Angry This Week...

One Mother's Day I attended the Spanish language Mass.  Near the end of the Mass, all of the mothers were asked to come to the front where they were presented with long stemmed roses and the choir sang two songs that lauded mothers.

I stood there and I prayed for a hole to open up and swallow me, I have never been more embarrassed in my life.  Why?  Because I saw pure, unadulterated pain in many faces of the women who were NOT standing there.  I saw the agony of infertility, of those who long for marriage, of those who have lost children and did not feel they could be included.  I saw tears, I saw anger, I saw pain and it broke my heart.

Of course, I love my mother and my mother-in-law and all of the mothers in my life.  We should love and honor our mothers every day of our lives.

Yet, in my own circle of friends - both real life and online - the pain this week is palpable.  Mothers who have lost their children, mothers who have lost their spouse, recently divorced or separated or abandoned mothers, women who struggle with infertility, mothers who have secondary infertility, women who feel they have failed... there is so much pain and it does break my heart.

Spend this week in prayer for healing and comfort to all the women who are suffering this week.  Instead of coming to see me, I want my son to sit with his friend's mom who buried her son a few weeks ago.  Please, good Christians, open your hearts to hurting women this week.

2014

No list of resolutions, no fond memories of the past year, we are back at the start of the circle.  This year my prayer is for peace of heart & peace of mind for my friends and loved ones.

My mantra for this year, from St Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter 4 (NABRE):

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!

Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.

Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you.

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that now at last you revived your concern for me. You were, of course, concerned about me but lacked an opportunity.

Not that I say this because of need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I find myself, to be self-sufficient.

I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.

I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.

Post Christmas Grumble Treacle and Snort

Realizing that I may be scorned and reviled, I am going to say it.

I am disturbed by the "Happy Birthday, Jesus" craze.  Well meaning Christian parents bake cakes, put on party hats, take little kids to the the big Nativity display at Church so they can sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus (I've even heard tell of Churches singing the "Birthday" song during Christmas services, shiver).

We get so wrapped up in sentimentality that we feel the need to make everything "sweet".  Treacle.  Well intentioned parents present Jesus as the buddy-friend-pal, God as His doting kindly Father and the Holy Spirit as a fluffy bird.  Angels?  Angels are what grandparents and puppies turn into when they die. Parents wring their hands trying to decide when to tell kids about hell or the devil, and end up simply letting that slide.

Teaching RE (aka "Sunday School" for my non-Catholic friends) for years, I see the result of this marketing plan.  Teenagers who think Satan is a myth, that do not know hell is real, that think the only sins are murder and smoking, that as long as we are a "good person" we go to heaven (where we get to become an Angel!)

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom".  Scripture states this not once but twice (Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10).  Fear of the Lord is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We have lost our sense of reverence, our children, our adults, do not have a healthy fear of God.

This holy fear, this reverence, begins with realizing that God is all powerful and all knowing.  That God, who spoke the universe into existence, became man and was born of the Virgin Mary.  Christmas is not a birthday party with cupcakes, Christmas is when all of time knelt in adoration and reverence and fear before a manger in Bethlehem.  The Eternal God, the Word made flesh, was born to a virgin.  This should strike us speechless.  Kings and Angels (who are created beings, not Aunt Sally come back with wings, but, I'll save that for another post), they bowed down and sang - not a ditty from the early part of the 20th century - but "Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth".

Children learn so much from things we do not even consider.  Songs are one of the best ways to teach kids.  We cannot teach reverence and awe for our Creator while teaching them that Jesus gets the same song as your stinky cousin.  Jesus is different, He is someone we adore and worship.  We sing songs for Him that we do not, that we cannot, sing for any other person.

Your kids are adorable, if you want them to sing a song to baby Jesus, teach them "O Come All Ye Faithful".  Save "Happy Birthday" for Aunt Sally, before she dies and becomes an angel...

Happy Birthday, Katie and Lauren

When I was a kid, I thought that the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was about the run up to Christmas Day and it was wicked cool that my birthday was the first of those famous 12 days.  That was before I realized that Christmas is a season and not a day.

Those of us with near-Christmas birthdays tend to have a bit of a complex.  Our birthdays are frankly inconvenient.  Everyone is busy with pre-holiday frenzy, to find time to celebrate a birthday in the middle of it is just a nuisance.  We get birthday gifts wrapped in Christmas paper, the famous "we'll get you one bigger gift for both Christmas AND birthday" line, we have low attendance at birthday parties (memories of my 14th are as fresh today as they were that day when exactly ONE person came to my party).  The very WORST is a birthday cake decorated with poinsettias and Christmas trees.

Because of all this (which would likely be better with therapy, but, who has time for THAT in December?) when my nieces were born on December 23, I had a "tiny sad" that they would face a lifetime of not-so-special birthdays.  

