Children, Indulgences and other major life issues.

Last night we went to the preschool/kindergarten meeting for our Catholic school. It was so wonderful to see some of the teachers/staff who were there from four years ago when our older two attended the school. It brought back all the wonderful memories of the teachers' dedication to educating faith-filled kids.

Just to be clear, it was never the teachers that drove us out. We left because, having been called for some time to homeschool, it was the proper moment and, to a lesser degree, because it was clear that a reasonable number of the parents often had different expectations than we.

Let's skip ahead, ok? Yesterday I felt strongly called to head down to Mass after picking the girls up from Little Flowers so that we could attend Mass today. When we arrived it was a nice plus that one of our favorite priests was presiding. When I heard the homily, it was clear why I had been called.

Today's first reading was 1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22  and the Gospel was Mark 2:1-12. Father's homily addressed the first beautifully, saying that Israel wished to have a king "like everyone else" and when they said that, God told Samuel they were rejecting Him, not Samuel. Father went on to say that, if we are living correctly, we won't be like most everyone else (in society). He said, "if you live your faith, you'll be different...get comfortable."

The Gospel was about the paralytic who is brought to Jesus for healing by his four friends. Father pointed out that he was cured because of his friends' faith and that we need to also surround ourselves with like-minded friends. It is difficult, he said, to live in our society. We need friends, or groups, with whom we can connect to walk in our faith.

The Mass was lovely, as is anytime we get to share in Christ's sacrifice, and I couldn't imagine our good fortune when I heard "I'll be in the back for Confession after Mass". So, in addition to all the other graces, there is this...

To experience and obtain the Indulgence, the faithful are called to make a brief pilgrimage to the Holy Door, open in every Cathedral or in the churches designated by the Diocesan Bishop, and in the four Papal Basilicas in Rome, as a sign of the deep desire for true conversion. Likewise, I dispose that the Indulgence may be obtained in the Shrines in which the Door of Mercy is open and in the churches which traditionally are identified as Jubilee Churches. It is important that this moment be linked, first and foremost, to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with a reflection on mercy. It will be necessary to accompany these celebrations with the profession of faith and with prayer for me and for the intentions that I bear in my heart for the good of the Church and of the entire world. - Pope Francis

In the car, on the way to Mass, we prayed the rosary and for the pope's intentions...

then we walked through the Holy Door at the Cathedral; went to Mass; finally Confession. I love it when a plan comes together (ahem...)

So, I digress (just as an example of how easy, peasy  it is to gain an Indulgence if you are so disposed).

It's not really a digression, though. As I sat and listened to the testimonials last night and as I spoke to some of the teachers that were new to me, I wondered how many of them would understand or even try to appreciate the life we have chosen. If I told this day's travels to them, would I get a look similar to the one that comes with "oh, you homeschool." I already know how it is having the discussion about someone's trip to Disney and ours to the EWTN studios (not yet, stay tuned!!!). Ours is not the only way to live according to God's laws and Jesus's teachings. I think it is one way, though, when we are strong enough to say "yes" to God's call. I do think, even with all of our failings, that we are on the right track.

I feel like the preschool discussion has become a bit more clear to me from our travels today. If nothing else, I know I have been given a strong confirmation of our choice to home school the older people. Father's message to "get comfortable" and "find like-minded people" has helped me to focus a bit more clearly (I have been feeling pushed, as opposed to called, lately and it's been a bit unsettling). We shall see what ultimately happens.

There is something else on my heart from what I heard last night but I'll save that for another time. If you would like, you may reread THIS as preparation. Until we meet again.

We are blessed!

Don't forget to pray for Opal ;0)

Back from C.C.

I wasn't there for long, things just kind of build up and I allow myself to be pulled under. Grateful to God for friends, the sacrifice of the Mass and good books, I am back.

