I was sitting at the Dr.'s office this morning awaiting a visit from my Dr. and reading my daily devotional that I had chosen (see post below) for Lent. It was very interesting because the message in the post was about the problem of pain and over the weekend I got a really painful cut on the ball of my foot .
I wasn't even going to mention it to the Dr. because I was actually there for something else and the cut itself is healing nicely, although it still hurts when I walk on it too much. But then I came across a sentence in the reading about how sometimes pain is God's way of getting our attention. So I decided to simply mentioned that I had cut my foot over the weekend and the Dr. checked my chart and it turns out that I am way overdue for a tetanus booster.
If I hadn't been reading the devotional in the Dr.'s office I probably wouldn't have mentioned the cut and who knows what the consequence of my ignoring the pain might have been.
God is good, all the time.
Pax
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
With Open Hands
To pray means to stop expecting from God the same small-mindedness which you discover in yourself. To pray is to walk in the full light of God and to say simply, without holding back, "I am human and you are God."
A human being is not someone who once in a while makes a mistake, and God is not someone who now and then forgives. No! Human beings are sinners and God is love.
Source: Henri Nouwen
Pax
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
When I Feel as Though I Should Be Doing Something . . .
why is it that prayer never seems to be enough?
I am sitting here just having heard some very devastating news about one of my dear friends; someone as close to me as one of my brothers, who is clinging to life and may not last the night. I was told that no action is expected of me at this point, I needn't rush to his bedside in another state because he is surrounded by family. Someone else is taking the responsibility of calling our little circle of friends, so I have no one to call.
I have nothing for my hands and mind to do that will help my friend in his time of great need. I know that he is not fearing this last journey but I regret that I didn't find the time to see him one last time before the end. We were supposed to all get together next weekend for our semi-annual weekend gathering.
So, I am sitting here, with nothing to do but pray, which in truth is so much that I can do for my friend, but somehow in the darkness of this night it seems like my words are so small.
God, be with my dear friend tonight as he comes to you. Help him to let go of this mortal world and enter into his final rest. Be with his family as they deal with his loss and absence in their lives.
Amen
Pax
I am sitting here just having heard some very devastating news about one of my dear friends; someone as close to me as one of my brothers, who is clinging to life and may not last the night. I was told that no action is expected of me at this point, I needn't rush to his bedside in another state because he is surrounded by family. Someone else is taking the responsibility of calling our little circle of friends, so I have no one to call.
I have nothing for my hands and mind to do that will help my friend in his time of great need. I know that he is not fearing this last journey but I regret that I didn't find the time to see him one last time before the end. We were supposed to all get together next weekend for our semi-annual weekend gathering.
So, I am sitting here, with nothing to do but pray, which in truth is so much that I can do for my friend, but somehow in the darkness of this night it seems like my words are so small.
God, be with my dear friend tonight as he comes to you. Help him to let go of this mortal world and enter into his final rest. Be with his family as they deal with his loss and absence in their lives.
Amen
Pax
B 16's Ash Wednesday Holiday
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today we begin the liturgical season of Lent with the impressive ritual of the imposition of ashes, through which we undertake to convert our hearts to the horizons of Grace. In general, the common opinion is this time is likely to be characterized by sadness, the greyness of life. Instead it is a precious gift of God, it is a time of strength and full of significance in the journey of the Church, it is the road to the Lord's Passover. The Biblical Readings of the day offer an indication of how to live this spiritual experience.
"Come back to me with your whole heart" (Joel 2:12). In the first reading from the book of the prophet Joel, we heard these words with which God invites the Jewish people to a sincere and not an empty repentance. This is not a superficial and transient conversion, but a spiritual journey that covers in depth the attitudes of conscience and presupposes a sincere act of repentance.
The prophet is inspired by the plight of the invasion of locusts that had befallen the people by destroying their crops, to invite an interior penance, to tear the heart and not garments (cf. 2.13). That is, to implement an attitude of genuine conversion to God - to return to Him - by recognizing His holiness, His power, His majesty. And this conversion is possible because God is rich in mercy and love. His mercy is all-renewing, which creates in us a clean heart, bringing new life to our spirit, giving us the joy of Salvation. God does not want the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live (cf. Ez 33:11).