This blog post is not about Christmas.  It is about two beautiful young ladies.  They are shining examples of Christian virtue in a world that becomes darker by the year.  I love you both, I am proud to be your Auntie.

Katie Rose and Lauren Grace, Happy Birthday.

4th Sunday of Advent

Christmas sneaks up on me every year.  Working for a Church intensifies this ambush because bulletin printer deadlines begin hitting before Thanksgiving, so, I am always working three weeks ahead.  It completely boggles my sense of where I am in time.

Aside on "where I am in time" - ever since I can remember, I have visualized time as a circle.  Calendar months are laid out in this circle with January at 1 o'clockish and we move clockwise with December at high noon.  The days and weeks are in the same position as a calendar page, neat little grids.

Therefore, I see myself physically located at a spot on that wheel, but, the nature of the bulletin lady cycle has me working ahead in that circle.  Sometimes it is so confusing, if not for my wonderful co-workers and volunteers who proofread (in particular this week, Shelly for pulling my fat out of the fire and realizing BEFORE I sent it to the publisher that I'd put the weekly parish activities calendar for the week of Epiphany in the bulletin for the week of the Feast of the Holy Family - and she was the 3rd person to proof that particular bulletin!) our bulletin would be more comedy and less informative.

Had begun crocheting and knitting gifts early this year, only to end up at the last minute filling the Priority Mail boxes - - - realizing in cold panic that I'd forgotten to make anything for my 5 year old great nephew, Carter.  Thanks to my friend Karen S. who back in September shared a pattern she found http://crochetvolution.com/archives/spring-2012-archives/duck-pond-playset ... I was able to whip up a racecar track/pouch in an hour or so...(admittedly, the gauge was all wonky and the thing will likely never lie flat, but, he is 5 and we'll just say they are "mountains").

So, here I sit, on the 4th row of the calendar that is at the top of the wheel, I see Christmas only 3 days off and I am woefully unprepared, materially and spiritually.  I've vowed to stay OFF Facebook until after the holidays (have broken that vow a few times already), need to plan a meal and to finish the crochet project that I began for Jude last year.

Christ talked about folks who were busy with their lives and were unprepared for the coming of the Lord.  I've 3 days to do what the Church gave us 4 weeks for, prepare the way!  Better snap to it.

--- 1 ---

Blogging. Committing to it. Gonna be a big shot.

--- 2 ---

I've been asked to lead a "how to make knotted cord rosaries" workshop during the Confirmation retreat on Sunday. Please pray for the students, leaders and for me (that the clunker of a body holds up). Need to make some example rosaries tonight while I watch TV...

--- 3 ---

Too many people in my life are finding some fishies that look like snakes as well as scorpion shaped bread. I can either become dismayed or I can pray more.

--- 4 ---

If anyone sees my son, please tell him to return mommy's copy of "The Bad Popes". Thank you.

--- 5 ---

I've less than a week to finish an afghan that I began a year ago. UGH. Can I tie rosaries with my feet while I crochet a Tardis?

--- 6 ---

Styx will be playing just over the way a bit on Friday night. I will not be there. I know that Tommy Shaw will notice and he will sorely miss me.

--- 7 ---

Last, most important, this weekend is my Mother-In-Law's birthday. One of the least deserved blessings of my life is the family that came along with Brad. I've not been the DIL I could be, the physical distance and toil of life I spin into excuses to not call, not write, not email. I promise that this year I will be the sort of DIL that Sharon deserves. I admire and love her, she is one of the classiest women I have ever met.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Back to blogging.

After many false starts, going to give it another try.

Today I am thinking of people who inspire me.

A young man whom I have never met inspires me.  

My co-worker visited a Disability Conference today.  She came back to the office with two pretty little clay trains.  These trains were made by a young man who has autism.  He sculpts and paints these small treasures and signs each of them after they are purchased.  

I was struck by his determination as both an artist and a disabled person.

This is a news story Google turned up about this young artist.

May God bless you, Jeremiah.  Keep up the inspiration.

Inspiration also sprouted from a small hearted place.

An internet friend made me and others aware of a rude Facebook page.  The title of this page was "I'd Like To Have A Midget For A Pet".  Sporting stolen photos and sickening posts, several people reported the page as hate speech directed toward those with disabilities.

First wave of reports received instant responses that equated to "Nah, you reactionary, this page is just good, clean fun" from the Facebookrobot.   After a few hours and some more reporting, the page disappeared.  Those who organized this effort as well as the human in a cube at Facebookland who acted, well, they inspire me.

Oh.......  What do I watch tonight?  Grey's Anatomy or Parenthood?  I am torn.