measuring a year

Boys and things that blow up, make noise, light up, shoot.  I'll never understand.  But here we are on New Year's Eve.  In a few hours, 2010 will be "in the books"

This is my 240th blog post this year.  My mental math tells me that is a blog post 2 days out of 3 (assuming 1 per day).  When I started this endeavor, I wasn't sure I would keep up with it.  But it has been good.  For months I posted and posted with only the rare comment.  But now there are about 2 or 3 people that sometimes read it.  Maybe more, who knows?  I've shared it with some of the people close to me.  They say nice things, but I'm not sure if they check back very often.  Probably they have lives.  ;-)  But still I write.  Because I think when I write.  This was a post that the Holy Spirit wrote with me.  And this one - related to the same experience - was one that was written, rewritten, chopped, and cropped.  It never did quite express what I wanted /needed it too. 

How do you measure a year?

In Masses?  I went to lots.

In funerals?  I think I went to only one - my BFF's mom.

In money?  Not enough.

How about in blessings?  There were so, so many.  I listed some of them here at the end of the summer.  God hasn't stopped giving.  

Can you measure a year in trials?  There were some of them, too.  Most of them work-related, which I guess is better than them being home-related.  But even in the midst of darkness, there was light.  

In friendships?  In new ones sparked and fanned into flames.  Or in old ones that give off a warm, steady glow?  I have the bestest friends!

Maybe you can measure it in championships?  There was the Saints Superbowl win.  Something that is still just amazing.  It was so good, so sweet, on so many levels.  And there was my brother-in-law's team - another great story. 

Lord, however we measure it, however we remember it when we look back, we know that You were with us through it all.  Your Divine Hand is always upon us.  You make all things work for good.  You, alone, bring light out of the darkness.  Lord, draw us close to you.  Pour your graces and your blessings upon us in the coming year.  In your name we pray.  Amen.

May God bless you and yours in the upcoming year!

patron saints

I ran across a post yesterday on Why I Am Catholic that suggested adopting a new patron saint for the upcoming year.  The author does a great job of explaining the whole reasoning behind it.  Worth a read!

Sounded good to me, so I decided to give it a spin.  Click here for an app that will assign you a random saint.  My patron saint, by virtue of my baptismal name, is St. Elizabeth of Hungary.  My great-grandmother emigrated (or is it immigrated?) to the United States from Hungary, and her name was Elizabeth.  So I've always felt that connection.  St. Michael and St. Anthony are two that I go to often, and St. Anne was my confirmation saint - mostly because I liked the name.  (Coincidentally, it is my BFF's name, but I didn't really know her then.)  Anyway, I digress.

So I decided this sounded interesting, said a quick prayer and clicked.  Who landed on my screen but St. Patrick? I have often felt a connection with him, too.  My grandfather is part Irish.  I remember a few years ago being at Mass on the Feast of St. Patrick and being struck with the certainty that I likely owe my Catholicism today to him and the works that he accomplished (with the help of the Holy Spirit) over a thousand years ago.  Who's to say that God wouldn't have intervened in some other way if things hadn't gone as planned with St. Pat, but it was somewhat of a lightbulb moment.  Anyway - he's over there in the sidebar, and I'll have another Saint who I can ask for prayers on a regular basis!

My boys have plenty of good baptismal patron saint names to pick from - Daniel, Francis, Alexander, and Bernard - but one has developed a special fondness of St. Anthony and the other thinks that St. Michael is pretty cool looking (probably because of the sword and the whole stabbing the devil thing). 

I had my oldest try out the random saint generator and St. Josemaria Escriva popped up on his screen.  I'll update when I get younger son to put down the X-box long enough to give this his attention. 

Updating to Add:  Finally I had a chance to have my younger teen click on the saint generator.  His saint - St. Matthias, the apostle.  We'll see how that works out for him. 

Give it a try?  Let me know who your new intercessor is?

pausing

Sitting here.  On my bed with a laptop.  Listening to the rain outside; it's coming down hard.  Then there's thunder.  A nice winter night?  My younger teen is laying on the bed next to me listening to his iPod, but not paying me any attention.  Good thing we like some of the same music.  Journey.

Today feels like nothing got done.  Only a couple of things can be erased from my to-do list.  I renewed my driver's license - overall a pleasant experience taking less than an hour.  I went to Mass this morning.  My dear hubby's uncle/Godfather was sitting right behind me.  We shook hands at the sign of peace, but he didn't recognize me.  I cleaned up a small bit of the clutter in my room.  I have 2 bags of clothes ready to go to Goodwill.  I took my the younger teen to GameStop, so he could buy a game for his new game system.  A trip to Target, and a stop by the Starbucks inside of Target.  He got one of those million calorie frozen drinks, I just had a few slurps of his. 

The rest of the day seems like it just got frittered away.  I played with my new iPad Christmas present - trying to figure things out.  I caught up on a few blogs.  I posted on Facebook.  My littlest step-grandchild had surgery this afternoon for his staph infection.  I kept posted on that.  All indications are that it went well.  Just one of those days.  A To-Do list a mile long that I mostly ignored.  Maybe that's OK.

