One month into the new year and I'm making progress on at least one of my resolutions. Here's the update:
1. More regular blog posting: I can see from my blog archive that I had 6 posts in January. That's an average of more than one a week. So that's an improvement! It's only February, so still plenty of time to work on this resolution.
2. Daily Rosary: So far so good!! This is such a great accomplishment for us. We haven't missed a day since January 1st. The best part about it, is that for at least 20 minutes or so each night, we sit on the couch together and spend some time in prayer. No more how hectic our day is, those 20+ minutes have become sacred to me. I love leaning up against my sweet hubby and praying the Rosary together. Not only that, but we accomplished a novena and I've finally learned the St. Michael the Archangel prayer!
3. Read more: This is such a challenge for me. I've been concentrating this past month on just trying to read the Sunday paper and the magazines we get. I did read a quick fiction book the first few days of January and I have started a second (non-fiction) book, but that's about it. Keeping up with the magazines that come into my house is pretty hard at times, but that stack is slowly dwindling, at least for now!!
4. Healthier Lifestyle: This is the perpetual resolution. This year I have the added pressure of a family weight loss challenge, and there is $20 at stake!! But, I still only made it to the gym twice this past month (February is getting off to a much better start, already have two sessions in at the gym!), though we did take a walk one day when the weather was nice (amazing for January). In the food department I am starting to do better. I'm watching portions better, not eating sweets as much, and getting as much water and as many vegetables and some fruits in every day. The weight loss challenge started Nov. 30, but whatever weight I lost between then and Christmas I gained back by the time 2010 started, so I was pretty much back at square one. As far as I can tell I'm down about 3.5 lbs. Not great, but it's a start. 2 more lbs. and I'll be back to where I was before my last pregnancy, ten more after that to get back to where I was before the first pregnancy, and another ten to get to my wedding weight. It is doable, probably not between now and May, but a lot can happen between now and May as well, including a pregnancy!! Any prayers for that will be greatly appreciated!!
I hope I'll have good things to report on all fronts by the start of March.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Part of my weekend
My Saturday morning was spent with a wonderful group of ladies at a SHE support group meeting. We celebrated one year of this support ministry and had a guest speaker.
The guest speaker talked about her own struggles with having children and how she finally came to be the mother of five children. One biological, three from Guatemala, and one a domestic adoption. At 49 she has five kids ages 11 to 2. What an amazing story she had!!
We then celebrated! The group has been together for one year. It was started by a wonderful friend of mine and I have met some wonderful people through it. I had won a birthday cake back in November from a bakery in Paris, KY. I hadn't had a chance to actually use the gift certificate so offered to get a birthday cake for this group's one year anniversary.
Oh, and we also have a new logo!!
Check out the new logo, a picture of the cake, and a picture of the group at the blog Percolating Petals.
The guest speaker talked about her own struggles with having children and how she finally came to be the mother of five children. One biological, three from Guatemala, and one a domestic adoption. At 49 she has five kids ages 11 to 2. What an amazing story she had!!
We then celebrated! The group has been together for one year. It was started by a wonderful friend of mine and I have met some wonderful people through it. I had won a birthday cake back in November from a bakery in Paris, KY. I hadn't had a chance to actually use the gift certificate so offered to get a birthday cake for this group's one year anniversary.
Oh, and we also have a new logo!!
Check out the new logo, a picture of the cake, and a picture of the group at the blog Percolating Petals.
Friday, January 22, 2010
What Do You Do?
I rarely use my blog to talk about my work. And I don't intend to start. However, I was reflecting on something today that did involve work so I am going to let my work seep into this post. I promise I will not start a trend.
So how often have you been socializing in a group and people ask you, "What do you do?" Probably too many times to count! It's a frequent questions. It helps break the ice, it allows people to discuss the similarities in their jobs and/or to ask questions about the differences in their jobs. It's a safe question to ask when you're at a party, on an airplane, or at some sort of social event.
Monday evening my husband and I attended a Theology on Tap session on vocations. One thing discussed was the difference between your vocation and your job. Your vocation comes first; God calls you to your vocation. For example, my vocation is as a wife and mother, my job is as a librarian. My job will always (and should always) be secondary to my vocation. There are many vocations: husband, wife, priest, nun, religious sister, religious brother. Even deacon is a vocation, but a slightly more complicated one that we won't get into here since some deacons are also married, thus living two vocations.
All of this wasn't news to me, but it was nice to hear it proclaimed. And kind of leads into my reflections later in the week.
Thursday at work, I submitted a proposal to my supervisor for a project I want to work on. No big deal, just one of those things that I do on occasion.
Thursday evening I went to Bible Study and during the social time between the small group session and the lecture someone asked me what I did. So her and I and my husband started talking about our various jobs. Mostly the two of them talked because they were both engineers at Lexmark.
But I did think some about how I sometimes answer that question. In that setting I just said I was a librarian. Short and simple, no details. I might have mentioned that I work mostly with music materials and that I wasn't at the main library. Most people assume that if you say you're a librarian at UK you work at the main library, not realizing that we have about 10-12 campus libraries.
Anyway, depending on who I am talking to depends on how much information I tend to give out. My job can be difficult to explain sometimes.
Okay, remember that proposal I submitted on Thursday? I'm getting to it! So, I get to work on Friday morning and, while I was waiting for a meeting to start, I checked my email (gotta love technology!) and my supervisor had forwarded my proposal to our Associate Dean for her approval. She was in full support of it (yay!) but did add that if the AD agreed, I should probably add some language into the proposal about providing access to hidden collections.
Okay, so this is where I started thinking about the real question: What is it that I really do?? You know, there is the question people ask in social situations and there are appropriate answers for those situations. And then there is a similar question that is asked amongst colleagues, because even people with the same job titles do different things. And there are answers (usually of a more technical nature) for that.
My reflection on this situation has more to do with the state I see of libraries right now. And I'm not talking about whether or not we are viable institutions in the age of Google, or whether e-books and the Internet are going to be the primary sources of information seeking one day and make libraries obsolete. Those conversations are for other people to bat back and forth. For me, I'm interested in perspectives of librarians from other librarians.
Slowly over the 10 years I've been in the profession I see more and more catalogers having to justify their work. I keep telling people that if all the catalogers left, the library would run perfectly fine for a while. But it won't take long to realize that new things are no longer in the catalog. I think catalogers are viewed with less and less of a professional eye, like we are just data entry people and that any sort of specialization on our part is of our own making. If you believe that, try running a library with no catalogers, or untrained catalogers, and we'll see how long you last.
In addition to my daily job, I also used to teach cataloging. I always emphasized to my students that the role of the cataloger is to provide access to collections and that as a cataloger you have to know who your patrons (or customers) are. Who are they? They are the students, faculty, community members that are using the catalog to find materials. They are also the public service librarians who are using the catalog to find materials for the patrons. They are the collection managers who need to know if we have an item already before they buy it again. In other words, our whole job revolves around knowing what our patrons want so that we can provide access to the collections.
That sounds like a public service kind of job! Guess what: cataloging is a public service!
So having my supervisor say that maybe my proposal (which is a cataloging proposal) needs some language in it about providing access seems, to me anyway, redundant. Isn't that the whole point? And don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing her, I'm criticizing the fact that it has become so ingrained in us as catalogers that we have to tell other librarians that the reason we're doing any particular project (or even just our jobs) is to provide access.
Um ... raise your hand if you think I like to catalog books, scores, and sound recordings for my own edification.
No hands better be up!!
I do it for our patrons and for the other librarians. And that should be the mantra of all cataloging librarians. That's why we do what we do! Who cares how perfect the record is and that you followed all the rules, can your patrons find it?
(Okay, some people may read this and say, "but K, you are such a stickler for the rules?" To which I say: yes, I am, but I know where to draw the line as well.)
All this being said, I will probably add in the appropriate language to my proposal if asked, because I know that the politics of the library require that this be done. The reality is that yes, we do have to explain our jobs to the people we work with every day. It's kind of sad, really, because if I asked a reference librarian what they did and why they bothered doing it, they'd probably look at me funny. We all know what they do, or we should.
In the end, it is just a job. And a job I like and get a lot of pleasure out of doing. It is good to complete a difficult original record, to finally find that perfect subject heading for that obscure dissertation, to untangle a mess of different editions of an item that all ended up on the same record, and to do research into a name heading that provides enough information to finally split two people from the same undifferentiated name authority record. And as much satisfaction as I may get out of some of these tasks, I do it all in service of the customers of my library: the professors, students, and other librarians that have to use the library and its materials for their research and education needs.
That is what I do; this is my job. But more importantly, my vocation is as a wife and mother. Above all of this, I serve my husband every day as his partner, just as he serves me. And one day we will be given the responsibility to raise children who will also go into the world to serve others in the vocation God calls them to as husbands or wives or priests (God-willing) or nuns or religious brothers or sisters.
So how often have you been socializing in a group and people ask you, "What do you do?" Probably too many times to count! It's a frequent questions. It helps break the ice, it allows people to discuss the similarities in their jobs and/or to ask questions about the differences in their jobs. It's a safe question to ask when you're at a party, on an airplane, or at some sort of social event.
Monday evening my husband and I attended a Theology on Tap session on vocations. One thing discussed was the difference between your vocation and your job. Your vocation comes first; God calls you to your vocation. For example, my vocation is as a wife and mother, my job is as a librarian. My job will always (and should always) be secondary to my vocation. There are many vocations: husband, wife, priest, nun, religious sister, religious brother. Even deacon is a vocation, but a slightly more complicated one that we won't get into here since some deacons are also married, thus living two vocations.
All of this wasn't news to me, but it was nice to hear it proclaimed. And kind of leads into my reflections later in the week.
Thursday at work, I submitted a proposal to my supervisor for a project I want to work on. No big deal, just one of those things that I do on occasion.
Thursday evening I went to Bible Study and during the social time between the small group session and the lecture someone asked me what I did. So her and I and my husband started talking about our various jobs. Mostly the two of them talked because they were both engineers at Lexmark.
But I did think some about how I sometimes answer that question. In that setting I just said I was a librarian. Short and simple, no details. I might have mentioned that I work mostly with music materials and that I wasn't at the main library. Most people assume that if you say you're a librarian at UK you work at the main library, not realizing that we have about 10-12 campus libraries.
Anyway, depending on who I am talking to depends on how much information I tend to give out. My job can be difficult to explain sometimes.
Okay, remember that proposal I submitted on Thursday? I'm getting to it! So, I get to work on Friday morning and, while I was waiting for a meeting to start, I checked my email (gotta love technology!) and my supervisor had forwarded my proposal to our Associate Dean for her approval. She was in full support of it (yay!) but did add that if the AD agreed, I should probably add some language into the proposal about providing access to hidden collections.
Okay, so this is where I started thinking about the real question: What is it that I really do?? You know, there is the question people ask in social situations and there are appropriate answers for those situations. And then there is a similar question that is asked amongst colleagues, because even people with the same job titles do different things. And there are answers (usually of a more technical nature) for that.
My reflection on this situation has more to do with the state I see of libraries right now. And I'm not talking about whether or not we are viable institutions in the age of Google, or whether e-books and the Internet are going to be the primary sources of information seeking one day and make libraries obsolete. Those conversations are for other people to bat back and forth. For me, I'm interested in perspectives of librarians from other librarians.
Slowly over the 10 years I've been in the profession I see more and more catalogers having to justify their work. I keep telling people that if all the catalogers left, the library would run perfectly fine for a while. But it won't take long to realize that new things are no longer in the catalog. I think catalogers are viewed with less and less of a professional eye, like we are just data entry people and that any sort of specialization on our part is of our own making. If you believe that, try running a library with no catalogers, or untrained catalogers, and we'll see how long you last.
