In ONE HOUR?!?!?

I teach second grade Sunday school at my parish (CCD, religious education, Christian formation, PREP ... whatever you want to call it ... can we please come up with a consistant name for this activity?).

This Sunday, in my single hour of time allotted (if not shorter due to the longer Mass tomorrow), I am supposed to cover both Holy Week and Easter.

Both.

In. One. Hour.

Folks, I could spend an entire hour just on the Easter Vigil. Mind you, I'm a bit partial to this, the Mother of All Masses, but still ... does anyone think I'll be able to do everything from Palm Sunday to Easter justice in the time I've got?

If you're a Catholic parent who thinks that Sunday school has it all covered, you are deluding yourself. I've got about half a dozen handouts for my class because I cannot possibly cover it. And I know I'll get excited about one thing or another (Oooh! Institution of the Eucharist! Oh! Stations of the Cross! Oh, my! Veneration of the Cross! Eegad! The Easter Vigil!), so I won't finish it all.

Parents, remember that YOU are the primary educator of your children. Please don't leave it up to the teachers on Sundays (or Wednesdays, or whenever you drop them off). We cannot do it all! We can't do it justice!

I feel pressured to get so deep into things because I am certain that there are some children who don't get any religious education at home. I've got one pair of darling girls whose parents are divorced and, if I understood them correctly, their mother (primary custodian, I think) is a Unitarian. They were shocked to hear that they are supposed to be going to Mass every week. Every Sunday. I know they've heard it before, but I don't think it sunk in. (I know they heard it because I had them two years ago for CCD, too. I always tell my kids that they should go every week.)

If there is one thing I regret, it's that my CCD wasn't deep enough. How many people who received Communion with me and were Confirmed with me four years later have fallen away from the Church because of a lack of information?

Please, parents! Help your children attain Heaven! Teach them at home, too! Don't think of the Faith as a "Sunday thing." Live the Faith! Love the Faith! Teach the Faith to your children!





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About Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel’s Hope

Saint Louis Catholic has an interview with Rosalind Moss about the order she is starting. Have I mentioned lately just how much I love Rosalind? How I wish I could meet her to tell her how much I love her and appreciate all the work she's done explaining the Faith - especially to cradle Catholics like me!

May God abundantly bless this new order!





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You Never Know What Someone Sees in You

I've been debating whether or not to post this, but have decided to do it, not because it makes me look good, but because it made my day to hear it.

Big Girl is the only Catholic on her sports teams. Most of the kids play most of the sports offered (soccer, basketball, and baseball/T-ball), and the teams tend to be the same children again and again. It's really very nice because the children get to know each other and form excellent friendships.

There is a family whose children play on the same team as Big Girl, and their mother and I often will talk during practices. We talk about family, news events, politics, and faith. (It's kind of like blogging! LOL!) I learned more than a year ago that this lovely lady and her husband are fallen-away Catholics. I occasionally say a prayer for them, but their love of the Lord is quite obvious. Mostly, the only thing I feel sad about is that they were unable to find such joy within the Church. But there isn't a bad thing I could possibly say about the family. After raising their "own kids," this woman and her husband have gone on to adopt four more children. And they are just so sweet, all of them!

But I do feel a little sad that they aren't Catholic any more. I always feel sad when I hear someone left the Church for any reason.

Well, I know that during practice, I can't usually do anything too intricate because I'll wind up talking a lot with my friend. So I sometimes bring my Rosary kit and make Rosaries for the missions. (This is an interesting thing to do around all the Evangelical kids whose older siblings are practicing because then I can give them a simple, yet correct, explanation of what the Rosary is for. Some of them help me string the beads, and I occasionally wonder what their mothers would think of that!) We talked a great deal one week about her youth and growing up Catholic. She was quite devout at one time, and her husband is actually a convert ("It didn't take," she said of it). A couple of weeks later, her youngest was helping me string Rosaries as we chatted about different things regarding faith. I have, all this time, been just myself. I don't hide that I'm Catholic, to be sure, but I'm also not very in-your-face. Wearing my Rosary shirt ("Have You Talked to Your Mother Today?" with the Scriptural references for the Hail Mary) is about as close as I get to that. But it's pretty obvious that I really love being Catholic.

