Not everyone has time to cook. . .

Not everyone has the time to prepare, cook and serve an entire dinner every single evening. We are in such a hurry these days; it’s so tempting to throw together some nasty, icky Mac’n cheese (with the yellow dyed non-cheese powder, preservatives and ton of sodium) and just call it dinner. Resist those temptations though! Here are some alternatives that are just as quick, just as easy (maybe even easier!) and much, much more healthy for you and your family. The recipes basically serve four people, so if you are single or you are just cooking for two, the math is pretty easy to figure out. :-D

Cheese Tortellini-At Trader Joes we have this fabulous dried cheese filled tortellini pasta! It comes in a 12 oz bag which is perfect for four adults, and all you do is boil 5 quarts of water, dump the pasta in, boil it (stirring occasionally) for 15-17 minutes, turn off the heat, add a glass of cold water (I don’t know exactly why, but it firms the pasta up so that it’s not falling off the cheese when you finally get it on your plate. . don’t rinse this in cold water though) and drain. You can then either eat it just plain, which I do, or drizzle some olive oil over it with salt and pepper, which do too, or even plop some pasta sauce onto it (their suggestion, not mine). A 12 oz. bag at my Trader Joe’s goes for 1.60. a better value and much better for you than fako mac’n cheese. No preservatives, artificial colors or flavors, and imported from Italy.

Tomato Soup with Cheese Sandwiches-I still use Campbell’s every once in a while, but it’s so bad for you. Trader Joe’s (again) has some great low sodium, organic tomato soup, 16 oz for 1.45. Can’t beat that! Anyway, for fast tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches: Turn on your broiler and put the highest rack up near to the flame. Put the tomato soup in a saucepan and warm over the stove stirring occasionally. While it’s warming, spread a thin layer of butter on both sides of pieces of bread, lay them on a cookie sheet, and broil until brown on top side. Take them out, turn them over, and lay thin slices of cheddar cheese on half of them, put back under the broiler until cheese is well melted and the other slices of bread are browned. Put the sandwiches together, pour the soup into bowls, and serve. You can throw some leftover croutons, shredded cheese, chopped celery, cooked fish, other things like that onto the tomato soup too!

Salmon sandwiches-Salmon is much better for you than tuna fish, and you might be interested to know that salmon also has been shown to have much lower trace amounts of mercury in it, if any at all, than tuna fish does. This mercury in the fish business is very serious; so serious, in fact, that Doctors are now recommending that pregnant women eat canned tuna NO MORE than once a week, if not avoided entirely. Anyway, canned salmon is right by the canned tuna, and if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby, you can get wild, unfarmed canned salmon for a little over a dollar per can. No, this is not a big Trader Joe’s commercial; I just happen to shop there;). Drain one can of salmon per two sandwiches, mix in either a tablespoon of mayonnaise (try Hollywood brand Safflower mayonnaise; good for your heart, less calories, and very tasty!) or one tablespoon cream cheese, and spread over whole wheat toasted bread. It’s amazing how a little thing like toasting bread can really dress up a sandwich, and it doesn’t take long. You can toast it while you’re mixing the other stuff. Now, if you have some on hand, a little bit of chopped onions really goes great with this sandwich too. And, another variation, you can add some chopped egg and horseradish spread to the mix as well. Yum yum!
Refried Bean Burritos-This was a staple in my house when I was growing up! There was always a container of refried beans in the fridge (they keep very nicely) and tortillas, etc. Whole wheat tortillas are nasty, sorry. This is one of the only things I insist upon being made of white flour. Corn tortillas are for tacos, enchiladas and chips, okay? Not for burritos. There are so many different brands of refried beans out there, that I’m going to just give a couple of tips, no brand name recommendations. You want vegetarian refried beans (not beans fried in bacon grease or lard), and you want to make sure that the ingredients are no more than cooked beans, water, canola oil (or other vegetable oil), salt, distilled vinegar, chili pepper, onion, garlic, spices, natural flavor, etc. This is actually a good source of fiber and protein. Now, there are also a million different brands of tortillas around. I use Mission tortillas, with the “no trans fatty acids” guarantee on the wrapper. Make sure there is no lard or anything really nasty on the ingredients list. To make: Heat the amount of refried beans you are going to use in a pan on the stove, stirring occasionally (or microwave, but be careful, these things blow up!) until heated through. Turn one stove burner onto medium heat, and throw a tortilla onto the burner (this works the best with a gas burner; if you have a solid cook-top, cook the tortilla in a pan). When it begins to look glossy, about 5-6 seconds, flip it over. When this side begins to bubble, flip it again. When this side begins to bubble, take it off, spread some beans in it, wrap it up, and serve. The varieties are as endless as sandwich recipes. You can add olives, cheese, sour cream, shredded lettuce, diced radishes, cilantro, rice, salsa, avocado, etc.

