There is nothing like a construction site to draw kids. When I was little, a house was being built on the next street over. We didn't find out about what was going on until quite a bit of the framing was up. That was good because as long as we stayed on the flooring, we couldn't fall linto the basement.
We rode our bikes over to the site quite often that summer, in the evenings when all the workers were gone. No one did any damage; we just looked around and were generally nosy, but we should NOT have been there.
The house was built by a place we called the gully. There was a fairly steep slope going down to it and then farther down, there was a long ditch. We played in that area probably more than we paid attention to the house.
One evening a friend we knew fairly well, but didn't spent all that much time with, came along. We didn't really want her to come, as I recall. Her participation was looked upon as an annoyance, although we weren't mean to her. We had discouraged her from coming in just about every way.
Everything went along pretty well until it was time to leave and retrieve our bikes up on the sidewalk. The girl was ahead of me and starting climbing up the slope. Then I really don't know what happened. It wasn't that much of a slope but she started carrying on about her leg hurting and she couldn't go on. Since she was a bit of a drama queen, we didn't believe her. But she continued carrying on and then added crying to the problem.
Someone had to ride their bike over to get her dad. No phones, no cell phones, didn't know anyone who lived in the other houses. He had to carry her up the slope and off she went. We all figured we'd see her in a day or two and that would be that.
Turned out she tore the ligaments in her knee on both sides! A terrible injury to be sure, but one that probably shouldn't have occurred on a relatively small embankment. I'm thinking that she had a weakness to begin with or it wouldn't have happened.
Still, it kind of shook the rest of us up because first, we hadn't believed her and we had poo-pooed her complaints. And second, although we did the right thing and got her dad, we hadn't been very supportive or understanding of her problem and pain.
I always felt guilty about the girl because in those days, knee injuries were given the same basic treatment. The scars looked like railroad tracks running down both sides of her leg and they were permanent. Forever. No one touched her, hurt her, pushed her, bothered her, or injured her. No one was even near her at the time, but we all felt that collective sense of guilt. And we didn't talk about it either, because that's how it works a lot of times with us.
We visited her after she got home from the hospital, and a couple of weeks later played Monopoly in her basement for hours. Her mom and dad didn't blame any of us; to be sure we had pretty much done all we could to keep her from going in the first place. But whenever I saw her after that even into high school, I felt bad.
I wonder -- did we every say to her, "I'm sorry?"
Lenten quote:
"Christ has no body now, but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth, but
yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ looks compassion into the
world.
Yours are the feet
with which Christ walks to do good.
Yours are
the hands
with which Christ blesses the world." - St. Teresa of Avila
Light of Christ
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Real Contemplation
Today we'll start out with the Lenten quote because it's so interesting and worth examination.
Our quote:
"Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing. " St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Avila was a Spanish nun who became a Doctor of the Church. Her writings have inspired many people, have called many people to God, and have brought about change in many.
1. We have only one soul -- therefore, we ought to cherish and protect our souls from the near occasion of sin. We ought to filter what we see with our eyes and what we hear with our ears. When we sin, we leave damage on our souls, kind of like a pitted surface. Although our sins are forgiven when we seek out forgiveness and admit our wrongdoings, and although our sins are then as far as the east is from the west, there is still damage. And although we should be able to abandon it, we feel guilt in many instances and guilt takes us away from God's work and causes us to focus more on ourselves.
2. We have only one death to die -- watching a loved one or anyone suffer is so difficult. In the movie, "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", the plot moves toward an act of murder in order to remove someone from their suffering. Why isn't that okay? Because our time of death isn't ours to determine; it is God's. And the suffering that we experience on this earth is preparing us from our everlasting life. Sure, it's scary. I've always said that I'm really not afraid of dying; I'm afraid of what I might have to experience to get there. But we need to trust in God completely. The suffering will end.
The part that we have to live our lives by ourselves alone is interesting. Have you ever been around someone whose life is consumed by another or others? We are to serve others but not become slaves to others. That isn't humility; it's a surrendering of our own minds and hearts to someone else. The kind of pitiful comment you might hear, "Well, my husband doesn't like it when I spend time with my friends," is usually a clue that the balance in that relationship is off. There is a really important reason for living our lives ourselves, and that's because we must be sure that we alone make the decisions that may lead to sin.
3. There is only one glory. The things that seem so important here on this earth are passing. The glory of God is eternal and forever. Thinking about this third point alone should create in us a better understanding of this life and how we choose to lead it. It puts the unrelenting drive you see in some for power and position to shame. It makes the quest for piles of material things we really don't need to shame. It makes the reliance on science to explain everything to shame.
The gift of knowledge and discernment isn't about what we know but about what God knows and shares with us.
Pray for faith every single day, for it is your faith that will guide you toward the things that are everlasting -- faith, hope and love -- and as we know, the greatest of these is love.
I pray that this time of Lent is very special for you.
Our quote:
"Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing. " St. Teresa of Avila
St. Teresa of Avila was a Spanish nun who became a Doctor of the Church. Her writings have inspired many people, have called many people to God, and have brought about change in many.
1. We have only one soul -- therefore, we ought to cherish and protect our souls from the near occasion of sin. We ought to filter what we see with our eyes and what we hear with our ears. When we sin, we leave damage on our souls, kind of like a pitted surface. Although our sins are forgiven when we seek out forgiveness and admit our wrongdoings, and although our sins are then as far as the east is from the west, there is still damage. And although we should be able to abandon it, we feel guilt in many instances and guilt takes us away from God's work and causes us to focus more on ourselves.
2. We have only one death to die -- watching a loved one or anyone suffer is so difficult. In the movie, "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?", the plot moves toward an act of murder in order to remove someone from their suffering. Why isn't that okay? Because our time of death isn't ours to determine; it is God's. And the suffering that we experience on this earth is preparing us from our everlasting life. Sure, it's scary. I've always said that I'm really not afraid of dying; I'm afraid of what I might have to experience to get there. But we need to trust in God completely. The suffering will end.
The part that we have to live our lives by ourselves alone is interesting. Have you ever been around someone whose life is consumed by another or others? We are to serve others but not become slaves to others. That isn't humility; it's a surrendering of our own minds and hearts to someone else. The kind of pitiful comment you might hear, "Well, my husband doesn't like it when I spend time with my friends," is usually a clue that the balance in that relationship is off. There is a really important reason for living our lives ourselves, and that's because we must be sure that we alone make the decisions that may lead to sin.
3. There is only one glory. The things that seem so important here on this earth are passing. The glory of God is eternal and forever. Thinking about this third point alone should create in us a better understanding of this life and how we choose to lead it. It puts the unrelenting drive you see in some for power and position to shame. It makes the quest for piles of material things we really don't need to shame. It makes the reliance on science to explain everything to shame.
The gift of knowledge and discernment isn't about what we know but about what God knows and shares with us.
Pray for faith every single day, for it is your faith that will guide you toward the things that are everlasting -- faith, hope and love -- and as we know, the greatest of these is love.
I pray that this time of Lent is very special for you.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Beauty Shop
If you want the "what's up" in the world, just go to the beauty shop. You get to hear about everything.
On Tuesday, there was a lot of speculation about what happened to the Malaysian Boeing 777. Everyone has an opinion on it. I guess the American press has kind of let it slide because it isn't in a prominent position on the online news services today. One thing that was interesting -- a poll showed that Americans were not thinking that terrorism was the cause of the crash.
Another thing that I found out at the beauty shop was that Entenmann's makes a great raspberry chocolate cookie at this time of year. It is so good that apparently the nail lady's husband bought three boxes and froze two for later. My beautician bought one box on Friday and it was gone by Sunday morning. She liked them so much she tried to keep it a secret from everyone else in the family for a while, but then felt a little guilty and shared.
Let's see -- what else? My beautician (they are actually counselors in disguise) told me that I should look upon selling our house and moving to a new one as an adventure. That I should scout out the entire area and decide on just what territory would be okay. She mentioned that no matter how nice the house is, if it's in the wrong place, it won't work out well. She also told me about a small allotment off of Arlington that I didn't know existed. She had a friend that used to live back in there.
Good advice!!
She told me a beautiful story about when her sons were little. She was at the mall with them and on the spur of the moment, decided to take them to see "Beauty and the Beast." This was when it first came out. Her older son was about five and the baby was still drinking from a bottle. She took them into the theater and then wondered if they'd ever be able to sit still. At the start of the movie, Belle comes out of her house and sings this song. Linda looked over at her boys. They were both sitting up straight and staring at the screen with their mouths hanging open. After the song ended, she asked them, "Do you like it?" Her older son said, "She's so beautiful." And the baby said, "Yaaaaa." It was for her one of those "hold it in your heart" memories.
Since we are all waiting for spring, the quote for today is just right.
Our Lenten quote for today is:
There is no such thing as bad weather. All weather is good because it is God’s. - Saint Teresa of Avila
On Tuesday, there was a lot of speculation about what happened to the Malaysian Boeing 777. Everyone has an opinion on it. I guess the American press has kind of let it slide because it isn't in a prominent position on the online news services today. One thing that was interesting -- a poll showed that Americans were not thinking that terrorism was the cause of the crash.
Another thing that I found out at the beauty shop was that Entenmann's makes a great raspberry chocolate cookie at this time of year. It is so good that apparently the nail lady's husband bought three boxes and froze two for later. My beautician bought one box on Friday and it was gone by Sunday morning. She liked them so much she tried to keep it a secret from everyone else in the family for a while, but then felt a little guilty and shared.
Let's see -- what else? My beautician (they are actually counselors in disguise) told me that I should look upon selling our house and moving to a new one as an adventure. That I should scout out the entire area and decide on just what territory would be okay. She mentioned that no matter how nice the house is, if it's in the wrong place, it won't work out well. She also told me about a small allotment off of Arlington that I didn't know existed. She had a friend that used to live back in there.
Good advice!!
