Hurry Up

We always have the family over for an early Easter on the Saturday before -- and the traditional egg hunt too.

Unlike Christmas when I was on top of things, this year I'm not as prepared and fear that I'll pay for it.  So today I have to hurry up a little bit to get things done.  Today is shopping for all kinds of ingredients and extras for the meal and the egg hunt.  Later today, I'm taking a break and having a watercolor class with my friend, Peg.  Later this afternoon I need to get up in the attic and retrieve the decorations and the plastic fillable eggs. 

Friday I've got to make the bunny cake.  It's so easy!  Two round cakes (I use yellow cake) and then cut one of them so that there are two ears and the middle piece the bow tie.  I put coconut on the ears and the bow tie and leave the round face plain for decorating.  There are some who don't like coconut, so this way, no one is left out.  Friday I also have to do some cleaning.

Saturday will give me yet more time because everyone is coming later, due to other commitments, like sports and a first birthday.  By the time the party starts, we should be in good shape around here.

Here's something only someone who lives on a fair size piece of property understands.  You can't put the eggs out too early.  Heat?  Well, sure, there is always that.  Chocolate melts pretty fast.  But no, it's actually the squirrels.  They are drawn to the eggs and manage to open them and eat the contents.  Yep.  It's happened before.  We were looking from person to person the first time, expecting someone to admit to it, but no one said a word.  So then we started laughing because it was obvious.  Partially eaten treats gave it away.  And I don't even know if squirrels are like dogs and cats -- for them chocolate is like poison.

So that's the agenda and it's filling up fast. 

But Friday at 2:00, I still have my holy hour to keep and I will.  The time goes by remarkably fast and I've found several books to read in smidgens in order to find inspiration and put myself in the right frame of mind.  To open myself up for God and whatever He has for me. 

And now what I promised -- the story of St. Bernadette.

Bernadette was born Bernadette Soubirous on January 7, 1844 in Lourdes.  The family was terribly poor and lived in the basement of a structure that had been used as a jail.  Because of the dampness, Bernadette developed asthma at an early age.  At times she went to stay with her aunt and a former foster mother, but Bernadette was kept home from school to look after their children.  Because she missed out on so much school, people thought her to be slow.  She made her First Communion later than her peers because she couldn't read or write until then.  She carried her rosary with her wherever she went, so the first time she saw the lady in the grotto, she instinctively reached for it and started to pray.

She was humble and would never accept money after her visions of Mary became known.  A bishop once asked her if she'd like to trade her old, worn rosary for his gold one and she deferred.  In 1862, the Bishop of Tarbes authenticated Bernadette's visions and also the cures that had occurred in Lourdes (and continue to this day).  In 1866, she entered the convent and became a nun.  After she shared her story of the visions with the others, the Mistress of Novices treated her twice as severely to be sure she did not show pride.

Always having been sickly, she was given the task of praying by the bishop.  She then became the convent's nurse after the nurse under which she worked died.  Her next job was sacristan and she made beautiful altar cloths.  On April 16, 1879, St. Bernadette died at 3:00 p.m.  She was 35 years old. 

St. Bernadette is one of the "uncorruptibles."  That is, after her death, her body did not decompose and remains to this day in the convent in a casket of gold and crystal.  She was named a saint in 1933.

Our quote for today is:

"Love overcomes, love delights. Those who love the Sacred Heart of Jesus rejoice." -  St. Bernadette