This makes me think.... about adventing

Now be patient.. until the Lord's coming.. do not lose heart, because the Lord's coming will be soon. (James 5:7-8.)

In our search for the holy, there are times when our restless preparations smother the very truth for which we are searching.  We decorate our rooms and make elaborate preparations for our prayer, when a single flower and a moment of waiting are all we need to meet the One Who Comes. In our restlessness, our search sometimes becomes the only god we ever meet.


My days are all spent
in decorating my house.
I am forever preparing 
for you arrival.
I hunger for you presence
yet I take not the time
to wait for your coming
and to my great sorrow
you never arrive.


It is because I refuse
to be silent
that I cannot hear you.


It is because I refuse
to await you
that you cannot come.


It is because I refuse
to be idle
that I cannot enjoy you.


It is because I am too busy
hanging decorations
that I cannot welcome you home.


Yet in your deep wisdom
your presence leans toward mine. 
You understand my decorations
to be symbols of my hunger
and you know of the day 
when my heart swept clean
will be the only decoration needed
and I will listen for your coming
like night awaiting day.


--- Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB,  Seasons of Your Heart


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An Advent Prayer to the God Who Made Himself Small... and Near to Us

Last night, Benedict XVI invited the world to offer the vespers prayers that welcomed Advent into our midst for the sake of nascent life... linking the life of the unborn, with the coming Lord whose own advent came from the gift of Mary's womb. There's more over at Summa This, Summa That at Patheos. (Go treat yourself to a read of Benedict XVI's amazing homily!) 

This struck me in today's Scripture...

Well, here it is, folks, the First Sunday of Advent. I feel like I've barely digested the turkey from Thanksgiving and here we go -- whisked away on the four week spiritual journey we call Advent.

I'm struck this week by the First Reading... giving me a sense of pilgrimage as we begin these holy days of preparation. In the weeks to come we will be reviewing salvation history as we await the coming Messiah, and we "travel" as it were, in anticipation of Mary and Joseph's arrival in Bethlehem.

This week's first reading comes from Isaiah 11, a portion is captured below:

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz,

saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come,

the mountain of the LORD’s house

shall be established as the highest mountain

and raised above the hills.

All nations shall stream toward it;

many peoples shall come and say:

“Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may instruct us in his ways,

and we may walk in his paths.”

From Benedict XVI:

Advent, this powerful liturgical season that we are beginning,

invites us to pause in silence to understand a presence. 

It is an invitation to understand that the individual

events of the day are hints that God is giving us signs of the

attention he has for each one of us. How often does God give

us a glimpse of his love!

--Homily in Celebration of First Vespers of Advent

November 28, 2009

The Fun Quotient: Thanksgiving edition

Kids Thanksgiving Riddles....

(answers below)
A. Why did the turkey cross the road?

B. If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?

C. What key has legs but can't open doors?

D. Why do turkeys alway "gobble gobble"?

Riddle Answers: A. It was the chicken's day off!  B. Pilgrims.  C. A turkey.  D. Because they never learned any good table manners.

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!

I will give thanks 

to the LORD


with my whole heart;

I will tell of all thy wonderful deeds.


I will be glad and exult in thee,


I will sing praise to thy name, 


O Most High!

 Because God blesses the human heart, 

it can in return bless him 
who is the source of every blessing.

~Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 2645.

Film: Nine Days That Changed The World -- check it out!

Bob and I purchased this film, and really loved it -- we were young adults in June 1979 during the 9 days of Pope John Paul II's apostolic visit to Poland. We want to see it promoted everywhere.  Maybe you can help?

Yesterday, Newt and Callista Gingrich, the chief promoters of this film, introduced the film at my alma mater Franciscan University:


Movie Information Here.

Here's the trailer:


Order the DVD here!  Makes a great gift for the Catholic who has everything, or who is a history buff!

Among Women Podcast #79: Overcoming The Trauma of Sexual Abuse

This week's Among Women 79, has Pat recapping her recent ankle surgery, and what it means to take time to heal when it pain in our lives cannot be ignored, be it physical, psychological or spiritual.