She told me a beautiful story about when her sons were little. She was at the mall with them and on the spur of the moment, decided to take them to see "Beauty and the Beast." This was when it first came out. Her older son was about five and the baby was still drinking from a bottle. She took them into the theater and then wondered if they'd ever be able to sit still. At the start of the movie, Belle comes out of her house and sings this song. Linda looked over at her boys. They were both sitting up straight and staring at the screen with their mouths hanging open. After the song ended, she asked them, "Do you like it?" Her older son said, "She's so beautiful." And the baby said, "Yaaaaa." It was for her one of those "hold it in your heart" memories.
Since we are all waiting for spring, the quote for today is just right.
Our Lenten quote for today is:
There is no such thing as bad weather. All weather is good because it is God’s. - Saint Teresa of Avila
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Man on the Street
"Man-on-the-Street" interviews have been around for a long time, but recently they've been getting a new look.
In one interview, residents of New York (I presume it was NY) were told that Franklin D. Roosevelt had died and did the interviewer want to send their condolences to the family? And they did! Maybe someone finally said, "He died in 1945," but I didn't hear any response like that. Kind of scary, don't you think?
There was a really funny one the other day, but now I can't think of it and I can't find it on the internet either. Some suggest that those questioned purposely go along with the ploy just to get on television, and some of them have apparently admitted to this. Would you? If you messed up bad though, and fell for the ploy, the best way to get around that would be to say, "I went along with it to get on television."
Steve Allen started it all with his interviews back in the day, but apparently none of them survive, or if they do they aren't on you tube. While I was looking for them, I found a bunch of other stuff that Steve Allen did and you know what, he was hilarious! Funny people have great laughs. Johnny Carson had a great laugh; so did Steve Allen. And they would double over and put their heads on the desk or go way back in the chair and just let it go -- a guffaw.
On the other end of it, Steve Allen, Johnny Carson and other funny men also had a great straight face. The straight face was funny all by itself.
Drew Carey has a great laugh, but he just doesn't look the same or maybe somehow it just doesn't come off quite the same since he lost weight. I don't want him to gain it back though. I'm sure he's much healthier.
One night while we were surfing around looking for something to watch, there was a Johnny Carson retrospective on. I didn't want to miss one bit of it!! It was great. And I realized how much I missed that humor.
When we lose a loved one, one of the things we miss the most is their sense of humor or so it seems to me.
If you want to have a good laugh, watch kids. They are a never-ending source of hilarity. Best source of humor there is in my book!
Our Lenten quote for today is from St. Teresa of Avila:
"God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person."
In one interview, residents of New York (I presume it was NY) were told that Franklin D. Roosevelt had died and did the interviewer want to send their condolences to the family? And they did! Maybe someone finally said, "He died in 1945," but I didn't hear any response like that. Kind of scary, don't you think?
There was a really funny one the other day, but now I can't think of it and I can't find it on the internet either. Some suggest that those questioned purposely go along with the ploy just to get on television, and some of them have apparently admitted to this. Would you? If you messed up bad though, and fell for the ploy, the best way to get around that would be to say, "I went along with it to get on television."
Steve Allen started it all with his interviews back in the day, but apparently none of them survive, or if they do they aren't on you tube. While I was looking for them, I found a bunch of other stuff that Steve Allen did and you know what, he was hilarious! Funny people have great laughs. Johnny Carson had a great laugh; so did Steve Allen. And they would double over and put their heads on the desk or go way back in the chair and just let it go -- a guffaw.
On the other end of it, Steve Allen, Johnny Carson and other funny men also had a great straight face. The straight face was funny all by itself.
Drew Carey has a great laugh, but he just doesn't look the same or maybe somehow it just doesn't come off quite the same since he lost weight. I don't want him to gain it back though. I'm sure he's much healthier.
One night while we were surfing around looking for something to watch, there was a Johnny Carson retrospective on. I didn't want to miss one bit of it!! It was great. And I realized how much I missed that humor.
When we lose a loved one, one of the things we miss the most is their sense of humor or so it seems to me.
If you want to have a good laugh, watch kids. They are a never-ending source of hilarity. Best source of humor there is in my book!
Our Lenten quote for today is from St. Teresa of Avila:
"God has been very good to me, for I never dwell upon anything wrong which a person has done, so as to remember it afterwards. If I do remember it, I always see some other virtue in that person."
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Let us ponder St. Catherine
The last few days in this Lenten journey we are taking together, I used quotes from St. Catherine of Siena.
Let's find out more about this fascinating woman, nun, and saint.
St. Catherine was a member of the Dominican order and as such was able to go out into the world. She was not cloistered. Catherine traveled as part of the work she was doing for the Lord.
During her life, she led a crusade against the Muslims, and was able to return the papacy of Gregory XI from France to Italy by convincing Gregory XI to return to Rome. She met with the Pope on many occasions. The times in which Catherine lived were tumultuous in terms of the Catholic Church, and there was much corruption. In direct contrast, Catherine was one of the most sacrificial saints -- depriving herself of food except for the Host for long periods of time, scourging herself, and denying herself sleep. This self-abuse is one used by mystics in some cases, and is still used today in some orders outside of the U.S. St. Theresa of Lisieux questioned its use. My own take on it is that suffering comes to us all in one form or another. The love of God and His love for us is enough to bring about a depth of devotion.
St. Catherine was born Catherine Benincasa on March 25, 1347 in Siena, Tuscany, Italy, surely one of the most beautiful areas on the entire planet. She died on April 29, 1380.
As I started working on this posting today, I decided on the spur of the moment to write about St. Catherine (Karen is a derivative of Catherine), and then I saw her birth date -- today!! Isn't that something amazing?
St. Catherine was intelligent and did a lot of writing -- much of it in the form of letters. She had received no formal education, and the fact that she could read and write is looked upon as a miracle. Her writing is not flowery in any way, but is blunt and to-the-point as she herself was. She endured much pain in her lifetime but did not want undue attention in anything -- a humble soul dedicated to God, although her parents would have wished otherwise. They had hoped she would marry.
So our quote today is:
"The human heart is always drawn by love." Dialogue 26
The Catherine of Siena Society is the one that publishes material on Called and Gifted, seminars given on our charisms (gifts from God that are so special that they bring about in us a passion for the use of them). Her work continues here on this earth in many forms.
Let's find out more about this fascinating woman, nun, and saint.
St. Catherine was a member of the Dominican order and as such was able to go out into the world. She was not cloistered. Catherine traveled as part of the work she was doing for the Lord.
During her life, she led a crusade against the Muslims, and was able to return the papacy of Gregory XI from France to Italy by convincing Gregory XI to return to Rome. She met with the Pope on many occasions. The times in which Catherine lived were tumultuous in terms of the Catholic Church, and there was much corruption. In direct contrast, Catherine was one of the most sacrificial saints -- depriving herself of food except for the Host for long periods of time, scourging herself, and denying herself sleep. This self-abuse is one used by mystics in some cases, and is still used today in some orders outside of the U.S. St. Theresa of Lisieux questioned its use. My own take on it is that suffering comes to us all in one form or another. The love of God and His love for us is enough to bring about a depth of devotion.
St. Catherine was born Catherine Benincasa on March 25, 1347 in Siena, Tuscany, Italy, surely one of the most beautiful areas on the entire planet. She died on April 29, 1380.
As I started working on this posting today, I decided on the spur of the moment to write about St. Catherine (Karen is a derivative of Catherine), and then I saw her birth date -- today!! Isn't that something amazing?
St. Catherine was intelligent and did a lot of writing -- much of it in the form of letters. She had received no formal education, and the fact that she could read and write is looked upon as a miracle. Her writing is not flowery in any way, but is blunt and to-the-point as she herself was. She endured much pain in her lifetime but did not want undue attention in anything -- a humble soul dedicated to God, although her parents would have wished otherwise. They had hoped she would marry.
So our quote today is:
"The human heart is always drawn by love." Dialogue 26
The Catherine of Siena Society is the one that publishes material on Called and Gifted, seminars given on our charisms (gifts from God that are so special that they bring about in us a passion for the use of them). Her work continues here on this earth in many forms.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Amazing Life
For atheists, death comes and then there is nothing. Nothing.
God has created this earth and it is beautiful. The flowers, trees, living things -- it is beautiful. And His creation -- man -- is beautiful. He has lavished upon us so much goodness, so much to appreciate. Why would God create us only to let us die to nothingness?
Even if you don't believe in God -- if you are an atheist -- and you look around you at all of this beauty, why would it exist, why would we exist if it was for nothing?
One day a brilliant man was approached by a billionaire who liked to play with his money. He told the man that he had a proposition for him. He wanted him to make a tree. The tree would have to be strong enough to withstand winds of 75 mph at least. It would have to be alive, with sap running through it during the spring and into the fall. It would have to get leaves in the spring, bright green leaves that would use photosynthesis to keep the tree going. In the fall, when the sun had lost some of its strength, the tree would stop creating the green, and in its absence, the leaves would become orange, red, and ochre. The sap would stop running, and the tree would go into a kind of hibernation but remain alive even when the temperatures would plummet to below zero.
The billionaire said that the man could have any sum of money he needed, any laboratory in the world, any help from scientists or theorists. He could have as long as he wanted to do the work.
The brilliant man brought in scientists and theorists and created an impressive lab that could do state-of-the-art work. They created a think tank and had meetings. Then they went into the lab and labored for ten hours a day.
Three years later, they unveiled their creation for the billionaire on a piece of property near a park. The "tree" was made of cement-like material that was anchored into the ground much like a building built on less steady soil. The outer surface of the "tree" was covered with mosses and lichens and other growing things that got their water from a series of pipes embedded in the concrete. The leaves came out of some of the vines growing on the tree.
The billionaire asked where they got the water for the pipes.
"From the ground. There's a pump," they responded.
"And, if I turn off the pump, then what?" he asked.
"Um, well, the mosses and lichens and plants will probably die after a while," they said.
"So, then. You did not really create a tree, did you?" he asked.
"No, we could not. We couldn't duplicate a tree. We tried so hard and we spent so much money, but we really never could do it as you asked," they admitted. "We have failed."
As the billionaire walked to his awaiting limousine, he saw a little boy on the edge of the park digging with a spoon. He went over to him.
"What are you doing, son?" he asked.
"We read about Johnny Appleseed in school this week. See this acorn here? This will become a tree," the boy answered, flashing a brilliant smile.
