Putting Magic in Mardi Gras: Mardi Decorators' Rachel and Tate Elsensohn

by Karen Gibbs

“Let’s take a tour,” petite Rachel Elsensohn offers, as I arrive at the 23,000-square- foot den of Mardi Gras Decorators. Walking past the Mardi Gras murals in the reception area, I feel myself slipping into the carnival mood, humming “Mardi Gras Mambo.” By the time Rachel opens the door of the den, I’m ready to yell, “Throw me something, mister!” and my feet are itching to step on stray doubloons.

Then comes the magic—the “Ohmagosh!” moment of seeing over 200 enormous, papier-mâché props smiling down at me. Elfin faces, storybook characters, critters of every size and description, and every one of them known intimately by Rachel. “This is only about half of our props,” she begins. “We have more than 200 others in the dens of krewes.” Captivated by the figure of a raccoon lounging overhead, I can’t stop smiling. “He’s from Christmas in the Oaks,” she explains, her voice calling me back to reality.

“Come meet everyone,” she says, introducing me to her family of workers. Mike Breaux is working on a lighted replica of the old Civic Center sign for an upcoming event. Next is Dave Callaway from Lacombe, who heads up the papier-mâché department. Yockey Patcheco, the welder, is nearby. In the corner is Steve Ulness, MGD’s artist, who actually sculpts each prop. Right before our eyes, he’s transforming a giant face from a bygone float into a “Thriller” version of Michael Jackson.

We walk past a biker figure for the Krewe of Gemini in Shreveport and giant crests for the Krewe of Dionysius in Slidell. Then, we pause as Rachel describes the different stages of creating props. Beginning with an artist’s rendering—MGD hires well-known Mardi Gras artist Manuel Ponce to create all float designs—Steve sculpts the figure. Sometimes it is shaped directly in Styrofoam. At other times, he fleshes out the form with cardboard and white paper strips, topping it with papier-mâché. At that point, artist John Lamouranne paints the character, bringing it to life with creative strokes of his artist’s brush.

When Rachel talks about the business, she speaks with an authority that comes from experience, having worked for major New Orleans float builder Louis Massett for 17 years.

While still in high school, Rachel joined Massett’s staff, applying papier-mâché. She quit for a short time while going to college, but the allure of float making called her back to Massett, where she stayed until Mardi Gras 2006. Never one to turn down an opportunity to learn, Rachel worked in every facet of float decorating. With years of experience to her credit and a marketing degree from UNO, Rachel is well-equipped to handle any aspect of the business.

During her tenure with Massett, she trained sculptors, worked with artists, scheduled workers, conceptualized themes of floats and handled payroll, accounting and contracts.

“She was my right and left hand,” says Louis Massett. “She knew the business inside out.”

Louis recalls hiring Rachel’s husband, Tate, as operations manager in 2002. Tate’s job required him to manage labor, tractors, equipment, electricians, welders and tire men at the den and for every parade. Tate tells of one night when he coordinated the staging of six parades on the street at the same time. After the parade, he supervised crews for cleaning, removing or putting on lights (depending on the next parade to use the floats), emptying portable toilets and repairing damage to the floats’ exteriors.

“Before Tate came, I handled all this,” states Rachel. “I used to get sick to my stomach before a parade rolled,” she admits. “With Tate in charge, I knew he’d always do what needed to be done, and that’s a very comforting feeling.”

Then came Katrina and everything changed. They worked in battered, leaking dens, using generators for power just to honor their commitments. With neither the will nor the desire to rebuild his dens, floats and props, Louis, then 62, fast-forwarded his plans for retirement and called it quits right after Mardi Gras 2006.

At the same time, Rachel and Tate were reeling from Katrina, too. According to Rachel’s mom, Estelle Baudier, “They and the kids (Sarah, 9, and Ian, 13) had three changes of clothes each. That’s all. They lost their house in Meraux and everything in it, plus they lost their jobs—all at the same time.”

It was decision time for the Elsensohns—go forward with the business or leave it. Because they had no place to store floats, they opted to go into the decorating side of the float business. Louis offered them the props and Rachel accepted. “I always wanted to have my own business. The crazy thing about my being in this business is that there are no other women that I know of in it. Blaine Kern’s daughter works with him, but she doesn’t run the business.

“The hard part about starting out is that there is so much overhead. It was draining physically and mentally,” explains Rachel, adding that, at the time, they still didn’t have a place to live.

“I told Rachel, ‘We’re going to do it,’” adds Tate.

Hiring the family of co-workers from Massett, the MGD crew faced challenging conditions. Recalls Rachel, “

We worked out of a rundown building on Press Street—no power, no bathroom. We worked off generators for one year after the storm. This had to change.” And change it did, when Rachel found the building they currently occupy. “We were moving out of the Press Street building in February 2007, during our busiest season,” Rachel explains, shaking her head at the thought. In addition to the New Orleans den, Rachel and Tate work out of the dens of Orpheus in Slidell, Carrollton and Okeanos in New Orleans and Gemini in Shreveport, as well as their workshop in Lacombe.

