Mary Catherine - Class of 2013

February 17, 2010

Dear Mr. President,

Thank you very much for reading this letter. I respect the fact that you take your time to read the letters of concerned persons and give them some thought. The education provided by public school is a subject that has been on my mind, and I think it needs some improvement. I would like to bring up some of the problems I see and suggest solutions. This is America, and she deserves to be among the best in everything, especially education.

Mr. President, I have heard that there is discussion about imagination classes being taught in public schools. As silly as this is, kids and teens don’t know how to use their imagination because of all of the electronics around them. Schools really can’t teach imagination, but they can certainly give kids an opportunity to use their imaginations by simply not allowing electronics in schools. Then there would be no need for unnecessary subjects such as imagination class! This would also solve other problems, like texting in class, not paying attention to the teachers, sexting (which is illegal, anyway), and other things that would involve a cellphone with a camera and Internet service.
The behavior of teenagers in school is usually very poor. More than a few get away with being disrespectful, arrogant, ditching classes, and swearing. I think that schools need to have a lot more discipline than just getting a little talk from the principal. Discipline is something we all need, especially this generation, in order to ensure the better future of our country.

Mr. President, I don’t know how you feel about sexual education being taught in public schools, but I think that it should be a special parent-child conversation. I strongly oppose Planned Parenthood teaching teens sex and encouraging the use of contraception through the public school system. The effects following abortion annd contraception are not even mentioned (women are physically and emotionally damaged by these “procedures”). Not only that, but other useless subjects like evolution and homosexuality cause divisions between children and parents. It is very important for students to have a good and healthy relationships with their parents. I’m sure you, as a parent yourself, want a good relationship with your daughters.

Mr. President, I heard that you are thinking about shutting down private schools and making homeschooling illegal. I think that, by reducing the education competition of our nation, the level of education will decrease. If parents have real options about which schools their kids go to (and a voucher system is a big incentive), then schools will try to meet the parents’ requirements in order to maintain enrollment and this will eventually remedy all the problems I’ve mentioned. Parents know what’s best for their children’s educational future, not the government. My adoptive parents have tried hard to find the right school for me. When I first came to the United States from Russia four years ago, I tried out a public school, but it was the wrong fit for me. Then I was home-schooled for about two years until it was decided that I needed something more. Now, at the age of fifteen, I go to a very small private Catholic school that seems to be a good fit. While my parents are making a big sacrifice by sending me to school miles and states away from them, they know it’s for my own good. And they aren’t the only ones making a sacrifice; the people I am boarding with are also making one. I guess what I’m trying to say is: since your own daughters go to a private school, please don’t take away this opportunity from the rest of the American children.

There are many other issues I’d like to discuss with you, but I do understand that you are a busy man. Please consider handing parents’ jobs back over to them. I think that they should be the ones choosing and monitoring schools for their children, not the government. Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Mary C. [last name removed for privacy]

Variations of this letter were sent to NH Representative Barbara Richardson, NH Senator Molly Kelly, US Congressman Paul Hodes, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and US Senator Judd Gregg.

Representative Richardson sent the following handwritten response (postmarked 3/1/2010):

2/25/10

Dear Mary Catherine,

I appreciate your thoughtful letter. It does seem that cell phones and the various electronic means of communication and activities are taking up more and more time of adults and children. I too [sic] wish that people would spend more time in other ways. I also feel badly that school and teachers do not receive the respect they should from students (and sometimes even the students’ parents!).

Regarding sex education: most children and their parents have a good, trusting relationship and can have questions answered truthfully and thoughtfully. However, some parents are not as open and honest as they ideally should be, and those children need honest, thoughtful information about many issues including sex education.

I do not believe the president is considering shutting down private schools and making homeschooling illegal. I think more and more charter schools are opening for students who ahve difficulties in learning in the regular public schoools. Homeschooling is certainly flourishing in many parts of the country. one of my daughters homeschooled her three children and another neighbor child for a number of years. And homeschooled youngsters have proven very successful in college admittance and careers. I doubt there would be any successful legislation to remove the opportunity for school choice.

