Pentecost Today

Yesterday, the homily focused on how Pentecost continues to live on in today's society. I can say that isn't something I had considered prior to yesterday. To me, it was something given once and remembered since.

Father reminded us we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit from those around us. Everyone has someone in his or her life who brings a holy component to their lives. It could be through the opportunity to witness service to God and others. It might be through prayer. It might be through kindness that touches an individual during difficult times.

We were challenged to thank one of the people who brings the Holy Spirit to us on a personal basis in day to day living. I didn't have to think too hard about who I would call. There is a woman in my life who lives a faith filled, God-centered life. She prays regularly, and doesn't hesitate to do so in public. Her involvement with Emmaus is appreciated by everyone touched by her. Her attitude toward service is positive. I can't say enough about how wonderful she is, and she doesn't even realize it. Hopefully, she will return my call soon so I can tell her myself.

Things That Make You Go Hmmmmmmmm

The clear winner on what brings people to this blog is google searches and not just any google search. We have had visitors from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America all searching about "wife" and "discipline". I wonder if they found what they were looking for when they arrived.

New Priest in Winona Diocese

We attended Mass in Slayton this weekend. Father Arens was not there. During the homily, the presider told us Father wasn't available because he was at the ordination Mass for the newest priest in the Winona Diocese. There is only one new priest being ordained this year, but one is definitely better than none, and more than the New Ulm diocese is celebrating this year.

My favorite part of the Mass was the Prayers of the Faithful. The final prayer was one of Thanksgiving for the answered prayer for the newest priest. I think it would be wonderful if we regularly prayed for new people to answer the call to religious life whether as priests or nuns.

Prayers for Patrick

Patrick is a serviceman from our area. I promised his mom we would add him to our daily prayers. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a hurdle to jump with adjusting to evening prayer and we didn't have family prayer for several days. Please add Patrick to your prayers as well. He needs them, and I fell down on the job.

Evening Prayer

Morning prayer has made the official jump to evening prayer. We have had a few days without family prayer as we have adjusted to the new schedule since school has let out. This evening, we did family prayer before everyone went their separate ways for downtime before bed. I feel more peace today than I have for several days, and I hadn't even realized I wasn't feeling that peaceful until I had a bit of it back.

Martyrdom

Oh, the things you can find that suddenly seem so obvious when you had been completely oblivious to it previously. The Saint of the Day books I use for meditation purposes carry a lot of information. For obvious reasons, there are a fair number of people who have been martyred for their beliefs who have become saints. Considering I am an American who has never gone farther away than Canada, the likelihood of being martyred for being Catholic are slim to none.

Not to minimize loss of life, but the book today mentioned how we can be "martyred" as we defend our Catholic beliefs in regards to abortion, embryonic stem cell research, and other controversial religion based belief conflicts. I cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, claim to be martyred because of my beliefs. However, I can understand the trepidation one feels and the courage it takes to express your beliefs in the face of those who disagree. It is food for thought in how I treat the opinions and beliefs of others.

Prayers for Our Servicemen and Servicewomen

I know I am running late. It has been five days since I have been here to actually post the thoughts that have been spinning through my brain. Obviously, I missed Memorial Day.

Our family is full of proud veterans. We have had family members serving at least during the Korean War, Vietnam Conflict, Desert Storm and currently serving. My cousin has been in the military for more than 20 years. He has served in peaceful times and in war. He has been stationed stateside and overseas. He has absolute faith in Jesus and absolute faith in doing what he does to serve our country.

Because of him, I am more aware of the issues and struggles that can face the people who serve our country through my job. A young soldier is preparing to return home to Oregon from where he is currently stationed. It will be a brief visit, but he plans to title and register the new vehicle he purchased close to his base. We have made more phone calls to the DMV office to make sure all of his questions are answered before he catches his flight out than we have made on any ten other deals in our office. My prayer is this time we have put in now will translate into a smooth transaction for him when he gets there.

I pray for safety for our troops, courage in the face of daunting tasks, respect from those whose lives they are protecting, and absolute faith in the mission they have been given by God.