In addition to my daily job, I also used to teach cataloging. I always emphasized to my students that the role of the cataloger is to provide access to collections and that as a cataloger you have to know who your patrons (or customers) are. Who are they? They are the students, faculty, community members that are using the catalog to find materials. They are also the public service librarians who are using the catalog to find materials for the patrons. They are the collection managers who need to know if we have an item already before they buy it again. In other words, our whole job revolves around knowing what our patrons want so that we can provide access to the collections.
That sounds like a public service kind of job! Guess what: cataloging is a public service!
So having my supervisor say that maybe my proposal (which is a cataloging proposal) needs some language in it about providing access seems, to me anyway, redundant. Isn't that the whole point? And don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing her, I'm criticizing the fact that it has become so ingrained in us as catalogers that we have to tell other librarians that the reason we're doing any particular project (or even just our jobs) is to provide access.
Um ... raise your hand if you think I like to catalog books, scores, and sound recordings for my own edification.
No hands better be up!!
I do it for our patrons and for the other librarians. And that should be the mantra of all cataloging librarians. That's why we do what we do! Who cares how perfect the record is and that you followed all the rules, can your patrons find it?
(Okay, some people may read this and say, "but K, you are such a stickler for the rules?" To which I say: yes, I am, but I know where to draw the line as well.)
All this being said, I will probably add in the appropriate language to my proposal if asked, because I know that the politics of the library require that this be done. The reality is that yes, we do have to explain our jobs to the people we work with every day. It's kind of sad, really, because if I asked a reference librarian what they did and why they bothered doing it, they'd probably look at me funny. We all know what they do, or we should.
In the end, it is just a job. And a job I like and get a lot of pleasure out of doing. It is good to complete a difficult original record, to finally find that perfect subject heading for that obscure dissertation, to untangle a mess of different editions of an item that all ended up on the same record, and to do research into a name heading that provides enough information to finally split two people from the same undifferentiated name authority record. And as much satisfaction as I may get out of some of these tasks, I do it all in service of the customers of my library: the professors, students, and other librarians that have to use the library and its materials for their research and education needs.
That is what I do; this is my job. But more importantly, my vocation is as a wife and mother. Above all of this, I serve my husband every day as his partner, just as he serves me. And one day we will be given the responsibility to raise children who will also go into the world to serve others in the vocation God calls them to as husbands or wives or priests (God-willing) or nuns or religious brothers or sisters.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Letter to my Son
My Dear Baby Zachary,
Today would have been your first birthday. We probably would have celebrated with a party this weekend, thankful to have you with us. But instead we remembered the loss of you at a Mass last night at the Cathedral where we had hoped to have you baptized. Today should be a happy day, but it will forever be bittersweet.
Today I have been thinking about what you would be doing as a one-year old little boy. I think about how you would be crawling around our house, how I'd have gates up on the stairs and there would be toys everywhere. Probably too many toys from grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. By now you would probably also be starting to pull yourself up and making your first attempts at walking. We'd be watching you every second waiting for those fateful first steps. Those first steps that tell us that now you'll be harder to chase after. You would also be eating more and growing bigger every day. We'd be able to laugh with you, and make noises with you, and "converse" in your own special baby talk. I sometimes wonder what unique surprises you would have for us in your personality and all the little things you would do and discover every day.
One year ago today I sat in a hospital room and prayed that God would help you to live. I was more than happy to accept whatever difficulties might come with having a baby too soon. Whatever the consequences of coming at such an early age in your development, I was willing to be a part of those challenges. No matter what, our love for you would make it all worth it. Unfortunately none of that was to be. Instead you went to our heavenly home.
We miss you every day. Every day I think about how different life would be if you had lived instead of leaving us so soon. I'm grateful for the short time I got to hold you in my arms and see you in your daddy's arms.
But I am also happy to know that you are already home. I know that you are held in Our Mother Mary's arms, that you are with Jesus, and you and Casey are praying for us. As a mother I am so happy to know that both my children are in heaven and are already saints, able to hear our prayers and intercede with God for us. You are a special saint and I pray that one day I will be reunited with you.
But until that day, I will continue to think of you. And especially every year on this date, I will remember those precious few moments I had with you.
Today, when I leave work, I will stop at a store and pick up a few flowers and instead of driving past the cemetery I will turn in and come visit you. I'm sure your marker is covered with snow and it may take a moment to locate it. But once I do I will brush it off, say a prayer, and leave both the flowers and a small stone to let others know I was there.
Zachary, you are missed by so many people. We all keep your memory in our hearts and will never forget you. Even one year later it brings tears to my eyes when I think about you. Pray for us, little Zachary, and know that you are remembered here as well.
With love, little one,
Your Mother
Today would have been your first birthday. We probably would have celebrated with a party this weekend, thankful to have you with us. But instead we remembered the loss of you at a Mass last night at the Cathedral where we had hoped to have you baptized. Today should be a happy day, but it will forever be bittersweet.
Today I have been thinking about what you would be doing as a one-year old little boy. I think about how you would be crawling around our house, how I'd have gates up on the stairs and there would be toys everywhere. Probably too many toys from grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. By now you would probably also be starting to pull yourself up and making your first attempts at walking. We'd be watching you every second waiting for those fateful first steps. Those first steps that tell us that now you'll be harder to chase after. You would also be eating more and growing bigger every day. We'd be able to laugh with you, and make noises with you, and "converse" in your own special baby talk. I sometimes wonder what unique surprises you would have for us in your personality and all the little things you would do and discover every day.
One year ago today I sat in a hospital room and prayed that God would help you to live. I was more than happy to accept whatever difficulties might come with having a baby too soon. Whatever the consequences of coming at such an early age in your development, I was willing to be a part of those challenges. No matter what, our love for you would make it all worth it. Unfortunately none of that was to be. Instead you went to our heavenly home.
We miss you every day. Every day I think about how different life would be if you had lived instead of leaving us so soon. I'm grateful for the short time I got to hold you in my arms and see you in your daddy's arms.
But I am also happy to know that you are already home. I know that you are held in Our Mother Mary's arms, that you are with Jesus, and you and Casey are praying for us. As a mother I am so happy to know that both my children are in heaven and are already saints, able to hear our prayers and intercede with God for us. You are a special saint and I pray that one day I will be reunited with you.
But until that day, I will continue to think of you. And especially every year on this date, I will remember those precious few moments I had with you.
Today, when I leave work, I will stop at a store and pick up a few flowers and instead of driving past the cemetery I will turn in and come visit you. I'm sure your marker is covered with snow and it may take a moment to locate it. But once I do I will brush it off, say a prayer, and leave both the flowers and a small stone to let others know I was there.
Zachary, you are missed by so many people. We all keep your memory in our hearts and will never forget you. Even one year later it brings tears to my eyes when I think about you. Pray for us, little Zachary, and know that you are remembered here as well.
With love, little one,
Your Mother
Thursday, January 07, 2010
First Book of the New Year
I have already finished reading one book this year, and I didn't start it in 2009 either. I only started it a few days ago and I'm already done. Don't be too impressed though, it really was an easy read.
You know how you flip through channels on the TV when you're bored and you come across a Lifetime or Hallmark Channel movie already in progress and you stop. Next thing you know ... you have to see the end. You missed the beginning, it's sappy, and not the kind of movie you would intentionally pick out to watch, but you stick with it anyway. And once it gets to the end, you still have no desire to watch it again ... ever ... even though you never saw the beginning and some of the plot (if there was much of a plot) still didn't make any sense. This is kind of how I felt about this book. Also the reason I read it so fast.
The book is Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. I've never read anything by her before, mostly because I don't read a lot of fiction and when I do I tend not to read chick-lit, which is what this was.
It's a pretty light, easy read. Probably the kind of book that someone would read on vacation at the beach or something. So not the environment I was reading it in! It's the story of two women who were best friends as kids, something happened in high school that caused a falling out, and how they are brought back together in the midst of situation that arises at their high school class reunion. It was one of those stories lines that has two or three different things going on in the present as well as many, many flashbacks. Some chapters are in the first person of the main character (one of the women) and some are in third person where you learn about other characters in the book, and some chapters are in third person and entirely in italics, I guess to set those characters off from the rest of the story. There's a lot of back and forth, but the author handled that well, I was never really confused.
However, I did kind of guess what the plot had in store as it went along. A new character was introduced and I thought, "ah, he's going to be the love interest!" And then another situation is referred to and I thought, "I bet such and such will happen." And every time I was right, no real surprises. But that's typical chick-lit for you. It's supposed to not make you think too hard and just provide an interesting story.
The other thing I didn't like was the treatment of the main character. Her friend was shown as somewhat shallow, out-going, and kind of needy. There always has to be a character that needs "fixing." As the story moved along I wanted the main character to evolve from the mousy, low self-esteem person she was into a more strong, confident person. And she did some, but she still seemed kind of stupid. The big surprise at the end, was not a surprise at all, at least not to me. But it was certainly a surprise to the characters in the book, and I think it was meant to be a surprise to the reader, just not this reader.
One thing I did like about this book was the depiction of my generation. The class reunion that was central to the story line was a Class of '92 reunion. So they are essentially the same age as me (Pope HS class of '93). So the flashbacks to their childhood all sounded familiar, the flashbacks to high school were dead on for those years of the early 90s (clothing, hair styles, etc.), and the present day stuff was very accurate: Internet dating, Google, smartphones, etc. It is rare that I read something and feel like the characters led similar lives to my own and could be living their lives just down the street. It was pretty realistic in that sense.
Like those movies on Hallmark or Lifetime, it was one of those stories that makes you want to keep reading, even though you kind of know how things are going and how it will all turn out. Thus I read it in about three days. And that will probably be it, even if we do end up on a beach somewhere this coming May, I'll probably not be bringing this book along for a re-read.
Next on my list is Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila. Quite a change, for sure.
You know how you flip through channels on the TV when you're bored and you come across a Lifetime or Hallmark Channel movie already in progress and you stop. Next thing you know ... you have to see the end. You missed the beginning, it's sappy, and not the kind of movie you would intentionally pick out to watch, but you stick with it anyway. And once it gets to the end, you still have no desire to watch it again ... ever ... even though you never saw the beginning and some of the plot (if there was much of a plot) still didn't make any sense. This is kind of how I felt about this book. Also the reason I read it so fast.
The book is Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. I've never read anything by her before, mostly because I don't read a lot of fiction and when I do I tend not to read chick-lit, which is what this was.
It's a pretty light, easy read. Probably the kind of book that someone would read on vacation at the beach or something. So not the environment I was reading it in! It's the story of two women who were best friends as kids, something happened in high school that caused a falling out, and how they are brought back together in the midst of situation that arises at their high school class reunion. It was one of those stories lines that has two or three different things going on in the present as well as many, many flashbacks. Some chapters are in the first person of the main character (one of the women) and some are in third person where you learn about other characters in the book, and some chapters are in third person and entirely in italics, I guess to set those characters off from the rest of the story. There's a lot of back and forth, but the author handled that well, I was never really confused.
However, I did kind of guess what the plot had in store as it went along. A new character was introduced and I thought, "ah, he's going to be the love interest!" And then another situation is referred to and I thought, "I bet such and such will happen." And every time I was right, no real surprises. But that's typical chick-lit for you. It's supposed to not make you think too hard and just provide an interesting story.
The other thing I didn't like was the treatment of the main character. Her friend was shown as somewhat shallow, out-going, and kind of needy. There always has to be a character that needs "fixing." As the story moved along I wanted the main character to evolve from the mousy, low self-esteem person she was into a more strong, confident person. And she did some, but she still seemed kind of stupid. The big surprise at the end, was not a surprise at all, at least not to me. But it was certainly a surprise to the characters in the book, and I think it was meant to be a surprise to the reader, just not this reader.
