Magdalene Novena: Day 2

Magdalene, by Bernini, 1661 (Image Source)
Meditation:Three Women and the Lord by Adrienne von Spyer

At some point in the Gospel we come across the name of Mary Magdalene for the first time. The very occurrence of a name in the Gospel indicates a connection with the Lord, whether the person referred to has come to believe in the Lord or was simply the occasion for some action on Jesus’ part; even in opposing the Lord or falling away, the person concerned points to him. There is a kind of ruthlessness in the way Scripture portrays even the most intimate disciples of the Lord, indicating the Lord’s divinity more directly, perhaps, than anything else. God alone can appropriate men in such a way, can deal thus with their destiny, their reputation, their dignity, revealing them like exhibits to the Church and the world. The Lord balances this ruthlessness with his redeeming love. Here is it Magdalene who is exposed to the public gaze in this way. She is described once and for all as the disciple out of whom the Lord drove seven demons.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

You, who already possess eternal happiness
in His glorious presence,
please intercede for me, so that some day
I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

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View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Magdalene Novena: Day 1

The Repentant Magdalene, by Georges de la Tour, 1640
Meditation: Song of Solomon: 1: 1-7

Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth!
More delightful is your love than wine!

Your name spoken is a spreading perfume-
that is why the maidens love you.

Draw me!-
We will follow you eagerly!
Bring me, O king, to your chambers.
With you we rejoice and exult,
we extol your love; it is beyond wine:
how rightly you are loved!

I am as dark-but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem-
As the tents of Kedar,
as the curtains of Salma.

Do not stare at me because I am swarthy,
because the sun has burned me.
My brothers have been angry with me;
they charged me with the care of the vineyards:
my own vineyard I have not cared for.

Tell me, you whom my heart loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you give them rest at midday,
Lest I be found wandering
after the flocks of your companions.

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

You, who already possess eternal happiness
in His glorious presence,
please intercede for me, so that some day
I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

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View the full itinerary of the Relic of Mary Magdalene here.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

To find out more about our reasons for saying this novena, or to submit prayer requests and follow the progress of the novena click here

Novena to St. Mary Magdalene

Noli Me Tangere, by Fra Angelico, Convent of San Marco, Florence (1425-1430).

Dear Friends, Family, Readers, Sisters:

As Edith mentioned earlier this month, a relic of St. Mary Magdalene arrived on North American soil, for the first time ever, escorted by a French Dominican. The relic is Magdalene's tibia, a bone of the leg, which knelt before the Risen Lord, as the first witness to the Resurrection.

The national press release traces the history of this relic:

A letter of authentication from Bishop Rey reports that the relics were hidden at the time of the Saracen invasions and rediscovered in 1279, and have been venerated without interruption ever since...For centuries the relics were missing - disappearing from about 710 A.D. when the Saracens pillaged the South of France and the Church hid sacred objects to safeguard them. Then in 1279, they were discovered by Charles II of Anjou in a crypt of a chapel in the town of St. Maximin in a sarcophagus that did not have her name but that contained a piece of old parchment dated 710 A.D., that said, 'Here lies the body of Mary Magdalene.'

Upon discovering the bones, Charles II sealed the crypt and gathered all the Bishops for an official opening and inspection. All of the bones including the skull were found intact. The only missing bone was the lower jaw bone which was later found and identified by the Pope as the same jawbone that had been venerated, for centuries, as the jawbone of Mary Magdalene, at Saint John Lateran Church in Rome.

The relic is travelling around the South and the East Coast; tomorrow it will be in New Orleans, where Edith can visit her, and on November 8th it will be in Washington, DC, where Julian and Agatha will venerate her relics.

This is a joyous occasion for all of us, but we are especially moved by the Providence which unites us, the Magdalene Sisters, in honoring our patron. There are hundreds of cities she could visit, but, by the grace of God, she is coming to ours!