At one point during this conversation, she said, "You know, I like talking to you. You remind me of my childhood and all the good things about being Catholic."

It completely made my week. One of the best things anyone has ever said to me.

But the glory for that belongs firmly in the Hands of our Lord. Without His guidance and His grace, I would never been any kind of example - or even a very happy Catholic. Without His mercy, I would be a grumbler about all the things I see wrong. Instead, I've been allowed to have a little of God's light shine through me. Just a little. I'm honored and blessed to have it so.

Thank You, God, for Your mercy and grace and goodness! Thank You for allowing me to be a little light in Your Kingdom!





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Beautiful Love Stories for Valentine's Day

Found via CNS News Hub:

• Couple celebrates 83rd wedding anniversary (Be sure to check out their family by the numbers in the sidebar!)


• Five siblings who have all celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries (No relation to the previous couple.)

For me to celebrate my 83rd anniversary, I'd have to live past my 106th birthday. Of course, I really want to live to see the Tricentenial of America, and if I do, both events will be the same year.

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Dying to Self

I have a long way to go.

Hat tip: Esther





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Blessings Made Apparent

Today is my anniversary, and I have to say that I am so completely blessed by God to have my husband as my helpmate. I am overwhelmed with the blessing he is in my life. He is the most wonderful husband I could ever have asked for or dreamt of. He loves me, he loves our children, and he loves God. And not in that order, either.

And I know that God has taken care of me in exactly the way He knew I needed to be cared for. And that He chose exactly who I was meant to be with.

Thank God for my husband. He is a real man, a godly man, and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world.

Not. For. Anything.

Christine

School Days

I am gearing up for school to get a bit more defined again. Little do the children know, but we've been having school all summer - though not on a schedule - cleverly disguised as Mommy Reading to You and Doing Crafts Together. The only thing they've really seen as school is when we pull out the Latin books or I play the PE Flashcard game. The flashcard game is played in the pool. I bring out the subtraction and multiplication cards poolside, and the girls take turns answering them until they have each tried ten. (Little Girl uses the subtraction, and Big Girl, the multiplication.) If they get the answer correct, they get to do a trick jump into the pool (or a trick in the pool). If the answer is incorrect, whoever got it wrong must take a kickboard and swim across and back in the pool. This isn't that easy, especially if one girl gets several wrong in a row. Our pool is a generous 15' x30', and I make them swim the long way across and back. I had a really clever name for this, but since I was poolside when I thought it up, I didn't write it down. Now the name is lost! (Oh, well!)

But I've just ordered Math-U-See for the girls to start up soon. And I ordered some books to help with our upcoming unit on Greek and Roman mythology, which we'll do when Hubby has a lighter travel schedule (looks to be September).

What I've discovered is that the girls have a really good time when we read together, especially if I read to them, and we do projects related to the book. And if I manage to work in the science, history, or social studies stuff while we work, all the better. Of course, they hardly notice this. For example, the first thing we did this way was a unit study using The Trumpet of the Swan. As we read the book, we looked for information on swans with special attention to Trumpters. We learned about the near-extinction of the beautiful birds, their migration patterns, and where they are being released in the repopulation efforts. We learned that the birds who are released in these efforts often don't migrate. After reading that Sam used a compass, we talked about directions on a compass and would make use of it in the car. (My minivan has a compass, and the girls would locate different directions based on which way we were driving.) We used Google Earth to create trip journals for Louis and his father. We read about chicken embryology and made booklets that illustrate the stages of a chicken growing in an egg. And we went to the duck pond and learned how to feed the ducks so that they would approach us for food. (We had ducks get as close as 3 to 4 feet from us! And let me tell you, this is not an easy exercise with children who are 5 and 8. Ask any parent.) We also searched YouTube for videos of swans so we could see them and hear their calls.

Did the children realize they were "having school?" Nope. Someone asked if they had school over the summer or if Mommy took time off. Katy answered, "We have not had school in two months!" She said this after we'd spent about a month working on this unit.

Right now, I'm working on teaching them about exaggeration, hyperbole, and embellishment. We started by reading Dr. Seuss' And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street and have moved on to various American tall tales. We'll probably make little posters and booklets with exaggerations and the main characters from the tall tales (Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, etc.).

