tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51628198725997859812012-03-02T15:14:19.167-08:00A journalist and homeschooling mother of three explores balancing a contemplative lifestyle amidst our technology-driven culture.Marianna Robin Bartholomewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16204071898709508863noreply@blogger.comBlogger361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5162819872599785981.post-17074080463859983622012-01-30T06:07:00.000-08:002012-02-05T13:40:50.028-08:00

Early morning in Yellowstone, by E.G. Bartholomew Study, work and pray to stop America's liberties from disappearing as swiftly as morning mists from sea to shining sea..."I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." -- Written by Thomas Jefferson in a private letterDigging into primary sources is an exciting way to learn. Interested

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The media has "enormous positive potential for promoting sound human and family values…contributing to the renewal of society."  -- Blessed John Paul II, in “The Media and the Family: A Risk and a Richness,” released for 2004 World Communications Day. My blogging break through Christmas took my site's focus to heart: balancing an active-contemplative family lifestyle amidst modern-day technology.

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Photo by Bartholomews, taken at Basilica of Saint Mary, St. Paul, MN Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence is a 4th Century chant of Eucharistic devotion popularized by composer Ralph Vaghan Williams, who set the stanzas to the French tune Picardy in 1906. The verses describe God descending to Earth with “blessing in his hand,” as he gives “His own self for heavenly food.”  “Let all the Earth keep

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Photo by Marianna Bartholomew What do canoe paddles and toe shoes have in common?  When I was a toddler, Mom wore me like a leg warmer because I was a shy, clingy kid. To peel me off, she bought Size Zero dance slippers and put three-year-old me into a ballet class for five-year-olds. I was hooked, eventually asking for a ballet barre for Christmas. Graduating to toe shoes, I was so excited I

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Taken October 7, 2011, Feast of the Holy Rosary, and my husband and my anniversary. Colors at Kline Creek Farm. Photo by Marianna Bartholomew Transitions By Marianna Bartholomew such a mystical fascination to watch the dropping leaves the transition from green and growing life to blazing fragility as each leaf reaches its climax of beauty at the threshold of death then falling nestles

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"Hanging the Laundry Out to Dry" by Berthe Morisot 1875 National Gallery of Art.  This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.  Courtesy of Wikipedia Season's EndBy Marianna Bartholomew It's sweater weather  says the voice on the radio and stepping outsideis like walking off a cliff into fall. The air snapslike freshly-hung laundry. You see a cardinal, a female.I

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Happy Columbus Day!What do we love most about America? Hopefully, her people... America is a melting pot and we should enjoy that reality. Photo by Bartholomew Family Attending a Catholic conference alone near Chicago one year, I sat amidst a sea of Filipinos. Some people understandably hate ice-breakers, but I figured I'd might as well be a good sport. Before the conference officially opened,

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My husband and I were heading to a coffee shop tonight to have a short business meeting about household expenses. Before packing up my Mac to bring along (to help track expenditures on Microsoft Excel), I opened my Safari browser, which automatically defaulted to the Apple home page. A portrait of Steve Jobs, in his trademark black mock turtleneck, stood dramatically against a stark, white

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Photo by Marianna Bartholomew Through junior high, my best friend was a black, Haitian-American girl named Gina. We sang in our Catholic church choir and whenever we were together. Her voice was as smooth and rich as hazelnut latte. Both her parents were cultured, well-spoken doctors. Aunt Regi helped care for the family, and when I visited, this ample Haitian in cotton housedress grinned and

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"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous"...Aristotle I gathered the above veggies out of my garden for lunch, and was so struck by their beauty, color and form, I just had to take a picture...Soon after, I scrubbed, chopped and plopped them into a pot with water, making rich, thick, tasty vegetable soup. See the luxurious, plum color of the eggplant at left, and the

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First Born You were born and the poetry left me for a time Perhaps because you are poetry embodied I stand before you mute with wonder By Marianna Bartholomew Tenses mix in this poem I wrote a year or so after my oldest child's birth. The first stanza refers, in past tense, to a certain happening in my history...while the second and third stanzas speak of an ongoing reality. My child

