"I am my beloved's, And my beloved is mine
..."
(Song of Solomon 6:3)
Last year, I made a MySpace profile to be able to view and post in the blogs of some of my friends, and maybe meet a few new friends. What I have discovered is beautiful music and singers here, hidden gems! I also have met many wonderful people and a few kindred spirits.
For over 8 years now, I have been the webmaster of the Official website for Irish actress Roma Downey. I cherish my friendship with her.
Official Roma Downey Pages
http://www.Roma-Downey.com/roma.htm
- From there you can follow the link to my own personal website, Lady Anna's Pages, which is mostly about all things Irish, my family tree research, and my interests.
Like most Americans, my ancestry is mixed...although most being from Celtic countries: Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but also from England and Germany. (If you go back far enough, some of my English lines end up in France). My most recent ancestors came to America from Mountbellew, Co. Galway in Ireland and we still have family living there in the out-lying districts. In my heart, I have a close connection to this part of my family because I'm often told I look like my Grandma Mabel (maiden name Fay/Fahy). My great-grandparents (Fay) spent time homesteading in Canada, they eventually returned to the States. Some of these Fay relatives stayed in Canada. Some of our Fahy/Fay relatives came from Ireland and ended up settling in Canada instead of the United States. Contact has been lost through the years with all of our Canadian Fahy/Fay cousins. It would be wonderful to link back up with them again. My other grandmother was a Kennedy, but her family has been in the States since the late 1700's and came from the north of Ireland, either Co. Armagh or Antrim.
Grand Sachem of Montauketts
Many, many generations ago, I also had a Montauk maiden named Medlin (The English and Dutch gave her the Christian name of Wilhelmina) as an ancestor. She lived during the time when the Montauk (Montaukett) Tribe still lived on Long Island (she was my great (x10) grandmother). She married an Englishman named Samuel Dayton. In old records of the time, it is recorded that he and his father Ralph Dayton were "interpreters to the Indians" living on various parts of Long Island, which is how Samuel met Medlin. I am especially proud of my Montauk roots. The Montauk are closely related to the Shinnecock Indian Nation. You can learn more about this Native American tribe by clicking here .
St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland
(She is one of my direct ancestors).
I have spent countless (and I mean COUNTLESS) hours doing family tree research, and I think I now have almost 9,000 people in my family tree, all related to me in some way. I've discovered that I'm related to many famous people, from the infamous like Lizzie Borden to many U.S. Presidents, First Ladies, politicians, actors, authors, inventors, Princess Diana (through the Spencer line) and many members of the English Royal Family (The Anglo-Saxon Rulers, House of Normandy, Angevin, Plantagenet, Tudor and Windsor.) I am also a direct descendant of Mayflower Pilgrim Edward Doty (through my great-grandmother Mary Doughty/Doty) and also of Margaret (Stephenson) Scott who was hanged as a witch during the Salem Witch Trials (she was my great (x8) grandmother) and of Baroness Lady Margaret Beauchamp of Bletsoe, she was my great (x16) grandmother (she was also the grandmother of King Henry VII and great-grandmother of King Henry VIII).
My cousins King Henry VIII and his mistress Lady Anne Boleyn - who became his second wife.
I am a direct descendant of William The Conqueror (My line: William the ConquerorHenry IEmpress Matilda (Maud)Henry IIJohn LacklandHenry IIIEdward IPrincess Joan of Acre PlantagenetBaroness Eleanor de ClareElizabeth le DespenserLord Thomas de BerkeleyElizabeth de Berkeley (Countess of Warwick)Lady Elizabeth de BeachampSir Henry NevilleLord Richard NevilleLady Susan (Susannah) NevilleClare NortonMargaret GoodrichRichard BeldenDr. Samuel Belding (Samuel Belding and his father Richard are both immigrant ancestors to America, they settled in the Massachuetts Colony). The mother of Empress Matilda was Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland, thus making me a direct descendant of this saint as well. St Edward the Confessor was St. Margaret's great-uncle. I'm also directly descended from Lady Godiva (Godgifu) .
The first thing that comes to the mind of others when I mention that I'm descended from Lady Godiva is her naked ride through Coventry. The historical Lady Godiva was a devout Catholic Anglo-Saxon noblewoman. Both she and her husband Leofric (Leofric III, Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry) were generous benefactors to many religious houses. They founded and endowed a Benedictine monastery at Coventry. In the 1050's, her name is coupled with that of her husband on a grant of land to the monastery of St Mary, Worcester and the endowment of the minister at Stow St Mary, Lincolnshire. She and her husband are commemorated as benefactors of other monasteries as well - at Leominster, Chester, Much Wenlock and Evesham. Lady Godiva's rosary hung round the neck of the statue of the Blessed Virgin at Coventry. The current Queen Elizabeth of England is also a direct descendant of Lady Godiva as well.
I'm fluent in American Sign Language...well I used to be, I'm a bit rusty now. I was a Deaf Studies major in college. I speak some Norwegian. Also, I can sing several Christmas carols in Norwegian and Swedish. I find Swedish much more difficult to learn than Norwegian even though they are similiar. I wish I could learn to sing in Irish, but I find that lanuage very difficult to learn. I studied Spanish in Jr. High, High School and college and could survive if ever stranded in Mexico!
Van Helsing
Although I tend to be a stress monster (LOL) I try to achieve balance and harmony in my life.
My husband and I have been trying to conceive a baby since 2004. With each birthday, I know that my chances are slipping away. This stuggle has been emotionally and spiritually draining. I am close to my 17 year old stepson Ryan and we have two fur-babies...our precious and very spoiled cats! My 2 year old blue-eyed part Siamese - Livia and our 6 year old Calico rescue kitty Sammie.