Today's "Blessed Are They" features a look at the life of St. Catherine Laboure, and Mary's apparition to her that brought us "the Miraculous Medal."

Our "Among Women"conversation brings back Dr. Theresa Burke, the founder of Rachel's Vineyard ministry and a new program from Grief to Grace... which focuses on recovery from the trauma of sexual abuse. Today's conversation will deal with the problem of sexual abuse and what it takes to recover from it. So, check out this week's conversation, and check out Grief to Grace.

This makes me think... and pray...

Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;

do with me what you will.


Whatever you may do, I thank you:

I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.

I wish no more than this, O Lord. 

Into your hands I commend my soul;

I offer it to you
with all the love of my heart,

for I love you, Lord,

and so need to give myself,


to surrender myself into your hands,

without reserve,


and with boundless confidence,


for you are my Father.   

Amen.

--- “Prayer of Abandonment" from Blessed Charles de Foucauld, (1858-1916)

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The Fun Quotient: out of the mouths of babes...

The Lunch Room 

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was large pile of apples.  The nun made a note, and posted it on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching."

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.  A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."

~~~~~~

Ok, one more....

~~~~~~

"Dear God" questions from kids

Dear God: Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don’t You just keep the ones You have? -Amy

Dear God: Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother. -Larry

Dear God: If You watch me in church on Sunday, I’ll show You my new shoes. -Mickey

Dear God: I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only 4 people in our family and I can never do it. -Nan

Dear God: In school they told us what You do. Who does it when You are on vacation? -Jane

Dear God: Are You really invisible or is it just a trick? -Lucy

Dear God: Is it true my father won’t get in Heaven if he uses his bowling words in the house? -Anita

Dear God: Did You mean for the giraffe to look like that or was it an accident? -Norma

Dear God: Who draws the lines around the countries? -Jan

Dear God: I went to this wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay? -Neil

Dear God: Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. -Joyce

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Christ the King, a few thoughts over at Patheos.com

"A Word in Season" has a few of my reflections on the Feast of Christ the King. Here's just a bit:

He hung there waiting to die, on a cross next to Jesus. He was a condemned thief paying his debt to society. Yet, in a remarkable moment of clarity amid the chaos, noise, and mockery surrounding them, Dismas – forever immortalized as “the good thief” – acknowledged Christ the King:

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Luke 23:42.)

 And what looked like a dead end was just the beginning for Dismas… for he was personally canonized as a saint by Christ the King himself with the words, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43.)

No Among Women podcast this week! Taking time to recover!

Yesterday I had a surgical repair for a torn tendon in my ankle. It's an injury that I've lived with for the better part of a year, and so I'm happy to get this finally done.  

These are my crutches... they will be my constant companions for the next several weeks as I tend to my healing.

The studio, where I record the show, Among Women, is down a flight of stairs that I'm just not ready to descend yet. Not this week anyway.  But I'm thinking about the next few shows, and making plans for them! Looking to be back next week... when the pain meds wear off!

In the meantime, let me recommend that you take a peek at the Among Women archives and find a topic, saint, or guest that suits you, and enjoy one of our previous episodes. Here's the Master Index to the Archives.


And don't forget the great line up over at SQPN-- lots of podcasts to choose from over there!
Let's pray for one another!

The Perfect Thanksgiving Has Nothing to Do with Turkey

My latest article over at Catholic Exchange's "Grow" channel gives me a chance to share a few reflections about thanksgiving in my own life, and what it means for the Church.  Here's a teaser from my on-going column, "Embracing the Catechism":

Every single offering of the Eucharist is a time to count our blessings and to praise and thank God for his gifts.

It really defines Catholics as a thanksgiving people.  The Eucharist perfects our expression of it, as a kind of gratitude par excellence.

Thanksgiving itself has held a few watershed events for me, moments that have been intensely personal, and yet full of God’s bounty for me, for which I have returned the gift of my gratitude many times over through the years.