This year, we'll also start a new activity called the Reading-Writing Workshop, which is a program based on the girls reading and making creative writing projects on their own with weekly conferences with me. Of course, we start out with specific lessons where I teach them how to do things and what I expect of them. But I think this will provide them with a chance to write more often, and maybe they'll even be able to make books to share with family members.

I'm hoping, too, that my new format - theme- and literature-based units - will also help me to be more creative with what we do, as well as help me to work in more field trips. Getting out of the house more is one of things we ought to be able to do as homeschoolers! But I'm such a homebody that I sometimes just stay here instead.

Since Little Girl is beginning first grade, she also begins her two-year journey towards her First Holy Communion. In addition to the Seton Home Study program I use for religious education at home, she is also going to participate in our parish's Sunday School program. I know that it isn't necessary (and so does our DRE, by the way), but I think it's good for the girls to (a) get to know the children at our parish and (b) hear a bit about the Faith from someone aside from Mommy once in a while. I will admit that my girls are quite a bit more advanced than a lot of the children in their classes at church, but I consider it a bit of a review. And, as I said, it's good for them to hear someone else once in a while. It drives home what I've already said to them, and it makes things just stick a bit when they have been struggling with a concept. Plus, we have a really good DRE for elementary who is quite conscientious about mataining a faithful program. (It's not like the Seton program, but it's at least not disssenting!)

It's really hard to believe that I'm starting fourth and first grade with them, to be honest. That means that this is my fifth year of homeschooling. It seems like a much shorter period of time to me. Plus, I have a hard time thinking about the girls being 6 and 9. (Big Girl will turn 9 in October.) It feels like it was only yesterday that I was starting Big Girl's studies for First Communion! And now Little Girl is starting that two-year journey. *sigh*

I pray that our family will be able to be successful in our homeschooling, not just in academics, but most of all in our spiritual well-being. May we always faithfully follow Christ and His Church, and may we always desire for ourselves what God desires for us. May I provide a good example to my children at all times, and may I always be able to meet the needs of my family.

Blessed Virgin, please intercede and attain for me a strong desire from the Holy Spirit to always fulfill my duties as a wife and mother, and may God grant me the grace necessary to fulfill my vocations.

PRAYER OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS
(1225-1274 A.D.)

Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you.

Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE HOME

We beseech You, O Lord,
visit this home,
and drive far from it all the snares of the enemy;
let Your holy angels dwell therein
so as to preserve us in peace;
and let Your blessing be always upon us.
Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

BLESSING OF SEVERAL CHILDREN

Heavenly Father, lover of all,
we praise you for giving us Jesus as our Saviour:
He blessed the children who came to Him,
and welcomes those who come to Him now.
Look with love upon these children.
and protect them with Your love.
May they grow in wisdom and age and strength
in Your presence and in the sight of all.
We ask this blessing, Father,
through Your beloved Son, Christ our Lord.

Amen.

[source]

Christine

I Don't Think I Could be so Gracious

Fallen Sparrow has posted an open letter to the burglar who broke into his apartment recently. Puts me to shame.

(Thank You, God, for showing me how I ought to act!)

Go read the letter at his blog.



Christine

If Only Morning Started at Noon

I think God is trying to tell me something.

How many bloggers will post this before the end of the day?

Probably just enough for me to feel the 2x4 that God typically uses to smack me upside the head.

If I did this one thing, I'd make it to Mass more often, we'd get school finished earlier, and we could go to the park more often.

I am SOOO sure these posts are for me.

Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord

Five parishes came together at my own parish last night for a Confirmation Mass with Bishop DiLorenzo. The church was packed, and I actually had to park at the Baptist Church next door! I sat at the very back of the church (I am not related to a single person being Confirmed, nor was I sponsoring someone), and even from there I could see the impressive shiner that His Excellency was sporting. ;)

The homily was excellent - the bishop talked much about doing the right thing. He talked about how we expect that other people do the right thing. When he went to the hospital for falling on his face, he was glad the doctor had done the right thing in medical school and not skipped the class on what to do in his situation. When you fly to Hawaii from California, you trust that the person who runs the GPS or who installed the GPS in the satellite did the right thing and paid attention to what was being done because you've got nothing but water all around for 5,000 miles. We, too, must do the right thing.

