So I had all these doubts...but apparently last month I didn't feel so lacking in confidence. I forgot I wrote this piece in February over at the National Catholic Register on not hiding your light. It's a gentle reminder, (if only to me), if you haven't really started your Lent, you can today, and that our God is about our Joy, not our drudgery.
He doesn't want me discouraged, He wants me joyful. That's a great comfort actually...because it's a call to joy...which is a willed response to reality. It's not about getting rid of things, it's about being at peace with where you are and why you are wherever it is you are...
On that note, in the interest of peace of mind, I'm taking a break from Facebook for Lent. I'll still link articles here and share them, but no commentary, no likes, no sharing of other stuff, no status updates, no lingering. Thank you for understanding. Happy Lent!
Showing posts with label graces. Show all posts
Showing posts with label graces. Show all posts
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Friday, April 27, 2018
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Easter
Happy Easter.
If we really understood the miracle that took place that morning, we would be racing to that tomb with the apostles and we'd wind ourselves getting there.
So it is today, if we really understood what Easter means, we would be spilling over drunk with joy and awe and gratitude.
Like watching our children at Christmas and their delight in everything is ours; so also God watches us as we go about thinking we understand everything, delighting in little things, getting upset over little things and He loves us just the same despite our clumsy oafish ways of being, our forgetfulness, our carelessness and our need for constant reminders of how to act.
Happy Easter.
We need all the miracles big and small that Christ offers, then and now; we need the miracle of the Mass, of the blessed sacrament, of how no matter what mood you may be in, something in the Liturgy will whisper to you if you listen, something will resonate in the heart. We need the daily reminders of beauty, of song, of spring and of community, we need 1000 blessings every day to remember the Author of all those blessings; and if we are sufficiently steeped in grace, we might be able to see how many thousands more God offers.
A friend of mine starts her day by counting fifty gifts of the coming day before she sets foot on the floor. She is I think the kind of person who would run to the tomb; who keeps Easter in her heart all year long.
May we all learn to do so. Happy Happy Happy Easter.
If we really understood the miracle that took place that morning, we would be racing to that tomb with the apostles and we'd wind ourselves getting there.
So it is today, if we really understood what Easter means, we would be spilling over drunk with joy and awe and gratitude.
Like watching our children at Christmas and their delight in everything is ours; so also God watches us as we go about thinking we understand everything, delighting in little things, getting upset over little things and He loves us just the same despite our clumsy oafish ways of being, our forgetfulness, our carelessness and our need for constant reminders of how to act.
Happy Easter.
We need all the miracles big and small that Christ offers, then and now; we need the miracle of the Mass, of the blessed sacrament, of how no matter what mood you may be in, something in the Liturgy will whisper to you if you listen, something will resonate in the heart. We need the daily reminders of beauty, of song, of spring and of community, we need 1000 blessings every day to remember the Author of all those blessings; and if we are sufficiently steeped in grace, we might be able to see how many thousands more God offers.
A friend of mine starts her day by counting fifty gifts of the coming day before she sets foot on the floor. She is I think the kind of person who would run to the tomb; who keeps Easter in her heart all year long.
May we all learn to do so. Happy Happy Happy Easter.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Prayers for Japan
I had a funny piece in my head but it can wait. I've watched the video of the water sweeping over the farms and sending the SUV's bobbing along like children's toys in a tub and find it is amazing how quickly we forget that all of life can change in an instant. The very ground we walk on is not stable. They say this was one of the biggest recorded earthquakes in history and it looks horrible. The Anchoress has pictures and video, as does Hot Air. My heart is in my mouth as I see the whirlpool and the videos and the still pictures of what happens when the earth and sea are not still.
Today is Friday and for those who pray the Rosary, today we focus on the sorrowful mysteries. The howl of that nation as whole towns, whole histories, whole communities were lost, certainly echoes the agony of the garden. For the rest of us, we have the hard grace of being reminded that we are helpless and small and mortal and dust, and that the only thing we can do, and oddly, it is the most powerful thing we could do, is get to our knees and pray hard.
Praying to those who hold faith and the sacred in contempt looks like doing nothing. Prayer however is our non sacramental way of reaching out to God and allowing Him to penetrate our soul. It is time we set apart that is wholly devoted to Not this world. The world is a jealous mistress that resents any moments we spend recognizing that she is not all that; so she crowds our heads with emails and tweets and phone calls and worries and chores and cuts and bills and dust and unexpected hassles and errands and illnesses and death and destruction on a scale we can scarcely imagine.
"See all of this?" she hisses. "How could God Be if He allows this?" Recognize you are being called to pray for the end of all of that, and to work in your own way to alleviate what you can of what the world inflicts. Imagine if everyone freely sought to live out the Beatitudes.
And if you still believe and still seek to pray, she hisses "See all of this?" and she shows you the sick, the dying, the suffering, the poor and the destroyed. "Why Should God Listen to Your Prayers? And why would you waste God's time on your trivial matters?" If your matters are serious, She reminds you of how many people in the world need and how not good or deserving you are. "Why should you merit a miracle?" She spits. None of us do but Christ did not measure our worth by the world's measures and still doesn't.
