Tuesday morning ....

Yesterday we transplanted (from a pot) a Rose of Sharon given to us. We actually were given three of these. The other two go in today. We had one already just outside the kitchen window. These plants attract hummingbirds - which are truly fascinating to watch up-close.

We continue to move the chicken tractor, but we are slack about moving it each day. We average every other day or so. Unfortunately, the converted dog-pen-to-chicken tractor is really not up to all this moving. Invariably some part of the structure needs repair after each move.

Of course the chores keep piling up. We want to finish putting our fall crop in (spinach and radishes are already in) but there are other pressing needs also. I still have to build another two rabbit cages before the does start to get after each other (they are very territorial); a new chicken house is in the works; tree removal (see story below); house preparation for winter (we need to tighten up places, replace broken panes - especially with fuel costs rising), etc. We are also still getting green peppers and a few tomatoes off our summer crop.

The biggest lesson we have learned in gardening is probably that more manure is better. This past spring we had to buy all our manure from the local farm and garden center-which is not an efficient use of money. We had no compost to speak of. This year we have compost, we will have rabbit manure and rabbit manure tea, our chicken tractor, and if we keep our eyes open, will be able to find some free or virtually free cow or horse manure. So I think our garden should yield more abundantly this coming year.

I have been so busy, I have had little time to read others' blogs, but I thank all who have spread the word about our plea. We are not out of the woods yet ...

I promised last week to unveil the final version of the cover you all so graciously voted on. Here it is below:

....

I am hoping to have some more news on related to this new title from Requiem Press later in the week....

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

As we start a new week, just a reminder that All Souls Day is now exactly one month away. Spread devotion to praying for the holy souls in Purgatory by taking advantage of the discounts being offered on the prayer book pictured below: "Daily Prayers for the Church Suffering", (order here).

Trees and Rabbits

In my last post I mentioned that my father-in-law and I were taking down some trees. Grampy (as we call him) has taken down many, many trees at the house he and Nanny are having built in western Massachusetts. We have a few dead pines in our old goat pen (now the dog pen). One in particular was right next to our feed/garden shed at the edge of the pen and close to the rabbit cages. This pine was one of those 'double' trees (for want of a better or correct name). It has one large trunk, but splits into trunks about 4 feet off the ground. One of those trunks splits again into two trunks some 5 feet further up. The tree was only about 30-40 feet tall. Grampy had brought his chain saw and went to work. He decided to take each of the two main trunks down separately. It was harder work than we expected, partially because the tree had not been dead a long time. So while it was hard work, Grampy laid that first trunk down right where he wanted. The second trunk proved more difficult....

Grampy decided he would place the second trunk right on top of the first. For whatever reason-maybe the notch wasn't deep enough; maybe the cut on the backside wasn't high enough-the tree started coming down 180 degrees opposite of the intended fall. It pinched Grampy's saw and leaned, but didn't fall. The pinched saw was holding it up.

Up to this point, I had just been an observer, fetching gas when needed, or ice water, or yelling timber. Grampy wanted to save his saw (it was the best of the four he owns - unfortunately it was also the only one he brought). Of course he also didn't want to leave with the tree still standing. They had planned to leave that night for home. Now, it being mid-afternoon, these plans started to fade.

We tried numerous things, but lacked proper equipment. Our chains weren't long enough and our ropes not sturdy enough. Finally we decided to take a section of fence down and start in with the axe and a hammer and chisel. We worked for a couple hours at it with seemingly no progress. Finally we decided to replace the fence section (so the dogs could return to the pen) and retire to our cookout for the night.

Friday morning I sharpened my axe on the belt sander, and we went to work. (Now we were aiming to let the tree fall the direction it wanted to go.) We alternated with the axe and chisel for an hour or so til it finally came down. The sharpened axe had made a world of difference. Now it got interesting....

In the previous day's effort we had sunk an old telephone pole which was laying around our property into the ground near the rabbit cages. We had hooked rope and chain around the tree and to Grampy's truck; the pole acted as leverage point or 90 degree angle point for rope and chain before being hooked to Grampy's truck. This effort failed, but we left the pole in the ground. When tree came down, one of the limbs hit the top of the pole and snapped. Small sections hit the rabbit (doe) cage. The latch released and a doe got out. She hopped under the feed house after a narrow escape from one of our dogs. So instead of a triumphant tree-felling and high fives, now we were on our bellies trying to lure a rabbit out. After about 30-40 minutes the doe emerged and scampered right by Mrs. Curley who was holding a fishnet on a pole. I grabbed the net from her and we raceded around the property in hot pursuit. Finally, I lunged and got the net around the doe. (The doe squeaked and squealed - I never knew rabbits made any sound.)

While Grampy took a nap for his long drive home, I spent much of the rest of the day cutting the trunks with the (saved) chain saw. It is funny that the best part of the Nanny and Grampy's visit, for me, was probably that last day when they weren't even supposed to be here. I had never really worked with Grampy on any project like this. And while nothing we tried seemed to work out (due to lack of equipment - not lack of skill or imagination), in the end the job got done. It was fun-but my axe swinging body is suffering this morning.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

P.S. Don't forget our special on these books.

Father-in-law and I are cutting down some large pine trees today.

And, Requiem Press has officially changed our address to a Bethune P.O. Box. We were maintaining a Columbia P.O. Box as I often had to go into town for supplies anyway. Columbia is some 60 miles from here and with gas so high and the ability to order almost anything on the internet, the rational is gone. The P.O. Box here is 1/2 the price of a Columbia on and is 2 miles down the road. The website has been updated with the new P.O. Box in Bethune.

Please remember the discounted Holy Souls prayer books , and spread the word.... The Holy Souls could use the prayers, and frankly, the Curleys could use the cash.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

"Protecting God's Children"????

Since I am teaching CCD at the parish this year I had to attend our diocese's "safe environment" program. The one we are using is called "VIRTUS - Protecting God's Children". The three-hour session I attended yesterday was largely a waste of time in my opinion. There are two videos shown where they interview a few victims of sexual abuse and two convicted pedophiles. My general impressions of the program were these:

1. They assume we are dummies who never talk to our kids, have no idea who they play with, whose house they are at, etc. etc. (maybe this is true in many quarters?????);

2. There was no mention of God in the program except in the title (in fact they state that we need to tell our kids that the reason we cover our body is for "health and safety" reasons. There is no mention of chastity, being made in the image and likeness of God, being a temple of the Holy Spirit, etc. etc.) - only temporal things seem to matter;

3. They imply that the scandal in Catholic Church for these past two years has everything to do with pedophilia - which we know is false;

4. They present common sense things as revolutionary ideas.... (for example: a. talk to your kids and find out who they are playing with and whose house they slept over last night.... or b. if you see someone, even if its a close friend, fondling your child, you should stop it....) Okay, an exaggeration-but not much;

5. They assume it is inevitable that a victim will have life-long, devastating scars (I dispute this one the grounds that: a. it is well-known that children tend to be more resilient and recover more quickly from terrible things than adults do; b. that a child who has a proper understanding of themselves and God and sin and forgiveness will cope better; and c. if the parent doesn't sweep it under the rug for fear of embarrassment as was done by the parents and the bishops in all these cases, but deals with the abuse and the child properly, the child will cope better also.) ; and

6. Suspicion is the order of the day. Trust no one.....especially anyone who wants to teach kids.....

Number 5 is important, because if VIRTUS is the model they are going to teach - they are correct. A victim will never recover. However, supposedly the Catholic Church proposes something better.........

Of course the origin of the VIRTUS program is dubious at best - I have not done the research myself, but I have a folder of emails from friends that claim to link VIRTUS to various evil organizations.

There is also a 3-session VIRTUS for children (starting in kintergarten). To our diocese's very partial credit, the last of the 3 sessions was scrapped as being too explicit, and the first two sessions are parental opt-in or opt-out sessions, depending on your parish.

I won't teach VIRTUS to my students - it is against my religion.

The 'facilitator' at the course my wife attended admitted that VIRTUS was being implemented because otherwise the insurance company threatened to cease coverage.

That's a great headline: "Insurance companies meet to discuss Catholic Church doctrine - US bishops provide rubber stamp!"

