Weblog Archives

Guest Bloggers

August 29, 2011

I’ve been pondering the subject of Guest Bloggers.

Sarah Rienhard, over at the Catholic Writer’s Guild, makes some excellent points on Guest Blogging:

Benefits of Guest Posting (whether or not you blog)

1. It gets you exposed to a different audience, or, if you’re not a blogger, to an online audience.

2. It’s a win-win, in many ways. The blogger gets good content; you get a chance to tap into their audience.

3. It might stretch you to write in a different way, for a new subject, or for a set of people you might not have a chance to connect with otherwise.

And, she offers great advice on whether or not to blog at all:

To keep that brief, I can handle blogging, despite the fact that I don’t overly edit my writing. (Unless I completely edit it almost out of existence, such as this once lengthy post.)

Point being! I’ve started inviting Guest Bloggers to post. So. We’ll see how this goes… should be fun!

Towards the End of the Road

August 27, 2011

Way down the river, dow past Point a La Hache, lies this old house.

The painting on the front reads “I’m back!“, and “Need Water“, “Need Food.”

It was a long time before help came down that way, and a lot just never came back. Of course, even many who came back after Katrina, never really ‘came back’ all the way.

Well, we’re finally getting to the end of the End of the Road series, which I had started naively one day thinking it would be a kind of long post.

That’s an understatement. But, we’re getting there.

The Ancient Route of St. Denis

August 26, 2011

A few years ago I found myself in Paris for several days. I went to as many Catholic sites as I could find, and that I could fit into my stay. One of those sites was St. Denis, the ancient necropolis of the royal family of France.

I had read in a guidebook that one was still able to walk the ancient route of St. Denis from the city center out to the suburb of St. Denis. And somehow in my mind this became a quasi-romantic notion, which took hold of me as a fitting tribute for a pilgrimage to the resting place of St. Louis, King of France.

I decided to walk the ancient route of St. Denis. I certainly needed the exercise after spending several days in Normandy.

And it’s not like you do enough walking in Paris anyway. (Not.)

I really spread out in a hotel room, and this cozy space was no exception. A great bed, a great desk, and a great tub; that’s about all I need in a room. It was a dark and overcast morning, and I slept in a bit.

But only a bit, because doesn’t everyone want to walk the ancient route of St. Denis while in Paris?

In fact, it was very overcast.

And, in fact, the ancient route of St. Denis is not a route I’d recommend to anyone. You walk through some interesting neighborhoods for sure.

But they include a red light district lined with adult theaters, and some other questionable areas intermixed with relatively nice ones. You end up near the Stade de France, and then walk into the ancient neighborhood of St. Denis.

Making a final bend into the ancient suburb, I passed an elderly Indian woman who was using the restroom under a tree, and cleaning herself. I was slightly aghast, mainly because of my stupidity in thinking this would have been a great walk to take.

You can see the Church as you continue walking, but once you get into the ‘hood, it’s actually pretty hard to find it, hidden from view by the buildings surrounding it, amidst the winding streets.

My exasperation grew until suddenly, a large alleyway opened up, and there it was. There’s a Metro station right next to it.

It’s really very beautiful.

The neighborhood is filled with Muslim immigrants.

I was filled with wonder, imagining the Masses and religious ceremonies which had taken place here. (Can you imagine how long it would take a wedding procession to enter in here? 30 minutes at least.)

These tombs were preserved in the Revolution, as artworks. The bodies within were removed, and eventually returned and reburied in a crypt in the basement. The ground level is filled with these flat tombs, or other tombs with bodies in repose…

And from the chapel on the higher level, the tops of some of the tombs have images of the deceased kneeling, so it looks as if they are assisting at Mass, or praying in Heaven.

I thought that was wonderful, though everyone I explained it to when I was showing pictures looked at me and said “Uhm, hmm,” as if it’s the most common thing in the world. And I then I felt ignorant. Though not very; I had simply never seen it before.

A small chapel in the very end of the Church contains the remains of Louis, a part of one of his fingers; an unfortunate result of dying in a foreign country, and having religious wars break out in your own. God bless him, and may he rest in peace. I stopped to pray awhile.

All in all, I’d highly recommend a trip to St. Denis while in Paris. I’d highly recommend against walking the ancient route of St. Denis.

