Journeys of a Catholic Poster Girl

While 2009 doesn’t start for another month, in the Church 2009 has begun today! The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the new Church Year. 

Last year I found a copy of the out-of-print Around the Year With the Von Trapp Family (yes, that Von Trapp family) on the internet (link on sidebar). Besides being wonderfully written, it also gives meticulous detail about how the large family celebrated every season of the Church year. I printed off the pages and placed them in a binder (sort of comprising a ‘book’), and have followed it since then. 

This is the first Advent I have with it, and one of the ideas is choosing a patron saint for the year. This year, I have chosen St. Francis, partially because there are several “Francis”es in my family, and also because I hope to be studying at Franciscan University in 2009, so I figure I better know some more about him and his order, other than he was kidnapped by pirates, rebuilt churches with his money, liked animals and founded the Franciscan order. 

So this year I will be praying/reading/studying St. Francis. If you know any good books or internet links about him, please leave them in the combox!

Another thing: Advent reading. I use the Magnificat Advent book, and Advent and Christmas with Pope John Paul II. (There’s a whole series of these–Padre Pio, G.K. Chesterton, etc., etc.) What books do you like to use? 

Exciting news over at BOP!

After Christmas my choir director has said that we are going to learn chant!

Although I have done a bit–the Agnus Dei, and some other pieces–I am thrilled to really get to learn this act of sacred singing. Our pastor is very musically-inclined so I know he will enjoy this!

To get y’all excited, here, from Fr.Z is a great chant article. 

(OK y’all–ignore the political parts of the article and just focus on how great the chant is. Chant is all parties, all the time. Everyone can love chant! And if you don’t, you should try it! There are some great albums out there. 

Yikes, I just said albums. I am an 80s child.

Oh, and one more note: at my parish, the choir does sing the octavo for the day upfront (we have no loft and sing the Mass from a section in the pews), because the acoustics are better. Our director is always telling us that we are there to serve the worship, not to show off.) 

The whole thing is pasted below the jump. (Read on …)

on the recent election. 

It looks, at this moment, like our election is over.

I cannot believe how many Americans, how many fellow Catholics, are sentencing the most vulnerable among us to death. 

Obama has said that the first thing he will do, as President, is sign the freedom of choice act, which would essentially overturn all abortion laws in America. 

People like me, and like Trig Palin, could be aborted for absolutely no reason at all. 

I cannot believe that this is what we have chosen for our country. 

A great post on lectio divina here.