St. Patrick’s Breastplate

17 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

by Sabryna in Uncategorized Tags: , ,

I arise today                                                                                           Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Amen.

Monday Musings

16 Mar 2015 2 Comments

by Sabryna in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Today I return to blogging after having one of the many versions of late winter illnesses that are going around. Mine wasn’t particularly horrible–just a cold that quickly went into my chest and kept me feverish and not sleeping nights for longer than I wanted. But in the end–although I’m still hacking–it was just a simple cold and once the fever subsided I had to keep marching on with life again. This reminds me of an old post that I’d like to share again, as it was good for me to reread today for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that we’re marching on toward Easter Sunday as we continue in our Lenten journey. I hope it will be encouraging to you as well.

Marching On

 

Another Newman Quote of the Day

07 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

by Sabryna in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Another classic worth posting here.

aquinasetc's avatarAquinas, Etc.

My first elementary lesson of duty is that of resignation to the laws of my nature, whatever they are; my first disobedience is to be impatient at what I am, and to indulge an ambitious aspiration after what I cannot be, to cherish a distrust of my powers, and to desire to change laws which are identical with myself. (Grammar of Assent, p. 347)

It’s hard to know where to begin in commenting upon this brief passage. It is just packed.

What is resignation to the laws of my nature? I think a good illustration would be to think of the madman who is convinced he has wings and tosses himself off a ledge with a false certainty that his powers of flight will deliver him from an inevitable sudden stop at the bottom of the cliff. So resignation to the laws of my nature would be…

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Writers’ Wednesday

04 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

by Sabryna in Uncategorized Tags: ,

Welcome to another roundup of tools to help you in your writing pursuits. This week we have had a lot going on here so I’ll be posting another short and sweet list of favorite tools. At least that’s better than yesterday when I was so busy I never even had time to write “Too Much Tuesday,” the irony of which I can assure you did not escape me. So today’s focus is on getting support to come to you when you can’t get to a support group, class, editor, agent, or whatever it is you need help with in furthering your work with words.

Today we’ll talk about magazines. Here are the top three, in my opinion. You can check them out at a local bookstore/newstand or visit their websites or take out a subscription by the issue digitally, or, in some cases, start a subscription and if you don’t like it you can cancel it and won’t be charged for unreceived issues.

Poets & Writers
http://www.pw.org/

The Writer
http://www.writermag.com/

Writer’s Digest
http://www.writersdigest.com/

NB—If you sign up for the free Writer’s Digest email newsletter they will send you a PDF—”101 Best Websites For Writers”—that, in my opinion, is well worth signing up for. And of course you can always unsubscribe if you don’t care for the newsletter.

Of the three, The Writer is my personal favorite but each has its own unique flavor and will suit certain readers better than others. Or some people like two out of the three and then there are those cover-all-the-bases types who get all three. Don’t forget to check your local library for copies as well. Sometimes, serendipitously, they even show up on the book sale table. I’d love to hear which publications you appreciate or share any I haven’t featured here.

Happy reading for the sake of writing!

Monday Musings

02 Mar 2015 2 Comments

by Sabryna in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

“Nothing will ever be completely done.” – Anonymous

For those who don’t know, I’m a seriously uptight chick (and recovering perfectionist!) and definitely a work in progress by the grace of God. However, I think if I’d heard that quote or realized its truth before I was middle-aged things might have gone a lot smoother over the last decade in particular. I’m glad I was a young mom in my 30s as that was an awesome decade for me personally. I believe that’s because I was more able to live in the Present Moment with my husband and our son as we had so much rejoicing to do, as we had to wait seven years before he showed up.

The longer you have to wait for something you desperately want, then it is all the more precious when you finally receive it. Then, whoosh, time flies by and you can’t believe your son will be leaving home sooner rather than later. I’m reminded of that today in particular as a dear family friend turns 18 today and is quite the fine young adult himself (and I’m not just saying that because I love his mom so much!). So enjoy living in the present, remembering the past’s fond memories (like meeting this young man shortly after his birth), and looking forward to seeing what blessings the future holds for him. Happy Birthday, Justin!

“God is always good, and we are in His hands.”  –  James Jarrett

Seeking Perfection

01 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

by Sabryna in Uncategorized Tags: , ,

Seeking Perfection.

Perfectly Broken

27 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

by Sabryna in Uncategorized

Perfectly beautiful and brilliant.

aquinasetc's avatarAquinas, Etc.

How can you possibly expect to remain always in the same state of virtue when the angels in heaven and the first man in paradise failed to do so? (The Imitation of Christ)

Speaking as a recovering perfectionist (if there can be such a thing; sometimes I wonder) this passage from the Imitation is a great reminder for those times when I am kicking myself in the pants for some self-perceived failing. Countless angels fell from virtue without the same handicaps that I suffer; Adam and Eve, blessed with the help of God’s grace, nevertheless willfully chose to disobey God.

I am no better than any of these. My circumstances are certainly no better than theirs were. On the contrary I suffer from a variety of infirmities (original sin not the least of the them) which make it a virtual miracle when I do remain in a state…

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He lived long and prospered

27 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

by Sabryna in Uncategorized Tags:

He lived long and prospered.

Writers’ Wednesday

25 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

by Sabryna in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

Long day. Late night. Tired brain. But you, tireless reader, shall not be left without something to peruse since I have committed to providing you with grist for your writing mill. I’ll keep it short and sweet. It’s my three all-time favorite books about writing.

Madeleine L’Engle: Herself—Reflections on a Writing Life, compiled by Carole F. Chase

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott

Freeing Your Creativity: A Writer’s Guide—How to write more and better than you ever thought you could, Marshall J. Cook

These gems are time tested classics for me and were instrumental in pushing me past thinking about writing (although I did journal, naturally) to actually writing. I hope at least one of them will be both inspirational and instructive in helping you take the next step in your unique writing journey.

Too Much Tuesday

24 Feb 2015 Leave a comment

by Sabryna in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Some days there is just too much coming at you. All you can do is put one foot in front of the other and do the next thing, and then, as soon as you get the chance, be kind to yourself and take a breather. I know this works because I’ve had to do this many days in my life. Today was another one of them. And yet the frustration is still there with myself, that things have to be so hard. But a very wise friend told me tonight that she found that it was usually from trying to do too much all at once and by just focusing on doing on small thing—a baby step, if you will—at a time, then taking breaks as necessary has worked out much better for her. I really needed to hear that—and I hope some of you will have as well.

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