So, here's the deal. I'm all about people making their own decisions about their life. I write this blog, partly, because I made a bunch of the mistakes that are possible to make and yet I am here to speak about them. Why? Because of God's mercy on me, a sinner. Yes, that's present tense. I still sin on a basis that is more than I would like but, in the words of one of our favorite homilists...

I know that I'm impatient, I know I don't love as I should, I know all these things...I trust in the Mercy of God forever. Accept your own poverty. You're poor, you're weak, you're not who God is calling you to be. It's OK. It's OK...for right now. I'm not saying don't work on it, right? But I know you people are. So, be at peace with your own poverty; your not-enoughness. I'm not enough and you're not enough and that's OK. We can be human together now.

So, that's me. I'm accepting my poverty and I'm trying to talk to those who also accept their poverty and I'm doing my best to meet people where they are. The difficult thing to offer up, for me, is going into a situation as a person in full-realization (as much as a human can) and appreciation of my poverty and not-enoughness and being told how judgmental, how unfair, how blatantly wrong I am. Hmm. That's a toughie for me.

God has given me a sprinking of amazing friends. These friends, also poor and weak like me, serve as my grounding on so many days. Of course, DH is my best friend. The others, near and far, all add together to keep me from Cloud C. on more than a few days a year. This was one of those days. This was the day that my friend and his two sweet boys chose to hang out with us. This was the day that we chose to ride the trolley downtown on a homeschool field trip (aka. Mass) and hear that most perfect homily.

It helped, a lot. It helped me to realize that I must keep, front and center, my poverty. I must never approach from a place of superiority. It also helped to see that, now at least, there are people with whom I can't "be human" right now.

The Jubilee Year of Mercy is a few months away. The media is crazy over the pope's declarations of welcome and mercy to all those who wish to be in the Church. Their favorite quote is ""the Church is the house that welcomes all and refuses no one." Indeed, with one caveat.

Francis wrote that "the forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented, especially when that person approaches the Sacrament of Confession with a sincere heart in order to obtain reconciliation with the Father."

Ahhh, there it is. Repented....Sacrament of Confession. For those of you non-Catholics out there, part of confessing and being absolved of our sins means realizing the action was wrong and pledging to do all in our power to avoid repeating the same sin.

So, there you go. It all came together today and, as always with God, it is all good. We must have mercy on everyone, even the unrepentant; even those who call us names; even everyone. We are poor and we need to reach out in our poverty to theirs. If they maintain their superior stance, even when it clearly goes against the fundamental law of right and wrong, well, I'll just let CS Lewis handle that:

"The demand of the loveless and the self-imprisoned that they should be allowed to blackmail the universe: that til they consent to be happy (on their own terms) no one else shall taste joy: that theirs should be the final power; that Hell should be able to veto Heaven...Every disease that submits to a cure shall be cured: but we will not call blue yellow to please those who insist on still having jaundice"

 Oooh, I love that guy. We are blessed.

Let Jesus Out of Your Box

That's an odd title, I realize. Hang with me...hopefully it will all fall together.

Today was our First Day of School for the 2015-2016 school year! I know that was quick but truthfully, if we wait much longer it just becomes kind of unruly around here. Besides, July is all about life skills (you can teach math with cooking and train fare and that last one also works for map skills!) and our Lewis and Clark unit study.

As with most important days, we went to Mass to give thanks for our blessings and ask for Our Lady's intercession to her Son to guide our work in the coming year. Since it was Wednesday, we headed down to our favorite weekday church, St. Mary of Mercy. First, the ride...

What a glorious day for a trolley ride! We even saw some neighbors along the way.

We arrived at Gateway station in plenty of time to go hang out in PPG winter garden and take our "First Day" shots. The transition from 2nd to 5th has been the most stark for me but they are all growing like weeds.

The "preschooler" was not interested in posing and, since he's not really a "preschooler" I'm good with that.