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In honor of this, and to reaffirm our commitment to pursuing God's will in our lives, the Magdalene Sisters will be saying a novena over the course of the next nine days, to St. Mary Magdalene. Every day we will post one meditation of St. Mary Magdalene--be it a scripture verse, or writings from the Church Fathers, etc.--and conclude with the following prayer:

Saint Mary Magdalene,
woman of many sins, who by conversion
became the beloved of Jesus,
thank you for your witness
that Jesus forgives
through the miracle of love.

You, who already possess eternal happiness
in His glorious presence,
please intercede for me, so that some day
I may share in the same everlasting joy. Amen.

Our Father.
Hail Mary.
Glory Be.

Please join us in this novena, as we pray for St. Mary Magdalene's courage, conviction, abandonment to the will of God, and overwhelming passion for Our Lord.

Please feel free to leave comments with your intentions, so that we may take them before St. Mary Magdalene, and present them to her, hoping for her intercession. You may remain anonymous in your request.

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View the full itinerary here.

St. Anthony of Padua Church
4640 Canal St.
New Orleans, LA
Saturday Oct 31st: Veneration -- all day until 6 p.m.; Masses: 8:15 a.m. and 4 p.m.; Lectures: 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Sunday Nov 1st: Veneration -- all day until 6 p.m.; Masses: 7:30 a.m., 9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.; Lectures: 10:15 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Dominican House of Studies
487 Michigan Ave, N.E.
Washington, DC
Sunday, November 8th: Mass: 11:15 a.m.; Public Veneration: 12:30 - 5:20 p.m.; Rosary: 5:20 p.m.; Vespers: 5:40 p.m.

To find out more about this relic, please click here.

You can follow the progress of the novena by clicking here.

Protecting Marriage

Here is an article written by a friend of mine for Headline Bistro on how to protect marriage and "love thy neighbor". I think it's a great resource to hand to someone if they have questions about the Catholic Christian's beliefs on the matter or if you yourself have trouble thinking through or articulating the issues at hand.

I Was Wondering...

Well, I was catching up reading one my favorite blogs (well, clearly this blog is my absolute favorite!!) this week...Dar al-Masih, a blog for Catholics on evangelization particularly for our Muslim brothers and sisters. I was struck by this post on converts to Islam particularly from Christianity. One link on the post to this website called "Turn to Islam" (which I will not hyperlink here because I started getting weird emails about being a 'Son of Hamas' the moment I opened this site...probably gonna have the CIA on me), and it made me really sad!

The site features videos of people - especially women who convert to Islam. One of the sites 'must see' videos features a young Hispanic woman who was raised Catholic and loved her faith. After she married a Muslim man, she decided to raise her children Catholic behind his back -- and then her children started asking her why she prayed to saints instead of God, and why she always prayed to her Crucifix. The woman had no answers and decided to 'turn to Islam,' and now she feels closer to God than ever. One thing I noticed in these videos -- each conversion is usually based upon not knowing the answers and feelings.

And it got me wondering...how many Catholics know NOTHING about their faith? How many Catholics do the ritual or just seek a feeling from faith? But faith is an intellectual virtue (See Summa Theological Second part of the Second part Question 4, article 2). It just got me wondering -- what can I do, oh Lord. What can I do? Give me the gifts to spread Your Word and tell Your people who You ARE!

The Priest, the Nun and the Playmate

It really does sound like the begining of a bad joke. But Ed Mechmann's recent post about an unusual encounter in an elevator is really a lovely meditation on the interesction of Theology of the Body and our daily life:

Last week, Sr. Lucy of the Sisters of Life and I were invited to appear on a radio show that is broadcast on the Catholic Channel of Sirius Satellite Radio. The show is called Word to Life, and it's hosted by Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P. ...When we arrived at the building where the radio station is located, Sr. Lucy and I were greeted by Fr. Aquinas, and while we were standing at the security checkpoint, we encountered a very glamorous, shapely young woman who looked like a model.

