JRR Tolkien on His Mother's Sacrifices for the Catholic Faith

"My own dear mother was a martyr indeed, and it is not to everybody that God grants so easy a way to his great gifts as he did to Hilary and myself, giving us a mother who killed herself with labour and trouble to ensure us keeping the faith."

JRR Tolkien.
(from Carpenter, Biography, page 31.)

Welsh and Catholic and Humble about it!*

There's a great website I came across some months ago which sells Catholic clothes (T-shirts, hoodies etc.) called Catholics With Attitude.

A few of the designs didn't "float my boat" but then you can't have everything.

I was looking for Christmas presents for my children and noticed they sold Scottish Catholic, English Catholic and Irish Catholic. But guess what?

No Welsh Catholic. Oh woe, woe and thrice woe.

But fear no longer oh vagrant wanderer of the internet! Look! They new have a range with "Welsh Catholic" emblazoned across it!

Bravo!

Just don't go buying one for a Bishop: that isn't the done thing.

On the other hand those of you with children, I'm sure they'll love them (check out their Vatican All Stars design too - I liked that one. They do some nifty Pro-Life shirts too).


And if you are Scottish, Irish or English you have my permission to wear the relevant shirt too. Just remember, it's long sleeves and smart attire for Mass! Let's not have any creeping liberalism... ;-)



*I was going to put proud as the headline, but thought better of it.

Great Present for Catholics

A perfect present for all Catholics - great for a child's bedroom (as in our case) or for a professional's office (we don't have any professionals in our house - only very good amateurs!).

This is a globe of Rome and includes many sites of antiquity and many sites of great interest to Catholics, including - of course! - many from Vatican City - and other famous Catholic Churches from around the Eternal City.

Some examples:

• Santa Maria Maggiore
• Piazza San Pietro
• Cappella Sistena
• Porta Santo Spirito
• San Pietro in Vincoli
• Santa Maria in Cosmedin
• Santa Maria in Trastevere
• Santa Cecila in Trastevere
• Via Di Porta Angelica
• Santa Bibiana

and many other famous sites including the Colosseum and others.

The globe has people, cafés, priests, nuns, praying pilgrims, tourists, cardinals and even a Swiss guard and the Pope at the window in St Peter's Square!

It really is a wonderful item and also comes with a small booklet explaining all the sites of the Rome globe (especially handy for children - or anyone who knows little of Rome).

Now -- tell me what was the bestest and most Catholic(est!) Christmas pressie in your house: A pair of Bl. Cardinal Newman socks? A Leo XIII tie? A St Peter space-hopper? A Hilaire Belloc wine rack?