One thing I did like about this book was the depiction of my generation. The class reunion that was central to the story line was a Class of '92 reunion. So they are essentially the same age as me (Pope HS class of '93). So the flashbacks to their childhood all sounded familiar, the flashbacks to high school were dead on for those years of the early 90s (clothing, hair styles, etc.), and the present day stuff was very accurate: Internet dating, Google, smartphones, etc. It is rare that I read something and feel like the characters led similar lives to my own and could be living their lives just down the street. It was pretty realistic in that sense.
Like those movies on Hallmark or Lifetime, it was one of those stories that makes you want to keep reading, even though you kind of know how things are going and how it will all turn out. Thus I read it in about three days. And that will probably be it, even if we do end up on a beach somewhere this coming May, I'll probably not be bringing this book along for a re-read.
Next on my list is Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila. Quite a change, for sure.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
The Epiphany
Did you know that gifts were often exchanged on January 6 and not on Christmas Day? Why? Because that is the date when the Epiphany is celebrated! It is basically the feast day when we celebrate the manifestation of the Lord to the Gentiles, represented by the magi (or kings, wise men) who came to venerate the Christ child.
January 6 is still the Epiphany today, but in many places in the world (the United States included) it is moved to the closest Sunday, which is today!! January 6 is also the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. So Merry Christmas!! This is when many families will start taking Christmas decorations down.
In our house, we don't put the three kings we have into our nativity scene until January 6. We start taking some decorations down, but usually leave the nativity scene up a little longer since it's not even completed until this point. This year we didn't put much up since we were in the middle of a kitchen renovation and were going to be out of town for Christmas. But I had fun last year moving the wise men and the camels around the house, closer and closer to the nativity as we approached the Feast of the Epiphany. I look forward to doing it again next year, and especially when we have kids.
Want to more more about the Epiphany and why we celebrate it, how it came to be a feast day, and more? Check out this page I found with all sorts of interesting facts and history: All About Epiphany.
Happy Epiphany and Merry Christmas!!
January 6 is still the Epiphany today, but in many places in the world (the United States included) it is moved to the closest Sunday, which is today!! January 6 is also the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. So Merry Christmas!! This is when many families will start taking Christmas decorations down.
In our house, we don't put the three kings we have into our nativity scene until January 6. We start taking some decorations down, but usually leave the nativity scene up a little longer since it's not even completed until this point. This year we didn't put much up since we were in the middle of a kitchen renovation and were going to be out of town for Christmas. But I had fun last year moving the wise men and the camels around the house, closer and closer to the nativity as we approached the Feast of the Epiphany. I look forward to doing it again next year, and especially when we have kids.
Want to more more about the Epiphany and why we celebrate it, how it came to be a feast day, and more? Check out this page I found with all sorts of interesting facts and history: All About Epiphany.
Happy Epiphany and Merry Christmas!!
Saturday, January 02, 2010
To Resolve or Not to Resolve
Most years I do not make new year's resolutions; some years I think about it but don't actually make any real "resolutions." This year, I'm going to do it!! Resolutions are being made and hopefully kept! Accountability is important, so here's what my resolutions are for 2010.
First of all, I want to post more on this blog. I enjoy posting reflections and insights into the things happening around me. Even if no one is reading, at least I can look back and see what events have been meaningful in my life. And for those who do read this blog, hopefully I'll be more active this year so you won't forget about me.
Second, my husband and I have resolved to say a daily Rosary together. We've tried this in the past and never gotten past a week; hope we will do better this time! I'd love to get into a better habit of this so that when we do have kids we'll be able to do it with them eventually too.
Third, I want to read more. I have tons of books that I want to read and just never have the time to actually do any reading. When I think about it, I know there is time in the day, I just tend to turn on the TV or read posts on Facebook. As I read I'll post to the blog what I'm reading, favorite passages, interesting things I've learned, etc.
So far the above three resolutions all have to do with my intellectual or spiritual well-being. All good things. What's left? Physical well-being!!
My fourth resolution is NOT going to be the "lose weight" resolution that so many people make (and which is the ONE resolution I often contemplate making). Instead, I am resolving to work on a healthier lifestyle. It would be great if I did lose some weight, but my main goal is to get into a better exercise routine and eat healthier more often. Hopefully, this will lead to a somewhat healthier weight that will also result in a pregnancy this year as well.
2009 taught me that God is control. It's a lesson we all know, but sometimes life's events have a way of proving it very clearly. In 2010 I hope these resolutions will help me to focus on my spiritual, intellectual, and physical well-being. All of these things will hopefully bring me closer to God and help me to allow Him to be in control, as He should be.
What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2010??
First of all, I want to post more on this blog. I enjoy posting reflections and insights into the things happening around me. Even if no one is reading, at least I can look back and see what events have been meaningful in my life. And for those who do read this blog, hopefully I'll be more active this year so you won't forget about me.
Second, my husband and I have resolved to say a daily Rosary together. We've tried this in the past and never gotten past a week; hope we will do better this time! I'd love to get into a better habit of this so that when we do have kids we'll be able to do it with them eventually too.
Third, I want to read more. I have tons of books that I want to read and just never have the time to actually do any reading. When I think about it, I know there is time in the day, I just tend to turn on the TV or read posts on Facebook. As I read I'll post to the blog what I'm reading, favorite passages, interesting things I've learned, etc.
So far the above three resolutions all have to do with my intellectual or spiritual well-being. All good things. What's left? Physical well-being!!
My fourth resolution is NOT going to be the "lose weight" resolution that so many people make (and which is the ONE resolution I often contemplate making). Instead, I am resolving to work on a healthier lifestyle. It would be great if I did lose some weight, but my main goal is to get into a better exercise routine and eat healthier more often. Hopefully, this will lead to a somewhat healthier weight that will also result in a pregnancy this year as well.
2009 taught me that God is control. It's a lesson we all know, but sometimes life's events have a way of proving it very clearly. In 2010 I hope these resolutions will help me to focus on my spiritual, intellectual, and physical well-being. All of these things will hopefully bring me closer to God and help me to allow Him to be in control, as He should be.
What are your New Year's Resolutions for 2010??
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Happy New Year
As the hours of 2009 wane and 2010 approaches, just wanted to say: Happy New Year to one and all. This year has certainly had its challenges. I don't know what 2010 will bring, but I certainly hope that it'll be better than 2009 in many respects.
Our New Years Eve was spent with friends we've known for a long time. With everyone married and so many children we don't get together very often. It was wonderful to do that and awesome that we all were able to be there. And our hostess announced another pregnancy as well! So we know there will be at least one more child added to our gang in 2010. I'm praying there will more! It was a wonderful night with a wonderful group of people. And because everyone has small children the party wrapped up around 8:30pm. Even though we don't have kids, that worked out well for us too!
Our 2010 will begin with Mass early in the morning. January 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation to celebrate Mary's title of Mother of God. For me this year, at this Mass in particular, I will definitely be thinking about that title a lot. And praying too that I may be able to gain the title of mother sometime between now and the end of this new year. I am mother to two saints in heaven, but I hope to be able to have that title here on Earth too. Lots to pray for!!
Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone has a great 2010 and, if you make any resolutions, that you are successful in those. I'm making a few myself, but I'll save those for a future post! Happy 2010!!
Our New Years Eve was spent with friends we've known for a long time. With everyone married and so many children we don't get together very often. It was wonderful to do that and awesome that we all were able to be there. And our hostess announced another pregnancy as well! So we know there will be at least one more child added to our gang in 2010. I'm praying there will more! It was a wonderful night with a wonderful group of people. And because everyone has small children the party wrapped up around 8:30pm. Even though we don't have kids, that worked out well for us too!
Our 2010 will begin with Mass early in the morning. January 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation to celebrate Mary's title of Mother of God. For me this year, at this Mass in particular, I will definitely be thinking about that title a lot. And praying too that I may be able to gain the title of mother sometime between now and the end of this new year. I am mother to two saints in heaven, but I hope to be able to have that title here on Earth too. Lots to pray for!!
Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone has a great 2010 and, if you make any resolutions, that you are successful in those. I'm making a few myself, but I'll save those for a future post! Happy 2010!!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to one and all. After a very good Advent it was wonderful to celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas Eve Mass. Christmas Eve was spent with my sister's family where we enjoyed dinner together, opened up our annual ornament gifts, and had a wonderful dessert.
Christmas morning we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast made by my brother the chef, who had the day off from his restaurant. My sister showed up later in the morning and we got to open gifts and watch my 4-year-old niece get sooooo excited about all the princess stuff she got. She showed us the Snow White dress Santa brought her and was very excited to get a series of Disney princess dolls (about 7 or 8 of them!). It's so much fun to do Christmas with little ones, they are so fun to watch!!
We have had a wonderful Christmas visiting with my family down south. And this year I'm trying to remember that Christmas is just beginning. The twelve days of Christmas started on Saturday and I love that we will continue singing Christmas hymns at church for the next two weeks and the church will remain decorated for Christmas all the way to January 10. I love the Catholic church! We try to celebrate the big events in seasons, not days. How fun! I'm looking forward to seeing our church decorated for Christmas after we get back home.
Merry Christmas and Happy Third Day of Christmas to everyone!
Christmas morning we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast made by my brother the chef, who had the day off from his restaurant. My sister showed up later in the morning and we got to open gifts and watch my 4-year-old niece get sooooo excited about all the princess stuff she got. She showed us the Snow White dress Santa brought her and was very excited to get a series of Disney princess dolls (about 7 or 8 of them!). It's so much fun to do Christmas with little ones, they are so fun to watch!!
We have had a wonderful Christmas visiting with my family down south. And this year I'm trying to remember that Christmas is just beginning. The twelve days of Christmas started on Saturday and I love that we will continue singing Christmas hymns at church for the next two weeks and the church will remain decorated for Christmas all the way to January 10. I love the Catholic church! We try to celebrate the big events in seasons, not days. How fun! I'm looking forward to seeing our church decorated for Christmas after we get back home.
Merry Christmas and Happy Third Day of Christmas to everyone!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Advent 2009
Don't you just love Advent?? It's a time of preparation and waiting, lots of anticipation, and a time to be filled with hope. Hope for the coming birth of our Savior and all the hope He brings into our lives. These four weeks of preparation are a great time to reflect.
What do you do for Advent? Anything special to prepare for the coming Christmas joy? Do you anticipate celebrating Christ's birthday in a special way during these four weeks??
The radio station I listen to has been discussing Advent quite a bit recently. No surprise, right? They had a guest on recently who was talking about ideas for Advent. Some of her suggestions were to pray for someone who needed prayers every time you light a candle on the Advent wreath; of course, having an Advent wreath is an important part of celebrating this Advent season; and when wrapping gifts, say a pray for the person to whom you are giving the gift you are wrapping. If you have children and do this with your children, it shows them the real reason for the season. I'm sure she had other suggestions, but those are the ones I heard that stuck with me.
In my house we have an Advent wreath that we light each night before dinner. What I like about this year is that because of the kitchen renovation we've been doing, we haven't had a chance to pull out any Christmas decorations. Instead, we just have the Advent wreath and for me, it keeps my focus on what Advent really is and where Christmas belongs. Christmas BEGINS on Dec. 25 and lasts for a couple weeks after that. It doesn't end on the 25th!! So this year, I am more focused on Advent because we only have the Advent wreath out and nothing else.
Also, I picked up one of the Blue Books at Church. These little books (blue for Advent and Christmas, black for Lent, and there's a third, probably Easter, but I can't remember the color) are great for quick daily reflections. They are published by a diocese in Michigan (I think). Each night we light the Advent wreath, have dinner, and then after dinner read the day's reflection in the Blue Book.