One couldn't help but notice that her health was in very grave risk, because her blouse was suffering from a serious shortage of fabric. That's putting it mildly. But she was dressed for the occasion, since she was a Playboy Playmate, on her way to appear on a radio show run by a "men's magazine". Being a normal male human being, I found this all very, very distracting. Every other man in the vicinity certainly did, too, because she was the center of attention, to say the least.

What happened next taught me the lesson.

We went to the elevator to go upstairs to the studio, and all got on the same car. Sr. Lucy and Fr. Aquinas were standing on either side of the young lady. So here we were: a priest, a sister, a Playboy Playmate, and a married man who was struggling to maintain custody of his eyes and thoughts, and who was thinking about what an odd collection of people he was with. The elevator stopped, and a man got on. He was taken aback by this scene, and immediately remarked, "You're not going to the same place".

Read the rest of the story here. Mechmman works in the Family/Respect Life Office of the Archdiocese of Washington (HT)

That's What They Said

I'd like to draw our readers' attention to a blog recommended to me by one of our readers. The title is "He Said/She Said" and its authors describe it as "a Christian blog for men and women, single and/or married, who want to dialogue about everyday life experiences and issues concerning work, relationships, community, and the world." Based on the fact that they link to some of the same blogs we link to and refer to several saints, I believe they are Catholic. Regardless, the topics are relevant, the blog entries well-written, and the authors authetic. This Magdalene sister gives it two thumbs up!

Thou Shall Not Whine

I have a sign in my classroom that reads like the title of this post: Thou Shall Not Whine. I tell my students that it's the 11th commendment, and if the Passover Plague didn't work, God was prepared to smite the Israelites for their whining. Certainly sarcastic. But there is a little truth to my remarks, nonetheless.

I teach the products of Generation Whine. My students are bold with requests, find no problem complaining about assignments to my face, and find it perfectly acceptable to challenge the established classroom rules.

However, what I find to be most frustrating and most disturbing is that much of their behavior is not only not stopped, but encouraged, by their parents. Parents frequently email me providing far-fetched excuses for their child's tardiness with assignments or putting the blame on me when students fail to meet expectations. Students are even encouraged by guardians and people in authority to take "mental health days" when the weeks get too stressful.

Whatever happened to buckling down, doing your assignment, and having integrity if in the rare case you missed a deadline? Whatever happened to respecting your teacher so much that you feared having to explain yourself if you did something outside of the classroom norms? Whatever happened to good old-fashioned hard work and learning to take initiative?

Sorry for the rant, but I'm finding it hard to motivate students who have no motivation within themselves and no one pushing them at home. How are we to turn Generation Whine into Generation Fine?

Building with Boxes: How Agatha Stayed Inside All Weekend And Organized Her Life

I had intended to name this post something like "Setting Thing in Order" but that seemed too prosaic. Then I found this awesome book cover, and, hark, I had a title.

The truth is, since I moved to DC 15 months ago, I have been living out of boxes. In my old apartment (which I shared with Julian), I never had the space or furniture to entirely unpack my various possessions--including my beloved books. In this new apartment, my new roommate and I quickly made order in the common places. It took a couple weeks (ok! months) to get the art on the walls and the furniture in a floor plan we liked. But the living room, dining room, and kitchens were all serviceable, and even pleasant to look at within a week of moving in.

My bedroom, on the other hand...Well, 3 months in, and I still was living out of boxes. I mean, I unpacked my clothes, and my books (with new beautiful shelves)--but everything else was scattered in boxes around the room, vying for space with mid-season shoes, and several laundry baskets, plus a growing pile of birthday presents yet to be mailed. I only slept and dressed in my room, because I couldn't stand to stay there amid all the chaos.

That all changed this weekend, and I can't tell you how glad I am. Saturday morning, I woke up, made a cup of coffee, and immediately began rearranging my furniture. I used to be totally against putting beds in the corner opposite the door, but for some reason in this completely bonkers bedroom, it works. (I'll never say never again.) By simply switching the dresser and the bed, I totally transformed the nature of the room.

