DFS - SUCCESSFUL
Section 1 - Y
Section 2 - Y

*wanders off, whistling*

[For the avoidance of doubt, the big capital letter "Y" and the word "SUCCESSFUL" means I passed].

And I thought it would be easy – it’s certainly easy to avoid the main broadcast coverage, just switch the channel, and I haven’t been leaping for the off-switch when the results come on the news - but I thought that Britain would put in its usual slightly dismal performance and I could just waltz on my merry way regardless, offering up the occasional prayer to the patrons of China.

However, even though I haven’t been watching the coverage, or checking the results on the BBC Sports Olympics site, I’ve still picked up that we’re doing quite well.

Bother.

Our Lady of She-Shan, pray for us.

*black velvet corset, silver fishnets, black and silver skirt and wings. But I am not walking ten miles in the Victorian Tart Boots, no matter what anyone pays me, given that I'm actually quite fond of my ankles.

The Chaplet of St. Dominic, also called "A Cry of Anguish" because it used in times of distress. It may be prayed on a normal rosary.

On the large beads, pray the O Spem Miram:

O wonderful hope, which thou gavest to those who wept for thee, at the hour of thy death, promising, after thy departure, to be helpful to thy brethren!

R. Fulfill, O father, what thou hast said, and help us by thy prayers.

V. O thou who didst shine illustrious by so many miracles, wrought on the bodies of the sick, bring us the help of Christ to heal our sick souls.
R. Fulfill, O father, what thou hast said, and help us by thy prayers.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
R. Fulfill, O father, what thou hast said, and help us by thy prayers.

V. Pray for us blessed father Dominic.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. O God, who hast enlightened Thy Church by the eminent virtues and preaching of blessed Dominic, Thy confessor and our father, mercifully grant that by his prayers it may never lack temporal help, and may ever increase in all spiritual good. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

On the small beads, pray:

Holy Father, cast thy mind
on the work thy hands designed;
In the Judge's presence stand
For thy poor and lowly band.

At the end, pray:

V. Pray for us, O Holy Father, St. Dominic.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

God, whose property it is always to have mercy and to spare, we humbly beseech Thee, that we, who spoil the works of Thy glory by our sins and are justly afflicted for what we have done, may, by the merits and intercession of blessed Dominic, Thy confessor and our father, be comforted in our trials, and ever obey Thy divine will. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son. Amen.

Serves 4

2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander
3g/½ tsp ground ginger
3g/½ tsp salt
pinch nutmeg
4 lamb shanks (about 500g/1lb each). Or, if you get to the supermarket and find no lamb, about 2kg of oxtail.
2 tbsp oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
290ml/½ pint Greek yoghurt
450ml/¾pt hot lamb stock
The seeds from 4 cardamom pods
1 pinch saffron strands (or use turmeric, if the thought of saffron makes your bank manager go all wibbly)
4 tomatoes, cut into quarters

Mix together the flour, chilli powder, coriander, ginger, salt and nutmeg. Dust the lamb shanks in flour, reserving any excess. The easiest way of doing this is to mix all the flour and spices together in a plastic bag, and then add the meat. Making sure the bag is well sealed, give it a shake.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Pour the oil into a large pan and place over a high heat. Cook the lamb shanks for 10 minutes, turning until well browned, then transfer to a large plate and set aside. If you're doing this with oxtail, you my need to brown the meat in batches, unless you have the sort of pan that's large enough to render down corpses.

Add the onion to the pan and cook for 10 minutes until golden brown. Add the reserved spiced flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Stir in the yoghurt and stock.

Return the lamb to the pan. Add the cardamom and saffron and bring to the boil. Cover tightly and cook for 1½ hours. Add the tomato quarters and a splash m ore water if it's looking dry and cook for a further hour until the lamb is almost falling away from the bone.

Someone asked me recently why Catholics pray to dead people. (I have odd conversations sometimes).

Firstly, the saints aren’t dead, they are alive in Christ. They are the great cloud of witnesses who, having fought the good fight, and finished the race, and won for themselves the crown of victory, are now crowded round the finish line, yelling their encouragement to us, the Church Militant here on earth.

They want us to cross the finish line and join them in the Church Triumphant, so they want to help us bear the burdens that are causing us to stumble on the way.

And so, just as we ask other members of the Church here on earth to pray for us, we ask the members of the Church in heaven to pray for us.

Now, I’m rubbish at praying for people. I’ll say I will, but I get wrapped up in my own concerns and, whilst I don’t forget any more since I bought a notebook to start writing things down in, I am not always as thorough as I’d like to be. My own, personal road to Hell with be paved with all the times I brightly said “of course I’ll pray for you,” and then got distracted by the gas bill or my exam revision or “oooooh, lookit the shiny thing!” and so all you got was “God, um Bob, amen.” (Sorry, Bob, whoever you are).

