I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.
Wherever you were, whomever you were with, whatever you were doing, hope it was fun, fulfilling, fantastic and full of Christmas cheer!
Quite by accident, I think I may have just experienced one of my most meaningful Christmases ever.
Unconventioanl as it was, I think I may have peaked as far as Christmases go :-)
It was always going to be a poignant Christmas this year. Quite possibly, my last in a certain city. Quite the accident that I was in this city at all at this time of this year, but so it happened.
Usually, my preferred way of celebrating Christmas is the midnight Mass. Always has been. Family tradition.
Not this time. Events conspired against me and I found myself battling to make it on time...and failing miserably.
Enter Plan B:
Morning mass at a distant but favoured church. For sentimental reasons, I HAD to go to Christmas Mass at this particular church.
But how to get there?
20 km away.
No public transport.
Didn't feel like driving.
Enter crazy idea No 2.
Run.
Run 20km to favoured church, attend Mass, run back home in time for Christmas dinner.
Negotiate hard with other female members of the household to be let off cooking duty :-)
And now I am firmly on the rota to prepare our first meal of 2014 :-)
It was worth it.
The solitude (an introverted nerd's paradise!).
The quiet.
The beauty of winter stillness.
This is the ONLY Christmas carol that even begins to describe this mood:
The highlight of this little descent into insanity (as some of my nearest and dearest call my foray into Christmas madness) was just when I began to 'hit the wall'. Um, I don't mean I suddenly aged during my run :-) I am using 'runner speak' here, as opposed to Manosphere terminology :-)
A group of cyclists passed me. I think I had passed them earlier on in my run as they whizzed past me on the opposite side of the deserted streets. But it was only when I got to the centre of this great city and in need of a serious distraction to take my mind of a niggling right knee injury that I spotted them again and this time, I took notice of them.
They must have numbered about twenty. They were all men. They looked young but I cannot be sure of their ages. Dressed in funny Father Christmas hats. Made me laugh, despite my right knee agony.
The leader of this group had a ghetto blaster attached to his handlebars. This was what was playing (but in base rather than soprano, in a Taizé-like fashion):
I hadn't heard this ancient hymn in ages, so it immediately grabbed my attention. I guess that was the point. Confused tourists finding out too late that nothing was open in this city on Christmas Day stopped to gawk at this little party of strange cyclists, no doubt thinking as I was, 'what the...'
I stopped to listen to them and watch them as they cycled past me. Then I realised something else. They were saying the rosary.
I wonder if they were priests or seminarians?
I will never know.
But I do know one thing:
I had just seen Sons of Mary cycle past me on Christmas Day 2013. That was the most precious Christmas gift I could have received!
Perhaps I have alludded to this before - forgive me if I have.
But I cannot help myself.
I adore Sons of Mary. For me, the ultimate 'Catholic Game' would be if a man whipped out his 'Miraculous Medal' or 'scapula' during a romantic date...
OK, enough of Catholic Girl weirdness :-)
Any man who professes to love Our Lady is a friend of mine. Indeed he is my brother.
These South American Sons of Mary are family...
They are worthy of respect.
Everyone loved Pope John Paul II for his extrovert personality. For one member of my family, however, the only reason she adored him was that he was known to be a Marianphile.
It must be genetic or something...
I seem to have the same affinity for 'Sons of Mary'.
My old school was a convent school with the name of one of the titles of Mary. The nuns there made sure we understood that we were to be daughters of Mary. Throughout our lives.
Sure, we have all failed on various levels. Afterall, none of us will ever be perfect. But I hope we at least get full marks for trying :-)
So I guess it makes sense that I have this strong sense of kinship with men who have a genuine love for Our Lady. This love cannot be faked. It is a beautiful thing when witnessed.
For example, on Christmas morning by a group of cyclists with funny hats on.
In other news, I thought I knew all the titles of Our Lady.
Queen of Peace.
Our Lady of Victories.
Our Lady of Sorrow.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.
Queen of Angels...
And so on.
This Christmastide, I have come across a new one. I had never heard this one before!
Mary Undoer of Knots.