Lenten quote:
"I give spiritual consolation in prayer, now in one way, now in another. But it is not my intention that the soul should receive this consolation foolishly, paying more attention to the gift than to me." Dialogue 68 - St. Catherine of Siena
God has created this earth and it is beautiful. The flowers, trees, living things -- it is beautiful. And His creation -- man -- is beautiful. He has lavished upon us so much goodness, so much to appreciate. Why would God create us only to let us die to nothingness?
Even if you don't believe in God -- if you are an atheist -- and you look around you at all of this beauty, why would it exist, why would we exist if it was for nothing?
One day a brilliant man was approached by a billionaire who liked to play with his money. He told the man that he had a proposition for him. He wanted him to make a tree. The tree would have to be strong enough to withstand winds of 75 mph at least. It would have to be alive, with sap running through it during the spring and into the fall. It would have to get leaves in the spring, bright green leaves that would use photosynthesis to keep the tree going. In the fall, when the sun had lost some of its strength, the tree would stop creating the green, and in its absence, the leaves would become orange, red, and ochre. The sap would stop running, and the tree would go into a kind of hibernation but remain alive even when the temperatures would plummet to below zero.
The billionaire said that the man could have any sum of money he needed, any laboratory in the world, any help from scientists or theorists. He could have as long as he wanted to do the work.
The brilliant man brought in scientists and theorists and created an impressive lab that could do state-of-the-art work. They created a think tank and had meetings. Then they went into the lab and labored for ten hours a day.
Three years later, they unveiled their creation for the billionaire on a piece of property near a park. The "tree" was made of cement-like material that was anchored into the ground much like a building built on less steady soil. The outer surface of the "tree" was covered with mosses and lichens and other growing things that got their water from a series of pipes embedded in the concrete. The leaves came out of some of the vines growing on the tree.
The billionaire asked where they got the water for the pipes.
"From the ground. There's a pump," they responded.
"And, if I turn off the pump, then what?" he asked.
"Um, well, the mosses and lichens and plants will probably die after a while," they said.
"So, then. You did not really create a tree, did you?" he asked.
"No, we could not. We couldn't duplicate a tree. We tried so hard and we spent so much money, but we really never could do it as you asked," they admitted. "We have failed."
As the billionaire walked to his awaiting limousine, he saw a little boy on the edge of the park digging with a spoon. He went over to him.
"What are you doing, son?" he asked.
"We read about Johnny Appleseed in school this week. See this acorn here? This will become a tree," the boy answered, flashing a brilliant smile.
Lenten quote:
"I give spiritual consolation in prayer, now in one way, now in another. But it is not my intention that the soul should receive this consolation foolishly, paying more attention to the gift than to me." Dialogue 68 - St. Catherine of Siena
Friday, March 21, 2014
The Hat (a short story)
Margaret had spent the winter warding off the cold by crocheting in her big, old easy chair, the one her husband had always used when he was alive. After his death in September, the mere glance at the empty chair was enough to take her to tears, but the thing was so big and heavy. She hated to ask anyone to come help her lug it out for a donation.
One day Margaret woke up with a sinus headache and she felt horrible. She couldn't get to the medicine shelf fast enough to find her pills but she knew it would be at least an hour before she'd get the relief she wanted so badly. She walked out into the living room and just sank into the soft cushions of the old chair and felt herself relax and breathe in the smell of her husband. She fell asleep and an hour later when she awoke feeling much better, there was no more thought of getting rid of the chair. She claimed it for herself and found it to be perfect for crocheting, including the pocket on the side where she could stash her yarn and crochet hook at bedtime.
Margaret was one of those people with a routine. Get up, make the bed, take a bath, get dressed, have some tea and toast, straighten the house, run the vacuum, dust, take care of the cat, and say a couple of prayers while she was doing so. Then she'd run errands into town if she needed to, stop at the grocery store, purchase cards or gifts for her family members, stop at the senior center to see some friends. Her unwritten rule was that crocheting was reserved for the long evenings while she either watched something on TV or listened to music. That way she had something to look forward to doing each evening, because it was during the evenings that she missed her husband the most. The crocheting filled in the longing she had to hear his voice.
That winter Margaret quit counting at 50 hats. Someone at church told her that the school kids could use some, so she took a bag over there. Apparently, the children weren't allowed to go out at recess without a coat and hat. Margaret remembered back 70 years to when she was a kid, and she recalled recess as being very important to her. She couldn't imagine some poor little child sitting in a classroom because he or she didn't have a hat. The school secretary thanked Margaret and said that the hats would go to good use.
There were red and blue hats, green and yellow, pink and white, orange and yellow, as well as solid colors of brown, white, and blue. The most striking of them were the orange and yellow ones. There were only three because the orange yarn came from a craft project she'd completed years before and once it was gone, it was gone. The orange was almost neon, a beacon of protection, a cry of, "Here I am."
A heartfelt thank-you note arrived at Margaret's house a week or so after the donation with signatures from many children, apparently some of those who had received a hat. It made Margaret feel useful, needed, and it spurred her onward.
The hat project continued and grew in the next couple of years and Margaret accepted gift cards for the craft shop and people also gave her cash sometimes, although at first she resisted. But, she reasoned, the added funds allowed her to purchase more yarn and make more hats. Then she added scarves so that the hats and scarves matched. She tried new patterns, new styles. She added pom-poms on the girls' hats. She made some larger and some smaller to accommodate more ages. She found more places who wanted the hats. The newspaper did an article on the hats and she got even more information on where they were needed. The hospital said they could use them for the cancer patients.
Margaret was proud that she could still drive and was active and alert. She was also very thankful to God for that.
Three winters after the craft project started, Margaret was driving to a doctor's appointment. It was a specialist she was seeing because she'd developed cataracts and he was going to do surgery for them. As she made her way down less traveled streets and into the more urban setting, she glanced over to the sidewalk and saw a woman pushing a cart. Her coat was worn and dull, her gait a little uneven, her cart full of cans. But it was none of those things that really got Margaret's attention. It was the hat -- neon orange and yellow. She'd recognize it anywhere.
And so it goes. The kindness goes on and on, just as God's love does.
Margaret just smiled. She needed to make another trip to the craft store.
Today's Lenten quote:
“Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.” St. Catherine of Siena
(This quote is found on the beautiful mosaic fountain in the student center at The University of Akron, a gift from a sorority that had some money in its treasury when it disbanded.)
Scroll down to the very end of the posts, and there are two pictures of the fountain. I'm not going to try and remove one at this point!!
One day Margaret woke up with a sinus headache and she felt horrible. She couldn't get to the medicine shelf fast enough to find her pills but she knew it would be at least an hour before she'd get the relief she wanted so badly. She walked out into the living room and just sank into the soft cushions of the old chair and felt herself relax and breathe in the smell of her husband. She fell asleep and an hour later when she awoke feeling much better, there was no more thought of getting rid of the chair. She claimed it for herself and found it to be perfect for crocheting, including the pocket on the side where she could stash her yarn and crochet hook at bedtime.
Margaret was one of those people with a routine. Get up, make the bed, take a bath, get dressed, have some tea and toast, straighten the house, run the vacuum, dust, take care of the cat, and say a couple of prayers while she was doing so. Then she'd run errands into town if she needed to, stop at the grocery store, purchase cards or gifts for her family members, stop at the senior center to see some friends. Her unwritten rule was that crocheting was reserved for the long evenings while she either watched something on TV or listened to music. That way she had something to look forward to doing each evening, because it was during the evenings that she missed her husband the most. The crocheting filled in the longing she had to hear his voice.
That winter Margaret quit counting at 50 hats. Someone at church told her that the school kids could use some, so she took a bag over there. Apparently, the children weren't allowed to go out at recess without a coat and hat. Margaret remembered back 70 years to when she was a kid, and she recalled recess as being very important to her. She couldn't imagine some poor little child sitting in a classroom because he or she didn't have a hat. The school secretary thanked Margaret and said that the hats would go to good use.
There were red and blue hats, green and yellow, pink and white, orange and yellow, as well as solid colors of brown, white, and blue. The most striking of them were the orange and yellow ones. There were only three because the orange yarn came from a craft project she'd completed years before and once it was gone, it was gone. The orange was almost neon, a beacon of protection, a cry of, "Here I am."
A heartfelt thank-you note arrived at Margaret's house a week or so after the donation with signatures from many children, apparently some of those who had received a hat. It made Margaret feel useful, needed, and it spurred her onward.
The hat project continued and grew in the next couple of years and Margaret accepted gift cards for the craft shop and people also gave her cash sometimes, although at first she resisted. But, she reasoned, the added funds allowed her to purchase more yarn and make more hats. Then she added scarves so that the hats and scarves matched. She tried new patterns, new styles. She added pom-poms on the girls' hats. She made some larger and some smaller to accommodate more ages. She found more places who wanted the hats. The newspaper did an article on the hats and she got even more information on where they were needed. The hospital said they could use them for the cancer patients.
Margaret was proud that she could still drive and was active and alert. She was also very thankful to God for that.
Three winters after the craft project started, Margaret was driving to a doctor's appointment. It was a specialist she was seeing because she'd developed cataracts and he was going to do surgery for them. As she made her way down less traveled streets and into the more urban setting, she glanced over to the sidewalk and saw a woman pushing a cart. Her coat was worn and dull, her gait a little uneven, her cart full of cans. But it was none of those things that really got Margaret's attention. It was the hat -- neon orange and yellow. She'd recognize it anywhere.
And so it goes. The kindness goes on and on, just as God's love does.
Margaret just smiled. She needed to make another trip to the craft store.
Today's Lenten quote:
“Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.” St. Catherine of Siena
(This quote is found on the beautiful mosaic fountain in the student center at The University of Akron, a gift from a sorority that had some money in its treasury when it disbanded.)
Scroll down to the very end of the posts, and there are two pictures of the fountain. I'm not going to try and remove one at this point!!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Understanding the Aging
Back in the early 1980s, my boss at the newspaper asked me to go to a local nursing home and take a picture of two residents each celebrating 100 years on this earth. Armed with my trusty camera, I went off. He had warned me about bringing home a "Mexican bandit" shot, and at that time I really had no idea what he meant. It was years later when I thought about it -- how the Mexican bandits would proudly pose for a picture standing in a straight line with no expression on their faces (being baddies) and holding guns.
