Henry's Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

On Good Friday, Henry and I decided to color our Easter Eggs while listening to the album, Alma Mater.  This music is a release of modern classical music and features the Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  The music is very inspiring and perfect for a day like Good Friday; however, I could not tell if the music made Henry extra sad about his egg mis-hap or if he was sincerely sad about it.  You be the judge. 

Jesus Take The Wheel

I’ve just returned from a last minute trip to Texas with my parents.  The reason for the trip was to assist them by driving one car behind them while they drove our old Mercedes Benz to Texas to live forever. My dad wanted our unused 1984 vehicle…300,000 miles and all.  We were afraid that the Mercedes would not make the trip, so I agreed to follow along just to be safe.  Old and cranky, it made the 3 day trip without skipping a beat.

Three days on the road with my parents brought back some good memories of traveling with them when I was younger. We drove everywhere in a big gold 1968 Cadillac that had no air-conditioning, was a smooth and nauseating ride, where my brother and I could stretch out on the backseat and never touch one another. When we took those long, hot trips to visit relatives or friends…you can bet that mom and dad were going to pull out the ol’ rosary for some much needed prayer time.  My brother and I were held captive in the back seat, forced to pray the rosary whether we wanted to or not.  My mother would start, “Hail Mary, Full of grace the lord is with thee, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus”  my dad, brother and I would sleepily respond.  This was a ritual of travel for us, a prayer that was a chore to me as a child…I didn’t “get” it.

Today, when my parents come to visit, they always make time to stop in Irondale, Alabama where EWTN hosts its global Catholic Radio Programming. There is a small chapel there that holds the Blessed Sacrament.  This Chapel is televised throughout the world through EWTN and offers Christians live streaming to pray in front of it. 

Predictably, my mom and dad entered the chapel as they had many trips before, took their seats (Mom in the front pew, Dad in the pew behind) where mom pulled out the rosary.  They began quietly praying. I sat behind them, distracted, watching them pray--ever faithfully.  They had gotten so good at it, their rhythm and steadiness struck me. That is what happens after 53 years of praying together.   I got it though, I saw the continuity of what they were doing…how their prayers sustained us, brought the family together over the years, allowed grace to penetrate when God seemed far away.  It reminded me of the saying of how “God does not want us to be perfect, just faithful”.   They have most certainly been faithful.

It rings true of what we do with the youth of our parish each week.  Realistically, many don’t want to come to youth group sessions, while others do, and some are lukewarm…like me in the back of that Cadillac.  But the fruits of our faithfulness will be harvested over time.  Most of us will never know the fruits, but the kids will “get it”…eventually.  And something you said or did will resonate and make a difference.  Thanks for being faithful!

Stories of Strength to learn from

This week I was reminded how strong human beings are, when the grace of God is allowed to move in their lives. 

An older gentleman that I have known well for about 10 years recently shared a story with me about his life as a young man.  The story was a painful one …filled with rejection, sadness, death, depression and loneliness. To hear the story, you would think that no human could overcome it; it was just that sad.  To know this man, you would have never guessed the pain he has endured all these years.  He is successful, hardworking, creative, respected and loved by many.  He goes about his work in a quiet, unassuming way, never making any waves and gently doing what he does best.  He has dedicated his life to bringing the beauty of God to people every day and does it without much fanfare or thanks.  I was shocked at the deep, deep, anguish of his story, but marveled more at how he overcame the darkness and found his way through to the light.  While his life is not easy, it is clear in knowing this man that he knows the heart and grace of God well.  He has lived it and has been touched by it. 

