I am the fifth child of five, blessed with five little miracles of my own. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a counselor, a homeschooler, a practicing (though often failing) Catholic. My life journey has been amazing. I am blessed beyond my ability to believe most days.
I have a few friends in total, most of whom I would count as extremely faithful people. Although most are Catholic, a few are not. I have great respect for people who come to the fullness of their faith in their tradition and live it genuinely. Long ago I worked with a devout Muslim. I knew if we were driving some distance, he would stop to pray on the side of the road at least once. His willingness to endure the honks and stares of others while he prayed was witness to me of his dedication to his faith. I think that is lacking for many people these days. Religion...faith is something that you go to when you're desperate or as a weekly routine...the meaning behind the motivation is missing.
So, it's easy to become distracted. It's easy to worry about the organization of your house or how much toxin is in the plastic cup you use. We spend a lot of our time distracted by articles and TV shows that tell us what we should be doing. We know what we should be doing...listening and following.
So, let's start today. Let's not be afraid. Look at what the pope says...a fragile faith is in great danger...be strong in your faith. Be not afraid (as a former-pope-now-Saint liked to say)! I know you get tired of me talking about it so let's listen to someone in authority
Right, see? What we need to do is acknowledge that the devil is at work all around us...every day. He is there when we choose activities over faith or family time, there when we worry more about what other people think of us and less about what God thinks of us, there when we let society seep into our homes with unwelcome agendas... a digression, kind of...we were instructed at Mass this morning to watch a local newscast because a "native daughter" (that's what we say at St. Bernard...) was going to be interviewed about the pope in DC. We made it through the first segment of the pope spotlight (not covering the young woman we hoped to see) and they launched immediately into "BREAKING NEWS....ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST FOUND GUILTY OF TOURISM SEX ABUSE OF CHILDREN". I wish I were lying. I wish it were just an accident that it happened that way. Guess what? The news is all about society and society is all about corrupting our kids so that they think anything that goes against God's law is normal...that and that all priests are pedophiles.
"Disfigure"...another good word. From the guy that everyone (except readers of the New York Times) loves ;0) The motivation for this post...I have two dear friends who have recently gone head-to-head with evil in their lives. I am certain it's because they are on the right path and, frankly, Satan is getting agitated. It seems counter intuitive but it is true and real...the closer you move to God, the more the Dark One throws stuff in your way to distract you. If you've read the Screwtape Letters, you know we distract ourselves plenty so the minions are standing around enjoying our destruction by our own hand. If we focus on heaven as our goal and move in that direction, be warned...it will come. But, have hope, as the pope says, "God is stronger!" Amen. I am looking forward to watching his visit as much as possible. I will be sticking to EWTN because I want my kids to watch as well.
We are blessed. ps- today starts the Novena to St. Therese the Little Flower. If you miss today, just make it up tomorrow but do join in...it will give you something on which to focus!
Surprisingly, I'm OK with that. I remember finding out about the World Meeting of the Families in Milan and thinking, "wow, we need to be part of this!". Over time, though, it's become pretty clear that we don't really fit the mold.
I may have to order this, though...pure Philly
- I went to the WMOF website and found that you can only have 4 people in a room if you hope to be anywhere near the meeting site. So, you spend five to seven nights away from your spouse while celebrating the World Meeting of Families. Better than NFP ;0) (or you can lie about how many kids you have, or you can pay 500-1000/night to have your whole family in one place)
- While I was on the website I also found out what happens to your family while you are there...The Congress will include engaging speakers for adults, lively activities for youth, and daycare for ages 6 months to 6 years. Yes, that's right...you drop off your kids at 8 AM - at daycare (6 months to 6 years) or the youth congress (6 years to 12 years) - see them for an hour at lunch, then separate again until almost 6 PM. When I told DH this he said, you mean I have to go listen to presenters talk about stuff all day and I don't even get to see my kids while I'm on vacation? Wow.
It's pretty clear that this is "family-friendly" in a way that the world defines. That's not us...not even close. We purposefully choose not to put our kids in daycare (or school even) because it means missing out on those precious moments with the gifts God has loaned us for a very short time. I'm kind of disappointed that our opportunity to participate is yet another example of our failure to fit into the definition these days.
Oh, then there's that. We were at holy hour (specifically for the pope's visit) tonight. We made our usual holy 45 minutes (pretty good since there is not a father figure at the moment) and that was enough for me. I listened somewhat attentively (somewhat) to the readings from Pope Francis's writings. He spoke about meeting people where they are. He spoke about being the example of Christ to them. He spoke...well, he spoke about being a good, loving person. That's fantastic. Truly. The sadness to me is that you could substitute so many people in for "Pope Francis" and it would be the same message. This is the head of the Catholic church. Is there anything to that anymore?