Thus the prophet Joel orders on behalf of the Lord, the creation of a proper penitential environment – which is like a trumpet awakening consciences. The Lenten season offers us that liturgical and penitential environment: a journey of forty days in which to experience the merciful love of God. Today we hear again the call "Come back to me with your whole heart", and today we are being called to convert our hearts to God, always conscious of not being able to complete our conversion ourselves, by our own power, because it is God who converts.
He still offers us His forgiveness, inviting us to return to Him, giving us a new heart, purified from the evil that oppresses it, for us to share in His joy. Our world needs to be converted by God, it needs His forgiveness, His love, it needs a new heart.
"Be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). In the second reading St. Paul gives us another element in the path of conversion. The Apostle calls us to lift our gaze from him and pay attention instead to who has sent him and the content of his message: "So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God"(ibid.). An ambassador repeats what he has heard spoken by the Lord and speaks with the authority and within the limits that he has received. Those who have held the position of ambassador does not attract attention to himself, but is at the service of the message that has been sent and He who sends him. So this how St. Paul behaves in carrying out his ministry as a preacher of the Word of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. He does not flinch in the face of the task given him, but goes about it with complete dedication. He invites all to be open to grace, to let God convert us.
"Working together then, - he writes - we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain"(2 Cor 6:1). "Christ's call to conversion - says the Catechism of the Catholic Church - continues to resonate in the lives of Christians. [...] It is the continued commitment to the whole Church, which "includes sinners in its bosom ", and that is "at once holy and always in need of purification, to follow constantly the path of penance and renewal." This endeavour of conversion is not just a human task. It is the movement of a "contrite heart" (Ps 51.19), attracted and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first "(No. 1428). St. Paul speaks to the Christians of Corinth, but through them he speaks to all people. For all have need of God's grace, to enlighten their minds and hearts.
And the Apostle insisted: "Now is the time, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). All are open to the action of God, his love. With our Christian witness, we Christians must be a living message, indeed, in many cases we are the only Gospel that people today still read.
Here is our responsibility in the footsteps of St. Paul, here's one more reason to live this Lent well: to offer a living witness of faith in a troubled world that needs to return to God, a world which needs conversion.
" Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; " (Matt. 6:1). Jesus, in today's Gospel, reinvigorates the three major works of mercy under the law of Moses. Almsgiving, prayer and fasting are the three foundational works of piety under Jewish law. Over time, these provisions had been eroded by a rigid external formalism, or even mutated into a sign of superiority. Jesus highlights in these three works of mercy a common temptation. When you do something good, almost instinctively comes the desire to be respected and admired for the good deed, to have that satisfaction.
On the one hand this makes you close in on yourself, and at the same time, removes you from yourself, because it is completely directed towards what others think of us and admire in us. In proposing these requirements, the Lord Jesus did not require a formal compliance with a law alien to man, imposed by a severe legislature as a heavy burden, but invites us to rediscover these three works of piety, living them in a deeper way, not for our own love, but for the love of God, as a means on our the path of conversion towards Him. Alms, fasting and prayer: this is the path of divine pedagogy that accompanies us, and not only in Lent, to our encounter with the Risen Lord, a path to be followed without ostentation, in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows how to read and see the inner depths of our hearts.
Dear brothers and sisters, we begin our Lenten journey with trust and joy. Forty days separate us from Easter, this is a powerful time in the liturgical year, and it is a special time that is given to us to look, with greater commitment, to our conversion, to listen more attentively to the Word of God, a time for prayer and penance – of opening our hearts to the workings of Divine will, for a more generous practice of mortification, thanks to which we can be more attentive to neighbours in need: it is a spiritual journey that prepares us to relive the Paschal Mystery.
May Mary, our guide in our Lenten journey, lead us to an ever deeper knowledge of Christ dead and risen, help us in our spiritual battle against sin and support us in calling out with all our strength: “Converte nos, Deus salutaris noster” converted unto thee, O God, our Salvation. " Amen!
If you would like to hear Pope Benedict give this homily, go here.
Pax
Today we begin the liturgical season of Lent with the impressive ritual of the imposition of ashes, through which we undertake to convert our hearts to the horizons of Grace. In general, the common opinion is this time is likely to be characterized by sadness, the greyness of life. Instead it is a precious gift of God, it is a time of strength and full of significance in the journey of the Church, it is the road to the Lord's Passover. The Biblical Readings of the day offer an indication of how to live this spiritual experience.