You ask about current legislation in New Hampshire. [Kate asked her to support current legislation in the House on this topic, including: HB 1523 (with amendment), HB 1580, CACR 29, and HB1555.] HB 1523, having to do with pupil bullying, is certainly needed. The homeschooling bill (HB 1580) will not, I believe, make any changes in the current system. CACR 29 has already been declared “Inexpedient to Legislate” in committee, so if that position remains when presented to the full House of Representatives, it will not go on to the Senate. I was a co-sponsor of HB 1555, allowing an exemption from immunization for conscientious beliegs. Many, many people came to that public hearing. I certainly hope it passes both the House and the Senate and is signed by the Governor to become law.

I wish you success in your schooling and in your future. It is important to keep an open mind and to be willing to listen to various points of view. Respect for differences is important, in my view.

Sincerely,

[signed] Barbara Richardson

John McCann - Class of 2010

February 11, 2010

Dear Mr. President,

I am a nineteen-year-old citizen who is imploring you to note an issue that is holding back this great nation from reaching our fullest potential. I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear you say that you look at man-made climate change with scientific consideration. With scientific backing, one can reaffirm that his opinion can be proved; and people who base their opinions off of scientific proof are wise indeed.

The issue that I feel needs noting is that man-made climate change isn’t scientific. Opposed to the popular belief, many reputable scientists state that the amount of carbon created by man’s technology is minute compared to the massive amounts being emitted from the planet’s wild life and oceans (not to mention the fact that carbon doesn’t affect the temperature; the temperature affects the carbon). These facts and other scientific evidence against man-made climate change are stated in Martin Durkin’s “The Great Global Warming Swindle.”

The fact that such a scientifically shaky theory of man-made climate change is getting so much credibility, publicity, and funds is ridiculous. And if this foolishness were going on when we were strong and not twelve trillion dollars in debt, it would be just that foolishness. But, sadly, we are far from being strong; we are twelve trillion dollars in debt and still digging. What I propose is that you revaluate your view on man-made climate change and question the reliability of this “irrefutable scientific evidence.”

I’m sure you can see the folly of this current state of affairs. There is absolutely no reason why we should let these alarmists keep stealing from the people of this great nation by use of fear. You can inform the people of the real impending danger of our economic standing and re-channel the “fear money” that is currently being put toward man-made climate change and put it toward the real threat. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

[signed]
John McCann
15 Morgan Road
Richmond, NH 0347

Variations of this letter were sent to NH Representative Barbara Richardson, NH Senator Molly Kelly, US Congressman Paul Hodes, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and US Senator Judd Gregg

Received 3/15/10 – A handwritten, handmade card with the following quote from Thomas Jefferson: “In matter of style, swim with the current; in matter of principle, stand like a rock.”

3/13/10

Dear John,

Thank you for your thoughtful letter. I respect your views on global warming. I am concerned about what is the result of the melting glaciers, etc. in whatever is the way in which these changes are occurring. In any event I do believe our dependence on coal burning plants for much of our energy is not helpful for us and our planet. I hope we will develop more environmental-friendly sources of power.

You sound like a very thoughtful young man and I wish you success in your future.

Sincerely,

[signed] Barbara Richardson

Cecilia Bryan - Class of 2012

February 10, 2010

Dear Mr. President,

I am an American girl and a citizen, who, like you, believes our country is wonderful. I also feel that it needs some changes. I really respect the fact that you are a president who believes in being a man of the people, and you want to make America better for future generations. Mr. President, this is a serious something I’ve had on my mind almost everyday, which involves the future of our country, and me personally as a teenager. I would sincerely appreciate it if you would be willing to give it some thought.

Are you glad to be alive? I am glad my parents made the decision, seemingly uncommon today, that I was worth something, or good enough to keep. “If we are alive, we can change things.”1 Abortion is a decisive refusal to let all those babies have a chance to life, to change things.

A baby’s life starts at conception, when the sperm cell fertilizes the egg, and, when this occurs, this tiny human’s hair, eye, and skin color, their gender, facial features, intelligence and personality are all present within their genetic code. Implantation usually happens five to seven days after conception. By the seventh week, all pain sensors are in place, the baby can feel pain, and will try to avoid it. By two months, all the organs are present and functioning. All nine months are devoted to the growth and development of this little miracle’s body. I believe that the unborn deserve the same rights that belong to the humans visible to the naked eye.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
➢Equality: You and every other American want equal rights, so please change America’s present policy, and give them to the helpless, unborn babies, who can’t even fight for them.
➢Unalienable: This means, as I’m sure you know, that their rights can’t be taken away. Contained within this is the fact that abortion takes away a baby’s rights, especially those pertaining to their right to life.
➢Life: Abortions (I’m sure you know the many types and procedures) end life.
➢Liberty: Liberty is the freedom to do the right thing. We, as a country, are killing millions of babies a year, and all the while American couples are adopting foreign babies. I think this is an irony that needs consideration. Maybe, if a mother cannot keep her own child, a qualified American family could adopt the baby. Then the baby would have the liberty to live and the mother could be free from the guilt and trauma accompanying an abortion.
➢Pursuit of Happiness: Abortion not only doesn’t give the babies a chance to pursue happiness, but the women suffer mentally and physically from it.

