As part of Mary’s month, I’d like to something written by my friend, Brother Mickey McGrath, artist and author. This article, titled We Need Images of the Black Madonna Now More Than Ever appeared in the March 5, 2018 issue of America Magazine. Below is one of the pictures that appeared with the article.
Our Lady of Montserrat. (c) Brother Mickey McGrath 2020
Statue of Mary, Journaling, Spring Blooms, Rosary, Mary by Tomie de Paola, Zen Garden. (c)2020
Mary our mother sustains us in moments of darkness, difficulty, and apparent defeat.
– Pope Francis
We’ve been slowly returning/adapting to a new normal. I don’t think we’ll go back to what we knew as normal for a long time, if at all.
I don’t think it’s helpful to be Pollyannas, but it is possible to find joy in our new circumstances.
Knowing that staying home and also wearing a mask when I go out for groceries and other supplies is my way of contributing to the mitigation and the time to search for a cure makes it a bit easier to accept my role in the effort. Each of us has a small part but all of us together can create a larger outcome.
Cooperation.
Unity.
Selflessness.
Compassion.
We all have our own struggles, but I would encourage you to find the silver lining in the cloud; the rainbow after the rain; the cliche in the trope.
Three Places Where I Find Joy
1. Cool breeze
2. Mary *more below
3. Kindle – FB with family/friends, books, podcasts, writing – encompasses much of my person in one place, not quite a talisman, but a path, a tunnel from one place to the next; from one world to the next.
May is also Mary’s month in the church. There’s Mother’s Day and Mary is all of our Mothers. Marian devotions. May Crowinings. Pope Francis provided two new prayers to add to our rosary prayers for the month of May.
I will have weekly Mary posts throughout May beginning below with links to the Vatican’s Rosary pages and the Pope’s letter and his two rosary prayers.
I have been praying them when I’ve prayed the rosary this week and it truly makes me feel as though I’m doing something tangible and positive during this pandemic. I may also begin a Mary meditation, but time will tell.
Winning the White House is immense and more important than anything we’ve faced in my lifetime, but if we want to get anything done, help Americans through this global pandemic and restart our economy, we’ll need to retake the Sentate. Mitch McConnell, instead of working on helping working class Americans survive is returning to DC to push through more unqualified judges. This isn’t about their being too conservative for my liking; many of them are literally unqualified. Some have never even tried a case before.
Pick a Senate Race.
Donate time.
Volunteer to make calls.
If you live in those states, VOTE THEM OUT!
We need to get rid of:
Mitch McConnell (KY) Lindsey Graham (SC)
Susan Collins (ME) Martha McSally (AZ)
Cory Gardner (CO) Kelly Loeffler (GA)
Thom Tillis (NC) Jim Jordan (OH)
Devin Nunes (CA) John Cornyn (TX)
Matt Gaetz (FL)
Joni Ernst(IA) – Donate to Theresa Greenfield here
May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
Each Monday from now until the second week in June will be the Mental Health Monday series with suggestions, resources, and coping tools. I would love for you to share what works for you in the comments, and I can gather them together for a future post for others.
It is more important than ever to be aware of our mental health, what triggers we face, and how to cope and overcome some of the difficulties.
Awareness is especially relevant in today’s world while we struggle through this unprecedented global pandemic with new surprises popping up every day in all aspects of our lives.
Today, instead of working on a more detailed first post, I was taking care of my own mental health, enjoying Star Wars with my family, eating comfort food (Kraft Macaroni & Cheese), praying the rosary, seeing my son for the first time in a long time, and most importantly, ignoring Twitter. Sometimes you just need to know when to stop and step away, and for me, that was today.
I have three resources to offer you today:
NAMI – National Association of Mental Illness
My own COVID-19 Mental Health and Crisis Information During the Pandemic Post
Wil Wheaton – he is very open about his depression and anxiety and many of his personal essays are helpful, even if only for knowing that you are not alone.
VP Joe Biden is the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party, challenging incumbent (and incompetent) President Trump.
Please donate what you can, volunteer where you are able, and listen to the priorities and policies of the Democratic party and Joe Biden.
King Cake from Mardi Gras. (c)2020
Some of my tools for this year’s Lenten Journey, including art from Bro. Mickey McGrath, my rosary, a key tab from my church, journal and Scripture gift, and really thoughtful and and prayerful daily devotions for Lent from Michelle Frankl-Donnay. (c)2020
“…the road that we seek is often the road we have already found.”
