Alleluia! He is Risen!

Philippians 3:10-12
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

prayer request

I would kindly ask you to remember my daughter Corrie in your prayers. She was hospitalized last night. I am asking Ven. Solanus Casey's intercession for her complete healing.

7 quick takes; Last- Friday- of- Lent style

1. Confession. Do you like it, love it; or fear and  avoid it?  Why?

I consider myself blessed to have gotten a good start with it. I was not raised Catholic, so I never had any childhood experiences, or any erroneous information regarding it. My approach to the Sacrament as a convert has been to see it as a place of refuge and hope. I definitely have grown in my practice and understanding, and doubtless have a ways to go yet, but to me it is one of the Church's most beautiful gifts.

2. Examination of conscience. Do you do it? When? Ten minutes before confession? I used to, or maybe twenty minutes.One of my Lenten goals was to do this nightly, and write it down, so that when I went to confession, I would not have to rely on my faulty memory, or forget how often I committed certain sins. It made my confessions much more productive, and I wasn't adding another sin by not having proper respect in approaching the sacrament.

3. I recently learned about this method of examination of conscience. It is a Trinitarian examination, given by a Franciscan friar to a friend-

1. Thank God the Father for anything in the day.
2. Tell Jesus about the sins you committed. The previous last of blessings, you may find, will put this in a right perspective, making you able to notice the great proportion of blessings to sins.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you in the next day in the areas of your sins, to rely on Him and to do better.

I like it. Simple, positive and it can be as in depth or brief as the moment allows.


4.Even though I just had confession a few days ago, I hope to go before Easter. It just seems fitting. Also, if you want to partake in the plenary indulgences of Divine Mercy Sunday, (this year being very special with the Beatfication of John Paul II taking place), you need to have confession within an eight day period, either before or after. I may be able to get to confession while in Michigan visiting Meghann and Co. (so excited!) in fact, I hope to, but a good Holy Saturday confession is still in order.

5. Why all the talk of confession? We need it. The Church in Her wisdom and love for us sheep, offers it. It supplies us with the graces we need to grow spiritually. It puts us close to the heart of Jesus. Why would we not?

6. Here comes Holy Week! Love it. I like to clean house, wash windows and curtains, bake ricotta pie and Easter Bread. 

Thursday night we go to the service in which there is a foot washing at our parish. Don't love that. Then my husband, Mother in Law and I visit three churches. It's an Italian thing, I think the traditional number can also be seven. Three is enough for us. It's nice that the churches are open and offer adoration, some all night. Sometimes groups will take turns sitting vigil. We usually are home before midnight.
Friday we go to Veneration of the Cross. Our church has a relic of the True Cross.

7. Easter prep:
 I get out the Easter decorations, dust off the kids Easter baskets ,and go to Nuts for You to find neat and unusual things to put in them. I traditionally include at least one non food thing. The girls get new bath poufs, Ben, something like a ball or yoyo. Bob likes the big filled eggs, I like the little black licorice layered candies. I detest cellophane Easter grass and use either the shredded paper kind or colorful tissue paper.


Have a very special last Friday of Lent! Get to confession if you can, you will be blessed.

Peace,
Kelly

clearing a hurdle

I had  spiritual direction this week, as I do once a month. These are always good, sometimes intense, and have a cleansing effect, as we finish with confession.  There is usually one point that sticks with me about each time. This time it was about self hatred. I didn't bring it up, and we didn't talk about it, really. It was mentioned in passing, and not in reference to me. But a teeny little lightbulb went on and I understood that this was something that runs as an undercurrent in my thinking. With it came the understanding that it was not the same as healthy humility or self discipline, and that at its root there is a lie. Everybody who deals with this may not have the same lie that plays in their mind, but mine is "you are not allowed to be happy." I know when and where it originated and the life I lived at that time is long past, but it has tendrils that reach into the present. It comes into play in all different ways; sometimes in how I approach my examination of conscience and confession, sometimes in the things I do to try and make that message go away or at least get quieter, for a few. But somehow, without really having addressed it specifically, God got a message through.  It was this- " I accept you the way you are right now, today. I know the motivations of your heart; the wounds, the baggage, and the broken places that you suffer with. I am happy with you before you are completely refined. And if I am happy with you, you can be happy with you, too."

