confession

As Catholics, we are so blessed to have this sacrament. There is nothing like the feeling of coming out of the Church after confession. Your soul is light and it is reflected in your steps. Your heart has wings and soars upward. Better than any drug known to man.

a nearly perfect day

9 to noon - retreat at Church
12:45 - gave son a haircut (way overdue)
1:00 - all went to see son play basketball (they got clobbered, but he played well)
3:00 - cleaned a pile of clutter off dining room table
4:00 - got ready for Mass (son was altar serving for the very first time tonight)
5:00 - sat with a new friend and her three beautiful children at Mass.. her hubby just went to the Middle East until June... she's due with her fourth child in April. God bless her and give her strength.
6:30 - drop oldest at a friend's house
7:00 - have dinner with a couple (also new-ish friends) and laughed our rears off
11:00 - thanking God for such a faith-filled, fun-filled, friend-filled day before bed.

like a merry-go-round out of control

I bought the most wonderful Advent wreath. All around the pewter base, it is embossed with the Jesse Tree symbols. Now if it were as easy to purchase valuable time together as a family each night to read the scriptures that accompany each symbol.
Tonight, however, will be catch up night. There are a zillion things that could be done, but none of them have to be done, so we are going to shut off all forms of entertainment - radio, tv, computer, phone - and spend time in scripture looking at God's beautiful plan for our salvation.

dateline: from somewhere off the face of the earth

I seem to be in orbit around the Earth. Somewhere, somehow, I misstepped and have found myself here. Somebody throw me a trail of breadcrumbs, quick.
OH, and somebody please teach me how to say NO!!!

bad math

George Forman grill + marshmallows = disaster

three nights running

Today, due to the fact that I had been awake until 2 a.m. for the past 2 nights embroidering stuff for the school's Christmas bazaar, I looked in the mirror and was shocked to see that I looked like an escaped convict.


Note the time of this post. *sigh* Three nights running.

cupping my hands at the well

I have been in a spiritual slump now for a couple of years. I wouldn't say it is as dire as Mother Teresa's unquenchable thirst, but it is a noticeable low point. To see the low for what it is, I must first describe the high point.
About four years ago, we were in a parish that we loved. We had much admiration and respect for our pastor; in return he made us feel appreciated by asking us to turn up our level of stewardship by sharing our leadership talents (that we didn't even know we had!!!). We saw that we could be disciples and share the Gospel with those around us. We garnered confidence as Christians and stronger Catholics. Our spiritual well-being was healthy.
The parish is a very historic church built in the mid 1800's, is sheer heaven. There is almost no other way to describe it. You walk in and all your senses are delighted. The woodwork, the marble, the lingering smell of incense, the quiet reverence - all, plus the enveloping sense of Christ's presence in the Eucharist in the tabernacle, it's just an overwhelmingly beautiful experience. We were part of that heaven on Earth for 11 years.
We had the opportunity to visit our old parish this weekend. As I knelt to pray after communion I wondered why I still was having a hard time getting used to where we are now. "I had such a mountain-top experience, Lord, why can't I have that now?" I long for that spiritual high, near ecstasy, I had then. Then I heard what surely was the voice of God asking, "What do you know, scripturally, about mountain-top experiences?" Well, let's see. Moses had one. The Ten Commandments were given to him to share with the Israelites. The other I thought of right off the bat was Peter, James, and John's experience on the mountain during the Transfiguration of Christ.
Now I was being asked what these mountain-top experiences DID for Moses, Peter, James, and John? How did it change their course? How did it impact their lives? Did it give them a renewed zeal to bring God's message to others? Of course it did. It also gave them a well of strength to draw from when their journey became a little dry.
I was quite thankful for the visit to our old church. It was great to see our old parish family, soak in all of that goodness, to remember the mountain-top we used to be upon, to hear God's voice, and to draw water from the well of our past experience.
I hope I won't go as long as Mother Teresa, but at least for now, I see it for what it is and how God wants me to use it.