My mother called me this week to let me know that a neighbor of hers was on her last days of life. Her name is Peg. Breast Cancer had gotten the best of Peg and my mother was her only source of life outside of chemo.  I did not know Peg personally, but knew that my mother had taken Peg “under her wing” when she found out how sick she was.  Peg had no husband, but four kids who wanted little to do with her; they had their own “issues”.  It was another sad story.  For the last two years, my mom had been driving Peg to the beauty shop, taking her to lunch, sitting at the hospital with her, going grocery shopping for her and (being a breast cancer survivor herself) gave her words and prayers of hope to go on.   And while my mom did not “know her well” she freely gave her time to make Peg’s last year of life bearable.  Peg’s daughter was the only one who regularly came to check on her mother, but could not stand to see her in such a state, so my mom would send her home and sit with Peg.  Yesterday, on what may have been Peg’s last day on this earth, her sons reluctantly came to say their goodbyes…they were outwardly indifferent to their mom’s plight but still, my mom would patiently talk with Peg’s kids and give them words of love and support.  “Mom ”, I said, “How can you just sit there and watch Peg die?  How can you deal with all the dysfunction of Peg’s kids and stand so strong?”  My mom in all her wisdom said, “This is what I do.  I am just called to do this for those who are in need. I plan to be there when God takes Peg home, Georgie…how could I not?”  

I feel like such a lightweight compared to people like this, but at the same time I know that God is teaching me a lesson through their stories. It is how I live my life after knowing such stories that is important. That when times are dark, and those days will surely come, the grace of God will give me strength to make it through.

 I have proof.

Stop, Look and Listen

At the parish where I work, we are in the midst of a very large building project that is changing the old church site into a newer, bigger, more modern place for more Christians to come and worship. The demand for more space is huge at our ever-growing parish and it a beautiful thing. God has blessed us with resources to continue to build his kingdom both physically and spiritually and I feel blessed to be a part of God's massive undertaking here in CH. It is an exciting place to be right now, an exciting place to work.

Because of all the construction equipment and workers on the site, the parish campus is very loud. Very. Even though I work inside temporary trailers, I can still hear the humming machinery outside and the beeping of equipment I could never begin to operate myself. Looking out the trailer window, the workers are very busy trying to meet construction deadlines and building requirements. They have much to accomplish before school begins in the Fall. They are doing a great job and working quickly and steadily to do the job right.

In the parish office we are working diligently and steadily to prepare for the Fall faith development (Sunday School) year. Every day we inch a bit closer to the moment where we welcome the 900 + youth and children through the doors of their classrooms to enlighten and teach the Catholic faith. We use the latest technology and social networks to get information out to parents, fast and efficient computers to communicate and search for religious resources. We have facebook groups, twitter updates, newsfeeds, e-newsletters and much more. The purpose of which is to help build His kingdom....yet ironically, it is hard to find the voice of God though it all. It is very loud; we are very busy.

The other day, I was walking through the construction zone over to the church. I am always happy to come into the church...a church that I know well, that is my home, that holds who I am within its walls. When I walked inside, it was quiet and peaceful and I felt comforted and content to be there. The loud world quickly disappeared and I was alone.

For me, it is slightly uncomfortable to be in the church alone. I feel the tug on my heart to go and spend more time with Jesus. It is when I am alone in the church that I can sense God calling me...most especially when I have passed the Blessed Sacrament chapel...I can hear God say, "Come, be with me". But more often than not, I think, "I'm busy God, doing your work...you must understand that I am busy..right? I must prepare for the faith development year."

But God always wins and I finally kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. All of my failings and flaws are placed before Him. As a youth minister of the church, a mom, a wife and friend... if I can't make time for God-the creator of who I am and what I do... then I am doing something wrong. This kind of communication with our Lord requires nothing fancy, nothing with instant news feeds or e-mails. It requires one on one time that only comes when I make it a priority.

As the world gets busier and adds more communication options, it's comforting to know that God does not require anything fancy to communicate, just time and an open heart.

Be still and know that I am God.

The question I'm pondering.

I was standing in line at the uniform store today with four of my boys in tow. The woman behind me commented on how many kids I had and asked questions about my family size. She mentioned that she could not handle any more kids. She mentioned that the "ol Catholic guilt" made her feel bad about not having more.

So. That got me to thinking. Why is it that no one has ever heard of "Baptist guilt" or "Evangelical guilt" or even "Protestant guilt". Why is my religion the only one with this prestigious title? Hmmmmmmm.

May is the month of...

just a little reminder to pray.

The Myths...

My daughter Rebecca surprised me the other day when she announced that she needed the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Bible for her English class.

Me: Why do you need those books Rebecca?

Rebecca: I'm doing a report on common myths attributed to the Catholic Church.

Me: (Gulp.) Are you sure you want to do that?

