Carnival Thursday
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES holy face (Day 5)
1 Blessed are all who FEAR the LORD, and who walk in his ways. 2 What your hands provide you will
enjoy; you will be blessed and prosper: 3
Your wife will be
like a fruitful vine within your home, your children like young olive plants
around your table.4 Just so will the man be blessed
who FEARS the LORD.
Those
who fear the Lord work to not react to their feelings but act from the
principle of God’s unconditional love to empower others even at personal cost.
They practice the three cardinal virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. The act of
blessing works both ways and bless’ all; both those who receive and those who
give.
This psalm is a statement that the ever-reliable God will bless the reverent. God’s blessing is concrete: satisfaction and prosperity, a fertile spouse and abundant children. The perspective is that of the adult male, ordinarily the ruler and representative of the household to the community. The last verses extend the blessing to all the people for generations to come.[1]
Thursday after Sexagesima-Carnival[2]
It might sound odd that during the period of
"Carnival" there occurs some of the most decadent feasting of the
liturgical year. There is, however, a pious (if not somewhat convoluted) logic
behind this consumption. Because not only meat but lacticinia (dairy products)
were originally prohibited during Lent, Christians knew that they had to eat
these foods before Ash Wednesday, or they would spoil. The last days before
Lent were thus spent in eating copious amounts of fat dishes. From this
necessity comes England's famous Shrove Tuesday Pancakes and northern England's
Collop Monday (a collop is made of sliced meat and eggs fried in butter). This
also gave rise to the most famous (or infamous, depending on your point of
view) Christian party of all: Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras, or "Fat Tuesday," is the French celebration of the final
day before Lent. In this country it is associated mostly with the Cajun and
Creole cuisine of New Orleans, two culinary traditions that provide a myriad of
spicy, delicious dishes. One of the more interesting customs of the New Orleans
Mardi Gras is the baking of a King's Cake, in which is placed a small doll of
the Infant Jesus. The person whose piece of cake has the doll must provide the
cake for next year's party.
How to
Party like a Catholic[3]
Postmodern man—and postmodern
woman—don’t know how to give a good party. It’s up to us Catholics to reclaim
this lost art and share it with the world.
Why?
Because good parties are intrinsic to our Catholic faith. The liturgical year
is punctuated with a wide array of feast days and celebrations, many of which
are Christianized versions of holidays that once closely tracked the
agricultural calendar of planting and harvesting. The two largest and
best-known feasts are, of course, Christmas and Easter, but there are also the
two Christmas and Easter spin-offs, Epiphany and Pentecost. In addition,
there’s the feast of Mary, Mother of God (New Year’s Day); Ascension Thursday;
Corpus Christi; the feast of the Immaculate Conception; All Saints Day (with
Halloween and the Day of the Dead); and, the most famous party of all, Mardi
Gras, which has strayed far from its Catholic origin as the last celebration
before the Lenten fast but still embodies a certain Catholic sensibility. Above
all, every Sunday for Catholics is a feast day on which we celebrate Christ’s
resurrection. Only in Lent and the mini-Lent of Advent is it not party time,
but even in these two seasons, there are exceptions for St. Valentine’s Day,
St. Patrick’s Day, St. Nicholas’s Day, and other feasts.
Of
course, as the Church wisely realizes, feasts are more fun if preceded by
fasts. The stricter the fast, the merrier the feast. Truly the Catholic
tradition has mastered the art of well-timed, heavily scheduled, carefully
orchestrated good times.
The
occasion of a sacrament—baptism, confirmation, or matrimony—is the best
possible opportunity for a good party. In fact, many Catholics take it for
granted that a wedding should be marked by a grand feast. The bigger and more
elaborate the feast, the more it conforms to the biblical model in John 2:1-11
of the wedding feast at Cana. Mary, Jesus, and His disciples all attend. In the
middle of the party, the wine runs out. Mary explains this difficult situation
to her son; after all, the gospel implies, it won’t be much of a party without
wine. After an exchange with His mother, Jesus asks those in charge to fill six
stone pots with water. "And they filled them to the brim," John says.