"Come back to me with your whole heart" (Joel 2:12). In the first reading from the book of the prophet Joel, we heard these words with which God invites the Jewish people to a sincere and not an empty repentance. This is not a superficial and transient conversion, but a spiritual journey that covers in depth the attitudes of conscience and presupposes a sincere act of repentance.
The prophet is inspired by the plight of the invasion of locusts that had befallen the people by destroying their crops, to invite an interior penance, to tear the heart and not garments (cf. 2.13). That is, to implement an attitude of genuine conversion to God - to return to Him - by recognizing His holiness, His power, His majesty. And this conversion is possible because God is rich in mercy and love. His mercy is all-renewing, which creates in us a clean heart, bringing new life to our spirit, giving us the joy of Salvation. God does not want the death of the sinner, but that he be converted and live (cf. Ez 33:11).
Thus the prophet Joel orders on behalf of the Lord, the creation of a proper penitential environment – which is like a trumpet awakening consciences. The Lenten season offers us that liturgical and penitential environment: a journey of forty days in which to experience the merciful love of God. Today we hear again the call "Come back to me with your whole heart", and today we are being called to convert our hearts to God, always conscious of not being able to complete our conversion ourselves, by our own power, because it is God who converts.
He still offers us His forgiveness, inviting us to return to Him, giving us a new heart, purified from the evil that oppresses it, for us to share in His joy. Our world needs to be converted by God, it needs His forgiveness, His love, it needs a new heart.
"Be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). In the second reading St. Paul gives us another element in the path of conversion. The Apostle calls us to lift our gaze from him and pay attention instead to who has sent him and the content of his message: "So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God"(ibid.). An ambassador repeats what he has heard spoken by the Lord and speaks with the authority and within the limits that he has received. Those who have held the position of ambassador does not attract attention to himself, but is at the service of the message that has been sent and He who sends him. So this how St. Paul behaves in carrying out his ministry as a preacher of the Word of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. He does not flinch in the face of the task given him, but goes about it with complete dedication. He invites all to be open to grace, to let God convert us.
"Working together then, - he writes - we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain"(2 Cor 6:1). "Christ's call to conversion - says the Catechism of the Catholic Church - continues to resonate in the lives of Christians. [...] It is the continued commitment to the whole Church, which "includes sinners in its bosom ", and that is "at once holy and always in need of purification, to follow constantly the path of penance and renewal." This endeavour of conversion is not just a human task. It is the movement of a "contrite heart" (Ps 51.19), attracted and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first "(No. 1428). St. Paul speaks to the Christians of Corinth, but through them he speaks to all people. For all have need of God's grace, to enlighten their minds and hearts.
And the Apostle insisted: "Now is the time, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). All are open to the action of God, his love. With our Christian witness, we Christians must be a living message, indeed, in many cases we are the only Gospel that people today still read.
Here is our responsibility in the footsteps of St. Paul, here's one more reason to live this Lent well: to offer a living witness of faith in a troubled world that needs to return to God, a world which needs conversion.
" Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; " (Matt. 6:1). Jesus, in today's Gospel, reinvigorates the three major works of mercy under the law of Moses. Almsgiving, prayer and fasting are the three foundational works of piety under Jewish law. Over time, these provisions had been eroded by a rigid external formalism, or even mutated into a sign of superiority. Jesus highlights in these three works of mercy a common temptation. When you do something good, almost instinctively comes the desire to be respected and admired for the good deed, to have that satisfaction.
On the one hand this makes you close in on yourself, and at the same time, removes you from yourself, because it is completely directed towards what others think of us and admire in us. In proposing these requirements, the Lord Jesus did not require a formal compliance with a law alien to man, imposed by a severe legislature as a heavy burden, but invites us to rediscover these three works of piety, living them in a deeper way, not for our own love, but for the love of God, as a means on our the path of conversion towards Him. Alms, fasting and prayer: this is the path of divine pedagogy that accompanies us, and not only in Lent, to our encounter with the Risen Lord, a path to be followed without ostentation, in the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows how to read and see the inner depths of our hearts.