All that was just in a moment of understanding, I put the words to it to help convey it better. I could honestly say that I knew all that already, in my intellect. It just needed to sink a little deeper. It is good to be released from such chains, and I think it is only the beginning.

 “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” 

(NASB) Romans 15:7

“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.”

Provers 14:26

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

 Matthew 11:28-30

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” 
Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)

some music. it is requiem season, after all

please remember to pause the playlist--or you will have the Requiem Mashup on you hands :)






This could be my all time favorite piece of music. This video is just a small part.


And here are a few shots from last weekends Adventures with Mozart. There is also a video of the first movement, but I am going to wait and see if they record us again this coming weekend, now that we all have had some practice playing together. Some of the string players were _sight reading_ !! Props to them.

Conductor--Paul Kauriga

me--yeah, I don't know.

The clarinet player in front of me is legally blind--a very accomplished player--AND--he wears periscope glasses. Malaika was pretty awed by this.

 Here are the soloists' feet and hands. (Bob forgot his glasses. But he did a pretty good job since the camera batteries were practically dead.)  Next week, we will let you see their faces! Which were pretty nice, and also the sounds coming out of them.

 Anyway, we had fun. This weekend I am looking forward to 1. not having to drive quite so far, though it was lovely out where we were, 2. knowing the piece better. and 3. having a better reed!! The one I was playing on was an unidentifiable age and not reliable. eek.


This has been a wonderful Lenten thing to do. It reminds me about something God gave me that brings a part of me alive and hopefully enriches the lives of others as well. Bob and I hope to be able to do more as the kids get older and more independent. Malaika was offered a saxophone and lessons to go with it, so she made out pretty well also!

Sunday with Mozart

 ~to listen to Mozart~please pause the playlist~ :)






This is kind of a weird chopped up version--just bits of the entire thing. But you get the idea. Today is our first performance and next Sunday we do it again at another church. It starts off with a bassoon solo...:)

Father Corapi update from Rev. MIchael Sullivan, J.C.L.

Father Corapi on Administrative Leave - Update from Rev. Michael Sullivan, J.C.L.

  Fr. John Corapi has been suspended from priestly functions because of an accusation against him from a former employee. There seems to be a great deal of speculation and confusion regarding what this entails.

When an accusation arrives at the desk of a Religious Superior or a bishop, the procedure calls for a quick, confidential assessment as to the veracity of the accusation. With the advent of the Dallas Procedural Norms the necessary pieces of information required before imposing administrative leave varies from diocese to diocese and Order to Order. In most cases, if an accuser knows the name of the priest, the location at the time of the alleged incident and the year the priest was serving, the accusation is considered “credible.” The accused is supposed to be provided with the opportunity to respond to the accusations in a face-to-face meeting with his Superior prior to the imposition of suspension or administrative leave. In Father Corapi’s case, this never happened.

When a priest is on administrative leave he is to refrain from any public actions as a priest, such as offering Mass or hearing confessions, or from dressing as a priest in any public forum. The decree from his superiors clearly spells out limitations upon Fr. Corapi, but does not preclude him from speaking publicly provided he does not dress as a cleric and does not offer Mass publicly. Fr. John Corapi has observed these directives. Church bodies are to observe these limitations, though the order does not apply to lay organizations or Church organizations beyond the scope of what has been decreed.

Several Catholic media sources have removed Fr. Corapi from their outlets. This is over and above what is required by canon law and the Dallas Norms. Nothing in the order placing Father Corapi on administrative leave precludes distribution of previously recorded materials. Santa Cruz Media is in full compliance with Canon Law and the administrative leave under which Fr. Corapi is functioning.

Fr. Corapi is doing all in his power to cooperate and work with his Religious Society to see that this allegation is quickly cleared up and he is allowed to return to full ministry. The length of this administrative leave is strictly up to the Society and their process of inquiry before a decision is rendered.

We continue to ask everyone to pray for Fr. Corapi, for the accuser and for a quick resolution to this matter.

God bless you,

Rev. Michael Sullivan, J.C.L.