Then he tied all of this in with how the Holy Spirit, given to them anew in Confirmation, would help them in life to do the right thing. Some gifts will help them to discern what is right, others will help them to know what is right, others will give them the strength to do it when no one else is. It was wonderful, and I am tempted to write to him and ask if he has an outline of the homily so I can use it with my girls when we get more in depth with the Sacraments.

I think, though, one of my favorite parts was when he discussed Fear of the Lord. This is not an irrational or paranoid fear. It is really a fear of losing that unique, one-of-a-kind relationship that we have with the Creator of the Universe. We should all fear that. Which is why it's important to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so that we may do what is right. After all, Jesus said in the Gospel reading that if you want to be a part of Him, you must keep His commandments.

Lent

Lent, these days, seems to be more about doing something extra rather than giving something up. While it is always good to do something extra (say a daily Rosary, go to daily Mass, pray the Stations of the Cross on a regular basis, etc.), it is still important for us to remember that Lent is also a time of sacrifice.

A long time ago, not only was there fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, there was no meat or dairy eaten for the entire Lenten season. "OH, we can't eat meat on Fridays!" Well, really, we shouldn't be doing that all year long anyway. Yes, you read that right. The Friday penance wasn't lifted. It was amended, however, to say that if you ate meat on Friday, you should do some kind of penance instead. I know, I know. I didn't hear that at all growing up, and I actually told people that it had changed. Vatican II, you know. Just like Vatican II says to turn around the altar and stop using bells at Mass. (Can you guess that it doesn't say that, either?)

Anyway...once upon a time, there was no meat or dairy at all during Lent. Now, I have to say that if I did THAT, it would be a very long Lent. I don't think the family could go the whole time without meat (and certainly not without dairy! I have growing girls, you know!), plus I'm not very keen on cooking two sets of food for every meal.

So what to do for Lent? I was pressing the girls to think of something to do, but then heard Al Kresta discussing how his wife would just pick something for the kids (still does), and that his older kids are now starting to add to whatever mom picks for them. Hmmmm...

When Hubby decided two years ago to give up something for Lent, he mentioned his derth of ideas. Knowing what a chocoholic he is, I said, "How about chocolate?" (I'd actually been fasting from chocolate for nearly a year by then.)

His answer was, "I CAN'T DO THAT!"

To which I said, "Your answer kind of points to that as the best thing to give up, sweetie."

So he gave up chocolate. Not easy for a man who puts chocolate syrup in his coffee and occasionally eats chocolate chips right out of the bag, you know. (I think he learned that last one from me.)

What we give up is supposed to be something we really like. We're not supposed to give up brussel sprouts if we don't eat them, cigarettes if we don't smoke them, or running if we don't step foot outside to go anywhere unless it's in the car. Lent is supposed to be a stretch. The sacrifice we make is supposed to help us to live the First Commandment better. Don't think you can give up coffee for 40 days? Not even for God? Are you sure you're not making it a god?

Our family will be, collectively, giving up chocolate. Hubby finds this really hard, year after year. I will find it difficult, too, especially since I started eating chocolate a year ago Christmas after having none of it for about 18 months. (Hey, yogurt is WAY yummier if you put chocolate chips in it! And have you ever had a peppermint mocha??) The girls aren't keen on my idea, Big Girl less so than Little Girl. All of Lent without chocolate milk? Without chocolate chips for the yogurt? Without ice cream with chocolate? (This is better than Big Girl's first ideas, which are usually giving up school or giving up sleeping with Baby. Little Girl can't get any ideas except for giving up using straws.)

So, as you are considering Lent, remember that it is definitely a fine thing, a very good thing, to do something extra. We'll try to make it to daily Mass, say a Rosary daily, pray the Stations of the Cross every Friday (did you know there is an indulgence for that?). But sacrifices made for God, sacrifices that will help us to place God more at the center of our lives, are also very good things. And a difficult sacrifice makes for a better offering than one that takes little difficulty to make. It's the difference between a child going to his father with a Father's Day gift he made by hand over several days and another going to the same father with something he borrowed $5 from mom to pick up at the store Saturday afternoon. Will the father love the child who grabbed something from the store less? No, but the hand-made, time-cionsuming gift might be a bit more pleasing. It has more meaning to it.