Many pray to St. Anne (Anna), Mother of the Virgin Mary or to St. Philomena when suffering with infertility. I have not tried doing this yet. I guess the years I attended non-Catholic churches did effect me and now I don't feel comfortable with praying to the saints for assistance.
Although, spiritual forms of dance have always been a part of my life, if you were to ask my family and friends they would say it's my lovely soprano voice that is my gift and blessing. Often strangers comment on my speaking voice being beautiful and I've been told that I speak and sing with the voice of an angel. The holy sacred ethereal
voice in song and the blessed temple dance are like incense filling the air; lifting my prayers to the Heavens...
I am a practicing Catholic, but I don't attend Mass as often as I should. I am often told by other Catholics that I am really an Evangelical Catholic (meaning I've been affected by some of my family and their beliefs as evangelical Christians and also because I've attended other churches at times in my life and was even re-baptized in the Baptist church by immersion when I was 19 years old. I'm less into dogma and more into reading the Bible myself and know that God is there for me at all times no matter where I am, but I still have a great respect for the rituals of the church and how they tie in with the Jewish rituals of Jesus' time). I practice sacred prayer singing and dancing (prophetic and intercessory singing and dance) and believe very much in the Harp and Bowl Ministries. I guess you could say that I had a very positive experience attending Catholic school and Mass as a child (and my childhood was not an easy one), so I will always feel connected to the Catholic church no matter what happens in my life or what other churches I may attend. I know in my heart that everything is just fine between our Lord and me and that is the most important thing.
After much prayer, I decided that I needed to update what I had written in the paragraph above. The death of Pope John Paul II really affected me deeply, my view of my Catholic faith and my lack of practicing it on a regular basis. I guess you could say it engendered great emotion within me and I felt a spark of renewal. I did act upon it briefly, but then eventually returned to my old ways. Only recently have I felt a need to draw near to the church again and have started attending Mass on a weekly basis and even went to Confession! (Yes, I know they now call it the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but I'm from the generation where it was still called Confession). In my youth and as a young adult in my 20's, I used to attend Mass during the week days as well. I can only hope that with His grace that I can in the future return to that same degree of devotion.
I enjoy reading about the history of the early Christian church. Actually, I like to read about all kinds of history in general! I enjoy studying alternative healing therapies...and find the writings by
St. Hildegard Von Bingen on crystals and stones and their healing properties to be quite interesting. I have had empathic abilities since childhood. I try to consider being an empath a blessing and a gift.
My family tree is full of ancestors that were Baptist ministers, Irish Catholics, German Catholics, German Lutherans, Quakers, Church of England, Puritan Ministers and Deacons and one great-grandmother was Jewish (She was born in the States but both her parents were born in Germany) although she was non-practicing of her faith (She was a character! She used to say that she didn't have any use for any type of religion!) It appears that her grandparents practiced their Jewish faith and her parents to a lesser degree. I am very proud of my mixed heritage including my Jewish roots. I come from a varied background. I try to keep an open mind and be accepting of others. One niece is Pagan, one sister believes in reincarnation, some are Catholic like me, many are Evangelical Christians and a few in my family don't follow any kind of spiritual path at all.
St. Ceclia (pictured below) was a second century Roman who became a Christian. She was accused of heresy for aiding two brothers condemned for burying martyrs. The two brothers had developed a ministry of giving proper burial to martyred Christians. In their turn they were arrested and martyred for their faith. Cecilia buried them at her villa on the Apprian Way, and was arrested for the action. She was condemned to be suffocated in the bath of her own house. But she remained unhurt in the overheated room. She was imprisoned and scheduled for execution. Three attempts were made to behead her, each time the executioner suffering a fatal accident prior - noted by the three notches in her neck. Set to burn, when the priests came to retrieve her for execution, they found her cell empty with nothing but rose petals strewn across the floor. It is said she lived for three days after the attempts to behead her. She made dispositions in favor of the poor, and provided that after her death her house should be dedicated as a church. Cecilia was believed to be buried at the Catacomb of Callistus. Her grave was discovered in 817, and her body removed to the church of Saint Cecilia in Rome; the tomb was opened in 1599, and her body found to be incorrupt.
The Martyrdom of Saint Cecilia by Lynden St. Victor
St. Cecilia, martyr and patron of saint of music and the blind. Part of the legend of St. Cecilia is that she praised God by use of muscial instruments as well as her voice and she also heard angels singing. Many historians say the early records really translate that she was praying while listening to music. In the late fifteenth century, St. Cecilia begins to be associated with music. Artists begin to portray her with an organ, lute or harp and/or singing often with cherubem. Before her association with music, St. Cecilia was portrayed with a palm in one hand and the gospel often in the other. She was also often depicted wearing either the martyr's crown or a crown of roses. Along with St. Catherine, St. Cecilia is considered one of the muses of poetic art. She often is portrayed in art, but is usually confined mainly to Western art. For a more complete biography of St. Cecilia, prayers, litanies, and hymns, visit the website Via Rosa .
Although there are many other saints much more well known as patron saints of the blind, especially St. Lucy, St. Cecilia is linked as a patron saint of the blind because her name Cecilia in Latin means blind. She is usually listed as the patron saint of Rome; composers; martyrs; music; musicians; musical instrument makers; poets and singers. I often praise God using music and in song, and through my poetry. I feel I have a special connection to this saint.
Part of a St. Cecilia prayer:
"Inspire musicians to gladden the hearts of people by filling the air with God's gift of music and reminding them of the divine Musician who created all beauty. Amen."
My most favorite places to be are: near the ocean, Disneyland and the world famous San Diego Zoo. (I'll always be a San Diego hometown girl no matter where I live!)
..."Obsessed by a fairytale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace"...~ Eugene O'NeillMyspace Layouts - Free Layouts
