I used this photo in my last entry, but I wanted to do a separate entry about this scarf.  

Isn't it gorgeous???

I love it, but it's not mine.  My wonderful coworker allowed me to steal it from her for the purpose of "disguising" myself to accompany the Confession post.

Anyway, she's apparently had this beauty in her closet forever; this was her first time wearing it (and as a scarf aficionado, I'm not surprised this was lurking in her closet with about a million other gorgeous swathes of fabric).

Are any of you familiar with the brand below? I think I'm willing to go on a hunt for this one because it's just so pretty.

Here's the company that makes the scarf.  Turns out they make LOTS of scarves and such.  They're in the $25 price range, but they're superbly pretty.  

I don't think they make this particular pattern anymore (booooo) but I did find this one!

Anyway, just thought I'd share a pretty with you fine folks today.  This sorta kickstarted me on the prowl for a new chapel veil, and since I've been looking into more colorful options, I might go beyond the solid white / black / red / purple and opt for something a little more THIS.  

So my Veils on Parade entry got picked up again and sparked a discussion in our women's group about how expensive veiling can be.  

Some women felt that veiling, though a lovely idea, was off-putting because of how expensive they can be.  That's a fair point.  Not everyone has $40 to spend on a veil. However, for those who feel the call and aren't able to stretch the budget for high-end lace, there are plenty of colorful, beautiful and wallet-friendly options.  I put together a few below.  

And if all else fails, maybe local ladies can get together, pool resources and host veil swaps or veil sharing circles!  If anyone's in S. Jersey, I'd be more than happy to open my closet to you!  :) 

On Holy Thursday, John snapped this photo of Vince and I before we left for Mass.  Vincent was holding Chase, his stuffed German Shepherd.  He's gotten incredibly attached to him the last few weeks, and I admit I sorta love that.  He's never had a toy that he MUST have with him at all times.  Chase is his best pal now, and he always wants him wherever he is.

For Mass, he was well-behaved.  We were very close to the front because I wanted to explain everything to him... especially the washing of the feet.  However, I was SO incredibly disheartened to see only three men come forward to have their feet washed.  The rest were women.

Two or three e-mails were sent out by our Director of Religious Education practically begging people to volunteer for this role.  Only three men could be found?  THREE?  

How incredibly sad.  What does this say about the men of our parish?  

As I explained in this entry, the Washing of the Feet is an act that goes well beyond proving Jesus' humility.  It was an act of preparation for His apostles - the first priests of the Church. Only after washing their feet and charging them with serving one another so fully did Christ then instruct them in the Eucharistic Prayer.  Only then were they to take part in the first Mass.  

Mother Church requires the feet of men to be washed because of the incredible symbolic nature of this act.  It's why many old-school parishes wash the feet of retired priests.  How blessed is the parish that recognizes that the rituals we still take part in can be educational as well as prayerful!  Should all parishes be so lucky.

*Sigh*

On Good Friday, Vincent was pretty exhausted by the time our services rolled around.  I took him in early so he could see Jesus in the place of repose.  I answered his questions, but he surprised me again by how much he understood.  

He said, "Jesus died, right Mommy?"

I said, "Yes, Vincent, and the Church is very sad."

He asked, "But He's in Heaven, right?"

I said, "That's right.  And He's going to bring us to Heaven, too."

Then he said, "But I don't want to go to Heaven.  They don't have toys."

I laughed and said, "Heaven is more fun than Ocean City!"

He looked at me, incredulous, because to his four-year-old mind, nothing could possibly be more fun than the Boardwalk, curly fries and roller coasters.  

Midway during the service, he nodded off to sleep right in the pew, clutching Chase under his coat.

After the service, two kind elderly folks came up to us separately to express their appreciation for Vincent's presence the last two days (Holy Thursday and Good Friday).  One woman commented that she loved how he says, "Jesus, I love you" when the newly consecrated Host is elevated and the gentleman said he liked that Vincent behaved and genuflected before the altar.  

I truly puffed up with so much pride and appreciation then.  I'm always so worried that I'm not doing enough to teach him about how beautiful our Faith is.  Truth is, I'm not.  That being said, I know that God is making up for my inadequacies and is patiently leading Vince by the hand.  It makes me so incredibly happy to have reminders like that, especially given the difficult week we'd had at school.  

On Easter Sunday, Vince was not a big fan of Jesus' when I reminded him that after his egg-hunting, he needed to get ready for Mass.  I knew it'd be tough getting him on board, but as always, once he was in the car, he was perfectly fine.

My niece, Alliya, even ended up coming along with my MIL.  

We went to a parish that I've only been to once before, and it was completely by accident that we arrived there.  I've STILL got a terrible taste in my mouth from their Mass.

The tabernacle is off to the side (I hate that), the priest was omitting things left and right (whether on purpose or not, I honestly don't know, so I'm hoping it was accidental), the parishioners who sat to the right of us were incredibly rude (but they might not have been regulars) and the whole set-up felt very, very... New Age-y?  I dunno.  I just got a terribly off feeling and it left me unsettled until we were about half-way home.  

