Ted Kennedy's Catholic Funeral

No matter your political beliefs or leanings, few can argue that there was not deep holiness and beauty at Senator Ted Kennedy's Catholic funeral mass today.

The Prayers of the Faithful were read by many of the senator's youngest family members. They called upon Ted's legacies, especially that of working for the poor. One prayer, which was read by one of the senator's grandsons, said:

"For my grandfather's commitment and persistence, not to outworn values but to old values that will never wear out. That the poor may be out of political fashion, but they are never without human need. That circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue, we pray to the Lord."

The funeral took place at the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston. The church itself has a long and venerable history and has always been known to draw people from all walks of life and many corners of the globe.

If you want to read more about the mass, the Catholic News Service has a nice piece out. http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/

Again, no matter your political beliefs, may we remember Ted Kennedy for his service to our country.

Patron Saints: The Common and Not So Common

We launched a new website within the last year and I'm still discovering new and useful aspects of it. Tonight I found that we have a (farily) comprehensive online chart of patron saints. The patron saint list is organized alphabetically and can be found on our FAQs page:

http://www.stpatricksguild.com/page.htm?PG=faq

The list confirmed that some of the patron saints I know by heart:

St. Anne - patron saint of mothers

St. Christopher - patron saint of athletes

St. Francis - patron saint of animals

Others were not so obvious:

Got gout? St. Andrew.

Need a gift for a your child's dancing teacher? Try a St. Genesius patron saint medal.

And St. Patrick isn't just the patron saint of Ireland! Call on him if you get a snake bite!

Our list also includes feast days.

Enjoy!

Baby gifts! Shower the new baby in your life...

A few months ago, I posted about the most common wedding months since I figured many readers would want some wedding gift ideas. Because I am currently pregnant (with twins!) and just had a baby shower (at which I received many lovely baby gifts), it got me thinking about the most common month in which to have a baby. For those of you who have recently attended a baby shower or received a birth announcement or are expecting a Baptism/Christening invite in your mailbox, you won't be surprised to hear that August is the most popular birth month.

Some sources, however, state that September is the most common birth month or at least as common as August. Either way, there are babies being born right and left! Baby showers, Baptisms, Christenings and hospital visits are all common activities these days.

The most common birthdate is October 5. Interestingly, I am due November 5, but the average gestation for twins is 36 weeks - meaning I may just have my sons on the most popular birthday of the year!

If you're looking for baby shower gift ideas, check out the Guild's bestsellers:
http://www.stpatricksguild.com/browse.cfm/2,2334.html

The general Baptism and Christening portion of the website can be found here:
http://www.stpatricksguild.com/browse.cfm/2,502.html

Christians and Facebook - Can you be too networked?

The Catholic News Service blog put this out the other day. Good food for thought for your faith community.

http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/debating-the-effects-of-social-networking-on-community-life/