Someday, for a blog post, I will go over the ingredients of some of the nasty things most Americans call food, such as American cheese (also, the powdered cheese you find in the mac’n cheese, and velveeta. . .shudder), margarine, decaffeinated and/or flavored coffee, white sugar, white flour, and things like that. Definitely not for the squeamish.

Enjoy!

Fast for the Invisible Children of Uganda

While visiting a fellow blogger's site, I came upon his post on the invisible children of Uganda. Take a couple minutes and read it, the plight is truly awful. There are so many bad things happening in this world! Every time I get on the internet, the news headlines are so depressing. Shootings at schools, fathers murdering their wives and children, people committing horrible crimes, every day. And they are only a small portion of the injustices and crimes that cry out to God for vengeance happening daily, that we don't hear about; like these children in Uganda.

I would like to join in on the fast Hey Irishman is proposing, how about my readers?. We're a couple days late, but small matter. We could each pick a specific day to fast, or a couple days. Let me know if you would like to do this, and I'll let Hey Irishman know (it's kind of fun keeping count;) ).

If you are pregnant, elderly, hypo-glycemic, hyper-glycemic, diabetic, the list goes on and on, perhaps instead of fasting, you could pick something to abstain from, for the special intention of these children. Can't live a day without Starbucks? Perhaps you could choose a day or two to give up all starbucks/coffee. Meat and potatoes person? Maybe you could pick a day in addition to Friday this coming week for a meatless meal day (I've got plenty of nice recipes for that;) ).

It's very tempting to just give up, because there is so much bad going on; how can the little good we do accomplish anything? It does accomplish something; every little sacrifice we make accomplishes something, even if we don't see it. Our Blessed Mother has repeatedly asked us for prayer, fasting, penance and frequent reception of the sacraments. Let's take her seriously and do something!

I guess it's called shrimp scampi. . .

It is definitely fall today! The last couple of days have gotten into the warm side, but today I woke up to dark clouds and rain (what d'ya know, the weatherman was right on for once!), and it is 52 degrees in the house. . . Definitely time to start thinking about digging the space heaters out of the shed.

About once a month, I like to make something with shrimp. Our local grocery store usually has fresh, wild caught shrimp (I don't even want to start in on how bad farmed shrimp are for you), which can be pretty cheap at the beginning of the month. If you have a Trader Joe's nearby (my all time favorite store!), you can get high quality shrimp for a decent price, but whatever shrimp you wind up getting, they'll still taste good.

I thought I had made this recipe up one day, but apparently people have been eating my version of shrimp, garlic and pasta for a lot longer than I've been alive, and they called it shrimp scampi, sooo. . . fine. I guess it's shrimp scampi. Sounds a lot better than what I was calling it: Garlic, olive oil, pasta and shrimp :-P He he he . Just goes to show that good ideas are good ideas, regardless of who comes up with them.

