Personal Failures

There have been a few incidences in the past months which have made me ponder human weakness. I thought I'd share my thoughts with you over the next couple posts. Here goes!

(From Despair.com)

 Personal failures. How easy it is for us to create a magnificent mental image of ourselves when reflecting on our achievements or even just our lack of "serious sin."  We begin to put ourselves on a pedestal and then we fall--not surprisingly. We repent and with God's grace get up again, yet even as our "mea culpa" is resounds, we fall again. And the cycle repeats itself.

We must get up each time, but how easy it is to become discouraged! It is so easy to think that as soon as we make a conscious decision to strive for sanctity, *poof* our weaknesses disappear. Everyone knows this is not true, but the thought can pervade our emotions and the temptation to discouragement seems ever greater. When we think like this though, our focus is in the wrong spot. (Geek warning!) It is as if we're looking through a diverging lens instead of a converging lens--instead of focusing beyond ourselves on God, our focus is inward on ourselves.

St. Josemaria Escriva wrote: 

"If you fall, get up with greater hope. Self-love alone is incapable of understanding that an error, when put right, helps us to know and to humble ourselves." 

Wow. You get a lot of bang for your buck there! Take a minute to reflect on that: "Self-love alone is incapable of understanding that an error, when put right, helps us to know and humble ourselves." Goodness. How easy it is to forget that we are not the Redeemer but rather the redeemed. Christ, the All-Perfect One is the reason we can strive to "...be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt 5:48)

Without His grace, all of our efforts would be in vain. Of course, we should never rejoice in our faults, but rather, once confessing them, rely on Christ's help to move forward. "With God all things are possible,"but the inverse could also be said: without God all things are impossible. If it were not for God's wonderful grace, we would be incapable of loving Him at all. Let us never forget to thank him for all the times he has helped us to love. (How good that he has pity on us even when we do not seek him out!)

Taken from The Curt Jester Blog

Someone once told me, "You know, no one--aside from Mary and Jesus--ever has been or ever will be completely perfect until heaven." It's easy to relativize that and say that "Oh yeah, every saint has sinned," but I believe there is a more profound truth to be found in that statement. That is, every saint had to deal with at least some sort of imperfection until the moment they died. As a local DRE once said, "The difference between saints and everyone else lies not in the fact that saints never sinned, but rather that they always got up and started over." This goes hand in hand with something Pope Benedict said in 2007:

"It is not correct to think we must live like this, so that we are never in need of pardon. We must accept our frailty but keep on going, not giving up but moving forward and becoming converted ever anew through the Sacrament of Reconciliation for a new start, and thus grow and mature in the Lord by our communion with him."

We all fail, but we can "gain" by our faults by turning to God in true contrition and acknowledging our weaknesses rather than focusing on our self love. In this way, God can bring great good even out of our greatest weaknesses. Obviously, we strive for perfection, but when failures come we seek He who is the Fountain of Mercy through placing our faults before the "doctors of the soul."

We're Going to Rome!

This is from Good Friday last year. The photo rights belong to the "Photographic Service of Vatican City"

Well, not exactly. 

Very few of us can actually be in Rome with the Holy Father this Easter (I can keep dreaming, can't I?), but at least we can accompany him virtually!

In case you haven't had a chance to check it out, the Vatican web site has a special page devoted to the events of the Triduum.

The site has practically everything you'll need for your trip! First of all, may I suggest that you "pick up" your virtual booklet? This will be especially helpful during the Triduum if you are not fluent in Latin. It contains the liturgy, not only in Latin but also in English and Italian. This way, when you accompany Papa Benedict at the Easter Vigil by viewing the Mass in video form, you can truly participate--well, virtually. (As an added bonus the booklets also contain the sacred music, so you can take part vocally as well).

If you want a handy copy of any of Pope Benedict's homilies to study with a friend, text files will be uploaded as each event in the Triduum takes place. Finally, if you would like to take a memento "home" with you after this virtual journey, photographs of each event will also be uploaded. :)



While few of us are privileged enough to truly go to Rome to celebrate the Easter Triduum, at least we can travel to "Rome from home"via the Vatican website. In this way, we can accompany the Holy Father in a unique way throughout this sacred time.

