A New Meme - How Bad a Catholic Am I?
A New Meme that’s out there – I don’t wait to get tagged – I do the tagging!
Now you can all see why I’m such a bad Catholic, and why I consider myself in good company with Francisco Marto. Go ahead. Judge me. I deserve it. (Wow – you’d never know I wasn’t a cradle Catholic, would you? I’ve got the guilt thing NAILED. I hope there’s extra credit for that on Judgment Day!)
1. Favorite devotion or prayer to Jesus. The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. Faster than saying a Rosary, too!
2. Favorite Marian devotion or prayer. Well, I have a couple: The Hail Mary is a classic which cannot be understated, but I also love the Memorare. I also love the Rosary (except that my ADD comes out to play during the Rosary. I’m fine for the first couple of mysteries, and then things go awry.)
3. Do you wear a scapular or medal? Oh boy. Not at the moment. I usually always wear a 5-way medal, but … well, it’s a looong story. Suffice it to say that I own two 5-way medals, neither of which I can wear at the moment. I also have a St. Philomena cord to wear around my waist, and a “brown scapular” (OL of Mt. Carmel). I stopped wearing them when it got really hot last summer. I should start wearing them again. (I know, I know, if I think it’s hot HERE, just wait until I burn in Hell for not wearing that brown scapular.)
4. Do you have holy water in your home? No. It never occurred to me to keep it in a bottle. I was picturing the cats deciding that the Holy Water tasted better than their water, and conspiring to get it out of the font By Any Means Necessary (which would by definition be destructive). Sometimes I’m not very smart. I’ll have to get a holy water bottle the next time I’m in the Catholic Supply Store, and get some. On a related note, I have Holy Oil from St. Philomena. So THERE!
5. Do you "offer up" your sufferings? Yes, when I think of it before I open my mouth to start grumbling.
6. Do you observe First Fridays and First Saturdays? Ahem. Well, yes and no. Have I observed them? Yes. Have I observed them the requisite number of times for it to count towards my eternal salvation? No. Which is not to say that going has been wasted, but still. (Clam, I know you’re going to ask, so the answer is 9 in a row for Fridays, 5 in a row for Saturdays.)
7. Do you go to Eucharistic Adoration? How Frequently? Yes, but not regularly. See above comment about ADD. (Which I don’t actually have, but you’d never know it sitting next to me in the chapel.)
8. Are you a Saturday evening Mass person or a Sunday morning Mass person? It kind of depends. I like to go Saturday afternoon when I can, because then it’s done, and no matter how tired I am or how badly I feel on Sunday morning, I know I’ve done it. On the other hand, I ALWAYS feel like a slacker not going Sunday morning, even when I already went on Saturday.
9. Do you say prayers at mealtime? Usually.
10. Favorite saints: Well, of course the BVM and Joseph. But also I really dig the Desert Fathers (any hermit monk is pretty cool) and St. Mary of Egypt, the penitent. I’m also quite keen on the Virgin Martyrs (see earlier post about St. Cecilia, but also Agnes, Agatha, etc. A woman who can buck the trends of popular culture about sex is a strong woman indeed!) I’m also very into Faustina Kowalska, and am developing quite a fondness for Edith Stein, thanks to The Clam. Plus Francis and Clare, and Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, and Therese of Lisieux (I have a split personality – I cannot decide between Secular Franciscans and Secular Discalced Carmelites). Also the visionaries: Bernadette, Catherine Laboure, etc. Which would bring me to not-yet certified saints Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta (from Fatima). Other saints-in-waiting I’m quite fond of are Mother Teresa, Solanus Casey and Fulton Sheen.
And how can I forget St. Philomena, the Wonder Worker? There are others. I will feel bad about this later, because I will realize I’ve forgotten some favorites!
11. Can you recite the Apostles' Creed by heart? Yes. And the Nicene Creed. Buuuuuttt… I always blurp a little, because I tend to mentally switch back and forth… so I forget to say Jesus descended to Hell before “and on the third day He rose again.” And it doesn’t matter that I know both. It happens EVERY time. There are a couple of places I ALWAYS screw up. And I’ve been reciting the Creed for 30 years – we recited it in the Episcopal Church, and my Grandma’s Congregational Church, and when I went to Mass as a child, and at the Lutheran Churches I have attended (always with an asterisk next to “Catholic”)
12. Do you usually say short prayers (aspirations) during the course of the day? Yes. Often very short aspirations, like God help me, or Lord help me. I think sometimes people think I’m being blasphemous, but I’m not. If I say it, I mean it.
13. Bonus Question: When you pass by an automobile accident or other serious mishap, do you say a quick prayer for the folks involved? Yes. I also thank God and my Guardian Angel for watching over me.
Added bonus question: Have you named your Guardian Angel?
And now, I tag: The Clam, The Canuck, Catholic Wife and Mother, DJ, and Tim F (if you’re out there!)
Now you can all see why I’m such a bad Catholic, and why I consider myself in good company with Francisco Marto. Go ahead. Judge me. I deserve it. (Wow – you’d never know I wasn’t a cradle Catholic, would you? I’ve got the guilt thing NAILED. I hope there’s extra credit for that on Judgment Day!)
