The Cross

(thanks, Marie)

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Albert Einstein-

Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Einstein's mother introduced him to the violin at the age of six in an attempt to counteract his academic failures. Einstein eventually became an accomplished amateur violinist, taking particular pleasure in performing Mozart and discussing the parallels between music and mathematics. His son, Hans Albert, recalled that "whenever he felt that he had come to the end of the road or into a difficult situation in his work, he would take refuge in music, and that would usually resolve all the difficulties."

Einstein quote;

"Politics are for the moment. Equations are for eternity."

By the end of his life in 1955, Einstein had faded from the public scene, but his insights into the workings of the universe were continuing to transform the world. An unfinished statement for Israeli Independence Day found at the time of his death read,

"What I seek to accomplish is simply to serve with my feeble capacity truth and justice at the risk of pleasing no one."

The following is from Elsa Einstein, Albert Einstein's wife, regarding Einstein's development of the theory of general relativity. It's taken from the outstanding book Einstein and Religion by Max Jammer. It's originally taken from Charles Chaplin's autobiography.
The Doctor came down in his dressing gown as usual for breakfast but he hardly touched a thing. I thought something was wrong, so I asked what was troubling him. "Darling," he said, "I have a wonderful idea." And after drinking his coffee, he went to the piano and started playing. Now and again he would stop, making a few notes then repeat: "I've got a wonderful idea, a marvelous idea!" I said: "Then for goodness' sake tell me what it is, don't keep me in suspense." He said: "It's difficult, I still have to work it out."
She told me he continued playing the piano and making notes for about half an hour, then went upstairs to his study, telling her that he did not wish to be disturbed, and remained there for two weeks. "Each day I sent him up his meals," she said, "and in the evening he would walk a little for exercise, then return to his work again. Eventually," she said, "he came down from his study looking very pale. "That's it," he told me, wearily putting two sheets of paper on the table. And that was his theory of relativity."

Currently we are listening to the CD of Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson

I'm No Little Flower

Ok, Leonie, you twisted my arm lol--(see last post comments)- here is my St. Teresa story.

I came into the Church ten years ago in a small, friendly parish in Ohio. My background was Protestant and Bible Christian.

I went through RCIA, with the most sweet and gentle group of people. But, I wanted my questions answered!
" What do you have to do be be saved?"
" Where is _____fill in the blank____ in the Bible? "
"What is all this about Mary?"

And so forth. You know, the basics....but I had trouble getting answers.

This was my 3rd time in RCIA, I had dropped out the other 2 times in other states.

Now, I am not saying I was obnoxius or aggressive, I just wanted to learn- facts were nice, too.. and I was on a search. Plus, I love reserach, reading and that is probably why God put Scott Hahn in my path at this time, and I consider him my honorary RCIA sponsor. He had gone through his own search for answers and helped lay out the road for me to find mine.

Anyway, it was dicey for me, (whether to convert) up until the night before Easter Vigil. Also, being a small parish, the RCIA group was not quite organized enough, and at Easter Vigil (which I did show up for), they were moving us here and there and then my sweet elderly sponsor, Helen, said to me-

"Oh, Cindy, you need to pick a saint."

"What?" I said.

"A saint- before you go into confession."

"What?" I said, "I have to go into confession?"

"Well, yes, and you have to go, um, right now. Fr. Tony is waiting."

I loved those sweet people and they were so kind to me, but I was not ready for confession at all, and had no saint chosen.

But, Fr. Tony is about the kindest priest you can imagine and he walked me through a general confession. I know it counted, but I did it again a while later when I had prepared and rememembered more of my checkered past.

Now, to St. Teresa.

Helen and I are standing there, she asking me to choose a saint. At this point I was not even sure I believed what the Church taught about saints (mostly because I had not fully *understood* the teaching...)-- so how could I pick one. I couldn't even think of one. Sad, I know.

"Well," sweet diminutive Helen said, glancing at her watch and then the alter, "How about St. Teresa?"