One Thanksgiving morning in the mid-90s, I learned what it means to be a walking answer to someone else’s prayer. In the aftermath of surviving breast cancer and a veritable rebuilding of my torso and my life, a friend looked me in the eye through happy-tears saying she was thanking God for my life that day. Her words reminded me that God is still in the business of answering prayers. Every. Single. Day. And so it must be with our thanks. Every. Single. Day.

Another Thanksgiving, my husband and I found out we were expecting a child.

And still another, I attended a very large dinner celebration with our extended family, celebrating my in-laws’ 50^th wedding anniversary. How wonderful that they were married on Thanksgiving! Their love is a happy reminder each year that thanksgiving in marriage ought to be a way of life. 

Of course, there's more... 

This makes me think.... about Mary and the Church...

What was once granted in the flesh to Mary is now granted spiritually to the Church; she conceives the Word in her unfaltering faith, bears him in a spirit freed from all corruption, and contains him in a soul overshadowed by the power of the Most High.... 

Just as the maternal function of Mary is to give the God-Man to the world, so the maternal function of the Church, which culminates, as we have seen, in the celebration of the Eucharist, is to give us Christ, "the Head, Sacrifice, and Food of the members of his mystical body":

[Quoting now, Carl Feckes:] As Mary bore the earthly Christ, so the Church bears the eucharistic Christ. As the whole life of Mary is centered upon the bringing up and protecting of Christ, so again the deep life and solicitude of the Church are centered on the Eucharist.  As Mary gives the earthly Christ to the world... and from this gift are born he children of God, so also the eucharistic flesh and blood produced by the Church should form the living children of God. As Mary offered up Christ together with him at the foot of the Cross the whole Church, at each Mass, offers the sacrifice with him. As Mary received at the foot of the Cross the whole treasury of grace in order to administer it spiritually, so the Church received it and in a certain sense receives it anew at each Mass for is ministerial administration and distribution. As Mary is in heaven, at her Son's side, a true suppliant, so also the Church makes effective prayer for her children... 

---Henri de Lubac, The Splendor of the Church.

+++++++++++

Note to readers: Might I ask for your prayers today?  I am having long-needed minor surgery today to correct a torn tendon in my ankle. Please pray for my surgical team and a successful recovery for me over the coming 12 weeks recuperation.  Thank you!


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If it's Friday, you can usually find me at adoration...

... and I'm pleased to share this reflection, "A God With Toes," on one of my favorite sites on the world-wide-web, CatholicMom.com:

Here's snippet:

As I enter the chapel each week, my knees hit the floor and I bend low: My Lord and my God!

Not insignificantly, my Lord and my God has toes.

And I’m struck deeply by the delightful humanity of it all. The precious and weighty reality of the Incarnation becomes, remarkably, accessible. And in that moment of recognition, I find this God, who is undeniably wondrous and magnificent as the Creator of the Cosmos, all at once, very much lovable to my down-to-earth womanly sensibilities.

I have a God with toes. Isn’t THAT amazing?!

I meditate and my own mother’s heart begins to rev in high gear. I start to muse about the Babe of Bethlehem, born to Mother Mary and Joseph. I can picture the delightful scene … where natural motherlove kisses the feet of her newborn. Oh yes! Kissing infant feet lavishes love from head to toe!

Of course, I’m only surmising here, but you get the picture… I can quickly recall my own joy in kissing and counting and adoring those “piggy toes” of my own three children.

But these toes that I find in the chapel, that were once treasured by a young mother, are now mature… and then I’m thinking of another woman.

I envision a woman who was once so transformed by love of this God-made-man – this God with toes – that she sought to lay herself and her burdens at his feet, kissing them and washing them with her tears and her hair. (Lk 7:37-38.) Her actions signal surrender, and a yielding to sublime love, tender and chastely passionate all at once.

 Here's the whole piece.