– Fr. James Martin, SJ, My Life with the Saints
Thoughts
One of things I’m learning through the Cursillo movement is how I can grow in relationship to Jesus through the three principles of piety, study, and action. These are key components of Cursillo, and while I did my weekend this past October, it is still taking me some time to regularly incorporate these into my life. I believe that I’ve always done them in varying degrees, but Cursillo has given me new eyes to see what it is I’m doing.
Lent is another way, a time of the year, to reflect on my relationships and what I do for myself in spiritual ways. The picture above illustrates some of my tools for my Lenten journey.
We are all obsessed, those of us who practice with giving up something for Lent. It is usually a food or a technology – social media, cell phone during dinner, etc. A lesser known thought is to add something to your life during Lent. This is only the first full week, and I am still discerning what I will add in addition to reading the daily devotional book my church gives us.
What have I given up?
Pizza. And bacon.
I didn’t even think about it. It just appeared in my head, and once it was there, I knew it was the right choice. My family still can’t believe it.
Adding?
I’m trying to journal a bit more, and heeding Brother Mickey’s advice to take fifteen minutes a day to just be with G-d. I’ll let you know how all of that goes.
In addition to prayer and fasting for these forty days, there is also almsgiving. I always support my church and my St. Vincent de Paul Society, but for this Lent, I will also be supporting RAICES, and I encourage all of you to take up that mantle. There are still children in cages; there are still families separated. RAICES is on the front lines with all kinds of help, and have been since the beginning of this nightmare.
Over the years, the Winchesters (and their family and friends) have encountered a plethora of monsters. Some monsters come back several times over time, and we can recognize them enough to try and figure out the clues before Sam and Dean do. By the same token, some of our friends have become “monsters” (*)and have either needed to be ganked or go on to live very productive lives with spouses and children. You never know what you’ll find in a Supernatural episode. Also, my use of the term monster (*) includes entities like Angels or other neutral/good or not-necessarily-bad characters.
Here are a few of their favorite monsters:
Amazons. (Amazonian?)
Angel. See also Archangel.
Banshee
Bisaan (episode: The Chitters)
Bloody Mary
The Darkness
Death
Demon. See also the Yellow Eyed Demon, Crossroads Demon, Knight of Hell, Meg, Ruby, Lilith
Djinn
Dragons
Dreamwalker
Eve. See also Mother of All.
Fairies
Ghosts. See also Vengeful Spirit, Poltergeist
Ghoul
Harpy
Hellhounds
Imaginary Friends
Kitsune
Leprechauns
Leviathan
Nephilim
Okami
Pishtaco
Prophets
Psychic
Reaper
Rugaroo
Shapeshifter
Siren
Skinwalkers
Stryga
Trickster. See also Loki.
Unicorn
Vampire. See also Alpha Vampire.
Vetala
Wendigo
Werewolf
Witch. See also Rowena.
Wraith
Zombies
Monsters they’ve named: Jefferson Starships, Khan worms
Time travel.
Love it or hate it, it will give you a headache.
I think the most apt description I’ve ever found for time are a combination of Quantum Leap which relies on the string theory that time is like a ball of yarn and you can jump from one to the other, and Doctor Who where time is a wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey ball of stuff, which really sums it up nicely and succinctly.
I thought there were many more time travel episodes in the Supernatural universe, and I could only remember about five. The rest that were in my head were more of flashbacks, which aren’t time travel per se, but in doing my research in the Supernatural wiki, I saw that they counted twelve, which I will list here even though there are a couple that I didn’t particularly consider them for my personal list. For example, in As Time Goes By, Henry Winchester travels forward from 1958 to 2013 and in Lebanon John Winchester travels to current day Kansas despite his being dead canonically. I was looking for the episodes where the brothers traveled through time.
At any rate, these all have something to love, and yes, they will still give you a headache.
1. In the Beginning [4.03]
2. The End [5.04]
3. The Song Remains the Same [5.13]
4. My Heart Will Go On [6.17]
5. Frontierland [6.18]
6. The Man Who Would Be King [6.20]
7. Time After Time [7.12]
8. As Time Goes By [8.12]
9. King of the Damned [9.21]
10. The Vessel [11.14]
11. Family Feud [12.13]
12. Lebanon [14.13]
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 