I was quite nervous about her topic selection, knowing what a liberal town public school can do to a person with a strong Christian faith. It is not pretty. I just closed my eyes and said a prayer as she left for school that day. Her teacher is a fallen away Catholic with strong ties to a more secular view of spirituality, social justice and tolerance, but is a fair teacher in all other respects. But after thinking about her selection, I realized that the only way she will be able to grow in her faith, is to study it. Once you learn more about Christ and His Church the more you fall in love. She's answering her own questions about her faith by defending it to a mostly hostile crowd. It takes guts. All at the tender age of 15. (Another of her references is a three volume set of books titled,
RADIO REPLIESwhich answers many questions made by callers to the radio show. An amazing set of books!)

It all comes at a good time since she will be Confirmed in Christ on May 1st. Part of becoming an adult in the church is being able to stand up for the Church and her teachings and to vow to live a full life as a practicing and knowledgeable Catholic. I can think of no better way to prepare for the Bishop and his questions than by preparing for her English paper. The Holy Spirit will truly be at work with my child, and the Holy Spirit will use her for the benefit of all within earshot--already her paper is over two pages in length, single spaced, size 9 font size.

I was never that knowledgeable and engaged in my faith at that age, nor was I as gutsy. It just goes to show that today's Catholic youth are yearning for something more deep and meaningful than the empty promises of our secular world. These are the leaders of the church of tomorrow and I, for one, think we are in darn good hands. Go Becca!

Welcome Pope Benedict!

What a blessing to have such a historic visit from the most well-known religious leader of the world! From what I have read and seen, he appears truly thrilled to be here in the United States! I wonder why? Maybe it's because the Catholic church is argueably alive and well in the U.S. as compared to the faithful in European countries. It could also be a sincere welcome from George Bush...a world leader that shares in the Pope Benedict's view on social/moral issues in the world. Perhaps he really likes the enthusiastic crowds or the really good birthday cake given to him on his 81st year of life. Either way, it's great to have him with us to remind all faiths of the hope we all have in Christ.

I was watching one of the morning shows this morning featuring Kathy Lee Gifford (formerly of Regis and Kathie Lee) speak about her impressions of the papal visit. She mentioned that she is not Catholic but when seeing the Pope come off the plane yesterday, she could not help but stop what she was doing and cry. I looked at him with yearning and emotion as well. This only goes to show that we all admire the message that Benedict holds dear and represents. We all look to him with admiration for all he stands for and lives by...maybe we cry because we recognize the potential we individually hold inside our hearts to be like Christ....and painfully recognize how we have fallen short. Maybe we look at him and feel so. far. away. from the Jesus we should know, the Jesus that Benedict represents. Pope Benedict makes it look so easy to believe in Christ and live a life focused totally on Him. Why can't we do it as well? Pope Benedict has come to America with the message of hope. For me, it is a hope that I can one day be worthy of Christ's sacrifice. Pope Benedict reminds me not to give up on living life as a committed Catholic and believer as I continue with my vocation of wife, mother, youth minister, and evangelist. The pope makes it all look so easy, and it IS! All we need is that hope!

Jesus Remember Me-Good Friday 2008

Our church's outdoor Stations of the Cross drew hundreds of participants. It was a beautiful Spring day with temperatures close to 70 degrees. Many of us came with quieted hearts, hoping to align our sufferings and pain with Christ.

Nicholas, Jack and Gus follow others as we sing and pray along the way.

As I looked up from my prayers, I was surprised to find Nick at the front of the crowd...Jack and Gus not far behind...positioning himself to be selected to take a turn carrying Christ's Cross. I worried that it might be too heavy for him, but it wasn't. He carried it along with another young friend from youth group. Symbolizing that even our children, walk along with Christ and have their own crosses to bear.



Back at the church, near the end of our stations, Nick assists one of the adults in propping up the Cross.


We adore you Oh Christ and we bless you, because by your cross you have redeemed the world.

In my inbox

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at
a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now
retired.

During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in
their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor
went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and
an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking,
some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the
hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said,
'Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving
behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only
the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot
chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even
hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not
the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups...and then you began
eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and
position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain
life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you
have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the
hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man
chooses the cups.

The happiest people don't have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything that they have.

