Whether there is one "standard" of femininity?  

Posted by The Glo-ness in ,

Objection 1: It would seem that femininity is variable, and defined by whichever woman you happen to ask, since femininity is merely "how women act", and different women act differently. Therefore, femininity is different in each woman, and can't be defined universally.

I answer that:

There is one "standard" of femininity, because God created one feminine nature. This nature is universal, and aspects of it are found in all women. The more women develop this nature, the more they become the creature God intended them to be, and thus, the more closely do they become united to Him and follow His Will.

Reply to Objection 1: If you are using a human-centered view of femininity, it is indeed true to define femininity by what individual women think it is. If you are using a God-centered view of femininity, it is true to define it as participation in that universal nature by which God distinguished the woman from the man, and gave her the qualities which suit her for the particular work He has set aside for her. Since we are to live according to God's definitions, not our own, the true definition of femininity is the God-centered one.

As Promised...  

Posted by Agnes Regina

Here are a couple of pictures of me on the Vespa with my grandmother, who demanded a ride!










tearing up the street...















and returning triumphant from a whirl around the block.

The Vespa Has a Name!  

Posted by Agnes Regina

So... tonight, at dinner, I was going to do the drawing as previously planned, but on discussing the names that the four little kids pulled out of the Vespa helmet (a sort of semifinal,) we all hated them, for various reasons -- too long, too blah, didn't make sense (like Violetta, which really means purple... right.) But then someone cried "Call it Celeste," which is Spanish for light-blue (and heavenly), and then someone brought up the fact that officially the color is "Aurora blue."

What's a sanguine to do? Choose both, of course! (And the nerd, Devil's Advocate, should have been happy, because the initials were still ACV.)

But on later discussion with the Devil's Advocate, Edward, LuciaRosa and the Stick Figure, we determined that Aurora Celeste is a horrible name for a bike... yeah, I guess it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too romantic and fairy-taley.

So Tesla it is. If I feel like making it more girly I can always diminutive-ize and call her Tessie. Which is short for Teresa. Who is a cool saint...

Right.

I guess I'll have one of the Fathers bless/baptize Tesla next time I'm over at the school and one of them has a Rituale handy.

A Birthday and a Departure  

Posted by Agnes Regina

Yesterday was our good Jude Emblem's birthday! Happy Birthday late, Jude!

Quiz: what composer's birthday does he share? Answer tomorrow.

And early this morning, our beloved Dragon Lady headed off to school at the great and wonderful Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God Academy in Syracuse, New York, currently under the direction of FATHER STANICH! (dun dun dun duuuuuuuuuun.........) Hopefully we will still hear from D.L. (they are allowed internet access at the boarding house, though I don't know if she'll be allowed to blog from there.... but let's hope she will still show up on TradCats now and then!)


God bless them both and may they have a great year!

Ines got a WHAT!?  

Posted by Agnes Regina

Yes, it is true, my friends... I am now the proud owner of a beautiful blue Vespa LX50. Here she is...














I thought of labeling her Violetta the Vespa, but nobody quite likes it, so any other suggestions for names are welcome! When I get a picture of me riding her I'll post that too!

Fr. John Peek, SSPX -- RIP  

Posted by Agnes Regina

I reprint verbatim Father Stanich's letter of this morning to the singers of the Jam Session, regarding the death of Father John Peek. (I knew him in St. Louis, many years ago.) May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Dear Jam-Sessioners,

Greetings. I ask your prayers for Fr. John Peek who passed away this morning. Many of you had a chance to meet him in Dickinson. I still don't know the cause; I will give more information later on.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Father Stephen Stanich.

The Dream  

Posted by THATgirl

This is the terrible tale of what happens to those who dare to slumber after watching Little House on the Prairie and having orthopedic surgery.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is a hot day at the turn of the century in a large mid-western town- St. Paul, perhaps- and I am standing on the dusty, busy mainstreet watching two handsome, tall, and slender young men with tall black top hats walk down the wooden steps of the college building. My mother, a buxom lady with an alarming resemblance to Harriet Olsen, is telling me I need to marry one of them. I simply must snag one of them! Every girl in town is flirting with them- I must as well. “No, Mother, I can’t- this is wrong- I simply cannot marry either of those two boys…” “Why can’t you?” “There is something terrible about it! I can’t! I won’t!”