Ingredients: This will make four servings with app. 10 shrimp per person
1 pound white shrimp, uncooked, tail on (41-50 p. lb)
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup white wine or dry sherry
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper
Dash of marjoram/parsley (dried)
Cooked Angel Hair Pasta or Spaghetti (We're big pasta eaters here, so I usually use a whole 16 oz. for four people and save whatever's left)

Put your water on to boil for the pasta, crack a little salt and drip a little oil into the water. In a large pan, combine the oil, butter and garlic. Let this sit cold while you do the next tasks. Now rinse your shrimp very, very well. If your shrimp is slightly slimy, rinse it in a colander under cold water until it is no longer slimy (don't use hot water). The seafood counter guy should have already slit the back of the shells for you; you can then very easily slip the shell off, ending with the tail which you can give a little pinch then pull (put the shells directly into a trash bag to be taken outside asap, they will make the house smell). If the shells have not been slit for you, then you'll have to either decide to use a knife and do it yourself, which isn't too time consuming, or plan ahead and buy a different kind of shrimp. **Note: if you are buying already cooked shrimp, then you will add the shrimp to the cooking sauce last, cook it just long enough to warm all the way through, then serve it immediately. Shrimp will overcook very fast, and be tough and chewy.

When the shrimp are all peeled, give them a final rinse in the colander, then give them a general patting down with a paper towel. Don't start cooking the shrimp until the water for the pasta is at a rolling boil. When the water is boiling, turn the pan for the shrimp on medium heat. When the butter has melted, stir the garlic around a bit, dash the marjoram and/or parsley in, add the shrimp and coat with the oil and butter mixture. Add the pasta to the boiling water and stir. Add the sherry or wine to the shrimp, and bring to a simmer. The shrimp will turn pink, don't ask me why, it's some reaction the zinc in the shrimp has to the heat, and you will want to stop cooking them when the last one has turned completely pink. Don't overcook your shrimp, or you will miss the buttery tenderness of the fresh shrimp you bought. Remove the shrimp from the sauce with a slotted spoon, and reserve in a bowl on the side.

When the pasta is done, drain it very well, and plop it into the sauce mixture. You can crack some salt and pepper over this if you want. Medium heat, stir the pasta until it is coated with the sauce, and let it sit for a miute or two. With a pasta fork, serve pasta on plates, then top with shrimp.

Serve with garlic bread and a side salad.

***By the way, for those of you who gasp at all of the olive oil and butter and salt used in these recipes, relax. Olive oil is high in calories, yes, but it is the perfect fat for your body. If you will take the steps to eliminate processed foods from your diet, anything with trans fats, lard, high fructose corn syrup, refined white flour, and 80% of your sources of animal fat, then you can afford to step up on the food scale with moderate amounts of butter, olive oil, and salt.

Now, there is a difference between the salt I use and the salt you're thinking of, I'm sure. Regular, iodized table salt is not pure salt. In fact, it is mineral salt, mixed with aluminum silicate or another non-caking agent (which happens to be bitter), and a sweetner, to make up for the bitterness of the non-caking agent. These additives make your salt less salty, which makes you use a lot more of it, raising the sodium levels in your food almost to the same height as some processed meats! All natural, kosher sea salt, however, is pure salt, and only a crack or two of the salt grinder provides you with as much saltiness as you could possibly want, and you are using much, much less of it. All of the natural minerals are still included in this salt as well, so you get some extra healthiness added in.

If you are taking a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement, which the American Medical Association is now highly recommending all Americans do (due to the vitamin deficiencies in the over used soil, mass produced crops, and recycled water used by most commercial farmers nowadays) you don't need to worry about iodine deficiency, so that is another reason out the window for using ordinary table salt.

Enjoy your Friday food!

Three to Get Married

I found this book among my grandma's collection when I was about 12 years old, and since then I have read and re-read it probably 40 times. Having The Most Reverend Fulton J. Sheen as a spiritual advisor during the years that I was developing my ideas on what my life was going to be like, was priceless. I had access to all of his other books as well, but this one has remained my favorite, though the cover is held on with masking tape and the pages are brown and crumbling from many, many uses, and I intend to keep reading it again and again throughout the rest of my married life.