Come to think of it though, there's an even better way to accompany our dear Papa Bene this weekend: be truly present at the sacred liturgy. Truly pray the liturgy with Holy Mother Church. Are we not celebrating and participating in the re-Present-ing of the same passion, death and resurrection of Our Divine Lord? Are we not united with the Universal Church as she celebrates the saving love of the Divine Bridegroom? The Eternal Sacrifice of Christ is not one that is tied to the confines of space and time. Therefore, each time we attend Mass to celebrate the unbloody sacrifice of Jesus, we are in a special way united to all the Masses of the world--past, present, and future-- especially those Masses offered by the Vicar of Christ on Earth.

While it is worthwhile to take a trip to Rome--virtually or literally (and as I've heard nothing quite compares to the "real deal"), it is good to remember that all the glories of Rome cannot compare to the true Glorious One, who makes himself present on the Altar. After all, isn't that rather the point?

That said, let's remember to keep our Holy Father in our prayers this weekend as he leads the Church in her most sacred celebrations.

UPDATE: Here's the link to the webpage: http://www.vatican.va/liturgical_year/holy-week/2012/index_en.htm oops! :) 

Feet, Feet, Feet

Since it is Holy Week I've decided to re-run this post from January...

I just love babies, don't you?! One of my relatives is expecting, and we are all so excited!! I can't wait to see the little one! 

The other day, while I was making a visit I got to thinking about feet. (Bear with me here.) I was thinking about how cute and lovable baby Jesus' feet would have been. Think about it: it can be hard to resist kissing the tiny toes of any newborn, but imagine being able to kiss the adorable feet of God Incarnate! I bet Mary and Joseph spent long hours playing with and caressing His little hands and feet... though I'm not sure that they sang "This Little Piggy Went to Market." :) 

Needless to say, feet are mighty important things. They not only provide balance but also help us get around.  Without them, it would be hard--nigh impossible--to walk. 

When hearing the word "foot" one might think of a general appendage that is used for walking. But the truth is, feet can vary greatly: they can be hairy (like hobbits)/hairless, large (dufflepuds)/small, dirty/clean, overgrown/pedicured, fungus infested/... the list could go on and on. Basically, even among humans they can be quite diverse. 

Beyond a wide range of variation among types of feet, there are also many expressions in which we reference feet. Below I've included several that are well known, but there are many more.

put one's foot in it (or put one's foot in one's mouth ) informal say or do something tactless or embarrassing; commit a blunder or indiscretion. 

 have (or keep ) one's (or both ) feet on the ground be (or remain) practical and sensible: it's a very exciting time for the business but it's important that we keep our feet on the ground.  

have (or get ) a foot in the door gain or have a first introduction to a profession or organization.

have one foot in the grave informal often humorous be near death through old age or illness. 

my foot! informal said to express strong contradiction: Efficient, my foot!

feet of clay a fundamental flaw or weakness in a person otherwise revered.[with biblical allusion (Dan. 2:33) to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, in which a magnificent idol has feet “part of iron and part of clay”; Daniel interprets this to signify a future kingdom that will be “partly strong, and partly broken,” and will eventually fall.]

at someone's feet as someone's disciple or subject: you would like to sit at my feet and thus acquire my wisdom. 

get one's feet wet begin to participate in an activity. 

But why am I talking about such things? Feet are so integral to normal life and even influence on culture (making it into our everyday cliches), that it might be of value to meditate on Christ's feet. 

We can picture Jesus' feet throughout his life:  his adorable baby feet in Bethlehem, his dusty sandaled feet that carried him in the ordinary years at Nazareth and throughout his public ministry, and his bleeding and swollen feet on the road to Calvary.

Like I mentioned earlier, I don't believe anyone would have trouble kissing Jesus' precious baby feet. 

We move on to the dusty, calloused, and hot feet of his public ministry. Here most people would refuse, rather grossed out. Yet these are the same feet that the immoral woman washed with her tears (Luke 7). And again, these are the same feet that Mary, the sister of Lazarus, sat by and (later) anointed with precious oil. 

Let us then try to imagine Jesus' feet at the time of his passion: bruised, bloody, swollen, torn up by the ascent to Calvary, dirt and grime caked onto Our Lord's open flesh.

 Placed at His feet at this point, I think many of us would recoil in horror at the thought of kissing them... Far away are those beautiful baby feet, yet here Jesus fulfills his salvific mission: Jesus--Yeshua " Y[ahweh] is Salvation."  