Meeting two friends from college, whom I haven't seen in many years for coffee tomorrow.  The wonders of Facebook!  We were all in the same major.  One was my roommate and a year younger than me.  The other is my age.  We took so many classes together, studied together, and unofficially competed with each other (for grades, for scholarships, for jobs...)  Very much looking forward to that!

                 

No use trying to put the pictures where I would like them....picture placement roulette...but somewhere up there are the six grandkids, my 2 kids, my niece, my dear hubby, and my stepson (the father/son BarBQ team!)

running on empty

It has been a hectic three days.

We went to Mass Sunday morning and then left to visit family in another state.  The trip took about 7 hours or so.  We visited when we got there.  We visited on Monday - spent the whole day there. Watched the Saints game.   And we stopped in for a quick "hello" this morning before we left for another 7 hours or so back home.  Dear [grouchy] hubby, two sons, mother-in-law and niece.  The visit was great, and so were my traveling companions (except for the one I'm married to) but I need time to recharge.

I haven't had eight seconds to myself since Sunday morning - except for now - and it is time!  I haven't had time to pray, to journal, or to even think.

This morning while we were stopped at the gas station, I got a phone call.  The caller ID read "11:00 Holy Hour".  There is a perpetual adoration chapel near my house, and some time ago, I volunteered to substitute when "the regulars" can't make their assigned time, so I get a call every couple of months.  (I give the callers *some* identity in my list of contacts, so I don't ignore them, thus the '11:00 Holy Hour' designation.)  This request was for New Year's evening.  We don't usually do anything or go out, so I accepted.  Jesus wants to spend some time with me on New Year's Eve, and I am looking forward to visiting Him.  

[Just wondering....after rereading this post...do you think it is significant that I got this phone call to spend time with Jesus while we were stopped at a gas station?  My pastor likes to say that there are no coincidences with God.  Maybe while we were refueling the car, this is an invitation for me to refuel....since I was running on empty, myself...just wondering...]

When hubby was having "a moment" this morning, I ran the idea of working on "patience" this year by him.  (From Sunday's homily suggestion.)  He came back with some smart-arse answer, but I planted the seed.  We can work on it with or without him, I suppose.

Back to the real world tomorrow.  Mass in the morning.  Laundry.  Cleaning.  Prayer.  Putting away.  Doing school stuff.  Pushing the teenagers to get stuff done.  Finding missing items. Catching up with friends.  Solving some iPad glitches. Practicing patience.  Recharging.  Refueling.  Breathing.

Please pray for my youngest step grandchild.  (He will be 2 in a few days.)  He was admitted to the hospital this evening with a nasty staph infection on his leg.  

holy family

I'm on the road - headed to see my stepson and his family today.  With six kids under 11, it is anything but a holy experience, most of the time. (Add in to that equation that I'm bringing 3 teenagers - my boys and my niece - to add to the mix.)

Nonetheless - they serve as a model for our own families which are works in progress.

We are leaving from Mass Sunday for a six hour drive (writing this on Saturday), so I'm not sure if I'll be back to post further insights, reflections, or miscellaneous.

Keep Christ in the Christmas Season!

Gotta come back and add after the homily at Mass today. First of all, the good father read a bit of what John Paul II had to say about holy families and the domestic church. Mary and Joseph did not have a holy family because they "had it made". They struggled with things just as we do. They had a holy family because of the presence of Jesus in their family. We can not blame the government, the media or society. The closing challenge of the homily was to take one of the virtues - just one - from the second reading and to work on cultivating that virtue in our family during the upcoming year. Then next year we would also be celebrating our own family as a holy family. Worth trying, I think.

Christmas

Our Christmas celebration began Christmas Eve at my sister-in-law's house with dear hubby's family.  In an effort to spend less and give more, we decided to pull names this year, with each person receiving only one gift.  I can't speak for the others, but this lessened the stress tremendously for me!  My boys weren't real excited about just getting *one* gift, but in the end, I think it worked out for them.

They got involved with the actual gift selection (instead of leaving it all for ME!) and they were happy with the gift that they got.  My younger son got Monster Energy Drinks (like he needs any energy) , gum, and an iTunes gift card from his cousin, and he thought he had won the lottery!  We spent time enjoying a seafood gumbo, making egg nog and enjoying each others' company rather than obsessing over gifts. 

Thirteen-year-old son had his uncle's name.  He put a lot of work into loading down this big box (with Sports Illustrated and other things - which was kind of a langiappe gift for his football coach uncle) - to make it appear like it was something other than a gift card. 

The grandmas collaborating over egg nog.  My mother-in-law and my brother-in-law's mom.  We took time to enjoy this, instead of seeing it as a way to delay the almighty present-opening.

I got one gift - a beautiful book about the life of the Blessed Mother from sister-in-law.  Artwork and explanations.  She said the Blessed Mother led her to it, and that works just fine for me!

We went to Mass this morning - both the boys and I had to serve at 8:30.  Yesterday I had floated the idea of opening gifts AFTER Mass (Jesus first, then presents).  I figured things would be rushed before Mass.  Surprisingly, the idea was well-received, and that's pretty much what we did.