A post I just read on a friend's blog reminded me of how grateful I am for my Mother's teaching that, as soon as we arrived at the age of reason, we had to begin discerning our vocation in life. I wavered dramatically in the years between my first communion and my 18th birthday, but because my Mother taught us the importance of our vocation, the fulfillment of God's purpose for us here on earth, and path to our heavenly goal, by the time I was of the age to put it to use, I had already been through all of the refining fire, the agony, and the ecstasy of discernment and was able to follow God's call right away. It is so important to make the discerning of your vocation your young life's greatest goal, I cannot stress that enough! It is the very blueprint, the map, the design, the GPS unit of your path to heaven. Jobs will come and go, careers will be made and lost, you will move many times, etc. etc., but none of these things is as important as your vocation, because nothing is as important as knowing God, loving God, and serving God, which is what your vocation consists of.

Many, many young people are unprepared for this, because their lives are so wrapped up in finishing high-school, finishing college, beginning a career, and then, finally, figuring out whether or not they should get married and have kids or stay single or might be called to the religious state. This is awful! This vocation, this, your life's undertaking should not be shoved to the back burner!

Another reason I am seeing in many of my friends for putting their vocation on the back burner still (and this is because of an actual choice, not because of extenuating circumstances), even now that they have done all of that "required" stuff (graduating from college, beginning a career, etc.) is because they are hoping to have some years for themselves now, to enjoy their youth, to do the things they want to do that they won't be able to do once they are married. This is a mistake as well, because it sets you up to live a life of pleasure seeking. By the time you have had your fun, and sown your "wild oats" you will have either gotten into trouble because you were out doing your own thing and had no responsibilities, or you will have developed within yourself a trait of pleasure seeking. You were not seeking your life, your vocation; you were seeking to enjoy yourself BEFORE your vocation. Heaven is to be sought at all times, and your vocation should not be made to wait.

I would like to share with you, part of a chapter from "Three to Get Married". It is an awesome book, and I recommend this to each and everyone, no matter what you think your vocation might be. Bishop Sheen leaves no stone unturned, and quite frequently I am astonished at how well he addresses a subject, then progresses to addressing something that the original subject made your mind think of, and so on and on until he leaves you completely satisfied. It is almost as good as having a personal, in depth counseling session with the good Bishop.

Beginning of Chapter 18 from "Three to Get Married, by His Most Reverend Fulton J. Sheen

One of the greatest mistakes the human heart can make is to seek pleasure as a goal of life. Pleasure is a by-product of the fulfillment of duty; it is a bridesmaid, not a bride; it is something which attends and waits on man when he does that which he ought. To go through life with the idea of always having a good time is not to have a good time. A boy does not eat ice cream to have pleasure; he has a pleasure because he eats ice cream. The satisfaction of the appetite of hunger gives pleasure, but one does not eat just to have pleasure. One does not marry to enjoy pleasures of the flesh; one enjoys the pleasures of marriage because one fulfills to the utmost the functions and obligations of the married state. A good husband wants to love and to have a happy life; a wicked husband wants to be loved and to enjoy himself. The good man seeks a woman to complement his imperfection and to work toward mutual enrichment. The evil man wants to immolate a woman in order to enjoy himself. The happiness of marriage is in a certain sense a prepayment of God for its trials. Because its burdens are many, its pleasures are meant to be many. The honeymoon precedes the labors of birth, and is a credit God extends in advance because of the responsibilities involved.

The greatest joys in life are purchased at the cost of some sacrifice. No one ever enjoys good reading, good music, or good art without a certain amount of study and effort. Neither can one enjoy love without a certain amount of self-denial. It is not that love by its nature demands suffering, for there is no suffering in Divine Love. But whenever love is imperfect, or whenever a body is associated with a soul, there must be suffering, for such is the cost of love's purification. One cannot grow from ignorance to love of poetry without discipline. Neither can one mount from one level of love to another without a certain amount of purification. The Blessed Virgin passed from one level of love, which was for her Divine Son, to the higher level of a love for all whom He would redeem, by willing His Passion and Death at the Marriage Feast of Cana.

All love craves a cross by the very fact that love is forgetful of self for others. But even in the midst of sacrifice, it can say: "Suffering is in me, but I am not in it." The joy which is seen forthcoming as the result of the trial makes one in some way independent of it.

What marriage is really about. . . .