Consider your sacrifice as a gift to you Father, and put some effort into it! Stretch! Make it hard! When it's all over, you'll be happier with yourself than if you did something small and easy.

Motivation for Lent

Created here. Picture found here.

(sidenote: I am posting this at the top of my blogs just because I'm please with how it turned out, and it can't hurt to remind myself what I'm fasting and doing penance for.)

Releasing Souls from Purgatory Through Poor Dental Hygene

I have never liked to floss. I hate it. My teeth are jammed together in my mouth which makes it hard to get the floss in between, and because I don't like to floss, my gums suffer from it and it hurts when I do floss. So I kind of skip it. A lot. Okay, most of the time. (Once, on a dentist's form, they asked, "How often do you floss?" and I wrote, "Sporadically.")

Well, I had a whopper of a toothache - actually a gum-ache - last month, which prompted me to work through my recently-developed fear of the dentist and get myself to one. I have about three years' worth of tarter built up. Well, I did until today.

Today, I brought the girls to the dentist, and the good doctor worked me in immediately after them. And he got most of the nasty gunk off my teeth.

It hurt. A lot. And I never prepped myself for it, either, since I hadn't planned on going to the dentist today.

I liken it to having a Band Aid on that is hanging off a little bit, and then your Mommy comes up and yanks it off without you expecting it. I mean, you knew she would, just not right THEN.

Yeah. That's it.

So my mouth feels weird now, but I think it's going to be okay. And I have two cavaties (my third and fourth ever) which will be filled next Thursday. Oh, and orders to get myself to the periodontist. Yeah, gums are in bad shape.

But I decided to ask for my pain to be joined with Christ's suffering on the cross, and maybe the fear I had, as well, so that maybe some souls might get to leave Purgatory.

Golly, I hope I helped someone. Cuz I really thought I was going to come out of the chair a couple of times. Shoot right off the top and out into the hallway behind me. (And because the girls were in the waiting room and could have heard, I was VERY careful not to get noisy or cry. And that took effort, I tell you.) From now on, I'm also going to offer up my flossing. "Floss 'em now, or soak 'em later," said the nice dentist. Seriously, he is very nice, and the pain and suffering is all my own fault.

So imagine my surprise when I read this post at Catholic Matriarch in my Domestic Church! I guess 'tis the season for getting your teeth looked at.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I already have my next cleaning set up for July 3. And I promise to floss. Really. Gonna buy some of that nice stuff the gal at the dental office used today.

Stop Looking at the Planters and Let God Drive!

Our parish has "Coffee with Jesus" once a month, which is when we get together at a local restaurant early on a Wednesday morning to discuss Scripture, but they amp it up during Advent and Lent and we get to go every Wednesday, if we so choose.

We so chose this morning, and today we discussed the Gospel wherein Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. We talked about how we try buck off His yoke, believing how much better things would be if we just got to do what we wanted.

Hubby said that it reminded him of when we were in Washington, DC, with the girls.

I thought to myself, "Huh?"

He continued, and his brilliance, once again, astounded me.

As we hustled the girls through the city, we had a goal in mind. We were heading to this or that museum in the Smithsonian, and what was there was going to be GREAT for them, but they didn't really know what we'd see when we got there. (Really, discussing it and letting them choose and browse the Smithsonian site would not have helped much; it would only serve to overwhelm them!) Because they had no idea what was in store for them, they kept stopping to look at things that were certainly interesting to five and eight year olds everywhere, but not as good as the stuff that lay ahead! So, when they stopped to look at the huge potted plants (Hubby mentioned that they are probably baracades erected since 9-11), we hurriedly said, "Yeah, that's nice. Let's GO already!" The girls whined along the way, to be sure, and they complained that we went too fast sometimes, but when we got into the Museums...BOY, did they like what was waiting for them!