When the host tastes the water, he is startled to discover that Jesus has
changed it to wine, and not just any wine but the best they will have all
night. Hence, Jesus’ first miracle was not a solemn occasion, as one might
expect, but a celebration.
Party
Poopers
You
might expect that such a remarkable story as this, one that recounts Jesus’
first public display of divine power, would be standard fare in evangelical
Protestant pulpits, where the words of the Bible take precedence over any
liturgical design. Not so. If you have ever attended a Southern Baptist wedding,
for example, you know why: There is no feast. The ceremony lasts perhaps 20
minutes at most, and then the entire crowd descends to the social hall under
the church to eat pastel butter mints and cake and sip a tiny cup of fizzy,
pink, nonalcoholic punch. Wine is forbidden by tradition, so no one is looking
for any. The whole affair is over in less than an hour. Baptists may be people
of the Book, but they certainly are not people of the party. So much for living
the words of Scripture.
How
did the wedding feast, so joyously celebrated at Cana, come to be the dreary
occasion that it is in the Baptist tradition? Like members of other
non-liturgical faiths, Southern Baptists tend to reject regularly scheduled
intervals of joy, sadness, celebration, and suffering, less for explicit
doctrinal reasons than because it all just seems too, well, Catholic.
Protestants
have traditionally found the Catholicity of Christian holidays deeply
problematic. During the colonial period, Massachusetts actually outlawed Christmas,
and the controversy about whether to put up a lighted tree in church still
erupts in evangelical congregations. If Protestant Americans had been left to
their own devices, we would celebrate only Thanksgiving (which is actually a
version of St. Martin’s Day, November 11) and the Fourth of July.
This
aspect of the Catholic faith is as conspicuous to outsiders as it is taken for
granted by us: One day we are eating pancakes and throwing parties for Fat
Tuesday, and the next day, Ash Wednesday, we are walking around with ashes on
our foreheads repenting for our sins. What is it about us Romanists and our
ways?
Biblical
Partying
The Bible, it turns
out, is filled with fabulous parties. Think of the parable of the prodigal son.
When he returns to his father’s home with a contrite heart after living the
high life, he is not given broth and sent to bed. No, his father says, "bring
hither the fatted calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my
son," as if to show that home is where the high life actually is. St.
Clement of Alexandria wrote: "The repentant son came to the pitying
father, never hoping for these things—the best robe, and the ring, and the
shoes—or to taste the fatted calf, or to share in gladness, or enjoy music and
dances; he would have been contented with obtaining what in his own estimation
he deemed himself worthy." Instead, he got it all. Given this spirit of
liberality in one of Jesus’ own parables, a good Catholic should be prepared to
throw a great party whenever the opportunity arises. Now, it’s true that
merrymaking cannot be the sum total of the way we live. The ever-stern St.
Francis de Sales, in his Introduction to the Devout Life, warns against
excessive frivolity. But he does affirm that balls and festivities are not evil
in themselves and can even be used for good. "It is lawful to amuse
yourself, to dance, dress, feast, and see seemly plays," he affirms. The
proviso is that the good times must not hinder, but help, devotion.
Boring
Parties
·
What is striking about modern life is how dull
our attempts at frivolity often turn out to be, not only because they are not
interrupted by fasting and prayer, as they should be, but also because we have
lost the art of how to throw a good party.
·
We’ve all had the experience of walking into a
party where we know only a few people, and all the rest are talking among
themselves. We find someone we know and hope he doesn’t mind if we talk
exclusively to him for, oh, the entire length of the party.
·
We know we are supposed to mingle with the
others, but no matter how many tips on that we’ve heard or read, mingling never
seems to work. Some people resent intrusions into their conversations, and in
any case, there usually doesn’t seem to be much to talk about. The most we can
hope for is a good opportunity to make an inconspicuous exit.