Looking back on the past few years, Rachel reflects, “A lot of good came from Katrina. We wouldn’t be where we are today. Plus, I live closer to my mom and dad [in Lacombe] and get to see them each week instead of maybe once a month. Twenty-six members of Tate’s family moved into the Lacombe area, so now both families get together—60-70 family members—for events.”

With a new house and a new business to pay for, Rachel and Tate work tirelessly. Their first year in business, 2007, they decorated floats for 10 parades. They also did work for City Park’s Celebration in the Oaks and Storyland, the park’s time-honored nursery-rhyme village. Pat Baudier, Rachel’s dad, helped with the Storyland project. “We redid Hickory Dickory Dock’s clock so that the needles go around and the pendulum swings. We did the same thing with the three pigs, having the wolf wiggling down the chimney,” he states, proudly.

Another piece of history that MGD maintains is the beloved Mr. Bingle figure that Rachel and Tate worked on when they were with Massett. Displayed on the walls of their office is the thank-you citation received for restoring the Katrina-damaged Mr. Bingle in time for Christmas 2005. MGD continues to maintain the holiday icon to this day, storing the 17-foot-tall, 30-foot-long, 12-foot-wide character in a secret location.

A children’s Yule-time favorite is the 16-foot SantaGator at the beginning of Celebration in the Oaks. An MGD creation, this Santa-clad gator sits in a rocker surrounded by brightly wrapped presents with a little raccoon looking on—the same one that enchanted me at MGD’s den. Tate created a way to both transport and display SantaGator on a trailer, ingeniously solving the logistics of working with a figure of this size.

Unrelated to Christmas, but also a New Orleans favorite, is the streetcar fundraiser, “Streetcar Named Inspire.” MGD’s sculptor, Steve, carved the template for the project’s first streetcar, with MGD making all the mini-streetcars since then. These blank streetcars are adopted by businesses, painted with typical New Orleans themes and displayed around the downtown area.

The latest project for MGD is a storytelling amphitheater for City Park. Park administrators asked Rachel to design a storytelling/birthday party venue for children. Drawing on her fairy-tale imagination, Rachel came up with the idea of—what else—a castle, complete with a royal throne for seating storytellers and birthday celebrants. Fashioned with four enclosed storage/staging areas, the pavilion’s design allows characters to emerge from various corners to the delight of unsuspecting children.

As the Elsensohns look forward to creating more magic, Rachel says, “We’re a good team. We complement each other’s talents and both give 100 percent to the business.”

And Tate adds, “I love the way Rachel wants to be a go-getter. Her supportiveness and faith are the biggest things. She’s never, ever once said ‘No, we can’t do it.’ If you think it can be done, Rachel says, ‘Let’s try it.’”

Sidebar: MGD and the Original Krewe of Orpheus

For several years, Mardi Gras Decorators has crafted the floats for Mandeville’s Krewe of Orpheus parade. But great parades need more than beautiful floats. They need organization, happy riders—and a krewe captain who, along with an ever-loyal board of directors, makes it all come together. Eight-year Orpheus veteran Brett Lowe, this year’s captain, fills us in on what it takes to stage a first-class Mardi Gras parade.

According to Brett, he couldn’t perform his duties without the exemplary help of his board. Together, their first order of business is selecting the theme for the parade. This year, it’s Orpheus Toasts the Town. Once the theme is selected, Mardi Gras Decorators designs the floats, welcoming input from the krewe.

Next comes royalty. After all, what good is a parade without a king, a queen and their attendants? The captain oversees the selection of the royal court, which is named on Revelation Night, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The announcement is followed by the traditional “Hail Orpheus! Hail, yes!”

The captain also manages the krewe’s general activities. Social functions include the Coronation Ball on the Saturday before the ride (February 14 this year), a crawfish boil three weeks after the parade and the summer luau for new members. He also handles the revenue-producing enterprise of renting out the floats to other northshore krewes.

Finally, on the evening that Orpheus electrifies the streets of Mandeville, the captain keeps the parade moving. From staging to riding to the post-ride party, he’s the go-to person for every need. When his duties finally reach a climax, one can almost hear Brett’s exultant shout, “Hail, Orpheus! Hail, yes!”

I love Rachael and Tate - they brought love and life into so many people, thank you for being part of my faith journey!

Ed (Brother Ed Arambasich, OFM)

"Who is the greatest"

Scripture: Mark 9:30-37: They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise." But they

did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him. And they came to Caper'na-um; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."
  