Then came the organizing, cleaning out the bottom of the closet, getting rid of boxes of junk, hiding boxes of old school papers, and throwing a few things in the hall closet (sorry roomie!) Slowly the room began to take shape. Sunday I was able to reorganize my CDs, sort through a huge pile of papers, and figure out what art I wanted to put on the wall. My good mood was only spoilt when my upstairs neighbor started pounding on the floor. I guess I had done a bit too much nailing for the day.

I can't tell you how much a difference this has made. I actually want to spend time in my room: whether it is to write or read, to craft something or talk on the phone. I still need quite a few things (matching bed linens would be nice, so would a table lamps), and I really should paint my bed table. Plus I still need to make my curtains. But, there is order, things are tidy, and attractive, and I can actually use the space.

I call that a good and fruitful weekend.

NFP

Yep, you guessed it. Natural Family Planning. I started classes with Peter. Wow -- it is beautiful and rather...um...graphic at all once. Let me inform you if you don't know about natural family planning (graphic details aside - no worries!) NFP follows a woman's natural monthly cycle using a whole series of symptoms in her body to determine when she is fertile or not fertile. The couple trying to conceive would know 99% of the time when they would be most fertile to try for a child. Coupled with nutrition and persistent tracking, NFP rarely fails. And it's 100% NATURAL - no pills, no latex, no plastic, no hormones -- and you get the picture. For more information, you could check out this site.

We started these classes in our diocese with the Couple to Couple League, which trains couples throughout the US to give classes and provide the materials. Even though we've only had one class, it was truly a grace. We could tell the strength that using NFP had given to our teaching couple. They had been on the pill for the first years of their marriage, and the wife was severely depressed. She heard about NFP classes through her church -- and just one class changed her life and her marriage. They now have five children that they were not open to having, but cannot imagine their lives without them. Peter and I are a little bit anxious about children right away - but we are open to God's gifts. I am slowly learning to appreciate the gifts He hands me and trying very diligently to say a resounding YES to each one.

One more thing before I sign off -- the materials we got included an awesome magazine for those who are both prepping for marriage and long married. I read an article that provided some great advice for Brides-to-Be. One such article included this blog called For Your Marriage, written by a young woman who started when she newly engaged and is now newly married. It gives faithful Catholics some great tips on how to have not only a beautiful and sacramental wedding -- but more importantly -- a strong, beautiful, Godly, sacramental marriage. And trust me, with today's $61 billion dollar wedding industry that makes the wedding day all about number 1 -- we all need some advice on keeping focused on the sacrament, vocation, and gift we are called to accept.

(PS: The photo on top I just thought was a pretty cute cake topper! Not too much to do with the post today, though :-) !)

"He Will Give a Crown of Beauty for Ashes"

From Isaiah 61:3. This past week, God has showed me the meaning of these words -- because trust me, I've needed it!! It's been a tough week. Let me give you an idea. A young man I know died in a very tragic and horrific accident this week. That makes 5 young people I know who have died tragically in the past couple months, one of whom I was quite close to. My fiancé's car was robbed this past weekend. And one of my best friends got into a car wreck. She's fine and Peter was lucky that the thief did not get much. And then Peter and I had to meet with the deacon of our Church to discuss some potentially serious road bumps in our diocesan 'FOCCUS' test for marriage prep. We'll be just fine - but wow, sometimes life can hand you some pretty big doses of well... life.

I found myself asking God - 'Are you serious, God... I mean, really?' 'Didn't you promise that you'd give us angels to watch over us...where were Your angels, God, when my friends got into those accidents? Why didn't You stop them from happening? How could You allow Your children to suffer like that? Didn't You say You love us?' From these questions came extreme anxiety (which I will probably have for sometime) about death. No bike riding without helmets, call as soon you get there, please drive safe! Seriously, I felt like Ivan Karamazov for a second.

