Year of Mercy Warm up

Before you get stretched this year by the Year of Mercy, you need to warm up right?  What should I do?  Well, the folks over at Aleteia  posted a great piece on 54 ways to celebrate this coming year. All of them are excellent.  

The suggestions reveal concrete ways to exercise mercy, both for others and yourself.   Other suggestions?  I'm so glad you asked.

10) Find a Holy Door..  Make a pilgrimage.  Walk through it.   Why?  Because actions matter.  Asking for mercy, via the physical act of walking through a door of mercy, is a special means of receiving beyond the ordinary.   In this year of mercy, they aren't just the sealed doors of the major Basilicas, so ask in your local diocese, about the nearest Holy Door.  

9) Learn the Corporal and Spiritual Acts of Mercy.  A good place to read about them is here.
But if you're pressed for time, These are the corporal (body) acts of mercy.  You see someone in pain, and you take steps to provide partial or complete healing by your actions.

• To feed the hungry;
• To give drink to the thirsty;
• To clothe the naked;
• To harbour the harbourless;
• To visit the sick;
• To ransom the captive;
• To bury the dead.

Whereas these are the spiritual acts of mercy.  If you note, all require something of us, recognition of a need, capacity to act, and effort to see it through.  

• To instruct the ignorant;
• To counsel the doubtful;
• To admonish sinners;
• To bear wrongs patiently;
• To forgive offences willingly;
• To comfort the afflicted;
• To pray for the living and the dead.

Looking at the list, there is not a one our world is not starving for.   

8)  Pick a new devotion --rosary, chaplet, liturgy of the hours, the Angelus, and hold to it for the year.  

7) Schedule a confession or go during confessional hours.  Keep the appointment. 

6) Read the Diary of Saint Faustina.  It's long, it will take most of if not all of the year.  

5) Go to adoration weekly.  Nothing brings one more in touch with God's mercy than the Eucharist.   Go bathe in God's presence.  You can find out where there's 24-7 adoration at the same site where you can find out about confession; masstimes.org.

4) Do an examination of conscience daily.  It absolutely sears; it absolutely stings. It's absolutely guaranteed to help reveal why we so need to receive and give mercy in this year.

3) Be a friend.  There is nothing that reveals more of God's mercy, than kindness to someone else. 

2) Look at all things in the news/life through the eyes of mercy.  What would be the most healing thing one could do, say, think, pray in light of whatever it is...then do it.  

1) Sing at mass, light the candles, trim the tree, and celebrate with all you know.  Beauty is a fight against the darkness of life, mercy is beauty lived.   Not just this Advent, but all year.  

Summer List

Every year I make a summer list of the things we may or may not do during the 83 or so days we have off from school.  This year, I'm posting the list because....I'm having writer's block and had to put something up here.

100.  Read books, one a week for chapter book and older, four a week minimum for the younger/new reader set.
99. Swim.  Swim.  More Swim.
98.  Cook out often.
97.  Catch fireflies.
96. Skip rocks.
95. Eat ice cream from the truck.
94. Waterslide.
93. Berry picking.
92. Go to the park.
91. Go to the museum.
90. Paint the deck.
89. Weekly Family Movie night.
88. Weekly Date Night.
87.  Go to Wolftrap for concert.
86. Get bikes fixed.
85. Grow tomatoes.  (already have beginnings of green beauties).
84. Play cards.
83. Teach kids to do cartwheels.
82.  Go wine tasting.
81.  Roadtrips to Comet Pizza, Union Post Office and Woodberry Kitchen for foods profiled on Food Network via Drive-ins Diner's and Dives and The Best Thing I ever Ate
80.  Go to a street fair in DC
79. Visit the library weekly.
78. Ride horses in Shenandoah
77. Hike trails. Camp.
76. Go to see Capital Steps. (DC Satire group).
75. Declutter basement.
74. Perfect bank shot.
73. Play Wii Rockband, get to intermediate level on drums.
72. Work on book.
71. Play piano.
70. Fish.
69. Take kids to the zoo.
68.  Build outrageous lego scene.
67. Draw trees in the wild.
66. Lemonade Stand.
65. Soduku Mastery
64. Play chess.
63. Pedicure.
62. Fireworks.
61. Take kids to a parade.
60. Watergun fights with kids.
59. Invite friends over for Bar-b-que.
58. Vacation with just husband.
57. Rent U-haul, remove junk from basement.
56. Roll coins.
55. Get kids to put on concert.
54. Capture the flag.
53. Write letters.
52. Puppet shows in the basement.
51. Learn how to podcast.
50. Repaint upstairs bathroom.
49. Go to the beach.
48. Ride in a canoe.
47. Plan Fall Festival.
46. Create two of the ten scrap books. 
45. Plant trees.
44. Learn how to cook fennel. (We have loads).
43. Play dates for kids.
42. Take daily walks.
41. Continue daily rosary.
40. tour college campus.
39. portrait of littlest.
38. Baptism of littlest.
37. Visit Texas
36. clean out closet of things that don't fit.
35. Cook Fish weekly.
34.  Visit Connecticut.
33. Go to Baseball games.
32. Arts and Crafts.
31. Learn to braid.
30. Go Karts.
29. Meteor Showers.
28. Visit the local (small) Aquarium.
27. Ride a roller coaster.
26. Put feet in both oceans.
25. Listen to Eagles and Jimmy Buffet almost endlessly. (Perfect summer music).
24. Assemble puzzles with kids.
23. Shop at Outlets.
22. Go to a polical rally.
21. Sit outside and just feel the sun.
20. Climb a tree.
19. Donate blood.
18. Extra mass per week for self.
17. Sleep in.
16. Try new foods I'm unfamiliar with --Indian, South American, Japanese.
15. Have brother and family over for a cook out.
14. Get my eyes checked.
13.  See a play.
12. Sand castles
11. Blow bubbles
10. Chalk drawings the entire driveway --and we have a long driveway!
9.  Live on fresh tomato salad.
8.  Help son catch frogs.
7.  Play Scrabble or Catan or Monopoly (Game night)
6.  Trips to Civil War battle fields.
5.  Go on a boat.
4.  See a whale.
3.  Make pies, because I'm too lazy to learn how to make jam.
2.  Become more educated on history.
1.  Not stress about what doesn't get done. 