Alliya was asking me all sorts of questions as I took them around the church to show them the various statues and sacramentals.  We had gotten there early, so to burn energy and utilize a built-in theology lesson, I took them on a quick tour.  Alliya had so many smart questions (questions which Vincent jumped in to answer at points!).  One of her questions was about Jesus being in the tabernacle.  When I explained that we genuflected to Jesus who remained hidden in the tabernacle, Alliya became confused.  She wanted to know how He fit, if He was a ghost, etc (she has basically no catechesis whatsoever).  These are all smart and valid questions!  So I explained as simply as I could without confusing her further.  
I said because He is God, He can take on whatever form He wants.  Because He loves us so much, He decided to look like Bread so He could personally feed us, Himself.  Thus, because He appeared so small, He could fit into the tabernacle until the priest opened the door at Communion time.

She seemed to accept this answer, but when we got back to the pew, she asked if she would have to SEE Jesus.  The concept of seeing someone she only knew as dead was understandably scary to her.  She doesn't get that Jesus is God.  She only knows that He's someone we celebrate at Christmas but He died a long time ago and went to Heaven.

Anyway, this thought scared her, so she kept asking me if she'd see the Consecrated Hosts. 

I simply said, "Alliya, Jesus is not scary.  He loves you so, so much.  He has a real body, just like you and I.  He's the one who sent you your Mommy and Daddy who love you so much. He made sure you had a Mi-Mom and Pop to take you fun places.  He makes sure all your family and friends are nice.  All the good things in your life are because of Him.  He's not scary... He's the nicest person in the whole universe!"

Vincent emphatically agreed with me, but Alliya didn't seem to believe me.  Again, I don't fault her for this.  She hasn't had any religious education.  Hopefully one day she will, but even if she doesn't, when she asks me for the truth, I will always give it to her.  

But to end with something amusing, on Holy Thursday, after Jesus was placed into the side repository, we waited our turn to go up to say a prayer.  When we reached the kneelers, Vincent looked at the small tabernacle holding the ciborium and asked, "Mommy, how do we get Jesus' trophy?"

Ha ha.  Nice.

Also, the veils pictured in this blog are from Veils by Lily and Liturgical Time respectively.  

So this happened yesterday.  I'd been holding off on blogging about it because I was hoping for a clarification / apology from them, but no luck (at least not yet).  They've been quiet little church mice since this thread spiraled out of control.

To date, there have been almost 240 comments.  I did a quick "stick tally" and found that an overwhelming majority of respondents were Catholic women who were very hurt by such an arrogant and thoughtless comment.  Their customer base immediately began shrinking as folks not only removed themselves from the page, but cited their refusal to purchase from them and their refusal to advertise for them through blogs and personal references.

I immediately wondered if Garlands of Grace realized they had so many Catholic customers.  If they didn't before, they most certainly do now!

Seriously, though... this comment was completely unnecessary.  A simple "We're not Catholic, but we do espouse Christian beliefs" would have sufficed.  Instead, they had to go and take it a step further with "I am burdened for all who stand with the Catholic Church and would plead with you to come out and believe the Word of God."

...

Excuse me?

I do believe this business just accused me of not believing in the Word of God.

I also believe Garlands of Grace attempted emotionally martyring itself for my benefit.

Let me go ahead and pull the emergency brake on that one.

First of all, as I mentioned in the GoG thread that spawned on FB, not only do Catholics fully believe in the Word of God, we fully believe that Jesus Christ IS the Word of God incarnated. 

As such, being the Church that Christ founded and all, we don't need a Protestant denomination martyring itself for our salvation.  Thanks for your concern for my immortal soul and all, but as a faithful, fully-vested Catholic, I've got that covered.  I don't need your condescending pity for my supposed ignorance to save me from hellfire.

That being said, I've made the decision to stop patronizing this business (which breaks my heart because all my favorite veils are from them!).  Until they rectify their stance (which has successfully alienated about 100+ of their previous customers) I simply cannot reconcile supporting a business that views my faith as a burden.

And for the record, I was purchasing from them knowing full well they weren't Catholic.  I didn't care one way or the other about their religious beliefs.  I still don't.  I do, however, care about being belittled and and being condescended to simply because I'm Catholic.

From my experiences in dealing with the women of GoG (they're sisters), they seem to be wonderful, loving and highly talented individuals.  They have families, friends, and trials the same as the rest of us.  They are dedicated to their mission of spreading love of God through veiling, and that's great.  I wish them all the best.  However, I cannot - at this time - be a party to what I see as a sad and hurtful attack on some of their best customers simply on the basis of our faith.

I sincerely hope and pray these women come to their senses and retract what was obviously a hurtful and ignorant comment.

*** Blog Responses ***

I read two blog responses yesterday that I really loved - posting them here for your benefit!

Liturgical Time (She makes beautiful head coverings as well)

A Woman's Place  (Eh, you guys know I'm a huge Cam fan)


UPDATE:

Joann Jordan is the founder of Garlands of Grace Ministry, a separate organization that goes by the same name as the sisters who create head coverings. 

These are not the same groups, so please don't confuse them. Garlands of Grace Ministry is a cross-faith women's Bible study program. 

In this particular entry, I'm specifically referring to the Garlands of Grace company that creates head coverings.