And if you still believe in trying after that, she hisses, "Bet the answer is No!" and that's when we have to swallow and recognize that because we believe that God doesn't just exist but loves us in an all infinite encompassing way, that we are heard. God's answer is God's answer. He always answers every prayer with greater love. We do not know the prayers of any heart but our own, and those, we should fearlessly place before God.
And then, there is God's time which is not our time. As a child and adolescent, I must have begged, petitioned and cried for friends a thousand times. I asked and asked and asked while I trudged to high school and walked the halls aching for someone to want to talk to me. I prayed to have a lot of people love me (a vain prayer to be sure but I was a teen and it is what every teen aches for, not popularity --that is the error of youth, but for community). And now I have these eleven people who crowd my day and there is always someone to talk with, to listen to, and who smiles when they see me and all I can think is Lavish and Thank you and More Lavish and Thank You.
So as I look at the devastation, I am reminded of this great beauty, this fragile gorgeous life we have, all these gifts like a son's birthday, a daughter crawling into your bed late at night, and the early morning sounds of chirping birds. We have this gift of today, of this second and the next and the next. So hug your children and your spouse tightly today. Tell your parents you love them and reach out to your friends. Joyfully embrace your Lenten fast and breathe deeply the air of this March 11th and pray for those who died and those who live on and must pick up the pieces.
He is with them and He is with us. Our hearts break for these people; mend theirs and ours.
Today is Friday and for those who pray the Rosary, today we focus on the sorrowful mysteries. The howl of that nation as whole towns, whole histories, whole communities were lost, certainly echoes the agony of the garden. For the rest of us, we have the hard grace of being reminded that we are helpless and small and mortal and dust, and that the only thing we can do, and oddly, it is the most powerful thing we could do, is get to our knees and pray hard.
Praying to those who hold faith and the sacred in contempt looks like doing nothing. Prayer however is our non sacramental way of reaching out to God and allowing Him to penetrate our soul. It is time we set apart that is wholly devoted to Not this world. The world is a jealous mistress that resents any moments we spend recognizing that she is not all that; so she crowds our heads with emails and tweets and phone calls and worries and chores and cuts and bills and dust and unexpected hassles and errands and illnesses and death and destruction on a scale we can scarcely imagine.
"See all of this?" she hisses. "How could God Be if He allows this?" Recognize you are being called to pray for the end of all of that, and to work in your own way to alleviate what you can of what the world inflicts. Imagine if everyone freely sought to live out the Beatitudes.
And if you still believe and still seek to pray, she hisses "See all of this?" and she shows you the sick, the dying, the suffering, the poor and the destroyed. "Why Should God Listen to Your Prayers? And why would you waste God's time on your trivial matters?" If your matters are serious, She reminds you of how many people in the world need and how not good or deserving you are. "Why should you merit a miracle?" She spits. None of us do but Christ did not measure our worth by the world's measures and still doesn't.
And if you still believe in trying after that, she hisses, "Bet the answer is No!" and that's when we have to swallow and recognize that because we believe that God doesn't just exist but loves us in an all infinite encompassing way, that we are heard. God's answer is God's answer. He always answers every prayer with greater love. We do not know the prayers of any heart but our own, and those, we should fearlessly place before God.
And then, there is God's time which is not our time. As a child and adolescent, I must have begged, petitioned and cried for friends a thousand times. I asked and asked and asked while I trudged to high school and walked the halls aching for someone to want to talk to me. I prayed to have a lot of people love me (a vain prayer to be sure but I was a teen and it is what every teen aches for, not popularity --that is the error of youth, but for community). And now I have these eleven people who crowd my day and there is always someone to talk with, to listen to, and who smiles when they see me and all I can think is Lavish and Thank you and More Lavish and Thank You.
So as I look at the devastation, I am reminded of this great beauty, this fragile gorgeous life we have, all these gifts like a son's birthday, a daughter crawling into your bed late at night, and the early morning sounds of chirping birds. We have this gift of today, of this second and the next and the next. So hug your children and your spouse tightly today. Tell your parents you love them and reach out to your friends. Joyfully embrace your Lenten fast and breathe deeply the air of this March 11th and pray for those who died and those who live on and must pick up the pieces.
He is with them and He is with us. Our hearts break for these people; mend theirs and ours.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Small Success Thursday
Two nights ago, my toddler kept getting out of bed. I know it was because I announced that everyone needed a good night's sleep for Tera Nova testing. After a normal tuck in, a extra water tuck in, a I forgot to brush my teeth tuck in (she hadn't), a you didn't read me a story complaint, a I need my dolphin and monkey announcement, and the kicker, "I can't sleep" bulletin, I got mad. There were four more runs up the stairs to turn off lights and demand that she stay in bed. By the time all lights were out, I was exhausted mentally and emotionally. Even worse, I knew that I would be a single mom for the next three days with their father out of town.