Has anyone of you heard this one before? To my eternal shame, I hadn't even heard of St. Irenaeus...
But I am so pleased to be acquainted with this Our Lady. I like the idea that she can undo knots, for some odd reason...
Finally, I leave you with a poem.
Sent to me by none other than a very kind 'Son of Mary'.
I am not a natural poet. But even I have more reverence for poetry than the mother in this film :
Mother: My boys don't go to your school no more, and that's gonna be it.
Teacher: You took 'em out of school?
Mother: You're damn right I did. I saw what they were bringing home... poetry and sh*t.
Hahahahahahaha!
That scene continues to amuse me to this day...
(Do excuse the utter irreverence, I beseech thee).
Here is the poem:
I Can Do Anything Better Than You
“A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
I can do anything better than you.
Anything you can do, I can do better.
Why can’t I get you to say that I Do?
Women like me sail as one of the crew.
Fish don’t need bicycles; fish need it wetter.
I can do anything better than you.
Adam, you slept late; to Hong Kong I flew.
I’m a dealmaker, self-starter, go-getter:
Why can’t I get you to say that I Do?
Whispering underlings call me a shrew.
I build my business; my man is a debtor.
I can do anything better than you.
Eggs I have frozen for motherhood too.
Marriage should fit like your favorite sweater.
Why can’t I get you to say that I Do?
Just when we women were getting our due!
Dizzy with freedom from breaking each fetter.
I can do anything better than you.
Why can’t I get you to say that I Do?
This is not how daughters of Our Lady think.
This is not what daughters of Our Lady do.
This is not what Sons of Our Lady deserve.
That it is so in many households is a travesty.
Food for thought...
May you all experience a happy and holy start to 2014.
And to the Sons of Our Lady, may the ultimate feminine woman wrap you in her warm arms and keep you snug in her motherly embrace.
7 comments:
Hello ST,
A couple of days ago I wrote a commentary but it seems to be vanished without a trace.
I just want to say, congratulations, another great article. I especially like the poem in the end.
Although, I am sure a hardcore MGTOW will answer your poem with something like "So what, all your accomplishments are no guarantee that you will become a good wife for me..why should I say I Do?.."
:D
BTW, Happy New Year! Wishing you much luck in your future endeavors!
JLB3,
Happy New Year to you too! You would have seen in the New Year well before me, I think :-)
Sorry to hear your previous comment got chewed up.
Thank you. Yes I agree with you about the addition to the poem. A woman's achievements are none other than a crowning glory for others - her husband, kids, parents, friends...basically, others.
In much the same way as a man strives to put food on the table, anything a woman achieves is for a greater purpose - not for her sole use, or to beat someone about the head with.
The poem screams 'insufferable woman', I'm afraid.
Hence it is not consistent with 'daughter of Mary' mentality.
Kudos to the 'Son of Mary' who sent it to me.
Hello ST,
Indeed. But I hope you don't lose hope. Already I see that many of MHRM's most eloquent leaders are women, and so I am sure many women "gets it". You are not alone. It's only the matter of time where your number would grow, and the "Sons of Adam" will notice that "not all Daughters of Mary fell under the spell of Jezebel and the Serpent"...
And if MHRM women are militant enough to fight for their cause, maybe all those unjust laws will be modified in the future, and the Sons of Adam will no longer view marriage as a horribly risky and scary proposition.
JLB3,
You make my heart sing!
I love your brilliant use of the phrase 'Sons of Adam'! This is the PERFECT antagonist to 'Sons of Mary'.
Why?
Whilst Eve was indeed the first to sin by listening to the snake and taking the apple from him, Adam perpetuated her sin by taking the apple from her.
I think you and I, JLB3, are the only ones who can see this happening again before our very eyes in the modern era. So feminism happened, for whatever reason. This is the equivalent of Eve's sin.
And the Sons of Adam are following suit, being led by the nose in what they would call a 'logical' reaction to feminism.
In reality, I think they are being led by the feminists. This is not good.
The Son of Mary will NOT be led in this way. The Daughter of Mary will not allow herself to be led astray by the snake in the first place.