Meditation: Whose glory do you seek? There can be no share in God's glory without the cross. When Jesus prophesied his own betrayal and crucifixion, it did not make any sense to his disciples because it did not fit their understanding of what the Messiah came to do. And they were afraid to ask further questions! Like a person who might receive a bad verdict from the doctor and then refuse to ask further questions, they, too, didn't want to know any more. How often do we reject what we do not wish to see? We have heard the good news of God's word and we know the consequences of accepting it or rejecting it. But do we give it our full allegiance and mold our lives according to it? Ask the Lord to fill you with his Holy Spirit and to inspire within you a reverence for his word and a readiness to obey it.

How ashamed the disciples must have been when Jesus overheard them arguing about who among them was the greatest! But aren’t we like the disciples? We compare ourselves with others and desire their praise. The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be inbred in us. Who doesn't cherish the ambition to be "somebody" whom others admire rather than a "nobody"? Even the psalms speak about the glory God has destined for us. You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5). Jesus made a dramatic gesture by embracing a child to show his disciples who really is the greatest in the kingdom of God.  What can a little child possibly teach us about greatness? Children in the ancient world had no rights, position, or privileges of their own. They were socially at the "bottom of the rung" and at the service of their parents, much like the household staff and domestic servants. What is the significance of Jesus' gesture? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of his disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honor. It is customary, even today, to seat the guest of honor at the right side of the host. Who is the greatest in God's kingdom? The one who is humble and lowly of heart – who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by taking the lowly position of a servant or child.

Jesus, himself, is our model. He came not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). Paul the Apostle states that Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7). Jesus lowered himself (he whose place is at the right hand of God the Father) and took on our lowly nature that he might raise us up and clothe us in his divine nature. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). If we want to be filled with God's life and power, then we need to empty ourselves of everything which stands in the way – pride, self-seeking glory, vanity, etc. God wants empty vessels so he can fill them with his own glory, power, and love (2 Corinthians 4:7).

 

Refection question: Are you ready to humble yourself and to serve as Jesus did?

Prayer: "Lord Jesus, by your cross you have redeemed the world and revealed your glory and triumph over sin and death. May I never fail to see your glory and victory in the cross.  Help me to conform my life to your will and to follow in your way of holiness."

 

Peace and all good,

Brother Ed, OFM

http://www.fodc.net/Offices.html

 

"Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it"

Scripture: Mark 8:34-9:1: And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's

will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power."
  

Meditation

What is the most important investment you can make with your life? Jesus poses some probing questions to challenge our assumptions about what is most profitable and worthwhile. In every decision of life we are making ourselves a certain kind of person. The kind of person we are, our character, determines to a large extent the kind of future we will face and live. It is possible that some can gain all the things they set their heart on, only to wake up suddenly and discover that they missed the most important things of all. Of what value are material things if they don't help you gain what truly lasts in eternity. Neither money nor possessions can buy heaven, mend a broken heart, or cheer a lonely person.

Jesus asks the question: What will a person give in exchange for his life? Everything we have is an out-right gift from God. We owe him everything, including our very lives. It's possible to give God our money, but not ourselves, or to give him lip-service, but not our hearts. A true disciple gladly gives up all that he or she has in exchange for an unending life of joy and happiness with God. God gives without measure. The joy he offers no sadness or loss can diminish. The cross of Christ leads to victory and freedom from sin and death. What is the cross which Jesus Christ commands me to take up each day? When my will crosses with his will, then his will must be done.

 

Refection question: Are you ready to lose all for Jesus Christ in order to gain all with Jesus Christ?

Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, I want to follow you as your disciple. I gladly offer all that I have to you. Take and use my life as a pleasing sacrifice of praise to your glory." Amen.

Peace and all good,
Brother Ed, OFM

  

7th Sunday of the Year Feb. 23, 2014

Matthew 5:38–48 : ³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,^[a] let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹ And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borro

w from you. ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers,^[b] what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


Refection: Yet how is possible that we can be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect?
 

Jesus himself, in his Passion and death, gave us the perfect example of the love that we are called to.
 

He offered no resistance to the evil—even though he could have commanded twelve legions of angels to fight alongside him. He offered his face to be struck and spit upon. He allowed his garments to be stripped from him. He marched as his enemies compelled him to the Place of the Skull. On the cross he prayed for those who persecuted him (see Matt. 26:53–54, 67; 27:28, 32; Luke 23:34).

 

In all this he showed himself to be the perfect Son of God. By his grace, and through our imitation of him, he promises that we too can become children of our heavenly Father.

 

God does not deal with us as we deserve, as we sing in this week’s Psalm. He loves us with a Father’s love. He saves us from ruin. He forgives our transgressions.

 

We have been bought with the price of the blood of God’s only Son (see 1 Cor. 6:20). We belong to Christ now, as St. Paul says in this week’s Epistle. By our baptism, we have been made temples of his Holy Spirit.