Thing is, the woman at the nursing home advised me that one of the women was proud that she could still walk. The other wasn't able to walk. The one that was able to walk wanted to have her picture taken standing. The other resident had to sit. When I suggested (as my boss had mentioned), that they could both sit down and toast each other with a tea cup, the nursing home employee got this stricken look on her face and kept shaking her head, "No!"
Okay, so we got a lousy picture of two women, one standing and one sitting and it was worse than a Mexican bandit shot. I told my boss that HE should go back over there if he wanted to negotiate with them.
While I was trying to understand how it might feel to be 100, there was no way that I could. And I still can't, not really.
Getting older is one of the sure things in life. Like they say, taxes and death, but then there's the in between -- getting older.
In Eric's Lions Club, some of the members are getting up there and beginning to have some serious health issues. These are people I've come to know for many years in some cases. Plus, my husband still smokes and he has some issues too. There have been three funerals in the past year, either Lions or their wives.
Pondering the mystery of aging, I think about older family members who came to Christmas or Easter and how for that moment in time, they must have felt vibrant and full of life, almost as though they hadn't aged at all. But then the celebration ended and they had to go back to the "regular" life. So part of getting older is probably feeling like the train came into the station but you missed it.
My granddaughter came over after school yesterday. A large box had arrived at the front door and I whispered to her that I hadn't told my husband about that yet. So a little later, I opened it and showed Eric what I bought. He nodded in some sort of agreement, but the best was yet to come. The padded storage ottoman came in the box with packing poppies, and a mosquito net around it!! First, we scared all of the cats in the house from here to there by jumping around on the poppies. My husband came by and took a pass at it too. Then my granddaughter crawled in the box and dumped herself over on one side. She put the mosquito netting on the front and took her root beer inside. It was another great day on the Serengeti.
Our Lenten quote for today is:
“It [penance] does not mean sacrifice and self denial in the first place, but a “change of heart,” a victory over sin and a striving for holiness. The sacrifices of fasting and self-denial are only means and signs of this spiritual penance. If people understand this well, they will not put the main effort in Lent on technical feats of abstaining from pleasures (which sometimes make them proud or vain), but in sincere contrition, prayer and humble fight against their faults.” - Fr. Francis X. Weiser S.J.
Thing is, the woman at the nursing home advised me that one of the women was proud that she could still walk. The other wasn't able to walk. The one that was able to walk wanted to have her picture taken standing. The other resident had to sit. When I suggested (as my boss had mentioned), that they could both sit down and toast each other with a tea cup, the nursing home employee got this stricken look on her face and kept shaking her head, "No!"
Okay, so we got a lousy picture of two women, one standing and one sitting and it was worse than a Mexican bandit shot. I told my boss that HE should go back over there if he wanted to negotiate with them.
While I was trying to understand how it might feel to be 100, there was no way that I could. And I still can't, not really.
Getting older is one of the sure things in life. Like they say, taxes and death, but then there's the in between -- getting older.
In Eric's Lions Club, some of the members are getting up there and beginning to have some serious health issues. These are people I've come to know for many years in some cases. Plus, my husband still smokes and he has some issues too. There have been three funerals in the past year, either Lions or their wives.
Pondering the mystery of aging, I think about older family members who came to Christmas or Easter and how for that moment in time, they must have felt vibrant and full of life, almost as though they hadn't aged at all. But then the celebration ended and they had to go back to the "regular" life. So part of getting older is probably feeling like the train came into the station but you missed it.
My granddaughter came over after school yesterday. A large box had arrived at the front door and I whispered to her that I hadn't told my husband about that yet. So a little later, I opened it and showed Eric what I bought. He nodded in some sort of agreement, but the best was yet to come. The padded storage ottoman came in the box with packing poppies, and a mosquito net around it!! First, we scared all of the cats in the house from here to there by jumping around on the poppies. My husband came by and took a pass at it too. Then my granddaughter crawled in the box and dumped herself over on one side. She put the mosquito netting on the front and took her root beer inside. It was another great day on the Serengeti.
Our Lenten quote for today is:
“It [penance] does not mean sacrifice and self denial in the first place, but a “change of heart,” a victory over sin and a striving for holiness. The sacrifices of fasting and self-denial are only means and signs of this spiritual penance. If people understand this well, they will not put the main effort in Lent on technical feats of abstaining from pleasures (which sometimes make them proud or vain), but in sincere contrition, prayer and humble fight against their faults.” - Fr. Francis X. Weiser S.J.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
The Camel's Hump
Some people refer to Wednesday as "Hump Day" because if you look at the five days of the work week, it's right in the middle of the camel's hump so to speak. And when Wednesday is over, then you are heading for the last two days of the week and towards the weekend.
I'm going to paint the hall closet and try not to get it all over me. It's a tight squeeze in there! In the past my performance in house painting has not been all that good, if I'm being honest. It just always seemed good form to me to load up the brush pretty well so I don't have to make so many trips. Thing is, loading the brush too much makes it harder to clean and also results in the dreaded drips.
How is your Lenten journey going? I hope well. If you haven't given up anything, there is always time to do something. It doesn't have to be in sequence or on a certain day, and it doesn't have to be all through Lent either. It's kind of like Yoda saying, "Do, or do not. There is no try."
My granddaughter gave up candy and she does a really good job of it. Even when one of her favorite candies was sitting in front of her on the kitchen counter last week, she only reached for the container so she could use it to weigh down the blanket tent she was making. (Edge of sit-down counter plus blanket plus weights equals a tent.) I got a kick out of that. And when I asked her the first Wednesday of Lent what she wanted for her snack after school, she said, "Anything but candy. I gave it up for Lent." Good kid.
We started to watch the Cosmos the other night and quit. They were talking about dogs and said that man created all of the species of dogs by feeding and caring for the wolves that had the most attractive looks, etc. I just don't buy it. The photography was great; the simulations were great, but the substance wasn't -- not for me.
Our quotation today is this:
"And eventually, the choosing becomes easier, the darkness lifts, and walking in Jesus' way is not quite such a struggle for a while. But the darkness will always return, often unexpectedly. That is why I need Lent, because it bears witness to the reality of darkness, of doubt, of fear, of pain. And it carries me through those real places, real experiences into one that is more fully and truly Real: the Reality of Resurrection, of Light, of Life." -Kimberlee Conway Ireton (Author of The Circle of Seasons).
What I read the other day about Lent really stuck with me. Lent is a beginning of change for us. After each Lent, we shouldn't be quite the same person. Maybe we have more patience, maybe we are more kind, maybe we are more generous, maybe more compassionate, maybe more humble. And these changes, practiced throughout Lent, stay with us.
And so we have the sunrise of another day in which to do the work of the Lord.
I'm going to paint the hall closet and try not to get it all over me. It's a tight squeeze in there! In the past my performance in house painting has not been all that good, if I'm being honest. It just always seemed good form to me to load up the brush pretty well so I don't have to make so many trips. Thing is, loading the brush too much makes it harder to clean and also results in the dreaded drips.
How is your Lenten journey going? I hope well. If you haven't given up anything, there is always time to do something. It doesn't have to be in sequence or on a certain day, and it doesn't have to be all through Lent either. It's kind of like Yoda saying, "Do, or do not. There is no try."
My granddaughter gave up candy and she does a really good job of it. Even when one of her favorite candies was sitting in front of her on the kitchen counter last week, she only reached for the container so she could use it to weigh down the blanket tent she was making. (Edge of sit-down counter plus blanket plus weights equals a tent.) I got a kick out of that. And when I asked her the first Wednesday of Lent what she wanted for her snack after school, she said, "Anything but candy. I gave it up for Lent." Good kid.
We started to watch the Cosmos the other night and quit. They were talking about dogs and said that man created all of the species of dogs by feeding and caring for the wolves that had the most attractive looks, etc. I just don't buy it. The photography was great; the simulations were great, but the substance wasn't -- not for me.
Our quotation today is this:
"And eventually, the choosing becomes easier, the darkness lifts, and walking in Jesus' way is not quite such a struggle for a while. But the darkness will always return, often unexpectedly. That is why I need Lent, because it bears witness to the reality of darkness, of doubt, of fear, of pain. And it carries me through those real places, real experiences into one that is more fully and truly Real: the Reality of Resurrection, of Light, of Life." -Kimberlee Conway Ireton (Author of The Circle of Seasons).
What I read the other day about Lent really stuck with me. Lent is a beginning of change for us. After each Lent, we shouldn't be quite the same person. Maybe we have more patience, maybe we are more kind, maybe we are more generous, maybe more compassionate, maybe more humble. And these changes, practiced throughout Lent, stay with us.
And so we have the sunrise of another day in which to do the work of the Lord.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Back on Track
Wow -- it's spring! Do you know how I know? The nose knows, that's how. Sinus trouble already. From taking three deep breaths outside yesterday afternoon. And I don't care, because I'm going to take some more deep breaths outside today. Join me!
Here it is Tuesday and this blog IS for Tuesday, so everything makes sense again. I didn't feel too well part of last week and the house has been all torn up because we've been painting. You just don't realize how many things have to be moved and how the place can start looking like a pig sty in no time flat!
When I emptied out the hall closet, that had to be the worst. It only took 15 minutes but the STUFF that was squeezed into it was positively amazing. It takes up most of the spare bedroom. So I got out a plastic garbage bag and started tossing. It felt good. But we'll still have more stuff in the closet than we should, so maybe I'll pare down again before the shelves go back in.
Father Kevin talked about heaven on Sunday. He said that he hears a comment something like this quite often, "But it sounds so boring." He assured us that heaven will not be boring. He said that we will always be learning new things, doing new things, and doing so without pain, illness, suffering, sin and the other ills of life. We will be in the presence of God; we will feel the unconditional love very directly, in a very personal way. We will be with family members we knew and loved, and we will also meet family members who lived before we were ever born.