Even though she could.
But she won't profit from the misandry laws that are crushing men. She won't do it.
So she will try her best to make the life of the Sons of Mary (her brothers in Christ) as nice as possible, even at a cost to herself. Because there is a higher principle at stake here. Something higher than herself.
One such daughter of Mary is a commenter at Dalrock's called 'Augustina'. Please go and read her comments under the post 'Who loves best'.
Are there many women like her? I am sure. They are not so vocal, but they exist. The problem might be that they are not 'hot' supermodel types, so are easily overlooked. One of my earlier posts 'Dissidents of the Sphere' tackled this problem.
The Sons of Mary need the Daughters of Mary and vice versa. The Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve can do what they like, but you and I can see where this will end...
I thank you for this comment of yours, JLB3. It gives me hope so early in this brand new year!
I can already see I shall enjoy this coming year :-)
And indeed, I am not alone. I know it. The tide is turning, and it is not in the direction the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve think.
I won't lose hope, JLB3. With guys like you around, I most definitely won't. I promise you.
Hello ST,
Weekend is approaching, so I wish you a wonderful weekend as well. May your bycycle tyres stays firm and will carry you wherever you want to go in lovely Switzerland.
Thank you for referencing "Augustina" in Dalrock's site.
https://dalrock.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/who-loves-best/
Here is the best comment I have found so far regarding her:
"..So much in Augustina’s moving post.
Not many people can see the distinction between the types different types of love; conflating, love, lust and affection, yet the problem of love is at the core of our modern malaise.
Clearly, Augustina’s husband did not give her the “tingles” and yet she’s stuck with him through thick and thin, and despite his obvious faults. Indeed, his lack of alpha qualities put a strain on their marriage. Rollo? It wasn’t self interest there, it was concern for her husband.
A point of theological reflection. Does a husband’s failure to cultivate alpha qualities (executive function) put the marriage in danger of divorce? For a different post perhaps?
Secondly, the type of love that Augustina expressed for her husband is not the stuff that you can get from Game. That love, which goes by the theological name of Caritas, is something a person gives, independently of the quality of the other. It’s a supernatural gift from God. In looking for a wife, I’d advise my boys to look for a girl who posses this quality pretty much above all else. Sluts, hot sex and “wuv” come and go, but Caritas stays. Caritas loves you when you are unlovable and gameless.
Rollo Says that a woman can never love a man like he would want her to, but Augustina’s example(and lots of other women I know) proves him wrong. The love/caritas of a good woman is one of God’s gits to man. My wife does not give me everything I want, but it’s not because she doesn’t want to, it’s because she knows that its the wrong thing for me. It’s taken me many years to realise this and that’s why she’s a keeper. She’s looking after me.
That’s the paradox of a happy Christian marriage. The Christian wife, in order to be happy, has to know that her husband has real options but won’t exercise that ability because because her loves her. On the other hand, a good Christian wife can be miserable in a marriage yet still stick to her husband because she possesses Caritas.
God’s peace, Augustina.."
I agree 100% with the comment above even though I am not Christian.
But, I am sure the Hardcore MGTOW crowds on the other hand will say "that's a fiction" or "That's one in a million".
I will offer different perspective.. Not every woman could be like Augustina. That however doesn't means she doesn't exist.
The flipside of the argument is, an MGTOW hardcore will say, the chances of finding an Augustina is like 1 in a 1000 or maybe 1 in a million, so "why bother believing that I will find one?"..
And so we're back to your earlier argument about "blinking first", and what the Daughters of Mary could do to convince their sisters to become an Augustina and not a Lorena Bobbitt :) *kidding*
That are Not going to be easy, but I remember that in your Bible, it is written, "what is impossible for humans, is easy for God".
In the word of George Michaels "You gotta have faith" :D
Thank you John Lord B3,
Wow, I have thought all weekend about your comment, and my reply to you is a whole new post.
Up next.
Thanks!
JLB3,
Wow, I thought about your comment all weekend, and my reply to you turned into a whole new post!
:-)
Up next.
Thanks!
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