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Some thoughts about Lent 2014

Driving along in town to pick up our daughter in the new Catholic high school I got to thinking about Ash Wednesday and what it means to be repentant.  The ancients would put on sack cloths, roll around in ashes and walk through town to prove that they are a sorry sinner.  Since doing that in modern times would cause quite a serious reaction, what can I do this year that would be different and more in keeping with my personal relationship with God.  Surprised one afternoon while carpooling; I always ask the kids 2 questions after they're settled in and we are on the road home: "What was the best thing that happened and what was the worst thing that happened to you today."  I give them the choice of which question they want first, but they have to have an answer for both.  This day I asked the kids what they were doing for Lent.  They all said what they were giving up, candy, chocolate, soda, etc., then I said, "OK that's your physical sacrifice, what about your spiritual sacrifice?  What are you going to do to help get closer to Jesus?  I don't remember the specifics, but they were not surprised or taken back by my question, they knew what I was talking about and knew they needed to do something spiritually as well.  It got them thinking about a different kind of sacrifice, one that made them step out of their comfort zone, it made them think about others for a change.

In the past, I dreaded Lent, especially right after Christmas thinking about this dark season of sin and penance, it certainly was not a fun time to look forward to. During advent we are waiting, preparing a place in our lives for Jesus, appreciating the amazing gift of the incarnation to redeem the world.  It's a miracle, a gift, the promised answer to prayers of old!  During Lent, the time is spent as a time of examination, reevaluation, and sin.  Pain, sorrow, torture and death consume the readings and the Friday stations of the cross are times of great sadness and remorse.  Definitely, Christmas is more fun and pleasurable to live through!

OK, so here we are again with Lent upon us and there is no getting away from it.  Absolutely, anyone can get through it without fasting, surely there are those who do not pay any attention to this solemn time of year, but what do they gain? Without a time of looking inward into our deepest of deep selves and working out some problem areas that we don't think we need to change any other time of the year, we would not make any progress with our relationship with God…or each other for that fact!  If we didn't stop to ask that classic question that made Mayor Koch, of NYC famous: "How am I doing?" there would be no reason to search within ourselves and find the answer.

So in recent years, I have come to welcome this season as a good time, as I stop to roll up my sleeves in the face of my sinful ways. Each year is a new opportunity; I may still be working on the same issues, though, but still taking time to chisel away a small part of the ways that hurt our Lord and stain my soul.  Each year a smaller part of what makes me build walls melts away in prayer and mortification.  Each year, I get a chance to tell God I am so sorry and I want to change.  Each year, I get a chance to do this all over again, but each year I am that much closer to God. 

What am I going to do different this year?  Meditation seems to be the buzz word along with the Divine Mercy chaplet and the Jesus prayer.  Making time for Jesus in these prayers and quiet time along with the mantra, "Eat to live, not live to eat." No snacking and drinking nothing but water...save on cup of coffee in the morning only. Physical and spiritual fasting, check!

How about you?  Care to share??  I'm interested!!

Happy 7th Blog Birthday to me!!

Seven years ago, last week I started blogging.  How times flies!   Here's my first post as a throwback for this Thursday.  Have I accomplished this goal, am I still on track?  You tell me....

Blessings!

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Monday, February 19, 2007

What I hope to do with my blog.

For the past several months, I have been wondering about starting a blog. What would I talk about, share? I know!! My faith and my desire to help other mothers in their Catholic faith. I come from a family of 5, three kids and our parents. Today, I am the only practicing/devout Catholic child, my two brothers are either not practicing, or not Catholic all together. Too many times, I have heard parents day that they don't know enough about their faith to share it and live it within their own families. The next generation depends on the parents of today to pass down the Catholic faith. Our beautiful Catholic faith is a heritage that should be cherished and lived, and shared and utilized!! We have the fullness of what Christ gave the 12 apostles, the sacraments of forgiveness, spiritual food, the Word, the Holy Spirit, prayer. Every Sunday, folks walk into Church to attend Mass and looking at them, they neither have the proper reverence, knowledge, and/or reasons for being there. I want to help. I want to share what I know and read. I want the holy Catholic Church to flourish and be the wellspring for our beings, families, marriages, and society.

Dear Father, I pray that this is the purpose of my blog, that I may share the love and devotion that you have given me to others. Especially, I want to reach the mothers of Catholic families and even those who are not Catholic, but interested in knowing more about our faith and give them the courage and resources they need to pass the Catholic faith down to their children. I ask this in Christ Jesus' name, who lives and reigns with you in the union of the holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Retreat Day Three: Marriage is a Communion of Love and Life

My husband and I went away for the weekend for our 21st wedding anniversary, so pardon the fact that I didn't get them in time:




Breaking Open the Theme
In creating man and woman for each other, God made marriage to be love-giving and life-giving. We call these two purposes or “ends” of marriage the unitive and the procreative. They are inseparably connected and are ordered to each other. The two purposes cannot be separated “without altering the couple’s spiritual life and compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2363).
When a man and a woman exchange marital consent, they establish a partnership for the whole of life. They mutually vow an exclusive fidelity that is open to the procreation and nurture of children. In participating in God’s love, husband and wife are empowered to make a total gift of self to each other. As spouses, husband and wife not only exist side by side to each other, but also mutually for each other.
Reflection
When they were newlyweds, both were sure that this was the one person who completed their world. They thought they could never love each other more. When they found they could not have biological children, they adopted their little girl and discovered a new dimension to their love. The day they first held her in their arms, they suddenly saw each other in a new light: Mom and Dad.  In becoming parents, they began to understand something new about why God had brought them together.  Their feelings of great joy were accompanied by feelings of overwhelming responsibility; they knew they would need God’s help.
To Think About
(1) If you are a parent, how has your child (or children) been a blessing to you? How have you changed for the better since becoming a parent?
(2) If you do not have children, how do you expect that having a child would change your marriage?
(3) How can couples continue to strengthen their marriage when they become parents?
Prayer for Married Couples
Almighty and eternal God,
You blessed the union of husband and wife
So that we might reflect the union of Christ with his Church:
look with kindness on us.
Renew our marriage covenant.
Increase your love in us,
and strengthen our bond of peace
so that, [with our children],
we may always rejoice in the gift of your blessing.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

• All Days of the Virtual Marriage Retreat
• Day One of the Virtual Marriage Retreat
• Day Two of the Virtual Marriage Retreat

Retreat Day Two: Marriage is the Unique Union ....