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What’s the point of World Youth Day (WYD)? The Chicago Tribune said it well six years before the first WYD, covering the visit of Blessed John Paul II to the city October of 1979: “For forty hours, the visitor from Rome unites the city in spirit.” I was 15-years-old at the time, and thrilled that Mom took my brothers and I from high school to attend the three-hour Mass in Grant Park that

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I grew up in a "walk to town and train" location. A choice between two quaint train stations headed me to classes at DePaul University and, later, to my job at Wabash Street offices in Chicago. A little touch of Maybury exists in many towns studding train lines nationwide, and I always wanted to continue my childhood experience, living within walking distance of the rails in a town that embraced

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God's creativity blooms forth. In front of my city-sized lot runs a thoroughfare crawling with bumper-to-bumper traffic come rush hour. But 75 yards back, behind our 1950’s ranch, blooms three-dozen varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers. I’m not alone in finding perspective, peace, and God’s companionship and healing in my garden – a sort of blooming, body and soul, amidst a

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Can't attain a certain goal? Perseverance may win out...or, perhaps, achieving that goal would only bring grief! Our schnoodle (schnauzer/poodle) Maestro eyes Lily, the neighbor cat. He just got "skunked" last week, but here he is, up for another adventure.

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Photo of Green Lake, Michigan courtesy of Blackberry Bluff Retreat Green Lake By Marianna Bartholomew Sand hued, milky aqua, dusky blue ribbons of ripples placid yet expectant for the oar dip the fin splash the skimming skip of a stone Heavens and waters split gently by undulating green Fir boughs held wide like welcoming arms bear blithe, feathery tenants They chirp for no human

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This "virtual choir" makes inspiring use of new technologies. "Lux Aurumque" means "light and gold," referring to Christ's Incarnation.     Three Saturdays ago, I approached the breakfast table to find a teen peering from my laptop screen with quirky, bug-eyed intensity. The boy was lip-synching to a pop song, and his act had been frozen mid-syllable.     "He's gone viral," explained my husband

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Chicago Skyline Panorama from Adler Planetarium, a photo by Bsoutherntabitha on Flickr. In late May, children finish their final flurry of field trips before summer, and adults long to burst bonds of office and household walls. Stargazing and Lake Walking By Marianna Bartholomew Lake Michigan is today as deep-hued and inviting as the Mediterranean The Planetarium bobs on its surface

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From one of my 2005 journal entries: "Sweltering heat. Rotten wood, warped flooring and artificial altar flowers in old St. Catherine Church. Flies buzzing bowls of condiments at a near-empty food shack, the only 'diner' in town. A Main Street so empty of businesses it looks like a ghost town. Shacks like houses of cards along Bayou Teche. This commemorative edition was recently published,

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Investigative journalists should aspire to shed light in the darkness. I had a dinosaur moment two days ago, when the way I learned and lived my chosen profession of 20-plus years was described as nearly extinct -- or, at least, on the endangered species list.  Jennifer Lahl, Producer of the award-winning documentary Eggsploitation was describing on Relevant Radio (950 AM WNTD, Chicago) her

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"In the midst of the assembly I will praise You" Psalm 22:23 Happy Easter! Dear mother earth, who day by day Unfoldest blessings on our way,O praise Him! Alleluia!The flowers and fruits that in thee grow, Let them His glory also show. O praise Him! Alleluia! Allelulia, alleluia, alleluia! -- St. Francis of Assisi, 13th Century Even city lots bloom forth and show His glory... All creation,

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"Time to plant spinach," a friend reminded me last week while we waited for our kids to finish fitness class. That's all I needed to launch me into hours of gardening frenzy. Three years ago, I was a shareholder of Angelic Organics Farm in Caledonia, Illinois. How I loved collecting weekly boxes overflowing with familiar and exotic vegetables. (Ever eat kohlrabi or fennel?) Then my husband

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J.R.R. Tolkien's cover design and signature.Film director Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Ringsfame), plans to start filming "The Hobbit" tomorrow, featuring an all-star cast, including a reappearance of Elijah Wood as Frodo.  I'm longing to revisit J.R.R. Tolkien's desk on which he wrote the Hobbit and C.S. Lewis's elaborately-carved wardrobe that inspired his imaginings of a passage into