And we have been saved to share in his holiness and perfection. So let us glorify him by our lives lived in his service, loving as he loves.

Refection question: How do I love the neighbor who hurts me?

Peace and all good,
Brother Ed, OFM

"No sign shall be given to this generation"

Scripture: Mark 8:11-13: The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." And he left them, and getting into the boat again he departed to the other side.

  

Meditation: Are you good at reading signs? Signs tell us what is coming ahead. The people of Jesus' time expected that the coming of the Messiah would be accompanied by extraordinary signs and wonders. The religious leaders tested Jesus to see if he had a genuine sign from heaven to back his Messianic claims. False messiahs in the past had made extraordinary claims to attract their followers, such as claiming that they could cleave the Jordan River in two or cause the walls of Jerusalem to fall. Jesus knew the hearts of those who came to test him. They were more interested in seeing signs and supernatural phenomena than they were in hearing the word of God. Simeon had prophesied at Jesus' birth that he was "destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that inner thoughts of many will be revealed" (Luke 2:34-35). Jesus gave them no sign except himself and the ultimate proof of his divinity when he rose from the dead.

The Lord reveals himself and makes his presence known to us in many ways – in his word and in the "breaking of the bread" in the Eucharist, in his church – the body of Christ, in his creation, and even in the everyday circumstances of our lives. If we seek the Lord, we will surely find him. And we can be confident that he will give us whatever we need to understand and carry out his will. Most of all the Lord assures us of his daily presence and the promise that he will never leave us. Theresa of Avila's prayer book contained a bookmark which she wrote: Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you; All things pass: God never changes.  Patience achieves all it strives for. Whoever has God lacks nothing, God alone suffices. Is God enough for you?

Meditation question: How do you see yourself before Jesus? Do you seek signs, or can you place your love and trust in him without signs?

Prayer: "Lord Jesus, may I always recognize your saving presence in my life and never forget your promises when I encounter trials and difficulties. Give me a faith that never wavers, a hope that never fades, and a love that never grows cold."

Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’

Brothers who understand the truth and live it!

Matthew: 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you,
whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment.

“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Anything more is from the evil one.”

Refection question: Do you understand what it means to be a person of truth?

Shirley Temple died at 85 - singing on the "Good Ship" to Sister Ann and Louis Massett!

I am sure Shirley is right now singing on the Good Ship to Sister Ann and Louis Massett!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLLSqpYyPD8

 Shirley Temple, iconic child star, dies at 85

Feb. 11, 2014, 6:38 AM EST

WOODSIDE, Calif. (AP) -- Shirley Temple, the dimpled, curly-haired child star who sang, danced, sobbed and grinned her way into the hearts of Depression-era moviegoers, has died, according to publicist Cheryl Kagan. She was 85.

 

Temple, known in private life as Shirley Temple Black, died Monday night at about 11 p.m. at her home near San Francisco. She was surrounded by family members and caregivers, Kagan said.

"We salute her for a life of remarkable achievements as an actor, as a diplomat, and most importantly as our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and adored wife for fifty-five years of the late and much missed Charles Alden Black," a family statement said.

 

A talented and ultra-adorable entertainer, Shirley Temple was America's top box-office draw from 1935 to 1938, a record no other child star has come near. She beat out such grown-ups as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford.

 

 

In 1999, the American Film Institute ranking of the top 50 screen legends ranked Temple at No. 18 among the 25 actresses. She appeared in scores of movies and kept children singing "On the Good Ship Lollipop" for generations.

 

Temple was credited with helping save 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy with films such as "Curly Top" and "The Littlest Rebel." She even had a drink named after her, an appropriately sweet and innocent cocktail of ginger ale and grenadine, topped with a maraschino cherry.

 

Temple blossomed into a pretty young woman, but audiences lost interest, and she retired from films at 21. She raised a family and later became active in politics and held several diplomatic posts in Republican administrations, including ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the historic collapse of communism in 1989.

 

"I have one piece of advice for those of you who want to receive the lifetime achievement award. Start early," she quipped in 2006 as she was honored by the Screen Actors Guild.

 

But she also said that evening that her greatest roles were as wife, mother and grandmother. "There's nothing like real love. Nothing." Her husband of more than 50 years, Charles Black, had died just a few months earlier.

 

They lived for many years in the San Francisco suburb of Woodside.

Temple's expert singing and tap dancing in the 1934 feature "Stand Up and Cheer!" first gained her wide notice. The number she performed with future Oscar winner James Dunn, "Baby Take a Bow," became the title of one of her first starring features later that year.

 

Also in 1934, she starred in "Little Miss Marker," a comedy-drama based on a story by Damon Runyon that showcased her acting talent. In "Bright Eyes," Temple introduced "On the Good Ship Lollipop" and did battle with a charmingly bratty Jane Withers, launching Withers as a major child star, too.