Marching for Life

Members of the youth group, including two of my children and I, are off to Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life event. We leave at the ungodly hour of 3:30am and are scheduled to arrive at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for a Mass specifically for the North Carolina contingency of Catholics at 10:30 am. Our very own Bishop Burbidge will preside along with Bishop Jugis from the Diocese of Charlotte.

The March begins at noon with a rally on the Mall followed by a march to Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court. Over 100,000 are expected to march in cold temperatures which are predicted to be in the 20's and 30's with snow and rain possible. There are at least 500 people traveling from North Carolina to D.C. along with priests, seminarians and members of the Knights of Columbus.

Are we crazy for doing this? Um. Yeah!! We are! Super crazy! But is there any better reason to march under such conditions than to remind the world and our politicians on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade that there are Americans who still value the sanctity of human life? Enough of all the death and despair. Let's pray for all women forced to undergo an abortion, the abortionists, our society that quietly approves, our politicians, and for all the unborn souls.

"Any country that accepts abortion is the poorest of the poor"-Mother Teresa

Goodbye Christmas, Hello Ordinary Time

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Marks the end of the Christmas season.)

Seeing as Christ himself was baptized, it is a great time to focus on your-; own baptism or your children's baptism. Many people know the DAY they were born, but not many know the day they were BAPTIZED as a Christian in our Catholic Family! It's a big deal and one that should be celebrated! Have a big feast in your home and invite your child's godparents (if they live close), pull out your child's baptismal candle and certificate and relay what the day was like; tell your family members WHY you chose the godparents you chose and what qualities they had. Talk about what a GIFT baptism is (as one of our sacraments of initiation) and how we are called as baptized Christians to love God as he loves us. It gives me great comfort that while Jesus probably did not need to be baptized, he saw the importance of it and was baptized as an example for all of us to follow. God moves among the water and moves within us! Let's celebrate that!

Respect Life Sunday

Over the last few days, I have been praying
for an end to abortion as part of the groundbreaking

40 Days for Life campaign.

Since this effort started on September 26, many lives
have been saved from abortion, many women and men have
been protected from making a tragic decision that could
haunt them for a lifetime, and many people who have
experienced the pain of abortion in their past have
begun to find healing.

I receive regular updates about the 40 Days for Life
campaign, and have been inspired by the amazing things
that God is doing all across America.

I'd like to invite you to join me in this important
initiative. Here's how...

Go to: http://www.40daysforlife.com

On the top right of the page, you will see a form that
reads: "Get Updates." Enter your name, email, and zip
code to receive the updates, devotionals, and prayer
requests about 40 Days for Life.

Then join me and others all around the country who are
heeding the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If my people,
who are called by my name, will humble themselves and
pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin
and will heal their land."

Let's make 2007 the year that marks the beginning of
the end of abortion!

GodTube

I would not show this video to any small children, but highly recommend it to older teens. I dare you to watch this without crying. I think we all can relate at some level.

These girls are radical!

You want to be radical? Different? Stand out in a crowd? Go Countercultural?

Good.

Put away your green hair dye, your emo-look, and your goth like persona and be really radical.


Nuns are back!!

HT:Danielle Bean

A bit much?

I'm all for joyful praise and all, but I do believe this is going overboard. Sheesh!

The Month of Mary

Be sure to pray the Rosary this month.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou amongst women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus
Holy Mary Mother of God
Pray for us sinners, now an at the hour of
our death.

Amen

and for fun....we cannot forget this famous classic

I don't either.

The boys and I were in the car on our way to church, when I had yet another sudden urge to ask my boys a question about Lent:

Me: Boys,what is the color we associate with the season of Lent?

Nick: Red

Me: (shocked that Nick did not know the answer) Nick. It's purple. Purple is the color of suffering, and during Lent we focus on Jesus and His suffering on the cross. Right?

After a long pause a small voice in the peanut gallery in the back of the car responded.

Gus: I don't like to suffer.

The moment I knew I could never be anything but Catholic.

Last week I attended the funeral of a woman who died unexpectedly at the age of 49 in a tragic car accident. She was a wonderful woman; always helping me with youth ministry events when her kids moved through the program a few years ago. And while we were not the best of friends, I knew she was one person I could always call upon for help with anything. She will be missed.