Especially, there will be a profound sense of peace. As Father mentioned, those individuals who describe a near-death experience always talk about the peace. No anxiety, no worries, no upsets.
Yesterday morning as I went to my son's house, I traveled down 55th Street as usual. The signs said, "Road closed," but the workers weren't there yet. Since I leave for Ella's school at around 7:50 a.m., it occurred to me that maybe they'd have the road closed by then. I'm honestly not sure how to get to the school that well outside of 55th Street, and sure enough, I saw that the road was closed on our way to school. Ella's was in the back seat, talking, asking me questions. As we wound our way down some fairly unfamiliar streets, she says, "Be patient." Pretty intuitive, huh?
I got here there; it wasn't pretty, but then there was trying to get home. So you have to love cell phones sometimes! I called my son and he directed me how to get back to their house and it's a much better way.
Getting lost as I am out driving is one of the things I won't miss in heaven. I hate being lost.
When Eric and I went to Boston years ago and were walking here and there, we somehow got ourselves off of the Red Brick Road (Freedom Trail). One minute we were fine; the next minute we were in some back alley and people were speaking in foreign languages, and then a huge black stretch limo pulled in. Something wasn't kosher. We finally found our way out of the maze but it was a little scary.
Being lost. People do the same thing as part of a bigger picture -- people get lost along the way, think they are on the right path because of self-deception and then all of the sudden they realize that things are not right.
Our Lenten meditation for today is:
"Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my steps." -Luke 9:23
Jesus, show us the way.
Here it is Tuesday and this blog IS for Tuesday, so everything makes sense again. I didn't feel too well part of last week and the house has been all torn up because we've been painting. You just don't realize how many things have to be moved and how the place can start looking like a pig sty in no time flat!
When I emptied out the hall closet, that had to be the worst. It only took 15 minutes but the STUFF that was squeezed into it was positively amazing. It takes up most of the spare bedroom. So I got out a plastic garbage bag and started tossing. It felt good. But we'll still have more stuff in the closet than we should, so maybe I'll pare down again before the shelves go back in.
Father Kevin talked about heaven on Sunday. He said that he hears a comment something like this quite often, "But it sounds so boring." He assured us that heaven will not be boring. He said that we will always be learning new things, doing new things, and doing so without pain, illness, suffering, sin and the other ills of life. We will be in the presence of God; we will feel the unconditional love very directly, in a very personal way. We will be with family members we knew and loved, and we will also meet family members who lived before we were ever born.
Especially, there will be a profound sense of peace. As Father mentioned, those individuals who describe a near-death experience always talk about the peace. No anxiety, no worries, no upsets.
Yesterday morning as I went to my son's house, I traveled down 55th Street as usual. The signs said, "Road closed," but the workers weren't there yet. Since I leave for Ella's school at around 7:50 a.m., it occurred to me that maybe they'd have the road closed by then. I'm honestly not sure how to get to the school that well outside of 55th Street, and sure enough, I saw that the road was closed on our way to school. Ella's was in the back seat, talking, asking me questions. As we wound our way down some fairly unfamiliar streets, she says, "Be patient." Pretty intuitive, huh?
I got here there; it wasn't pretty, but then there was trying to get home. So you have to love cell phones sometimes! I called my son and he directed me how to get back to their house and it's a much better way.
Getting lost as I am out driving is one of the things I won't miss in heaven. I hate being lost.
When Eric and I went to Boston years ago and were walking here and there, we somehow got ourselves off of the Red Brick Road (Freedom Trail). One minute we were fine; the next minute we were in some back alley and people were speaking in foreign languages, and then a huge black stretch limo pulled in. Something wasn't kosher. We finally found our way out of the maze but it was a little scary.
Being lost. People do the same thing as part of a bigger picture -- people get lost along the way, think they are on the right path because of self-deception and then all of the sudden they realize that things are not right.
Our Lenten meditation for today is:
"Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my steps." -Luke 9:23
Jesus, show us the way.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Would you like Friday on Monday?
Thusday didn't start out too well. My stomach was really bothering me, and so I laid down for a while and forgot to do the blog. I did the blog on Friday morning and apparently forgot to activate it as well. So now we are all caught up and we'll have a new posting tomorrow!!
Friday was eye screening day at Northwest Primary School -- the prekindergarten group. We go over a number of different things with them. We test the boys for color blindness; we test all the kids for how well their eyes work together; we do the typical eye chart except that instead of letters, we use a house, a heart, a square, a circle; and we will be using the Pediavision SPOT camera to assess five different eye conditions.
For the convenience of working parents, we start at around 9:30 or something like that and someone from the Lions stayed until 7:00 p.m. We broke up the day into halves so the first group works until around noon.
There is something so affirming and sweet about being around kids of this age. They are funny and perceptive, and already they so want to be like everyone else. They are curious and interested, and despite some noise around them, they do well at paying attention. Sometimes they volunteer information and that is always unexpected and usually hilarious.
Being around children for me is such a realization of God! One little five-year-old girl when Dr. Knight was doing the eye chart with her and dropped to the smaller symbols, said, "I have no idea!" That was hilarious.
Here is our Lenten quote for the day:
~ St. Therese of Lisieux
Friday was eye screening day at Northwest Primary School -- the prekindergarten group. We go over a number of different things with them. We test the boys for color blindness; we test all the kids for how well their eyes work together; we do the typical eye chart except that instead of letters, we use a house, a heart, a square, a circle; and we will be using the Pediavision SPOT camera to assess five different eye conditions.
For the convenience of working parents, we start at around 9:30 or something like that and someone from the Lions stayed until 7:00 p.m. We broke up the day into halves so the first group works until around noon.
There is something so affirming and sweet about being around kids of this age. They are funny and perceptive, and already they so want to be like everyone else. They are curious and interested, and despite some noise around them, they do well at paying attention. Sometimes they volunteer information and that is always unexpected and usually hilarious.
Being around children for me is such a realization of God! One little five-year-old girl when Dr. Knight was doing the eye chart with her and dropped to the smaller symbols, said, "I have no idea!" That was hilarious.
Here is our Lenten quote for the day:
"Look at His adorable face.
Look at His glazed and sunken eyes.
Look at His wounds.
Look Jesus in the Face.
There, you will see how He loves us."
Look at His glazed and sunken eyes.
Look at His wounds.
Look Jesus in the Face.
There, you will see how He loves us."
~ St. Therese of Lisieux
St. Therese is also known as St. Theresa, the Little Flower, born in Alencon, France. She died at a very young age, 24, of tuberculosis in the convent in France where she so wanted to serve. Her mother died when Theresa was four and her older sister had more or less became her mother and also became a nun.
From the time when I was little, I spelled my middle name Teresa. No one really noticed or said anything to me, and of course, we don't use our middle names all that often. It wasn't until around 2001 when I applied for a passport and got a new copy of my birth certificate that I read my middle name and was shocked -- Theresa. I'd always heard that my mother had named me for the Little Flower whose feast day is early October, and so that was always confusing since a saint from Avila, spelled Teresa, had her feast day at another time.
Well, then that mystery was solved, and so at this late date in my life, I had to retrain my brain to spell my middle name differently than I'd always had. And the interesting thing is that the name my mother chose closely paralleled what happened to our family. My mother died when I was 14 and my older sister stepped into the roll. However, neither of us went to the convent. We were to discover many years hence that rather than being 100% of German descent, we are actually half-French. There is something very special, very personal about the middle name. Mine is especially precious to me because I know my mother chose it. And that she chose Theresa whose life was poignant and special due to how to followed "the little way." She believed that we should reflect God's love in everything we do, no matter how small or seemingly unimportant.
Take care. I'll try to be more on the ball this week.
Take care. I'll try to be more on the ball this week.
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Bits of Yarn
Okay -- as Lucy Arnaz always used to say, "You've got some splainin' to do." Thursday I was under the weather. Decent excuse there. Friday I messed up and forgot to activate the blog posting for that day. So here we are on Saturday!! Wow. I'm so sorry, dear friends.
From all of my crocheting projects, I accumulate small lengths of yarn. Most of the time they go into the trash can, but a tip from a magazine got me saving some of them in a drawer in the hutch. There is quite a pile.
I'll put them out when the weather settles down and birds are singing, indicating that it's time for nest making. The birds apparently spot them just as they spot other nesting materials, and help themselves.
I picture birds carrying dark purple yarn up into the trees, or maybe some beautiful yellow baby yarn lining a nest, or maybe a dark blue leftover from an afghan cradling baby robins. It will be a neat thing to try and maybe it will become a yearly tradition.
We have squirrels and chipmunks all around too, so maybe some of them will also make use of the yarn for their own burrows and nests.
As the yarn goes here and there, it reminds me of how we send out our love. As we show our love for others, and they venture out from our presence, the love goes here and there, sticks here and there, and is given again here and there. And the yarn reminds me also of the love of God, showered down upon us, and some of us receive it with gladness and some of us reject it. But the love keeps coming, unabated.
I've got to find just the right dish to put the yarn in. The birds have to be able to see it. It would be nice, also, if it didn't get wet from the spring rains. It seems to me that somewhere near the bird feeder might be best.
Now it's time for our daily Lenten quote:
“The Lord measures out perfection neither by the multitude nor the magnitude of our deeds, but by the manner in which we perform them.” -St. John of the Cross
To me this means that everything we do, we should try so hard to do with love, charity, understanding, compassion, and joy. For indeed, as we go through life whether working in our homes to make them brighter, cleaner, or working at our jobs, doing our best to fulfill our responsibilities, we work as though we work for God.
So let's go out there and spread some love today!! If you know anyone who knits or crochets, pass along the idea of sharing the leftover bits with the birds.
From all of my crocheting projects, I accumulate small lengths of yarn. Most of the time they go into the trash can, but a tip from a magazine got me saving some of them in a drawer in the hutch. There is quite a pile.
I'll put them out when the weather settles down and birds are singing, indicating that it's time for nest making. The birds apparently spot them just as they spot other nesting materials, and help themselves.
I picture birds carrying dark purple yarn up into the trees, or maybe some beautiful yellow baby yarn lining a nest, or maybe a dark blue leftover from an afghan cradling baby robins. It will be a neat thing to try and maybe it will become a yearly tradition.