  

While we are not living at the time when Jesus walked the earth (and so cannot physically honor his precious feet), we can honor them through our ordinary tasks done well. 

As everyone knows, some tasks can be hard to do and can even repulse us in their repugnant (or just annoying) nature. Let us turn to these tasks with more love than before... as if every motion in their completion is a way of kissing Jesus' Divine feet on the Cross. 

In this way, our tasks can become a work of love--united to the work of True Love on the cross...

After all, we are called follow in his footsteps.

Changes to the Rubrics...

Hasn't the new translation of the Mass been wonderful? 

Apparently there are some changes in the Triduum rubrics as well! Fr V. from Adam's Ale summarized the changes here:


http://clevelandpriest.blogspot.com/2012/03/how-come-i-dont-remember-it-being-that.html

They're definitely worth checking out! : )

Modern Cannibalism

There have been many concerning things in the news lately--anyone who denies this would have to have been living under a rock. One issue that has been very much under covered is the horrific case involving the use of aborted fetal cell lines as flavor enhancements. 

Yes. You read that correctly: cells from aborted babies are being used to “enhance flavor” in order to reduce caloric content. LifeSiteNews and LifeNews have both covered the  story, but I’ve only included part of the article from LifeNews. (You can find the whole article here. My comments are in red.)

Debi Vinnedge, the director of the pro-life organization, tells LifeNews.com today that, in 2010, her group wrote to Senomyx CEO Kent Snyder and pointed out that moral options for testing their food additives could and should be used. But when Senomyx ignored her letter, the group  wrote to the companies Senomyx listed on their website as “collaborators” warning them of public backlash and threatened boycott. They included food giants PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Campbell Soup, Solae and Nestlé.  Campbell Soup has since severed relations with Senomyx.

“The company’s key flavor programs focus on the discovery and development of savory, sweet and salt flavor ingredients that are intended to allow for the reduction of MSG, sugar and salt in food and beverage products,” the Senomyx web site says. “Using isolated human taste receptors, we created proprietary taste receptor-based assay systems that provide a biochemical or electronic readout when a flavor ingredient interacts with the receptor.” 

“What they don’t tell the public is that they are using HEK 293 – human embryonic kidney cells taken from an electively aborted baby to produce those receptors,” she said. “They could have easily chosen animal, insect, or other morally obtained human cells expressing the G protein for taste receptors.”

Vinnedge says she has contacted the food companies working with Senomyx, but said it took three letters before one company, Nestlé, finally admitted its relationship with Senomyx and company officials claimed the line of cells from abortions was “well established in scientific research”.Seriously? Oh yeah, the scientific research which says that life clearly begins a conception. Right. 

PepsiCo wrote: “We hope you are reassured to learn that our collaboration with Senomyx is strictly limited to creating lower-calorie, great-tasting beverages for consumers. This will help us achieve our commitment to reduce added sugar per serving by 25% in key brands in key markets over the next decade and ultimately help people live healthier lives.” So you are committed to reducing sugar but not to reducing the attacks on human life in its most vulnerable form. Since when has “low calorie” trumped human dignity? So, um, I hate to ask, but what’s next? 

Aside from the macabre and cannibalistic nature of this sad affair, the whole situation reminds me of something from the Old Testament.  Let me explain. 

You recall how in Exodus, Moses and the Jewish people entered into a covenant with God at Mount Sinai?  After giving the people the 10 Commandments, the covenant was ratified through blood and a special banquet.

 “And he [Moses] sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins and half of the blood he threw against the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and well will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” .... “And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” Ex 24:5-8,11 

(Jewish elders were able to eat the sacrificed animal after seeing a vision of God...this was part of their communion with God) 

No sooner had the people promised to do everything that the Lord had commanded, that they turned around and violated the first and most important commandment! Moses came down from Mt Sinai and found them worshiping a golden calf. Interestingly enough, Moses is so infuriated that he makes them join in communion with their false god...

And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot , and he threw the tables out of his hand and broke them at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it upon the water, and made the people of Israel drink it.” Ex 32:19,20 

 Does this remind you of something? Could it be that the sick form of cannibalism we are experiencing is just a communion with our culture’s false gods of sensuality, science and self?

Haha. Oh wow. It's been a long time. Whoops.

 New post coming soon! 