Sir, as a Christian, I’m sure you believe in the truth of the Bible. There is a commandment that God gave to man: “Thou shalt not kill.” The American Heritage Dictionary defines “kill”as: “1.a. to put to death; slay. b. to deprive of life.” Murder is defined as, “1. The unlawful killing of one human being by another, especially with malice aforethought.” I think, after thoughtful consideration, one will come to the realization that abortion kills babies.

I have eleven beautiful nieces and nephews, and one on the way. I can’t imagine, now that I’ve seen and held and played with most of them, that their parents could even think about killing them. Mr. President, you have two gorgeous daughters. You have lived with them for more than seven years. If you could go back in time, do you honestly think you would (or could) slaughter them by abortion?

Mr. President, I’m a fourteen year old girl, and I ask you on behalf of all the people of my generation, to please end abortion in this country. You swore, Sir, to uphold the Constitution, and defend it against foreign and domestic enemies. Abortion is an enemy of our country. It has changed for the worst our country’s outlook on the respect shown to human life. It is annihilating the babies which would make our beautiful country flourish and continue to be “The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave”. Mr. President, please do the duty you swore before God to perform, change the course we as a country are set on, and end abortion now.

Respectfully yours,
Cecilia Bryan

1) (my italics added) from movie “I Am David”

Variations of this letter were sent to NH Representative Barbara Richardson, NH Senator Molly Kelly, US Congressman Paul Hodes, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and US Senator Judd Gregg.

Received 3/3/10 – handwritten (with a pamphlet entitled “Steps Toward Inner Peace” by Peace Pilgrim):

2/24/10

Dear Cecilia Brayn,

Thank you for your letter. I am a pacifist, believing that disputes between nations should and can be settled peacefully; opposing war or violence as a means of resolving disputes and refusing to participate in military action. Many years ago I met Peace Pilgrim, a woman who walked across the country many times — more than 25,000 miles — spreading her message: “This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.” She wore a tunic with pockets that contained her only possessions. I’m enclosing a pamphlet put out by her friends that describes her travels and beliefs. She was an amazing person who accomplished much good. As the result of meeting her I extended my pacifism to include animals and became a vegetarian, eating no meat or fish. I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 50 years. However, I do not expect nor do I pressure anyone else to become a vegetarian. Regarding abortion — I personally would not choose to have one but I believe that choice is up to each woman and her physician, depending upon individual decisions and circumstances. Adoption is a wonderful way for children to be cared for in the event their own parents cannot properly care for them. I am a social worker who has worked with children who were abused and neglected and were placed in foster care until their parents could improve conditions so they could be reunited as a family, or if that was not possible the children could be adopted. It is fine to help a woman through her pregnancy but then it is important to follow through and be sure she has sufficient help to care for her child in an appropriate and caring way.  Some parents, unfortunately, are unable to raise and care for their children. If society provided the proper resources for families — jobs at living wages, appropriate services to deal with mental illness, substance abuse and other difficulties, children would have a better chance at growing up as happy, productive persons.

I believe each of us has our personal beliefs and way of life, but I do not believe we must expect everyone to believe and act as we do.

I wish you well in your life and trust you are open to listening to people who do not necessarily believe as you do.

Sincerely,

[signed] Barbara Richardson

Received 3/4/10

Judd Gregg, New Hampshire
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-2904

March 2, 2010

Dear Miss Bryan:

Thank you for contacting me to express your thoughts and concerns regarding abortion. I appreciate hearing from you.

Like you, I do not support abortion. Abortion is the taking of a life, and, as such, I would oppose any legislative attempts to ensure abortion on demand. As Governor, I vetoed legislation that would have dramatically liberalized New Hampshire law governing abortion. As United States Senator, I will continue to oppose attempts to make abortion widely available.