"Oh, I have heard of her! The Little Flower" I said. That was about all I knew, was her handle.






"OH NO!" Helen waved and smiled gently, but I saw a bit of horror in her eyes, and the smile didn't leave.

"The Little Flower is my patron saint and yes, is named Teresa, but I was thinking of another for you. How St. Teresa of Avilla?"

She explained very nicely to me that bascially St. Teresa of Avilla wrote a ton (so I could go read it all, since Helen knew I loved to read) and was a well, "strong" personality. I could tell Helen thought Teresa of A and I might get along really, really well.

I still have to laugh. Helen was a true Little Flower. Sweet and humble. I am no Little Flower and really can relate to St. Teresa of Avilla and have enjoyed reading her writings. Very deep, still working on them.

One of my favorite quotes is when Teresa is eating a feast with fellow religious. They are serving pheasant, which I gathered was a real treat. She was basically pigging out.

A monk nearby commented about propriety, self-restrait and the like. It is reported that Teresa replied-

"When you pray, pray. When you pheasant, pheasant!"

lol
But, I hope the Little Flower is praying for me, too.

So, there is the story. :)

Two New Saints in Our Family

Our 2 sons are being confirmed this May and tomororow is the Rite of Calling in our parish- where all the candidates for Confirmation are blessed by our parish.

Stephen and Bryan must have their sponsor and patron saint chosen by tomorrow.

They both chose their grandmother as their sponsor. She is 88 and has her tickets to fly in for the sacrament--- and also will get to see the Cardinal who is presiding.
Please pray for her health, and that she can make this event especially.. we appreciate it! She is our Catholic connection in our family, for sure.

As far as Patron saints, Stephen chose St. John Bosco. It really touched me.
When we began talking about saints, I suggested to both the boys, to think about those we have learned about, but also gave them the Catholic Exchange site to look around... pray.. see where they were led. Frankly, I had forgotton to mention St. John Bosco.

But I love this saint. Many of you reading know him- his views on education and children are beautiful. The boys had read a bio of him a few years ago, and as he looked around, I think Stephen rediscovered him.

It was one of those mom moments.. like -- who knew the kid was really paying attention when I gave him that John Bosco book all those years ago? :)

Bryan chose St. Hugh of Lincoln.


I said "Who??"

But I looked him up and I think what drew Bryan was the relationship he had with a swan.

Go read about it. Awesome saint! And it is not St. Hugh the little, but the one during the reformation with the swan. The boys have to write a report on their saint for the parish, and I bet we will get into some great Reformation discussions, especially with their dad..(who by the way, told me today he plans to review the CCC with them this spring... woo hoo!!! All you homeschooling moms know how I feel about this-- Dad gearing up! )

So, we have two new patron saints in our family to add to St. Patrick and St. Teresa of Avilla. There is a funny story about the latter, my patron saint. Let me know if you want to hear it and I will make another post. :)

But, this does make me again see, that we have a beautiful large family in our Catholic faith--- even though the Kelly family might seem small... we are part of something big. Our Catholic family on earth, and the communion of saints- and now we have two very special saints who will be praying for us and we can go to for intentions.

So lovely!

Please say a prayer for our young men tomorrrow... as we continue toward Confirmation. Thank you--

Fred Speaks

Slow talkin' Tennesee boy Fred Thompson is not good at sound bite speak.

I sense he has true conservative values and policies but can't get a word in edgewise with the fast talking media and other candidates.

If interetsed, here is a 15 min video where he explains his positions.

Fred's video

Communication is important. Is this a major flaw? The media calls him lazy, he says he just isn't into the manic sound bite game. I tend to believe him, because I know the media is manic.

By the way, I think he is the only one with a 100% prolife voting record. Please comment if I am wrong.

If Your Gonna Vote, You Gotta Know the Bloke!

Everyone seems to lament how tiresome the debates and endless politicking is.. and November is soooo far away.

But I am enjoying it. This *can* be fun.