We have squirrels and chipmunks all around too, so maybe some of them will also make use of the yarn for their own burrows and nests.
As the yarn goes here and there, it reminds me of how we send out our love. As we show our love for others, and they venture out from our presence, the love goes here and there, sticks here and there, and is given again here and there. And the yarn reminds me also of the love of God, showered down upon us, and some of us receive it with gladness and some of us reject it. But the love keeps coming, unabated.
I've got to find just the right dish to put the yarn in. The birds have to be able to see it. It would be nice, also, if it didn't get wet from the spring rains. It seems to me that somewhere near the bird feeder might be best.
Now it's time for our daily Lenten quote:
“The Lord measures out perfection neither by the multitude nor the magnitude of our deeds, but by the manner in which we perform them.” -St. John of the Cross
To me this means that everything we do, we should try so hard to do with love, charity, understanding, compassion, and joy. For indeed, as we go through life whether working in our homes to make them brighter, cleaner, or working at our jobs, doing our best to fulfill our responsibilities, we work as though we work for God.
So let's go out there and spread some love today!! If you know anyone who knits or crochets, pass along the idea of sharing the leftover bits with the birds.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Wetness
Here is a quote for today's blog, but it isn't the Lenten quote, not yet:
"Some people feel the rain; others just get wet." -- Bob Marley
What does this mean? At first I thought it made a lot of sense, that I understood it, but as I read it again and yet again, now I'm honestly not sure. Does it mean something to you?
Might it be that some of go through life experiencing it to the full, feeling the rain, but keep on going while others of us just succumb to the rain, letting it take over and become the focus.
Personally, I'm not much of a fan of walking in the rain without some kind of covering. First of all, I have lousy hair. It doesn't like rain and does what it does best -- goes straight and ugly. So that in itself has caused me to avoid it. Second, I'm cold a lot. To me wet equals cold, so I avoid that. Actually, I wish I was more like the people who feel the rain, who have that abandon that everything will be all right. That they are living in that moment and not anguishing about 15 minutes down the road. That they relish the beauty of rain, of how it nourishes all of the beautiful plants and trees all about us. I'd be wondering how fast I could get to a blow dryer.
This quote started out being just a lark, a shot in the dark when I was actually searching for the source of another quote that had an impact on me. It is nearly the first sentence in a book that I read some years ago, the basic premise of which is that we tend to go through life thinking that it's supposed to be good and anything that departs from that is the abnormal. When actually life is tough and difficult and painful, and any day that goes pretty well is a cause for much joy and thanks. It's a quote that puts challenges into perspective.
Now I guess it is time for us to look at a quote for the eighth day of Lent:
"Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is suffered for God's sake, can pass without merit in the sight of God." -Thomas a Kempis
This quote meshes nicely with the two concepts above, doesn't it? Father Kevin always says that whenever we are suffering, say from arthritis pain or from a bad head cold, or from even more serious pain, we should use it for God's purpose. Say we are suffering from emotional pain from a loss, or terrible sadness that goes on and on. None of this needs to be experienced for no reason. We can always offer up our suffering for someone else. Just say something like, "God, please use this aching back of mine because I'm offering up this pain for the sake of my friend, _____, who needs you. Please help her."
Somehow, amazingly, whenever I've done this and I try to remember to do it whenever an occasion comes up, the pain lessens in its intensity. Part of it is that by offering up the pain, I tend to see a purpose to it and I relax just that little bit. Somehow, giving the pain a reason takes away its sting.
So during Lent, even more so than usual, we should remember to offer up any of our sufferings to alleviate the suffering of someone else. Just the way that Jesus offered up His sufferings for our sake.
Be careful out there today!!!
"Some people feel the rain; others just get wet." -- Bob Marley
What does this mean? At first I thought it made a lot of sense, that I understood it, but as I read it again and yet again, now I'm honestly not sure. Does it mean something to you?
Might it be that some of go through life experiencing it to the full, feeling the rain, but keep on going while others of us just succumb to the rain, letting it take over and become the focus.
Personally, I'm not much of a fan of walking in the rain without some kind of covering. First of all, I have lousy hair. It doesn't like rain and does what it does best -- goes straight and ugly. So that in itself has caused me to avoid it. Second, I'm cold a lot. To me wet equals cold, so I avoid that. Actually, I wish I was more like the people who feel the rain, who have that abandon that everything will be all right. That they are living in that moment and not anguishing about 15 minutes down the road. That they relish the beauty of rain, of how it nourishes all of the beautiful plants and trees all about us. I'd be wondering how fast I could get to a blow dryer.
This quote started out being just a lark, a shot in the dark when I was actually searching for the source of another quote that had an impact on me. It is nearly the first sentence in a book that I read some years ago, the basic premise of which is that we tend to go through life thinking that it's supposed to be good and anything that departs from that is the abnormal. When actually life is tough and difficult and painful, and any day that goes pretty well is a cause for much joy and thanks. It's a quote that puts challenges into perspective.
Now I guess it is time for us to look at a quote for the eighth day of Lent:
"Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is suffered for God's sake, can pass without merit in the sight of God." -Thomas a Kempis
This quote meshes nicely with the two concepts above, doesn't it? Father Kevin always says that whenever we are suffering, say from arthritis pain or from a bad head cold, or from even more serious pain, we should use it for God's purpose. Say we are suffering from emotional pain from a loss, or terrible sadness that goes on and on. None of this needs to be experienced for no reason. We can always offer up our suffering for someone else. Just say something like, "God, please use this aching back of mine because I'm offering up this pain for the sake of my friend, _____, who needs you. Please help her."
Somehow, amazingly, whenever I've done this and I try to remember to do it whenever an occasion comes up, the pain lessens in its intensity. Part of it is that by offering up the pain, I tend to see a purpose to it and I relax just that little bit. Somehow, giving the pain a reason takes away its sting.
So during Lent, even more so than usual, we should remember to offer up any of our sufferings to alleviate the suffering of someone else. Just the way that Jesus offered up His sufferings for our sake.
Be careful out there today!!!
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Prepare for Snow AGAIN
Let's start out with our quote for the day:
"Lenten practices of giving up pleasures are good reminders that the purpose of life is not pleasure. The purpose of life is to attain to perfect life, all truth and undying ecstatic love – which is the definition of God. In pursuing that goal we find happiness. Pleasure is not the purpose of anything; pleasure is a by-product resulting from doing something that is good. One of the best ways to get happiness and pleasure out of life is to ask ourselves, “How can I please God?” and, “Why am I not better?” It is the pleasure-seeker who is bored, for all pleasures diminish with repetition." -Fulton J. Sheen
So I suppose you've heard the weather forecast for tomorrow. It is supposed to start out with freezing rain and then deterioriate further into snow -- a whopping three to five inches of it. Yesterday's decent temperatures and sunshine have already lulled me into a sense of freedom. Like I can go somewhere and not have to worry about getting there, getting home, or the driveway's conditions.
Now after hearing all of this, I'm back in bear hibernation mode, hunkered down in the house waiting for this next blast of arctic air. Oh, well. What are we to do about it anyhow? So one thing I've started to do is organize the stuff I've made and am donating to the upcoming fundraisers at church. And maybe I can address the craft room by putting things away and reorganizing some stuff that has gotten out of hand.
When they interview people in Cleveland, they often say, "Well, what do you expect? We live in Ohio." That makes sense, doesn't it? Why do we even bother getting upset? (I'm talking to myself here now.) The weather is the weather and we're not supposed to try and control things that are out of our control, are we?
So I'm going to quit disasterizing about the weather and start thinking about how I can use the time for a good purpose. I'm going to quit worrying about going here and there, or whatever was supposed to happen, and start thinking more rationally -- most all of it can be postponed.
So let me move on to another topic for a moment. The crash of the Malaysian airliner, a Boeing 777, that presumably went down in the South China Sea. Isn't it rather odd that there is absolutely no trace of the crash? It certainly makes a person wonder. One thing that ran through my mind was what if someone on board actually can a device that would block signals coming from the airliner and they diverted somewhere remote and landed it? Another possibility that probably everyone has considered is that there was a bomb on board, and that the two individuals using stolen passports were part of the conspiracy. The poor family members who know nothing and have no idea what happened to their loved one are really sad?
There was a book that some of the students in high school had to read. It was called, "The Bridge of San Luis Rey." My class didn't read the book but I heard that it was about a group of people who were brought together in a variety of ways to the bridge which collapsed and killed a large number of them. It was kind of a history of the fate of each of those killed, how they came to be on the bridge, why they were on the bridge, and all of that kind of thing. The airliner going down is much the same thing. There is a story for every one of the 239 passengers, and for the crew as well. We will likely never know their stories.
The news stream being what it is, the story of the plane crash is already moving down the online site from top story to second-tier story. Soon it will move farther down. Life goes on, other stories take precedence. I would hope that those working hard to find the plane's wreckage, the black box, and evidence as to what happened to it persevere.
And I pray that the souls of those on board had a moment at least to consider their fate -- to pray to God -- to prepare their souls for eternity.
"Lenten practices of giving up pleasures are good reminders that the purpose of life is not pleasure. The purpose of life is to attain to perfect life, all truth and undying ecstatic love – which is the definition of God. In pursuing that goal we find happiness. Pleasure is not the purpose of anything; pleasure is a by-product resulting from doing something that is good. One of the best ways to get happiness and pleasure out of life is to ask ourselves, “How can I please God?” and, “Why am I not better?” It is the pleasure-seeker who is bored, for all pleasures diminish with repetition." -Fulton J. Sheen
So I suppose you've heard the weather forecast for tomorrow. It is supposed to start out with freezing rain and then deterioriate further into snow -- a whopping three to five inches of it. Yesterday's decent temperatures and sunshine have already lulled me into a sense of freedom. Like I can go somewhere and not have to worry about getting there, getting home, or the driveway's conditions.
Now after hearing all of this, I'm back in bear hibernation mode, hunkered down in the house waiting for this next blast of arctic air. Oh, well. What are we to do about it anyhow? So one thing I've started to do is organize the stuff I've made and am donating to the upcoming fundraisers at church. And maybe I can address the craft room by putting things away and reorganizing some stuff that has gotten out of hand.