Another thing to remember is that Advent is a penitential season, just like Lent. So, this coming Wednesday Chris and I are attending a Reconciliation service at church. As we prepare for our Lord's birthday, we should reconcile our sins with God and be cleansed through this beautiful sacrament. It's part of our preparations for celebrating Christmas.
I also like how the Church reminds us about the penitential nature of this season. Mass begins with several of the lights out, the Advent wreath is lit, and the lights come on as the Liturgy of the Word begins. Also, in the Introductory Rite, the Gloria is not sung, just like during Lent. Come Christmas, the Gloria will be back! Also, we sing Advent songs ("O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" at every Mass this year!). Christmas songs will come out on Christmas and we'll sing them through Epiphany in January. But before then, we are focused on the preparation for the joyous celebration to come.
How do you and your family celebrate Advent? What special things do you do in preparation to celebrate our Lord's birth?
What do you do for Advent? Anything special to prepare for the coming Christmas joy? Do you anticipate celebrating Christ's birthday in a special way during these four weeks??
The radio station I listen to has been discussing Advent quite a bit recently. No surprise, right? They had a guest on recently who was talking about ideas for Advent. Some of her suggestions were to pray for someone who needed prayers every time you light a candle on the Advent wreath; of course, having an Advent wreath is an important part of celebrating this Advent season; and when wrapping gifts, say a pray for the person to whom you are giving the gift you are wrapping. If you have children and do this with your children, it shows them the real reason for the season. I'm sure she had other suggestions, but those are the ones I heard that stuck with me.
In my house we have an Advent wreath that we light each night before dinner. What I like about this year is that because of the kitchen renovation we've been doing, we haven't had a chance to pull out any Christmas decorations. Instead, we just have the Advent wreath and for me, it keeps my focus on what Advent really is and where Christmas belongs. Christmas BEGINS on Dec. 25 and lasts for a couple weeks after that. It doesn't end on the 25th!! So this year, I am more focused on Advent because we only have the Advent wreath out and nothing else.
Also, I picked up one of the Blue Books at Church. These little books (blue for Advent and Christmas, black for Lent, and there's a third, probably Easter, but I can't remember the color) are great for quick daily reflections. They are published by a diocese in Michigan (I think). Each night we light the Advent wreath, have dinner, and then after dinner read the day's reflection in the Blue Book.
Another thing to remember is that Advent is a penitential season, just like Lent. So, this coming Wednesday Chris and I are attending a Reconciliation service at church. As we prepare for our Lord's birthday, we should reconcile our sins with God and be cleansed through this beautiful sacrament. It's part of our preparations for celebrating Christmas.
I also like how the Church reminds us about the penitential nature of this season. Mass begins with several of the lights out, the Advent wreath is lit, and the lights come on as the Liturgy of the Word begins. Also, in the Introductory Rite, the Gloria is not sung, just like during Lent. Come Christmas, the Gloria will be back! Also, we sing Advent songs ("O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" at every Mass this year!). Christmas songs will come out on Christmas and we'll sing them through Epiphany in January. But before then, we are focused on the preparation for the joyous celebration to come.
How do you and your family celebrate Advent? What special things do you do in preparation to celebrate our Lord's birth?
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Saints and Sacrifice
It's no secret that I am not that great at keeping up with my blog. I had hoped that by making a commitment to at least post my church's "Following the Message" question once a week I would get into a habit. But so far, no dice!! Are we surprised? No, not really.
So, I really, really wanted to post last week's question but just didn't have the time. But I don't want to let it go, so this post will be slightly different from my past "Following the Message" posts. I will attempt to discuss both questions from All Saint's Day and the Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Two Sundays ago we had All Saints Day, a Holy Day of Obligation that fell on a Sunday this year. The readings from that Sunday are here on the USCCB page. These are great readings for All Saints Day. A passage from Revelation 7 that describes the saints in heaven praising God along with the angels; a Psalm with the response "Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face"; a very relevant passage from the first letter of John; and for the Gospel reading we get the Beatitudes from Matthew.
Question: How does the example of the saints help me to live the Christian life?
Alternate Question for Kids: Which saint inspires me the most?
Usually I would post the paragraph in the bulletin that expounds on Catholic teaching regarding the question, but given that I'm trying to cover two questions I'm going to skip it this time. However, if you're curious about the Catholic teaching on saints and what we believe about saints you can do a web search for the Catechism of the Catholic Church and look for paragraph numbers 828 and 2683. I've had good success with a search string like: Catechism Catholic Church 828.
We are all called to holiness. We are also all called to be saints. The Church canonizes some people as official saints to be examples for us on how to live a Christian life. For me I am impressed with any saint I read about. Anytime I read even the smallest thing about a saint I feel that I am reading the life of someone who I should be trying to be more like, because they lived their life as Jesus asks all of us to. I am impressed with their prayer life, with how they lived their lives in service to others, how they taught others, and, for some of them, the amazing writings they left behind. I find it hard to read about any saint and not see an example of how to live a Christian life.
At different times in my life I have had special relationships with different saints. First for me was the Blessed Mother, Mary. I think she has guided me in a variety of ways before I even knew it. And I chose Mary as my confirmation name. St. Clare of Assisi was next and was the first saint I think I really started reading about. I saw her body when I went to Assisi and got to see part of the Church where her convent is. I think of her whenever I need to de-clutter my house (or my life). I think she guides me to make things simpler around me at times when I really need it. Last year I learned about St. Philomena and St. Gerard, I asked them pray for healing for me and another pregnancy. I got pregnant shortly after finishing the nine day St. Philomena Novena. Other saints have become of interest to me and I am always impressed with their lives. I like reading about the saints, they give us something to work toward.
This past Sunday was the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings all have to do with trust and sacrifice, two things that go hand-in-hand, for to make a sacrifice you have to trust in God; and because we already trust in God we make sacrifices. This is illustrated well in the readings, found on the USCCB site here.
Question: When have I made a financial sacrifice out of love for God?
Alternate Question for Kids: When have I had to give up something that I wanted
I pondered this question a bit before mass and then I heard the readings. The Gospel passage from Mark where the poor widow gives her last coins made me wonder if I really do give as a sacrifice. I asked my husband the question on our ride home and he said yes, we do, we budget for it. That led us into a discussion on whether or not budgeting for our charity counts as a sacrifice.
I've had a few more days to think this over and looking at the question again I can say with confidence that yes, we give financially out of love for God. Our love of God leads us to give to the Diocesan Seminarian Fund every year, it leads us to give to Catholic Relief Services to help them do the work they do in poor countries around the world, and it leads us to give to priestly orders, our church, Relevant Radio, and a variety of other causes.
Is this financial giving a sacrifice for us? I think it is. Yes, we budget for it, but if we didn't I can guarantee that money would end up getting spent somewhere else. If we didn't give we'd probably be more selfish with our money and use it for things that aren't really necessary, in the grand scheme of things. As it is, I know we have set aside a certain amount for charitable causes and my husband tracks it in our budget. We give a certain amount each year to designated charities and the rest we give to other needs and charitable causes as they come up. Just the other day I asked how much we would have that we could give as the year nears it's end. I'm already thinking about which causes I'd like that overage to go to.
It's very important to both of us that out of love for God and as faithful Catholic Christians we give financially to those in need around us, both locally and in the wider world whenever possible.
There is definitely a correlation between the saints discussion and the sacrifice discussion. All of the saints made great sacrifices in their lives to follow God's word to the fullest. Sacrifices of health, material wealth, sacrificing their own will to follow the will of God, and even sacrificing their lives for God. In some cases this can lead to great suffering, but if it is for the greater glory of God we should remember that it is all for good. I heard someone say recently that in the Christian life "suffering is mandatory, anxiety is optional." Now there's something to think about!
When we are faced with a decision regarding making a sacrifice for the betterment of others versus taking the easy road, we should be reminded of the lives of the saints. We are all called to be saints, that's the road to heaven.
So, I really, really wanted to post last week's question but just didn't have the time. But I don't want to let it go, so this post will be slightly different from my past "Following the Message" posts. I will attempt to discuss both questions from All Saint's Day and the Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Two Sundays ago we had All Saints Day, a Holy Day of Obligation that fell on a Sunday this year. The readings from that Sunday are here on the USCCB page. These are great readings for All Saints Day. A passage from Revelation 7 that describes the saints in heaven praising God along with the angels; a Psalm with the response "Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face"; a very relevant passage from the first letter of John; and for the Gospel reading we get the Beatitudes from Matthew.
Question: How does the example of the saints help me to live the Christian life?
Alternate Question for Kids: Which saint inspires me the most?
Usually I would post the paragraph in the bulletin that expounds on Catholic teaching regarding the question, but given that I'm trying to cover two questions I'm going to skip it this time. However, if you're curious about the Catholic teaching on saints and what we believe about saints you can do a web search for the Catechism of the Catholic Church and look for paragraph numbers 828 and 2683. I've had good success with a search string like: Catechism Catholic Church 828.
We are all called to holiness. We are also all called to be saints. The Church canonizes some people as official saints to be examples for us on how to live a Christian life. For me I am impressed with any saint I read about. Anytime I read even the smallest thing about a saint I feel that I am reading the life of someone who I should be trying to be more like, because they lived their life as Jesus asks all of us to. I am impressed with their prayer life, with how they lived their lives in service to others, how they taught others, and, for some of them, the amazing writings they left behind. I find it hard to read about any saint and not see an example of how to live a Christian life.
At different times in my life I have had special relationships with different saints. First for me was the Blessed Mother, Mary. I think she has guided me in a variety of ways before I even knew it. And I chose Mary as my confirmation name. St. Clare of Assisi was next and was the first saint I think I really started reading about. I saw her body when I went to Assisi and got to see part of the Church where her convent is. I think of her whenever I need to de-clutter my house (or my life). I think she guides me to make things simpler around me at times when I really need it. Last year I learned about St. Philomena and St. Gerard, I asked them pray for healing for me and another pregnancy. I got pregnant shortly after finishing the nine day St. Philomena Novena. Other saints have become of interest to me and I am always impressed with their lives. I like reading about the saints, they give us something to work toward.
This past Sunday was the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings all have to do with trust and sacrifice, two things that go hand-in-hand, for to make a sacrifice you have to trust in God; and because we already trust in God we make sacrifices. This is illustrated well in the readings, found on the USCCB site here.
Question: When have I made a financial sacrifice out of love for God?
Alternate Question for Kids: When have I had to give up something that I wanted
I pondered this question a bit before mass and then I heard the readings. The Gospel passage from Mark where the poor widow gives her last coins made me wonder if I really do give as a sacrifice. I asked my husband the question on our ride home and he said yes, we do, we budget for it. That led us into a discussion on whether or not budgeting for our charity counts as a sacrifice.
I've had a few more days to think this over and looking at the question again I can say with confidence that yes, we give financially out of love for God. Our love of God leads us to give to the Diocesan Seminarian Fund every year, it leads us to give to Catholic Relief Services to help them do the work they do in poor countries around the world, and it leads us to give to priestly orders, our church, Relevant Radio, and a variety of other causes.
Is this financial giving a sacrifice for us? I think it is. Yes, we budget for it, but if we didn't I can guarantee that money would end up getting spent somewhere else. If we didn't give we'd probably be more selfish with our money and use it for things that aren't really necessary, in the grand scheme of things. As it is, I know we have set aside a certain amount for charitable causes and my husband tracks it in our budget. We give a certain amount each year to designated charities and the rest we give to other needs and charitable causes as they come up. Just the other day I asked how much we would have that we could give as the year nears it's end. I'm already thinking about which causes I'd like that overage to go to.