Dear brothers and sisters, we begin our Lenten journey with trust and joy. Forty days separate us from Easter, this is a powerful time in the liturgical year, and it is a special time that is given to us to look, with greater commitment, to our conversion, to listen more attentively to the Word of God, a time for prayer and penance – of opening our hearts to the workings of Divine will, for a more generous practice of mortification, thanks to which we can be more attentive to neighbours in need: it is a spiritual journey that prepares us to relive the Paschal Mystery.
May Mary, our guide in our Lenten journey, lead us to an ever deeper knowledge of Christ dead and risen, help us in our spiritual battle against sin and support us in calling out with all our strength: “Converte nos, Deus salutaris noster” converted unto thee, O God, our Salvation. " Amen!
If you would like to hear Pope Benedict give this homily, go here.
Pax
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Another Book I am Reading This Lent
So I had chosen two books for Lent; enough reading for most "normal" people.
Then last night I made the mistake (or God chose the moment) to pick up a copy of Chance or Purpose? Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith by Cristoph Cardinal Schonborn. By the first sentence I was hooked.
So I guess I am now reading three books this Lent, because there is no way I can ingest this amazing work on Fat Tuesday or leave it on my shelf till Easter Monday.
I may just post a few gems I find in it from time to time because you all deserve to be awed by this amazing work as well.
For instance (the first paragraph no less):
On the first page of the Bible we find "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen.1:1) Believing in God the creator, believing that he created heaven and earth, is the beginning of belief. That is how the Creed begins. That is the foundation on which everything else that Christians believe is based. Believing in God, and not believing that he is the Creator, would mean -- as Thomas Aquinas once said -- "not believing that God exists at all" Belief in God as Creator is the foundation for all the other things we believe: that Jesus Christ is Savior, that there is a Holy Spirit, that there is a Church, and an eternal life.
Wow; just wow. Trust me, it gets better from there.
So, I will be reading The good Austrian Cardinal along with my other two books for Lent.
God is so good.
Pax
Then last night I made the mistake (or God chose the moment) to pick up a copy of Chance or Purpose? Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith by Cristoph Cardinal Schonborn. By the first sentence I was hooked.
So I guess I am now reading three books this Lent, because there is no way I can ingest this amazing work on Fat Tuesday or leave it on my shelf till Easter Monday.
I may just post a few gems I find in it from time to time because you all deserve to be awed by this amazing work as well.
For instance (the first paragraph no less):
On the first page of the Bible we find "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen.1:1) Believing in God the creator, believing that he created heaven and earth, is the beginning of belief. That is how the Creed begins. That is the foundation on which everything else that Christians believe is based. Believing in God, and not believing that he is the Creator, would mean -- as Thomas Aquinas once said -- "not believing that God exists at all" Belief in God as Creator is the foundation for all the other things we believe: that Jesus Christ is Savior, that there is a Holy Spirit, that there is a Church, and an eternal life.
Wow; just wow. Trust me, it gets better from there.
So, I will be reading The good Austrian Cardinal along with my other two books for Lent.
God is so good.
Pax
Monday, March 07, 2011
Mother Dolores does it again . . .
It gave me a chance to tell my daughters the story of how in 1963 at the height of her career in Hollywood, Miss Hart left it all behind to join a cloistered Benedictine Monastery in Connecticut. She chose a higher calling. The code of the Catholic mother is to never let a vocations lesson slip by.
Today I read another story about Mother Dolores. Again she is using her life experience to teach us all a valuable lesson; this time about finding God through pain and disability. One of my favorite quotes from the article is:
You have to become dependent on the gift of human beings, and you discover that God is an incarnate reality. In the beginning, God was always a pie-in-the-sky reality. Now I had to realize that Jesus was there through the people who were assisting me, caring for me and doing the things that were bringing me through. That metanoia had to take place in me to submit to the gift of others.”
We must learn to find God in other people. This is the gift Mother Dolores got from her illness. Maybe through her some of us won't have to be ill to receive this gift.
Pax
My Lenten Journey: What I Will be Reading Along the Way
Our Parish Spiritual LIfe Committee offered each of us a chance to journey with a saint this Lent, and I chose my Patron, St Margaret Mary Alacoque (until I was 10 I thought the church had named a saint after me, then I read about her in A Child's Book of The Saints.
I had never read her autobiography though so this Lent I will be reading that to journey with her throughout these upcoming 40 days.
The other book Small Surrenders is one I have read before. It was recommended to us by Fr. Bill our Pastor who just left us for a new job at the Chancery. I thought that I might not miss him as much if I re-read this wonderful book of wisdom on how important learning to let go of the small things every day really is to the spiritual life.