Mass, as always, was wonderful. To be surrounded by people who work nearby but still choose to take part of their lunch hour to be truly fed; to happen upon a Deacon who offered to pray over our family; to watch the kids, more animated than in most things, talk to Fr. Joe about their day and their life...that is so worth the trolley ride to me. 

Then, of course, there's the homily. Walking back to the trolley #1 said, "Of all Fr. Joe's homilies, I think that was the best!" I reminded her that she always says that.

The Gospel was about Jesus driving the unclean spirits from the demoniacs into the swine. He spoke about this Jesus who is so unfamiliar...the One who chose to walk down the road no one would walk, into a most unclean place, to "take it to" evil. Aggressive. Effective. Father noted that, at the end of the Gospel, the people of the town asked Christ to leave because He didn't fit their box for Him...that He was too big a God...Father asked us to not do the same. Smash your box for God, he said...let Him be who He wants to be in your life. Wow. I will be thinking on that one for a while. What a blessing to be there today to hear it. 

Today is also the feast day of Blessed Junipero Serra, Patron of Vocations. We started watching his biography on EWTN last night and watched a bit more tonight. What a selfless, brave, humble servant. Inspiring.

I'm thinking history and religion...not nutrition (popcorn dinner!)

When I was taking the last picture, I wondered what the light was that was so bright on the bottom of the photo. I looked up at the window and, yes, there was sunshine (which is a huge gift in itself considering the weather lately) but it didn't look like this picture. So, if we were joined by a heavenly friend or two...what a perfect way to end the day.

We begin again. I'm energized and excited about the new school year. I know the challenges will be many but I also know that I have Our Lady walking with me and correcting my way when needed. We also have St. John Bosco, whom we have adopted as our school patron (he is Patron Saint of schoolchildren and magicians...both of which fit). His wise words are on the back of our new "R Academy" school shirts! (I bought them mainly so they could wear them on our trip and be more easily described when lost). In the end, they came out pretty great.

Wishing you a wonderful end to your week and a safe, happy Fourth of July. Father also said something along the lines of , even if the whole world is thinking and doing the wrong thing and there are only a few people doing the right thing, God is on their side...there is no competition. Can there be any greater pep talk than that?

We are blessed.

Blessed Junipero Serra, Pray for Us!

If you're tired of listening to me...

give Fr. Freedy a listen. He has the most amazing homilies. This is particularly excellent.

St. Philip Neri, Pray for Us!

"Yes"

I took the kids to a priest's funeral this morning. Yes, just me, and my five sometimes-good-but-often-misbehaved children. It's not because I'm trying to make a point by our spectacle (I know there are people who must think that). It was partly my selfishness (I really, really needed to go and, well, I have five kids with me most of the time) and partly for Father. I suppose, in some small way, it was for my kids as well. I only knew him for a year or so but in that time and since I have realized that there are only so many priests like him. The kind who are willing to say what needs to be said without concern for "being fair" or "offending someone" or any of the rest of the drabble I hear all the time.

O'LEARY REV. FR. BARRY PAUL Age 65, on June 6, 2014, formerly of Wilkinsburg. Loving son of the late Helen and Thomas O'Leary; dear brother of Shirley Gentile (Thomas), Ann Howard, Susan Krul (Karl), Richard O'Leary (Michelle), Nancy Childers (Thomas), Robert O'Leary (Mary), and Wilma Slaugenhaupt, also the late Kenneth O'Leary (Dana); uncle of many loving nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews. Fr. Barry devoted his life as a Catholic school teacher, principal, and Priest for over 35 years.

What it doesn't say is that he was a "late vocation". In fact, his late vocation (in his early 50's) makes my late vocation look early in comparison. Perhaps that's why we got along. Perhaps that's why I was weeping during Fr. Freedy's homily today.

Fr. Joe spoke about the fact that Fr. O'Leary was living a comfortable life as a school principal when he received a call to the priesthood. He could have ignored it. He could have stayed with his nice life. He didn't, he said "yes". His "yes", according to Fr. Joe, was a "human yes". It was filled with joy and tears and struggle and hope. It wasn't pristine in the way we think about certain "saintly" people. It was gritty and it was real.