 

She was "just absolutely marvelous, greatest in the world," director Allan Dwan told filmmaker-author Peter Bogdanovich in his book "Who the Devil Made It: Conversations With Legendary Film Directors." ''With Shirley, you'd just tell her once and she'd remember the rest of her life," said Dwan, who directed "Heidi" and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm." ''Whatever it was she was supposed to do -- she'd do it. ... And if one of the actors got stuck, she'd tell him what his line was -- she knew it better than he did."

 

Temple's mother, Gertrude, worked to keep her daughter from being spoiled by fame and was a constant presence during filming. Her daughter said years later that her mother had been furious when a director once sent her off on an errand and then got the child to cry for a scene by frightening her. "She never again left me alone on a set," she said.

 

Temple became a nationwide sensation. Mothers dressed their little girls like her, and a line of dolls was launched that are now highly sought-after collectables. Her immense popularity prompted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to say that "as long as our country has Shirley Temple, we will be all right."

 

"When the spirit of the people is lower than at any other time during this Depression, it is a splendid thing that for just 15 cents, an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles," Roosevelt said.

 

She followed up in the next few years with a string of hit films, most with sentimental themes and musical subplots. She often played an orphan, as in "Curly Top," where she introduced the hit "Animal Crackers in My Soup," and "Stowaway," in which she was befriended by Robert Young, later of "Father Knows Best" fame.

 

She teamed with the great black dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in two 1935 films with Civil War themes, "The Little Colonel" and "The Littlest Rebel." Their tap dance up the steps in "The Little Colonel" (at a time when interracial teamings were unheard-of in Hollywood) became a landmark in the history of film dance.

 

Some of her pictures were remakes of silent films, such as "Captain January," in which she recreated the role originally played by the silent star Baby Peggy Montgomery in 1924. "Poor Little Rich Girl" and "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," done a generation earlier by Mary Pickford, were heavily rewritten for Temple, with show biz added to the plots to give her opportunities to sing.

In its review of "Rebecca," the show business publication Variety complained that a "more fitting title would be 'Rebecca of Radio City.'"

 

She won a special Academy Award in early 1935 for her "outstanding contribution to screen entertainment" in the previous year.

 

"She is a legacy of a different time in motion pictures. She caught the imagination of the entire country in a way that no one had before," actor Martin Landau said when the two were honored at the Academy Awards in 1998.

 

Temple's fans agreed. Her fans seemed interested in every last golden curl on her head: It was once guessed that she had more than 50. Her mother was said to have done her hair in pin curls for each movie, with every hairstyle having exactly 56 curls.

 

On her eighth birthday -- she actually was turning 9, but the studio wanted her to be younger -- Temple received more than 135,000 presents from around the world, according to "The Films of Shirley Temple," a 1978 book by Robert Windeler. The gifts included a baby kangaroo from Australia and a prize Jersey calf from schoolchildren in Oregon.

 

"She's indelible in the history of America because she appeared at a time of great social need, and people took her to their hearts," the late Roddy McDowall, a fellow child star and friend, once said.

Although by the early 1960s, she was retired from the entertainment industry, her interest in politics soon brought her back into the spotlight.

 

She made an unsuccessful bid as a Republican candidate for Congress in 1967. After Richard Nixon became president in 1969, he appointed her as a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. In the 1970s, she was U.S. ambassador to Ghana and later U.S. chief of protocol.

She then served as ambassador to Czechoslovakia during the administration of the first President Bush. A few months after she arrived in Prague in mid-1989, communist rule was overthrown in Czechoslovakia as the Iron Curtain collapsed across Eastern Europe.

 

"My main job (initially) was human rights, trying to keep people like future President Vaclav Havel out of jail," she said in a 1999 Associated Press interview. Within months, she was accompanying Havel, the former dissident playwright, when he came to Washington as his country's new president.

She considered her background in entertainment an asset to her political career.

 

"Politicians are actors too, don't you think?" she once said. "Usually if you like people and you're outgoing, not a shy little thing, you can do pretty well in politics."

 

Born in Santa Monica to an accountant and his wife, Temple was little more than 3 years old when she made her film debut in 1932 in the Baby Burlesks, a series of short films in which tiny performers parodied grown-up movies, sometimes with risque results.

 

Among the shorts were "War Babies," a parody of "What Price Glory," and "Polly Tix in Washington," with Shirley in the title role.

 

Her young life was free of the scandals that plagued so many other child stars -- parental feuds, drug and alcohol addiction -- but Temple at times hinted at a childhood she may have missed out on.

She stopped believing in Santa Claus at age 6, she once said, when "Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph."

 

After her years at the top, maintaining that level of stardom proved difficult for her and her producers. The proposal to have her play Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" didn't pan out. (20th Century Fox chief Darryl Zanuck refused to lend out his greatest asset.) And "The Little Princess" in 1939 and "The Blue Bird" in 1940 didn't draw big crowds, prompting Fox to let Temple go.