I have read the curriculum for the students - again God is largely absent! Temporal health and safety (and insurance premiums) are the concern of curriculum. Even if this curriculum were not taught in a public, co-ed setting, it is still problematic.

It is a longstanding Church teaching that parents have the priority and obligation of teaching - especially in sexual matters. The Church has always recommended that these teachings not occur in public settings, but in the home. If bishops and pastors don't believe the parents under their spiritual guidance have the ability to teach the Truth and the Faith - especially with respect to these matters in their homes, then the bishops and the pastors should assist the parents - NOT by taking on the parents responsibility, but by teaching the parents how to carry out their God-given responsibility....

Oh yes. I forget. This isn't about "Protecting God's Children" - it is about money, and placating an unplacatable media.....

I am sorry I am so cynical this morning, but this whole thing has me been upsetting to me.

Notes from the weekend...

Here we go again. Just lost a long post of the same title. I will see if I can reconstruct, at least an abbreviated version.

We spent most of Saturday cleaning because my in-laws will be visiting Bethany this week. But first, we finally sent Requiem Press' next book off to the printer! (See the 'cover contest' here ) I will unveil the final version of the cover later this week....

Sunday morning we awoke to the cry, "A rabbit is loose!". Sure enough, after I raced downstairs and out, I saw our buck was hopping around under the rabbit cages. Now chickens are one thing. You know that you will eventually either catch them or be able to lure them back to the coop. I have limited experience with rabbits, but I figured that if that buck wanted to run away, I had little chance to catch him. Fortunately, we slowly surrounded him and I grabbed him. Apparantly, the last person (who shall remain nameless) to water the rabbits did not completely latch the cage door. The concern is not yet over. I was told when we bought the rabbits not feed them grass - that any diet change before they were old enough could kill them. Losing a doe would be one thing (we have three), but if we lose the buck, there will be no meat. So far he is looking okay.

We went to the 11:30 Mass at St. Catherine's. When we got home the younger kids played cowboys, the older boys played their instruments and later ran the dogs. Mrs. Curley and I played rummy. Sunday afternoons have turned into a waiting period. You see, on Sunday evenings we get to call Krystle and talk for a half an hour or so. We give the children 2-3 minutes each with her every other week. The time goes quickly. She is doing well. Her mishaps at the convent remind us of Maria von Trapp in "The Sound of Music". She will leave for Italy in another month or so, where she will stay for the next 2 years. Then phone calls will not be so frequent.

We have instituted a new "office" at Bethany. One of reasons I have given (when asked) for choosing the life we are attempting to lead came off the cover of a book, (Flee to the Fields, IHS press), 'when noon-time is Angelus time again'. Yet we still often miss the Angelus most days - there is no Church bells in Bethune to ring it. So Mrs. Curley and I decided to institute the "office" of bell-ringer. We have a small cast iron bell on our side porch. (Very useful for rounding up everyone at meal time). The bell-ringer is responsible for ringing the bell at 11:59 and 2:59. When we hear the bell at 11:59 we are to drop everything and find Mrs. Curley (usually in the kitchen at this time) to say the Angelus. (At 3:00 we gather and say our daily prayer for the holy souls in Purgatory.) We will rotate the bell-ringer duties among the children. The bell-ringer will be selected each week as an honor rewarded to one child for some heroic or other sacrificial act done for the family the previous week. The bell-ringer this week Matthew for helping Mrs. Curley scrub and oil the wood floors in the bedroom and for getting up by himself on his own initiative in the wee hours of the morning to scrub and oil the living and dining room floors.

Finally, please remember that Requiem Press continues to offer (from now until Nov. 1st) great discounts on large quantity purchases of "Daily Prayers for the Church Suffering". Shipping for the 500 quantity is free - so you get the books pretty close to cost and you have a great tool to promote prayers for these suffering souls. Of course we get some much needed cash flow. You can order here . Thanks to those who have ordered some of the books.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Printers and Rabbits...

Unexpected, but fruitful trip into the city (Columbia) today. The "official" image of Millet's "Sower" for the our next book (due out in late October) had come in- but in a form which I could not deal with on my equipment. I called a printer, RL Bryan (who in fact printed our Daily Prayers for the Church Suffering - Don't forget our important PLEA- here) and they said they would would take a look. Well they were able to get me a fantastic scan of the image. More vibrant color than I had expected - which of course may change again some of the planned color scheme.

I had gone to this college with the RL Bryan sales rep many years ago - we didn't know each other at that time, but had mutual friends. Anyway, when they printed the "Daily Prayers" book he took care of me. He did so again today. It turns out he loooves rabbit and gave me a tutorial on how to skin them ("its similar to doing a squirrel"). So I promised him the first two rabbits off my doe when they are ready sometime around February.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune....

Oremus pro invicem!

Prepping for 3rd CCD class tonight - (its going well so far...)

Doing the final touches on "Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church" - which is by the way an new title from Russell Shaw (not a reprint).

Don't forget my plea below!

Here's a short one: My daughter, on entering the convent asked me:

"Dad, did you know that when you give a child to the Church in religious life, it is a long-standing tradition that you are exempt from the tithe for 5 years! ... Whoa, Mom did you see the look of joy on Dad's face? Sorry Dad, only kidding! "

From Bethany, the small holding inBethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Finally updated/added some links on the sidebar ....

Paying the bills .....

I plug Requiem Press here occasionally, but I seldom beg anyone to buy books and never have begged for donations (notice, no PayPal button). However, we need $$$ to keep going here.

Coincidentally, we sell holy soul prayer booklets, and November is just around the corner: one of our missions is to promote devotion to praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. So here is the deal:

We are offering deep discounts on quantity purchases of "Daily Prayers for the Church Suffering - a daily commitment to praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory" at our website from now until November 2nd - or while supplies last.

The purpose of printing this book was to get it into many hands-so many prayers would be offered for the holy souls. We have sold over 1,000 copies and have distributed for free about 1,000 more. However we need to get more out there. It just so happens we are desperate for cash too ......

Please consider purchasing and distributing these books as an apostolate which will help the holy souls and, incidentally, Requiem Press. (Or you could direct your pastor to Requiem Press to buy some for the parish...)

More on the book....

The prayer booklet has a prayer for everyday of the week, directed to help a specific suffering soul, (i.e. the one most destitute of aid, the one you are most bound to pray for, etc.) followed by the Psalm 'De Profundis'. The introduction to the prayer book explains the Church teaching on purgatory and the tradition of praying for holy souls. Below is a sample page:

Booklet is 3.5" x 5.5" and has glossy pages. The print is fairly large, so all ages can easily use it. (We do the prayers everyday as a family and we know others who do also.)

Please spread the word. Both the Holy Souls and the Curley's will be thankful.

Gratefully, from Bethany, the small holding in Bethune....

Oremus pro invicem!

The Chicken Tractor

Saturday morning the boys and I converted an old dog kennel (6' x 6') we had inherited with the property into a chicken tractor. The hardest part was moving it from underneath one of our cedar trees over to the garden area. The old dog house attached to the kennel had at least 7 black widow spiders attached. I think we dispatched them all.

Two sides of the tractor are covered with plywood. (This will give the chickens a shaded area. Two sides are covered with chicken wire or other fencing wire. The top has fencing wire. We have put a small shelter inside the tractor - however, we plan to get them a retractable roof (tarp) for bad/cold weather and put in a perch. We took 6 male (we believe) chickens (about 12 weeks old) and put them in the tractor. The tractor is in part of the garden in which Mrs. Curley won't plant in until spring.

The idea is that you let the chickens manure and till your garden by rotating the tractor over the garden. Chickens naturally lay their manure and scratch. Why waste it all in one place? So we move the tractor every couple days. Further if (as is true for us) we want to prepare total new ground for planting in the spring, the chickens will take care of the hard work for us. The grass they eat will also cut the feed bill (a little).

Now the tractor is not on wheels, so we will see how well it moves later today. I do believe it will generally be more than a one-man job. You have to make sure you don't run over the chickens while moving it. I will post pictures when available (probably in a couple months based on my track record.)

