Alison Hodgson

Expert on the etiquette of perilous times.

Excellent reading for those, having risen, finding it difficult to stand:

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I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through the belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness
Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with his baptism,
Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,
Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,
Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of Cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In prayers of patriarchs,
In predictions of prophets,
In preaching of apostles,
In faith of confessors,
In innocence of holy virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.

I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me:
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptations of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.

Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

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“When I am seventeen,” said a Bean,”I will still watch Backyardigans.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and I will still help Ren.”

“That’s kind.”

“Yes.” She nodded earnestly.

We were interrupted or I would have enquired into exactly how she planned to help her cousin 13 years from now. Into a headlock? Drawing on the wall? Falling off a chair?

Really, the mind races.

https://alisonhodgson.com/2007/03/781/

Einstein’s Protege

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Yesterday Christopher had the idea to help the Legumes build a snow guinea pig…I don’t know.

Soon he was poring through a book about animals, pen in hand, making a list of all the other snow creatures they wanted to make. He was so sweet with the girls, showing them pictures, making suggestions and listening to their ideas.

This is what they came up with:

Adult and young croc.
Beaver, Bear, cat, cobra
turtle, Duck & Eggs, mouse,
rabbit, slug, snail,
Squirrel, Worm.

We scrounged around and found a couple empty spray bottles which we filled with water and a few drops of food coloring to color the snow. Then I got the little girls bundled (no small job) and threw them outside. Although it was in the low 30’s – which is now warm for us – the wind was blowing ferociously and I didn’t have a lot of hope they would stay out long. But it was quite some time before I heard a small knock and muffled wailing at the front door. It was Eden who had hurt her hand. Quite a bit later I heard a loud wailing at the back door. This time it was Ren covered with a light dusting of snow, Lydia in tow and Christopher not far behind. He had been throwing snow.

After tending to the needs of the wounded, the indignant and the unrepentant, I chose to be thankful for the thirty minutes of quiet and peace.

Three Things Thursday

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Three things I love about Paul:

1. He makes me laugh. He’s what we, in my extended family, call a “square” or “straight arrow” – someone who can get from A to Z without getting lost in the laundry room. Despite his attention to details and his out and out passion for systems he’s not a humorless lad. He has quite a silly streak. Sometimes when we’re throwing it back and forth he’ll let out this shriek that sounds like something being slaughtered, but he’s just pretending to be scared by my threats which I find very gratifying. On special occasions he’ll throw his hands up by his face and wave them back and forth while he is shrieking. This is especially good.

2. He’s a square. I am what we call a “circle”. I rarely make it from A to Z period and am frequently lost in the laundry room. After a lot of time and effort I am able to run our household fairly smoothly but it would be a nightmare if he wasn’t pulling in the same direction.

3. He’s a looker.