So, that is what I will be reading. What are you planning for this lent?
I had never read her autobiography though so this Lent I will be reading that to journey with her throughout these upcoming 40 days.
The other book Small Surrenders is one I have read before. It was recommended to us by Fr. Bill our Pastor who just left us for a new job at the Chancery. I thought that I might not miss him as much if I re-read this wonderful book of wisdom on how important learning to let go of the small things every day really is to the spiritual life.
So, that is what I will be reading. What are you planning for this lent?
Monday, February 21, 2011
An Eye For an Eye
This is an awesome article concerning the message of yesterday's gospel.
Something most people don't know if they haven't studied the bible is that when Jesus is quoting "an eye for an eye" he is actually going back to the law of Leviticus, in which what was taken from you was exacted from the one who took it. Back in the times of Leviticus it made sense, it brought things back to level.
Jesus was radical though. He asks us endure more. He asks us to not seek revenge, but rather work toward a spirit of forgiveness.
I remember a saying of my mother's (used in the article) An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
We need to be radical, like Jesus. We need to find a different way to settle our differences at every level.
Besides, despite the resurgence in Pirate movies, no one really looks good in eye patches.
Pax
Something most people don't know if they haven't studied the bible is that when Jesus is quoting "an eye for an eye" he is actually going back to the law of Leviticus, in which what was taken from you was exacted from the one who took it. Back in the times of Leviticus it made sense, it brought things back to level.
Jesus was radical though. He asks us endure more. He asks us to not seek revenge, but rather work toward a spirit of forgiveness.
I remember a saying of my mother's (used in the article) An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
We need to be radical, like Jesus. We need to find a different way to settle our differences at every level.
Besides, despite the resurgence in Pirate movies, no one really looks good in eye patches.
Pax
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Austen-tatious
So, I freely admit I have never been a very big Jane Austen fan. Somehow I always thought her heroines were overwrought and her heroes were, well Victorian. I just couldn't get into the first book I ever read, and never tried a second one.
But then, I saw Pride and Prejudice made for BBC and PBS starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. ~ Sigh ~
I still didn't much like the story, but well, Colin Firth. ~ Sigh ~
But then in the past year I have seen Bride and Prejudice a Bollywood version of the classic story, and The Jane Austen Book Club, (which had the added attractions of Marc Blucas, Hugh Dancy and Jimmy Smits ~Sigh~ ).
And then just recently the angelbaby and I discovered Lost in Austen in which a modern British woman (albeit an Austen lover) gets transported into the novel Pride and Prejudice.
And of course my favorite way to read Jane Austen of all: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, because
If I have to read Jane Austen the addition of zombies makes the novel all that more fun to read. I may be becoming a Jane Austen fan despite myself.
Pax
But then, I saw Pride and Prejudice made for BBC and PBS starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. ~ Sigh ~
I still didn't much like the story, but well, Colin Firth. ~ Sigh ~
But then in the past year I have seen Bride and Prejudice a Bollywood version of the classic story, and The Jane Austen Book Club, (which had the added attractions of Marc Blucas, Hugh Dancy and Jimmy Smits ~Sigh~ ).
And then just recently the angelbaby and I discovered Lost in Austen in which a modern British woman (albeit an Austen lover) gets transported into the novel Pride and Prejudice.
And of course my favorite way to read Jane Austen of all: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, because
If I have to read Jane Austen the addition of zombies makes the novel all that more fun to read. I may be becoming a Jane Austen fan despite myself.
Pax
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
He's Baaack!
My childhood friend (I won't tell how old we are if he doesn't) is blogging again at:
The Daily Oldman
His comics are slightly off and very funny.
Enjoy, Oh and leave a comment if you dare. You never know, you might find yourself a character in one of his future comics.
Pax
The Daily Oldman
His comics are slightly off and very funny.
Enjoy, Oh and leave a comment if you dare. You never know, you might find yourself a character in one of his future comics.
Pax
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Snopocalypse my Eye, We're Having an Icetastrophy
If you are anywhere in the Midwest then you know that we are being buried. Those to the north of us are being covered with snow, but down here in South Central Indiana we are being blanketed with a really thick layer of ice.