Again, thank you for contacting my office; I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns. If there are other issues of importance to you, please do not hesitate to get back in touch with me.

Sincerely,

[signed] Judd Gregg

JG/dh

Received 3/10/10

Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-2906

February 25, 2010

Dear Cecilia,

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office regarding public funding of reproductive health care. I appreciate hearing from you about this important issue.

In 1976, Congress passed a law called the Hyde Amendment, which, in general, prohibits Medicaid from covering abortion services as part of the comprehensive health care provided to low-income people by the federal government. In addition to low-income women receiving Medicaid, the Hyde Amendment denies access to federally funded abortions for multiple other groups, including federal employees and their dependents, Native Americans, low-income residents of Washington, DC, military personnel and their dependents, and disabled women receiving Medicare.

I support a repeal of the Hyde Amendment as a crucial step toward ensuring equal access to health care for all women. Bans on abortion funding for low-income women are discriminatory and have dangerous public health implications. While the Hyde Amendment makes exception for lifesaving abortions, women with non-fatal cancers, diabetes, heart conditions or other serious medical risks are denied coverage despite having had the legal right to abortion for over thirty years. In addition, many Medicaid-eligible women are forced to postpone their abortions until late in their pregnancies or seek self-induced or illegal abortions, further jeopardizing their health.

The decision to end a pregnancy is a complicated and deeply personal choice for many women. While I strongly support efforts to reduce the number of abortions, I also believe that each woman must be trusted to make the right decision for herself and her family. Please know that as we debate health care reform, I am committed to preserving access to reproductive health care services for all women.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me, and please do not hesitate to contact my office with any future concerns.

Sincerely,

[signed] Jeanne Shaheen

Received 3/11/10

The White House

Washington, DC 20500

March 8, 2010

Dear Friend,

Thank you for taking the time to share your views on abortion. This is a heart-wrenching issue, and I appreciate your input and thoughts.

I am committed to making my Administration the most open and transparent in history, and part of delivering on that promise is hearing from people like you. I take seriously your opinions and respect your point of view on this issue. Please know that your concerns will be on my mind in the days ahead.

Thank you again for writing. I encourage you to visit WhiteHouse.gov to learn more about my Administration or to contact me in the future.

Sincerely,

[signed or stamped] Barack Obama

[I realize that the Christmas season just ended; but one of our Sisters gathered these quotes, and I don't wish to wait another year to share them with you. Sr. M. Ph.]

Dominus dixit ad me, Filius meus es tu; ego hodie genui te.  The Lord said to my Lord, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten Thee. That was taken from Psalm II. For one thousand years all the holy men and women repeated it. The royal, poetic prophet David, who was inspired to give us the 150 Psalms, was privileged to hear this sentence uttered in eternity. This is overhearing talk among the eternal Persons of the Trinity.

God the Father said to the Eternal Son, You are my Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Some people, like Saint Louis Marie de Montfort and our very beautiful eastern saint (who was long before him but had the same genius), Saint Ephrem, see Our Lady in everything.  Now this sounds like a sentence heard thundering in eternity. And you say, Where is Mary? Well I will show you where Mary is.

There is only one other person that could make that same sentence, and that was the Blessed Virgin Mary.  That same sentence, exactly as it was uttered by God the Father, thundering in eternity before the world was created, could be said by the Blessed Virgin Mary on the first Christmas. Thou art my Son; this day I have begotten Thee.

And don’t think that the Holy Ghost Who inspired that sentence to be there, to be chanted, to be repeated, to be meditated on for a thousand years before the first Christmas occurred, did not notice that that sentence was a common statement that could only be said by two Persons, God the Father in eternity, and the Blessed Virgin Mary in time.

Dominus dixit ad me, Filius meus es tu; ego hodie genui te. The Lord said to me, Thou art my Son; this day… This day (that’s the now of eternity; that’s the day of eternity) God the Father is saying it at this instant, because eternity over-arches all of time.