The Fun Quotient: Churchy definitions

Okay, I love the church... but these little quips made me giggle... and sometimes ya just gotta laugh... even at yourself!
AMEN: The only part of a prayer that everyone knows.
BULLETIN: Your receipt for attending Mass.
CHOIR: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the Parish to lip-sync.
HOLY WATER: A liquid whose chemical formula is H2OLY.
HYMN: A song of praise usually sung in a key three octaves higher than that of the congregation's range.
RECESSIONAL HYMN: The last song at Mass often sung a little more quietly, since most of the people have already left.
INCENSE: Holy Smoke!
JESUITS: An order of priests known for their ability to found colleges with good basketball teams.
JONAH: The original "Jaws" story.
JUSTICE: When kids have kids of their own.
KYRIE ELEISON: The only Greek words that most Catholics can recognize besides gyros and baklava.
MAGI: The most famous trio to attend a baby shower.
MANGER: Where Mary gave birth to Jesus because Joseph wasn't covered by an HMO. Holiday travel has always been rough.
PEW: A medieval torture device still found in Catholic churches.
PROCESSION: The ceremonial formation at the beginning of Mass consisting of altar servers, the celebrant, and late parishioners looking for seats.
RECESSIONAL: The ceremonial procession at the conclusion of Mass led by parishioners trying to beat the crowd to the parking lot.
RELICS: People who have been going to Mass for so long, they actually know when to sit, kneel, and stand.
TEN COMMANDMENTS: The most important Top Ten list not given by David Letterman.
USHERS: The only people in the parish who don't know the seating capacity of a pew.

New Column: "A Word in Season" debuts on Patheos.com

After 2 and 1/2 months writing over at the blog "Summa This, Summa That" I'm being launched into a weekly column over at Patheos, "A Word in Season." 

This new weekly column will celebrate the richness of the times and seasons in the Church. Its purpose is to explore themes related to the liturgical year including prayer and scripture, the lives of the saints, the Catechism, and the deep history of Catholic Tradition. In the coming year, it will also look at the changes coming to the Roman Missal.

The premiere column starts here:

Ever have one of those moments, as you go through life, when someone comes along and says just the right word at the right time? It’s usually when we needed it most!

Or did you ever have a song play the radio, or in the shuffle of the iTunes library, and you just knew that somehow that song was meant just for you?

A moment of inspiration can make all the difference, for it contains a small blessing.

Tucked deep in the Revised Standard Version translation of the Old Testament book of Proverbs, there’s a gem that captures the joy of such a moment:

 …an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is! (Prov 15:23 RSV.)

When I consider this proverb, I understand the goodness of “a word in season”. It can come from God, or through persons, or circumstance. Christians experience this blessing in a very personal way, and a very corporate one.

In my Christian life, I have had many private “God moments” when God reaches out to me through his Word in Sacred Scripture, in prayer, and through the sacraments. But it doesn’t stop there.

I’ve found God’s Holy Spirit acting within my social milieu! I’ve experienced encouraging words from loved ones, from books, from articles I’ve read on-line, and yes, even in random pop songs. Each time, God clearly communicates his joy, hope, comfort, healing, guidance, or peace.  

God works ceaselessly in a variety, and often, surprising ways, to aptly “speak” to me about my own pertinent situation… compelling me to continually seek him in every season of life. 

Though I’ve been slow to admit it, God’s timing is always perfect. And I marvel at the relevancy of the ancient’s prophet’s words describing God’s message to me today: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” (Is 55: 8-9 RSV.)

What’ more, a spiritual friend once counseled: God’s timing is never late. And it is to this universal sense of “God’s Time” that I wish to explore the corporate experience of “a word in season.”

There’s a dynamic seasonal patterning to Christian life, just as there is seasonal change in nature.

The Good News is never dormant.

Come over to Patheos for the rest! 

We Honor our Vets Today with Thanks and Prayers

The Noble and the Brave:
A Veteran's Day Tribute

When America had an urgent need,
These brave ones raised a hand;
No hesitation held them back;
They were proud to take a stand.

They left their friends and family;
They gave up normal life;
To serve their country and their God,
They plowed into the strife.