1. Favorite devotion or prayer to Jesus. The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. Faster than saying a Rosary, too!
2. Favorite Marian devotion or prayer. Well, I have a couple: The Hail Mary is a classic which cannot be understated, but I also love the Memorare. I also love the Rosary (except that my ADD comes out to play during the Rosary. I’m fine for the first couple of mysteries, and then things go awry.)
3. Do you wear a scapular or medal? Oh boy. Not at the moment. I usually always wear a 5-way medal, but … well, it’s a looong story. Suffice it to say that I own two 5-way medals, neither of which I can wear at the moment. I also have a St. Philomena cord to wear around my waist, and a “brown scapular” (OL of Mt. Carmel). I stopped wearing them when it got really hot last summer. I should start wearing them again. (I know, I know, if I think it’s hot HERE, just wait until I burn in Hell for not wearing that brown scapular.)
4. Do you have holy water in your home? No. It never occurred to me to keep it in a bottle. I was picturing the cats deciding that the Holy Water tasted better than their water, and conspiring to get it out of the font By Any Means Necessary (which would by definition be destructive). Sometimes I’m not very smart. I’ll have to get a holy water bottle the next time I’m in the Catholic Supply Store, and get some. On a related note, I have Holy Oil from St. Philomena. So THERE!
5. Do you "offer up" your sufferings? Yes, when I think of it before I open my mouth to start grumbling.
6. Do you observe First Fridays and First Saturdays? Ahem. Well, yes and no. Have I observed them? Yes. Have I observed them the requisite number of times for it to count towards my eternal salvation? No. Which is not to say that going has been wasted, but still. (Clam, I know you’re going to ask, so the answer is 9 in a row for Fridays, 5 in a row for Saturdays.)
7. Do you go to Eucharistic Adoration? How Frequently? Yes, but not regularly. See above comment about ADD. (Which I don’t actually have, but you’d never know it sitting next to me in the chapel.)
8. Are you a Saturday evening Mass person or a Sunday morning Mass person? It kind of depends. I like to go Saturday afternoon when I can, because then it’s done, and no matter how tired I am or how badly I feel on Sunday morning, I know I’ve done it. On the other hand, I ALWAYS feel like a slacker not going Sunday morning, even when I already went on Saturday.
9. Do you say prayers at mealtime? Usually.
10. Favorite saints: Well, of course the BVM and Joseph. But also I really dig the Desert Fathers (any hermit monk is pretty cool) and St. Mary of Egypt, the penitent. I’m also quite keen on the Virgin Martyrs (see earlier post about St. Cecilia, but also Agnes, Agatha, etc. A woman who can buck the trends of popular culture about sex is a strong woman indeed!) I’m also very into Faustina Kowalska, and am developing quite a fondness for Edith Stein, thanks to The Clam. Plus Francis and Clare, and Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, and Therese of Lisieux (I have a split personality – I cannot decide between Secular Franciscans and Secular Discalced Carmelites). Also the visionaries: Bernadette, Catherine Laboure, etc. Which would bring me to not-yet certified saints Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta (from Fatima). Other saints-in-waiting I’m quite fond of are Mother Teresa, Solanus Casey and Fulton Sheen.
And how can I forget St. Philomena, the Wonder Worker? There are others. I will feel bad about this later, because I will realize I’ve forgotten some favorites!
11. Can you recite the Apostles' Creed by heart? Yes. And the Nicene Creed. Buuuuuttt… I always blurp a little, because I tend to mentally switch back and forth… so I forget to say Jesus descended to Hell before “and on the third day He rose again.” And it doesn’t matter that I know both. It happens EVERY time. There are a couple of places I ALWAYS screw up. And I’ve been reciting the Creed for 30 years – we recited it in the Episcopal Church, and my Grandma’s Congregational Church, and when I went to Mass as a child, and at the Lutheran Churches I have attended (always with an asterisk next to “Catholic”)
12. Do you usually say short prayers (aspirations) during the course of the day? Yes. Often very short aspirations, like God help me, or Lord help me. I think sometimes people think I’m being blasphemous, but I’m not. If I say it, I mean it.
13. Bonus Question: When you pass by an automobile accident or other serious mishap, do you say a quick prayer for the folks involved? Yes. I also thank God and my Guardian Angel for watching over me.
Added bonus question: Have you named your Guardian Angel?
And now, I tag: The Clam, The Canuck, Catholic Wife and Mother, DJ, and Tim F (if you’re out there!)
posted by The Big Seester | 3:56 PM
5 Comments:
DJ,
Good answers. My concern about the holy water is only partly them drinking it (would that make a cat holy enough to get into Heaven?) my concern is my 19 lb. cat hanging from the font like Bruce Willis in Die Hard, and, since it won't be screwed into the wall with anything other than a little 1/4 screw, causing real damage to the wall, breaking the font and spilling holy h2o all over the place. He, of course, would be fine, because cats always are when they are destructive.
So I'm always good about blessing myself at church, just in case!
TBS
I also love the Magnificat, although I guess I never thought of it as a "prayer or devotion."