Among her later films were "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer," with Cary Grant, and "That Hagen Girl," with Ronald Reagan. Several, including the wartime drama "Since You Went Away," were produced by David O. Selznick. One, "Fort Apache," was directed by John Ford, who had also directed her "Wee Willie Winkie" years earlier.

 

Her 1942 film, "Miss Annie Rooney," included her first on-screen kiss, bestowed by another maturing child star, Dickie Moore.

 

After her film career effectively ended, she concentrated on raising her family and turned to television to host and act in 16 specials called "Shirley Temple's Storybook" on ABC. In 1960, she joined NBC and aired "The Shirley Temple Show."

 

Her 1988 autobiography, "Child Star," became a best-seller.

 

Temple had married Army Air Corps private John Agar, the brother of a classmate at Westlake, her exclusive L.A. girls' school, in 1945. He took up acting and the pair appeared together in two films, "Fort Apache" and "Adventure in Baltimore." She and Agar had a daughter, Susan, in 1948, but she filed for divorce the following year.

 

She married Black in 1950, and they had two more children, Lori and Charles. That marriage lasted until his death in 2005 at age 86.

 

In 1972, she underwent successful surgery for breast cancer. She issued a statement urging other women to get checked by their doctors and vowed, "I have much more to accomplish before I am through."

During a 1996 interview, she said she loved both politics and show business.

"It's certainly two different career tracks," she said, "both completely different but both very rewarding, personally."

Rest in peace!
Brother Ed, OFM

Of a Miracle Wrought by His Sister, Scholastica

Twins often share the same interests and ideas with an equal intensity. Therefore, it is no surprise that Scholastica and her twin brother, Benedict (July 11), established religious communities within a few miles from each other.

Born in 480 of wealthy parents, Scholastica and Benedict were brought up together until he left central Italy for Rome to continue his studies.

Little is known of Scholastica’s early life. She founded a religious community for women near Monte Cassino at Plombariola, five miles from where her brother governed a monastery.

The twins visited each other once a year in a farmhouse because Scholastica was not permitted inside the monastery. They spent these times discussing spiritual matters.

According to the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great, the brother and sister spent their last day together in prayer and conversation. Scholastica sensed her death was close at hand and she begged Benedict to stay with her until the next day.

He refused her request because he did not want to spend a night outside the monastery, thus breaking his own Rule. Scholastica asked God to let her brother remain and a severe thunderstorm broke out, preventing Benedict and his monks from returning to the abbey.

Benedict cried out, “God forgive you, Sister. What have you done?” Scholastica replied, “I asked a favor of you and you refused. I asked it of God and he granted it.”

Brother and sister parted the next morning after their long discussion. Three days later, Benedict was praying in his monastery and saw the soul of his sister rising heavenward in the form of a white dove. Benedict then announced the death of his sister to the monks and later buried her in the tomb he had prepared for himself.

Comment:

Scholastica and Benedict gave themselves totally to God and gave top priority to deepening their friendship with him through prayer. They sacrificed some of the opportunities they would have had to be together as brother and sister in order better to fulfill their vocation to the religious life. In coming closer to Christ, however, they found they were also closer to each other. In joining a religious community, they did not forget or forsake their family but rather found more brothers and sisters.

Quote:

“All religious are under an obligation, in accordance with the particular vocation of each, to work zealously and diligently for the building up and growth of the whole mystical body of Christ and for the good of the particular churches. It is their duty to foster these objectives primarily by means of prayer, works of penance, and by the example of their own lives” (Vatican II, Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops, 33, Austin Flannery translation).


To all my dear sisters who taught me, living and dead, thank you for a wonderful education at St. Ann's in Crest Hill, IL.

1. Sister M. Bernice, OSB
2. Sister M. Imogene, OSB
3. Sister M. Blandina, OSB, principal and 3rd grade teacher
4. Sister M. LaSallete, OSB
5. Sister M. Madonna, OSB
6. Sister M. Calisitus, OSB
7. Sister M. Claude, OSB
7. Sister M. Leo, OSB
8. transferred to St. John's in Joliet, IL

Brother Ed, OFM (class of 1965)
 

Jesus marveled because of their unbelief

Scripture: Mark 6:1-6: He went away from there and came to his own country; and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him?

What mighty works are wrought by his  hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And  they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.
  

Meditation: Are you critical towards others, especially those who may be close to you? The most severe critics are often people very familiar to us, a member of our family, a relative, or neighbor or co-worker we rub shoulders with on a regular basis. Jesus faced a severe testing when he returned to his home town, not simply as the carpenter's son, but now as a rabbi with disciples. It would have been customary for Jesus to go to the synagogue each week during the Sabbath, and when his turn came, to read from the scriptures during the Sabbath service. His hometown folks listened with rapt attention on this occasion because they had heard about the miracles he had performed in other towns. What sign would he do in his hometown?