They fought for freedom and for peace
On strange and foreign shores;
Some lost new friends; some lost their lives
In long and brutal wars.

Other veterans answered a call
To support the ones who fought;
Their country had requirements for
The essential skills they brought.

We salute every one of them,
The noble and the brave,
The ones still with us here today,
And those who rest in a grave.

So here’s to our country’s heroes;
They’re a cut above the rest;
Let’s give the honor that is due
To our country’s very best.

By Joanna Fuchs

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"Christian, Recognize Your Dignity!" counsels Pope St Leo the Great

Today is Pope St Leo's feast day!  And in this article, I share one of my favorite quotes from Christian history... an exhortation from Pope Leo the Great -- who really walked the talked!  And I describe it in the context of a dramatic showdown between Pope Leo and the notorious Attila the Hun. Here's a little teaser:

Attila the Hun was busy ransacking the countryside and most of Italy. His plan included the sack of Rome. Attila hoped to add it to his real estate holdings, thinking it a surefire way to impress his then-girlfriend, whom he was intent on adding to his collection of wives.

So, it would seem, Leo was in trouble, seeing that he and Attila were somewhat at cross-purposes -- Leo, wanting to protect Rome and keep its citizens alive, and Attila looking to attack and plunder the city.

Talk about a tough ministry assignment for Leo! Given the mounting evidence of the other cities and towns that had fallen under Attila's bulldozing ways, I'd say that Leo might be down to his last prayer. But prayer is exactly how Leo approached the situation.

Pope Leo promptly committed his papacy to the patronage and protection of St. Peter, the apostle and first pope.

What's more, Leo had arranged a meeting with Attila outside of the city.

A meeting?!

Hmmm . . . can you picture the pope's secretary fretting just a bit over this?

Um, uh, Holy Father? A meeting with a bloodthirsty murdering barbarian might be a tricky bit of diplomacy to pull off, you know . . .  Let's recall that Mr. Attila delights in burning churches, killing clergy, raping and maiming townspeople just for sport! He's devastated the countryside! Oh, and by the way, Your Holiness, Attila is a savage terrorist whose nickname is the "Scourge of GOD"???

Get the rest of the story. 

Among Women Podcast #78: Be An Amazing Catechist!

Among Women 78 is all about passing on the faith to children. Lisa Mladinich joins me for an animated discussion regarding the true heart of the catechist, as well as the tricks of the trade, as we break open her new catechist's field guide, Be An Amazing Catechist, Inspire the Faith of Children.


Plus our "Blessed are They" segment examines the life and times of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne.

SQPN's annual giving campaign is now underway!

Pope in Spain Re-cap

I admit that I did not follow Pope Benedict's trip to Spain last weekend as closely as I did his visit to the UK. Mostly, it was because the coverage in a foreign language, and sadly, I am not a Spanish speaker.  However, I still like to check things out, so here's a few places where you can catch the happy recap, and read the texts of the Holy Father's homilies, plus see video or hear audio:

The Official Papal Visit Website

Catholic TV
(Note: even if I cannot understand the language... I could not help be moved by the beauty of the processional hymns offer at that first day's Mass at the Cathedral de Santiago.)

My favorite quote of the event?  It's gotta be this one, though long, from the homily at SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, (humble apologies for the weird spacing that I could not correct):

God exists and he has given us life. He alone is 

absolute, faithful  and unfailing love, that infinite 

goal that is glimpsed behind the good, the true and 

the beautiful things of this world,

admirable indeed, but insufficient for the human heart. 

Saint Teresa of Jesus understood this when she wrote: 

“God alone suffices”.

Tragically, above all in nineteenth century Europe, the conviction 

grew that God is somehow man’s antagonist and

an enemy of his freedom. As a result, there was an attempt 

to obscure the true biblical faith in the God who sent into the

world his Son Jesus Christ, so that no one should perish but 

that all might have eternal life (cf. Jn 3:16)...