·
Thousands of parties like this come and go
without leaving any impression on the guests. The host is left with a huge mess
and not much else to show for it. It’s no wonder that many people are
disinclined to hold parties, or that they do it only when they have to, or that
they invite only the in-crowd when they can get away with it, or that they
never attempt much in the way of food and drink beyond chips and beer.
Find
a Reason to Party
It
doesn’t have to be this way. All parties should have an ostensible reason for
being. This is what makes them communal occasions and provides a reason why all
these people should be together in one spot at the same time. With a theme,
people have a mental hook, so that they can later think: "I loved that St.
Cecilia party" Fortunately, our liturgical calendar provides plenty of
ideas for themes. Saints’ days are the perfect excuses for celebrations, and it
helps that these days rarely step on the more conventional party excuses of
everyone else.
Here’s
why theme parties are out of fashion: We live in a culture obsessed with the
fear of violating someone else’s conscience. We don’t impose our values on
others, and we never assert the superiority of our own or point out problems
with others’ points of view. If we happen to have values, that’s fine, but we
dare not suggest that others should adopt them. That would be bad form. A theme
party is typically seen as an imposition on the conscience. For example, say
you invite guests to your house to celebrate the feast of St. Blaise on
February 3. What if they don’t like this saint, or they think saints are
generally weird? What if they aren’t in the mood? Why should your priorities
trump theirs? Isn’t it manipulative to tell people how they should feel? These
are the kinds of deconstructionist fears that tacitly haunt us and keep us from
setting a theme for an evening. The Catholic liturgy, however, assigns themes
to practically every day. We are supposed to mourn on Good Friday and then two
days later shout, "Alleluia" Is this manipulative? Not at all.
Theologian Michael Foley of Boston College points out that the purpose of
gathering together is to experience something together. He writes in his online
liturgy manual (www.holytrinitygerman.org): "From the exilic pining
of Septuagesima to the austerity of Lent, from the grief of Passiontide to the
jubilance of the Pasch, the Church, by staggering its feasts and observances in
a particular order, enables the faithful to experience a number of holy
feelings as one. Indeed, the emotional range of the traditional Roman rite is
perhaps the most variegated in all of Christendom."
Liturgical
themes for parties are great, especially if they involve a sacrament. But the
theme doesn’t have to be solemn and liturgical. It can be a mere excuse: to
celebrate the opening of a great bottle of wine, to commemorate the hanging of
a new painting, to mark the first day of summer, to eat an unusual food, to
blow off steam after final exams. It takes very little creativity to come up
with a good idea for a party. Even foolish themes are fun, like the "white
elephant" parties of the 1950s, to which guests brought worthless gifts.
The
Big Moment
·
Even more important than the theme of the party
is the central moment of the party: Someone clinks a glass and makes an
announcement that unifies the guests as a group. Ninety-nine percent of parties
do not include this crucial feature, which is why most are unsatisfying. A
group event of some sort underscores the reason for the party and gives people
something to remember about it besides a few isolated conversations.
·
Toasts are invaluable for this purpose. When
making a toast, don’t worry about being eloquent. Something as simple as
"To St. Joseph the Worker" is enough.
Lose
the Chips and Dips
Whatever
happened to dinner parties? They are becoming ever rarer. Today, food at
parties mostly consists of snacky things you can pick up with your fingers, the
better to stay on the move with. But the whole premise of moving around a party
is wrong. It’s important that people be able to sit, so they can listen and
share a group moment. Try having a dinner party and see what happens. You don’t
have to have a huge dining table. Even if everyone is sitting on folding chairs
eating chili, it is far better than yet another round of chips, dips, and
existential isolation. And by the way, today’s emphasis on the quality of food
at parties is wildly misplaced. You can hire the best catering service in town
or knock yourself out cooking for days, but if you have no theme, no central
moment, and no place for your guests to sit, the best snacks on the planet are
not going to save your party.