Frustrated, I talked to my mom. She suggested cuddling for ten minutes. I confess, I didn't want to. I wanted to threaten major carnage if she even peeped. "I can tell that's good advice." I said.
"Why?" my mom asked.
"Because I really really really don't want to do it. But I KNOW it will work." But good advice is hard to ignore. I filed it away in my head for the next evening.
Wednesday, I took the kids to IHOP for dinner (as a bribe) for getting the oil changed and then picking up their older brother from the metro. Impuslively after picking him up, I announced we were going to confession.
The day had been filled with little fights and I wanted a clean slate, not to mention strength for the next few days of solo parenting.
Coming home, I had to rush through bed time but I made SURE we'd brushed teeth, read a story and said prayers. I climbed into her bed. She looked shocked. "Why are you here?" she asked.
"I thought I'd give you an extra snuggle to help you sleep." I offered. She put her hand on my face. "You are really beautiful Mom." she said. I blinked. Why had I not wanted this? Sublimation if only for a moment understood properly, was everything.
I went downstairs where my oldest was playing computer games. "Have you studied for the SAT?" I asked.
He gave me a "Don't nag look." "You know, I just came from tucking in your sister." I explained that the best advice is often that which we know is right but don't want to follow. "You should study." I finished and left the room. He sat there staring at the screen and then I heard "Man....that.....just.....rots."
He grabbed his book and set the timer. His smile at me said, "I'm going to do this." Grace works that way, at least in this household.
This morning, my toddler came in to wake me up and despite a lost shoe, despite a child having knots in her hair and an occasional mutter under the breath, there were no fights while we got all 8 loaded into the car. (My oldest takes the bus).
The oldest two daughters take turns occupying the front seat. The oldest got there first even though it wasn't her week. She wanted to argue about being able to sit in the front row. I explained that she wasn't being fair to her sister. She started to counter, but I admittedly shut it down, "If you say yes, but, you aren't done fighting, you're trying to win after the fact." She sat trying to get around it. "If you know it's the right thing and you are fighting it, you need to ask yourself why? It's usually about wanting what you want, about satisfying one's self." She sat there with the same sort of wry closed mouth grin.
Like exercise, like saving for a big item, like all gratification deferred, it is a peculiar pleasure to chose grace. I don't know how long we can keep this up, but it's 9:52 am and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the day.
The theme of the day, "Less, less, less of me Lord, More, More More of You."
Frustrated, I talked to my mom. She suggested cuddling for ten minutes. I confess, I didn't want to. I wanted to threaten major carnage if she even peeped. "I can tell that's good advice." I said.
"Why?" my mom asked.
"Because I really really really don't want to do it. But I KNOW it will work." But good advice is hard to ignore. I filed it away in my head for the next evening.
Wednesday, I took the kids to IHOP for dinner (as a bribe) for getting the oil changed and then picking up their older brother from the metro. Impuslively after picking him up, I announced we were going to confession.
The day had been filled with little fights and I wanted a clean slate, not to mention strength for the next few days of solo parenting.
Coming home, I had to rush through bed time but I made SURE we'd brushed teeth, read a story and said prayers. I climbed into her bed. She looked shocked. "Why are you here?" she asked.
"I thought I'd give you an extra snuggle to help you sleep." I offered. She put her hand on my face. "You are really beautiful Mom." she said. I blinked. Why had I not wanted this? Sublimation if only for a moment understood properly, was everything.
I went downstairs where my oldest was playing computer games. "Have you studied for the SAT?" I asked.
He gave me a "Don't nag look." "You know, I just came from tucking in your sister." I explained that the best advice is often that which we know is right but don't want to follow. "You should study." I finished and left the room. He sat there staring at the screen and then I heard "Man....that.....just.....rots."
He grabbed his book and set the timer. His smile at me said, "I'm going to do this." Grace works that way, at least in this household.
This morning, my toddler came in to wake me up and despite a lost shoe, despite a child having knots in her hair and an occasional mutter under the breath, there were no fights while we got all 8 loaded into the car. (My oldest takes the bus).
The oldest two daughters take turns occupying the front seat. The oldest got there first even though it wasn't her week. She wanted to argue about being able to sit in the front row. I explained that she wasn't being fair to her sister. She started to counter, but I admittedly shut it down, "If you say yes, but, you aren't done fighting, you're trying to win after the fact." She sat trying to get around it. "If you know it's the right thing and you are fighting it, you need to ask yourself why? It's usually about wanting what you want, about satisfying one's self." She sat there with the same sort of wry closed mouth grin.
Like exercise, like saving for a big item, like all gratification deferred, it is a peculiar pleasure to chose grace. I don't know how long we can keep this up, but it's 9:52 am and I'm really looking forward to the rest of the day.
The theme of the day, "Less, less, less of me Lord, More, More More of You."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
If you sneak my work, No Chocolate for You!
Proud Member
Click Here to Join