The funeral was somber; filled with many people who knew her from town, friends of her kids, church folk and lots of Italian family members from New York State. The congregation filled the pews in a sea of black clothing and white tissues. Tears where shed freely when her daughter, husband and nephew approached the ambo to give her mom a goodbye tribute. It felt good to cry for their loss, but at the same time the thought of this family having to live without this woman was hard to bear. Fr. John's homily was comforting, the music was beautiful (May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come to welcome you....) and the liturgy was deeply moving. Catholics really know how to send people off to their resting place in style. But it was at this funeral that I realized JUST HOW CATHOLIC I WAS. I know that I love being Catholic, the tradition, the beauty, scripture translation, music and all, but I surprised myself when I did something I thought I would NEVER do.

As with most funerals (and weddings for that matter), not everyone attending is Catholic, so our church tries to be helpful by including a small paragraph in the program stating that if you are not Catholic, to please refrain from receiving the body and blood. Instead, visitors are invited to approach the priest for a blessing instead, with arms crossed in front of them. OK. Fair enough. Many Catholics know that we believe in the REAL PRESENCE of Jesus in the Eucharist and therefore those who do not share that central belief should not receive until they learn and believe what it is exactly they are receiving: Jesus, flesh and blood. After I received communion, I took my place back in the pew and watched as others came forward to receive. I happened to notice a group of young men around the ages of 17 or 18 coming forward to communion. Their posture was relaxed. They were goofing off with each other in the communion line and were pretty much being dis-respectful by looking around and not paying attention to what was going on around them. One of them went up to the Eucharistic minister and awkwardly opened his mouth, only to quickly close it and grab the Eucharist from the woman's hand. It was clear he did not know what to do with it. He looked at his buddy behind him, waved the host in his face and laughed. He moved up to receive the wine, and again, awkwardly tried to dip it into the cup only to realize that he was to drink from it. He refused and walked past the minister with the host in his hand. I could feel my face getting HOT and I felt like I needed to get a drink of water. I didn't. Instead I watched that young boy walk past me with the host still in his hand, waving it around like it was some sort of souvenir. I turned and watched him enter the pew about 10 rows behind mine. He was standing there, giggling and taking little bites out of the host as if it were some sort of taste test. His friends were laughing at him. At that point, I was NOT happy. I darted out of my pew, walked around to the back of his pew and got his attention. Instinctively, I wanted to just grab the host out of his hand and take it away from him...I wanted to wrestle the kid to the ground and force feed it to him if I had to. But by golly...that kid needed to DO something with that host or I was going to. "Eat it.", I whispered. He looked at me and said, "I don't know what to do with it." and laughed. "You need to eat it or I will." He looked at me as if I had four heads and ate the host. "Thank you", I said sweetly without making any disturbance. Ahhh, I felt much better.

As I returned to my pew, my girlfriend asked if I was doing OK....assuming that I had left due to an uncontrollable urge to wail at the sadness of the this woman's death. "Oh, I'm fine now." I told her.

I realized at this funeral, just how important the Eucharist is to me and if others don't want a part of it, that is totally fine..but...

Don't mess with my Jesus. I'll fight you for him.

20+C+M+B+07 Christ bless this house

The magi's coming to Jerusalem...shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning toward the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.

CCC 528

OK, its official! You may NOW take down your Christmas tree; the Christmas season is over with the feast of the Epiphany. Many of you know that in the Catholic Christian liturgical calendar, Christmas actually starts at sundown on Dec. 24th and always traditionally ends on January 6 (The 12 days of Christmas). For the feast day of Epiphany, the Roman church commemorates the visit by the 3 kings, Christ's baptism by John the Baptist and the miracle at Cana (where we get the sacrament of marriage, Jesus' first miracle). Now what you may NOT know is that the names of the wise men cannot be found in the bible. In addition to the fact that we really have no evidence of how many kings there actually were. Tradition tells us that there were 3 kings and that their names are Casper, Melchior, and Balthazar. Another interesting misconception shows that the Magi are present at the Nativity, but in actuality, the book of Matthew 2:11 says that the wise men visited Jesus as a child maybe 1 or 2 years old. Interesting....