But the Blessed Virgin Mary is saying it on the first Christmas, on the first day in which Jesus was a baby in our world.  And somehow, because when time and eternity unite, eternity takes over, Our Lady can be saying it right now, as if it is the first Christmas.  (12/24/1978 Brother Francis Talks I # 11 unedited)

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Viderunt omnes fines terrae salutare Dei nostri. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. All the ends of the earth. That, in a way, is a wonderful phrase in defense of our position. They pretend today that there are millions and millions and millions of people that don’t even know that a Savior was given to us.  And therefore, because they don’t know, you can’t blame them. And because you can’t blame them, they will all be canonized saints in Heaven. And we say that is not at all realistic. All the ends of the earth…

That is probably the greatest miracle that this world knows. Can you tell me, if you were  watching that little crib on the night of the first Christmas, with oxes and asses, little cats running around, very poor father and Mother, little Baby, can you say that they would be able to have a campaign of publicity, of advertisement, to announce what was happening there to all the ends of the earth? You say, “Where would they get the finances? Where would they find the billboard company that will spread the news” and so on?

How did the Faith of what is happening on Christmas come to you and me? How did it
survive? In one way, it’s terrible that there isn’t more realization that Jesus is God, that there are still hundreds of millions of people that have followed some other leader, as if they could find as much from him as they could find from our little Baby of Bethlehem. It’s terrible that that should be so!

But just imagine, to look at it now a little bit from an encouraging angle. Imagine with the frailty of every one of us, all the human problems, everyone of us could be discouraged, give up. Saint Francis every time he saw the worst criminal would say, There, but for the grace of God, go I. Any one of us looking to see the privilege by which we do have the Faith could see how we could easily have missed out on it…

With all that frailty, still on the face of this earth now, from Still River in Massachusetts (whoever would think that that’s the way to start?) to the remotest island, there is hardly a human being   old enough to know what time of the day it is, or what day of the week, that doesn’t know that tomorrow is Christmas, and doesn’t somehow know that Christmas is the Birthday of God.   (12/24/1978  Brother Francis Talks I # 11)

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Just imagine the eternal God in swaddling clothes, the garments of helplessness!

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Puer natus est nobis.  A Child is born to us.  Filius datus est nobis.   And a Son is given to us.  Cuius imperium super humerum eius.  Whose empire is on His shoulders. What does that mean?  It means that we don’t vote Him into office.  He comes with royalty vested right on His own Person.  We can ignore that authority, that royalty, only at the risk of our eternal salvation.  He is a KING, and He is NOT a king by any human institution.

Et vocabitur nomen eius, and His Name shall be called magni consilii Angelus, the Angel of great
counsel. Now what tremendous power is found in these few words!

First let me go to the two words, Child and Son. Our Lord is a Child. Our Lord is a Son. Child immediately makes us think of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A child is born, is mothered. A Son emphasizes more the Father.  When the Father’s voice spoke from Heaven to tell us Who Jesus Christ was, one of only three times that the voice of the Eternal Father was heard on this earth, He didn’t say, This is my Child. He said, This is my Son.

So Our Lady would say, This is my Child. God the Father would say, This is my Son. He is both at the same time.

Now it doesn’t mean that God the Father cannot, in some sense say, He is my Child. It does not mean that the Blessed Virgin Mary cannot say, in some sense, This is my Son. It just means that, this is where again we say, our motto at the Center, as Father used to say, We distinguish; we do not divide.

When you call Him Child you think first of Mary and, via Mary, of the Eternal Father.  When you think of Son you think first of the Eternal Father and, via the Eternal Father, of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  That’s where the greatest Supreme Being Who is God, and the greatest creature ever made, the masterpiece of creation, the source and fountain of the life of grace, the exemplar of all sanctity, that’s where They speak the same language.  That’s where They have something definitely and uniquely in common.  No other person in the world can enter in on it.

When God the Father sees His Son, and Mary sees Her Child in the crib of Bethlehem, that is the
salvation of the world.  All the issues of the world boil down to one question.  Every Catholic will have to answer it!  Every Protestant will have to answer it, all the different billions of varieties they have!  Every Jew will have to answer it!  Every Moslem will have to answer it!  Every Buddhist will have to answer it!  Who – is -  that – Child – in the crib of Bethlehem?

Don’t tell me that they haven’t heard about it.  Don’t tell me that there are millions of people that don’t know that at least some people say that this is the Birthday of God.  What’s that question?  Who – is – that – Baby – in – the – Crib? The Child of Mary, we all know, the Son of God, the same, one Person, two clear, different natures.  Every nature presupposes a birth. Born in eternity, born in time.

