observed in other countries. Interestingly, the approved textbooks did not mention these holidays, although they had plenty about the problems of Muslims. BTW, when public school funding is cut, it is programs like mine that disappear, not sex ed.
In German speaking countries, the story of St. Marin and the beggar is acted out with a Roman soldier on horseback in schools and town squares. more here: http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=1306 anhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Nl0beM6pc here
Luana says
My dear cousin has passed away few days ago (he had brain cancer). Please pray for him and for his beloved daughter, who is now, few days before Christmas, left without father and mother (her mother has died few years ago). It is so very sad and hard…
Thank you. I pray for your intention too.
Rebecca says
Thanks so much for the link to the Newman article which was excellent. I really love Newman. His practical advice for sanctity: so doable, and so difficult to do. Lead kindly Light…
The section quoted from his Sermon on the Coming of Emmanuel is truly beautiful and timely.
God Bless us every one! You are a bright light, Leila!
jennybrown says
I just love Fr. Solanus Casey. Praying for your intention.
Teri Pittman says
I feel like a holiday failure. My late husband and I did not have kids and lived in small spaces. So we didn’t decorate much. My husband usually did the decorating. New husband had a son and his wife really was in to Christmas. Every year, we just seem to let Christmas slide. I don’t really care if we make a big deal out of it, but would like to do a few small things to decorate the house. (I can make him cookies and I’ve bought four fruitcakes so far. It’s the decorating thing I can’t do.)
Any suggestions on a few simple things I could manage?
Leila says
Dear Teri,
Please don’t feel like a failure! Any decorating is so personal. Decorating for a holiday certainly is! I think too when there aren’t children around, the need is less — I certainly find myself downsizing quite a bit, and making things simpler. I’m just too tired when it comes to putting everything away.
Maybe a Christmas tree, even if it’s just a little tabletop one? A creche with a few pinecones and a candle… a candle in the window?
I think the decorating should be a reflection of the devotion we are feeling inside. Having the nativity set in the home is a way of bringing the Christ-child in… it helps us come closer to him. The candle is the “light of the world” — sure, it’s amazing to have a candle in every window, but even one in one window is a beautiful reminder.
A simple wreath, a bough of evergreens over a doorway, a sprig of holly…
Don’t worry — the important thing is to celebrate and enjoy Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you!
Teri Pittman says
I wanted to follow up and thank you for your excellent advice! When you mentioned putting up a creche, that’s when it really hit me. If you don’t have that, you really don’t have the heart of Christmas. No wonder I haven’t been able to decorate.
It seems that nativity sets and creches are not always easy to find. I have a representation of the Holy Family, which will do for this year. I have an artificial wreath for the front door and some decorations for the rosemary tree I bought. I may do more. I still have another day! Thank you so much for your help.