This is not "we're better than you...blah, blah, blah". I'm really struggling at the moment and it would be SUPER and I would be FILLED WITH JOY if I could just sleep in on Sunday instead of taking my kids to Mass, or holy hour, or adoration or helping out in any myriad of ways. I need a rest. I really, really do. If it's just about being a "good person" I think I could swing that all alone with my kids and God, at home.
I was at confession the other day and I went full bore on the topic of my feeling of isolation, of non-support, of hearing the words of "family support" and seeing very little. We are doing what we feel called to do and I guess that's our mission - to have the dark nights sometimes. Not surprisingly, that was my advice/penance...you should pray the fourth sorrowful mystery because this might be your lifetime cross. Wow. I am filled with joy. (and sarcasm, I admit).
I'm digressing. The stuff above is merely about the congress and not even about the pope...he comes over the weekend. DH took off for the long weekend in anticipation and I still can't do it. Tonight, at holy hour, it all just clicked for me. I should mention, out of a very large congregation, there were maybe 40 people there (that includes us 6). There were four children other than ours. It was a better showing than a typical holy hour but only by about 10 or 20 people.
This is circuitous, bear with me. Last cycle of 40 days for life I was wondering aloud at the people who will fill buses and walk a long distance in thousands of people to be part of the March for Life and, except for a handful, they are no where to be found at the vigil. A dear shift leader turned to me and said, "that's the show and this is the grit". He went on to say that, although it's possible, it's unlikely that you will ever encounter the person-to-person combat that you are open to any day of the vigil. At the March, you are insulated by people who think like you; at the vigil you are open on the street with very few defenders, sometimes none.
Tonight at holy hour, struggling with my kids and begging for God's grace, I realized I will always be the grit person. I know that there are those who need the huge adrenaline rush that comes from being surrounded by thousands of "like minded" people...that is great for them and I applaud their effort because, let's make no mistake, it is an effort. For me, I'd rather not stand in a crowd of thousands and know that there are many who are Catholic and many who just want to "be there" because it will make me crazy when Communion time comes.
This was at the Papal Mass in the Philippines...I know, I'm judging. When I receive, I'd rather it not be like someone passing me a chip from the bowl. He's GOD you know?
So, we're passing on all of that. The kids can say they went to papal holy hour but never saw him when he was in the US. Unless the Holy Spirit works a small miracle, most of the pilgrims will be watching on the jumbo tron just like we're watching on TV.
What are we doing on our extended weekend? Well, I guess you could say we're celebrating our Catholic family. We are traveling, all together in one car, to Stockbridge, MA where we will spend most of the time here
http://www.thedivinemercy.org/shrine/about.php
We will go to confession and Mass and pray the beginning of the novena to St. Faustina. We will attend the blessing of the families. Maybe we will find one other family that is like us? Mainly we will spend time talking to our kids about what makes a family and how our Catholic faith supports and defends that. I think, at this point in time, it's the right thing to do.
We will be praying during our journey and many of those prayers will be for the pilgrims traveling to the WMOF and to see the Holy Father. We will pray that God will bless their effort and draw them closer to Him in the process.
In the end, whatever road we travel, I am happy to see that people are willing to make the effort. Society has made it kind of an "us or them" lately and it's getting late to decide which side you will choose.
So, here we are in Lent, one of the great metaphors for which is "the desert". I've been thinking about that a lot today, especially in regard to my individual journey. As a mother, there are times I do (and rightly should) bring my children along on my journey and times when my husband is with us as well. Sometimes, though, it's a solitary thing. Even if I can be selective about my companions on the journey (sometimes) I can't always shut out the whole world while I seek the desert of Lent. It is a struggle I face daily.
Pope Francis, in his Sunday homily...
"The desert is the place where you can hear the voice of God and the voice of the tempter. In the noise and confusion this cannot be done; we can only hear superficial rumors. Instead in the desert we can go deeper, where our destiny, life or death, is really played out. And how do we hear the voice of God? We hear it in His Word."
It's a "coincidence" (ahem) that I would come across this today since I have been very attuned since, say, 3 AM to the sounds in my world. My beloved, sweet muffin that he is, suffers from extreme nasal dryness. If you happen to have a spouse that is in the same fix, you know what I was doing at 3 AM...offering it up until the anxiety and anger started getting the better of me, at which time I switched on the sound machine, rolled over and prayed that I would fall asleep. I eventually did.
That brought us to 7 AM. Time to wake up and escort #1 to daily Mass. She was scheduled to serve today and, since there was a 2-hour-delay at school, I knew she would be the only one. She was up and ready to go by 7:15 so we headed out and she served well. It was good for me to be with her to hear the voice of God in His word. In today's Gospel we hear how Jesus teaches His followers to pray the "Our Father". One of the earliest prayers you learn, it is ripe with meaning. Our pastor did a great job with his homily, touching on the importance of "Thy will be done". So it is in the desert. We are here to grow closer to God and attempt, in our humanness, to follow His will. I love the sound of my littlest ones reciting "Thy will be done" while in my heart I pray that they find strength and comfort in that phrase throughout their lives.