Pick
Your Poison
It
happens all the time. You walk into your friends’ house for a party. They ask
you what you want to drink and then run through a list of options: orange
juice, diet and regular Coke and Sprite, Miller Lite, Bud Lite, sparkling
water, V8, cran-apple juice, Fresca, coffee, ten more unappealing liquids, and,
finally, water. You suddenly get this vague sense that maybe the V8 has been
around awhile, or the Sprite may be flat, or the coffee not made, or the
Fresca—do they even make that anymore? In the end, someone finally says,
"Oh, I’ll just have a glass of water." Someone else concurs. Folks,
when that happens, the party is over before it begins.
The
way to avoid this catastrophe is to have one official drink of the evening.
"Tonight," you announce, "I am serving champagne cocktails"
Who wouldn’t cheer? Serve them with a cherry or an orange slice, and you have
created a memorable drink. Alternatively, you could serve martinis, or mint
juleps, or some slushy, fruity concoction from the freezer. Whatever it is,
stick to it. If someone doesn’t drink, he’ll say so. You should always have
some fancy water available for nondrinkers and throw in a slice of lemon or
lime for good measure.
What
to Wear?
What
people should wear to a party is a tricky subject. This much is an
incontrovertible fact: The best parties feature people dressing up, or at least
not wearing torn cutoffs and worn sneakers. But if you tell your guests to come
casual, cutoffs and sneakers is what you will get. Such is the nature of the
times. Just look at what people wear to Mass these days! You can hardly expect
them to show up at your party dressed any better.
People
act nicer and smarter, however, when they wear nice clothes. They sit
straighter and generally feel as though something special is taking place.
Grubby clothes and truly memorable times just don’t mix, unless you are at the
lake or repairing a house or in some other situation that specifically calls
for casual attire.
Dress
codes can seem like an imposition to some these days. I handle it by telling
guests, "Feel free to dress up" or, "I’ll be in a coat and
tie." It’s a way of leaving their options open while delivering a strong
hint. Finally, don’t rule out telling your guests that the dress is black tie.
If it’s New Year’s Eve, this can make the evening even more joyful.
Setting
the Mood
Can
we have a break from rock music, please? Classical music is perfectly festive.
Try Schubert’s Trout Quintet, Mozart’s string quintets, Bach’s
orchestral works, or even light operas. Chamber music works better at parties
than symphonies. Pre-World War II jazz has an endless capacity to charm. Old
and new movie soundtracks are always fun. How about bluegrass? The idea is to
play something that is not too intrusive but isn’t boringly familiar either.
Catholic
liturgical music is great, but it should be reserved for Mass and Vespers, not
parties. Always remember Pope St. Clement’s dictum from the first century: no
pagan music at liturgy and no liturgical music at minstrel shows or other
non-sacred occasions. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t listen to and enjoy
Machaut and Byrd at home, but parties aren’t the right times to push this
repertoire.
My
final musical note: If someone in the group can play the piano and there’s one
in your home, it should be compulsory that he play.
It’s
Party Time-Not recommended by Dr. Fauci
More
important than the specifics of a party are the spirit. The spirit of a good
party is a variant of the spirit of good liturgy: a work of a community of
people that follows a plan. "Every religion has its feasts," the Catholic
Encyclopedia says, "but none has such a rich and judiciously
constructed system of festive seasons as the Catholic Church."
It’s
time we lived up to our religious tradition by putting some effort and thought
into our parties. Given the generally dull tenor of the times, you will
suddenly become a famous and much-heralded host or hostess by making a little
effort at being countercultural. And you will also help demonstrate to others,
in the tradition of Cana, that we Catholics are not always dour and penitent,
but also, at the right time, fun and hospitable people who display our hope
that someday we will join the heavenly banquet, the most wonderful party of
all. It’s part of our heritage and our faith.