Feminists in shining armor

Ok, here is a short story I wrote a long time ago. A bit dramatic, but it gets the point across. ;) When you stand around wondering where chivalry went, or why men don't act like the gentleman of the 18th century, look to the culture and how women treat themselves. I think we did it to ourselves. Maybe not you or I, but women in general pushed "equal" treatment, feminism, and independance from men.


He reached in front of her, “I’ll get that for you,” and pulled the door open. “You sure, hotness? I don’t want you to break a sweat or anything,” she replied in her usual sarcastic tone. He was shocked to find his chivalry criticized and more so his person held in contempt. “Have I offended her or something,” he searched his thoughts.
He walked inside the cafeteria at his college and found that the tables were being folded up and carried to the side to make room for the dance later that evening. Toward the back, a girl was struggling to fold and lift a heavy table. “Let me help you with that,” he kindly offered. “Why, do you think I can’t do it because I’m a female,” she snapped, offended. “It just looked like you needed help,” he defended himself. “Well I don’t, especially not from any macho chauvinist like you who doesn’t believe a girl can do anything.” “I didn’t say that!” “You didn’t have to,” she scowled.
“That guy is such a player,” he heard a redhead proclaim; “he is too sweet, like he wants something back. I think he’s just doing it because the girls play right into it.” He turned to her and said, “Chivalry was killed by females like you!” And from that day forth, he never helped a woman unless she asked, and despised those who claimed that they shouldn’t have to ask.

Hello! Wow! It’s been rather dull around here lately! I have several posts up my sleeve which I hope to post soon! Thanks for your patience! : )

The Mystery of the Golden Scarab

This happened last semester, but I think it is still worth sharing... :)

Haven't you ever wanted to entitle something like that? It seems that everyone wants to have some work of a similar name (I just googled "the golden scarab" and came up with everything from music and books to ancient egyptian cults). But, you ask, why would I want the title of this post to be "the mystery of the golden scarab" when the post itself has nothing to do with gold let alone egyptian mythology? Listen my children and you shall hear ... *oops wrong story

Let me just begin with the facts. When one lives in a household where there are multiple people sharing different cars, it can become a bit of a game figuring out who has driven before you. For instance, if the gas tank is full and the seat is as far away from the steering wheel as possible, the last person to drive has indubitably been my father. On the other hand, if the gas tank is nearly empty and the seat is as far away from the steering wheel as possible, the last person to drive was probably me. Just kidding.

Sometimes it can be pretty obvious who was driving. For instance, whenever my mother drives, she closes all the vents and directs the air towards one's feet. I on the other hand prefer the vents completely open, especially during the summer.

And so it happened on the particular day in question, upon plopping myself down in the car, I proceeded to open the air vents.  I drove to classes, arrived without mishap and the day progressed normally.

 After a weary day, I sauntered back to the car while enjoying the beautiful fall  weather. I got in the car and began the fight through traffic to get onto state route 123... After waiting through several long traffic lights, I was finally able to get on the highway. Then something peculiar happened.

As I reached the speed limit, a curious object shot out of the righthand vent and landed on the passenger seat. I was so surprised, it took a second for me to comprehend what had happened. I glanced at the seat to see if I was mistaken (I am legally blind without correction, you know). I wasn't. There on the seat next to me was this:

Yes. My very own golden scarab (i.e. a dead june bug)... that the car saw fit to propel at me through the air vent. I'm beginning to wonder if I should have named the car something other than "the echo"... maybe it wants to be the new "love bug" or something. I don't know.

Thankfully the car hasn't shot any more dead bugs at me, but I am still wary of directing the air vents towards my face just in case.

I know that it's technically ordinary time now, but we still haven't celebrated the the Feast of the Presentation yet!!

So, anyways I figured you might enjoy this short clip:

May God have mercy on us...

Happy Feast of St. Francis de Sales!

Some time ago I had the opportunity to get some quality teaching experience while on the job. Every year we give the kids a "How to Live a Virtuous Life 101" class. My boss is in love with the idea of my taking over as much responsibility as humanly possible so I had the privilege of teaching 3 out of the 4 nights each week. Let's say that it has been as enjoyable as it is eye-opening and frustrating.

Teaching the younger grades (1-4) is always fun because the little kids are always eager to raise their hand, unafraid of speaking (even if the answer is wrong) and trying to think of examples, scenarios, etc. They are, for the most part, eager to listen and learn.