Broadcast Mass

I understand there is a benefit to broadcasting Mass for those who are unable to attend Mass in person. The broadcast, whether by television or radio, reaches multitudes of people who wouldn't otherwise be able to hear the Word of God, outside of their own individual studies. EWTN broadcasts Mass four times a day, beginning at 7am and ending at 11pm. XM117 broadcasts daily Mass at 7am. I think they broadcast Monday through Saturday, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a similar broadcast on Sundays.

Personally, I struggle with giving the proper amount of respect and attention to the Mass when it is broadcast and I am not physically at the Mass. My mind has a tendency to wander. Before I know it, I have picked something up to read or work on, which I would never dream of doing in person. I think it is because I am not in the physical presence of the Eucharist.

St. Joseph's Cathedral, Take Two

I am so glad I was able to go to the Cathedral last weekend. They have just a few more weekends before the Cathedral will be closed for renovations. They are anticipating the restoration process to take approximately two years. I cannot imagine celebrating Mass in an alternative home for that long while renovations were taking place. Our prayers are with the families of St. Joseph's Cathedral as they embark on this journey.

St. Joseph's Cathedral

Today, I am going to Sioux Falls for a shopping trip with my mother and sister. Because of the time we are leaving and how long we plan to be there, we will attend Mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral. The acoustics make it difficult to hear if someone is speaking away from the altar, but it is an absolutely gorgeous Church.

The stained glass windows are original to the Cathedral. There is some need for restoration, as there is in most aging Church buildings, but it doesn't detract from the overall reverent feel of the place. Even if you didn't know it was a Church, you would still feel like you needed to speak in hushed tones. There is just that aura about it.

I am looking forward to the afternoon.

Faith Based Medical Decisions

Many years ago, more than I can remember without counting on my fingers, my speaking topic for Original Oratory was about the consequences of forgoing medical treatment based on faith. Typically, I had prepared my speech by researching the opposing argument and preparing my speech to argue against my original belief. As an unrelated side note, it was during one of these exercises I was able to more fully explore my feelings on abortion and officially changed my perspective from "pro-choice" to "pro-life."

This topic, however, I couldn't begin to argue. I do not believe my faith is weak. I know God is capable of any miracle he chooses to impart. I also believe God has been able to give the gift of knowledge to the doctors and researchers in order to be able to adequately treat medical crises.

Currently, there is a 13 year old boy, on the run with his mother, from a neighboring town. They are fighting the court system because they want to force the child to receive chemotherapy to deal with his lymphoma. The mother wants to treat her son with natural remedies, to date largely unsuccessfully.

My prayer tonight is for Daniel to come home to his father and those who love him. I pray the mother is able to see the light before it is too late. I also pray for peace for his father while he waits for his wife and child to return.

Feast Days

My grandmother said you had to make up with your feet what you don't have in your head. Today proved that point yet again. Last night, I rode in Dave's car, and I left my cell phone in the car rather than bringing it into the house. This morning, he left me a voicemail message at work to let me know my cell phone was still in his car, parked outside his employer's office, and he left it unlocked for me so I could pick it up.

Me and my feet (or vehicle as the case may be) headed to Cottonwood to pick up my phone. There is a detour now, so it is about a half an hour over and a half an hour back. One upside is I had a wonderful opportunity to listen to The Catholics Next Door.

The topic of conversation today, at least the part that made an impression, was about Feast Days. Today is the actual Day of Ascension. A number of diocese, in a handful of states, celebrate today. All of Europe, except Great Britain, celebrates today. The rest of the United States has opted to move the celebration of the Feast Day to the seventh Sunday in Easter.

Which leads me to the question...why?

Pilgrimages

Are pilgrimages realistic in a modern world? How far do you go to make it a pilgrimage? To me, I always thought of a pilgrimage as a trip of great distance, like to Jerusalem. Last year, we began to explore the idea of a trip to the EWTN headquarters. The information we found specifically referred to people who make pilgrimages there.

To be purely technical, it would probably be safe to say any journey with the specific expectation of religious or spiritual growth or enlightenment would be a pilgrimage. I am just not convinced it is a pilgrimage for me to travel to New Ulm. Whether it is a pilgrimage or not, I feel spiritually reconnected having spent some time at the Way of the Cross and in the Chapel there.