5 Best Mardi Gras Celebrations Not in New Orleans[4]
With over-the-top parades, festive music and
delicious king cake, it’s easy to see why New Orleans is synonymous with Mardi
Gras. You may be surprised to learn, however, that Fat Tuesday, the French
translation of Mardi Gras, is actually just one day in a much longer
celebration known as Carnival, which spans from the Epiphany (January 6) to Ash
Wednesday (the first day of Lent).
New Orleans has hosted an official Mardi
Gras parade nearly every year since 1837, with only 13 cancellations due mostly
to war. With a yearly attendance around 1.4 million, it’s the largest Mardi
Gras celebration in the United States. Size isn’t everything though. Cities
around the globe celebrate Carnival in their own special way and we’ve
highlighted five of the most unique below.
1: Mobile, Alabama
COVID update: MOBILE, Ala. –While there won’t be parades this year, the City of Mobile is closing the streets in Downtown Mobile’s entertainment district for Fat Tuesday parties.
If you head two hours east from New Orleans you’ll land in Mobile, Alabama, the original home of Mardi Gras in the United States. Mobile’s first Fat Tuesday celebration took place in 1703 and the first masked ball began the following year. At that time, Mobile was the capital of French Louisiana but due to fear of hurricane damage, the capital was moved to New Orleans along with the Mardi Gras tradition in 1718. Nearly 150 years later, the Mardi Gras celebration returned to Mobile and it’s now the second largest Fat Tuesday gathering in the country.
2: Venice, Italy
COVID update:
After last year’s Carnival ended prematurely
on February 23, due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, it seems that
the Carnival of Venice 2021, an event that should have taken place between
January 30 and February 16, will also be canceled.
Although the
official announcement has not been made yet, there is a good chance that it
will be made in the next few days. And almost certainly, the beautiful medieval
masks will be replaced, in 2021, with sanitary masks.
The Venice
Carnival is one of the most famous and appreciated carnivals in the world,
which takes place every year in the beautiful city of Venice.
Estimated to have originated in the 12th century, Venetian Carnival draws millions of visitors each year. The festival is perhaps best known for the elaborate masks worn and sold on the streets of Venice. The expressive masks were worn during Carnival as early as the 13th century and they remain a symbol of the city to this day. The highlight of the Venetian Carnival is the Maschera piu Bella contest, which takes place in Saint Mark’s Square. In the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras, masked contestants dressed head-to-toe in decorative costumes are judged by a panel of experts and the winner is chosen on Fat Tuesday.
3: Nice, France
COVID update: In 2021 Nice Carnival has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
With a history that dates back to 1294, the original Carnival celebration is located in sun-soaked Nice, France. Nice Carnival is the premiere winter event on the French Riviera and draws over a million people each year. The celebration, which has a different theme every year, lasts for 15 days and visitors are treated to an array of floats and over 1,000 musicians and dancers from around the world. Not to be missed are the flower battles in which mimosas, gerberas and lilies are tossed to spectators from decorated floats.
4: Binche, Belgium
The Carnival of Binche is one of Europe’s oldest surviving street carnivals (dating back to the 14th century) and in 2003, it was recognized as an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO. The town begins celebrating several weeks before Ash Wednesday, but the carnival officially begins on the Sunday before and culminates on Mardi Gras when masked men known as Gilles parade through town in their traditional costumes consisting of wooden clogs, wax masks and ostrich-feather hats. After the dressing ceremony in the early hours of Mardi Gras, the Gilles lead a procession through town with musicians, dancers and other costumed participants in tow. The highlight of the day, though, is in the evening when the Gilles head to Binche’s Grand Place to dance under a fireworks display.