But then I was given the tremendous grace to attend my Church's very first women's conference. Over 450 women attended. It featured two amazing women of God: Johnnette Benkovic of EWTN and Anne Trufant, a Catholic lay evangelist, song-writer, and missionary. WOW. These women told me exactly what I needed to hear. Johnnette gave a powerful witness about keeping your faith in the midst of tragedy and loss. She prayed her son out of danger in Iraq, only to have him come home and die tragically in a car accident. One year later, her husband was diagnosed with cancer and she lost him in 2007. But she kept the faith and God got her through it all. Anne elaborated the same theme -- but she was so powerful. She asked us to consider the "you reap what you sow" adage. When we sow in times of joy -- we should sow God's word in our hearts -- so that in times of tragedy and sorrow -- we reap it. That just struck me.

So through another friend, God gave me the word from Isaiah: "He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of gladness for mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Sow it, sow it, sow it!

Elsewhere

Just a quick post for me today. Here are some interesting links from around the web today:

--New Catholic Manliness by Todd M. Aglialoro on InsideCatholic:

Common experience nonetheless bears out the point: We may yet have a male-only clergy and hierarchy, but where the rubber meets the road -- in those mundane areas of church life where laity and institution most commonly interact -- the flavor is feminine. Whether you want to speak in terms of liturgy, ministry (lay and clerical), religious education, or sheer congregational numbers, official ecclesial power may not rest in the hands of women, but considerable unofficial influence clearly does, and has for some time. And we in the Church have been subject to its effects.

Not all these effects, as we shall see, have been bad. But one of the worst has been a subjugation of traditional masculine virtue: the concept of distinctly and properly manly Catholicism repressed, stigmatized, covered up, or otherwise forgotten for lack of practice.

--Wathcing Couples Go By by Herbert Stein on Slate:

look particularly at the women in those couples. They are not glamorous. There are no Marlene Dietrichs, Marilyn Monroes, or Vivien Leighs among them. (It is a sign of my age that I can't think of the name of a single living glamorous movie actress.) Some of them are pretty, but many would be considered plain. Since they are on their way to the Kennedy Center, presumably to attend a play, an opera, or a concert, one may assume that they are somewhat above average in cultural literacy. But in other respects one must assume that they are, like most people, average. But to the man whose hand or arm she is holding, she is not "average." She is the whole world to him.

--Also, The Love and Fidelity Network, which reaches out to college students to encourage a life of chastity and support for marriage, has a new blog. And it's great.

--Finally, check out this wonderful homily by Archbishop J. Augustine DiNoia, O.P., on Genesis 2. It's all so good, I can't possibly quote it. Read it here.

Addendum to "So a Guy..."

I'm seeking advice. Mr. Theology on Tap has called and asked me out on a date -- all well and good. Unfortunately, I can't go because I'm in a wedding this weekend. I tried to reschedule, but we wind up playing phone tag. Then, he calls twice in one night, without me having returned any of his calls (as I was out with friends). The first message entailed trying to come up with a new plan. The second call...wondering why I hadn't returned his call yet about the first call. And he commented on a Facebook status of mine. Is this weird, or is it me? Am I being too critical?

So a Guy Walked into a Bar...

Attention: this is not a joke.

I literally felt like I was living in a dream two nights ago at Theology on Tap. I was listening to a great talk on traditional marriage and its sociological implications by someone from the Family Research Council, and I decided to stay afterwards with a few friends to socialize. A hansome guy who I had made eye contact with in the bar literally got up from his seat, walked over to me, introduced himself, carried on an interesting conversation with me, and asked if he could take me out. Doesn't this only happen in black and white films?

Now, I'm not banking on a love connection or anything, but it was really nice to be treated like a lady.

The punch line: maybe a talk on the sociological and theological theories behind protecting traditional marriage and sexuality can actually be put into practice!