Jesus Consoles the Women

We went to the Way of the Cross this morning. As we were coming back down the hill, at the same station, I again felt the presence of my Grandmother. Today, though, I looked at what the station was. It is the Station where Jesus consoled the women of Jerusalem. There are two women, one holding a little child. I would love to be able to ask her if this was one of her favorite stations to pray. Did she reflect more on this station? Did she draw strength from it as a wife, a mother, a woman?

The Way of the Cross

I am so excited! I have been planning to go to the Way of the Cross, in New Ulm, with a friend of mine since Good Friday. Tomorrow is the day. We are leaving tomorrow morning, after I put the boys on the bus. She is one of my Emmaus sisters, a woman I have been privileged to walk the Road with and I am looking forward to the opportunity to walk a little further with her tomorrow.

Morning Blessings

Our family's morning schedule currently runs very closely together. Dave leaves for work just before 7am. The boys leave on the bus just a few minutes after 7am. At 645 every morning, we gather for morning prayer. It begins with a Hail Mary for Father Sam and ends with a blessing with holy water.

School ends on Friday. The boys will not be on the same schedule as Dave any longer. The challenge will be to re-work our prayer life to ensure we still have our daily prayer when we are not on the same morning schedule any longer.

Make Love

The theme from the homily this weekend was about the conscious decision to make love in daily lives. The priest cited statistics that showed, at least in the eyes of that poll maker, the benefits of a morning kiss from a spouse. Supposedly, those who kiss their mates live longer, have less accidents, and suffer fewer serious medical issues.

Although I did catch myself double-taking every time Father said "Make love", his message was consistent and thought provoking. It is easy to forget to show those around you the love you feel for them. It is easy to make conversations between spouses to be about the household chores or issues with the children rather than personal conversations just about the two of them. It is way to easy to focus on where kids screw up rather than where kids excel.

Today, I will focus on showing my love to my family in word and deed, not just going through the motions of being a wife and mother.

Called by God

One of my favorite Gospels was read this weekend. "It is not you who called Me, but I who called you." We have been called by God, who knows the number of hairs on our heads, to do as He commands. It is not about our own desires, but about following where we are being led. This weekend has helped me reconnect with my faith, something I have felt lacking the last several weeks. Thank you, God, for calling me.

Back to Currie

Camping at the lake has resumed. We have now had two or three Saturday overnights at the camper. This weekend, Saturday evening Mass resumed in Currie. It feels good to be back at our home away from home.

One of the traditions I enjoy the most there is actually at the end of Mass. The final song is sung. The priest and servers process out. All throughout the Church, the kneelers thump down again. Almost every person there kneels again. It took me two summers to work up the courage to ask someone why they did that.

The entire parish prays, at the end of every mass, an Our Father for the repose of the souls of those who die without the benefit of clergy present them. I don't know how the tradition started. I don't know if I ever will uncover the history of it. It is such a powerful tradition to be a part of, though. Everyone coming together to pray for people they may never meet, week after week.

Holy Water Returns

I have been slow on getting holy water picked up at the Church. There isn't an excuse, I just haven't done it. This morning we had holy water in the font for prayer. Carter was so excited. He was ready for morning blessings again. I feel better just knowing we have holy water in the font again.

Prayers for Judy

I don't know what to say. Judy has been my mom's closest friend since one of her sons and I were in first grade. I spent more suppers at her house than I can count. She is the first person who ever prayed the rosary with me.

She has been battling cancer for most of my life. She has beaten breast cancer and uterine cancer. Now, however, she is battling something even bigger. It was liver cancer. Now it is also colon cancer. Treatment, other than palliative care, is being suspended. She will continue to receive chemo to keep her comfortable and maintain her quality of life.

She is so brave. She told one of her daughters-in-law she would have been frightened twenty years ago, but her job is done. Judy is ready to be ready to do as God's will is for her. My prayer for her and her family is peace in the face of the upcoming events.