Jesus startled his familiar audience with a seeming rebuke that no prophet or servant of God can receive honor among his own people. The people of Nazareth took offense at Jesus and refused to listen to what he had to say. They despised his preaching because he was a mere workman, a carpenter, and a layman who had no formal training by a scholar or teacher. They also despised him because of his undistinguished family background. How familiarity can breed contempt. Jesus could do no mighty works in their midst because they were closed-minded and unbelieving towards him. If people have come together to hate and to refuse to understand, then they will see no other point of view than their own and they will refuse to love and accept others. How do you treat those who seem disagreeable to you?

 The word "gospel" literally means "good news". Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would come in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring freedom to the afflicted who suffered from physical, mental, or spiritual oppression (see Isaiah 61:1-2). Jesus came to set people free – not only from their physical, mental, and spiritual infirmities - but also from the worst affliction of all – the tyranny of slavery to sin, Satan, and the fear of losing one's life. God's power alone can save us from hopelessness, dejection, and emptiness of life. The gospel of salvation is "good news" for everyone who will receive it.

 

Refection question: Do you know the joy and freedom of the gospel?

Prayer: "Lord Jesus, you are the fulfillment of all our hopes and desires. Your Spirit brings grace, truth, freedom, and abundant life. Set my heart on fire with your love and truth." Amen.

 

Peace and all good,

Brother Ed, OFM

"I shall be made well"

Scripture: Mark 5:21-43: And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him; and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Ja'irus by name; and seeing him, he fell at his feet, and begged him, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well,

Our dear Poor Clare Sisters in NOLA

and live." And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well." And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately turned about in the crowd, and said, "Who touched my garments?" And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, `Who touched me?'" And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had been done to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  But ignoring what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. When they came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, he saw a tumult, and people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a tumult and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Tal'itha cu'mi"; which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." And immediately the girl got up and walked (she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
  

Meditation: Do you approach the Lord Jesus with expectant faith or with skeptical doubt? People in desperate or helpless circumstances were not disappointed when they sought Jesus out. What drew them to Jesus? Was it hope for a miracle or a word of comfort in their affliction? What did the elderly woman who had suffered miserably for twelve years expect Jesus to do for her? And what did a grieving father expect Jesus to do for his beloved daughter who was at the point of death? Jesus gave hope where there seemed to be no human cause for it because his hope was directed to God. He spoke words of hope to the woman (Take heart, daughter!) to ignite the spark of faith in her (your faith has made you well!). Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD), an early church Scripture scholar and author of hymns and commentaries, reflected on the miracle of the woman who was healed of her flow of blood:

“Glory to you, hidden Son of God, because your healing power is proclaimed through the hidden suffering of the afflicted woman. Through this woman whom they could see, the witnesses were enabled to behold the divinity that cannot be seen. Through the Son’s own healing power his divinity became known. Through the afflicted women’s being healed her faith was made manifest. She caused him to be proclaimed, and indeed was honored with him. For truth was being proclaimed together with its heralds. If she was a witness to his divinity, he in turn was a witness to her faith... He saw through to her hidden faith, and gave her a visible healing.”

Jesus also gave supernatural hope to a father who had just lost a beloved child. It took considerable courage and risk for the ruler of a synagogue to openly go to Jesus and to invite the scorn of his neighbors and kin. Even the hired mourners laughed scornfully at Jesus. Their grief was devoid of any hope. Nonetheless, Jesus took the girl by the hand and delivered her from the grasp of death. Peter Chrysologus (400-450 AD), an early church father who was renowned for his preaching at Ravenna, comments on this miracle:

“This man was a ruler of the synagogue, and versed in the law. He had surely read that while God created all other things by his word, man had been created by the hand of God. He trusted therefore in God that his daughter would be recreated, and restored to life by that same hand which, he knew, had created her... He [Jesus] who laid hands on her to form her from nothing, once more lays hands upon her to reform her from what had perished.”

In both instances we see Jesus' personal concern for the needs of others and his readiness to heal and restore life. In Jesus we see the infinite love of God extending to each and every individual as he gives freely and wholly of himself to each  person he meets.

Refection question: Do you approach the Lord with confident expectation that he will hear your request and act?

Prayer: "Lord Jesus, you love each of us individually with a unique and personal love. Touch my life with your saving power, heal and restore me to fullness of life. Help me to give wholly of myself in loving service to others." Amen.

Peace and all good,
Brother Ed, OFM

  

 

Matthew 5:13-16

---

 

Jesus came among us as light to scatter the darkness of a fallen world.

 

As his disciples, we too are called to be “the light of the world,” he tells us in the Gospel this Sunday (see John 1:4–4, 9; 8:12; 9:5).

