Praying for Great Grandpa Bob

On Monday we arrived at the funeral home for the family viewing and prayer before heading to the church. We have jokingly referred to Liam as "Father Liam" as he is always making sure we pray before meals (sometimes more than once).

Knowing that Liam had accepted Great Grandpa Bob was deceased, but having never seen a body, we weren't sure how he was going to react when seeing him. Dave stayed back with the little guys while Liam and I approached the coffin. I told Liam to kneel on the kneeler and I did the same. I turned to Liam and said, "Do you want to pray?" He nodded his head yes. We said the "Our Father". At the end of the prayer, Liam turned to me and said, "I want to say a special prayer for Great Grandpa Bob." I said, "Okay."

We both bowed our heads into our hands. Liam began,
"Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
And if I die, before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
God, please bless Great Grandpa Bob."

And he stood up, made the sign of the cross, and turned out to the crowd. I had tears streaming down my face. He's so little, yet so spiritual. So thoughtful.

Here is a picture of Liam with David and Great Grandpa Bob before David's deployment to Iraq.

"God, please bless Great Grandpa Bob."

Happy? Ash Wednesday

I'm not sure if "Happy" is the word to use. But the more I think about it, the more I believe it is correct. So, I thought, why not make a "Top 10" reasons it is happy? Here we go...

Top Ten Things About Lent/Ash Wednesday

10. Even the Pope gets ashes today...to show us he is a servant of the servants as well.

9. You can save money on all the food you won't be eating while fasting!!

8. All the good fish recipes are shared...and who doesn't like grilled cheese and tomato soup?

7. A convenient excuse to watch The Passion of the Christ.

6. Purple is a much more elegant liturgical color than green.

5. You don't need to hide or make excuses around your penance and sacrifices--because everyone else is supposed to be doing the same thing.

4. Recycling. The ashes for Ash Wednesday are burned Palms from Palm Sunday the year before. Catholicism was green before being green was cool!

3. Catholic camaraderie. When you see someone else with ashes today, you know they were at Mass, too! :) That and you can learn more about your friends and co-workers--I didn't know you were Catholic?!

2. Cool antiphons.

and the #1 reason Lent and Ash Wednesday is happy...

...is the chance to become closer to Jesus Christ!

So yes, I say to you, Happy Ash Wednesday!

Surviving the Holidays...With Help From God

I can just about hear it now...I say it on my birthday to my kids, so why wouldn't He? I know the Holidays can be a stressful time, but I'm sure Jesus would say, "Hey guys, no fighting on my birthday, please?"

Even though we were snowed in and Mass was canceled, I made sure to pull up my Mass Readings app (yes, there is an app for that) and read the First Reading, Responsorial Psalm, Second Reading and the Gospel.

It was the Second Reading that really spoke to me. It is the Third Sunday in Advent and we must prepare our hearts for Jesus. The reading is from James 5: 7-10.

The following reading was taken from our Catholic Bible. James 5: 7-10
"Be patient, brothers and sisters,
until the coming of the Lord.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
being patient with it
until it receives the early and the late rains.
You too must be patient.
Make your hearts firm,
because the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another,
that you may not be judged.
Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates.
Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers and sisters,
the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord."

I like "Do not complain, brothers and sisters, about one another, that you may not be judged." Play nice with each other this Holiday season. And no fighting on Jesus' birthday.

Baptism

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." Colossians 2:6-7

Baptism is important to me and my husband. We knew we wanted our children baptised shortly after birth, as Catholics, we wanted our children to receive the first Sacrament as soon as possible. We feel that starting their spiritual life as soon as we can is vital.

Our third son was baptised last Sunday. All of our children have been baptised in the Church we were married in, where I was baptised and where I had my first communion. We feel it would be best, for the records, to keep them all at the same place. Our boys have all worn the same baptismal outfit and we always have a reception afterwards at my parents' house. My husband's sister and my brother are the Godparents, for all three of our boys.

Before our oldest was born, the Church required we take a course before he could be baptised. We took the 6 (or 8) week class and did all of the homework. No kidding. The nun teaching the class assigned us homework. After our second son, we were not required to do any additional studies but after our third, we were asked to watch two videos. In viewing them, I realized I was able to finish the nun's stories. I had seen these videos before, 5 years before to be exact.

Luke 18:15–16 tells us that "they were bringing even infants" to Jesus; and he himself related this to the kingdom of God: "Let the children come to me . . . for to such belongs the kingdom of God."