7 quick mid-Lent-slump takes

1.

Last week my Lent routine fell apart. I missed daily mass three days, forgot my daily prayers a couple days, and when I finally got to mass on Friday, was provided with an opportunity to pray Stations of the Cross, but didn't get the flyer with the words on it as I entered, and then felt too self conscious to go around looking for it, so I just listened to the collective mumbling of everybody else, and called it "going to Stations." I did kneel and say, "for by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world,"so that made it count.

2.

Our cat, otherwise known as He Who Has Never Left The House, SOMEHOW has gotten fleas. Not a terrible case, but STILL. We have bathed him in Dawn dish soap several times, which he LOVES, and then have to vacuum and wash everything that isn't nailed down. (Which is, everything, because I don't know about you, but we don't nail things down).  Rinse and repeat. And NO TALKING about the fleas or we will all be itching. So, yes, right now, I am itching.

3.

I am reading The Collected Stories, by Isaac Bashevis Singer. I have always loved reading Jewish literature, I read everything by Chaim Potok as a kid/young adult. This book is all short stories, some are folk tales, some set in modern times in New York City, still folk-tale-ish. They all, so far, deal with the presence and effect of evil in the world. What is interesting is how his Jewish perspective is very like the Catholic one.

4.

If you suffer from disappearing socks while doing your laundry at home, try taking your wet laundry to the laundromat. I went from three pairs to none. Now I have to rummage in my 13 year old daughter's drawers whenever I am about to leave the house and don't feel like going sockless in my snow boots. Now I know why she emerges from her room in seventeen seconds after I send her in there to put away her clothes. I also found where my can opener went. Still better than finding food in a dresser drawer. Months-old food. It has happened.

5.

Lent has been very Lent-ish this year. Dear friends and family that really need prayers! Please add my intentions for them to your prayers whenever you think of me going around sockless with no can opener. But there really are some heavy needs, besides mine. We also STILL have not received our tax return, even though it has been the prescribed 21 days. sigh. We just want to pay some bills! And I am beginning to dream about cookies. But those will have to wait till Easter. I would at least like to be able to start gathering the ingredients to do my Easter baking. Then I can see that we are getting closer! Some people read daily Lenten spiritual readings as a count down, I pore over Easter bread and ricotta pie recipes. To each his own.

6.

What do you do for St. Patrick's day?  We have corned beef and cabbage, and some years I make Irish potatoes. My daughter Corrie's birthday is the 17th, so we mash up her birthday with St. P's day. This year, we are including the flea bag cat , as he is a year in March. Malaika figures he is a ginger (he is orange) so he must be Irish. And thankfully it falls on a Sunday, so yes, once again, food.

7.

Well, I am off to the laundromat, with mismatched borrowed socks, in the falling snow, feeling itchy because I brought up THAT subject, feeling a little irritated with the IRS, and a little worried, too. How Lenten. But also thankful for my husband carrying out the 400 pounds of wet laundry in the snow earlier, to save me at least one trip. And that I can go to the novena mass tonight, thereby saving me from missing mass altogether. And for being offered a part time job cooking for the IHM sisters at our parish. Every little bit helps. I will probably have some tales about that!



You friends and loved ones--know that I am praying for you, even as I blunder about. Love you!

worried much? get hope

Really, who isn't? There are times when the more dire worries recede, and we are thankful for those. My family is presently not in one of those times. I am also aware of many other families that I have promised to keep in prayer for troubles of many stripes.

Thing is, have you ever noticed, (if you don't mind the Andy Rooney lead in)  that during the really turbulent times, God is so kind to us, and allows us to just dump everything in His lap? Who else really wants that? Of course our loved ones pitch in and suffer us when we are crying in our soup, but the Lord, our Blessed Mother, the angels and saints, and anyone else on the heavenly HR team actually ~love~ when we bring them our woes. And when we say, "I give up! I can't do this!"- Watch out!, heavenly par-tay!

Well, if you are anything like me, you will recognize that it is easy to forget God.  During times of trouble, He has my attention much more; and I need to keep talking to Him just to get through the day. (think He has some strategy there?)

Here is what we heard at mass yesterday.

The Greek word for worry or anxiety means "to have a divided mind."  When we are anxious, the hope in God that we store in our mind is shaken and results in divided thinking.

And-the ancient Christian symbol for hope is the anchor. Something that pulls us down to our foundation, to one fixed spot, preventing us from being washed away.

Here are Father's three things with which to fill our minds and anchor us back to Christ;

1. Reflect on Christs past. Meditate on His Passion, and His victory over the greatest suffering.

2. How Christ is present right now, as One who always shows up, and without Whom we can do nothing.

3. Place our hope in Christs promises about our future, knowing He is not out to get us, but wants us to spend eternity with Him.

Wow, God even designs homilies just for me! Well, okay, maybe for everybody else, too.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:25-34

  I can vouch for that last sentence.

I must say, (Martin Short's weird character from SNL in the 70's) I am greatly looking forward to Lent; a time that is full of palpable Divine Grace!

Saint Raphael, the Archangel, pray for us!

Besides Raphael, Michael and Gabriel are the only Archangels mentioned by name in the bible. Saint Raphael Archangel is one of seven Archangels who stand before the throne of the Lord.

Saint Raphael's name means "God has healed." The name of this archangel does not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the Septuagint only in the Book of Tobias. This identity came about because of the biblical story which claims that he "healed" the earth when it was defiled by the sins of the fallen angels in the book of Enoch. Tobias said that Saint Raphael Archangel caused him to have his wife and that he gave joy to Sarah's parents for driving out the evil spirit in her. He also gave Saint Raphael Archangel credit for his father's seeing the light of heaven and for receiving all good things through his intercession.

 GLORIOUS Archangel Saint Raphael, 


Great prince
Of the heavenly court,
Illustrious for your gifts
Of wisdom and grace,
Guide of those
Who journey by land or sea,
Consoler of the afflicted,
And refuge of sinners.


I beg you to assist me
In all my needs
And in all the sufferings
Of this life,
As once you helped
The young Tobias
On his travels.


And because you are
The “Medicine of God”,
I humbly pray you
To heal the many infirmities
Of my soul
And all the ills
Which afflict my body,
If it be for my greater good.


I specially ask of you
The favor of


(name it …)


And the grace
Of angelic purity,
Which makes me fit
To be the temple
Of the Holy Spirit.


Amen.

 

waiting....waiting...

This is shaping up to be one of those Wait-and-See-What-Happens days. Not my favorite kinds of days. One daughter is having troubling physical symptoms, but didn't want to miss school, so I am calling around, trying to feel it out and get a game plan.Which results in waiting for doc offices to call back. Familiar with that tune?  This makes it kind of hard to do some of my routine but necessary things, like run the vacuum (something, that in a time of stress, is surprisingly soothing), go to the market, or even just focus on anything else well.

I have never been very good at waiting. I like forward motion. The Bible is all full of waiting verses--sheesh. Guess it is one of those growth producing things--what are they called? Oh yes, Virtues. Wait! hmmmmm.

Patience....Virtue.

riiiiight.










With a large dollop of trust thrown in.



Well, it did enable me to sit here and write this, and peruse the blogospere, and post to facebook, and do some laundry, and heat up one of last night's stuffed peppers for lunch...what am I complaining about? Well, it's just the worry-weight when one of the kids needs medical care, and all the figuring out what it is--hoping nothing too scary-- yada yada.

sigh.
Exhausting stuff.

Well, I may not have gained patience this time(that I can tell), but the pepper was good the next day.