Tim F, my guypal at work, sent me his responses via email, and he mentioned that one of his favorite devotions to Jesus is the Anima Christi, and I thought HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN THE ANIMA CHRISTI??
I'm even trying to learn that one in Latin! (It's short enough for me to memorize in a foreign language.)
I want to post his "favorite saints" list, because he is the keeper of many, many obscure saints. (He's pretty S-M-R-T!)
TBS
I like the cat problem! It's been a few years since I've had a cat in my life, so I've forgotten about those kinds of things. I did my responses on my blog.
Just wondering. Ever make a decision about your grocery bags? I kid you not, I think of you now when I pass the canvas bags at Kroger. . .
CWAM,
No, I'm still pondering. I'm trying not to purchase anything that isn't absolutely necessary right now. I'll probably blog about it when and if I do make a decision.
TBS
1. Favorite devotion or prayer to Jesus. Devotion: to the wound on the shoulder of the Lord or the Infant of Prague. Prayer: Anima Christi
2. Favorite Marian devotion or prayer. Devotion: Our Lady of Good Composure (I am the sole practitioner of this devotion, inspired by a pending meeting with the Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Sacraments and Divine Worship mere days after I was kicked out of the seminary. Oh yes, there’s a story there.) Prayer: Alma Redemptoris Mater.
3. Do you wear a scapular or medal? Hmmm, bad Catholic here. I was inducted into the scapular, but have a dicey history with the daily recitation of the Rosary, and so decided to forego it.
4. Do you have holy water in your home? Oh my yes. A font at the door and two reserve bottles in the hall closet, just in case.
5. Do you "offer up" your sufferings? Just like Sr. Thomas Estelle taught us to do in 2nd grade.
6. Do you observe First Fridays and First Saturdays? First Fridays, to an extent. First Saturdays, not really. I have “issues” with Fatima…for which I’m certain I’ll have a conversation with the Blessed Virgin on Judgment Day, but I appeal to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, part I, Section 1, Chapter 2, Article 1, paragraphs 66-67.
7. Do you go to Eucharistic Adoration? How Frequently? Yes, but with irregular frequency. I do love Eucharistic Adoration, but am unsure of all the wheres and whens in this area.
8. Are you a Saturday evening Mass person or a Sunday morning Mass person? Sunday morning, definitely. Evening Mass usually finds me yawning. Plus, I have issues with Saturday evening Masses. I have many issues…but they’re my problems, not the Church’s.
9. Do you say prayers at mealtime? Usually.
10. Favorite saints: Wow…too many to count. St. Derfel Gadarn, St. Amalburga, St. Dismas, St. Genesius the Comedian, St. Dionysius the Areopagite, Sr. Lydwina, St. Frideswide, St. Emygdius, St. Pancratius, St. John Fisher, St. Louis IX, St. Charbel, St. Joseph of Cupertino, St. Christina the Astonishing, St. Zita, Bl. Columba Marmion, Bl. Pius IX, St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, Bl. Karl von Hapsburg, St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Charles Borromeo, St. John Vianney, St. Ivo of Chartes, St. Alexander the Charcoal Burner, St. Polycarp of Smyrna, St. John Chrysostom, St. Emerentiana, St. Firmin, St. Cloud (patron saint of royal orphans), the Catherines (of, respectively Alexandria, Siena, Genoa), St. Margaret Pole, St. Margaret Clitherow, Bl. Henry Suso, St. Aelred of Rievaulx, St. Chrodegang of Metz, Bl. Pippin of Landen, the Martyrs of Najran, St. Frumentius, St. Ephrem the Cithara of the Holy Ghost, the Carmelite Martyrs of Compeigne (I tend to have issues with Carmelites, but I love these gals), St. Titus, St. Amphilochius, St. Louis Bertrand, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bernard of Corleone, St. Fiacre, St. Ia, St. Tarcisius, St. Darerca, St. Murgen the mermaid, Ss. Cosmas and Damian, St. Chad, Bl. Jordan of Saxony, Bl. Reginald, St. Vincent Ferrer (though I suspect I would not like to have a friendly chat with him, I respect him), St. Leander and his whole family, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Gelasius, St. Zeno, St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Michael, Bl. Amadeus, Bl. Robert Flower, St. Richard of Chichester, St. Sancho of Cordoba, Ven. Raphael Merry del Val, St. Paphnutius, St. Kentigern (Mungo)….I had better stop, but I could easily go on for quite a bit more. There are so many interesting people! There are a few I don’t particularly like…and again, I suspect I’ll have issues on judgment day…which in part explains my strong devotion to St. Derfel Gadarn. He will defend me!
11. Can you recite the Apostles' Creed by heart? Yes, in English, but I stumble a bit with the Latin at times.
12. Do you usually say short prayers (aspirations) during the course of the day? Yes.
13. Bonus Question: When you pass by an automobile accident or other serious mishap, do you say a quick prayer for the folks involved? Oh yes, again – as taught by Sr. Thomas Estelle.
Added bonus question: Have you named your Guardian Angel? Yes. But I promised him I wouldn’t tell his name. (it’s the same as one of my favorite saints listed above…)
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