~I wake up, somehow very disturbed with the idea of marrying these two young men. Why, I don’t know. The dream is not scary. It’s quite pleasant. I have to try to sleep! I drift off again… ~

“But darling, they are so refined,” says Mother, “and they write poetry! On little pieces of white paper! You have to get them to write poetry about YOU!” “No! NO, NO, NO! It’s impossible… it wouldn’t be legal to marry them; I have a feeling it wouldn’t…”

~I wake up again- who knows how many times I wake up- and say to the dark room, out loud, that this is just a dream and it’s NOT disturbing and I should just allow it to dream itself and allow myself to sleep! I lie down again… ~

“Why can’t you marry one of those handsome, slender young men? Name me one good reason why.” “Because… because… um, because I think they might be- my brothers, or something.” I am getting closer to the reason this dream is disturbing! I KNOW I am somehow very closely related to these two mysterious young men, and a marriage would be tragic. Although I’ve never read any of their small white papers of poetry, I somehow feel I have an intimate knowledge of it.

~Again and I awake and realize finally the reason I am so disturbed by my mother’s scheme. The two slender young men are my two now very skinny legs, their top hats my long black thick boots, and their poetry is written on the numerous large squares of white gauze held next to my incisions with a long wrapped bandage. I shake my head, force my eyes awake, and declare to the bedroom that these are not young men with poetry, they are legs with bandages. They are appendages of my own body, despite the fact that I can’t feel them or move them! THEY ARE THEY ARE THEY ARE! But the bedroom seems to ignore my insistent ranting, and I reluctantly fall asleep again, to be heckled the whole night in Walnut Grove by Mrs. Olsen, who cannot be made to understand that the young men are my brothers, OR that they are my legs.~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Brought to you by MaryAnna H., the girl who was in the car crash; the girl who has retardedly long hair; the girl who attends some small chapel; the girl who insists on being in love with the wrong people; that girl you’ve been praying for because she’s a friend of your friend; you know, THAT girl?

We're back!  

Posted by The Dragon Lady

Hey, all! for those of you who were wondering about our extended absence from and apparent neglect of the blog, we didn't abandon you! We were having some technical difficulties after switching from Explorer to Firefox, but the great, the wonderful, the Technologically savvy Edward saved the day!!! Three cheers for Edward!

We're up and running again now, so you'll see us around! I'll be on soon with some inside stories on boarding house life!

Love,

The Dragon Lady.

This is a test.  

Posted by The Dragon Lady

Test post.

An Irish Tradition for Everyone  

Posted by Jude Emblem


One of the most popular and most readily recognized symbols of love and fidelity is the ring. A universal symbol of marriage and used for centuries if not for a millennium the ring has transgressed cultural, ethnic, and religious boundaries. In the Traditional world, where we absolutely love traditions passed down to us, there is a very specific ring that seems to be gaining more and more popularity in recent years. Where did this beautiful symbol of love, friendship, and fidelity come from? And how does the direction and finger worn change it's meaning? Read on.

While there are many differing opinions and stories regarding it's origin, after some research the most likely one seems to be as follows. In mid 17th century Claddagh there was a young man by the name of Richard Joyce. Young Mr. Joyce was a hardworking and devoted young man who was engaged to a beautiful young Irish lass. During the week the happy young couple were to be married Richard was returning from a voyage to the West Indies plantations when the ship he was on was attacked by Algerian pirates and the whole crew was taken captive. Richard was then sold into slavery to a Moorish goldsmith. It was here that Richard became a master of the trade and where he came upon the idea for the Claddagh ring. In 1689 when William III came to power and worked an agreement that all subjects in captivity by Moors were to be released. The Moor who owned Richard tried to keep him for he had endeared himself to the young man and he even offered Richard half of his entire fortune and his only daughter's hand in matrimony! Richard refused the offer and returned to Claddagh where he gave the first Claddagh ring to his bride-to-be and they were soon wed.

To conclude I would like to point out one of the awesome aspects of the ring. Depending on where and how you wear it depends on your current marital status! If one's heart is open and free then the ring is worn on the right hand with the crown towards your body. If one is considering an others love (typically dating or courting) then the ring is still on the right hand, but with the crown facing out. If one is engaged then the ring changes hands over to the left and is worn with the crown facing your body. When you marry, the ring still on the left hand changes so the crown faces out. Another point is that even though it was originated by an Irishman the tradition of the Claddagh can be used by anyone regardless of ethnic background.

Let Love and Friendship Reign!