If this works out, I will probably make a second one - but specifically designed for the purpose.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Film developed ......

Here are a couple of pictures which go with this post from July. The kids formed a band so Mrs. Curley and I could dance to the sounds of Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, etc. like we used to do every Thursday night at the local hotel when we lived in the city. (I should really co-ordinate my film developing with my posting...) Krystle (clarinet) and Nicholas (trumpet) are very good at their respective instruments. As I recall it was very hot that night. Mrs. Curley and I danced directly in front of a big box fan we had brought out. (The band members had no relief.)

Below, a couple of the 'band-members' take a break and cut a rug while enjoying the music of the others....

In the top picture you can see the neighbor's cornfield in the background, but the muscadine vines are ours.

Next week sometime, I will post a few pictures from our trek and "vacation" in Massachusetts before we dropped Krystle off here.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

The saddest thing....

We live in a very small parish. Today's daily Mass was also the funeral Mass for a elderly parishioner. His wife had passed away a few years ago and was also buried from our parish. It seemed that most of his family came to the funeral from out of town. (None are parishioners that I know of.)

At Communion time, of the 40 or so family members present, only one family member received Holy Communion.

Upon leaving Mass I told my sons (who had served the Mass) that I didn't want to see that at my funeral. I expected my children to remain practicing Catholics and to be able to receive our Lord at my funeral Mass - and the same with my grandchildren and great-grandchildren (as the case may be)....

Rabbits

As reported earlier, we purchased 4 New Zealand Whites: 3 Does and 1 Buck. They each come from a different litter and range from 2 months to 3 months old, the buck being the oldest. I have built 2 cages, but will need to have 2 more built soon as the does will want their own space as they get older.

The cages are fairly simple to build - and in fact if we end up selling some of the offspring, I may offer cages (at a price) to the purchasers. The cages are 36" x 30" (and 36" tall). The cages are all wire with the openings in the wire on the bottom being approximately 1/2" x 1" and the side and top being ~ 1" x 2". I used J-clips to put the cage together. The sides, front and back are one continuous length of cage fence, joined at one corner with the J-clips. One cage has a hinged door (J-clips for hinges) on the top. (This is inconvenient for shorter people who are feeding the rabbits as the cages are hung.) I put the door to the buck's cage in front. This (while recommended by most books) can be problematic as the buck seems to be getting bolder and bolder when I open the door; someday I am afraid he will get by me (or one of the boys) and never be heard from again.

I have started building an outdoor shelter for the cages. Basically, they need some protection from sun in the summer and some shelter from cold wind/rain. So far the shelter isn't complete, I am using a tarp to protect from rain and sun now, but a permanent roof and some side shelter will appear before winter.

Our plans with the rabbits, of course, is to breed them for meat. When (at about 5 months) the does are ready to get pregnant, we bring the buck to the doe's cage. The doe will give birth in about 31 days. At 5-6 weeks old, you remove the small rabbits from their mother and sell or slaughter them. (The doe should be already pregnant again before you remove the young ones.) The idea is that you only buy feed for your buck and does and not for the meat target. The rabbits will dress up to about 2.5 pounds of meat - but is considered more dense than chicken, so you may not need quite as much meeat as equivalent to a chicken. (You can let them get bigger; NZ Whites get to 10 lbs, but then you must buy feed for them and have more cages, etc. etc.) I figure right now we will probably need two rabbits for a meal, possibly 3 as the younger ones get older.

The other alternative is to sell the rabbits (the rate in SC is about $5/rabbit). If you figure it out, selling the rabbits may be more cost effective than eating them - especially if you sell value added products like cages. (I can put together a cage in about 1/2 hour - after only doing 2).

I figure that we will do a combination (eating and selling) unless we find there is a tremendous demand for rabbits in Kershaw County!

Jeff at Hallowed Ground says of his chicken butchering experience: "Butchering chickens is the most brutal thing I have ever done. It wasn't fun, it stinks, and the first one even made me a little queasy. I may never do it again, but I'm glad we did it this once."

I have now butchered some 10-12 chickens. I don't like it but am getting better/quicker at it. I dread doing the rabbits even more than I dreaded the chickens.... but unless a Requiem Press book becomes a true bestseller - I figure I will be butchering chickens and rabbits for some years whether I like it or not.....

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Monday morning...

Some of the kids have been fighting a minor bug the last few days, so Sunday morning I decided I would let them sleep in a bit (Mass is at 11:30) and do their 'animal' chores: feed and water the dogs, chickens, rabbits, and gather eggs. I very seldom if ever do any of these chores. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

A flock of geese circled over our house and the neighboring cornfield several times before landing next to the cornfield. A hen escaped the coop while I was feeding them and I chased her down. I carefully picked through eggs, (the hens are setting on some eggs which we marked, but the others keep laying in the same bin), for the unmarked eggs.

All in all, it was a peaceful and relaxing 30-40 minutes. I enjoy this work - yet I hardly ever do it. I sit in my office and see Mrs. Curley and kids working our garden, raising the animals - and it was I who wanted to be the farmer. Ah .............

Saturday morning wasn't so peaceful. I woke up with the alarm that only 1 of our dogs (of 4) was in the pen-(a goat pen we inherited with the property keeps the dogs). The back gate was wide open and the dogs gone. Who knows how long they had been missing. My greatest concern was that Challenger (see here) would get himself shot by one of the neighbors who keep poultry. Mrs. Curley was convinced they were gone forever. They older boys were walking around sorrowfully - sometimes you could catch one on his knees praying for canine return. Myself - I was confident (unless shot) that they would return. But, as much as I like our dogs, I also realize that 4 dogs are 2 or 3 too many. Unfortunately my favorites had taken off. Well... they did return; wet, exhausted and (it looked) penitent. But half of Saturday had been shot looking for them and trying to determine how they had opened the back gate.

We heard from our oldest daughter, who, as you know, is here . She is doing well - when not burning brownies in the convent kitchen or getting the schedule mixed up. It was good to hear her voice and know she is happy.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

I won't blog again until I get 10 comments on this post.....

UPDATE: Thanks to all who voted. The clear winner is of course, Millet's 'Sower'. (I myself had wondered if anyone would see the 70's in Cover A - apparently so.) I agree that both the type-face and the placement of the title, etc. on the cover needs some improvement. In fact before the first comments were in, we had already done some work improving these things. Again, thanks for all the votes and comments. I do appreciate it.

I actually stumbled upon the 'Sower' accidently, and then had a hard time finding where it resides, (Clark Art Institute in MA), especially since he did another 'Sower' some 15 years earlier which is much more famous. I had seen his "Angelus", prints are available from several Catholic sources, but never knew heard of the Millet before. In researching this picture, I came across much more of his work and absolutely love it. My oldest son made the comment (when looking over my shoulder at some Millet's work on French peasant/farm life we found on the internet) the he appreciates it much more now than he would have when we lived in the city a year ago.

Finally, looking at some of posts this past month or so, I realize that I have written, "I will post more about this later...", numerous times, but failed every time in keeping my promise. I am going to try to come through on those promises this week.

Again, thanks for taking the time in giving me your valuable input.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

______________________________________________________

I need your help. I have 2 competing cover concepts for our next book. We need to make a decision. Perhaps a Friday is not the best day to be making this plea with the weekend coming, but....

Taking a nod from this post at People of the Book blog I have decided to test run my covers here at BethuneCatholic.

The drawing on Cover A is a draft. The illustration of Cover B is Jean-Francois Millet's 'Sower' [He did three, this is perhaps the last (c. 1860s) of them. His best known work in today's Catholic circles would be "The Angelus". Much of his work was concerned with the life of French peasants.]

A B

Even if you don't like either, please let me know. My threat is good - No more blogging til I get 10 comments on these cover.

Vote away..... (And thanks)

Happy Birthday Blessed Mother!

Update: What a birthday present for Our Lady.... Jeff at Hallowed Ground is back from his blogfast.

We went to Mass as a family this morning to celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After our mid-day meal we will celebrate with a cake; tonight we will pray the Litany of Loreto after the family rosary....

I have neglected to mention this timely post from the pew lady which reminds us of the most important (but most forgotten) donation we can make for the victims of Katrina....