5: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Known as the Carnival capital of the world, Rio de Janeiro welcomes approximately 500,000 visitors every year looking to experience one of the most colorful and artistic celebrations in the world. Rio Carnival is a five-day celebration that begins with the Rio mayor handing an oversized key to the city to someone dressed as King Momo (a mythical character based off Greek mythology and Brazilian folklore). The party takes over the city and eventually culminates with the Samba Parade at the Sambodromo, a stadium specifically built in 1984 for this event. The parade is essentially a competition between samba schools (social clubs with their own colors, flag and supporters) that involves months of preparation. The highly orchestrated events takes place over the span of a few days and schools are judged in 10 categories with the results being revealed on Ash Wednesday.
Our
Lady of Lourdes[5]
Today marks the first apparition of
the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858 to fourteen-year-old Marie Bernade (St.
Bernadette) Soubirous. Between February 11 and July 16, 1858, the Blessed
Virgin appeared eighteen times, and showed herself to St. Bernadette in the
hollow of the rock at Lourdes. On March 25 she said to the little shepherdess
who was only fourteen years of age: "I am the Immaculate Conception."
Since then Lourdes has become a place of pilgrimage and many cures and
conversions have taken place. The message of Lourdes is a call to personal
conversion, prayer, and charity.
Things
to Do
·
Watch “The Song of Bernadette”, a
masterpiece filmed in 1943.
·
Bring flowers (roses would be appropriate) to
your statue of Our Lady at your home altar, especially if you have a statue of
Our Lady of Lourdes.
·
Obtain some Lourdes holy water and give the
parental blessing to your children.
·
Give extra care to the sick in your community —
cook dinner for a sick mother's family, bring your children to the local
nursing home (the elderly love to see children), send flowers to a member of
your parish community who is ill.
· Today’s recipes:
o
Minced
Chicken (or Turkey) a la King
NOVENA TO THE HOLY FACE
DAILY PREPARATORY PRAYER
O
Most Holy and Blessed Trinity, through the intercession of Holy Mary, whose
soul was pierced through by a sword of sorrow at the sight of the passion of
her Divine Son, we ask your help in making a perfect Novena of reparation with
Jesus, united with all His sorrows, love and total abandonment.
We
now implore all the Angels and Saints to intercede for us as we pray this Holy
Novena to the Most Holy Face of Jesus and for the glory of the most Holy
Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Fifth Day
Psalm
5 1, 10-11.
Make me hear rejoicing and gladness, that the bones you have crushed may
revive. From my sins turn away your Face and blot out all my guilt.
Holy
Face of Jesus, Sacred Countenance of’ God, how great is your patience with
humankind, how infinite your forgiveness. We are sinners, yet you love us. This
gives us courage. For the glory of your Holy Face and of the Blessed Trinity,
hear and answer us. Mary our Mother intercede for us, Saint Joseph, pray for
us.
Through
the merits of your precious blood and your Holy Face, O Jesus, grant us our
petition, Pardon and Mercy.
Prayer
to Saint Joseph
Dear
Saint Joseph! Adopt us as thy children, take charge of our salvation; watch
over us day and night; preserve us from occasions of sin; obtain for us purity
of body and soul, and the spirit of prayer, through thy intercession with
Jesus, grant us a spirit of sacrifice, of humility and self-denial; obtain for
us a burning love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and a sweet, tender love
for Mary, our Mother.
Saint
Joseph, be with us in life, be with us in death and obtain for us a favorable
judgment from Jesus, our merciful Savior. Amen.
Pray one (1) Our Father, (3) Hail
Mary’s, (1) Glory Be.
O Bleeding Face, O Face Divine, be every adoration Thine. (Three times)
The Devil and Temptations[6]
There
are many and varied ways in which sin and evil are presented to us in an
attractive way.
Curing Sickness
by Superstition ("Curanderos" And "Santeros")
·
It doesn't matter if there are statues,
holy water, crucifixes, prayers to Jesus, Mary and the saints, if there is any
superstitious practice it is evil. These are some examples:
o using
charms or a tomato to wash one's body, putting the remainder under the bed,
o cleaning
one's body with eggs or lemons and burning the materials with charcoal,
o Using
rose water and alcohol for healing. (In one case this was prepared by placing a
skeleton in the water for six hours, followed by singing and praying over the
water.)
