Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Colors

Meghan has learned the name of her first color.

And it is pink.

We are really in for it with this girly girl.

: )

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Domestic Church

"The Second Vatican Council calls the family the 'Ecclesia domestica', the domestic Church, teaching that parents are 'by word and example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children.'" (CCC1656)

Today is the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year and the Feast of Christ the King. One simple way to celebrate this feast with your family is to have the children make and decorate a paper crown and place it in the center of your table at dinner time. You can sing together "Crown Him with Many Crowns" (lyrics and music at: http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh327.sht) and "Lift up your Heads, ye Mighty Gates" (lyrics and music at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/l/u/lupyhymg.htm )

Papal Encyclical on the Feast of Christ the King: http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_pi11qp.htm


You don't have to have a large party, but there are some fun activity ideas that you could adapt to a family celebration on this web page: http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/20010101/FRIDGE/christ_king.htm

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Domestic Church

"The Second Vatican Council calls the family the 'Ecclesia domestica',
the domestic Church, teaching that parents are 'by word and
example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their
children.'" (CCC1656)


Coming up this week are two princess Saints: St. Margaret of Scotland on Tuesday the 16th and St. Elizabeth of Hungary on Wednesday the 17th. Young ladies might like to dress up as princesses to celebrate, and then you can tell them the stories of these princesses who married kings and lived in castles, but never forgot to love Jesus first, to teach their subjects about Him, and to take care of the poor. You can pray together the prayers of the day for these Saints, or ask them in your own words to intercede with God to help your family imitate their care for others, especially the less fortunate.

A fun way to celebrate St. Margaret's day is to cook a Scottish dish for dinner, maybe a beef pot pie, or some shortbread for dessert. Possible recipes at:
http://www.motherlyloving.com/2009/11/feasts-of-st-andrew-st-margaret-of
.html

St. Elizabeth was always giving away her food and clothing to the poor. Wednesday might be a good day to clean out a closet, a shelf, or a drawer and find some things to donate to the thrift shop for the less fortunate on our base.

St. Margaret's story & prayers:
http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/kids/saints/1116.asp;
http://www.wf-f.org/StMargaret%20of%20Scotland.html

St. Elizabeth's story & prayers:
http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/kids/saints/1117.asp;
http://www.wf-f.org/StElizabethHungary.html;
http://anotherespressoplease.blogspot.com/2009/11/feast-day-of-st-elizabeth-of-hungary.html

Friday, November 12, 2010

Hirosaki Castle autumn

Hirosaki Castle Tower


Last Friday was our 22nd wedding anniversary. To celebrate, John took the day off, and we drove over to Hirosaki to visit the Chrysanthemum Festival. Hirosaki is famous for its spring cherry blossoms, but I did not realize how beautiful it would be when dressed in autumnal glory.

Ushitora Turret

We found parking very near the castle in a shopping center.


This was good luck. Last spring, we went on a Sunday to see the cherry blossoms, and we spent the first hour in the city just looking for parking.

Honmaru

But a weekday in autumn is not so busy, thankfully. Sometimes it felt like we were the only visitors.

Takaoka-Bashi Bridge

2011 is the 400th anniversary of the building of the castle, which, according to the English visitor's brochure, was "completed in 1611. From that time, the Lord of Tsugaru and his successors lived in Hirosaki Castle, which remained the center of governance of the region by the Tsugaru feudal clan for around 260 years until the abolition of the feudal clan system.


The castle was opened to the public as Hirosaki Park in 1895 and designated as a Historical Site in 1952." The citizens of Hirosaki donated most of the cherry trees in the park, beginning in the early 20th century. Today, there are more than 2,600 cherry trees of different varieties, including Japan's oldest Somei Yoshino cherry blossom tree, planted in 1882.

Inner East Gate, with oldest Sonmei Yoshino cherry tree in foreground


In celebration of the anniversary, there were references to 400 and the celebration logo in many places in the park, including this apple display in the Arboretum.