When they wrote stories about our trips into DC, not once did they mention that they saw large potted plants. But they did mention that we saw real dinosaur bones, stuffed animal bodies, planetarium shows, and IMAX movies.

We are exactly like that with God. We are reluctant to hand over control of our lives - all of our lives, not just what we WANT to give Him - because we are so fascinated with the potted plants that are right here in front of us. Meanwhile, He has bigger and better plans for us. God's got the tickets for the 3-D IMAX movie, He's waiting to take us to see the dinosaur bones, and He knows that, as fascinating as those big plants on the sidewalk are, we have no idea how really COOL the stuff is that we're going to see!

Father Levis, when I saw him speak at the IHM Conference, said that we need to stop trying to drive our own little red truck and just let Jesus drive. He's got the right directions, you know.

And the plants are not as good as the real museums.

[planter image credit]

Happy Thanksgiving

Father, all of Creation rightly owes you thanks and praise.

Your justice, love and mercy abound.

We thank you this day for all that you have given us:

For the Passion and Death of your Divine Son,

we thank you Father,

through the Cross, He redeemed the world.

For the Church,

we thank you Father,

it is our beacon for salvation.

For the martyrs and saints who give testimony to your Son,

we thank you Father,

their witness to your Son is our inheritance.

For our loved ones and friends who have died and gone before us,

we thank you Father,

their love abides with us forever.

For loving spouses,

we thank you Father,

together we seek you.

For the gift of children,

we thank you Father,

they are your precious gifts to us and to the world.

For the gift of our families, loved ones and good friends,

we thank you Father,

Through them we see the reflection of your Son.

For jobs, our homes and all that we have,

we thank you Father,

give us only that which we need, as we seek Your Kingdom.

For the bounty we are about to eat,

we thank you through Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

[prayer source]

'Tis the Season...

...for griping about "holidays."

First off, I wasn't planning on discussing the holiday season until we were into Advent. I won't take a serious look at Christmas stuff until then. A big exception is the gigantic, gorgeous, wishing-I-had-$400-to-spend-on-nothing Creche scene that Sam's club is carrying this year. It's not light-up - it's resin - and it is absolutely one of the prettiest non-Fontanini Nativity sets I've seen. But, alas, I havne't got that kind of money to spend.

Oh, yeah, back on topic.

So, I wasn't thinking much about revisiting the big "Holdiay versus Christmas" war for a while, but the griping is already starting.

Some people are refusing to shop where the employees have been instructed not to say "Merry Christmas" to customers. For example, last year, lots of people boycotted Wal Mart because of it. I'll tell you this: I was wished Merry Christmas nearly every time I went to Wal Mart. Why? Because when I was given a "Happy Holidays" by the associate, I smiled warmly and with a cheery voice and love in my heart for her, I said, "Thank you. Merry Christmas." Almost every time (and this went for other stores, too), I was given the same wish back. Did I get my panties in a knot over it? Certainly not! What's the point? The employees of these stores have no control over it, and they are merely following orders not to say it first.

If you've never worked in retail, especially during the Christmas shopping season, you have no idea how really difficult it is. If you are a happy Christmas shopper (like me), you have no clue how truly nasty some people are while looking for gifts for their loved ones. Apparently, it's a chore for them! "I have to get X, Y, and Z for little Jimmy for Christmas because he asked for it all." Golly, just that attitude is a whole different post! (Check back for updates on it! LOL)

But when it comes to us Christians, out shopping for Christmas presents, why are we so concerned about whether or not someone wishes us Merry Christmas as opposed to Happy Holidays? After all, the word holiday comes from "holy day," and we all know which Holy Day of Obligation they are all alluding to, don't we?

On one hand, Christians are busy complaining about the commercialization of Christmas. "It's Jesus' birthday!" we cry. "And the stores are treating it like just another reason to have a sale. Plus, they put up Christmas trees in mid-October, for goodness' sake!"

But on the other hand, while we are out partaking of the absolutely killer sales, shopping to our hearts' content, snapping up gift after gift for our families and friends, we get annoyed that the sales are not labeled as directly related to Jesus' birthday.

Does that make sense?