It's very important to both of us that out of love for God and as faithful Catholic Christians we give financially to those in need around us, both locally and in the wider world whenever possible.
There is definitely a correlation between the saints discussion and the sacrifice discussion. All of the saints made great sacrifices in their lives to follow God's word to the fullest. Sacrifices of health, material wealth, sacrificing their own will to follow the will of God, and even sacrificing their lives for God. In some cases this can lead to great suffering, but if it is for the greater glory of God we should remember that it is all for good. I heard someone say recently that in the Christian life "suffering is mandatory, anxiety is optional." Now there's something to think about!
When we are faced with a decision regarding making a sacrifice for the betterment of others versus taking the easy road, we should be reminded of the lives of the saints. We are all called to be saints, that's the road to heaven.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
All Souls Day, Join Us
Dear all Family and Friends,
This coming Monday is All Souls Day, a day when we remember all departed souls. On that day, many of our churches will be having special masses to remember all those who have passed away during the last year as well as others who we continue to pray for. I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what will be happening at our parish this coming All Souls Day and how you can also participate either with us or at your own parish.
On Monday November 2 at 5:30pm, an All Souls Day Mass at Christ the King will include a candle lighting ceremony for all parishioners who died over the last year. Chris and I will be there to light a candle in rememberance of our little boy, Zachary Thomas, who died on January 11, 2009, and was buried from the Catherdal on January 17, 2009. Also, at Christ the King there will be a Book of Remembrance in which we can enter the names of anyone who has passed away during the last year. The Book will be present in the Church throughout the month of November.
For those who live in Lexington, you are more than welcome to join us for the Mass on Monday. We'd love to see you and have you there with us if you are able.
If you live elsewhere or if you can't make the mass at Christ the King, I encourage you to attend an All Souls Day Mass at your home parish or other nearby church. We appreciate knowing that others are taking part in remembering our son and all our loved ones. If your church has a Book of Remembrance for the month of November we would also appreciate you including Zachary's name there. I have already been told by one friend that she will be doing this.
In addition, I just wanted to add how appreciative we have been over the last 10 months of all that everyone has done for us. We received so many flowers, cards from all over, and many, many other expressions of sympathy since Zachary's death. Thanks to everyone for all your caring expressions of sympathies. I have saved every card we received from family, friends, colleagues, and others. Every one is special to me as a remembrance of our son's much too short life. Thank you all.
I hope everyone will have an opportunity to attend an All Souls Day Mass this coming Monday to remember all of our dearly departed loved ones.
Much love to everyone!
K & C
This coming Monday is All Souls Day, a day when we remember all departed souls. On that day, many of our churches will be having special masses to remember all those who have passed away during the last year as well as others who we continue to pray for. I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what will be happening at our parish this coming All Souls Day and how you can also participate either with us or at your own parish.
On Monday November 2 at 5:30pm, an All Souls Day Mass at Christ the King will include a candle lighting ceremony for all parishioners who died over the last year. Chris and I will be there to light a candle in rememberance of our little boy, Zachary Thomas, who died on January 11, 2009, and was buried from the Catherdal on January 17, 2009. Also, at Christ the King there will be a Book of Remembrance in which we can enter the names of anyone who has passed away during the last year. The Book will be present in the Church throughout the month of November.
For those who live in Lexington, you are more than welcome to join us for the Mass on Monday. We'd love to see you and have you there with us if you are able.
If you live elsewhere or if you can't make the mass at Christ the King, I encourage you to attend an All Souls Day Mass at your home parish or other nearby church. We appreciate knowing that others are taking part in remembering our son and all our loved ones. If your church has a Book of Remembrance for the month of November we would also appreciate you including Zachary's name there. I have already been told by one friend that she will be doing this.
In addition, I just wanted to add how appreciative we have been over the last 10 months of all that everyone has done for us. We received so many flowers, cards from all over, and many, many other expressions of sympathy since Zachary's death. Thanks to everyone for all your caring expressions of sympathies. I have saved every card we received from family, friends, colleagues, and others. Every one is special to me as a remembrance of our son's much too short life. Thank you all.
I hope everyone will have an opportunity to attend an All Souls Day Mass this coming Monday to remember all of our dearly departed loved ones.
Much love to everyone!
K & C
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Weekly Reflection on Serving Others
The homily I heard this Sunday at Church has had me thinking the past few days about God's plan for my life versus what I might plan for my life. Are the two the same? Are they not? If not, what needs to change on my part? How do I discern God's plan for my life? The Reflection Question brings a whole different set of thoughts.
Here's a link to Readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Question: How do I answer Jesus' call to serve others?
The question this week is a good one. One thing I have learned over the last few years, and especially over the last few months, is that our prayer life and study of the Word and the faith should lead us toward service, or as it says in James 2:26 "faith without works is dead."
So to answer the question, how do I serve others?? I make an effort to support certain charities financially which I believe have similar values as I do. We give to Catholic Relief Services, the Seminarian fund, and various other Catholic-based charities. Beyond financial giving, I try to be of service to my Church through various ministries or to other groups. One of the most important is volunteering as a regular adorer for the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel.
Lately I have been feeling that I am not doing enough service. This goes back a bit to my pondering on what God's plan for my life is. This has been on my mind a lot this entire year, but it reallly came to the forefront the last two weeks. So what am I doing about it??
I prayed about it. I don't know if I really got a clear "answer" from God, but I am feeling a tug toward a particular ministry. So I turned in my "Time and Talent" survey this Sunday and I checked a new ministry. This is one that I've never done before and never thought I would volunteer for. But I did. Now I am just waiting until the person in charge of that ministry contacts me. In the meantime, I'm going to continue praying and waiting.
And now it's your turn!! How do you answer Jesus' call to serve others? I look forward to everyone's answers!
(For those reading this on Facebook, you can comment here or you can follow the link below this post that says "View Original Post" to see comments others have left on the original post on my blog. Comments can be left in either place.)
Here's a link to Readings for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Question: How do I answer Jesus' call to serve others?
The Christian imperative to serve others is expressed beautifully in one of the great documents of Vatican II, Apostolicam Actuositatem (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity), which urges laypeople to "take up the renewal" of the world "as their own special obligation" (section 7, paragraph 5). In the modern era, "charitable activities and works have become more urgent and universal. These charitable enterprises can and should reach out to all persons and all needs. Wherever there are people in need of food and drink, clothing, housing, medicine, employment, education; wherever men lack the facilities necessary for living a truly human life or are afflicted with serious distress or illness or suffer exile or imprisonment, here Christian charity should seek them out and find them, console them with great solicitude and help them with appropriate relief. This obligation is imposed above all upon every prosperous nation and person" (section 8, paragraph 4).
The question this week is a good one. One thing I have learned over the last few years, and especially over the last few months, is that our prayer life and study of the Word and the faith should lead us toward service, or as it says in James 2:26 "faith without works is dead."
So to answer the question, how do I serve others?? I make an effort to support certain charities financially which I believe have similar values as I do. We give to Catholic Relief Services, the Seminarian fund, and various other Catholic-based charities. Beyond financial giving, I try to be of service to my Church through various ministries or to other groups. One of the most important is volunteering as a regular adorer for the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel.
Lately I have been feeling that I am not doing enough service. This goes back a bit to my pondering on what God's plan for my life is. This has been on my mind a lot this entire year, but it reallly came to the forefront the last two weeks. So what am I doing about it??
I prayed about it. I don't know if I really got a clear "answer" from God, but I am feeling a tug toward a particular ministry. So I turned in my "Time and Talent" survey this Sunday and I checked a new ministry. This is one that I've never done before and never thought I would volunteer for. But I did. Now I am just waiting until the person in charge of that ministry contacts me. In the meantime, I'm going to continue praying and waiting.
And now it's your turn!! How do you answer Jesus' call to serve others? I look forward to everyone's answers!
(For those reading this on Facebook, you can comment here or you can follow the link below this post that says "View Original Post" to see comments others have left on the original post on my blog. Comments can be left in either place.)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Day
Today, October 15, is Pregnancy Loss Remembrance Day. I posted this fact on my Facebook page this morning and several people left notes regarding the dates of their own losses. My heart goes out to everyone who has had to go through the loss of a baby from miscarriage, stillbirth, or early infant death.
To commemorate this day and to remember our little baby saints in heaven, Deanna Roy, the founder of Facts about Miscarriage, also sent the following note out regarding things you can do along with some details on a book she put together that allows you to record memories of that pregnancy. Here's the text:
In her letter she mentions lighting a candle at 7pm your time. The idea is that throughout the day candles are lit for one hour in each time zone from 7pm to 8pm. So as you extinguish your candle someone in the next timezone is lighting one. Unfortunately I can't be home tonight during that hour, but I have two candles at home, one for each of my babies, and I may light them while we say our Rosary tonight.
God's blessings to all of you moms and dads out there who have gone through such a loss.
To commemorate this day and to remember our little baby saints in heaven, Deanna Roy, the founder of Facts about Miscarriage, also sent the following note out regarding things you can do along with some details on a book she put together that allows you to record memories of that pregnancy. Here's the text:
Don't forget to light your candles at 7 p.m. your time!
I have put together a list of songs that are perfectly suited to play during the candlelighting. You can see this list and hear clips at:
http://www.pregnancyloss.info/resources.htm#music
If you've never really told your angel's story, taken time to write down every single memory of his or her little life, I encourage you to do it. I've made a video that will help you think of things to write about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svAZHZ83Qjs
Watch the video in HQ and maximize it so you can read the words.
I did publish a baby memorial book this year, which are the pages you see in that video. Printing is happening right now, and the books will be here in a few weeks. If you have no place to paste your sonograms or dried flowers, or to write down your baby's statistics, even if you were only a few weeks along, this is why I made the book. You can get them at the publisher web site (it's $18.99 and shipping is $3.99 in the US and includes cards to paste inside if you have no sonograms):
http://www.caseyshaypress.com/In-the-Company-of-Angels-Hardback-9780984187911.htm
I know this is one of the hardest things you've ever endured. It was for me too, and years later, it still is. I will think of all of you at 7 p.m. when I light my candle. If you want to post a picture of your candlelighting so we can see how you celebrated the date, feel free to add them right here on our Facebook page.
I'd love to see them.
Take care.
Deanna Roy
Founder, Facts about Miscarriage
In her letter she mentions lighting a candle at 7pm your time. The idea is that throughout the day candles are lit for one hour in each time zone from 7pm to 8pm. So as you extinguish your candle someone in the next timezone is lighting one. Unfortunately I can't be home tonight during that hour, but I have two candles at home, one for each of my babies, and I may light them while we say our Rosary tonight.
God's blessings to all of you moms and dads out there who have gone through such a loss.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Reflecting on Materialism
We are now up to the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our Gospel reading this week is from Mark. Complete texts of the Gospel as well as all the other readings from Sunday's Mass are available here: October 11 readings.
Question: In what ways am I too attached to material things?
This is one of those Gospel readings that really makes you think. I know everytime I hear it I wonder if I am doing what is necessary to enter the Kingdom of God. And then I wonder, does Jesus mean that rich people cannot enter the Kingdom because they are rich??
I believe the answer to that last question is no. All people can enter the Kingdom of God. I think having wealth gives you a greater responsibility toward your fellow man and many people who have wealth or somehow acquire wealth during their life lose sight of that. Not all, but many do.
But this reflection isn't supposed to be on wealth only, more specifically let's focus on materialism.
For me, I try to not get too attached to material things. I think the "things" in my life that I treasure the most, besides the people I love, are the sentimental things. Pictures, old cards and letters, yearbooks, all the things that remind you of the past and the people who have touched your life. But if all those things disappeared, I still have them in my memory. Maybe not as detailed, but they'll be there.
