Martin Luther King Jr. legacy

I love this quote from Dr. Alveda King, niece to Martin Luther King, Jr. --

"African Americans are pro-life and favor procreative marriage. As we see the dawn of a new year and a great milestone being passed, blacks across the country should let our new president know that we want babies in the womb protected and traditional marriage respected. The accomplishment of an African American holding the nation's highest office will be of little value if the black community continues to be destroyed by the horrible plague of abortion."

Gospel of Life

Sunday's second reading impressed me, and I should like to commit this verse to memory:

"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy." - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

How We Homeschool

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

All's Fair in Love, War, and Politics

Today's Convocation at Missouri Western State University really had this title and really featured a debate between James Carville and Mary Matalin. Never mind that they are married. One is conservative and worked for Pres. Bush. One is liberal and worked for Pres. Clinton. My boys found it hard to follow the Louisiana accent. I wore my Palin jersey, of course, and got several chuckles out of the jabs and plays-on-words. Did you know CNN stands for "Clinton News Network"? My daughter snagged VIP seats with her Civics Club (8 homeschool teens) and was interviewed afterward by the local newspaper. Meggar's reaction was, "I believe there is still hope."

Once in a Blue Moon

August 30--this is the second time we'll have a full moon in the same calendar month, hence the name "Blue Moon." Today calls for doing something you rarely do! For us Schmidlings, that means staying home. :-). I hope we watch a movie and roast marshmallows.

Feast of St. Augustine

Catholics honor Saint Augustine on this day (when his death signaled his entrance to eternal life). My eldest bears the middle name of Augusta and has enjoyed reading his works for 10th grade homeschool literature class. (Tonight we also pray for the soul of Mary Nagle, age 89, whose funeral will be tomorrow at our parish.)

Prayer of St. Augustine
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit
that my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit
that my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit
that I may love what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit
to defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit
that I may always be holy.
Amen.

Democrats in Denver

I've been wanting to post since Sunday's faux pas by Nancy Pelosi on "Meet the Press" and say:
#1. What Catholic school did she go to anyway?
#2. Poor Saint Augustine was maligned (actually she quoted St. Thomas Aquinas) as she tried to put her theological views above his.
#3. She obviously hasn't seen the Bodies Revealed exhibit at Union Station in KC, which I'm told shows an open cross-section of pregnant female cadavers in all nine months of the baby's life!
#4. Couldn't the DNC think of a better location for their Convention than Denver? Don't they know the local Catholic power-house bishops named Chaput and Conley?

Archbishop Chaput wrote "The Separation of Sense and State" (and plenty of other bishops and archbishops wrote to correct her misstatement of church teaching). It was Beautiful! http://www.archden.org/images/ArchbishopCorner/ByTopic/onseparationofsense%26state_openlettercjc8.25.08.pdf

"Catholics who make excuses for it (abortion) - whether they're famous or not - fool only themselves and abuse the fidelity of those Catholics who do sincerely seek to follow the Gospel and live their Catholic faith. ... A proper understanding of the "separation of Church and state" does not imply a separation of faith from political life. But of course, it's always important to know what our faith actually teaches."

We're not fooled. And we've actually read The Confessions of St. Augustine in this house.

Still Homeschooling After All These Years

"To give a child an education is always a work of salvation." - St. Clement
I liked this quote from our fourth pope because I'm starting my 12th year of homeschooling all my children. It's not because I think I'm perfect. It's not because I think I'm better than everyone else. I think it will help my children be better people. The quote above is intriguing because it could mean my salvation or my children's salvation. I like to think it's both. God intertwines lives that way. It's a beautiful tapestry any way you look at it.

Catholic Family Conference

Meggar was the one who first suggested that we attend (thanks to prompting of the Holy Spirit). We haven't been since 2005, so we traveled to Wichita this weekend...
I knew the twins would enjoy Totus Tuus - and they ran into AJ the first night!
The high schoolers laughed nervously when Andrew Pudewa explained a scientific study on rats which proved intelligence was increased by listening to Mozart but their brains turned violent and developed chaotic neuron paths when listening to hard rock or alternative music.
Dorito liked the junior high program and immediately started to practice juggling like the Boehmer Family Jugglers. There's 11 kids in their family, so everyone has plenty of siblings to practice with! Captain already knows how to juggle, so he gave the boys a little tip and Dorito got it on his 2nd try. Polar Bear followed soon after, and Winger had it figured out by the next day!
Meggar listened eagerly to the apologetic talks by Tim Staples, a Catholic Convert from Disciples of Christ. He used plenty of Bible verses to explain the papacy and devotion to Mary.
The most heartwarming for Wife was a chance to listen to Fr. Benedict Groeschel, the famous philosopher from New York, who quipped: "Alice von Hildebrand and I are spiritual directors to each other." He encouraged the audience to practice virtues, especially prudence = which helps you get by in this world; and supernatural prudence = which helps you get to heaven! He used my favorite example from St. Thomas More and the film "A Man for All Seasons." More's friend, the Earl of Essex claims he took the pledge to the King and it didn't bother his conscience. But More said "how lucky for you because if I did sign the oath it would go against my conscience and I'd go to Hell." Historians do not remember the Earl of Essex, but everyone remembers St. Thomas More.