The treas look really cool but the roads are treacherous and schools and businesses are closing all over the place. 20,000 Hoosiers are without power, luckily we here at Geene Acres still have our power.
We did lose a big limb off of the 100 plus year old Oak tree in the back yard. That is gonna take a lot of work to clean up. I just hope that we don't have too many more trees go down over the next few days.
We are all home and safe and I made sure that I got a lot of foods that could be eaten without being cooked or cooked on the camp stove, so we should be okay if the power goes out here over night. I don[t know how warm we will stay here, but we do have a fireplace downstairs and can sleep down there if we have to.
I remember an ice storm like this back when I was in high school. But back then schools were closed for nearly a month what with one storm or another. Heaven forbid I hope this one isn't quite that bad.
Tomorrow is Groundhog day. We will either be having Salad or Groundhog steak for dinner depending on if the stupid over-sized rodent sees his shadow or not. It is entirely his call.
Stay warm everyone.
Pax
The treas look really cool but the roads are treacherous and schools and businesses are closing all over the place. 20,000 Hoosiers are without power, luckily we here at Geene Acres still have our power.
We did lose a big limb off of the 100 plus year old Oak tree in the back yard. That is gonna take a lot of work to clean up. I just hope that we don't have too many more trees go down over the next few days.
We are all home and safe and I made sure that I got a lot of foods that could be eaten without being cooked or cooked on the camp stove, so we should be okay if the power goes out here over night. I don[t know how warm we will stay here, but we do have a fireplace downstairs and can sleep down there if we have to.
I remember an ice storm like this back when I was in high school. But back then schools were closed for nearly a month what with one storm or another. Heaven forbid I hope this one isn't quite that bad.
Tomorrow is Groundhog day. We will either be having Salad or Groundhog steak for dinner depending on if the stupid over-sized rodent sees his shadow or not. It is entirely his call.
Stay warm everyone.
Pax
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Happy are they . . .
Back when I was a catechist the fifth grade teacher taught a lesson on the Sermon on the Mount. She had the kids in her class draw pictures to illustrate what Jesus was trying to teach. On one of the pictures, a student wrote the heading:
The Beautitudes
There was something so perfect about the malapropism that it has stuck with me all these years later. Happy are the poor in spirit, Happy are they that mourn, Happy are the persecuted. . . how beautiful it is to follow after the will of the Lord.
As I am working on the difficult changes that God has asked of me in my life: my husband's job, the death of my mother, changes at my beloved parish, my daughter moving so far away from home, learning how to parent young adult children into healthy whole lifestyles; I continue to remember the lesson I learned all those years ago from that wonderful young girl.
Following after the Lord, wherever He leads me is all part of the Beautitudes. My life is beautiful and I am happy in my surrendering to the will of God, even when it means I will mourn, or be meek, misunderstood, or persecuted .
Following after the Lord, wherever He leads me is all part of the Beautitudes. My life is beautiful and I am happy in my surrendering to the will of God, even when it means I will mourn, or be meek, misunderstood, or persecuted .
In my weakness I will find the strength I need, because He has promised it to me.
Have a Beautiful day.
Pax
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Lie of Choice
I know women who have had abortions.
Each one of them felt at the time that there was no support from family, or the father of the child for them to do anything else.
They did not make the decision lightly.
They felt trapped.
They made the decision to abort because they had no other choice.
To a woman, each and every one regrets what they did, and mourns the life of the child they killed.
Each one of them felt at the time that there was no support from family, or the father of the child for them to do anything else.
They did not make the decision lightly.
They felt trapped.
They made the decision to abort because they had no other choice.
To a woman, each and every one regrets what they did, and mourns the life of the child they killed.
Not one of the women I know was offered any kind of post-abortion counseling from the clinic which "provided" them with the service.
A few truths to ponder.
Pax
Monday, January 24, 2011
Living In The Light
Darkness hides things. Illumination brings knowledge. Knowledge is power and truth.
One of the tactics of the Pro-life movement that has been reviled by many is the use of images of both pre-born infants by way of ultrasound, and pictures of the tiny dead bodies of aborted babies.
In many states Pro-life workers have tried desperately to make the viewing of an ultrasound of the "product of conception" a part of the pre-abortion appointment. This is because we are sure that once a mother sees her child it will be less likely that she will "choose" to kill that child for any reason.