Here's how I thought about this: if my house was burning down what would I want to grab on the way out?
Well ... nothing material, really. Me and my husband for sure. Otherwise, everything else is replaceable. The only thing that might be worth grabbing are some particular files and maybe the computer. Not because we value those "things" exactly, but because there is information on them we might need. But if it came down to it, we could probably live without that information. I wouldn't be grabbing anything just because of some stupid material worth of the item itself.
But to be honest, I am attached to material things just like everyone else. It's the reason I still hold onto my stuffed animals from my childhood. They are boxed up in the attic, but I still have them. I can't get rid of books or notes and handouts from classes or lectures I have found particularly meaningful. I like the nice things we have and I enjoy our comfortable lifestyle. But I know I could live without it.
But is that what Jesus is telling the rich man in the Gospel? That he is too comfortable and needs to rid himself of everything. Well, yes, I guess he is. But how does that translate to our time? In much the same way. We still need to have shelter and food; God provides is with an intellect and skills to be able to work hard to provide those necessities for ourselves and our families. Beyond that, we are to use what we have to help the people around us as well.
We do that in our household. We budget a certain percentage of our earnings every year to assist pre-designated charities, our Church, and other ways of giving to assist others. We make it a priority in our budget. We struggle a little with this, not because we want to skrimp at all on our giving, but because I start wanting to give to more than we can really afford. My husband sometimes has to reel me back in.
I think I'm starting to digress from the subject at hand. Sorry for the rambling ...
I think we are all attached to material things in more ways than one. It is something we all struggle with. But I like to remind myself that if everything did go up in flames, how much would I really care about? As long as my family was safe and healthy, that's really all that matters.
What are your thoughts on this questions: In what ways are you too attached to material things?
Question: In what ways am I too attached to material things?
"Detachment from riches is necessary for entering the Kingdom of heaven" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2556). Hence "the Lord grieves over the rich because they find their consolation in the abundance of goods (CCC 2547). In contrast, "Jesus enjoins his disciples to prefer him to everything and everyone," to enter into what the Catechism describes as "poverty of heart" (CCC 2544). "All Christ's faithful are to direct their affections rightly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect charity by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches which is contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty" (CCC 2545).
This is one of those Gospel readings that really makes you think. I know everytime I hear it I wonder if I am doing what is necessary to enter the Kingdom of God. And then I wonder, does Jesus mean that rich people cannot enter the Kingdom because they are rich??
I believe the answer to that last question is no. All people can enter the Kingdom of God. I think having wealth gives you a greater responsibility toward your fellow man and many people who have wealth or somehow acquire wealth during their life lose sight of that. Not all, but many do.
But this reflection isn't supposed to be on wealth only, more specifically let's focus on materialism.
For me, I try to not get too attached to material things. I think the "things" in my life that I treasure the most, besides the people I love, are the sentimental things. Pictures, old cards and letters, yearbooks, all the things that remind you of the past and the people who have touched your life. But if all those things disappeared, I still have them in my memory. Maybe not as detailed, but they'll be there.
Here's how I thought about this: if my house was burning down what would I want to grab on the way out?
Well ... nothing material, really. Me and my husband for sure. Otherwise, everything else is replaceable. The only thing that might be worth grabbing are some particular files and maybe the computer. Not because we value those "things" exactly, but because there is information on them we might need. But if it came down to it, we could probably live without that information. I wouldn't be grabbing anything just because of some stupid material worth of the item itself.
But to be honest, I am attached to material things just like everyone else. It's the reason I still hold onto my stuffed animals from my childhood. They are boxed up in the attic, but I still have them. I can't get rid of books or notes and handouts from classes or lectures I have found particularly meaningful. I like the nice things we have and I enjoy our comfortable lifestyle. But I know I could live without it.
But is that what Jesus is telling the rich man in the Gospel? That he is too comfortable and needs to rid himself of everything. Well, yes, I guess he is. But how does that translate to our time? In much the same way. We still need to have shelter and food; God provides is with an intellect and skills to be able to work hard to provide those necessities for ourselves and our families. Beyond that, we are to use what we have to help the people around us as well.
We do that in our household. We budget a certain percentage of our earnings every year to assist pre-designated charities, our Church, and other ways of giving to assist others. We make it a priority in our budget. We struggle a little with this, not because we want to skrimp at all on our giving, but because I start wanting to give to more than we can really afford. My husband sometimes has to reel me back in.
I think I'm starting to digress from the subject at hand. Sorry for the rambling ...
I think we are all attached to material things in more ways than one. It is something we all struggle with. But I like to remind myself that if everything did go up in flames, how much would I really care about? As long as my family was safe and healthy, that's really all that matters.
What are your thoughts on this questions: In what ways are you too attached to material things?
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Today I Learned
Today I got up extremely early, got ready, and left my house at 6:20am to spend half the day in the car driving to a conference. What then can I have learned today? Well ...
Today I learned that there are a lot of police cars along all the roads in Indiana! (No, I did not get pulled over, it was an observation.)
Today I learned that Mark Shultz (I think I got his name right), a Christian singer, lives in Chapel Hill, NC because his wife is doing her OB/GYN residency there. (Yes, I know it's random.)
Today I learned that when traffic starts getting heavier the closer you get to Louisville while on 64 West and it's just after 7am, you should move to the left lane as soon as you can. Don't do what I did and sit in it thinking that it's better than jumping lanes. If you don't need to get off at the Waterson, don't sit with the rest of the people who are.
Today I learned that corn season is over. (I was in Indiana!)
Today I learned that it is possible to watch the sun rise in your rear view mirror (and not get into an accident).
Today I learned that I don't like driving on state "highways" for over 100 miles. (Lights, varying speed limits, etc.)
Today I learned that Indiana drivers aren't just slow when you get stuck behind them in other parts of the country, they're slow here too!!!
Today I learned that music librarians are not as eager to do Karaoke as I thought they would have been. (But I did leave the party early, so who knows.)
Today I learned that Notre Dame has a beautiful campus with lots of different shrines all around, and that the Basilica here is gorgeous!!
Today I also learned some library things that I found interesting but that I'm sure no one else will ... so I'll keep that to myself.
Today I learned why I love coming to these conferences!!
Hope everyone had a great day today, too!
Today I learned that there are a lot of police cars along all the roads in Indiana! (No, I did not get pulled over, it was an observation.)
Today I learned that Mark Shultz (I think I got his name right), a Christian singer, lives in Chapel Hill, NC because his wife is doing her OB/GYN residency there. (Yes, I know it's random.)
Today I learned that when traffic starts getting heavier the closer you get to Louisville while on 64 West and it's just after 7am, you should move to the left lane as soon as you can. Don't do what I did and sit in it thinking that it's better than jumping lanes. If you don't need to get off at the Waterson, don't sit with the rest of the people who are.
Today I learned that corn season is over. (I was in Indiana!)
Today I learned that it is possible to watch the sun rise in your rear view mirror (and not get into an accident).
Today I learned that I don't like driving on state "highways" for over 100 miles. (Lights, varying speed limits, etc.)
Today I learned that Indiana drivers aren't just slow when you get stuck behind them in other parts of the country, they're slow here too!!!
Today I learned that music librarians are not as eager to do Karaoke as I thought they would have been. (But I did leave the party early, so who knows.)
Today I learned that Notre Dame has a beautiful campus with lots of different shrines all around, and that the Basilica here is gorgeous!!
Today I also learned some library things that I found interesting but that I'm sure no one else will ... so I'll keep that to myself.
Today I learned why I love coming to these conferences!!
Hope everyone had a great day today, too!
Monday, October 05, 2009
So Many Books ...
... so little time. I'm always buying books, so many things I want to read! But I never seem to have the time to read much. Plus, there are all the magazines, newsletters, and other things that come in the mail that I feel compelled to read.
It's really a never-ending, vicious cycle! One I constantly convince myself I can conquer.
I'm still working on it (maybe I need therapy?). And will probably be working on it for years and years to come! So what is it I'm actually reading these days?
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
I'm enjoying this book so far. Have always wanted to read something by Lewis (besides the Narnia Chronicles). I happened to find this book in a used book store and the cheaper price convinced me to go ahead and purchase it (as well as another, who just buys one book). I'm about three quarters of the way through. I'm finding it interesting, it's a good general overview of Christianity, but definitely doesn't get into any big issues. At least not so far. At the moment this is my Monday morning book to bring to adoration with me. More when I actually finish.
101 Inspirational Stories of the Priesthood
This is a book I bought several years ago and I'm finally getting around to reading it. I actually suggested this book to my small Cursillo group and so we're all reading it at the same time. This book, and several others like it, are compiled by a Poor Clare Sister in Washington State. They are a series of stories submitted by people all over the world, though most of them are in the U.S. It's great because the stories are anywhere from half a page to 3-4 pages. Nothing too long, all just interesting stories from regular people about priests who have made an impact in their lives. My husband and I have started reading a story or two each night before bed.
Saint Gianna Molla: Wife, Doctor, Mother by Pietro Molla, Elio Guerriero
I picked up this book recently after an encounter I had with a relic of St. Gianna. I wanted to know more about her and this book seemed like a great way to start. I have only read the Forward, Preface, and Introduction so far. I've already learned that she is the first married Catholic woman to be canonized. There have been women who were widows, but not one who was married when she died. Her husband is still alive and he and her children were at her canonization in 2004. I'm looking forward to reading more about this incredible woman.
At the moment my other reading consists of all newspapers, newsletters, and magazines we get in the mail regularly. But I have a stack of things I am waiting to read, not to mention the unread items on my bookshelves. Up next will be:
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
7 Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinny Flynn
The Return to the Prodigal Son: a Story of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen
Saved in Hope (Spe Salvi), encyclical letter by Pope Benedict XVI
Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), encyclical letter by Pope Benedict XVI
Like I said: So many books, so little time!!
It's really a never-ending, vicious cycle! One I constantly convince myself I can conquer.
I'm still working on it (maybe I need therapy?). And will probably be working on it for years and years to come! So what is it I'm actually reading these days?
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
I'm enjoying this book so far. Have always wanted to read something by Lewis (besides the Narnia Chronicles). I happened to find this book in a used book store and the cheaper price convinced me to go ahead and purchase it (as well as another, who just buys one book). I'm about three quarters of the way through. I'm finding it interesting, it's a good general overview of Christianity, but definitely doesn't get into any big issues. At least not so far. At the moment this is my Monday morning book to bring to adoration with me. More when I actually finish.
101 Inspirational Stories of the Priesthood
This is a book I bought several years ago and I'm finally getting around to reading it. I actually suggested this book to my small Cursillo group and so we're all reading it at the same time. This book, and several others like it, are compiled by a Poor Clare Sister in Washington State. They are a series of stories submitted by people all over the world, though most of them are in the U.S. It's great because the stories are anywhere from half a page to 3-4 pages. Nothing too long, all just interesting stories from regular people about priests who have made an impact in their lives. My husband and I have started reading a story or two each night before bed.
Saint Gianna Molla: Wife, Doctor, Mother by Pietro Molla, Elio Guerriero
I picked up this book recently after an encounter I had with a relic of St. Gianna. I wanted to know more about her and this book seemed like a great way to start. I have only read the Forward, Preface, and Introduction so far. I've already learned that she is the first married Catholic woman to be canonized. There have been women who were widows, but not one who was married when she died. Her husband is still alive and he and her children were at her canonization in 2004. I'm looking forward to reading more about this incredible woman.