Think, for a moment, about the Grinch That Stole Christmas. No, not the Jim Carrey, look-into-his-childhood-to-find-that-the-Whos-caused-his-grinchiness version. The original. The one that reminded us that it's not the presents that make Christmas. Do your kids honestly know that? Suppose there were no presents at all this year. Would Christmas be the same?

And, if not - even if it would be only a little different ... even if the kids would only briefly wonder what the deal is - why not? Could it be because the same Christians who complain about the commercialization of the birth of our Savior while also complaining that the birth of our Savior is not tied closely enough with the sale going on a Sears have also bought into the whole secular deal of Christmas?

And I'm not saying that I'm immune, people. Trust me, I make sure we all get presents for Christmas.

But what is our true focus as we approach Christmas? What is our focus as we enter into Advent? Do we use the season to repent and mend our lives, as we are admonished to do at Mass? Is Advent a mirror of Lent for us?

Or is it a month-long shopping spree where we all get together with our Christian friends and complain that Best Buy won't remind us of Jesus when we buy that plasma TV?

Praying for Things Passed

Esther has a terrific post up about Saint Padre Pio that contains a wonderful explanation of how we can pray for things in the past. Today, when you pray about the election, it matters not if you are in, say, Hawaii, and the polls are already getting ready to close in Maine or Virginia. You can still pray about the outcome of the elections. Here's a snippet from the post that explains why, but I highly recommend heading over to read the whole article:

The doctor knew that some time had passed since he had received the letter and the girl was at death’s door. He was perplexed by Padre Pio’s assurance that all was done, that the request for prayer would work.

Padre Pio continued, "Maybe you don't know that I can pray even now for the happy death of my great-grandfather."

"But he has been dead for many, many years," replied the doctor."

I know that too,” said Padre Pio. "Let me explain by giving you an example. You and I both die, and through the good fortune and the goodness and mercy of the Lord we are obliged to stay in purgatory for 100 years. During these years nobody prays for us or has a Mass offered for the release of our souls. The 100 years pass and somebody thinks of Padre Pio and the good doctor and has Masses offered. For the Lord, the past does not exist; the future does not exist. Everything is an eternal present. Those prayers had already been taken into account so that even now I can pray for the happy death of my great-grandfather! Do you really think the Lord needs our bureaucracy-- that somebody has to ask for a grace on a piece of paper and bring it to Padre Pio?"

The important moral is that we should always pray for the deceased, even those who have died many years ago, because for God there is neither a past nor a future, but all as one eternal present.

Please remember this as you pray for our country in today's elections.

Holy Day of Obligation

Julie has a wonderful post up on All Saints' Day, and how, as Stephen Colbert put it, "... if you’re Roman Catholic and you don’t go to Mass you’ll go to Hell."

But a part I like even better than Stephen's observation is this, from The Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living:

This feast is a Holy Day of Obligation, which means you are obliged to go to Mass. Yes, skipping church today is in fact a mortal sin -- and one of the dullest in the book. Can you imagine being damned for blowing off the twenty-six-minute lturgy at your parish? You'd be the laughing stock of hell. Personally, we believe in making each of our mortal sins count; each one had better be worth the risk to our souls, the trip to Confession, the time spent purging our sins by reliving Groundhog Day over and over again. You get the idea.

Julie points out that it's tough to get into Mass during the week, what with our schedules and all, but what's worse? That, or spending eternity in Hell?

Besides, you could have gone last night to a Vigil Mass, and most parishes have extra Masses today. My own parish will have Mass at noon (for the lunchtimers) and at 7:30 tonight. And we typically only have Wednesday night Mass during the week. Let's face it, it's not like there aren't choices. So get thee to Mass!

Oh, and don't forget that you can gain an indulgence for going to Mass tomorrow, which is All Souls' Day, providing you qualify yourself with the big three requirements: Confession (and a detachment from sin), Communion (taken care of if you go to Mass), and praying for the Holy Father's intentions. (Thanks, Ma Beck, for the reminder. Hopefully, Hubby can meet us girls for Mass at lunch near his office tomorrow!)