A Week of Firsts

This past week was filled with several "firsts" for me, one of which was the blessing of witnessing a sister's final profession of vows. The semi-cloistered nuns who run the school that I teach at were gathered together to witness one in their community become a bride of Christ. I've spoken with this particular sister before, and her story is quite amazing. She is a widow, like her foundress St. Jane de Chantal, and her children were present at her final vows -- how cool is that? Anyway, I was struck over and over as she repeated, "I take Jesus Christ to be the sole object of my love." Sole object of my love. These words have stayed with me since I heard her say them. How I wish that I would make Jesus the only object of my adoration, attention, and love. How hard it is for the lay, modern woman to do this with so many duties and distractions. Maybe that is why the vocations to religious life and the laity are different. I can't help but ask how to transform that type of vow into my own daily mission.

I also prayed outside of an abortion clinic this weekend for the first time in my life. It was about 45 degrees, raining, and quite windy, but despite the weather it was a remarkable experience. I gathered with about 6 or 7 other young adults from a parish and we prayed to the Blessed Mother for an hour. Though there was no major traffic at the clinic (on a Saturday --- praise God), we did have one person in an SUV speed up to us, spray us a bit, and honk for a really long time). Everyone stayed really peaceful and focused in prayer. I was immediately aware of the fact that the culture of life will be ushered in with gentleness, not hostility. Perhaps these two "firsts" overlap in meaning: those who vow to remain hidden, those who are hidden -- the "little ones," the ones that the world sees no value in -- are wrapped in the gentle arms of Christ.

St. Jude Novena begins tomorrow

For as long as I can remember, my mother has had an old chipped plaster-of-paris statue of St. Jude sitting on her desk. She loved St. Jude, and encouraged all of us to love him and pray his novena. It is not a novena to be used lightly--St. Jude is the patron of hopeless causes and things despaired of, and his novena is a wonderful consolation for those dealing with extreme difficulties--disease, poverty, despair, etc.

I know all of us are going through difficult things right now, and have friends and family for who we are desperately praying for. So, I encourage you all to pray the St. Jude Novena, and foster in your hearts a love for this great and holy Saint.

Below is the main novena prayer. You can also find specific prayers here. One of the stipulations of the novena is to promulgate his name--so do pass this novena on to friends and family. Also, St. Jude is a very popular patron of parishes, so if you have a chance, visit one of the many St. Jude Shrines or St. Jude parishes on his feast day, October 28th.



Most holy Apostle, St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honors and invokes you universally, as the patron of difficult cases, of things almost despaired of, Pray for me, I am so helpless and alone.
Intercede with God for me that He bring visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need that I may receive the consolation and help of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly -(make your request here)- and that I may praise God with you and all the saints forever. I promise, O Blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor granted me by God and to always honor you as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to you.
Amen


May the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, and loved in all the tabernacles until the end of time. Amen.
May the most Sacred Heart of Jesus be praised and glorified now and forever. Amen
St. Jude pray for us and hear our prayers. Amen.

Blessed be the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Blessed be the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Blessed be St. Jude Thaddeus, in all the world and for all Eternity.

(say this prayer, followed by the Our Father and the Hail Mary)

Thinking as a 'We'

I am trying to learn how to adjust to the idea of being married so that by the time I get married (see countdown in side bar - yay!), I will be that much ahead of the game. One of the biggest challenges I am coming across is the whole thinking of 'me' now as a 'we.' It's so difficult to get my mind wrapped around the fact that my life is not my own. For example, I realized that I am particularly attached to my last name. I never thought I would be. I never thought I'd be that woman who refused to change her last name. I mean, after all, what does it mean to become one flesh with the man as the head (and the woman as the neck, of course!)? I always thought only angry feminists refused to change their names.