When they interview people in Cleveland, they often say, "Well, what do you expect? We live in Ohio." That makes sense, doesn't it? Why do we even bother getting upset? (I'm talking to myself here now.) The weather is the weather and we're not supposed to try and control things that are out of our control, are we?
So I'm going to quit disasterizing about the weather and start thinking about how I can use the time for a good purpose. I'm going to quit worrying about going here and there, or whatever was supposed to happen, and start thinking more rationally -- most all of it can be postponed.
So let me move on to another topic for a moment. The crash of the Malaysian airliner, a Boeing 777, that presumably went down in the South China Sea. Isn't it rather odd that there is absolutely no trace of the crash? It certainly makes a person wonder. One thing that ran through my mind was what if someone on board actually can a device that would block signals coming from the airliner and they diverted somewhere remote and landed it? Another possibility that probably everyone has considered is that there was a bomb on board, and that the two individuals using stolen passports were part of the conspiracy. The poor family members who know nothing and have no idea what happened to their loved one are really sad?
There was a book that some of the students in high school had to read. It was called, "The Bridge of San Luis Rey." My class didn't read the book but I heard that it was about a group of people who were brought together in a variety of ways to the bridge which collapsed and killed a large number of them. It was kind of a history of the fate of each of those killed, how they came to be on the bridge, why they were on the bridge, and all of that kind of thing. The airliner going down is much the same thing. There is a story for every one of the 239 passengers, and for the crew as well. We will likely never know their stories.
The news stream being what it is, the story of the plane crash is already moving down the online site from top story to second-tier story. Soon it will move farther down. Life goes on, other stories take precedence. I would hope that those working hard to find the plane's wreckage, the black box, and evidence as to what happened to it persevere.
And I pray that the souls of those on board had a moment at least to consider their fate -- to pray to God -- to prepare their souls for eternity.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
First Saturday of Lent
When I was a kid, our family used to watch Bishop Fulton Sheen on television. His short sermons were captivating, even for a little kid like myself. He was often funny, self-deprecating, and full of common sense. So our quote today is one from Bishop Sheen about Lent:
"We can think of Lent as a time to eradicate evil or cultivate virtue, a time to pull up weeds or to plant good seeds. Which is better is clear, for the Christian ideal is always positive rather than negative. A person is great not by the ferocity of his hatred of evil, but by the intensity of his love for God. Asceticism and mortification are not the ends of a Christian life; they are only the means. The end is charity. Penance merely makes an opening in our ego in which the Light of God can pour. As we deflate ourselves, God fills us. And it is GOD’s arrival that is the important event." -Fulton J. Sheen
Today while I was biding my time waiting to pick up my granddaughter from school, I turned on the TV. There was a show being aired featuring a man and woman who together had twin boys. The premise of the show is that the participants take lie detector tests to see if what they are saying to one another is true. Both of them apparently lied. And as they exited the studio and the penetrating cameras, they ended on a sour note, one full of lies and misrepresentation. The reason the woman wanted to remain with the man whom she said beat her up and called her children "bastards," was because she didn't want to be a single mother, and she claimed to love the man. The man wanted to remain with her because he said he loved her and as he was the product of a household with no dad, he didn't want his kids growing up that way (the kids he wasn't sure were his).
What a mess it was. What an awful display of dysfunction and misery. And guaranteed, going on television to get the answers wasn't going to produce any.
Another daytime television show used DNA testing. Pretty soon the language was so bad that all I hear was birds singing, and it reminded you of the Jerry Springer Show which I can't stand. And bouncers have to keep the various parties separated from one another.
It isn't funny. It's sickening. And it is probably only a tiny smidgeon of what the children hear at home. What will become of them? Who will step forward and grow up? Who will live up to the ideal of the word "parent"?
We said it years ago when experts referred to the "me" generation -- that when people start caring only about themselves to the exclusion of all else, bad things happen. When people spend their time "finding themselves" instead of meeting their responsibilities, bad things happen. When people ignore the vows they've made, bad things happen.
Instead of watching the idyllic home movies with kids playing outside and kids blowing out birthday candles and opening presents, these poor kids get to watch DVR'd images of their parents making asses out of themselves. Wow. What an example!
Count me out of this brand of reality TV. I'd rather watch old black and white reruns of Fulton Sheen.
"We can think of Lent as a time to eradicate evil or cultivate virtue, a time to pull up weeds or to plant good seeds. Which is better is clear, for the Christian ideal is always positive rather than negative. A person is great not by the ferocity of his hatred of evil, but by the intensity of his love for God. Asceticism and mortification are not the ends of a Christian life; they are only the means. The end is charity. Penance merely makes an opening in our ego in which the Light of God can pour. As we deflate ourselves, God fills us. And it is GOD’s arrival that is the important event." -Fulton J. Sheen
Today while I was biding my time waiting to pick up my granddaughter from school, I turned on the TV. There was a show being aired featuring a man and woman who together had twin boys. The premise of the show is that the participants take lie detector tests to see if what they are saying to one another is true. Both of them apparently lied. And as they exited the studio and the penetrating cameras, they ended on a sour note, one full of lies and misrepresentation. The reason the woman wanted to remain with the man whom she said beat her up and called her children "bastards," was because she didn't want to be a single mother, and she claimed to love the man. The man wanted to remain with her because he said he loved her and as he was the product of a household with no dad, he didn't want his kids growing up that way (the kids he wasn't sure were his).
What a mess it was. What an awful display of dysfunction and misery. And guaranteed, going on television to get the answers wasn't going to produce any.
Another daytime television show used DNA testing. Pretty soon the language was so bad that all I hear was birds singing, and it reminded you of the Jerry Springer Show which I can't stand. And bouncers have to keep the various parties separated from one another.
It isn't funny. It's sickening. And it is probably only a tiny smidgeon of what the children hear at home. What will become of them? Who will step forward and grow up? Who will live up to the ideal of the word "parent"?
We said it years ago when experts referred to the "me" generation -- that when people start caring only about themselves to the exclusion of all else, bad things happen. When people spend their time "finding themselves" instead of meeting their responsibilities, bad things happen. When people ignore the vows they've made, bad things happen.
Instead of watching the idyllic home movies with kids playing outside and kids blowing out birthday candles and opening presents, these poor kids get to watch DVR'd images of their parents making asses out of themselves. Wow. What an example!
Count me out of this brand of reality TV. I'd rather watch old black and white reruns of Fulton Sheen.
Friday, March 7, 2014
First Friday
Good morning! First of all, I have our Lenten quote for today. The author is well-known:
"As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus' thirst...'Repent and believe' Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor -- He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you." -Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Soon to be Saint)
Today is the first Friday in Lent. I think that to start with, I will thoroughly vacuum the living room and hall. Then I'll clean the carpet as much as possible. It's due for replacement in May, but it needs to be cleaned so I feel better. While I clean the carpet, I'm going to think about the quote from Blessed Mother Teresa, that tiny Albanian woman who in so many ways changed the world.
My dear friend, Dolly, who lives in the Pacific Northwest, has agreed to send me a little article she did for one of her writing classes. She promises that it will get a good laugh for the readers of this blog, no matter what your age is.
The trip to my sister's yesterday was really good. We did go to Ollie's and I got a scrap of carpet to use as a car mat until my regular one can get a good cleaning. I also got some M&Ms and some K-cups for my husband's Keurig coffee maker. He was happy about that. Good deal on price. We laughed really hard about several things. She is so much fun.
She told me that she was shopping at the Great Northern Giant Eagle the other day and a woman who was carrying a lot of Giant Eagle grocery bags approached her asking for a ride to the Rapid Transit station, saying that she missed her bus. My sister said it was really too far to go to the Rapid Transit station but she'd take her to the bus station where she could wait inside and be warm. The woman was going all the way back to downtown Cleveland. We couldn't figure out, either of us, why she'd come all that way to do her grocery shopping. So my sister drove her. The lady talked to herself the whole way, which seemed somewhat odd. Well, at least she got to where she was going and safely. It made me think how fortunate we all are to have a car and a warm place to lay our heads at night.
My nephew was a little upset and told her not to give people rides, but sometimes we reach out to someone in need, even when we aren't that happy about it. I'm glad she did it.
Take care, dear readers, and if you have anything to share with me about Lent, I'd love to hear it. You can remain anonymous.
So it's off to retrieve the old Hoover. Maybe I'll have a bite to eat and some tea first!!
"As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus' thirst...'Repent and believe' Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor -- He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you." -Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Soon to be Saint)
Today is the first Friday in Lent. I think that to start with, I will thoroughly vacuum the living room and hall. Then I'll clean the carpet as much as possible. It's due for replacement in May, but it needs to be cleaned so I feel better. While I clean the carpet, I'm going to think about the quote from Blessed Mother Teresa, that tiny Albanian woman who in so many ways changed the world.
My dear friend, Dolly, who lives in the Pacific Northwest, has agreed to send me a little article she did for one of her writing classes. She promises that it will get a good laugh for the readers of this blog, no matter what your age is.
The trip to my sister's yesterday was really good. We did go to Ollie's and I got a scrap of carpet to use as a car mat until my regular one can get a good cleaning. I also got some M&Ms and some K-cups for my husband's Keurig coffee maker. He was happy about that. Good deal on price. We laughed really hard about several things. She is so much fun.
She told me that she was shopping at the Great Northern Giant Eagle the other day and a woman who was carrying a lot of Giant Eagle grocery bags approached her asking for a ride to the Rapid Transit station, saying that she missed her bus. My sister said it was really too far to go to the Rapid Transit station but she'd take her to the bus station where she could wait inside and be warm. The woman was going all the way back to downtown Cleveland. We couldn't figure out, either of us, why she'd come all that way to do her grocery shopping. So my sister drove her. The lady talked to herself the whole way, which seemed somewhat odd. Well, at least she got to where she was going and safely. It made me think how fortunate we all are to have a car and a warm place to lay our heads at night.
My nephew was a little upset and told her not to give people rides, but sometimes we reach out to someone in need, even when we aren't that happy about it. I'm glad she did it.