Fifth and Sixth grade is a little bit of a different story. They've started to grasp that idea of "I-get-spoon-fed-at-home-and-school-why-should-I-try-exerting-myself-here?" mentality. So I, as teacher, have to be more proactive and persuade them to use their minds and come to the proper conclusion without my giving away the answer. The first few days were rough but by the last day I had a pretty good handle on it.

The last week, however, was totally and completely different.

Permit me to vent for a few moments about the condition of our poor junior high students. The 7/8th grade seminar topics cover these virtues:

-Respect
-Modesty
-Moderation
-Simplicity
-Friendliness
-Sociability

I won't go into all of them as that would be a REALLY long post but let me give you a sampling of just a few.

Respect is a big area that kids today have no clue about. And it's not really their fault either. No one has taken the time to train them or show them how to respect others or themselves. Today: Respect = toleration. I asked about six kids in the class what the definition of respect was. Answers ranged from everything to "I don't know" to "having respect". When asked if they are allowed to define a word at school by using the same word in the definition, the answer was "yes." Grrr....

Modesty. Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of speaking on this subject when both the boys and girls are together but I had to make the most of it.

Me: What is modesty?
Student: I've never heard that word before.

If anyone has been asking themselves lately why kids dress the way the they do, there is your answer. They have NO CLUE what it means to be modest. They are taught to make a statement about who they are. It's all about expression. But no one ever tells them that they still have to respect themselves and others and stay within the realm of modesty.

The best answer I got for moderation was "being modern". Well, at least he was trying to go for the root word, albeit unsuccessfully.

Of course, not all the students were quite that bad. But really, the experience led me to make to several conclusions.

First, we have a LOT of work to do.

Second, we who know have the responsibilty to educate.

Third, we can only educate others by first forming ourselves.

Fourth, I need to spend more time praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Today is the Feast of St. Francis de Sales. It wouldn't hurt to start reading Introduction to the Devout Life. Don't have a copy? Check out your local library (haha, I'm sure you'll have to ILL this one) or go to St. John the Evangelist Library in Front Royal, VA.

Can't wait to go to the library? click on this link for an on-line PDF of the entire book: www.franciscan-sfo.org/ap/wosf/devout_life.pdf

Want your own copy? Go to amazon.com and search for it. It's as simple as that.

The Letter - A Short Film

You may have already had the opportunity to see this great short film on youtube but here it is in case you haven't! It is very powerful. We need to share the news that help is out there.

CHOOSE LIFE!

This video was not made in reference to abortion, but it applies nonetheless.

It's been rather dead here for a while, but I hope the hiatus is over now... :)

Did you have a good Christmas? It was wonderful in this neck of the woods. We enjoyed a low-key, joy-filled family gathering here. In recent years, my family has begun the tradition of a white elephant gift exchange with the cousins in lieu of many gifts for each person.

I took hundreds of pictures of our family's Christmas tree this year, but unfortunately when I downloaded them , the files were corrupted. Only this one "survived." Perhaps I'll get some others next Christmas! 

 Not only has this practice simplified everyone's life, but it has also provided much mirth! Each year gifts have ranged from practical (gift cards) to creative ( a "party" in a box complete with root beer, cards, snacks etc.).

The method of distribution has differed over the years as well. The first year, each gift was numbered and people would pick a random number. The next year gifts were distributed hot potato style with the person still holding the "potato" picking a present.

Not quite "Christmas-y." Oh well.  

 This year, we hid Easter eggs each filled with a number which corresponded to the order in which people select presents. This alone would have contributed to general mirth, but the gifts really "took the cake" as it were!

One of the very first presents to be opened was wrapped in a large box that used to house a punching bag. What it contained at the time of the gift exchange was something quite different--much to the chagrin of the young man who selected it. It contained a calendar. But not just any calendar. No, a mere calendar would not have elicited such a response... It was a calendar entitled (pardon the phraseology) "Hot Guys and Baby Animals." It contained just that: shirtless men holding puppies and kittens. No wonder the young man expressed such embarrassed vexation! Needless to say, no one wanted to "steal" his gift!

Another unique gift--of a tamer sort--appeared to be a basket of fruit, but upon further inspection was found to contain not only a dozen or so kiwis, but also the statuette of a kiwi bird made in Australia! The bird blended in quite well among the fruit and gave quite a surprise to the person receiving it.