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Fabulous book...was the author just having an imaginative romp, or drawing analogies? Know the story? The little town of Chewandswallow gets deluged by storms of deliciously prepared but supersized food. Residents have too much on their plates dodging gargantuan macaroni noodles, patio-table-sized hamburgers and mounds of mashed potatoes that engulf the town. A funny image came to mind

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Photo courtesy of Chitowndining.com I love our nation's cities -- but twenty years ago, certain disasters had me reflecting on the fragility of the "urban webs we weave." I wrote the following from EXTENSION Magazine's Wacker Drive office in Chicago in 1992: City of Cards Looking down over this city I know it could very well be made of paper as brick and mortar. These buildings so

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Our Saint Patrick drew rave reviews from the crowd and loved his role, in spite of wearing a four-pound brass celtic cross and a refurbished tablecloth. Dressing as Irish saints and parading in 42-degree March "lion" weather past 20,000 people...it's a great way to celebrate St. Pat's Day! For three years, my family and homeschool friends joined our Catholic Little Flowers and Blue Knights

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Our Lady of Akita, Japan "A tsunami has hit our people ... a tidal wave has come to overwhelm our lives. We are still in shock over what has happened." --Father Koichi Otaki of the Diocese of Niigata to Vatican news agency Fides Lord, have mercy on the people of Japan. Catholic Relief Services

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A friend shared this link packed with suggestions on Forty Ways to Get the Most Out of Lent.

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"We might be the only Gospel many people ever read." -- Pope Benedict XVI, from Ash Wednesday, 2011 homily at Santa Sabina in Rome Santa Anselmo On Ash Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI continued an ancient tradition, processing from Santa Anselmo Church on the Aventine Hill in Rome, to the beautiful 5th-century basilica of Santa Sabina. Here, he presided at Mass and imposed ashes on the faithful. 

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What a great movie! Last night, my husband, our 16-year-old daughter and I drove in freezing rain for an hour, past suburban tract homes, through acres of prairie and forest, to a Regency Ball.  Think Jane Austin, and Pride and Prejudice: high-waisted muslin gowns, and scarlet, military frock coats. Our menu reflected Regency tastes: roast beef with horseradish sauce, "Duchess"

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"Beloved friend, swift stallion, wild deer, leopard ranging in the wilderness... together we crossed the mountains..."— From the Epic of Gilgamesh, oldest written Sumerian language narrative (Trans. Mitchell, 2004) "Hey bf, wat's up? I m 2 bsy 2 c u 2nite. Text me latr, Dude!"-- 21st Century text, made possible by the age of unparalleled technological advances! Maybe we should institute an "

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I was Managing Editor of EXTENSION Magazine until my first child was born and I began freelancing. Overall, I have written about America's Catholic home missions for 20-some years. The memories form such a rich jumble! It was funny to be met at a Tennessee airport by one missionary in overalls who joked that I was just "half-growed." (I'm only 5'0" tall and was just 22 or 23 at at time.)

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Thanks to my friend, Nanette, who shared with me this link that she found on Raymond Arroyo's blog! If kids judge a web page describing tree octopi as being "highly reliable," than I guess they really will believe anything they read on the internet! See the article and the bogus web page on the Life's Little Mysteries link below: Life's Little Mysteries

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It's more than a place, it's a state of mind. On the outskirts of Chicago, I grew up next to a rambling, blocks-long patch of native prairie. Pheasants, chipmunks, songbirds skirted through waist-high grasses and wildflowers. I dug holes, peeled dry stalks to chew "Indian gum," and followed trails through the grasses. Perhaps these were ancient pathways trodden by Native Americans. I remember

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At a recent writer's workshop, Charlene Ann Baumbich (author of 15 books, poetry, and magazine and newspaper articles), presented on "Writing Funny." After she got us all laughing urging us to bring humor into our writing, Charlene challenged us to boldly go public via web pages, blogs, and tweets. "Writers are often introverts by nature," I pointed out. "How do we transition into a more

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