Take care, dear readers, and if you have anything to share with me about Lent, I'd love to hear it. You can remain anonymous.
So it's off to retrieve the old Hoover. Maybe I'll have a bite to eat and some tea first!!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
It's Time for a Drive
I'm off to see my sister today so I'll hurry this along a bit. We have a routine on these visits that is so very precious to me. We sit at the table in her kitchen and have a little chat first. I have tea; she has a cup of coffee.
Then we venture out to such exotic places as Ollie's (Good Stuff Cheap) and then to Chelsea's Consignments and then Pepperidge Farm Store. Lately, we've gone to Bob Evans for some lunch, and then return to her house for more talking, more visiting until it's time for me to leave. Today I'll leave at around 3:30 to give me time to get off I-71 before the crazy drivers take to the road.
It's these little things in life that add meaning. Very seldom is it a big huge splash, but rather the ordinary snippets of time spent with someone special. The memories aren't necessarily vivid but they meld into a congomerate of moments that equal that amazing gift -- love. The feeling of being understood and accepted and then all of that given in return.
My niece called the other day (my sister's daughter) and she works at Fairview Hospital. She remembered that I'd made some crocheted stocking hats for Christmas and wondered if I could make some more for the cancer patients. So today I have 11 of them to take with me on the trip. If there was time, I would have had Father Kevin bless the hats. It might sound corny and silly but there is such power in prayer that we really don't fully appreciate. Women have been making prayer blankets and shawls for years, so why not prayer hats?
I do have a quote for you that is very intense and worth reading even more than once. It was especially for Ash Wednesday but since that was only yesterday, we aren't too far behind.
The quote:
Joel 2:12-14
Yet even now, says the Lord,
Return to me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
Rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain-offering and a drink-offering
for the Lord, your God?
Then we venture out to such exotic places as Ollie's (Good Stuff Cheap) and then to Chelsea's Consignments and then Pepperidge Farm Store. Lately, we've gone to Bob Evans for some lunch, and then return to her house for more talking, more visiting until it's time for me to leave. Today I'll leave at around 3:30 to give me time to get off I-71 before the crazy drivers take to the road.
It's these little things in life that add meaning. Very seldom is it a big huge splash, but rather the ordinary snippets of time spent with someone special. The memories aren't necessarily vivid but they meld into a congomerate of moments that equal that amazing gift -- love. The feeling of being understood and accepted and then all of that given in return.
My niece called the other day (my sister's daughter) and she works at Fairview Hospital. She remembered that I'd made some crocheted stocking hats for Christmas and wondered if I could make some more for the cancer patients. So today I have 11 of them to take with me on the trip. If there was time, I would have had Father Kevin bless the hats. It might sound corny and silly but there is such power in prayer that we really don't fully appreciate. Women have been making prayer blankets and shawls for years, so why not prayer hats?
I do have a quote for you that is very intense and worth reading even more than once. It was especially for Ash Wednesday but since that was only yesterday, we aren't too far behind.
The quote:
Joel 2:12-14
Yet even now, says the Lord,
Return to me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
Rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain-offering and a drink-offering
for the Lord, your God?
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
The Start of Lent
Well, here we are, at a date we thought so far away at Christmas -- the beginning of Lent.
An article in a Catholic magazine talked about what we should do for Lent. They scoffed somewhat at the thought of giving up candy or pop or sweets, writing that these things are really of little consequence.
The writer pushed the readers to consider more life changing kinds of things this Lent. The call to more prayer. The call to participation in the Christian life. The call to do for others. Lent is a word derived from a verb. Therefore, Lent is really meant to be stated, "to lent."
We are supposed to be active during Lent, stretching out beyond our comfort zone to do the work of the Lord. The stage we set during Lent should then continue because when we have successfully gone through Lent and celebrated Easter, what we have learned about ourselves and others should continue to guide us and the things we do.
I'm off this morning to do eye screening in Navarre at a preschool. The Lions are doing good work. Let me tell you a brief story from the weekend at Community Day at Northwest High School. One woman brought her daughter by the Lions eye screening area and said that the eye doctor who saw her little daughter was overjoyed that the testing she got revealed a problem that is correctible!! Because of the early diagnosis of her eye problem at only 18 months of age, she will not need surgery. And her little sibling was tested and shows signs of the same thing. Two children who will be able to see well and without surgery. What a triumph. The new camera the Lions bought is making a difference, is changing lives. One young girl wasn't wearing her contact lenses, and much to her mother's approval, the Lions told the girl that she was only hurting herself by not wearing them.
Isn't it wonderful when we can do some good in this world?
And you keep up your good work, because I know most of the readers of the blog and you are involved and helping. For each day starting tomorrow, we will begin with a quote from the Bible -- something inspiring, profound.
Take care.
An article in a Catholic magazine talked about what we should do for Lent. They scoffed somewhat at the thought of giving up candy or pop or sweets, writing that these things are really of little consequence.
The writer pushed the readers to consider more life changing kinds of things this Lent. The call to more prayer. The call to participation in the Christian life. The call to do for others. Lent is a word derived from a verb. Therefore, Lent is really meant to be stated, "to lent."
We are supposed to be active during Lent, stretching out beyond our comfort zone to do the work of the Lord. The stage we set during Lent should then continue because when we have successfully gone through Lent and celebrated Easter, what we have learned about ourselves and others should continue to guide us and the things we do.
I'm off this morning to do eye screening in Navarre at a preschool. The Lions are doing good work. Let me tell you a brief story from the weekend at Community Day at Northwest High School. One woman brought her daughter by the Lions eye screening area and said that the eye doctor who saw her little daughter was overjoyed that the testing she got revealed a problem that is correctible!! Because of the early diagnosis of her eye problem at only 18 months of age, she will not need surgery. And her little sibling was tested and shows signs of the same thing. Two children who will be able to see well and without surgery. What a triumph. The new camera the Lions bought is making a difference, is changing lives. One young girl wasn't wearing her contact lenses, and much to her mother's approval, the Lions told the girl that she was only hurting herself by not wearing them.
Isn't it wonderful when we can do some good in this world?
And you keep up your good work, because I know most of the readers of the blog and you are involved and helping. For each day starting tomorrow, we will begin with a quote from the Bible -- something inspiring, profound.
Take care.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Mardi Gras
Today is Mardi Gras, from the French meaning "Fat Tuesday." In New Orleans, people gather to eat all sorts of delicacies and sweets because starting on Wednesday, it is time for Lent and that means fast and abstinence, a different attitude. An attitude of repentance and preparation for Easter.
And as we hear about Mardi Gras, troops are gathering in the Crimean region of Ukraine in a build-up that suggests war between the fighting factions -- the Russians and the people of Ukraine. A proud people, Ukrainians were once part of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and Olympic games not that many years ago would have included athletes from Ukraine as well as Georgia and other areas all competing under the USSR flag.
What has happened that changed the balance in the region since the breakup of the republics? It would seem that President Putin is quite sure of his country's power and authority and Ukraine has some assets that would benefit Russia. A man who is known to be egotistical, a man who once headed up the notorious KGB, Putin wants to show that Russia is once again strong and no embarrassment. The recent games in Sochi costing Russia some $50 billion have bolstered up this man and his ambitions.
Isn't it interesting that the most vilified of the leaders of Russia over the last 100 years all have names that sound similar -- Lenin, Stalin and Putin. Hmmm. All three of these men were egotistical. All three were violent. All three were militaristic. All three piloted the region during times of intense world unrest. And it would certainly seem that the times we are currently living in may just be a time of unrest on a number of stages.
So it is fitting perhaps that we are entering into Lent, a time of prayer and meditation, so that we can ask God for His help for the Ukrainians who certainly would appear to be sitting ducks. It is fitting that we should offer up our sacrifices and fasts for peace in the world, for common sense in a setting that is devoid of common sense. It is with hope that we pray that those in charge will have a change of heart and will step down.
The situation in Ukraine will certainly help me to focus my attention on Lent this year in a different sort of way. While I may give up certain foods at certain times, my Lenten journey this year will concentrate on praying more, reading Scripture more, and attending Mass at least one day per week besides Sunday. We are also starting the Holy Hours at church very soon, so that means that on each Friday at 2:00 p.m. I'll be at the Chapel for an hour, most likely all by myself, taking in the silence and listening for the quiet whisper of the voice of God.
Let us pray.
And as we hear about Mardi Gras, troops are gathering in the Crimean region of Ukraine in a build-up that suggests war between the fighting factions -- the Russians and the people of Ukraine. A proud people, Ukrainians were once part of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and Olympic games not that many years ago would have included athletes from Ukraine as well as Georgia and other areas all competing under the USSR flag.
What has happened that changed the balance in the region since the breakup of the republics? It would seem that President Putin is quite sure of his country's power and authority and Ukraine has some assets that would benefit Russia. A man who is known to be egotistical, a man who once headed up the notorious KGB, Putin wants to show that Russia is once again strong and no embarrassment. The recent games in Sochi costing Russia some $50 billion have bolstered up this man and his ambitions.
Isn't it interesting that the most vilified of the leaders of Russia over the last 100 years all have names that sound similar -- Lenin, Stalin and Putin. Hmmm. All three of these men were egotistical. All three were violent. All three were militaristic. All three piloted the region during times of intense world unrest. And it would certainly seem that the times we are currently living in may just be a time of unrest on a number of stages.
So it is fitting perhaps that we are entering into Lent, a time of prayer and meditation, so that we can ask God for His help for the Ukrainians who certainly would appear to be sitting ducks. It is fitting that we should offer up our sacrifices and fasts for peace in the world, for common sense in a setting that is devoid of common sense. It is with hope that we pray that those in charge will have a change of heart and will step down.
The situation in Ukraine will certainly help me to focus my attention on Lent this year in a different sort of way. While I may give up certain foods at certain times, my Lenten journey this year will concentrate on praying more, reading Scripture more, and attending Mass at least one day per week besides Sunday. We are also starting the Holy Hours at church very soon, so that means that on each Friday at 2:00 p.m. I'll be at the Chapel for an hour, most likely all by myself, taking in the silence and listening for the quiet whisper of the voice of God.
Let us pray.
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