The last gift I will describe appeared to be quite normal at its outset.  The  woman opening the simple green gift bag looked surprised, but not disbelieving, when she pulled out the first item: a can of pineapple. Her look transitioned into perplexity as she announced the second and third items: two more cans of pineapple. It wasn't until she was advised to open them  that she seemed somewhat disconcerted. She carefully popped open the top of the first can, making sure not to spill any juice, but to her surprise, the can contained a gift card and candy. The second can was opened with less care, and not surprisingly it was filled not with pineapple but with some tea candles. The young woman then reached for the third can, pulled open the top and laughed when she saw the glistening pineapple within.


The other presents in the gift exchange were lovely as well and I think the only one who went home slightly disappointed was the man who ended up with the calendar. What will next Christmas bring? Who knows! I just hope that we can keep up this tradition for many years!

Pretty Happy Funny Real

~Pretty~

We visited James Madison's Montpelier a couple days after Thanksgiving. The grounds were spectacularly beautiful especially since it was one of the last warm days of 2011. 

 A race...

...to catch...

...her older sister! 

~Happy~

What could be a more fitting epithet? 

~Funny~

In this house, pens have an uncanny habit of walking away. In an effort to forestall this, my mother labeled the pens that she uses (as you can see below).

Upon discovering said pens one day, my sister and I formulated a theory that like an anti-theft device, if anyone besides my mother used the pens they would explode. 

Well, as you can see below, I had the opportunity to test said theory just the other day... 

I think we were right. :)

~

Before exploring the gorgeous grounds of Montpelier, we had the opportunity to take a tour of the mansion...

The little one payed strict attention the whole time and upon spying the statues of James and Dolly Madison after the tour, exclaimed, "Mommy, Daddy, look! Dolly Madison is my mom and James Madison is my dad!"

She then proceeded to sit on her "new dad's" knee and read with him. ;)  

~Real~

What is wrong with this picture? 

I made a batch of orange poppyseed muffins for St. Nicholas' feast day... and then it struck me...

A) It's been nearly two weeks since Thanksgiving and the turkey and gravy recipes are still on the counter... 

B) I am probably the only person in the world using a basket of cosmetics and dental supplies (yes, that is toothpaste) to prop open my baking book. 

hmm. Definitely a reality check. 

(The muffins turned out really well, thanks be to God, and I was able to serve them with dinner. On a side note, if you're interested in a new baking book, I highly recommend Baking: A Commonsense Guide.  I haven't found a bad recipe yet! ) 

Zealous Thieves

In many Catholic households the night of December 5th is particularly exciting because, in anticipation for today, we put out a shoe in hopes that St. Nicholas will visit and leave us a gift (usually in the form of sugary goodness that is candy...). If you are a good child then you receive a gift and if you are naughty then you would get carried away in Sinterklaas' sack. This is a very old tradition that sounds very familiar to us. As Catholics, let us not forget that "Santa Claus" is actually a 4th century bishop and not a mythical, fat, jolly, gift giver.

One of the things that I find fascinating and hilarious about early Christianity is the way in which they treat the saints (i.e. when they are deceased). Let me illustrate my point. St. Nicholas died on December 6, 345 and his body was buried in the cathedral in Myra (modern day Turkey). There his body laid intered for seven hundred and forty two years. That is until some Italian sailors decided to steal the relics of the venerated saint and transfer them to their port city: Bari, Italy. That's a great idea! Only the Italians would think of stealing the body of saint dead for almost a thousand years. That's not the real irony though. St. Nicholas was even made patron of sailors. This is the ultimate example of "good can come out of evil" because after they intered the holy saint in Bari a renewal of devotion to St. Nicholas spread like wildfire (St. Nicholas is also the patron of fire...) in the West! Surely we are recipients of this renewal even today.

So if you think that a Saint of the Church has not been receiving enough veneration lately consider stealing their relics and bring them to your city. Hey, you never know.

Me? Grateful?

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I'll be posting some pictures from our Thanksgiving soon, but I'd love to see some of yours!

If you've read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, you may recall a certain scene in which Corrie's sister expresses gratitude to God for a lice infestation. Corrie could not bring herself to be grateful for the pests until time showed how much of a blessing they were. (For those who have not read The Hiding Place, it is the story of how Corrie and her family were sent to concentration camps due to the fact that they hid Jews. In the above mentioned episode, the presence of lice in the camps allowed the prisoners to pray in their bunks as the guards did not want to get lice.)