Daily Reflection

During the season of Lent, I made a concentrated effort to reflect on my relationship with God. I felt I was making good progress through those 40 plus days. Since Lent has ended, however, while the daily reflections have continued, it doesn't feel quite the same. I am not sure what has happened to change, but I feel like there is a distance growing in my faith. The postings I have made seem more like fluff than substance. Obviously, it is time to go back to a more basic approach to faith. The first stop will be stopping at the Church in the morning to refill the holy water bottles so our holy water font can go back to daily use.

Bible Studying

I am working my way through the Bible. It is supposed to be a year long study. Some days, though, there are 30 pages of reading between the study verses. I found I wasn't able to keep up with the reading, so I was fighting with continuing the study. Now, I have two bookmarks in the Bible. One is where the daily study is located. The other is where I really am in the readings.

Currently, I am almost 200 pages behind. I don't know that I will ever catch up, unless I get "lapped" as I do the study again next year. I think it is better that I take my time to thoroughly read and understand instead of rushing, just to get the pages done. Now, I just need to accept where I am, and know it is okay to be there.

Mother's Day Blessings

God blessed me with two wonderful sons. They are normal, active, healthy boys, who sometimes drive me crazy. Every day, I thank God for the blessings they are. I cannot imagine where I would be if they weren't here.

Relationship Changes

Today, I realize I feel I am drifting from the closeness to God I felt during the Lenten season. I am not sure what the difference is, or why I am feeling the change today, but I do. I almost feel adrift, lost a little, struggling to find my own way. In Mass today, I felt disconnected a little. I don't know the cause, but it is time for some reflection as to why.

Faith

"Faith is not believing that God can, but knowing that God will." There is a plaque on our dining room wall that has this on it. Every now and then I look at it and contemplate what it means. I don't think this means God will make life smooth, even though he can. To me, it means nothing is done alone; God is with me every step of the way. If it is God's will certain things happen, then they will. It is comforting to feel this way. It gives me strength.

Samuel

Yesterday's Scripture study was the story of Samuel. Multiple times in the night, God called Samuel and each time, Samuel went to Eli. Eli sent him back to bed. Then, Eli realized God was calling Samuel. He advised Samuel to answer God the next time He calls.

Which leads me to wonder, how many times have I been called and I looked to someone else rather than to the One who called me?

Quiet Night

It is the first Wednesday since Faith Formation has ended. Having nothing on the agenda for a Wednesday doesn't feel quite right. There was no lesson prep, no time in prayer in preparation, no rushing to get everything done before we leave, no nothing. It feels very desolate tonight.

Catholic Schools

Catholic Schools are an excellent way to educate children academically while teaching the principles of the Catholic faith. Our local parochial school has a high percentage of alumni on the honor roll, participating in fine arts and academic extracurricular activities as well as athletics and even have a current FFA State officer. While we didn't make the choice to send our own children to the parochial school, I am still a strong supporter of the school and its programs. Unfortunately, I think parents sometimes have unrealistic expectations of what a school can reasonably offer and accomplish, even with the best of intentions.

With a declining child population, Catholic Schools will continue to struggle with enrollment numbers. My prayer is for more parents of younger children to fully explore the opportunities related to schools before making their decisions about enrollment.

The Impact of Swine Flu on the Mass

The hazards of swine flu are becoming apparent, even here in southwestern Minnesota. Tonight, there were three changes requested and/or made during the Mass. First, we received the Eucharist only under one kind. Because of the concern about disease transmission, only the Body of Christ was to be received this evening. Second, the Sign of Peace is optional in the liturgy at this time. This was also going to be omitted to avoid unnecessary touching of others. Finally, the people of the Slayton parish traditionally hold hands, all over the church, during the Our Father. Father explained there is no liturgical basis for this and requested everyone fold their hands in front of themselves for the prayer, rather than holding hands.

We made it through the Mass without too many issues. Someone behind us started offering the Sign of Peace, I think out of habit, but someone else explained to her.

Carter, however, didn't like that we couldn't hold hands while we prayed. We hold hands for morning prayer, for meal prayer, to pray to Saint Anthony. I can't think of a time when we don't hold hands when we pray. Poor kid will just have to adapt.

Faith Formation End for the Year

This week we said good bye to the 21 students we have worked with this past year. I can't believe the year is over already. It feels like it just started.

My prayer for them is for them to continue to feel the love of God and to celebrate it often in the Eucharist.