At the moment my other reading consists of all newspapers, newsletters, and magazines we get in the mail regularly. But I have a stack of things I am waiting to read, not to mention the unread items on my bookshelves. Up next will be:
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
7 Secrets of the Eucharist by Vinny Flynn
The Return to the Prodigal Son: a Story of Homecoming by Henri Nouwen
Saved in Hope (Spe Salvi), encyclical letter by Pope Benedict XVI
Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), encyclical letter by Pope Benedict XVI
Like I said: So many books, so little time!!
27th Sunday Reflection
Sunday was Respect Life Sunday in the Catholic Church, the opening of Respect Life Month. How appropriate that the Gospel reading from Mark should be about marriage and children! Check it out on the USCCB website and then continue reading below for this week's Following the Message Question.
Question: What steps might I take to strengthen my family life?
All life begins in the family. Thus the church is one of the biggest supporters of marriage. Marriages within the church are so special. The priest doesn't marry us, we marry each other, the priest is only there as the official witness of the Church. That's pretty powerful when you think about it, a husband and wife are the ones performing the sacrament upon each other. I believe it is the only sacrament in the Church where this happens. In every other case, for the other six sacraments, the priest, bishop, or deacon is the one confirming the sacrament on the individual. That says a lot about marriage!!
Within our marriage we represent the Church. As husband and wife we are responsible for each other's souls. And if children become a part of that marriage we are responsible for their intellectual, spiritual, and physical well-being. We are, therefore, the Domestic Church.
I love that phrase!! The Domestic Church! Really evokes a powerful image of the family.
So as a Domestic Church we need to constantly work on our family. This week's question is asking us how we can strengthen our family. But why is this important?
Well, because it is up to us to ensure that our loved ones get to heaven. Yes, we're all responsible for ourselves, but if the family is the Domestic Church, than just as the priest's job is to lead us to Jesus and ultimately heaven, it is our job, as a priestly people, to lead our spouse and children to heaven as well.
That's a big job! And an important one.
Prayer is essential. I pray during my Holy Hour on Monday mornings. And I always try to pray for my husband and the souls of my two children. I also ask our children, who I believe are already in heaven, to pray for us as well. My husband and I also pray before each meal we have together. I like that we do that, but we always use the same prayer. I'm itching to add some free-form prayers at the end.
One day I'll get to that.
But that leads me to meals together. My husband and I always eat breakfast and dinner together when we're both home. That means dinner every night and breakfast on the five days a week when we're both there (two mornings one of us is at our Holy Hour). Some people have expressed surprise that we actually sit down at the table together for EVERY meal.
It would be so easy for us to not do this. We could use the TV trays and sit in the family room for meals. But I bet we'd get too comfortable with that. Also, we probably wouldn't talk as much. Often the TV is on, in the other room, but it's more background noise than anything else. And there are plenty of times that it is not on.
If we got overly comfortable not sitting down at the table together, how easy would it be to just continue the habit as children came along? We can make promises that we'll sit together as a family once we have children, but then ...
"Well, the baby doesn't know, we'll wait till he's older."
Well, we know where that's going! Habits are hard to break.
So we eat together. In the long run, our family will benefit from it. And we, as a family of two, benefit from it now.
How else can we strengthen our family life? Again I go back to prayer.
I want to pray as a family together more. We used to try and say a Rosary together daily, but have seriously fallen short of that goal. Just like the "potential" family meal, we want to make a daily Rosary part of our children's lives, but we're not in the habit now. It's a habit we need to get into now, so it comes easily later.
And why should we wait! We're still a family. Children do not make a family, two people coming together in marriage make a family. So we should be doing this more.
Now is a great time to start! Not only is it Respect Life Month, it's also the Month of the Rosary. I love how those two things coincide!!
Attending Mass together is also important as a family. I love sitting with my husband during Mass. I love that the liturgy is happening around us physically and around us spiritually as all the angels and saints in heaven celebrate the same liturgy. Heaven touches Earth and we're a part of that, as a family. It's such a beautiful coming together of the Church on Earth, the Kingdom of God, and the Domestic Church, all at the same time. And I feel closest to my children in heaven during those moments too, because I know they are a part of this with us.
Prayer, Mass, meals together where we share our days: these are the things that I think strengthen a family. I'm sure when the day comes that we have children for whom we are responsible for in this life I could add much more to this list. But for now, those are the things I need to continue building upon or working on.
Now I want to hear from you! What steps might you take to strengthen your family life?
(For those reading this on Facebook, you can comment here or you can follow the link below this post that says "View Original Post" to see comments others have left on the original post on my blog. Comments can be left in either place.)
Question: What steps might I take to strengthen my family life?
"God himself is the author of marriage ... Since God created (the human race) man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1603-04). Sadly, when sin came into the world, "as a break with God, (it) had for its first consequence the rupture of the original communion between man and woman" (CCC 1607). "To heal the wounds of sin, man and woman need the help" of God's grace. "Without his help, man and woman cannot achieve the union of their lives for which God created them in the beginning" (CCC, 1608). "By coming to restore the original order of creation disturbed by sin, (Jesus) himself gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God ... This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ's cross, the source of all Christian life" (CCC, 1615). For more information, please visit For Your Marriage, an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
All life begins in the family. Thus the church is one of the biggest supporters of marriage. Marriages within the church are so special. The priest doesn't marry us, we marry each other, the priest is only there as the official witness of the Church. That's pretty powerful when you think about it, a husband and wife are the ones performing the sacrament upon each other. I believe it is the only sacrament in the Church where this happens. In every other case, for the other six sacraments, the priest, bishop, or deacon is the one confirming the sacrament on the individual. That says a lot about marriage!!
Within our marriage we represent the Church. As husband and wife we are responsible for each other's souls. And if children become a part of that marriage we are responsible for their intellectual, spiritual, and physical well-being. We are, therefore, the Domestic Church.
I love that phrase!! The Domestic Church! Really evokes a powerful image of the family.
So as a Domestic Church we need to constantly work on our family. This week's question is asking us how we can strengthen our family. But why is this important?
Well, because it is up to us to ensure that our loved ones get to heaven. Yes, we're all responsible for ourselves, but if the family is the Domestic Church, than just as the priest's job is to lead us to Jesus and ultimately heaven, it is our job, as a priestly people, to lead our spouse and children to heaven as well.
That's a big job! And an important one.
Prayer is essential. I pray during my Holy Hour on Monday mornings. And I always try to pray for my husband and the souls of my two children. I also ask our children, who I believe are already in heaven, to pray for us as well. My husband and I also pray before each meal we have together. I like that we do that, but we always use the same prayer. I'm itching to add some free-form prayers at the end.
One day I'll get to that.
But that leads me to meals together. My husband and I always eat breakfast and dinner together when we're both home. That means dinner every night and breakfast on the five days a week when we're both there (two mornings one of us is at our Holy Hour). Some people have expressed surprise that we actually sit down at the table together for EVERY meal.
It would be so easy for us to not do this. We could use the TV trays and sit in the family room for meals. But I bet we'd get too comfortable with that. Also, we probably wouldn't talk as much. Often the TV is on, in the other room, but it's more background noise than anything else. And there are plenty of times that it is not on.
If we got overly comfortable not sitting down at the table together, how easy would it be to just continue the habit as children came along? We can make promises that we'll sit together as a family once we have children, but then ...
"Well, the baby doesn't know, we'll wait till he's older."
Well, we know where that's going! Habits are hard to break.
So we eat together. In the long run, our family will benefit from it. And we, as a family of two, benefit from it now.
How else can we strengthen our family life? Again I go back to prayer.
I want to pray as a family together more. We used to try and say a Rosary together daily, but have seriously fallen short of that goal. Just like the "potential" family meal, we want to make a daily Rosary part of our children's lives, but we're not in the habit now. It's a habit we need to get into now, so it comes easily later.
And why should we wait! We're still a family. Children do not make a family, two people coming together in marriage make a family. So we should be doing this more.
Now is a great time to start! Not only is it Respect Life Month, it's also the Month of the Rosary. I love how those two things coincide!!
Attending Mass together is also important as a family. I love sitting with my husband during Mass. I love that the liturgy is happening around us physically and around us spiritually as all the angels and saints in heaven celebrate the same liturgy. Heaven touches Earth and we're a part of that, as a family. It's such a beautiful coming together of the Church on Earth, the Kingdom of God, and the Domestic Church, all at the same time. And I feel closest to my children in heaven during those moments too, because I know they are a part of this with us.
Prayer, Mass, meals together where we share our days: these are the things that I think strengthen a family. I'm sure when the day comes that we have children for whom we are responsible for in this life I could add much more to this list. But for now, those are the things I need to continue building upon or working on.
Now I want to hear from you! What steps might you take to strengthen your family life?
(For those reading this on Facebook, you can comment here or you can follow the link below this post that says "View Original Post" to see comments others have left on the original post on my blog. Comments can be left in either place.)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Reflection
There are times when I very much would like to skip one of these questions. This is one of those times.
Now, I have obviously missed some weeks, but generally that's not because I'm avoiding the question. That's more from the tired old excuse of "I've been busy."
But not today! This question really has me thinking, digging deep, and hoping that I can answer it honestly. This is after all, the point of these reflections.
The readings from today's Mass were all very thought-provoking for me. The book of Wisdom is always an interesting read, and this excerpt is no exception! It definitely foreshadows Christ's death, no doubt about that. The Psalm is a nice match for what we heard proclaimed in Wisdom and then we hear from the letter of James. James always seems to me the kind of guy that loves life and is full of optimism. This reading kind of goes against that. It's a good reminder of our selfishness as humans. Then of course we hear the proclamation of the Gospel from Mark. Just like in Wisdom, Jesus tells His disciples that he will be put to death; but that is not all. The disciples also argue about who is the first amongst them. Jesus chides them for this and tells them they must be servants to all. Then he brings forth a child and says, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
I love how the Gospel passage first works well with the Old Testament reading from Wisdom and the Psalm and then also touches on the selfishness we heard about in James' letter. The Church is so smart in how it puts all these together!!
But I digress ... For the full texts of the readings check them out here: USCCB website. And our question for this week:
When is it most difficult to put aside my selfishness?
As I said at the beginning, this is a hard question. It takes a bit of honesty to admit that we feel selfish at times, even when we, as Christians, should be trying to be servants in all we do. It seems that this kind of interior reflection is popping up a lot for me lately.
First, I am in the process of reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. Just the other day I read the chapter on Pride. Then, I am also taking a weekly class on campus called the Experienced Leader Academy. The recent reading I did for that class talked about how as leaders we should be focusing on developing our people and helping them to be the best employee they can be rather than the usual leadership mantra of how to get people to do the work you need them to do. This leadership philosophy takes more of the angle that we see described in the Gospel and in the quotes from the Catechism and the saints above. Be a servant to all; be humble.
So, yes, I do wonder where my pride gets in the way of who I am truly called to be. I know I can be prideful and I know I am not always humble. I like the quote above from St. Ambrose. We need to become saints in order to get to heaven. To be a saint we must be humble. And I can't be humble if I have pride or envy or am rooted in any way in selfishness.
Let's cut to the chase. How am I selfish? I know I can be selfish with my time. There are times when I really should be helping others with things and for whatever reason I fail to follow through. I always regret those times, but I know they will happen again. I used to happily volunteer for things, a lot. My calendar was often quite full. You may say, "oh, but then you need a break, it's okay, you can help out the next time." I don't think that's what we're called to. Taking a break is good, but we can't let the thought of taking breaks prevent us from ever getting involved. I'm pretty sure Christ didn't take breaks from his mission, nor did the apostles, or St. John, or any of the countless people who have dedicated themselves to serving Christ and the Church throughout history.