Going to go do something now...have a great day!

Our Summer List

Every year at the end of school, we make a list of 100 things we hope to do during the summer.  It is by no means exclusive or mandatory, but it does get posted on the fridge so we never have a day where someone can say, "I'm bored." because there is always something on the list we can do.  Besides, if they do utter those two words, they know it is instant KP, laundry, toilet scrubbing duty. 

Here's our summer list.

1. Swimming lessons
2. Berry picking
3. Go to the Library
4. Cook out on the grill often.
5. Camping
6. Go to the park
7. Ice cream from a truck
8. Read comic books all day long.
9. Baseball games, Nats and O's.
10. Go to the beach.
11. Visit both sets of Grandparents.
12. Drive in Movie.
13. Visit Civil War Battle grounds.
14. Zoo.
15. Visit 2 colleges for oldest.
16. Go to a Waterpark.
17.  Firecrackers
18. Fireflies
19. Swimming, swimming and more swimming.
20. Train for track (that's a high schooler) The rest of us will either ride bikes or skates or some such.
21. Visit historic places we haven't been.
22. Driving lessons
23. Summer Band Camp
24. Sleep over with friends
25. Potty train 3 year old. (I have to dream).
26. read 100 books. (We put this on our list every year).
27. Go to a summer concert.
28.  Put on a summer concert.
29.  Date night once a week.
30. Game day any day it rains.  (all cards, monopoly, magic, no screens).
31. Grow lots of tomatoes
32.  Trampolines
33. Going to an amusement park or fair.
34. Riding a horse.
35. Staring at the stars and seeing a meteor shower or falling stars.
36. Lemonade stand
37. Play capture the flag.
38. Watermelon
39.  Ice Cream.
40. Tour Washington DC
41. Paddle boats.
42. Feed the ducks
43. Go Fishing.
44.  Sunbathe with no discernable stopping point.
45.  See a play.
46. Paint the deck.
47. Make a scrapbook.
48. Watergun fight.
49. Throw a party.
50.  Petting zoo.
51. Visit a farm.
52.  Make jam.
53.  Learn to sew or knit or some craft involving thread/needles.
54. Cartwheels and hand stands.
55. Card castles.
56. Milkshakes at the park.
57. Aquarium.
58. Basketball camp.
59. Learn to skate.
60. Chalk drawings
61. Bubbles.
62. Remote control planes and cars.
63. Wiffleball league.
64. Skateboarding
65. Paint toenails.
66. Canoeing
67. Sandcastles.
68. Hiking.
69. Smores
70. Singalong
71. Move to medium level of drums on Rockband.
72. Teach middles to read, do multiplication tables more fluidly
73.  Write letters once a week to someone.  (At camp, we had to write once a week a chicken letter to get lunch on Sunday which was fried chicken, so I'm going to have icecream letters on Sunday, same deal).
74. Daytrips to Shenandoah, Annapolis, Leesburg.
75. Art Day.
76. Do Summer workbooks M-F so they don't drive us crazy come August.
77. Celebrate 20th anniversary, make kids watch wedding tape.
78. Family Reunion in Tennessee.
79. Visit one of the places profiled in Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  Itching to try a C.M.P. over in Baltimore.
80. Tripple A Ballparks once a month.
81. Cook Brisket all day long.
82. Playgroup for toddlers once a week.
83. Find jobs either paying or volunteer for oldest two.
84. Work on Helen book.
85. Invite friends to come over once a week.
86. Learn a piece of music a month on the piano
87.  Start to learn Guitar.
88. Sleep in.
89. Exercise every day somehow.
90. Pillow fight.
91. Blow dandelions.
92. Catch tadpoles or frogs.
93. Collect rocks.
94. Build fort.
95. Frisbee
96. putt putt golf.
97. Dance
98. Ride a rollercoaster.
99. Do nothing all day.
100.  Get text books and school uniforms for school (incoming freshman is very excited).

Have a great Summer!  I can't wait to get started.  Think I'll begin with 99.

What I'd Do

A friend of mine had a convergence of the planets such that she will be sans her five children for a week while her husband is off for the summer. She emailed me, "What should we do?"

I answered: First, turn off the phones and run around the house screaming at the top of your lungs..."I'm off duty! I'm on vacation." Then, before the neighbors speculate on what you did with your children, calm down, pour a glass of wine and do one or all of the following.

1) Read a book without pictures.
2) Watch television you wouldn't and movies too,
3) Go to a coffee shop or a restaurant that uses plates and forks.
4) Then go to a museum where there are breakable things
5) and a concert your kids would deem uncool.
6) Take a walk in a park without themes or jungle gyms or with it and hog the swings.
7) Make an appointment at a parlor that doesn't use an elephant for the sink and experience an unrushed hair cut.
8) Cook weird food.
9) Drink the wine.
10)Make a list of what you didn't do today --pay bills, run a wash, bus the table or vacuum pasta pieces and apple slices off the floor. Then realize ever so softly, you miss it because of what these repetitive daily tasks meant.

I left off the thing most obvious because that's how you get to having to wait for a planetary convergence to enjoy the rest of these things.