Book Review on Pope's Joy

"Christ Our Joy" by Msgr. Joseph Murphy is the first Catholic book request that I successfully made to our local library! Periodically, I receive suggestions from the email list called "Pope St. Nicholas V" at Yahoo Groups. So I immediately checked this out, but found it more academic than I expected (i.e. it took me longer to read it). It is not written by Pope Benedict XVI, but takes quotations from his many writings all his life. He uses 5-6 chapters to show how true joy is rooted in the Trinity. Here are my two favorite bits:
"It must be clear that pleasure is not everything, that Christianity gives us joy just as love gives us joy. But love is also a renunciation of self."
and
"Joy grows and continues to mature in suffering in communion with the Cross of Christ. It is here alone that the true joy of faith is born."

French and Italian

Dinners in Denver have been the best part of my trip. The Italian Restaurant gave me the largest helping of Eggplant Parmesan I'd ever seen. The asparagus was a plate of beauty. At the French Restaurant, we had mussels for an appetizer, Lobster Thermador for an entree, and peach gateau for dessert. We also discovered the Paradise Bakery for Yummy breakfast and lunch. Especially the Saffire Earl Gray tea with blue malva flowers! Another Marvin Gaye song was playing and Captain sang to me: "Ain't no woman like the one I got!"

Preferring Courtship Over Dating

These discussions have intensified at our home with Meggar turning 16 and Grandma having "friends" who call. The boys clearly are paying attention. Winger said, "She can't marry __(name withheld by request)_, because he doesn't play hockey!" Polar Bear quipped: "The girls will have to chase me because I'll be too busy golfing."

Happy Birthday, Anne with an -e!

"Anne of Green Gables" celebrated her 100th birthday last Friday (June 20), and she ranks among my MOST favorite! The phrase "kindred spirits" spoke right to my heart. Then, I laughed and sighed and cried while watching the way her optimism won everyone's heart, from Diana to Gilbert to Rachel Lynde.

Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote the first of her "Anne" series of 8 books (Meggar has read them all!) when she was 33 years old. Her marriage later took her away from Prince Edward Island, but not from her writing. Here is a piece from "The Poetry of L.M. Montgomery" which I loved:

What Children Know

Many things the children know

Where the ripest berries grow,

Where the first pale violets peep

Shyly from their winter's sleep,

And how many blue eggs rest

In the robin's woven nest.

Children know where echoes hide

Over on the brown hillside,

How to tell a fortune bright

By the daisy petals white,

How the honey you may sup

From the meadow clover's cup.

Something else the children know

Oh, they learned it long ago!

Mother's shoulder is the best

Place in all the world to rest.

And the sweetest dreams belong

To a mother's twilight song!

Special thanks to Jenny, our Librarian in Savannah, for her workshop today on Anne and Maud. We enjoyed the raspberry cordial, "carrots" cake, and the movie discussions. Megan Follows is superb in all three movies -- even though one of them completely ignores the L.M. Montgomery literature. Young Megan Follows also appeared in "Hockey Night," which is only relevant because it's part of our family video library :-)

Honesty is Our Policy

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." -- Thomas Jefferson (1762-1826). This quote seems to be a repetitive part of growing up and a necessity for operating in the "real" world.

Artistic Thoughts

I'm reading "Artist to Artist" in order to teach my children (another) unit study on good books. The artwork alone makes me long to OWN this book, not just borrow it from our wonderful librarians... Each of the 23 illustrators tells how they began with art in childhood. My favorite quote so far is from Mitsumasa Anno: "(Nothing is) really as good as a meal made 'from scratch,' or a picture created with your own hands."

"National Treasure" movie

Our whole family enjoyed this sequel at the $1 movie theater! Not as historically educational as the first one, the "Book of Secrets" involves more story lines about the characters when we would have liked more about the landmarks themselves. Of course, it helps that our family has visited Mount Vernon, the White House, and Mount Rushmore. And we LIKE all the characters -- especially the smart side-kick Riley. "Nobody talks like that anymore..."

Presidential Hopeful

More important than the upcoming election is our current president's graciousness toward Pope Benedict XVI. "In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred and that each of us is willed, each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary." (Pres. George W. Bush)