There's also my time at home. I should be serving my husband more than I do. Yes, I do lots around our household. I do laundry and help with dinner (he's mainly the cook), and I do other things too. But I know my laziness prevents me from truly keeping house as I would like. My husband hates clutter, but we have lots of clutter due mostly to me. I try to keep it from getting out of control, but I know it bugs him. So I need to be better at cleaning our house more often. Don't get me wrong, we don't live in a dump, it's actually fairly well kept up, but there is always plenty still to do. And it's those more time-consuming, icky jobs that are the hardest to do.
Anyone else want to admit their moments of selfishness? It's definitely a hard question, so I won't blame you if you don't comment. But it's definitely a good question to contemplate. Jesus has asked us to be servants to the people of this world. And by serving them we are serving Him. That's something I need to remind myself of often. And that, above anything else, should get me up and doing more where I am needed.
Your thoughts? When is it most difficult to put aside your selfishness?
(For those reading this on Facebook, you can comment here or you can follow the link below this post that says "View Original Post" to see comments others have left on the original post on my blog. Comments can be left in either place.)
Now, I have obviously missed some weeks, but generally that's not because I'm avoiding the question. That's more from the tired old excuse of "I've been busy."
But not today! This question really has me thinking, digging deep, and hoping that I can answer it honestly. This is after all, the point of these reflections.
The readings from today's Mass were all very thought-provoking for me. The book of Wisdom is always an interesting read, and this excerpt is no exception! It definitely foreshadows Christ's death, no doubt about that. The Psalm is a nice match for what we heard proclaimed in Wisdom and then we hear from the letter of James. James always seems to me the kind of guy that loves life and is full of optimism. This reading kind of goes against that. It's a good reminder of our selfishness as humans. Then of course we hear the proclamation of the Gospel from Mark. Just like in Wisdom, Jesus tells His disciples that he will be put to death; but that is not all. The disciples also argue about who is the first amongst them. Jesus chides them for this and tells them they must be servants to all. Then he brings forth a child and says, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”
I love how the Gospel passage first works well with the Old Testament reading from Wisdom and the Psalm and then also touches on the selfishness we heard about in James' letter. The Church is so smart in how it puts all these together!!
But I digress ... For the full texts of the readings check them out here: USCCB website. And our question for this week:
When is it most difficult to put aside my selfishness?
This Gospel passage illustrates the problems engendered by selfish pride, as the disciples argue about who is greatest among them. The Catechism teaches that pride can give rise to envy of another, which St. Augustine saw as "the diabolical sin" (quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2539). "Envy represents a form of sadness and therefore a refusal of charity; the baptized person should struggle against it by exercising good will" (CCC 2540). To correct the disciples, Jesus counsels that they should instead practice humility and self-giving: whoever wants to be first, should be the servant of all. As St. Ambrose wrote, "Pride transformed angels into demons; humility makes human beings into saints."
As I said at the beginning, this is a hard question. It takes a bit of honesty to admit that we feel selfish at times, even when we, as Christians, should be trying to be servants in all we do. It seems that this kind of interior reflection is popping up a lot for me lately.
First, I am in the process of reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. Just the other day I read the chapter on Pride. Then, I am also taking a weekly class on campus called the Experienced Leader Academy. The recent reading I did for that class talked about how as leaders we should be focusing on developing our people and helping them to be the best employee they can be rather than the usual leadership mantra of how to get people to do the work you need them to do. This leadership philosophy takes more of the angle that we see described in the Gospel and in the quotes from the Catechism and the saints above. Be a servant to all; be humble.
So, yes, I do wonder where my pride gets in the way of who I am truly called to be. I know I can be prideful and I know I am not always humble. I like the quote above from St. Ambrose. We need to become saints in order to get to heaven. To be a saint we must be humble. And I can't be humble if I have pride or envy or am rooted in any way in selfishness.
Let's cut to the chase. How am I selfish? I know I can be selfish with my time. There are times when I really should be helping others with things and for whatever reason I fail to follow through. I always regret those times, but I know they will happen again. I used to happily volunteer for things, a lot. My calendar was often quite full. You may say, "oh, but then you need a break, it's okay, you can help out the next time." I don't think that's what we're called to. Taking a break is good, but we can't let the thought of taking breaks prevent us from ever getting involved. I'm pretty sure Christ didn't take breaks from his mission, nor did the apostles, or St. John, or any of the countless people who have dedicated themselves to serving Christ and the Church throughout history.
There's also my time at home. I should be serving my husband more than I do. Yes, I do lots around our household. I do laundry and help with dinner (he's mainly the cook), and I do other things too. But I know my laziness prevents me from truly keeping house as I would like. My husband hates clutter, but we have lots of clutter due mostly to me. I try to keep it from getting out of control, but I know it bugs him. So I need to be better at cleaning our house more often. Don't get me wrong, we don't live in a dump, it's actually fairly well kept up, but there is always plenty still to do. And it's those more time-consuming, icky jobs that are the hardest to do.
Anyone else want to admit their moments of selfishness? It's definitely a hard question, so I won't blame you if you don't comment. But it's definitely a good question to contemplate. Jesus has asked us to be servants to the people of this world. And by serving them we are serving Him. That's something I need to remind myself of often. And that, above anything else, should get me up and doing more where I am needed.
Your thoughts? When is it most difficult to put aside your selfishness?
(For those reading this on Facebook, you can comment here or you can follow the link below this post that says "View Original Post" to see comments others have left on the original post on my blog. Comments can be left in either place.)
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Reflection
Today is actually the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, but I feel compelled to share last week's question first. Today's reflection will be quickly following.
You can check out the readings for last Sunday here on the USCCB website. These were all great readings by the way!
Question: Have I ever encountered prejudice because of my faith?
I had to answer this question because I did once feel prejudice from being a Catholic. But I will admit, that I don't believe I have ever faced prejudice in being a Christian. We are lucky to live in a country where we can practice any faith and be accepted. I have had discussions with non-believers, but usually those are open and honest conversations with both sides asking questions and both sides listening.
But several years ago I did encounter prejudice, and I wasn't prepared for it. I was in college and was visiting my then-boyfriend's family in another state. While I was in the family room with his sister, he and his mother were in the kitchen. Unfortunately it was a small house and I could hear their conversation, though I don't think I ever let on that I had heard what they were discussing. Anyway, all I remember now is that his mother was concerned that I was a Catholic and she told him that I wasn't Christian. He (thankfully) told her that I was a Christian, which I appreciated!
Now you have to also understand that at the time I was not a practicing Catholic. I hardly ever went to Church and I know I didn't really understand my faith at the time. I was in college, afterall, so not an uncommon thing for that age group. Despite that, I always considered myself Catholic and deep down knew that I would want to marry in the Church and raise my kids Catholic. It was at least ingrained in me enough that I couldn't even contemplate joining another faith. So despite not practicing at the time, this statement shocked and hurt me. I was glad to hear that my boyfriend at the time stood up for me and understood that Catholics are Christians (the first Christians, truth be told, but that's a discussion for another time). However, it was still a shock to hear it. I had never encountered that before. I also couldn't really respond, since I wasn't actually part of the conversation. I didn't want to reveal that I was eavesdropping, which, of course, wasn't hard to do, but still!
Anyway, I've come a long way since then and would know better how to respond should something similar happen to me again. I am thankful that I live in a country where we can be Christians openly without fear for our lives. Which reminds me of something I heard earlier this week during an introductory lecture to the Book of Revelation.
The lecture focused on some of the history of Revelation (authorship, dating, what the first century church was like, etc.). During the part on the first century church the teacher talked about the persecutions the early Christians dealt with, particularly death. Many, many Christians were killed for their faith, for refusing to worship the gods of the Roman empire and the Emperor, and for insisting that Christ was God. Despite all this, the Church was a place of hope and the book of Revelation is a book of hope. It is hope in the second coming, that if we live for Him, we will join Him in heaven one day for the continual worship of God! And she said that the early Christians were told not to compromise. Despite everything happening around them, they were told by the early Church fathers, and by writings such as Revelation, not to compromise. That was pretty powerful!
This is true even today. We can not compromise our moral beliefs in any way. We can not compromise our belief in Christ for anything the secular world throws at us. Despite any difficulties that are put before us, we should be willing to lay down our lives for what we believe in. And there are plenty of people all over the world who still do so everyday.
How about you? Any reflections or thoughts on this question: Have you ever encountered prejudice because of your faith?
(For those reading this on Facebook, you can comment here or you can follow the link below this post that says "View Original Post" to see comments others have left on the original post on my blog. Comments can be left in either place.)
You can check out the readings for last Sunday here on the USCCB website. These were all great readings by the way!
Question: Have I ever encountered prejudice because of my faith?
Jesus emphasizes that, just as he had to suffer rejection, so too must we disciples take up our own crosses if we want to follow him. We "must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks. Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1816). "The Christian is not to be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord. In situations that require witness to the faith, the Christian must profess it without equivocation" (CCC 2471).
I had to answer this question because I did once feel prejudice from being a Catholic. But I will admit, that I don't believe I have ever faced prejudice in being a Christian. We are lucky to live in a country where we can practice any faith and be accepted. I have had discussions with non-believers, but usually those are open and honest conversations with both sides asking questions and both sides listening.
But several years ago I did encounter prejudice, and I wasn't prepared for it. I was in college and was visiting my then-boyfriend's family in another state. While I was in the family room with his sister, he and his mother were in the kitchen. Unfortunately it was a small house and I could hear their conversation, though I don't think I ever let on that I had heard what they were discussing. Anyway, all I remember now is that his mother was concerned that I was a Catholic and she told him that I wasn't Christian. He (thankfully) told her that I was a Christian, which I appreciated!
Now you have to also understand that at the time I was not a practicing Catholic. I hardly ever went to Church and I know I didn't really understand my faith at the time. I was in college, afterall, so not an uncommon thing for that age group. Despite that, I always considered myself Catholic and deep down knew that I would want to marry in the Church and raise my kids Catholic. It was at least ingrained in me enough that I couldn't even contemplate joining another faith. So despite not practicing at the time, this statement shocked and hurt me. I was glad to hear that my boyfriend at the time stood up for me and understood that Catholics are Christians (the first Christians, truth be told, but that's a discussion for another time). However, it was still a shock to hear it. I had never encountered that before. I also couldn't really respond, since I wasn't actually part of the conversation. I didn't want to reveal that I was eavesdropping, which, of course, wasn't hard to do, but still!
Anyway, I've come a long way since then and would know better how to respond should something similar happen to me again. I am thankful that I live in a country where we can be Christians openly without fear for our lives. Which reminds me of something I heard earlier this week during an introductory lecture to the Book of Revelation.
The lecture focused on some of the history of Revelation (authorship, dating, what the first century church was like, etc.). During the part on the first century church the teacher talked about the persecutions the early Christians dealt with, particularly death. Many, many Christians were killed for their faith, for refusing to worship the gods of the Roman empire and the Emperor, and for insisting that Christ was God. Despite all this, the Church was a place of hope and the book of Revelation is a book of hope. It is hope in the second coming, that if we live for Him, we will join Him in heaven one day for the continual worship of God! And she said that the early Christians were told not to compromise. Despite everything happening around them, they were told by the early Church fathers, and by writings such as Revelation, not to compromise. That was pretty powerful!
This is true even today. We can not compromise our moral beliefs in any way. We can not compromise our belief in Christ for anything the secular world throws at us. Despite any difficulties that are put before us, we should be willing to lay down our lives for what we believe in. And there are plenty of people all over the world who still do so everyday.
How about you? Any reflections or thoughts on this question: Have you ever encountered prejudice because of your faith?
(For those reading this on Facebook, you can comment here or you can follow the link below this post that says "View Original Post" to see comments others have left on the original post on my blog. Comments can be left in either place.)
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