Feast Day: Our Lady of the Rosary (aka, Our Lady of Victory)

To commemorate the victory of the Christians over the Turks on October 7, 1571, Pope Pius V instituted the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Victory (which he renamed two years later to reflect the impact from praying the rosary prayers consistently in achieving victory).   The Battle of Lepanto, immortalized in the poem by GKChesterton, stemmed the Turkish armies from coming further into Western Europe, stopping them in Austria.

October is a month dedicated to praying the rosary ... and it is especially so today!

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us ....

 

Feast Day: St. Bruno, founder of the Grand Chartreuse

Today is the feast of St. Bruno, the founder of the Grande Chartreuse (also known as the Carthusians).  Bruno, born in 1030 in Cologne, came from a wealthy family and was highly educated.  Ordained a priest, Bruno courageously criticized the excess worldliness of his fellow clergy.  Following a vision, he moved (with 8 others) to establish a monastery in the French Alps near Grenoble.  The Grande Chartreuse is still an active order today -- for a wonderful look into this ermetic order, watch the widely acclaimed Into Great Silence ... it is an amazing movie!

Full disclaimer:  I'd never heard of St. Bruno or the Carthusians until we moved to Austria in 2001 and lived/learned at the Kartause Maria Thron (that is, Carthusian Monastery dedicated to the Throne of Mary) -- the image on the prayer card I made is from one of the frescos painted on the ceiling of the "chapel" at the Kartause.  We lived in the shadow of the renovated monastery, next door to a former monk's cell.  So, my interest and love of St. Bruno is fairly recent.  Did you know, do to the Carthusians wanting to be anonymous, there are no gravestones marking individual burials, but rather the bones are all together in an ossuary?  Or that St. Bruno was never officially canonized but Leo X allowed the Carthusians to celebrate his feast in the 1500s and the Church added "St. Bruno" to the list of saints in the 1600s?  Or that Carthusians, living in their own private quarters, not talking to anyone but God on most days, always have a skull -- to remind them that life on earth is fleeting and that the goal is eternal life?  Cool, huh?

From the Collect:

Father, You called Saint Bruno to serve You in solitude. In answer to his prayers help us to remain faithful to You amid the changes of this world We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen. 

 

Birthdays: she's getting older!

Today is StringBean's 10th birthday ... and she is becoming quite a little lady.  Curling her hair

or wearing it up in a bun

she is becoming quite the little lady and a far cry from previous years:

at 1

at 2 (and yes, I did knit this outfit and since we were in Austria ... it was PERFECT!)

at 3

at 6

at 2 months+ 6 days before 8

at 9!

Proof of her big-girlness is in the gifts she wanted this year.  Rather than a doll, or a toy, or a Wii game like Daring Game for Girls (which I would have LOVED at this age), she opted for a day spent with moi antiquing and eating lunch. 

We were SO excited to find the perfect piece for her room:

This 30s-40s style vanity is walnut-veneered with cubby-hole drawers!  It is so cool and she fell in love with it as soon as she saw it.  The really cool thing is the cloth in the center (just below the mirror) -- this is one of the hand-embroidered pieces Nanna sent StringBean.  StringBean's great-grandma did the embroidery!  It is gorgeous. 

The lamps on either side of the mirror carry out the old-style theme -- they were given to my parents 55 years ago for their wedding.  The lamps look so pretty lit --

Both top and bottom globes have bulbs, so if you want a night-light, you just light the bottom globe.  Beautiful!

To further this grown-up theme, StringBean's brother (now 11 and getting old himself), took her for a "date" to Subway for lunch.   N&P sent her a REAL sewing machine and even my sister, sensing StringBean's growing-up-ness, sent her a VERY special 10th bday present ... which we need to frame with Anne's note.

But, no matter how old you get, nothing can stop the joy of blowing out the candles on your very own chocolate-covered angel food cake with candles that equal 10 (7+1+1+1) ... which you have to eat all up since it's Lent:

God bless, you StringBean -- on this day and all year! 

You are a true joy and blessing to us all ... and we love you very, very much!

Family: Happy Birthday to my youngest!

It's very hard for me to believe that the little guy, born during our sojourn in Austria is now SEVEN YEARS OLD!

Happy 7th Birthday to our own BamBam ... we daily thank God for the gift of you!

Feast Day: St. Bruno

St. Bruno -- founder of the Carthusians -- 1030-1101

We like St. Bruno around here ... he's a very cool saint who is usually pictured with a skull.  This, the family (especially my boys) think makes him one of those really cool saints that comes along every so often.  The reason for the skull?  St. Bruno taught his fellow Carthusians that they should always look death in the face -- this is our goal, to live our lives with the thought that any day ... any day ... we could meet Our Maker and we need to be ready!  The Carthusians keep a skull in their cells for this reason.

I think we have a special fondness for St. Bruno as our stay in Austria was in the shadow of the Kartause (Carthusian) Monastery in Gaming, Austria -- aptly named Kartause Maria Thron (or, Charterhouse - Throne of Mary).  Our youngest was born in the shadow of the Kartause.  Dh spent two years acheiving a Summe Cum Laude in the Kartause itself.   Our kids ran through the corridors, played in the courtyard and explored the nether regions of the partially restored Monastery.  I even wrote an article for the NCRegister about the Kartause Maria Thron!

Our flat was in the 2nd house to the left of the Church (altho the wall is now down and the house was right on the major thoroughfare to the skiing -- which now-20yo Brikhead thought was fabulous!). 

Memories! 

By your work you show what you love and what you know.  St. Bruno