Intention Fatigue

Those of you who work in healthcare have probably heard the phrase “alert fatigue.”  This is a malady associated with electronic medical records in which providers entering orders on a patient’s profile receive so many pop-up alerts about things that are unimportant (e.g. “Warning: This patient has two laxatives on his profile!  This is duplicate therapy!”)  that the alerts that are important (e.g. “Warning: The combination of these two drugs can cause an irregular heart rhythm and kill your patient!”) get ignored.  It’s like the boy who cried wolf.

I sometimes find myself with Intention Fatigue – that is, I feel obligated to pray for everybody who asks for prayers on their blog, not to mention the Holy Father and his intentions, tragedies such as the Boston bombings, societal evils such as abortion and the death penalty… you get the idea.  Often I worry that I’ve left out someone or something important.

Has this happened to anyone else?  What have you done about it?

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…”

Habemus Papam!

As you’ve all heard by now, we have a new pope: Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis I.  I am cautiously optimistic about this pope’s election.  The new pope appears to be a man who is deeply modest and deeply spiritual, and that’s exactly what the Church needs these days.

Reading about the new pope, I feel much the way I did when I heard that Wayne LaPierre was holding a press conference the week after Newtown.

[The author pauses while you all wonder if she's lost her marbles. She assures you that yes, they've been gone for some time now.]

At his post-Newtown press conference, LaPierre had an excellent opportunity to admit his organization’s mistakes and failures, to apologize, and to begin to atone for them.  As a gun owner, that was what I had hoped to hear and I believe that if he’d taken this tactic, he could have done a lot of good in the world.

Similarly, Pope Francis has an opportunity to excise the cancer from the Church, to admit and atone for her mistakes, and potentially do a great deal of good in the world.  

LaPierre blew his opportunity; let’s pray that Pope Francis doesn’t blow his.

Small Things, Great Love

I have a weird relationship with faith.  Man in the sky who loves us all and has a plan for all our lives?  No prob.  Sky-man sent his son to die horrifically and save us from Gehenna?  That’s cool.  Husband thinks this all a crock?  No big deal.  It’s a free country.

But get me in a traffic jam?  All the other people on this stupid highway were put here specifically to RUIN MY DAY!!!

Car got stuck on the snow at the end of the driveway?  I am going to be late for work and it will be THE END OF THE WORLD!!

Minor slight from a coworker?  Everybody [expletive] hates me.

One negative comment on an otherwise good performance review?  Boss hates me even more.

One of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa is “We cannot do great things on this Earth. We can only do small things with great love.”

I’ve often though of that quote in terms of small acts of kindness, such as giving directions to a stranger.  While that’s certainly true, this Lent I realized that there are more meanings to that quote.

“Small things with great love” could mean seeing a traffic jam as an opportunity to relax for a few more minutes before work.

“Small things with great love” could mean shoveling the driveway more thoroughly so that you don’t make yourself late.

“Small things with great love” could mean understanding that Becky is just having a crappy day and it’s got nothing to do with you, and maybe you’d see that if you did something about your rectocranial inversion.

“Small things with great love” could mean understanding that there was only one person who ever walked on water, and honey, it ain’t you.

Small things.  Great love.  It’s a good theme for Lent.

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 – 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!

Prayer of the Month: Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus
Holy Mary, Mother of God
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Such a simple prayer.  It’s one of the first prayers we learn as children.  For many Catholics, this is the prayer we turn to when we need to pray but we’re too tired, frightened, or stressed to think of anything else.

And yet is says so much.

Mary was chosen especially for Jesus and was blessed to carry Him in her womb.  (DH thought this line a bit unseemly until I gently reminded him that he’s the fruit of somebody’s womb too.)  And because Mary has such a special role in the Church, she prays for all of us – now and when we will most need it.  No wonder this is one of the prayers we teach to small children.

This is the prayer we use when we’re in dire need, and I bet Mary wouldn’t have it any other way.