Requiem Press' is sending our next book to the printer soon. Stay tuned for more news on this...

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Fall?

The days have been a bit cooler of late, but this morning was very cool. Of course this means all those chores I was putting off for cooler weather are now in forefront.

Our van is running again also. (I was correct, it was a starter problem - but thankfully it didn't need replacement). This means we can start attending daily Mass once again.

Finally, a prayer request: Mrs. Curley and I are teaching CCD to the high school group at the parish starting tonight. We'd appreciate any extra prayers available.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Labor Day

I don't recall the origins of Labor Day from American History - although I am sure it is quite accessible. But I would speculate that Labor Day was in some sense a guarantee that the new class of worker, heretofore virtually unknown-the employee of a large corporation-was guaranteed a holiday in 'appreciation' of their labor. The craftsman, artisan, farmer, and shop owner may have benefited (although it is doubtful that the farmer took the day off) from Labor Day, but these "self-employed" were not the target beneficiaries for the new holiday.

Many years later now, who gets Labor Day off as a holiday? Most factory workers (declining in number as they are), most professionals, and most small businesses get the day off. But service workers, and retail workers, these who are least paid in our society and fastest growing in number, work on Labor Day.

Of course Requiem Press was doing business on Labor Day. We are still recovering from a month with the computer system essentially non-functional, (and our short family "vacation").

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Dependence

Read this at Catholic Exchange.

Not to take away from the main thesis of the article, but this particular excerpt caught my eye:

A news commentator mentioned it Thursday. We weren’t the way we used to be, he noted, back when people knew how to fend for themselves, how to hunt and start fires, how to grow things and make things. Now we are all dependent; we need electricity and grocery stores and a complex web of communication and transportation, just to survive. We are, he said, “fragile” and he might have added, “broken.”

We don't know how to take care of ourselves anymore. We are too dependent on infrastructure. At Bethany, we are making an effort to understand how to fend for ourselves, but we have a long way to go. (I have a dead car in the driveway which probably needs only a new solonoid or starter, yet I am not sure how to make sure and then how to fix it.)

But as I contemplate these things, I realize that the ideal of "independence", while certainly American, it is not necessarily a good thing in all aspects. It really depends on what you mean. Interdependence of peoples is good. It makes for peace in a community, in a country.... It is the hallmark of early Christian communities.

The fracturing of the family-first the extended family by our mobile and relocating society and then the fracturing of the immediate family through divorce, contraception, abortion, etc.-have devastated our ability to depend on each other. We don't know our neighbors in many communities - so we don't even try to depend on them. We can't depend on our families because they are either fractured or thousands of miles away. So we depend on government, utility companies, and the like.

In fact, we depend on infrastructure now and not on each other - and not on God!

During these disasters, people are once again forced to depend on each other-unfortunately we see sometimes, as in the reports of rape and mayhem in New Orleans, that some of the people can not be depended on when others are in need.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Just added a picture to the "Delivered!" post below. Have some more pictures which I will add as time permits.

Have not posted at all about New Orleans - others have done a much better job. But do remember to pray for those suffering. -- Oremus pro invicem!

Rabbits

We picked up our New Zealand Whites yesterday (1 buck, 3 does). While I will post more on this later, I do have one piece of advice for all you future rabbit-raisers, (learned from experience): Have your cages made and ready before you bring said rabbits home......More later.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Computer system is finally back up and running. There are a few bugs - sound card isn't working, etc. and I'm sure I'll find more. But for now at least I can get back to work in earnest. Thus, I may be scarce the next few days as I catch up on some things. I will leave you with the 'Publisher's Preface' from "Witnesses to the Holy Mass and other sermons" - available, of course from Requiem Press ($8.95 + shipping).

“And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matt. 10: 28


It is often spoken of: fifty years ago in America the Catholic Church was strong, orthodox, and faithful. Yet within a few decades we have become a Catholic population ignorant of the doctrines of the Holy Catholic Faith; we have (some) shepherds who fail to teach or uphold the Truth and scandalize the faithful with their passive allowance of abuse and disregard Christ’s Vicar; we hear that less than 50% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence; we hear of many other things inconceivable just 50 years ago. How did this happen in so few years?

“Who would have guessed that a period of peace and sunshine was so suddenly to be changed into one of tempest and gloom? And yet we now see clearly enough that there were ominous signs of the coming change, had men only looked for them, long before the storm finally broke. The land seemed full of beautiful fruits and flowers, but there was a blight in the air, a canker in the heart of it all. And this blight, this canker, was the prevailing worldliness of the time. All this material pros­perity had had a corrupting effect on those to whose pastoral care the flock of Christhad been committed; … the bishops were in many cases rather statesmen and politicians than minis­ters of Christ.” - Dom Bede Camm -

In early 16th century England, the Catholic Church was the pride of all Europe. The Protestant Revolt had not yet approached Britain’s shores. The King was “Defender of the Church”. Yet, in just a few years there commenced a century of martyrdom and persecution of Catholic faithful. Many, many fell away from the Faith of their fathers – among them, many bishops and priests. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was outlawed and obedience to Christ’s vicar and the doctrines of the Church dismissed. The persecution was fearsome and violent.

Dom Bede Camm’s words quoted above refer to 16th century England before the storm broke; they could equally refer to the mid-20th century in America. But there is a difference.

We have no gallows from which to hang in the present age. No one is being drawn towards the butcher’s block. Our faithfulness is not proven in blood. Our fate is worse than those of days of old. Our bodies are intact, but our souls and the souls of our children are being taken and destroyed. And this is Christ’s concern for us in the words at the head of this preface.

Six sermons preached 100 years ago across the ocean; sermons commemorating martyrs of the Holy Catholic Church whose blood was shed across the oceans and across the centuries; six sermons preached by a convert to the Faith, a Benedictine monk, whose purpose was to inspire and to pray for the (re)conversion of England to the Faith of her fathers. But this prayer for England should also be a prayer for the conversion of our own country. The martyrs’ tales herein do not just belong to England, but to the whole Church.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Altar is not outlawed in America, but is profaned by the lukewarmness of the souls in the congregation. We need to renew our devotion to the Holy Eucharist. We need to pray for the conversion of souls. We need to mortify and persecute our own bodies for the sake of the conversion of the souls of our brethren and of our children. If the Destroyer is not persecuting our bodies – he is certainly pursuing our souls with the temptations of worldliness and lukewarmness.

This is why Requiem Press has determined to reprint this volume. The sermons which follow will help us see the priority that our fathers placed on the Faith and the sacraments - a priority that is often absent in our hearts today. These will inspire us to greater devotion to the Holy Mass; greater love for the doctrines of the Church (“on His law he shall meditate day and night” Ps. 1:2) taught by Christ’s vicar.

By the reading of these tales of martyrs and the contemplation of their sacrifices, may we be inspired anew and our flames of love be rekindled so that we may fervently pray that God raise up saints among us once more!

Oremus pro invicem! – Let us pray for each other!

We arrived home late yesterday. The dogs and chickens were in good health and spirits (Thanks Atkinson's!). One chicken was roaming the yard as we drove up - which had dog Challenger's attention. Today will be busy with the finishing of the unpacking, getting back to the computer system wars, and preparing for the rabbits coming this week. I will post more about what we did here later in the week. One other note, The Deliberate Agrarian is taking a sabbatical also.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune... Oremus pro invicem!

Delivered!

We left for Massachusetts on Tuesday, August 23rd. Just outside of Charlotte, Mrs. Curley and oldest daughter started being alarmed at 'smoke' coming from around my (the driver's) seat. Mrs. Curley begged me to pull over, but I saw nothing. Suddenly oldest daughter sighed. The hairspray was spraying because someone had put a book or something on it. The first crisis avoided.

We drove 12 hours and 700 miles on Tuesday. Someone outside the Comfort Inn somewhere in Northeast, PA gave us 1/2 price coupons for rooms as he heard me negotiating rates at the front desk.