A Child was born to us.  Notice; a Son was given, the Child was born.  A Child was born, and a Son was given.  Born from the Virgin Mary, given by the Eternal Father.

His Kingdom, His Empire is on His shoulders.  We don’t vote Him into power.  He is there, our King.  Take Him or leave Him.  We leave Him only by going to hell, that’s it, by choosing to go to hell.  God intended, and we go along with it, every man is free to decide to go to hell; there is nothing you can do to stop them.  You are free to do it.  I am free to do it.  Every living man is free to do it.

If they want to go to Heaven, there is only one way to do it.  They have to come to this Savior and to the things He instituted for salvation.  That is the truth that Father taught us.  That is the truth that we promised Father that until they cut us in pieces we are not going to betray!

…We know very well that there is not going to be any revival of the strong Church, the great Church, the sacred Church, until they come back to this doctrine.

Puer natus est nobis et filius datus est nobis, cuius imperium super humerum eius, et vocabitur.  His Name shall be called the Angel of the great Counsel? What is the great counsel in this world?  Simply the counsel that lets us know that eternity is greater than time, that there is no success in this world unless it leads to salvation.  That is the great counsel.  That’s wisdom.  Everything else is nothing but folly.

A man could be the most learned man, the most educated man, the most sophisticated man, he could use big long words from the dictionary – he is a big fool if he thinks there is any other success on this earth short of
saving his own soul.  What good does it do him to be a professor at Harvard and spend his eternity in hell?  (12/31/1978  Brother Francis Talks I # 12 unedited)

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Let me see anybody invent a competition for Christmas.  Let me see them try it.  That is a great miracle.  We watch it every year happening.  The whole world is full with a joy, with a spirit, even the purity of the air, no other time of the year is capable of repeating it.  So, if Jesus is not God, try to explain how this came to be.

Now the Gloria IS a Christmas song.  And the Gloria is not a song that men started; it is a song that the angels started.  Some of the books I was reading the last couple of days, it says that while the angels knew, in some abstract, angelic way, that God loved men, and was going to go to live their life and be with them in order to bring them
salvation, while they knew that, they still couldn’t believe it when they saw it realized.

And that the song wasn’t something that some super angelic intellectual sat down and wrote, it was the way they exploded in sheer amazement to see God on the straw between an ox and an ass.  And they shouted-the whole choir of angels.  They say not one angel was left out of it.  Every angel in Heaven spontaneously shouted, Gloria to the Highest!

So that is Christmas, and if we have Gloria in the Mass, every time it is said it is Christmas put in the Mass again.  So Gloria is that great Christmas hymn.  (Brother Francis Talks I # 11   12/24/78)

Some food for thought regarding one issue (adding to the National Debt a trillion dollars at a time) can be found at the following sites:

US Debt Clock
A Trillion Dollars Taxes the Mind and the Taxpayer

Dear Sister, I found a very good breakfast item that your school and the school kid’s parents may be interested in. If you serve it at school or kids eat it at home it is inexpensive, good and nutritious.

Fruity Spiced Oatmeal- this is for 2 servings

1 1/2 cups fruit juice*

1/2 to 3/4 cup diced fruit**

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tbs. sugar or equivalent

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal

In sauce pan combine all items except oatmeal. Bring to boil; add oatmeal bring to boil again, stirring constantly. remove from heat and cover; let sit for a few minutes before serving.

* apple juice or cider, pineapple, cranapple,etc.

** apples, peaches, strawberries, plums, etc

Our Philoso-Fur!

The Sisters are taking evening classes in Philosophy, going through Brother Francis’ Philosophia Perrenis lectures on tape with the assistance of a tutor-at-a-distance (using a speaker phone). We are almost to the end of the course on Cosmology, and there is never a lecture that doesn’t touch on something we can use in the classroom. This last week one of my students asked me about the resurrection of the bodies at the general judgment, when everyone who ever lived gets their bodies back. The question was: If someone is cremated (the morality of which was also discussed) or completely decomposed and the exact matter is no longer “free” — how do we get our bodies back? The very day that I answered that question (does anyone know the answer?), I heard Brother’s answer in our evening class. I was very glad to see that I’d answered it correctly! Rhipsime is a regular guest at our class, a regular little philoso-fur (as you can see from her choice of books!).