Enrichment

Retreat Day Two: Marriage is the Unique Union of a Man and a Woman

Breaking Open the Theme
In the beginning, says Sacred Scripture, God created man and woman in his image, “male and female He created them” (Gn 1:27). In His wisdom, God planned that man and woman would be made “for each other”: “they are equal as persons…and complementary as masculine and feminine” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 372).  In a particular way, when a man and woman come together in marital union, they beautifully and uniquely complement each other.
Although each individual person is irreducibly unique and fundamentally equal in dignity, we should be able to recognize that obvious differences exist between men and women, and that these differences are blessed by God. These differences can be seen not only in biological terms, but also in how we think, express ourselves, and even pray.  A most obvious difference can be seen in the distinct gifts a man and a woman bring to sexual intercourse.  Together, they jointly hold the potential to unite in the most profound way and to bring new life into the world. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh…” (Mt 19:5).

Reflection
She proudly thinks of herself as a multi-tasker, able to juggle many things at once. Her husband might counter that he likes to concentrate on one thing at a time, focusing his attention on the task at hand. She may need to share her worries; he may be surprised to find that she isn’t expecting him to fix them. He discovers that she needs to talk and relax into feeling romantic; she wishes he figured that out sooner. The beauty of marriage is that spouses have a lifetime to understand and appreciate their differences. Vive la difference!

To Think About
(1) Name one or two ways your spouse approaches problems that differ from the way you like to do things.
(2) As a man or a woman, what unique qualities do you bring to relationships, at work and in your family?
(3) How does being a man (or a woman) impact how you approach your relationship with God?

Prayer for Married Couples
Almighty and eternal God,
You blessed the union of husband and wife
So that we might reflect the union of Christ with his Church:
look with kindness on us.
Renew our marriage covenant.
Increase your love in us,
and strengthen our bond of peace
so that, [with our children],
we may always rejoice in the gift of your blessing.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

For Your marriage: National Marriage Week

Retreat Day One: Marriage is a Blessing and a Gift

Breaking Open the Theme
“Among the many blessings that God has showered upon us in Christ is the blessing of marriage, a gift bestowed by the Creator from the creation of the human race” (USCCB, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan, p. 1). The vocation to marriage is inscribed in the very nature of man and woman (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1603). As a natural institution, marriage has certain God-given characteristics. It is the permanent, faithful union of a man and a woman, intended for the good of the spouses and the bearing and raising of children.
So essential is the blessing of marriage that it was not lost by original sin, a point we are reminded of in the Nuptial Blessing of the Marriage Rite. Instead, marriage was redeemed by Christ and elevated by Him to become one of the seven sacraments. In this way, Christ made marriage between a baptized man and a baptized woman a sign or visible embodiment of his love for the Church (see Ephesians 5:21-33). Sacramental marriage does not replace natural marriage but, in a marvelous example of grace building on nature, raises it beyond what husband and wife could achieve on their own, allowing them to share in God’s own divine life.

Reflection
Many neighborhoods are blessed to have a married couple who are the true community makers. This is the couple on whom everyone counts to generate enthusiasm for the block party or to welcome new arrivals. When this special couple also happens to be Christians, their positive influence gives the Church a good name. People seek their opinion on moral questions or ask them to pray for their loved ones. They seem to enjoy working together in the yard and on church projects. Their dinner table always has room for another teenager. In such a couple, people witness the natural and supernatural dimensions of marriage, in the flesh.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)
(1) How has your spouse been a gift to you?

(2) What would you like to do for your spouse that would express your love in a special way?

(3) In what ways can your marriage become a gift to other people, not only to each another?


Prayer for Married Couples
Almighty and eternal God,
You blessed the union of husband and wife
So that we might reflect the union of Christ with his Church:
look with kindness on us.
Renew our marriage covenant.
Increase your love in us,
and strengthen our bond of peace
so that, [with our children],
we may always rejoice in the gift of your blessing.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

All Days of the Marriage Retreat

February thoughts

February is the month for lovers, Valentine's Day and all that goes with the theme of love, togetherness, and well, love.  For those who have no love, you are wrong.

We all have love, if not by another human being, from our God and Heavenly Father.  I know it's hard to feel that sometimes, but it is so true that if you opened your ears, and eyes and saw the wonders of the things around you, it would be obvious.

Obvious because there is nothing in this world that hasn't had God's hand on it, all the good that is around us is from the loving Creator.  Nothing that is bad comes from Him, nothing harmful, evil, or scary had it's origin from our God, NOTHING.  All we have in God is LOVE.  What is the evil, scary, and harmful is the sin that surrounds us from one source of another, but basically from the devil.  If one really thinks about this it totally makes sense.

Anyway, February is for lovers, but what month isn't?  What part of our lives, what part of out being isn't about love?  The loneliest person in the world only has to look over their shoulder and feel the light of God's love upon them.

Sounds simplistic doesn't it?  But we live in a world that is constantly needing answers, creating schemes to to solve mysteries, complicating what is so simple. 

Ok, that's my thoughts on the February, the month for Love.