Wednesday at about 2:00 PM we arrived at a cottage in Rowe, MA in the Berkshires. There we spent a day and a half relaxing, singing, picnicing and praying by the Deerfield River. The spring supplying water to the house ran dry at 5:00 PM Thursday. A neighbor brought by big milk cans filled with water so we could wash dishes and 'flush'.

Friday morning the 26th of August, we drove the 3 hours to Fairhaven, MA. We arrived at the convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate at 11:o1 AM.

We first visited our Lord in adoration at the convent Church. Then we visited with Mother Superior for a little while. The children sang 'Our Lady of Knock' and the 'Seven Joys of Mary' (unofficial feast was the 26th). Then we said goodbye to our daughter. I gave her what could be my final blessing as her father. We hugged and kissed and left her to God.

We then proceeded the 1.5 hours to my Mother's house in Norwood, MA. We had planned to leave this morning for SC. But upon arriving at Mom's, my energy to drive back disappeared. So here we are. We will leave for SC after Mass in the morning.

Much more tell about this wonderful trip - possibly to be reported in future posts.

From Bethany on the road...Oremus pro invicem!

This morning I decided to look at some of those posts I had started to write, but never finished. One was started right before the November elections and was asking whether things are getting better (spiritually/morally) or worse in this country.

Another was in January and was the beginning of a commentary on friendship; prompted by the imminent relocation of a one-third of our "Novena and Beer" group (if you can call 3 men a group).

The next was the my story of Bethany which I didn't post because it appeared here .

Finally, I found a post which starts like this:

[Communism or Capitalism?] "reduced man to a force of production. ...It reduced gifted and talented people to nuts and bolts of some monstrously huge, noisy and stinking machine...."

This quote is from Vaclave Havel, former president on the Czech Republic on the Communist regime. It struck me that while Mr. Havel was referring to Communism; Capitalism/Industrialism as we know it today could easily fit the quote also. I can not remember exactly where I was going with this post, but surely I was going to point out how Capitalism in America is very utilitarian.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

I note in Jeff's 'Blogfast' announcement he details the progress they have made in Orland in the 9 months they have been there. Having just completed our first year - albeit on a much smaller holding, I can also say Deo Gratias. However, there is much work to be done here. We will have rabbits within 2 weeks (1 buck and 3 does - NZ whites from separate litters are being held for us as I write). I still have not started the rabbit houses nor the new house for those young chicks who are not so young any more. Much work to be done....

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Oh where have I been?

It has been a looooooooooong week here. I have spent the greater part of three days on the phone trying to get the company that warranteed my computer to get moving and to try to get a little satisfaction for all the mistakes they have made. Someday I will be calm enough to tell the story. For now, the system is still down - but I have more important fish to fry this week. My oldest daughter is due to head off to here in a few days. It is time to forget about computers and business and have some fun with the family.

(Here is one of my favorite pictures of myself and oldest daughter - and dog of the chicken slaughter fame)

With that said, I will leave you all with this from the March/April 2005 The Catholic Answer:

"Dom Bede Camm was a Benedictine monk, an English convert from Anglicanism who labored and prayed for the reconversion of his nation to the Catholic faith. Many of his works are historical in nature and focus on the lives and faith of the English martyrs.

"These (Witnesses to the Holy Mass and other sermons) particular sermons were preached in the Convent Chapel at Tyburn on the feast of the English Martyrs in May 1904. They recall the sacrifices of those who died during the reigns of King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. The gripping stories recounted will inspire not only a devotion to these saints, but also a renewed passion for the holy Mass that these holy men and women shed their blood to preserve."

Of course y'all know this book is available from Requiem Press !

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

We went to the ocean Thursday. We thought it would be less crowded as SC schools started last week. However, the vacationers from the North must wait for this very time to come down because the beach was most crowded we had seen all summer long. This of course is unfortunate as we do try to set down at the most isolated spot possible - thus avoiding(at least somewhat) the scandalous immodesty displayed on our beaches.

Computer system is still down. It looks like it will be at least another few days. Turns out that the company who made the computer is out of business (thus being difficult to find parts) and that the warranty stipulates that the contractor servicing the warranty doesn't have do anything for 48 hours after a contact. For instance if they promise to call you back with information, they are not obligated (and thus will not) call you back for 48 hours. Frustrating it has been.

Hallowed Ground is going on a Blog-fast. I have noticed of late some others that I try to read somewhat regularly have temporarily or permanently decided to do the same in one form or another. For myself, while in some sense I would rather just blog and not spend time reading the blogs of others - there just are some blogs which I just enjoy reading for either the news provided or the philosophy discussed. It is often the reading of other blogs which takes so much time.

I started writing this post last Friday - I hope to have something to say about the Feast of the Assumption later today or tomorrow. Til then you will have to be satisfied with the following:

After reading various efforts in recent months of blog-poetry, I debut with my own poem - written at least 25 years ago. My 10th grade English teacher thought it had more depth than I had. I had scribbled to complete an assignment as the teacher walked in the room. It is a Haiku (sp?) Here goes:

The balancing branch
It may fall when I pass by
Think I'll take my chanc's

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Signs of the times..... Monday I was told the parts for the computer (see below) had been ordered and that I should call back on Tuesday to confirm the delivery date. Tuesday I could not get through. I was hold once for more than an hour. Most other times I gave up long before the 60-minute mark. This morning I finally get through. They tell me that the parts were ordered on Tuesday (and to call back tomorrow to confirm delivery date). She explained the parts manager had gotten backed-up. I told her that I wasn't so concerned about the back-up, but that I had been lied to. I had made it a point to determine that the parts had already been ordered on Monday. She replied that I wasn't lied to, but was just given false information - and that she definitely wasn't giving me false information now. What a comfort!

Random Thoughts....

Sunday we went up to the creek where we usually go fishing - but this time the kids went rock-sliding down some shallow falls. There were a couple of scrapes and one son got 7 fire-ant bites. This is not trivial with us, as one of the boys was hospitalized overnight a few years ago due to his allergic reaction to a single fire ant bite. Fortunately this time there is a swollen foot, but no breathing problems.

**********************************************************************

On my drive to Philiadelphia last week I caught two installments of Dr. Dobson discussing (with guests) intelligent design. It is funny that this is treated as something 'new'. I remarked to my brother-in-law (Christendom graduate and teacher of high school Theology) that Thomas Aquinas used 'intelligent design' as one of the proofs of the existence of God. He one-upped me with reference to St. Paul in Romans 2: 19-20. On the way home I heard Dr. Michael Bethe (sp?) briefly debate an 'anti-intelligent design' scientist on some radio station (it may have been NPR). Dr. Bethe was given a fair shot to discuss his views. It is interesting how things tie together sometimes. I have been reading Newman's 'Idea of a University' - where the point is made that if any of the fields of science are eliminated from education then another field(s) will fill the gap - but by overstepping its bounds. (Prime example: when religion steps into science to say that the sun must revolve around the earth, not based on scientific observation, but on the philosophical principle that since we are God's highest creation we must therefore be the center of the universe). Since the science of the Theology (and much philosophy for that matter) has been eliminated from our public schools - the cause of true education there is already lost; a new religion is taught based on secular humanism. Unfortunately many Catholic schools treat the fields of science as if they have no relation to each other - and again, the cause of true education is lost.

*******************************************************************

We had a chaplain for our Men's Prayer Group who used to say, "Your life isn't about you - it is about God." I bring this up only because I see this very thought mentioned at Destination Order, (scroll down to 7 August). It is worth contemplating.

*********************************************************************

Going on two weeks, my computer system is still down. I have a back-up which allows me to blog (I know you all thank your lucky stars for that) and to check email and to do some rudimentary word processing. But the back-up doesn't have MSOffice installed and probably can't handle my layout programs like Pagemaker. It is slow as it is, so I don't want to burden it with more software. One problem with living so far into the country - but relying so much on city techonology to earn a living - is that a system breakdown like we are experiencing takes on more complicated proportions. It is crucial I get this thing running properly as soon as possible. They are shipping a new motherboard (2nd time), cpu, and cpu fan sometime this week. A technician will follow. (I can't touch the unit without voiding the warranty.).