After an increasingly frustrating conversation I just had with a friend of mine who is probably going to be engaged soon, I had to come on here and say what's on my mind, because I know she'll read it if it's here. We got into such a hissy fit over the phone that I really didn't get to answer her questions properly, so this blabbing here is an attempt to make up for the conversation we just had or didn't have; it wasn't much of a conversation. And naturally hon, I won't share your name, but you know who you are.

Marriage is not all about what you are going to get. You are Catholic, and you have been raised very well, but if all you are thinking about when you meet a nice young Catholic man is "oh boy, now I get to stay home and sit on my butt while he works so that I can stay home and have babies, and he'll treat me like a lady and he'll be a gentleman, and he'll buy me nice clothes and presents, and he'll never make me do anything I don't want to do" yada yada, prattle prattle. . . I don't think you are in the proper frame of mind to get married, and I will elaborate.

Marriage is about giving. That sounds pretty gay, but I'm serious. The love that holds a marriage together should NOT make you think of yourself and what you're going to get, but when you love someone in the proper way for marriage, you will find yourself thinking, "he'll never be alone or unsupported again, because I will always be by his side; he'll never eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day for two weeks ever again because I'm going to cook for him; he'll never walk out of the house for work in pants that haven't been washed for three weeks, because I am going to take pride in his appearance and wash his laundry for him; he'll never be lonely again, because I LOVE HIM!". In other words, when you love someone, truly love someone, the main thought and the main current flowing through your heart is about sacrifice, about what YOU are going to do for HIM. It is your vocation, not your vacation.

Hon, are you willing to give up sleeping in until 10 o' clock every morning, so that you can get out of bed with your husband when he gets up to go to work, and make him a piece of toast or bagel and cup of coffee while he's in the shower? Are you willing to keep quiet when he disregards your advice and makes a mistake, instead of feeding your own self love by crowing "I told you so?" Is your main objective to make his life the happiest life on earth? Or is it all about you?

The reason I'm writing this kiddo is because our conversation alarmed me. Everything you told me was about how YOU feel, what YOU are going to get out of this, how happy YOU'LL be. You came to me for advice because I am your age and have been married for almost two years, but you really didn't want my advice or you would have talked to me instead of putting up the defense shields.

You should really read "Three to Get Married" by Archbishop Fulton Sheen. It is a great starting point to finding out what marriage is really all about. Like I said, it is a vocation, and it is undertaken with all of the seriousness that a religious takes up her vocation with. This is a life of sacrifice, self-denial and discipline. It is not a perpetual day-dream. But just as Jesus rewards His religious spouses with His love and consolation, heavenly delights awaiting them, so will your husband reward you ten-fold for the things you give to him. The more you sacrifice for him, the more you cheerfully and totally willingly give up for him and to him, the more he will be encouraged to do the same for you, and he will do it, because he will delight in making you happy. But what if he doesn't respond to your efforts? What if the man we were talking about today gets so wrapped up in work 10 years from now that he forgets to say I love you in the morning, or is away for long periods of time and can't show his affection? Will you wither and dry up because you are not receiving attention? It is tempting, yes, I won't deny it. We ladies want to be cherished and loved, every second. But that is our temptation, our cross, to get so wrapped up in our self-love, our longing for approval and appreciation. . .we can miss the bigger picture, that being our marriage is the plan worked out for our salvation. The times we are misunderstood by our spouses, we offer that up as sacrifice! The times we don't get the I love you's we want, or whatever we want, these are gifts from God to us, to offer these things up for our own penance and for the salvation of souls.

If you're not willing to undertake a life of sacrifice, which is the reason you gave me for not feeling called to the religious life, then you are most definitely un-aware of what marriage really is. As a Catholic, you are going to need to "put your big girl panties on and deal with it" and accept the fact that life is full of sacrifice. If you want to get to heaven, you are going to have to embrace your cross. But this cross does not bring you sorrow. . .it brings you eternal joy, eternal life. Don't let the rough exterior fool you! It may look heavy and hard and full of splinters, but see beyond the outer appearance, the illusion, and you will find roses! Roses to offer to Our Lady, for the conversion of our loved one's, for the coming of the Kingdom of God; not heavy, not burdensome, but light and full of sweet perfume. There is no reason to hesitate in embracing your cross.