·
Sometimes a "curandero" gives a
special vitamin to take or even prescribes "Catholic" prayers to be
said. None of these "prayers" should be said in these circumstances
because they were prepared under the influence of evil. Other examples include:
o Taking
a special bath prepared with wine, flowers, bread, cinnamon, black sugar, and
water from a river.
o Wrapping
a person in a special bandage, cutting off piece by piece, and burying it in a
recent grave in the cemetery.
· Sometimes people pray to God and to the saints and then go off seeking relief through the kingdom of darkness. Many times, God does not heal through prayer or doctors because He wants the soul to be healed first of hatred, jealousy, or some other sin. God knows what He is doing. We have to choose either the power of God or the power of evil. If you have any objects used in these false cures, destroy them. Renounce Satan, renounce this sin, ask God's forgiveness and confess your sin to a priest.
National Marriage Week-Woman in Marriage[7]
Woman's nature is admirably adapted to her functions as
wife and mother. The responsibilities of the family develop her powers and
mature her spiritually, mentally, and physically.
Spiritually, a woman becomes
mature through surrender, through finding the particular role in which she can
accomplish her total dedication to God. The young woman who has found her
vocation in life in marriage and is wholly given to her task of bringing her
family to God is a mature person whatever her age. She will have that air of
serenity and peace which are the sign of the basic fulfillment of her being.
The woman who has never surrendered wholeheartedly to any purpose outside
herself remains immature all her life, like a bud which never unfolds itself.
In marriage, woman can develop a spirit of selflessness which makes her
dedication deeper and richer with the years. Her service to her family both
expresses her love of God and increases her power of loving. The woman who has
no outlet for her love, no one for whom she can spend herself, is apt to become
hard, bitter, selfish, because she has no one but herself to consider. The
woman who is constantly concerned with the needs of her family can unfold the
qualities of love, tenderness, and unselfish devotion which make her truly
great and truly happy.
Mentally, a woman's mind matures
under the stimulus of the varied practical activities she performs for those
she loves. In the concrete, living experience of the family, she can develop
sound judgment and a keen insight into human nature. Lombroso's observation can
readily be verified. "The mother of a large family who has had no time to
study, having been occupied with her children and her household, has more life,
more breadth of ideas, than the old maid of the same age who has done nothing
else than to potter about at universities and libraries." The
responsibilities of her family life exercise all woman's mental powers. Her
intuition and powers of observation are called into play constantly to discover
the unexpressed desires of her family, particularly the needs of the helpless
child. She has need of her intuition, too, as well as her tact, to help her
solve the hundred problems of human relations and practical affairs that arise
in the course of her day. Providing for the family helps to develop woman's
natural ingenuity and inventiveness. It is to the ingenuity of women intent on
meeting the needs of their families that we owe the discovery of many of the
most important arts: horticulture, for example; the creative arts of weaving,
pottery, basketry; the domestic arts of food preparation and preservation; the
uses of medicinal herbs in healing.
Physically, too, marriage and childbearing
represent a development and completion for the normal woman, giving her new
beauty and vitality. The mother of a large family experiences a physical
fulfillment with the birth of each child which gives her fresh vigor and
health. Dr. Alexis Carrell observes that women attain their full development as
a rule only after the birth of several children. He writes in Man the
Unknown: "Women who have no children are not so well balanced and
become more nervous than the others. The importance to woman of the generative
function has not been sufficiently recognized. Such function is indispensable
to her optimum development. It is therefore absurd to turn women against
maternity."
Daily Devotions
·
do
a personal eucharistic stations of the cross.
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[4]https://www.travelchannel.com/roam-blog/food-culture/best-mardi-gras-celebrations-not-in-new-orleans
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