This down time should allow me to accomplish some other chores: maybe I'll get started on the long overdue new chicken house. Our new chickens are quickly outgrowing their current digs. And I should get started on rabbit houses as we should be getting a call on those any day now. Another fishing expedition seems warranted also. This week could be quite fun...

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune on this feast of St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, (Mrs. Curley's name-saint)...

Oremus pro invicem!

From a long absence...

I'm back!

I was at the CMN (Catholic Marketing Network) show/conference in Philiadelphia last week to try to sell books. Thought I saw Amy Welborn going into an elevator, and sure enough she mentions she was there. I heard Fr. Fessio of Ignatius Press (and Ave Maria University) speak a little about Pope Benedict XVI's vision for the Liturgy. And I had several long and interesting discussions with Chris from Loreto publications. They have some great books. In fact my wife has not been able to put down "The Valiant Woman" by Monseigneur Landriot Archbishop of Rheims which Chris had given to me at CMN.

I stayed with my sister (Agnes Penny - "Your Labor of Love" - TAN books) who lives in the area. It was great to see my charming neices and nephew once again.

But it is even greater to be back at Bethany! Our one-year anniversary of moving to Bethune, SC was yesterday. The kids put on a talent show where at least half the numbers were humorous take-offs of "If I Were a Rich Man" (The Fiddler on the Roof). Why - You may ask? It is a long story, but it has to do with my performance of that number some time ago....

I have much to catch up on. The computer system is not yet fixed, (somehow problems don't go away just because you are...).

From the small holding in Bethune.....

Oremus pro invicem!

A few days ago I posted a picture of Fr. John O'Holohan on the day of his ordination, 50 years ago today. Today I post a picture of him taken this past December with two first communicants - (yes, these are ours). Again, thanks Fr. John for responding to God's call.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

P.S. Please don't forget my request below!

Blogging may be sparse the next few days - I woke up this morning and the computer was completely dead! I have temporarily hooked up an older computer we had hanging around, but ....

However, here is an important request:

We are planning a little trip in the coming month to deliver my oldest daughter here and want to make the trip one of pilgrimage on the way up the east coast from SC to MA. We will in all likelihood go to the Martyrs Shrine in Auriesville, NY which is a family favorite. We have some other favorites, like the Franciscan Monastery in DC, (my mother grew up around the corner from the monastery and used to play in the 'catacombs' in the basement), but we will probably avoid sites in cities as we want very cheap accomodations (camping or cheap motels) along the way. The pilgrimage site can be a shrine or simply the most beautiful little chapel you have ever seen. We would appreciate all suggestions over the next week or so.

I may not post much in meantime - but keep the suggestions coming.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Thank you Fr. John!

Fr. John O'Holohan SJ gives his first blessing after ordination to his parents Patrick and Winnie O'Holohan on 28 July 1955.

This post is a couple days early - but events can be unpredictable around here, so I thought I better get this up today.

Fr. John spent 22 years as missionary in Zambia. He has spent the last 17 years or so as a missionary in Florida and South Carolina. He is the pastor at my parish, St. Catherine of Sienna in Lancaster, SC and also in two other parishes. He is 82 years old and an inspiration to my children, my family, and my parish, and many others. He is also responsible for naming our small holding, Bethany, (read the story here).

Requiem Press has published a booklet by him - about his missionary years, "Tales of a Missionary in Zambia". (We also carry the 11th edition of a prayerbook he originally wrote some 20 years ago.)

Fr. John is visiting family in Ireland this month. But we wish him congratualtions on his 50 years as a priest and thanks for answering God's call - continuing to work so faithfully in God's vineyard.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

I'm a little late on this one - only about a year

Until a couple of months ago, I had never heard of Touchstone Magazine. Now that I had heard of it, I had never seen a copy until recently when a friend gave us a bunch of stuff and amongst it all, was the October 2004 issue of Touchstone. Inside there was quite a gem, "Choice, the Lovely Dragon" by Anthony Esolen. Here's an excerpt:

"Choice is the dragon of our day. It smuggles into its charcoal-smelling barrow not goblets and gilt pommels but human souls, one after another after another, entic­ing them there with "choices," all of them more or less trivial, while it sits upon the hoard and snores away in its inhuman sleep.

We like that dragon. We eat the fruit of the land in season, out of season. We surf the speckled Internet for spiky games and delights, or for the sheer satiation of ennui, only a click away. We shop for schools, we demand "electives." We shop for churches (alas that we should have to shop for churches), even shop for creeds. We will give the dragon our gold for the privilege of wider choice in how we may put our brain waves to sleep for a couple of hours a day, irritable and unaccountable as those brain waves are.

We find arranged marriages abominable. What, no choice? And after we marry, we retain a fail-safe, lest mar­ried life prove to be married life and not the predictable scripts of our own writing. We are the first people in the world who expect that our children will live far away from us and from each other. Why should anyone be subject to the geographical accident of having been raised in Bag-End, near a certain hill or beside a certain brook?

We even believe in the "freedom to choose," a lizardly slogan that darts past the silent object of the infinitive: as if we feared that the children of our own wombs would be reptiles themselves, now come to prey upon our precious choice. We like that dragon. We like our choice.

I used to believe, when I was young and dumber than Percival, that the "freedom to choose" was a legiti­mate freedom so long as the object of the infinitive was legitimate. If it is legitimate to live in New Jersey, then it is legitimate for me to choose to live in New Jersey. But now I pray rather that God will give me the faith to reject "choice" as the standard whereby I measure my freedom even in the licit disposition of worldly things.

I am not merely saying that there is a freedom higher and more blissful than the freedom to choose how one spends one's money or where one buys a house or whom one marries. I assert that even regarding questions of money or dwelling or spouse or any earthly thing, there is a freedom that slays the freedom to choose. Call it the wisdom of tossing the choice away. Call it the hope not in choosing but in being chosen."

I could quote more, no doubt, but there is much to contemplate even here.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Feast of St. Mary Magdalene - After my Dad died five years ago, (may his soul rest in peace), we found this well-worn holy card of Mary Magdalene in his sport coat vest pocket. Obviously because of the condition, it had been there for years and had probably been moved from coat to coat. We were not particularly aware (at least I wasn't) of a special devotion to her. I have taken the holy card and laminated it to prevent further damage. It sits on my desk at Requiem Press.

Patents and Rabbits

Has been a busy week. Besides the lightening adventure discussed below, I took on a quick consulting job on a Patent case - which consumed most of my "extra" time, (but pays better than publishing).

We have decided to start raising rabbits for meat. We plan to acquire these within the week - but we will see how this goes. Numerous sources: (John Seymour's The Self-Sufficient Life ..., Mr. Franklin Jennings - the urban homestead advisor at Hallowed Ground, and others) extoll the efficiency of raising rabbits for meat (and manure - and also fur).

We first look in the The South Carolina Market Bulletin, where we may be able to find the rabbits we want. I may also go to the weekly small animal auction in Lugoff. This would be my preference, although you don't know any given week if what you are seeking will be there.

We would like to get two does and buck-either New Zealands or Californian. However, most of what we see adverstised here are cottontails. I called a gentlemen last night who advertised rabbits in the afore mentioned SC Bulletin. When asked what kind of rabbits he was selling, the reply was, "I dunno - I just got them at the tractor place".

We will have to build a cage this weekend, but that should be no big deal. I will report on our progress.

Oh yes - we hope to go fishing this afternoon - after all, it is Friday!

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Is it ours?

I came across this post (hat tip to Jeff at Hallowed Ground for directing me to this blog).

Totally homegrown feasts are special. I have noted of late that at almost every meal one or more of the kids will ask where something came from. If we are eating chicken: "Is this one of ours?"; If we have zuccinni, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, or any vegetable that we grow, the questions is always asked, "Is it from our garden (or if corn, from the neighbor). The kids do see something special (because their own hands contributed) when we are eating from the bounty God has provided at Bethany.

Oremus pro invicem!

Last night we were returning from a rare trip into the city, (attending the senior piano recital of a dear friend of the family), and we were treated to a truly spectacular lightening show. Unfortunately when we arrived at Bethany, the show soon followed and was very violent (and terrifying for some) for almost half the night. Behold in the morning my modem and network card had been zapped. I do have one of the expensive surge suppressors/battery back-ups, and the computer and modem were plugged into it - however I didn't think that the phone line could and should be plugged into also.