The other side fights desperately to keep this image from having to be revealed to the mother. Keeping the mother in the dark, and allowing her to continue to think of her baby as "products of conception" is a way to depersonalize the baby. That will make it easier for the mother to "choose" to take action against it without thinking about it as a person who will die by her actions.
The womb is supposed to be a safe place. Safe passage for the developing baby, not a place where the child is in danger of being ripped to pieces because he or she is an inconvenience. Many women (and some men) who experienced abortion feel crushing regret, and trauma from the experience.
If we keep showing the pictures of the pre-born, and help the parents to see their child as a child and not something less than human we can't but help to become a more compassionate society.
We need to let the light shine in (or in this case sound waves shine their light).
Pax
The womb is supposed to be a safe place. Safe passage for the developing baby, not a place where the child is in danger of being ripped to pieces because he or she is an inconvenience. Many women (and some men) who experienced abortion feel crushing regret, and trauma from the experience.
If we keep showing the pictures of the pre-born, and help the parents to see their child as a child and not something less than human we can't but help to become a more compassionate society.
We need to let the light shine in (or in this case sound waves shine their light).
Pax
Friday, January 21, 2011
Teacher Watches as Second Graders Perform Oral Sex in Class
I am rendered practically wordless at the profound wrong that was done to the children in this classroom. Our society is sick and if we don't do something really quickly, the epidemic will have too much of a stronghold.
What really bothers me is how the principal tried to almost downplay the harm done in her letter home. What is happening?
Pax
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Dealing With Change
Our parish is grieving this weekend because our beloved Pastor announced at the Masses this weekend that he will be leaving us in less than a month for a new assignment with the Archdiocese. The Archbishop has asked him to become the Moderator of the Curia which in layman's terms means he will in effect be the CEO of the Diocese.
This is a huge job and he is well qualified but when he spoke to us at Mass you could hear in his voice that it was only out of obedience to the Archbishop that he is able to leave us. He asked to come to us four years ago, and he has cherished his role as pastor and parish administrator, something he was never allowed to do before because of his duties within the Chancery. We were his first official parish assignment, and he really loved being here.
So, while we are all saddened to lose our pastor, maybe we should take a page from his book. Obedience is part of what we believe about being members of this church. If Fr. Bill can do this out of obedience to the Bishop, then we can accept the new interim pastor who will serve from February till July and welcome a new pastor in July, just as humbly as Fr. Bill is accepting this move to the Chancery that he must make in the next four weeks.
I know for my part, my prayers go with him. And I will remember every lesson I learned from him while he was our pastor. How arrogant would it be not to be willing to share his amazing gifts with the greater church of south central Indiana?
For the next month I am really going to cherish his homilies, and his hugs.
Pax
This is a huge job and he is well qualified but when he spoke to us at Mass you could hear in his voice that it was only out of obedience to the Archbishop that he is able to leave us. He asked to come to us four years ago, and he has cherished his role as pastor and parish administrator, something he was never allowed to do before because of his duties within the Chancery. We were his first official parish assignment, and he really loved being here.
So, while we are all saddened to lose our pastor, maybe we should take a page from his book. Obedience is part of what we believe about being members of this church. If Fr. Bill can do this out of obedience to the Bishop, then we can accept the new interim pastor who will serve from February till July and welcome a new pastor in July, just as humbly as Fr. Bill is accepting this move to the Chancery that he must make in the next four weeks.
I know for my part, my prayers go with him. And I will remember every lesson I learned from him while he was our pastor. How arrogant would it be not to be willing to share his amazing gifts with the greater church of south central Indiana?
For the next month I am really going to cherish his homilies, and his hugs.
Pax
More on Our New Auxiliary Bishop
Here is a video from Fox 59 news on the Press Conference announcing Fr. Coyne as the New Auxiliary Bishop:
http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-pope-benedict-xvi-appoints-ind-01142011,0,6670957.story
"It is what it is" I really like him now.
Pax
http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-pope-benedict-xvi-appoints-ind-01142011,0,6670957.story
"It is what it is" I really like him now.
Pax
Friday, January 14, 2011
Interesting News
It was announced today that Fr. Christopher Coyne of the Archdiocese of Boston has been appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Rocco at Whispers in the Loggia has the news. Rocco has done a much better job than I ever could of explaining the ins and outs of the possible reasons why the diocese received an Auxiliary Bishop when in fact our Archbishop asked for a coadjutor.