Although I read the book almost ten years ago, this incident has always been retained in my memory. It seems appropriate to recall on this Thanksgiving weekend. Sadly, I am often one of those people who "never wants a drink of water until the well runs dry." Oftentimes it takes not having something for me to appreciate its value...or like Corrie: fail to be grateful for something until I have proof of its value.

Gratitude is integral to Catholicism, yet I wonder, is this sort of "Now I see now how good that was. Can I have it back?" mentality true gratitude?

Upon reading St. Paul's query, "What have you that you have not received?" and St. Therese of Lisieux's simple statement, "Everything is grace" it is quite apparent that the aforementioned approach is not correct.

So, what really constitutes gratitude? 

I am no spiritual scholar, but I would hazard to say that the virtue of gratitude is one that is integrally tied to humility.

A professor of mine once described humility as being the acknowledgement of the truth. How simple this is, yet how hard it is to be truly humble! Through it one can see that everything is given by God our loving Father. Indeed we are nothing by ourselves--in fact, our being itself is a gift.
This humble acknowledgement of our nothingness then leads to the joyful praise of the goodness of God-- gratitude.

While it is often easy to sit and make resolutions,  we all know that growing in virtue involves more than just thinking about growing. (And truly, it involves more than just ourselves... God's grace is a must!)

How, then, can one grow in gratitude?


Let us look Psalm 116. This particular psalm is one that is sometimes said as a preparation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The whole psalm is beautiful, but two of the verses reveal the "secret" to growing in gratitude:

12     How can I repay the LORD

for all the great good done for me?

13I will raise the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the LORD.

The psalmist was not referring to the Mass when he mentioned "the cup of salvation", but what fits his description more than the re--presentation of Christ's sacrifice on Calvary? Here we encounter the interminable goodness and humility of God in the Eucharist. And how fitting that the word "Eucharist" means "thanksgiving"!

St. Mary Magdalen de' Pazzi demonstrates how we can grow in gratitude (and all virtues) when she writes,

"All graces are contained in you, O Jesus in the Eucharist, our celestial Food! What more can a soul wish when it has within itself the One who contains everything?....What more can I want or desire, if all the virtues, graces, and gifts for which I long, are found in you, O Lord, who are as truly present under the sacramental species as you are in heaven, at the right hand of the Father?..."

Not only can we grow in gratitude through our reception of the Eucharist, but what would be more ungrateful than to avoid God's great gift of himself in the Eucharist?


Do you have any tips on growing in gratitude? 

Silence is a Gift

"Enter into your heart, as the Prophet Isaiah says. And, if you have faith, you will find Christ there. There He speaks to you.

I, the preacher, must raise my voice when I speak to you. But Christ instructs you more effectively in silence."

- Sermon by St. Augustine

I read this part of St. Augustines sermon one morning after mass. All was quiet, and only a few people were left in the chapel. It is amazing what a few moments of silence can do for the soul. A peace enfolds you, a peace you can't feel when surrounded by the distractions of the outside world. A lot of us tend to be constantly plugged in to some sort of media/technology. Todays gadgets have made it so easy to be distracted, which prevents us from putting ourselves in the presence of God even for a few minutes. We have apps for our phones for every little thing, even ones that are supposed to help us pray. Now I have nothing against them per se, but using them distracts us from placing or full attention on God. I have seen people using their apps in church, some of them were prayer related, but some were not. Even in church we are plugged in! For some people it may help them to focus on what they can do to pray, but is it what they should be doing? How can we hear Christ speak to us when we are distracted? We might miss His loving words because we cannot be silent to ourselves and let Him speak.

Being a very active child, I had a terrible time sitting still and concentrating on anything for very long. I had my little books to read in church, but my family would always make sure I was aware of Christ in the tabernacle or present on the altar. I learned to be silent and listen, even if it was only for a minute. Now that I am older, I see the good it does me to just let Christ take hold of me without any exterior items. Advent has begun, and in this time of preparation for the birth of our Savior, I am going to try and be like Mary and just be "silent" with God, to let Him speak to me without my asking for anything or complaining. I'm not looking for a physical voice to start booming at me, but just knowing that He is there with me is so refreshing. God cares for each and every one of us. Let us give Him the time to show us the path he has planned for us, even if it is just 5-minutes everyday, in or out of church. If we have time for gadgets, we certainly should have time for God. =)