Mass seemed somewhat anti-climatic after Advent and after helping with the decorating.  The Christmas Eve Mass (which we did NOT attend this year) was packed to the rafters last night, but there were plenty of places to sit this morning.  It was beautiful.  It always is.  Father's homily was about there being no coincidences with God.  That Jesus being born in Bethlehem and being placed in a manger was no coincidence.  Bethlehem literally meaning "House of Bread" and a manger being where food is placed.  Jesus - the food for our journey back to Him - being placed in a manger.  He is there to give be our courage when we feel anxious.  He is there to embrace us when we are tempted.  He is there to be our strength when we are weak.  He is there to show us His heart (which is Mercy) when we fall.  All because we are engraved as a deep wound upon His heart.  (that image again)

After Mass, we went back home and opened gifts!  I only got one, but it was an iPad.  No further words are needed!!  We did not spend less on the boys this year.  X-box, iPod dock and other assorted things.

Then we drove to my parents' house and enjoyed the family there.  My kids got pajama pants and money, and seemed pretty happy.  When we got home, I remarked to my husband that it was a good Christmas.  We didn't get any useless presents.  He agreed.

There were a ton of good pictures from my parents' house, but these are some of my favorites.

 

My 3-year-old niece.  She looks so bored by the activity!

My Godchild.  He's 2!  Look at him put out those candles..  He has a great future as an altar server!

Here he is with Grandma making punch.  She is one of his absolute favorite people in the world.

 

My grandfather with my niece.  He will be 95 in a few months, and her birthday is within a week.  He has the best thing in the world right here - a sleeping baby on his lap.  Appropriate for the day that God broke into our history and became a sleeping baby in our Blessed Mother's arms. 

Merry Christmas!

getting ready

It has been a great Advent!  I went into it with few expectations other than a resolution to be more faithful to prayer.  With God's grace, that has gone quite well!

I did take a day at the beginning of December to go on a Day of Recollection, and that was wonderful!  I came away from that time of reflection with a couple of things - God wants me to be patient and God wants me to look for Him in the paperwork and the meetings - in the things of ordinary life.  The very next Sunday, one of the readings was about patience, and it seems like that topic has come up time and again in my daily prayers from the Liturgy of the Hours.

I went to confession, and made sure that my boys had the opportunity to go.  My penance - once I dumped the darkness in my life - was to reflect on and give thanks to God for the way His Light is able to shine in my life.   I took one of my boys the other night when Father set aside an extra hour to hear confessions, and he said that he got to suggest his own penance.  I've gotten some variation of that a time or two.  My teenager's take on it was "Hey, it's YOUR job to come up with the penance." 

Shopping has not been over the top this year.  I feel a little bad that I don't think their will be too many (any?) surprises for my boys under the tree.  But there will be things.  Things that they want.  We drew names with dear hubby's family, and that cut the gift list nearly in half.  With my family, we decided to buy for our Godchildren.  I ended up with an "adopted" Godchild to ensure that no kid would be left without a gift, but it's all good.  I bought him a few small items, but also included a necklace with a medal of his patron saint, and had it blessed this morning.

I had wanted to do a post about the O Antiphons.  Maybe tomorrow?  Christmas Eve - yeah, right.  Maybe next year?

Last year, my sons and some other Boy Scouts were in need of service hours for their rank advancement.  The good Monsignor graciously allowed them to help with decorating the church for Christmas.  I think all he really wanted them for was to carry the Nativity figures from the hall to the church, but we ended up staying a couple of hours.  The boys were somewhat helpful with other things, and the other mom and I enjoyed helping, too.  When we offered to help this year again, there was no hesitation.

The boys got stuff from the attic and closet, hung wreathes, carried figures and flowers, and generally helped out.  Father likes to have a hand in things, so he was there calling the shots.  The lady who has been doing the decorating for several years is "retiring", and asked the other mom and I if we would like to "take over".  I am now one-half of the decorating "committee".  So ironic, because decorating is so NOT one of my gifts.   

Older child hanging a wreath.  

The Nativity Scene.  This was the work of the good Monsignor.

Notice the candles on either side.  

That ties in with the candles on either side of the altar and the candles on either side of the tabernacle.  

The Light of the World.

Decoration on the choir loft.  It looks uneven/weird because the sun is shining through.

Wreathes under the Stations of the Cross.  We "fluffed and hung".

The Sanctuary.  The altar is bare, but Father said he'd take care of that later.  

We down-sized our tree and decorated today.  Now there are signs at my house that Christmas is coming. 
Christmas Eve will be my official "wrapping day". 

Ready or not - here He comes!  Are we more ready to receive Him into our lives than we were four weeks ago?  He is with us always.  God-with-us.  Do we find Him (or even look for Him) in the drudgery of meetings and paperwork and ordinary life?

From today's homily:  Does Jesus really make a difference in our lives?  Are we willing to let Him draw us closer?  (If not, then we are celebrating a pagan solstice - not Christmas.)    The bottom line borrowed from John - "I must decrease so that He can increase."