After that came Catechesis for two of the littler ones. I love it because now, during the time they are there, Adoration is offered in the chapel next door. It is one of the times that I get to follow the pope's advice and go deeper in the desert to listen. In the midst of my prayer I smiled to myself when I heard a very distinctive sound...that of rosary beads being unfurled. How comforting to know I am in that place. While at my solitary prayer, a reminder that others are with me who support and share my journey.
Home to feed and teach and then back to the streets. I felt called to the vigil today and so I went. Driving over the bridge and seeing the river, about 80% frozen, I realized I was about as far from a desert as possible. I found a parking space and walked up to hear Deacon Dan and others singing the Divine Mercy chaplet. What a beautiful sound in such a dire place. We have begun reciting this at home as our evening family prayer and it is so beautiful. Simple and powerful. Easy enough for a child. How blessed we are to have such a tool.
Then, over the next hour, another sound. The clank of the doors opening and closing. Allowing women and their escorts in and out. Some to find information. Today, being Tuesday, many to rid themselves of their current difficulty, not realizing their anguish will only begin today. The sharp awareness of hearing the story of the shift manager who offered a young woman an alternative to save her baby only to be met with a short, bright, "too late". This must be a renewal of Jesus's agony in the garden. How it must hurt him to hear the callousness with which we view the gift of life.
Finally, the sound of my body. I decided to do a liquid fast for the first two meals today in offering for the unborn since I didn't think I would make it to the vigil. Having only water and coffee on board, the pain of the cold slowly overtook my extremities. By the time the deacon was finishing the last Station, my fingers were too painful to bend. My body calling out for relief. What a small pain compared to that of Him who was nailed up and died for us. Still, small as it was, it was offered for the women who sought the only solution they could see today. Offered that, when they realize their tragic mistake, they might turn with regret to Him who shows us all Divine Mercy.
Hearing His call through our desert of noise can sometimes be difficult. The dark one is always there to confound and muddle what we know to be true. So, one last thought from the Holy Father that might help you hear more clearly...
(Stone...) Wanna buy five copies for my mother...
(Stone...) Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Rollin' Stone
For you youngsters, it's Dr. Hook, and the other lyrics are horrid but it popped into my head when I saw this picture... the tune is catchy ;0)
I have to admit, something about this picture tugs my conscience...like the "popular culture" has hijacked our Holy Father. Still, there is something so wise about this man. His simplicity draws people to him and then, having them close, he can speak to the issues that are so important in today's society.
I bring this up specifically to give kudos to the Vatican Press Office regarding the article itself which, speaks disparagingly about our former Pope. "Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press
Office, had strong words regarding a recent article on Pope Francis that
appeared in Rolling Stone magazine. The Holy Father made the cover of
the magazine yesterday.
While acknowledging that the Holy Father’s appearance on the front
cover shows the interest in different environments, Fr. Lombardi
denounced the negative portrayal of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s
pontificate, saying the article disqualifies itself as serious
journalism. “Unfortunately, the article disqualifies itself, falling in the usual
mistake of a superficial journalism, which in order to highlight the
positive aspects of Pope Francis, thinks it should describe in a
negative way the pontificate of Pope Benedict, and does so with a
surprising crudeness,” Fr. Lombardi said in a statement.
What a shame,” Fr. Lombardi stated. 'This is not the way to do a good service even to Pope Francis, who knows very well what the Church owes to his predecessor'"
If the Pope is to become a celebrity in today's society, it is right and just that he use his time in the spotlight to teach important truths - like the ability to build one person up without tearing down another.
I love our Papa! We are blessed!
"If we live the faith in our daily life, then our work too becomes a
chance to spread the joy of being a Christian." Pope Francis, via
Twitter Jan. 21, 2014
Today is the feast of St. Rita of Cascia, patron of Impossible Things. Pope Francis had a great homily about St. Rita today - telling us how to improve the current state of affairs in the world (a pretty impossible thing, if you think about it) - Do Good.
"We are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has
redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for
everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each
doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and
we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter:
we need that so much."
I love that I saw this while I was catching up on blogs before dinner. It just so happens that we had a perfect opportunity to do good today. We took a different way home and happened upon a friend and her family, recently involved in a car accident.
Of course, the fact that they were friends allowed me to do things like take some of the kids to our house while the car was sorted out. Unfortunately, this isn't too likely in the world today. Still, what if we could all start to do good and go back to a place where strangers helped one another? What a beautiful thing that would be.
For now, it was a good exercise in how bad can sometimes turn out OK (like having an unexpected hour to play with your friends!). I like learning that comes courtesy of the Holy Spirit.
Let's all pray for one another and even if it seems like a small thing, do good. Perhaps it's not such an impossible thing after all.