Just another one of those things to keep my life interesting, my bank account small, and me running around like crazy. When were we going to find time to go fishing anyway?

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Sunday Night

Amy Welborn notes how Pope Benedict XVI urges almost everyone to take a vacation:

"In the world in which we live, it is almost a necessity to be able to regain one's strength of body and spirit, especially for those who live in the city, where the conditions of life, often feverish, leave little room for silence, reflection and relaxed contact with nature. " (my emphasis)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I may have mentioned before, when we lived in the city, every Thursday night for two years Mrs. Curley and I would go listen and dance to the big-band music of the Helms-Boyd Orchestra (Don Boyd played trombone with Harry James in the early forties, and later with Les Brown) at the Adam's Mark Hotel. While we are no 'Fred and Ginger', we really enjoyed these nights out together. Mrs. Curley happened to mention to the children the other night how much she had enjoyed these times.

Well, after a week of secret practice, (which is hard to do with trumpets, clarinets, and baritones) the kids set up their band on the patio last night and invited Mrs. Curley and I to listen and dance. [Oldest daughter and son have played in a homeschool band - clarinet and trumpet respectively - a few years ago. The others have no formal training.] All the children had a part to play as we danced to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Pennies from Heaven", and about eight other big band swing tunes. My 10 year-old son was keeping beat with the baritone and even managed to play a solo on "When the Saints go Marching In". Our 8 year old son played '2nd clarinet'. Our 6 year-old daughter played some percussion devices and sang. Our two youngest, 5 and 3 played a xlophone and some 'clapping hands' when not running around.

The 5 year-old was heard to ask the 3 year-old if she wanted to dance. She replied "If you can catch me!" and took off running.

It was a wonderful evening amd a loving gift from our children.

____________________________________________________________________

We hadn't eaten one of our own chickens in a while. So Saturday we slaughtered one of our remaining full-grown roosters and had him (with delicious corn from our neighbor) for supper last night. In the past we have cooked the chickens in beer or wine in the crock pot. This one we marinated in beer overnight, and cooked on one of those "beer butt chicken" contraptions - it is a rack which holds a beer can, you put the chicken over the beer can (1/2 full of beer), seal the 'neck area' and put the rack in the oven. You can add other things to the beer and season as desired. Even though I think 'we' overcooked it, the chicken was still tender and had a good flavor.

A point of note, it was nice to pluck the chicken in the warm weather. We were able to pluck him completely without resorting to a hot water submersion.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

A little St. Francis...

I must admit that I never paid much attention to St. Francis of Assisi as an adult (of course as a Catholic youth I read simple popularizations of his life). I understood he was one of the great saints of the Church, but perhaps (and not to my credit) because St. Francis has been in recent years adopted by the New Age Pantheists, I never took the time to examine his life. Now with oldest daughter entering the Franciscans in August, I decided to pursue some knowledge of this long-neglected area in my formation.

Of course, being the man I am, I selected Chesterton's "St. Francis of Assisi". This is no conventional biography as an fan of Chesterton can imagine. In some sense Chesterton writes exactly according to my needs. He anticipates the mistaken interpretations of St. Francis' love of nature so common today and presents St. Francis in the light of the Gospel.

With that introduction, I read this passage this morning:

"Through all his plunging and restless days (specifically regarding his attempt to convert Saladin, but in general all his activities - JC) ran the refrain: I have not suffered enough; I am not yet worthy of even the shadow of the crown of thorns. He wandered about the valleys of the world looking for the hill which has the outline of a skull."

As I read these lines I realized exactly how far I am from St. Francis; that how often I would say of myself by comparison : 'I have already suffered much; I am worthy - as I am not like those other poor slobs, sinners. I wander through the world looking to obtain more comfort........'

I think Jeff at Hallowed Ground mentioned some time ago (yes, I am too lazy to find the link) that he had the discussion with one or more of his children about the strange question: how come as someone becomes holier-closer to God- they understand their own unworthiness, sinfulness more and more.

I don't know if I have mentioned this before on this blog, but I have written somewhere on how St. Catherine of Genoa in her treatise on Purgatory that when we die and are free of our materiealistic/earthly attachments, we then can see ourselves as we truly are - as God sees us. Thus we throw ourselves in to Purgatory (that is if we aren't going to Hell) in horror at our sins and in a pure desire to cleanse ourselves before meeting God.

The saints - and in this case St. Francis - have co-operated with God's grace such that they have freed themselves here on earth from these earthly attachments - and see themselves as God does. Thus they joyfully seek and embrace opportunities here on earth to purge themselves of all those sins that most of us are oblivious to - so wrapped up are we in seeking comfort.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

I have had much to say - but little time to say it recently. But let me try to catch up a little.

I had gotten into the habit of walking/running our (first) dog, Challenger, of the chicken slaughter fame, between the cornfields and pine forests behind our property last fall/winter. But somehow, the habit had died. Both he and I got somwhat out of shape. In the past week I have started taking Challenger in the cool mornings - (this possible now that Mass is usually not in the morning for us while Fr. John is away). If I am not out there by 7:30 he calls for me.

Our little chickens which arrives a few weeks ago are not so little any more. They have a little house, but the time is quickly approaching when I need to get the new hen house built. We don't yet know the breakdown (male/female), but should know in a few weeks more.

We are still getting zuccini, and we have started to get cucumbers. We should start eating tomatoes soon (I think we have had one so far.) The cantaloupe plants look healthy, but not a fruit to be found. We had one or two green peppers - then no more, (which is no great loss in my mind, but I am in the minority here on that count). The green beans are about done. We have had few small carrots, but the bulk will be ready fairly soon. We also have lots of sunflowers scattered about. The herbs, especially the mint and basil have come along nicely. Mrs. Curley is looking to start planting the fall crop - which will be more carrotts, radishes, brocolli, and I'm sure a few other things. Mrs. Curley is regretting not having a bigger garden this year, but I am sure she will make up for it next year.

We have started a 'new' practice, which needs some fine-tuning, but which is also coming along. Each month we are picking one feast to have associated readings, skits, songs, etc. prepared. In June we had picked the feast of St. Thomas More and John Fisher. The boys sang an English pub song. My oldest daughter and I did a 'skit' where we acting the writing of a couple of the letters between Margaret Roper and her father Thomas More while he was in the Tower awaiting martyrdom. One daughter read a section of the life of Thomas More. Mrs. Curley and I acted out the meeting between Thomas More and his wife in the Tower. Overall it was a great success. Last evening we did the same for the feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. It wasn't quite so successful as we didn't spend as much time preparing.

Finally, the Requiem Press experiment is still on its feet - but if you get the chance, don't be afraid to buy some good Catholic books here to stabilize the tottering structure.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Since our paster at St. Catherine's is on vacation in his homeland of Ireland, we have had some trouble finding or getting to daily Mass. St. Catherine's has daily Mass M-F at 9:00AM. It is one of the few rural churches that has Mass every weekday - and at the same time everyday. I understand that some parishes shift the Mass time so that more people can get to Mass at least once during the week, however we have found that in general, the same people show up no matter what the time. So for us, having Mass at the same time everyday is convenient to keeping a schedule and making sure we get to Mass.

However, with Fr. John away, we have had an adventure or two in trying to get to Mass. Take last night for instance. Mass at St. Peter's in Cheraw was at 5:30 PM. Cheraw is about 35 miles from Bethany. We all piled into the car at 4:45 - I had to put some air in the tires on the way. The first gas station we passed had a truck parked in front of the air compressor, so I just drove on to the next station down the street. This air pump was available, so I put my 4 quarters in and tried to fill our flat. 2 problems: this hose did not have a pressure gage on it, so I didn't know how much to fill it (our gage was in the other car.). Secondly, the air hose had an abnormally large head, and I couldn't quite get it to engage our stem properly. The result: we lost more air than we put in-at least by appearances. And we lost the dollar.

At this point, I went back to the first gas station. I had to go in and make change for the air pump. When I came out, this other fellow was filling his trailor tires. He finished before the air time expired, so he gave me the hose, ('saving' me a dollar). This time I was able to finish filling the tire.