The author of the Book of Wisdom, faced with a paganism in 

which God envied or despised humans, puts it clearly:

how could God have created all things if he did not love them, 

he who in his infinite fullness, has need of nothing (cf. Wis

11:24-26)? Why would he have revealed himself to human beings

 if he did not wish to take care of them? God is the origin

of our being and the foundation and apex of our freedom, not its

opponent....

This is why we need to hear God once again under 

the skies of Europe; may this holy word not be spoken in

vain, and may it not be put at the service of purposes other 

than its own. It needs to be spoken in a holy way. And we must

hear it in this way in ordinary life, in the silence of work, in 

brotherly love and in the difficulties that years bring on.

Europe must open itself to God, must come to meet him 

without fear...

The cross, which is the supreme sign of love brought to its extreme and 

hence both gift and pardon, must be our guiding star in the night of

time. The cross and love, the cross and light have been synonymous in 

our history because Christ allowed himself to hang there in order to give us 

the supreme witness of his love, to invite us to forgiveness and reconciliation, 

to teach us how to overcome evil with good. So do not fail to learn the lessons 

of that Christ whom we encounter at the crossroads of our journey and our 

whole life, in whom God comes forth to meet us as our friend, father and guide.

Blessed Cross, shine always upon the lands of Europe!

...

The Europe of science and technology, the Europe of 

civilization and culture, must be at the same time a Europe open to 

transcendence and fraternity with other continents, and open to the living 

and true God, starting with the living and true man. This is what the Church 

wishes to contribute to Europe: to be watchful for God and for man, based 

on the understanding of both which is offered to us in Jesus Christ.

Dear friends, let us raise our eyes in hope to all that God has promised and offers us.

In Each of Us, Christ: "Christ in you, the hope of glory"

Over at Amazing Catechists, an amazing line up of catechists are writing on this same topic this month: "In Each of Us, Christ."  Lisa Mladinich, the founder of AC, tells the story of how we came to be writing on that subject here.

Anyway, each catechist is writing about that subject according to their column's specialty -- mine being "You and Me and the CCC", (the Catechism), I tackle the subject using the CCC's text and scripture.

Here's a sample:

Baptism is both your identity and your destiny.  It tells you who you are, where you came from, and where you are going.  It defines where “home” is and where you belong.  It sets the course for the rest of your life – and eternity – if you embrace it.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. 

Oh, there's so much more, here. 

Angels Watchin' Over Me... (yeah, for real!)

Happy to be over at Faith and Family Live today, unpacking the Church's teaching on angels. Here's a little snippet:

Drawing on Scripture, the Church has long taught the existence of guardian angels who personally attend us. In referring to the angels given to each child, Jesus said: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 18:10)”.  (See also: Psalm 34:7, Luke 16:22 and Psalm 91:11.)

Just dwell on the second part of that verse, and let’s reflect for a moment … in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father …

Whatever I am doing at this very moment, my guardian angel, who is with me, is beholding the glory of God. The attention of our guardian angel is supernatural, and it takes place simultaneously on earth and in heaven. And while your angel is taking in both views, what do you think it is doing? 

Interceding for you. 

Read the entire article. 

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This makes me think... "this autumn day...."

God's World

by Edna St. Vincent Millay

(1892-1950)

O world, I cannot hold thee close enough! 

   Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!

Thy mists, that roll and rise!

Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag

And all by cry with color! That gaunt crag

To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!

 

World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,

   But never knew I this:

   

 Here is such a passion is

As stretcheth me apart, -- Lord, I do fear

Thou'st made the world too beautiful this year;

My soul is all but out of me,-- let fall

No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

~~~~~~~~~~~

To those of you who listen to the Among Women Podcast, I thought I'd treat you to some of the last autumn images that we have around these parts before all the leaves fall.

The photos above and below were taken by my handy little iPhone camera during one of my many walks down our country lane... over to the horse farms and back.

And yes, I really do live down a country lane in New England.

yes, that's the sky's reflection in a little pond...

Granite stone walls are a fixture everywhere here.

Have a beautiful day, wherever YOU are in God's world!