Annnnyway, I just can't say enough that you need some good spritual advise. I really know how hard it is to find a good priest in your area, but I will send you an e-mail later, if you promise not to delete it, with some recommendations. I'm sorry if I made you mad earlier, but you know that I am your friend and I don't want to see you make a big mistake. You need to learn to give, and to love. Not just receive.

Vegetarian Stew, it is yummy!

Okay, sooo, I had some nice, yummy organic stewin' beef settin' on the counter, fresh from his mama's farm, when. . . *scary music*. . . da da da . . . I realized it was Friday. Doh! My husband's workdays and odd hours make it very hard for me to figure out what day it is. Yes, I'm that. . . special. Anyhoo, I had planned to make a nice, thick stew for dinner since the weather had taken a turn for the cooler, and with this revelation my dinner plans were rooned! So, I decided to make it anyway, without meat. It turned out really good! For you hard core stew people, I know it's like sacrilege to take the beef out of the stew, but hey, you should try it. Even my husband liked it, and went back for seconds, and to tell you truth, I liked it much better. So here goes the recipe:

Stewin' Ingredients:
4-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-4 tablespoons organic, unbleached, preferably whole wheat (now I'm just joshin' ya') flour
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped pretty good
3 carrots, chopped
3-4 large stalks of celery, chopped
2 large bay leaves
1 cup of vegetable stock/broth per person you are serving PLUS
1 cup of beer (your choice) per person you're serving (you can substitute more stock for the beer, but you're a wimp if ye' do)
Salt and Pepper

Dumplin' Ingredients (4-6 servings; double if you really like dumplings):
3/4 cup flour (whole wheat will make this really heavy; you should have some un-bleached white flour in the house too)
1/2 cup cornmeal, any grade will do
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cold butter
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk

Okey doke. Set the heat under the pot on medium to high, and when the oil is hot toss in the onions and garlic. Stir that around a bit, then toss in the other vegetables. Cook them until you get some brown showing and the onions are clear and tender, about 10 minutes, stiring occasionally. I also crack some sea salt and pepper over them while they're in there. Myth buster: the salt does not cook out of your food. When the vegetables are nice and browned, sprinkle the flour on top and stir everything well. This will soak up all the oil. Cook for about 3 more minutes, lettng the flour brown slightly. Toss the bay leaves in and stir. Add whatever other spices you're going to use, I'll leave that up to you. I think I just sprinkled in some marjoram, but I really wouldn't do too much more. Okay, now pour the vegetable stock in (you can either have the canned variety or get a really good organic powdered stock that you can add to water, making sure there is no msg in it) and when it starts boiling, reduce the heat so that it BARELY bubbles. You are going to braise your veggies, which will imbue them with all kinds of nice flavors here. Take this opportunity to grab a metal spoon and scrape the bottom of the pot, stir up all that good stuff into the mix and then let it sit. When it is simmering, slowly pour in the beer. You want the beer to meet with as little motion as possible. Make sure the pot stays at a bare simmer, don't boil the beer. Don't stir the stew either after this.

Simmer this for about one hour or more, until the vegetables are the tenderness you desire. Now comes the nice part :-D I hope your pot has a tight fitting lid, because I forgot to mention that earlier. He he he. You're supposed to read the recipe all the way through before you begin to cook, anyways.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, corn meal, baking powder and salt. With a fork, cut the butter into this dry mix, until the butter is incorporated and it's crumbly, just like you're making a crumb crust for cobbler or pie. In a separate glass or bowl, whisk the egg and milk together until they are well mixed and a little fluffy. Fold this carefully into the butter mixture, DO NOT BEAT. Keep folding it gently (folding: take your spoon or spatula and slice it down the middle of the bowl, scoop the spoon up to your left and turn it and its contents over. Turn the bowl and repeat these motions; this is done gently) until it is a dough. Scoop up tablespoon fulls of the dough and drop it right on top of the stew, do not dunk the dumplings. These are going to steam right on top of the stew. When dough is all used up, put the lid on the pot (I have to put something heavy on mine) to keep the steam in, and simmer the stew for another 20 minutes or so, until the dumplings have risen and are fluffy. It really does take about 20 minutes for them to cook all the way.