But I felt that no trip to France would have been complete without a visit to St. Louis, and I’m very thankful for the entire opportunity.

Amen.

Louis, King of France

August 25, 2011

Two years ago I made a sacred pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Louis, King of France. It was fraught with both ignorance and wonder.

I’m intent on writing about that, but I’ve become convinced that tonight my computer is possessed and needs a thorough healing. Either that or I’ve got too many image files stored on it, and it needs a thorough cleaning, which is entirely posible.

Here are several things about St. Louis, culled around the net, which help to provide some insight into the remarkable man that he was.

He was eleven years of age when the death of Louis VIII made him king, and nineteen when he married Marguerite of Provence by whom he had eleven children.
Saint Louis used to genuflect during the Nicene Creed to show reverence to the incarnation of Christ. The king’s practice became widespread and is now observed in the universal Church. It’s why we bow during the line of the Creed “by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary , and became man.” In the Christmas season we, too, genuflect.
Louis’ was a great patron of the arts, and that drove innovation in Gothic art and architecture. The style of his court radiated throughout Europe in the purchase of art objects from Parisian masters for export, and by the marriage of the king’s daughters and female relatives to foreign husbands and their subsequent introduction of Parisian models elsewhere.
St. Louis led an exemplary life, bearing constantly in mind his mother’s words: “I would rather see you dead at my feet than guilty of a mortal sin.” His biographers have told us of the long hours he spent in prayer, fasting, and penance, without the knowledge of his subjects.
He was renowned for his charity. The peace and blessings of the realm come to us through the poor he would say. Beggars were fed from his table, he ate their leavings, washed their feet, ministered to the wants of the lepers, and daily fed over one hundred poor.
He is the only canonized king of France.
His tomb at Saint-Denis was a magnificent gilt brass monument designed in the late 14th century. It was melted down during the French Wars of Religion, at which time the body of the king disappeared. Only one finger was rescued and is kept at Saint-Denis.
The Sainte Chappelle, an architectural gem, was constructed in his reign, and it was under his patronage that Robert of Sorbonne founded the “Collège de la Sorbonne,” which became the seat of the theological faculty of Paris.

He left a legacy as an exemplary King in Christendom, and was admired by almost everyone. France became a pre-eminent power in Europe militarily, financially and culturally. Napoleon said of him that he was the only king of France worthy of the title.

Louis IX considered himself, “God’s lieutenant on Earth”; he took that seriously and prayerfully, and left behind a wonderful legacy for the world to follow.

Beloved Margaret Haughery of New Orleans

August 22, 2011

I’ve taken an interest in Margaret Huaghery. She was a humble woman of extremely humble origins who, through hard work and prayer built a small empire and dedicated her time and wealth to helping the poor and the orphaned.

Margaret’s Birthplace has been preserved.

There’s a Margaret Huaghery site.

And there’s even a Catholic Encyclopedia Article on Margaret Haughery.

In New Orleans there’s a Restore the Monument organization.

There’s even a musical!

Well, there are lots of others it seems.

But the one I find most interesting is on Facebook, from the “Beloved Margaret Haughery of New Orleans” page.

Here it is, for future reference:

(reprinted from the Facebook page, Beloved Margaret Haughery of New Orleans.)(Well, it’s evidently also on the page over at Vieux Carre Productions, for the musical.)

Margaret Haughery (1813 – 1882) was a philanthropist known as the “Mother of Orphans.”

She opened up four orphanages in the New Orleans area in the 19th century. Many years later in the 20th and 21st centuries several of the asylums Margaret originally founded as places of shelter for orphans and widows evolved into homes for the elderly.

Margaret Gaffney Haughery (pronounced as HAW-a-ree) was a beloved historical figure in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the 1880s. Widely known as “Our Margaret,” “The Bread Woman of New Orleans” and “Mother of Orphans,” Margaret devoted her life’s work to the care and feeding of the poor and hungry, and to fund and build orphanages throughout the city. The poor called her “Saint Margaret.”

An Irish immigrant widow of many titles, Margaret was also commonly referred to as the “Angel of the Delta,” “Mother Margaret,” “Margaret of New Orleans,” the “Celebrated Margaret” and “Margaret of Tully.” A Catholic, she worked closely with New Orleans Sisters of Charity, associated with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans (the second-oldest diocese in the present-day United States).