Put off by the extra entry fee, we had never been into the Hirosaki Castle Arboretum before.


This time, the flower and fruit displays made it worth the entry price.






















Even the playground was decorated with floral displays.



Between us, John and I took an insane number of photos.

In the Central Moat


Tatsumi Turret



Just ask Katie. I'm certain that was her favorite part of the whole adventure. ; )


She's a good sport, though.


On our first (springtime) visit to Hirosaki, we took a photo of Matthew that was later published in the National Catholic Register's "Baby Mugs" column.

He's too old for the column now, but I think he's just as cute.


And his little sister isn't so bad either.


We climbed up into the castle tower


and enjoyed the view of the Gejo-Bashi Bridge from above.


We took even more photos,



Approaching Takaoka-Bashi Bridge


Central Moat

It was at about this point that I stopped to get a shot of this fellow.

Great blue heron in the Inner Moat
(viewed from the Kita-no Kuruwa area)


It took a few minutes. I was dissatisfied with the photos and wishing I had brought my SLR along. So I gave up and turned around to join the family.

Who had disappeared.

Butokuden Rest House/Kita-no-Kuruwa


Thinking that they were just up ahead, I continued on, taking more photos along the way.


Until I realized that I was not going to find them easily. Thank goodness for cell phones. :) After a quick call, Katie told me where they were, and I headed out toward the festival food booths. I went the long way, as it turned out, but that gave me the chance to take more photos.





No visit to a Japanese festival is complete without yakitori and yakisoba. And that is where I found my family, who had already purchased our lunch and were waiting and wondering where in the world I had gotten to.

The outer path in the Sannomaru area, walking toward the Gardening Information Center

We had to hurry home for First Friday Mass and Adoration. And we almost missed them because we couldn't find our way out of Hirosaki. Typical of most Riordon adventures in Japan, we followed the directions to Hirosaki that I got from ITT (the travel office on base) and arrived at our destination with no problem, but there aren't any directions telling how to get back out of the city. And, while you would think that it is easy to simply re-trace your steps, if you are following signs into the city and there are no signs going out of the city that have the route number that you need...well...you get the picture.


My favorite photo of the day--taken while I was "lost"

Somehow, despite an outdated road atlas and maps with too little detail, John (I can take no credit here. I will not say more.) managed to find Route 7 and get on it going toward Aomori. From which, we re-located the toll road and made it back to Misawa too late to stop home, change, and shower, but with several minutes to spare before Mass. To the unknowing observer, it simply appeared that the Riordons had arrived early and a bit underdressed. We'll let that impression remain until one of our fellow-parishioners reads the blog. : )

Sugi-no-Ohashi Bridge

Wishing you were here.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Domestic Church

Our parish bulletin needed some more content, so I thought it would be fun to contribute ideas for families to use at home to celebrate some of the feast days of the liturgical year. Here's my first attempt:

Domestic Church

"The Second Vatican Council calls the family the 'Ecclesia domestica', the domestic Church, teaching that parents are 'by word and example...the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children.'" (CCC1656)

One of the most enjoyable ways to be heralds of the faith to our children is to share the feasts and seasons of the Church year with them. On November 11th (which is also Veteran's Day), we celebrate the feast of St. Martin of Tours, patron saint of soldiers. Take a little time on Thursday to share the story of St. Martin with your children. He was known for his wisdom as Bishop of Tours, France, and throughout his life, he took care of the poor.

One story tells that when he was a catechumen, St. Martin was still a solider in the Roman army. One winter day, he saw a beggar outdoors with only very worn and thin clothing. He had no food to share with the beggar, but he tore his woolen cloak in two and gave half to the beggar. That night, St. Martin had a dream in which Jesus appeared to him wearing the half-cloak and praising his actions to the angels.

For more about the liturgical year, St. Martin, and some ideas about celebrating his feast day, go to:


The Catholic Encyclopedia online at New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09732b.htm