To serve, take a big metal spoon and scoop under a dumpling, getting some stew and leaving the dumpling settin' on top. Transfer to bowls. I don't serve anything with this, as it is a meal all itself.

It sounds like it takes a long time, but it really doesn't. If you have kids helping you cut stuff up it takes no time at all. Read or play a board game with the family while it's cooking:-D

Enjoy!

A very, very interesting subject. . .

There is a man named Don Justo Gallego Martinez, in Madrid, Spain, who is building a cathedral all by himself. The structure is not finished, nor is it made of marble, ivory, or Gold. It is made of whatever materials he can salvage from other construction sites, and re-use. His 6 nephews helped him haul the steel girders up BY HAND with a pulley system. Don Justo never formally studied architecture, he never laid bricks. In fact, he is, by trade, a farmer. The way he is building it is almost medieval. In fact, the outside of the building looks like it has been there for hundreds of years (looking at the brick and stonework, disregarding the girders).

If you want to see more pictures, go here

I don't really know what to think of it. The man wants to build something beautiful for God. That is his motivation. He isn't imbedded in church politics, wearing his fingers to the bone in order to protest modern "church" architecture, no; his simplicity, however, his meekness, his perseverence, all his actions speak so much louder than any words. Why is it that the government, and yes, even church officials are trying to keep his whole project under wraps? Read some of the comments people left on this blog I found the article in; some of them live right by it, and have still never heard of it. They saw pictures on the blog, drove 20 miles or so, and bingo, what d'ya know, there it is. It is under wraps because it is an embarressment to modern man; they want to sever any remembrance of the past. They want to bury the glory, wipe it out of their minds, forget about it in toto. It is to painful to remember the aspirations of saints, the rich history of the sovereign, Catholic Church.

I think we have gotten to a point where the sweet memory of Tradition pains away in the hearts of all good and faithful Catholics like a memory of a long dead but much beloved relative. How much we want to see that person alive again! But it isn't just a person we see with our spiritual eyes, it is The Bride of Christ; her wedding dress has been torn to tatters and splattered with filth and refuse. Her veil, a symbol of her innocence, has been torn away from her head and stomped down into a muddy, scummy puddle. Those of us that love her are doing whatever we can, in our own little ways, to dress her back up in her glory and splendor, so that when Christ comes again, He will find a radiantly gorgeous Bride, waiting in readiness for Him, not caught unaware and beaten down by a mob who does not want the wedding feast to take place. Perseverance, He will come, we must prepare. We do not want to be found like the 7 virgins without oil in their lamps, because there will come a crucial moment when we will not be given a second chance to run and get some more. Be prepared. Fight against sin so as to remain in the state of grace. This is so much bigger than the petty problems we are so caught up in on a day to day basis. Even nuclear war is not as big as this one great fact . . . we are here to know God, to love God, and to serve God, and we must do this until He takes us to our true home. Until then, we are exhiles on this planet, aliens in a foreign land.

Why do weird things always happen to me?

Has anybody ever microwaved a cup of coffee just a little, taken it out, observed it was totally placid, not boiling, nuthin', then gently added a spoonful of sugar and HAD IT BLOW UP ON YOU?!?!?!?

Or, has anyone ever boiled cheese filled tortellini, dumped it into a colander, let it sit for five minutes, then come back at the precise moment that one of the tortellini pops and boiling, melted cheese flies right into your eye???

Then, with cheese in your eye, has anyone ever stretched out on the couch to relax, had your cat jump up onto your chest, settle down to stare you in the eye and nonchalantly BURP IN YOUR FACE!

And after getting up to get away from burpy cat, heard a thumping sound near the floor. . . And after bending down to take a closer look, observed a mouse jumping up and down, arms swingly wildly, trying to jump up to the vent cover and pull himself out into your house?

Better yet, has it ever happened to you all in one day?

Life at home is. . . Weird.

St. Therese's Feast Day!

Happy Feast Day! Athanasius has written a very nice little piece on this day, which I will link to here . God bless!