You can imagine, while wrangling these little ones, how my "yes" may have sprung to mind just then. How much grace I was given to be there and listen at that moment. In the short time I knew him, I was so honored to watch this "young" priest work to further the Kingdom. He could be abrupt at times but he was always armed with the truth. He was emotional because it meant something to him.

Wow. What a blessing to have had this man cross my path in life!  How grateful I am to have been there to see his passing from this earth. How joyous the day that he has finally thrown off the sickness and pain of this life to rest in the arms of Christ. Oh happy day!

'Cause you're probably wondering...an 80-minute Mass is a bit of a stretch for our two tiniest but they did as well as they could. By far, the greatest parts were the processional and recessional. I told the kids to count the priests they could see. The official count (from #1 because she knows how many stripes a deacon wears as opposed to a priest) was 2 deacons, 39 priests and 1 bishop. Not to mention all the nuns and seminarians surrounding us. No wonder the kids were well-behaved :0)

We are so very blessed. Farewell, Fr. O'Leary. May God grant you the eternal rest you so richly deserve. You were truly a good and faithful servant.

What Did You Hear? - 1st Sunday of Lent

Today we were enjoying the time change by changing up our schedules. Put simply, that meant DH and I lounged in bed an extra hour while the little ones were following their inner clock. It was a Sunday morning blessing for sure - no visitors until 8 AM!

Delaying as we did meant missing our usual 9 AM Mass and opting for 11 instead. I think we'll be doing this at least once a month. As I told DH, there is something so much more civilized about waking naturally, eating a nice breakfast together (instead of just feeding the non-communicants something quickly) and taking the time to actually pick out nice outfits and dress in the slow manner to which little people are accustomed (instead of the rushed craziness that usually happens). I do enjoy the earlier Mass because we have more of our day left after but this was definitely a nice change.

One of the nice changes was that G's godmother was in attendance with her crew (godfather was sacristan) and as is usually the case when we share a Mass, she was willing to take one of our little people into their family pew. She's awesome like that. Today she was even more awesome because she took the two surly little boys. Joy. So, we were left with the girls and tiny man. This enabled us to take the risk and sit in the front section of pews. Considering we were in front of a 2-year-old and behind a 2-year-old, I think we did splendidly.

The most rewarding part of the Mass was the homily. We had a visiting priest and WOW...he knocked it out of the park. Perhaps I was less distracted by my little ones but I think it was just the most amazing 10 minutes I've spent in a while. The word(s) of the day?

Sin (Temptation)

The first reading? Adam and Eve and the Serpent. Father spoke of how he has been each of these different characters at different times in his life - Adam: who followed another blindly into sin without thinking about what was happening; Eve: who led another into sin; the serpent: who visited a sinful opportunity onto others. I love when a homily is just that clear. Who hasn't been in each of these situations? Excellent.

He talked about the second reading but, alas, I was dealing with Mr. Crabby Pants tiny man at that moment. It's probably better so that my mind was clear for the end. The discussion of Christ's temptation in the desert.

Christ's First response to Satan:

One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.

You should have nothing before God...nothing. Food, exercise, family, friends, texting, Facebook, Wii...nothing. "I would believe there are those who are more upset about missing their daily gym time than they are missing Sunday Mass." Ouch, but yes!

Second response:

 You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.

Kind of self-explanatory and Father had some good examples but they escape me at the moment.

Third response: 

 The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.

Don't forget God! Try mightily to deal with what you can, what is in your immediate ability to control but after that is exhausted, turn it to God. He can make all things good. He created you, He knows you, He wants only good for you (even if that good is coming through struggle at the moment!).