Table of contents for Mother Love

1. The Christian Training of Children – Early Cares
2. The Christian Training of Children – New and more Difficult Cares
3. The Christian Training of Children – Admonition to Mother
4. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Flesh
5. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Eyes
6. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Pride
7. The Christian Training of Children – Rewards and Punishments
8. The Christian Training of Children – The Father’s Role
9. The Christian Training of Children – Prayers
10. The Christian Training of Children – Co-operation with Pastor and Teacher
11. The Christian Training of Children – Preparing a Child for Confession
12. The Christian Training of Children – Maxims and Sayings

Little Book of Instructions for Christian Mothers [continued]
(from Mother Love – A Manual for Christian Mothers – by Rev. Pius Franciscus, O.M.Cap., 1926)

On the Christian Training of Children

Chapter X. – Maxims and Sayings Which a Mother Might Teach Her Child.

Pithy, pregnant maxims and sayings are wise thoughts expressed tersely and strikingly. Watchwords we might call them. The Saints were partial to such little sayings. St. Francis is renowned for his “My God and my All,” St. Ignatius for his “All for the greater honor and glory of God,” and there is hardly a saint who did not have a special predilection for some particular expressive saying. It would be wise if all of us would profit by their example and also choose one or the other for our guidance. Every mother should have a storehouse of them, and should on suitable occasions quote them. The evident truth and wisdom of them cannot fail to impress the tender hearts of your little ones. These proverbs will in later life frequently occur to them, and may prove for them a source of strength in temptation as well as in the fulfillment of duty. The most valuable ones are those taken from Sacred Scripture, in particular, from the New Testament and directly from the teachings of Jesus Christ Himself. Next to these are the sayings of the Saints and, finally, proverbial sayings which are in daily vogue among the common people. Mother should be well acquainted with a number of them, and should, when occasion offers, not only quote them but also explain them.

In the following pages some few of each kind are recorded with the intention of making our mothers acquainted with a choice selection for daily use. There are no doubt better ones than those recorded and any mothers knowing such may confidently make frequent use of them; but we would earnestly warn against the use of worldly ones which though fairly expressive, are couched in vulgar or rude terms. Mothers must faithfully avoid silly, sinful and unchristian expressions which children are apt to remember much more quickly.

My Child, gain heaven and you have gained all, lose heaven and you have lost all.

If you do only what you please, can you be considered a servant of God?

We are in the world not to win money, but to win heaven.

Remember, Child, where’er thou art,
God sees into thy very heart.

Where’er you be and whate’er you do,
Remember ever: God sees you.

Do unto others as you would
That others should do unto you.

God will bless with happy days,
With store of precious good,
The child that honors and obeys
Its parents as it should.

My Child, I would rather see you dead at my feet than in mortal sin. (Words of St. Blanche, the mother of St. Louis.)

First the necessary, then the useful, and finally the pleasant.

Lying is a fatal evil,
Liars server their lord, the devil;
And no one every will believe
The child that once did dare deceive.

On Sunday rest and love to pray,
For Sunday is the Lord’s own day.

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Lost innocence and wasted time are never found again.

Little strokes fell great oaks.

Constant dropping wears away the stone.

Never leave till tomorrow what you can do today.

Judge not and you shall not be judged.

Diligence is the mother of good luck.

You will never lose by doing a good turn.

No Cross, no crown.

Many words are not without sin.

Seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all things else will be added unto you.

Fools make feasts and wise men eat them.

A small leak will sink a great ship.

It is head for an empty bag to stand upright.

God is merciful to them who love Him.

A fat kitchen makes a lean will.

Believe no wrong if you have not see it; narrate no scandal whether you believe it or not.

Famine means unmentionable pain and sorrow, but no famine of food or drink can compare with the loss of God’s grace.

There is just one fearful thing about death — the moment after.

My life is but the weaving
Between my God and me;
I may not choose the colors—
He worketh steadily.

Full of the weaveth sorrow,
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget — He sees the upper,
And I, the under side.

If now the Cross of Chirst I bear,
I may be sure His Crown to share.

More things are wrought by prayers than this world dreams of.

‘Tis easy to sigh, but ‘tis better to pray.

So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is God to man,
When duty whispers low, “Thou must,”
The creature says, “I can.”

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do.

Kind words are the music of the world.

There is so much bad in the best of us,
There is so much good in the worst of us,
That is hardly behooves any of us,
To rail at the faults of the rest of us.