It is giving my family and myself time to learn more and more about these men (and woman) as they pound away on the election road. For example, can Senator Clinton maintain her new 'kind and gentle' image in front of the Iowa cameras with a bad cold on top of late nights, multiple appearances and bad food? How do all these candidates handle adverse conditions? It is like watching interns on the 72nd hour of no sleep.. will they crack??

But why watch this stuff, we all know about the ridiculous media spin?

Yup! It is a reality and like it or not, it is part of our life. It did give me a sense of relief to read about Abraham Lincoln and the battles he had with the media in his day. This is not new. This is human nature. Part of this whole process is understanding when we are being 'spun' by the media and trying to see through.

Honestly, I think if Americans could understand that one thing, when they are being 'spun', then our country would be so much better off.

THINK, Americans!!

What a great chance for us to help our children learn to think. Not just put our political opinions on them, but help them see the spin, the issues and think things through. What a gift these elections and our media gives us. A virtual classroom!

How many Bush Haters out there are simply being manipulated by the liberal media? Do they really "hate" Bush? And if so, why? Was it because Chris Matthews told them to, or they thought David Letterman's endless jokes were hilarious? Or do they have real reasons?
(OTOH, I can tell you exactly why I dislike the Clintons. Believe me, I have thought about it and it is completely against prevailing media spin.)

This is your country. Don't just throw up your hands and say it is broken so we will stick our heads in the sand. Then we really will turn it over to those least qualified.

And if you are voting for someone because Oprah or Chuck Norris told you to... then, maybe just stay home.

I digress!

I thought I would gather up for my family the *issues* pages of each of the major candidates so we could read for ourselves where they stand. Now, when we read these we have to understand they may have behaved differently than they say, but this is a starting point.

But why bother, since we have no control over who will be nominated by each party? (unless we live in a caucus state)? Well, because it helps us *know* who is out there. It gets us involved in the (very imperfect) process. The bumper stickers that irk me the most are not ones supporting candidates I don't like but those that say things like:

"Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kinky"

Give me a break. This is your country, too.


Don't be discouraged because it all seems so political. Yes, there are candidates the press ignores. Keep plugging. Make the best choice you can.

See these Wikapedia articles for a rundown of who is running, who dropped out, who we will never hear of.
Republicans running

Democrats running


And here is a nice general article about the presidential elections with a nice electoral college map. We had the best time tracking the returns and the electoral college votes in past elecions.

But this is reality. Someone will be elected and it will affect the world, the U.S. and you on a daily basis. Just think, if nothing else, who do you want to hear giving speeches all the time on TV? But more importantly, who is going to try and lead us through these difficult times? Whoever it is needs all of our prayers.

So grab a cup of cocoa, gather the kids around, put on your


Anti-Political Correctness goggles



and read about these Americans who all want desperately to be your next president.

In fact, keep a notepad handy and jot down thoughts and comments from your kids. There can be tons of rabbit trails for learning, such as the War in Iraq. Why are we there? Who are the Shiites? The Sunnis? What does tribalism have to do with the current events today? Does the president of Iran really think there was NEVER a holocaust? Is there really proof there was one, or is he right?
Why does he hate Israel?.. and on and on...

It is amazing all the questions that can come up when discussing current events and how they can lead us back through history....


And, learning where we have been, where we are now, maybe together we can cut through the spin, or at least not get dizzy next time the press puts us on its carousel...and get to the heart of the issues important to us.

OK- As promised, here are the issues pages I found on the official websites of each major candidate. Enjoy!

Republicans:
(they go first cuz I like them better- otherwise in no particular order)

Mike Hukabee
Ron Paul
Mitt Romney
Rudy Guliani
John McCain
Fred Thompson
Duncan Hunter
Alan Keyes

Democrats:
Joe Biden
Hillary Clinton
Chris Dodd
John Edwards
Mike Gravel
Dennis Kuchinich
Barack Obama
Bill Richardson

Please comment if I have omitted any candidates. I just included the major contenders.

Now, to go read through these sites myself. A tough job, but someone's gotta do it...