So, wow. What an awesome morning spent at Mass. I get something out of every Mass I attend (even if it's only the grace for having gone) but I L-O-V-E when the Holy Spirit comes to me in the homily. This is not heaven...you will not have a perfect home, body, kids, spouse. All of these will bring you joy but also struggle throughout your life. (If you're not following, go back to the first reading from today..Adam/Eve/Serpent/Apple). What a grace to know that I should try my best with all the gifts I have been given and when I still fail (or my children fail or my husband fails) we are covered by God's abundant grace! Wow. Now that's a great way to start a week. I am so very blessed.

What Did You Hear? - Ash Wednesday

 

Our Parochial Vicar had 8 o'clock Mass this morning. I really enjoy his homilies. He tries to use each instance as a teaching moment. I always come away with new thoughts to ponder.

 

Today wasn't so much new as it was a reminder. He reminded us that when we are giving things up for Lent, we should be truthful in that. It would make no sense to give up martinis and then replace that with beer or wine. He also talked about removing something but remembering to add something in its place. If we give up TV in the evening, we should find a productive way to spend the time, perhaps in family prayer.

 

Ultimately, we should remember that we do all of this...fasting, abstaining, giving up or adding things; to grow closer to God and to prepare for His death and resurrection. This is such a good reminder for me. Sometimes I just want to "check off the box" for what I did each day of Lent and I wonder if it really brought me closer to God.

 

So, even though I lost our "color in 40 days of Lent" crosses and "glue a marshmallow on the sheep" countdown to Easter pages, we will press on. I will use the time to sit and talk to my kids about preparation and turning to God and relying on Him...in Lent and always.

 

Tools are good, for little and big people. Still, if I am reading a "daily reflection" that fails to inspire (I think my current choice fits) I may better spend the time saying a rosary or visiting Our Lord at Adoration. I think, in the end, I am trying to be more deliberate in my living during these days. I hope that example and those moments of teaching will help my kids as well.

I am blessed.

 

With its calls to conversion, Lent comes providentially to rouse us, to shake us from our torpor, from the risk of moving forward [merely] by inertia. The exhortation that the Lord speaks to us through the prophet Joel is loud and clear: "Return to me with all your heart” (Joel 2:12). Why must we return to God? Because something is wrong in us, in society, in the Church - and we need to change, to turn things around, to repent! Once again Lent comes to make its prophetic appeal, to remind us that it is possible to realize something new within ourselves and around us, simply because God is faithful, continues to be full of goodness and mercy, and is always ready to forgive and start over from scratch. With this filial confidence, let us set out on our way! - Pope Francis

What did you hear?*

In hopes of thinking more about God and less about other things of the world, I'm going to try each Sunday (and when I'm lucky enough to attend daily Mass) to reflect on what it was that I "heard" - be it the readings, Gospel, homily, songs, etc.. What particular bit of wisdom did I gain by making the effort to worship in community?

Today was all about LOVE . I'm beginning to sense a theme ;0) The songs were beautiful reflections on God's love. The readings and the Gospel spoke about how God is loving and forgiving and we must be examples of his love and forgiveness to one another...especially those who may be most difficult for us to love and forgive. Ugh.

Still, I love a challenge. Like today at Mass when my not-so-little-ones are acting worse than their tiny siblings. Then, at that moment, it was like the Holy Spirit sat on my head and said, "For Lent you should love and forgive your children as I love and forgive you." I'm still praying on that one. I would much rather give up coffee and call it a day. I think, though, I'm at a place where I really need to work harder. I have to struggle and fail and, in doing so, it will be more fruitful. We shall see.

So, what did you hear today?

Have a blessed day, everyone! If you're in the South Hills, join us for Family Rosary next Sunday at 2 PM :0)

* Blatantly stolen from the Busted Halo show...though I think they won't mind.

“Stand fast, therefore, in this conduct and follow the example of the Lord, ‘firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of the brotherhood, loving each other, united in truth,’ helping each other with the mildness of the Lord, despising no man”

(Polycarp, Letter to the Philippians).