7 Quick Takes Friday – Spring Not Yet Sprung

1.  Let’s start today’s Quick Takes with a picture of sweet Larisa!  I Miss Larisa has over $1400 available for her adoption – that’s a head start for any prospective family!

2.  If you haven’t seen the news about Father Emil Kapaun and his posthumous Medal of Honor, I urge you to head over to the Wichita Eagle’s site.  Since Kapaun is from the Wichita area and two miracles attributed to him occurred in the Wichita area, the Eagle has covered Kapaun extensively.

3.  Last year at this time, I was posting pictures of my garden.  You may have noticed that I haven’t done that this year.  Last year was unusually warm (and I jumped the gun a bit on planting).  This year has been about average, which means we’re still in danger of frost for the next few days.  I’d hoped to head to the greenhouse today, but it looks like it’ll be just cold enough tonight that I need to wait.  Bummer.

4.  Also it was cold and wet all day yesterday, which means the garden expansion isn’t quite complete yet.  Guess I should take care of that before I plant anything, huh?

5.  Let’s see, what am I growing this year?  Narrowing the focus a bit – it’ll be tomatoes, jalapeños and at least one other hot pepper (lobbying for habañeros, but DH has a much lower capsaicin tolerance than I do).  Garlic is currently growing – once I pull it up I’ll probably put radishes and salad greens in. Oh, and cilantro.  (Sorry, Jen!)

6.  This happens to me every week.  I get to take #6 and realize I got nothin’.  Sorry, kids.

7. It’s Friday  so it’s time for a song!    I realized I’ve been doing this for over a year and have yet to include one Bob Marley song.  For shame!  I give you  “No Woman No Cry.”

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Camp Patton!

Chreasters…

Simcha Fisher’s post on C&E Catholics reminded me of my reversion story and the fact that I’ve never posted it here.  Since it happened at Easter, I suppose now would be a good time to do so.  (Warning: this just might be the lamest reversion story ever.)

Five years ago, I was in graduate school and our spring break fell on Holy Week.  At the time I hadn’t been to church in about four years (and I had been married for about four years).  Scandals, disagreement with the Church on contraception, and just generally being a know-it-all were part of the reason I stopped attending Mass, but most of it was just no longer feeling the presence of God.

Anyway, my parents and sister decided to spend Holy Week with my grandparents that year, and since I figured I should spend time with my grandparents while I still could, I went along.  We didn’t go to the Holy Thursday or Good Friday liturgies (I forget why), but we did go to Mass on Easter morning, and I knew there was no way I’d get out of it.

That Easter Mass changed my life.

I took Communion and felt God in a powerful way; even now it’s difficult to put it into words.  The only thing I can compare it to is the first time DH held my hand and I thought, “This the start of something big.”

After I got home, I had my doubts.  What if it was just a fluke?  What if I’m just imagining things?

So the following Sunday, I went to Mass at the Newman Center at my university, which is very different from the church my grandparents attended.  My grandparents went to a huge, ostentatious suburban church; the Newman center is small and austere.

And I felt the presence of God again.  And again.  And again, and again.  Then I did what any real nerd would do:  I read.  I read books like What’s So Great About Christianity by Dinesh D’Souza, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.  I read blogs like Conversion Diary and Jimmy Akin and The American Papist.

DH, of course, didn’t come along for the ride.  Maybe someday he will… but for now, I am content to pray, hope, and not worry.

Happy Easter!

Christus Resurexit, Alleluia!

Hope everyone is having a blessed Easter!  I went to Vigil last night and it was a beautiful experience; it’s always lovely but being part of the choir really amplifies it.

This morning, DH and I were briefly discussing Pope Francis and how he’s been shaking things up (latest thing he’s done that no other pope has done before: blessing a guide dog).  DH remarked, “It sounds like this pope is exactly what those guys need: somebody who’ll shake things up.”

“Yes,” I replied, “it sounds like he’s just what we need…”

7 Quick Takes Friday – Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?

1. Once again, I’m the last blogger to weigh in on something important.  In this case, it’s the Holy Father’s resignation.  I must admit, I never felt the kinship with him that I felt with John Paul II (yes, I realize it’s strange for me to say that, considering I never met either of them).  However, I was saddened to hear that he felt he needed to step down, and I will pray for him.

2. The pope’s retirement means that the Vatican staff only has two more weeks to see Shepherd One land and say, “Look, it’s Benny and the Jet!”  As George Carlin used to say, these are the sort of thoughts that kept me out of the really good schools.