If you want to know a little about Fr. Coyne, happily he is a blogger. You can read his blog here.
I have been reading through it since I heard the news and like what I have read. I also like that Fr. Coyne is a Liturgist. (Bless my loving liturgical heart.)
I do know that Archbishop Buechlein has had a very rough couple of years health-wise, and has been in our prayers as he struggles with his cancer diagnosis and treatment. His asking for a coadjutor is proof of his concern and care for the diocese.
Welcome to Indiana, Fr Coyne. Here's hoping we can turn you into a Colts fan really quickly, because I don't know what I will do if I have to follow a Bishop who is a Stinkin' Cheatriots fan.
Pax
If you want to know a little about Fr. Coyne, happily he is a blogger. You can read his blog here.
I have been reading through it since I heard the news and like what I have read. I also like that Fr. Coyne is a Liturgist. (Bless my loving liturgical heart.)
I do know that Archbishop Buechlein has had a very rough couple of years health-wise, and has been in our prayers as he struggles with his cancer diagnosis and treatment. His asking for a coadjutor is proof of his concern and care for the diocese.
Welcome to Indiana, Fr Coyne. Here's hoping we can turn you into a Colts fan really quickly, because I don't know what I will do if I have to follow a Bishop who is a Stinkin' Cheatriots fan.
Pax
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Ghosts of Christmases Past
We went to Midnight Mass, and in a real departure for our family we even opened our presents before Mass so that we (meaning mrangelmeg specifically) could all sleep in this morning. Well then, what am I doing up at quarter past why the heck am I awake? Maybe it is the fact that unlike the last four or five years, we actually have snow this Christmas (boy have we had snow). Maybe it is because this is the first Christmas since our oldest daughter moved so far away and she couldn't get back this year. Maybe because this is the first Christmas since my mom died and I am really missing her. But I am sitting here on Christmas morning and remembering absent family members and Christmases past.
We opened presents on Christmas Eve most years when I was little, because we went to Midnight Mass and we could all (meaning my dad specifically) sleep in on Christmas morning). We always got crisp new jammies on Christmas, they were never wrapped, but would magically appear on our beds somehow while we were eating dinner on Christmas Eve. The Jammies were supposed to help us sleep better on that magical night.
On the occasions that we didn't open gifts on Christmas Eve, we would still have gone to Midnight Mass, so our parents had a rule about when we were allowed to wake them to open presents in the morning. We had to wait patiently, or as patiently as nine anxious children could, until the streetlight out in front of our house went out. it was then and only then that we were allowed to knock on their door and tell them the exciting news that we had already discovered; Santa had been to our house.
I remember waiting anxiously, sitting on the radiator by the front window in the living room willing with all my might that the light would go out. We carried this forward for our children by telling them that they weren't allowed to wake mrangelmeg on Christmas morning until the security light in our driveway went out.
On the sleep in mornings we were allowed to wake up any time we liked, but we were not allowed to wake or disturb our parents on Christmas morning. We had to play with our newly received loot as quietly as possible. This was always much easier for me, who usually got books than my brothers who got GI Joes or Rock-em Sock-em Robots or Slot Hockey games. Inevitably, they would get really noisy.
The lasting memory I have of those Christmases though isn't the gifts, but having the family all together. One year, we went into Midnight Mass with just a few flakes wafting through the air, and came out an hour and a half later to a total blanket of white, that by morning was one of the worst blizzards the area had ever seen. The snow was so deep that hardly anyone drove on the streets for days. We lived about seven weeks from Church and the entire family, all eleven of us walked through the two feet of snow to Mass the following Sunday.
Christmas was a time to be together. Another of our spectacular Christmases was the year my oldest brother came back from his Naval posting to Okinawa to spend Christmas with us. We were so happy to see him, and he decided to "share the wealth" with his military pay that year. The very large living room seemed to be buried in gifts. But we were so happy to have Mike back that our bountiful harvest didn't seem to matter.
Our greatest gift on Christmas was family, which isn't a surprise at all to me since the real gift of Christmas was the Christ child. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. The greatest gift of all was a gift of Divine Family. It's not the Christmas presents that we love so much, it is the Christmas Presence.
I think I will call some of my siblings today.
I think I will call some of my siblings today.
Pax
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