But, as I am faced with this immanent reality, I realized my name is part of who I am. I've never been anyone other than Edith Magdalene for 26 years! When I told my fiancé that I wanted to hyphenate my last name, he did not approve one bit. I guess it's a 'man thing' to give your name to your wife and children, to immortalize and to perpetuate it. I am coming to accept that I will change my name - though we've comprised that my PhD can be hyphenated. That's good with me.

But name changing is not the only challenge. It's laughable the things we are going through right now. As my fiancé slowly moves his possessions into my apartment, which in a few months will be 'ours,' (gulp! I am learning that I am territorial creature!) there's been a battle about whose furniture is better and why and what needs to be sold. Our friends just laugh at us, and eventually we laugh too. But the transition to a 'we' is real world thing, and it sure isn't easy. It makes me grateful for the Lord, who redeems all things and walks the way of our lives with us.

But Not A Real Green Dress; That's Cruel

Last night I broke the shopping ban and bought a green dress. And a pair of yellow leather gloves. (The gloves were, technically, a gift, since I had a gift card.) I have to tell you all this because I should admit my faults to all of you, especially when I broadcasted that I was going on a shopping ban for Life, and because it is an excellent segue into a question Julian brought up last month.

Bills. Money. Taxes. These things really suck. And we might as well work on making them suck less by mastering them now. I don't have any good answers to this (I haven't saved a dime the entire 5 years I've been in the workforce), but I would like to offer a few suggestions that seem to make sense to me.

1) I never ever think of my paycheck as it's full amount. Let's say I make $1000 every two weeks. Every two week period I also have a set amount of bills--for example $500 rent, and $100 school loan payment and $50 in credit card bills--for a total of $650. That means, for the first half of the month, I don't get $1000 with my paycheck--I only get $350. The second half of the month is the same thing: $100 for my metro fares for the month, $150 for other credit card payments, $200 to savings, totalling $450, which means I only have $550 in left in my paycheck. Since all my regular bills are accounted for in this figure, that $350 and $550 is mine to do with as I find necessary: groceries, clothing, entertainment. When a dress is $40, and you only have $350 to spend on everything you need, suddenly the dress doesn't look like such a good deal. (Unless of course it is green and therefore perfect, in which case I buy it...)

2) Always tithe. It's awfully awfully hard to manage the full 10% when we're paying off college loans, and so forth. A priest in confession once told me that I shouldn't worry about the 10%, but that perhaps I could volunteer some time to a cause as well as tithing what's possible. This is a great idea, but I do think giving to the church is incredibly important. Rather than give a full 10% of my income, I try to give 15% of my spending amount. (Using the examples above, that's approximately $50 in the first half of the month and $80 in the second.) If I can give more in a given month, I always try to.

3) The most important thing about tithing is not giving money to God and his church, but the attitude it forms in you. Your job, your salary, your savings, are all there by the grace of God, and they are all a gift. So if you major attitude towards money is "the Lord will provide" (and attitude fostered by giving), then you'll manage, no matter how hard things may be. This also means that sometimes you can indulge, or do something that seems extravagant, for the sake of something more important than money in the bank. For example, it doesn't matter that I have plenty of things I could spend $300 on--I ought to, and want to visit my grandmother, and so I'm going to buy a plane ticket to go see her next time I get paid.

These are my three tips, then:
1) you have less that what your paycheck says. Know how much less, and plan accordingly.
2) always tithe.
3) the Lord will provide.

These aren't exhaustive, but they are a start. And when you're trying to balance so many other things, a start is about all I can do when it comes to my checkbook.

Our Patroness...

Is coming to our nation!! Well, her relics are. What great news! Father Thomas Michelet will be coming from France to bring the relics of St. Mary Magdalene for the first time to the United States. EWTN just issued a press release with the good news, as they will be featuring Fr. Michelet on October 27th on 'EWTN Live." No word yet on schedule places the relics will visit, but more news to come!

Update on Rifqa

Rifqa Bary has been sent back to Ohio. According to this FoxNews story, she will be in foster care and will undergo psychiatric help along with her family. Keep the prayers coming.