3. What did you all give up for Lent?  I gave up pizza, mainly because that’s my go-to food when DH and I have nothing planned for dinner.  Hopefully this will force me to get my crap together as far as meal planning goes.

4.  And in case anyone was wondering, yes, DH is joining me in giving up pizza.  “It’s a personal challenge!  It’s good for me!  I need to lose weight anyway.”

“Whatever you say, dear.”

5.  Speaking of food, I’m dithering over whether or not I should grow tomatillos this year.  I’m tempted, since DH green-lighted expanding the garden.  (Currently, I have two 4′ x 8′ beds.  When it gets a little warmer, I’ll expand each to 4′ x 12′.)  However, I hear tomatillos can get really large, and you need at least two of them because they cross-pollinate.

6.  I’ve recently discovered the Billboard Classic channel on YouTube.  It’s got videos with clips of the top 100 songs from different years and one can easily get sucked in and remember all the songs you loved (and hated from a particular year.

7. It’s Friday and it’s Lent, so it’s time for a hymn.  I give you Stabat Mater Dolorosa as sung by the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey of Saint Maurice et Saint Maur de Clervaux.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

Saint of the Year

This is the second time I’ve used the Saint’s Name Generator to pick a saint for the year.  The first was in 2012.  I had been dithering about starting a blog and prayed, “Lord, if You want me to start a blog, give me a saint related to childlessness/infertility.  And if I don’t get one of those saints, I’ll do something else.”  Lo and behold, I received St. Henry II, patron saint of the childless.

This year, I received…

St. Charles Borromeo 

Feast: November 4

Patronage: Against Abdominal Pain; Against Colic; Against Intestinal
Disorders; Apple Orchards; Bishops; Catechists; Learning
and the Arts; Seminarians; Spiritual Directors; Spiritual Leaders

and…

[wait for it]

Catechumens.

I’m probably reading too much into that.  Maybe God just wants me and DH to buy an apple orchard.  (For the record, Lord, while buying an apple orchard wouldn’t be as nice as DH enrolling in RCIA, I would certainly prefer that to an intestinal disorder.)

7 Quick Takes Friday – Light and Darkness

1. There is little I can say on the Newtown tragedy that hasn’t already been said.  (I didn’t blog about it the day of because DH and I were traveling cross-country that day.)  Pray that our lawmakers find the wisdom to prevent things like this from happening again.

2.  Have you seen Minor Revisions yet?  If you haven’t, go check it out! It’s good TV!  I might even be able to get DH to watch the next episode… we’ll see.

3.  It’s the Friday before Christmas and I really should be more excited.  Right now, the only thing I’m excited about is having today off and spending most of it finishing up all the errands that piled up while I was out of town.  I suppose I’d be more festive if I didn’t have to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Well, this is what I get for A) taking a job in a 24/7 industry and B) asking for Thanksgiving off.  The work needs to be done and I don’t mind going to do it – DH and I don’t have family nearby, so it’s not as if I’m missing much at home – but, ugh, right now all I want is a nap.

4.  OK enough whining.  Here’s Larisa!  I’m her Guardian Angel and wouldn’t it be lovely if she could find a family for Christmas?  If you’re interested in adopting her, contact me and I can assist in fundraising.

 

5.  Maybe someday I can talk DH into having a Nativity Set.  Right now the closest we get is an Advent calendar with a picture of the Holy Family.

6.  Incidentally, what’s this I keep hearing about Advent calendars with chocolate in them?  I never had such a wondrous thing!  I feel gypped.

7.  It’s Friday, so we need a song!  Here’s one of my favorite Christmas carols: “Carol of the Bells” as performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

Post-Election Thoughts

Amid all the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, I’m reminded of a quote from Charlie Wilson’s War (which I highly recommend if you haven’t seen).

Gust Avrakotos:  There’s a little boy and on his 14th birthday he gets a horse… and everybody in the village says, “how wonderful. The boy got a horse” And the Zen master says, “we’ll see.” Two years later, the boy falls off the horse, breaks his leg, and everyone in the village says, “How terrible.” And the Zen master says, “We’ll see.” Then, a war breaks out and all the young men have to go off and fight… except the boy can’t cause his leg’s all messed up. and everybody in the village says, “How wonderful.”

Charlie Wilson: And then the Zen master says, “We’ll see.”

Whether you think the election results were wonderful or terrible, hysteria is not the answer.  Whether they actually are wonderful or terrible… we’ll see.

And if you’re of the “they were terrible” camp, I offer the following advice:

1.  Take a deep breath.  Remember that despair is a sin too.  Be not afraid!

2. Remember this verse?  “You are Peter.  Upon this rock I shall build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18

If the gates of Hell won’t prevail against Christ and His church, what chance do any Earthly powers have?