By this time getting to Mass on time was a lost cause. However, we realized we would still be in time to receive the Holy Eucharist, so maybe we should make a go at it. Before we could get on the main road however, we were caught at a railroad crossing - destroying all hopes of getting to Cheraw in time.

This was my fault. We should have left earlier, but I pushed things so closely so I could get more work done - eventually cutting everything too close. This shows the value of a regular schedule. Today, we will try to make the noon Mass in Cheraw. We will leave in plenty of time.

UPDATE: We didn't leave in plenty of time today, and then we got behind a truck doing 1/2 the speed limit (with no passing allowed) for a good part of the way. We arrived just in time to receive Holy Communion. Tomorrow we try again.....

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

I have been in Manassas, VA for the Catholic Family Expo the latter part of last week. I stayed at my sister's in McLean and was blogging from there. We arrived home late yesterday. It was a wonderful homecoming - especially as our neighbor had dropped off a load of his just-harvested sweet corn. Oh my - what a taste! We are wondering if we could ever buy vegetables at a grocery store again.

The Catholic Family Expo is the NACHE annual homeschooling conference. We went up to publicize Requiem Press and to sell a few books. I did meet someone there who actually reads this blog - and enjoyed conversations with her and others.

I also spent some time speaking with ARX publishing - who were also representing/distributing Catholic Men's Quarterly.

Speaking of Catholic Men's Quarterly, you might want to check out their Spring/Summer issue. It has some reflections on Benedict XVI, John Paul II, and interestingly enough and article by your friendly Bethune Catholic blogger concerning the Maccabees, Catholic warriors, and Catholic martyrs.

Our pastor, Fr. John O'Holohan SJ is on vacation in Ireland for the month. Unfortunately this means daily Mass must be found elsewhere. We will probably be heading up to St. Peter's in Cheraw as often as possible.

Finally, I hope to post a couple pictures from the "fare-thee-well" party (see this post) we held for my oldest daughter a couple weeks ago. While she is sticking around til the end of the summer - we wanted to do this before the real heat set. We made it by a couple days.

From "Bethany", the small holding in Bethune ...

Oremus pro invicem!

"He had told him so often that the heart is as divine a gift as the mind, and that to neglect it in the search for God is to seek ruin..." - Lord of the World by Msgr. Robert H. Benson

For years I too thought the intellect was the only way to find God. But our intellect cannot unravel the Trinity - thus our heart must play its part also.... It is not handy at the moment to quote, but the 14th century anonymous and mystical work, The Cloud of Unknowing has a few passages to this effect also.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

I have eleven brothers and sisters. We are now spread all over the United States. My youngest sister (Agnes Penny, author of "Your Labor of Love" - TAN books) edits and sends out a monthly newsletter to keep us informed of family goings on. We each send in articles, news, opinions, etc. I think everyone in the family looks foward to receiving this every month.

The April issue of the "Curleytown Report", (as it is called), contained the following letter to the family from my oldest daughter:

Dear Curleytown,

May our Lady's month bring you ever closer to the Immaculate heart! I hope that you are all in good health and wonderful spirits. Spring in the Shenandoah valley is blooming in full colors and I am drawing to the end of my school year.

This is my both my second and last year at Christendom College. I believe that God is calling me to enter into the religious life. When fall comes, I plan to leave for the convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, located in Fairhaven, MA. This order is actually a missionary order, whose motherhouse is in Rome. God willing, I shall spend my postulency and novitiate in Rome, and then the Holy Spirit will ship me off to one of the many missionary houses. The Sisters have spread to Brazil, Australia, Africa, and many places in between. They have a website if you care to visit it: www.marymediatrix.com. The website will give you a more complete idea of their charism and spirituality.

Though I have been trying to shake the idea of becoming a nun since I was six, I finally decided to give God my full attention and be open to His will. One of the priests here told me that, "Whatever God plans for you will be infinitely better than anything you could finagle." With that encouragement, I began to increase my time in prayer, attend Adoration, look into various religious orders, and meet with the chaplain. As soon as my heart was open, God drenched me with grace and I wanted nothing else but Him. I realized what He has done and is doing for me and I yearned to give what I have back to Him.

Am I certain that God is calling me? I'm more certain than not- and if I am mistaken, and God wills me to serve in another way, I will redirect my path. God bless you all!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please pray for my daughter's continued discernment and vocation. (You may have noted that I added the Franciscans Sisters of the Immaculate to my links some months back - now you know why.)

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

It has been several days since I've had time to post anything. I will try to check in a few times over the next few days - but no promises.....

I have been meaning to comment on the recent Supreme Court vacancy. Others, here, and here, and here and here and here have done so. The Republicans have a very mixed record (as we know - the same party who gave us Thomas and Scalia also gave us Souter, O'Connor, and Kennedy) on appointing Supreme Court Justices - yet this is the very issue that our Catholic friends who are active Republicans used to convince us to vote for Bush as opposed to a 3rd party candidate. I will pray with hope that Mr. Bush nominates someone who understands that our Constitution protects all our citizens and not just those who can hire lawyers for themselves - but I have no expectations either way. Mr. Bush's record is mixed on pro-life issues. I don't know if his pro-life instincts are truly out of conviction or out of political expedience. The Republicans have had an indefensible position on abortion for years (abortion is murder unless the father of the unborn is a criminal, then it is perfectly okay) - which makes me doubt either the philisophical intelligence or the sincerity of the adherents to the "pro-life" plank.

I would like to expound more, but must go for now.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Homespun Entertainment

When we lived in the city Mrs. Curley and I used go dancing to Big Band music once a week. Oldest daughter could go out and get an ice cream up the street with friends. While we didn't go to movies very often, they were readily available, as was Frankie's Fun Park, the bowling alley, etc. etc. And while we didn't have a satellite dish or cable TV, we still could get some 5-6 stations in - although even these we didn't watch much. We had a minor (single A) league baseball team (very affordable even for a family) in town also.

Now in the country, I have to fiddle with the TV for a long time just to get one station to give recognizable images. We have no dancing, bowling, baseball, ice cream shops, etc. So we are learning more and more to entertain ourselves.

Occasionally Mrs. Curley and I do roll back the rug and put a record on the turntable and do some dancing. At times I will select a long book and read it out loud to the family for 1/2 hour every night.

However, the most fun is when we do some impromtu skits or songs for each other. This homespun entertainment involves everyone, creates laughs, teamwork, and joy. One time we split up into three teams and had about an hour for each team to come up with a skit, which we then performed for each other. Today we just took turns singing songs alone, in groups, or all together. We did some of this when we lived in Columbia, but now we do much more of it - to the benefit of all of us. I think in many ways we owe much thanks to our oldest daughter and our dear friends the Nyikos family for showing us how much fun and uplifting this can be. Especially the music brings joy.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

A couple photos of the van ...

Here's some photos of the van - mostly for the interest of the my family.

This shows part the rear impact - the second time hitting the truck.

The initial impact was the cab of the logging truck into the driver side front quarter. This sent the van into a spin. The van spun such that the rear of the van impacted the still moving logging truck - probably in log-carrying section. This impact propelled the van (airborne) into a telephone pole - which is the damage you see here.

Here is one of our new Rhode Island Reds on arrival day almost two weeks ago. You have to teach them to drink by dipping their beaks into the water.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...

Oremus pro invicem!

Well it has been a very light blogging week. I have been trying to spend a little time this morning catching up.

Jeff at Hallowed Ground discusses questions about the compatibility of technolgy and city life with distributism and Catholicism. This is an important discussion. Hopefully when my head clears of all this week's confusion, I will have something intelligent to say.

My thanks to Destination Order for giving a plug to Requiem Press' latest release "The Chapel Veil - symbol of the spouse of Christ".

Much work to be done on this Saturday. Everyone is slowing getting better from Monday's ordeal. Maybe I will have a picture to post next week of the wreck. An eyewitness told us yesterday that the van (a 12-passenger Ford E-150 [or 350?]) was airborne as it went into the telephone pole. We have much to be thankful for this week!