 

All three images that Jesus uses to describe the Church are associated with the identity and vocation of Israel.

 

God forever aligned his Kingdom with the Kingdom of David and his sons by a “covenant

of salt,” salt being a sign of permanence and purity (see 2 Chron. 13:5, 8; Lev. 2:13; Ezek. 43:24).

Jerusalem was to be a city set on a hill, high above all others, drawing all nations towards the glorious light streaming from her Temple (see Isa. 2:2; 60:1–3).

 

And Israel was given the mission of being a light to the nations, that God’s salvation would reach to the ends of the earth (see Isa. 42:6; 49:6).

 

The liturgy shows us this week that the Church, and every Christian, is called to fulfill Israel’s mission.

 

By our faith and good works we are to make the light of God’s life break forth in the darkness, as we sing in this week’s Psalm.

 

This week’s readings remind us that our faith can never be a private affair, something we can hide as if under a basket.

 

We are to pour ourselves out for the afflicted, as Isaiah tells us in the First Reading. Our light must shine as a ray of God’s mercy for all who are poor, hungry, naked, and enslaved.

 

There must be a transparent quality to our lives. Our friends and family, our neighbors and fellow citizens, should see reflected in us the light of Christ and through us be attracted to the saving truths of the Gospel.

 

So let us pray that we, like St. Paul in the Epistle, might proclaim with our whole lives, “Christ and him crucified.”

Novena to St. Blaise Feb 3 - 11

Novena to St. Blaise (to be prayed for 9 consecutive days)

Preparatory Prayer

 

Almighty and Eternal God! With lively faith and reverently worshiping Thy Divine Majesty, I prostrate myself before Thee and invoke with filial trust Thy supreme bounty and mercy. Illumine the darkness of my intellect with a ray of Thy heavenly light and inflame my heart with the fire of Thy divine love, that I may contemplate the great virtues and merits of the saint in whose honor I make this novena, and following his example imitate, like him, the life of Thy divine Son.

 

Moreover, I beseech Thee to grant graciously, through the merits and intercession of this powerful Helper, the petition which through him I humbly place before Thee, devoutly saving, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Vouchsafe graciously to hear it, if it redounds to Thy greater glory and to the salvation of my soul. Amen.

 

Prayer in honor of St. Blaise

O God, deliver us through the intercession of Thy holy bishop and martyr Blase, from all evil of soul and body, especially from all ills of the throat; and grant us the grace to make a good confession in the confident hope of obtaining Thy pardon, and ever to praise with worthy lips Thy most holy name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Invocation of St. Blaise

St. Blaise, gracious benefactor of mankind and faithful servant of God, who for the love of our Savior did suffer so many tortures with patience and resignation; I invoke thy powerful intercession. Preserve me from all evils of soul and body. Because of thy great merits God endowed thee with the special grace to help those that suffer from ills of the throat; relieve and preserve me from them, so that I may always be able to fulfill my duties, and with the aid of God's grace perform good works. I invoke thy help as special physician of souls, that I may confess my sins sincerely in the holy sacrament of Penance and obtain their forgiveness. I recommend to thy merciful intercession also those who unfortunately concealed a sin in confession. Obtain for them the grace to accuse themselves sincerely and contritely of the sin they concealed, of the sacrilegious confessions and communions they made, and of all the sins they committed since then, so that they may receive pardon, the grace of God, and the remission of the eternal punishment. Amen.

 

Concluding Prayer

My Lord and my God! I offer up to Thee my petition in union with the bitter passion and death of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, together with the merits of His immaculate and blessed Mother, Mary ever virgin, and of all the saints, particularly with those of the holy Helper in whose honor I make this novena.

Look down upon me, merciful Lord! Grant me Thy grace and Thy love, and graciously hear my prayer. Amen.

 

St. Blaise, pray for us!

 

 

 

Description:

1622 "Suffering and illness have always been among the greatest problems that trouble the human spirit. Christians feel and experience pain as do all other people; yet their faith helps them to grasp more deeply the mystery of suffering and to bear their pain with greater courage. . . . Part of the plan laid out by God's providence is that we should fight strenuously against all sickness and carefully seek the blessings of good health, so that we may fulfill our role in human society and in the Church"

 

 

The priest touches the throat of each person with the crossed candles and, without making the sign of the cross, says the prayer of blessing.

 

  Through the intercession of Saint Blase, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Each person responds: Amen.

Presentation of the Lord in the Temple February 2

Opening Song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5Woe5IkNg4

 

Gospel Luke2:22-40: When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

 

 “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce—so that the thoughts of
many hearts may be revealed.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

 

Refection question: Do I bring the light o Christ into the word? How do I do that? Who does that for me?

 

Refection song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OshpSD0z1ts&list=RDr5Woe5IkNg4

Refection song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr1iudYIzmM