The Church in heaven are not constrained by the things of this world such as the tedium of working for a living, or paying the gas bill, or having a memory like a sieve, and so have all the time in the world to carry your concerns as golden bowls full of incense, offered to God.

Secondly, “pray” is a word that has many meanings. From dictionary.com:

pray
1. to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to (God or an object of worship).

2. to offer (a prayer).

3. to bring, put, etc., by praying: to pray a soul into heaven.

4. to make earnest petition to (a person).

5. to make petition or entreaty for; crave: She prayed his forgiveness.

6. to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to God or to an object of worship.

7. to enter into spiritual communion with God or an object of worship through prayer.

When we are praying to the Saints, we are using “pray” in the sense of 4 and 5, “make earnest petition to” and “to make petition or entreaty for; crave: She prayed his forgiveness.” We are asking the saints to take our concerns to God, just as asking another member of the Church on earth to pray for us doesn’t mean that we are worshipping them, either (and see above for why it’s sometimes better to go to the Church Triumphant rather than the Church Militant for prayer, especially when the only handy member of the Church Militant is one who has to say “just let me write that down in my prayer note book.”)

Asking a particular saint to intercede for us is usually related to an event from their life here on earth. For instance, Saint Agatha is the patroness of breast cancer sufferers because part of her tortures as she was martyred was having her breasts cut off, likewise St Lucy is patron of eye diseases because she was blinded during her martyrdom (look, nobody ever said being a Christian was nice. We were promised burdens that would not be heavy to bear, not no burdens at all.)

There is a patron saint for everything you could possibly think to pray about.

Mice? St Gertrude, who covers all bases by also being the patron of cats.

Young people? Aloysius Gonzaga, unless they’re Mexican (Don Bosco).

EDIT: (this was going to be a reply in the comments, but it got a bit long).

I'm not saying that you can't go direct to God, and I've never heard any Catholic say that. Sometimes, for whatever reason, you feel that you can't approach God directly, or you think something's a bit silly to approach God with - I know in my head that He takes all our cares and woes and nothing is too small for Him to be concerned about (sparrows and lilies and all that), but what with wars and floods and famines and disasters, my heart thinks that my worries over exams and money and so on is too trivial to bother God with, so you ask a saint for help instead.

Catastrophic out of coffee error, and I spent so much time today trapped in The World's Dullest Meeting™ that I didn't manage to get to the coffee shop to buy more, so I had to stop in $tarbucks* on the way home.

Picked up a bag of beans, went to the counter to pay.

"How do you want these ground?"

"No, thanks, just as beans," I said.

"No, how do you want them ground?"

"I don't want them ground, I want them as beans so I can grind them as and when," I explained, as patiently as I could manage (not very).

"We've got to grind them, cos of 'elf'n'safety, innit?"

"What? Can I see your risk assessment, please?"

"Errrrrrr, what?"

"Well, if Health and Safety say that you can't do something, then you must have done a risk assessment to decide it's dangerous. I would like to see that risk assessment, please." [Now sell me my damn coffee lest I come round to your house and inflict my decaffeinated, first-thing-in-the-morning happy smiley morning face on you, with added snarling].

New person appeared, saving me from leaping over the counter and strangling the first one with his apron.

"I'm sorry, miss, he's New**, was it just this you wanted? That will be three ninety, please."

Hah. Never come between a girl and her coffee with some rubbish about health and safety when her mum's an 'elf'n'safety officer (innit).

*Yes, I know, but it was an emergency and I did buy the Fair Trade.

**And will presumably be getting a smack later.

Anyway, I admit it, I'm dead jealous. It must be so nice to know that you're right all the time and be able to ignore people who try and tell you different.

I wish I could do that, instead of just doing the best I can, and when I mess up, as I do, frequently, sighing deeply, apologising to God ("Hello God, it's me again. I messed up again. I'm sorry, can I start again?" and God sighs and says "yes,") and the people I've hurt, and starting over back at the beginning.

It must be nice to know you're Right.™

Got home, went to the freezer to get out the chicken thighs to defrost.

Ah.

What I thought was chicken thighs were actually sausages.

Sausage cacciatore might work. I hope it does, because that's what I'm eating!

If I die, horribly, I shall be sure to let you all know.

Also, I have a new blog, to go with my new camera.

Since this blog is supposed to be about my vocation journey as a Lay Dominican*, I thought it wise to keep the two separate.

*no, honest it is!

Via fluffykittens and wordle.