Be Not Afraid

Every time I turn around, some one else is talking about the dire consequences of voting for the wrong person.  I have friends on  both ends of the political spectrum and my Facebook feed looks something like this:

Liberal Friend: “OMG you guys, if Romney gets elected this country’s going to go back to 1850 and women will be slaves and there will be a war with Iran!!  The sky is falling!”

27 people like this. 39 people commented that Liberal Friend is an idiot.

Conservative Friend: “OMG you guys, if Obama is re-elected he’s going to turn this country into the USSR!  He’ll make us all marry gay and take away our guns and make it illegal to be Christian!  The sky is falling!”

37 people like this.  20 people commented that Conservative Friend is an idiot.

Hold on, let me step outside.  [The author goes outside, looks up, and comes back inside.]

Ladies and gentlemen, I can report with certainty that the sky is not falling.  I repeat, the sky is NOT falling, nor does it show any signs of doing so.  In fact, I’m pretty sure that whomever we elect, the sky will remain where it has always been.

I understand being concerned over the outcome of the election – any good American could be concerned.  But all this hysteria, flying into a rage at opinions that differ from your own, and worst of all, demonization of the other side?  Come on, folks.  We’re better than that.

As Pope John Paul II said, “Be not afraid!”

Be not afraid, because God is always with us.

Be not afraid, because not a sparrow falls to the ground without His notice.

Be not afraid, because you are worth more than many sparrows.

Above all, be not afraid because fear prevents you from using the brain that God gave you.

Look at the saints throughout history.  Many of them faced greater challenges than you and I can imagine.  They were not afraid.  We shouldn’t be either.

7 Quick Takes Friday – End of Summer

1.  Check out this video on A Day in the Life of a Catholic Priest!  In 15 minutes, Fr. John Muir takes us through a typical day and explains some of the joys and challenges of life as a priest.  There’s some stuff you’d expect (saying Mass, going to Adoration) and some you wouldn’t (priests skateboarding and listening to hip-hop).

2.  Confession time: I never learned to do the Thriller dance.  I have a sudden urge to learn before Halloween.

3. It’s been an exceedingly hot, dry summer, but finally, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Today (Friday) the high is supposed to be 80 and we might actually get some rain!!  I checked my 10 day forecast and they’re not predicting any high temps greater than 88!  Finally!

4.  Over this summer, I spent a lot of time dithering over whether or not to join my church’s choir.  As always, I had a million reasons excuses for not doing so: I work some weekends and couldn’t be there every week, I’m too scared to cantor, I am not my mother, etc.  Last weekend I worked, and as I always do on a work weekend, I went to Mass at a different parish. On my way to my car, the lady who’d been sitting next to me stopped me in the parking lot and said, “You have a lovely voice!  If you’re interested in joining the choir please let me know!”  I thanked her for the compliment and sheepishly explained that I don’t usually attend that church.  And then I put it out of my mind.

5.  Just kidding!  Actually, I e-mailed the choir director at my parish the following day and asked if I could participate in the choir even though I’d have to miss some weekends.  He said that would be fine, as long as I notify him of absences in advance (which I can do).  Starting this Sunday, I’ll have a new place to sit at Mass.

6.  So what have we learned from today’s Takes? If God wants you to do something, He’ll make it clear to you, and  sometimes He needs to send messages with a 2×4 to your head.

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song!  I’m in an obscure early ’90s rap mood.  Here’s “Set Adrift on Memory Bliss” by PM Dawn.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

Sponsoring Redux

To see the story of why I became a sponsor in the first place, go here.

There have been some big shakeups in my sponsoring family lately, so I thought I’d post a quick update about my current sponsorships.  If you’d like to pray for my sponsored kids or elderly, please do so!  Here are the people I’m currently sponsoring (all names changed):

Julio, an 8 year old boy in Guatemala.  Julio is the second youngest of a large family and likes to read and play ball.

Jude, a 12-year-old boy in the Phillippines.  He is the youngest of a large family and wants to be a teacher when he grows up.

Bob, a college student in Uganda.  Bob hopes to be a lawyer someday.  He should finish school in 2016.

Isabel, a college student in Guatemala.  She wants to be a social worker when she graduates.

Rajesh, an elderly man in southern India.  Rajesh likes to garden and play with his grandchildren.

And I still keep my former sponsored students Darweshi and Margaret in my prayers.  I hope that they can return to school someday and that their futures are bright.  I also pray for the repose of the soul of the first elderly I sponsored, Indira.

And that’s my CFCA family!