Ten-Year-Old Demons, Twelve-Year-Old Slutty Witches

It's distressing to see how many young children - and I'm talking elementary and perhaps young middle school kids - are dressed up for Halloween in costumes that are purely evil or purely slutty. I saw tiny ladybugs and duckies burst into terrified tears at Hubby's office today when the ten and eleven year olds with the blood-oozing, skeletal-looking, screaming-ghost-face masks came around the corner. One dad escorted his two daughters, one was a little witch and the older one - perhaps 12 - was in a miniskirt with little swathes of fabric hanging from it, low-cut top, colorful wig, FISHNET STOCKINGS, and what would have been called Go Go boots when I was a kid. She was a teenaged witch, I guess. Heavy makeup, too.

The second time she walked by (with her DAD!), Hubby and I looked at each other and said at the same time, "Never."

Seriously, people, do you have ANY clue when it comes to this? When I was a kid, costumes were of superheros, cartoon characters, and fairy tales. Ghosts and witches were there, too, but no bloody skeleton heads with strands of creepy, long, black hair hanging off the top were available to children. Heck, I don't remember much of that for adults! No one would dream of dressing their elementary-aged daughters up in "witch" costumes that look more like something a hooker would wear!

Meanwhile, Big Girl was Shelob and Little Girl was Saint Scholastica. Big Girl caught Mass yesterday on EWTN and learned about taking back our Holy Day, and she'll be searching for a saint to dress up as for next year.

I'll have pictures of Shelob up later, but I'm not sure I'll put up the pictures of Little Girl. You can see her face too easily, and I'm skittish about that. You'll see why Big Girl gets her mug on the web, though, when you see what she looked like.

Now it's off to put the little angels to bed.

Why I Have Not Left

I do not want to give details here, but I do want to make a comment on why I stay in a parish where things are, shall we say, less than orthodox. Seriously, don't ask. This is enough of an occasion of sin for me without adding gossipping.

I know more than a few families who have left our parish (as well as nearby ones) because of heterodoxy. They have not left the Faith - they wouldn't dream of it - but have, instead, gone to other parishes (usually one in particular) where they know the pastor is of a more orthodox bent. Many of those people encourage those who are in a parish where they are unhappy with the heterodoxy there to leave - come to Saint Orthodox Parish over here, they say.

Hubby and I actually contemplated this a couple of years ago, seriously entertaining the idea and even attending some of the other parishes in the area.

There are a couple of reasons why we decided to stay. First, and foremost, we are not supposed to parish-hop. Unless we've gotten permission from the bishop, we are supposed to stay put. It's not like we live on the edge of our parish. We are a mere 2 1/2 miles from the church. So we couldn't say that maybe we're really in that parish over there.

Secondly, to be honest, about the only parish that seems to be orthodox in the area is not a Latin Rite church. You are not supposed to switch rites unless you are either not in an area where your rite is available or unless you have permission to switch rites. Neither of these apply to us. Besides, we ARE Latin Rite Catholics, and we have no desire to make a permanent switch. This isn't to say that we don't enjoy going to Mass occasionally at the Eastern Rite parish across town, but we are aware that when we do, it's a visit. It's not home.

Lastly, we will stay because it is not good for us to run from this. My father said to me (when the first conflict came up more than two years ago) that it is our duty to help fix it from within, not take flight and leave everyone else in a heterodox mess. (Not his words completely, but that was the general idea.) God has put us here for a reason. God has placed us in this parish for a reason. As Hubby put it to me, "This is how God takes care of His Church and heals it."

Our parish has had these problems for far longer than we've lived here. It's not new; it's just new to us. So we will stay and fight the good fight. Even if it makes for some suffering moments while we do.

Just think of the souls we can release from Purgatory if we offer it all up!

In the meantime, please pray for all parishes that are having diffuculties. Pray that priests will be unafraid to proclaim the true teachings of the Church. Pray that we will all learn to be more obedient to our bishops. Pray for the priests that are struggling with their assention to the Faith and the Church. And pray for those who criticize those priests, too. Because when we gossip about the priests (even online), we hurt the Church. And, because the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, we also hurt Christ Himself. Our gossip about these things puts the lashmarks on His back, the thorns in His precious head, and the nails through His sacred hands.

May God bring healing to us! May God protect all parishes that are struggling and are under spiritual attack!

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the divine power of God cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

[picture credit]