Why I Remain Catholic: The Sacrifice of Love in Action

Today, on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (The Body and Blood of Christ) I join in with the many other writers and Catholic faithful who have been sharing why it is we remain Catholic. 

In a world where our faith seems upside down and topsy-turvy, where to ascribe to a belief that puts us at odds with the mores of the day, it can certainly baffle the masses as to why anyone in their right mind would be willingly devoted to the Catholic faith. Even more baffling perhaps is why an educated woman would choose to become Catholic, to willingly surrender her life to a faith that so many understand (wrongly) to be a foe of freedom, liberty, and women. 

Why did I become Catholic? The (very) short answer is that I was invited. 

Why do I remain Catholic? The very short and real answer is because Jesus meets me there every day if I will have Him. 

He continues to sacrifice His life for mine, to nourish me, and to be anywhere else is unthinkable. Even amidst the controversy, the brokenness...dare I say the humanity of those in the ranks of the Church, Jesus comes to offer Himself over and over and over. I am one hungry at the foot of the cross. I am one empty but for the food He offers - His own body and blood, soul and divinity. At Mass today, our pastor held up the example of Christ on the cross as the prime example of love in action. Love in action always requires sacrifice, and Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice so we might be one with Him. He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross. {Philippians 2:7-8}

I am Catholic because Jesus has drawn me to Himself.

I remain Catholic, because in the example of the Saints who have walked before me, offering their lives as an example of love in action, and in the faith that has been passed on from the earliest days of the Church, Jesus call me to grow deeper with Him. 

I remain Catholic because in the Church, God humbles Himself to meet us over and over in the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist and Reconciliation. 

I remain Catholic because all my senses are filled with the holy in our understanding of everyday sacramentality. 

I remain Catholic because I am forever challenged by our understanding of dignity of life and the value of all creation. 

I remain Catholic because through the lens of this rich faith I understand the redemptive value of suffering, of uniting my pain to the indignity suffered by Christ on the cross for the good of all the world. 

I remain Catholic because within the tradition of the Church lies such a deep and diverse expression of our longing for and worship of God, our Creator, the Father. 

I remain Catholic, because despite the (mis)understanding of the world, there is a holy place for my dignity as a woman in the history and tradition of the Church. 

I remain Catholic, because for over two thousand years, disciples and apostles of Christ have been sinking deeper and deeper into the mystery of faith, into the heart of Jesus, leaving behind their wisdom and blueprints for contemplating the face of Christ. For two thousand years, they have been holding on to the deposit of faith left behind by Jesus and the first apostles. 

This is not to say that I believe we as body of believers are without fault. I am the first to admit that there is always room for growth - that our humanity keeps us from living out the fullness of our faith all too often. Short of heaven there is nothing perfect on this earth. So I come back to the foot of the cross, to the Real Presence of Jesus to remind me what the heart of my life as a Catholic is to be - the sacrifice of love in action. Not perfect music. Not the best slogan. Sacrifice for the redemption of the world - bringing others into a life with Him, because His sacrifice was for the whole world and He thirsts for us all. Sacrifice and love for neighbor because Jesus has asked us to be one in Him and with each other. 

There are those who would love nothing more than to distract me from the sacrifice of the cross - to avert my eyes to Christ's example of love in action. There are those who would have me embroiled in the political battles of our time, forgetting that these battles have existed for all of time and will continue until the coming of the Kingdom. I say to them, you shall not prevail while I have Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man, Lord, Redeemer, and Savior, offering Himself for me through all of time. 

In the Eucharist, in the sacrifice of the Mass, in the lives of the Saints, in the mystical body of Christ, in the deposit of wisdom and faith safeguarded by the Church, I find Jesus. He is why I became Catholic and He is why I remain Catholic.

Now that you know why I am and remain Catholic, let's just get out there and love 'em like Jesus, shall we?

{If you want to read why others are and remain Catholic, check out the #whyIremainCatholic hashtag on Twitter.}

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Praise Him in the Storm

The blog has been a little dormant these past few months. It seems like I have torrents of inspiration, and then stagnation. Lather, rinse, repeat. 

In reality, it isn't so much that the writing is stagnant, but rather my spirit and my vision. I am inspired to write, but when I finally sit in front of the screen, exhaustion hits and the mind goes blank. It seems as though what I was dying to write earlier in the day or week just doesn't seem important. In the midst of the chaos and crazy that is my life, how could I possibly contribute anything worthwhile? There are so many bigger blogs, so many better writers, so many more talented artists, so many more fun and wise mamas...what I was going to say just pales by comparison.

By comparison. The death of the creative spirit. The death of the soul flying to God. The constant thorn in my side despite the knowledge that the measuring stick is poison to the soul against anyone other than Christ. Couple that with a dash of perfectionism, and it leads to sudden death of any spontaneous creativity by over-examination. If the words don't flow with just the right rhythm and cadence, if the phrases don't dance across the screen with just the right blend of humor and depth, if the response is not immediate and gargantuan - forget about it! I mean, that's what Jesus said, right? 

Cue Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (We are called to be faithful, not successful.) and Jesus with St. Peter (What is it to you what I ask of him? Follow me!). These are paraphrased of course, but the two sentiments get at the heart of what often obstructs my vision. I should probably have these plastered all over the house, or at least those places that are visible as I create. At the end of the day, it isn't about anything else but faithfulness and following the voice of the Lord - not when it comes to the creative spirit, and not when it comes to prayer.

Yeah, it's my stumbling block with prayer too. I can't find the "perfect" fit? I just give up. Lather, rinse, repeat. Yet again, it is just about getting up and starting again, over and over, submitting ourselves to His mercy and grace. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll notice that a few weeks ago I started taking the toddler with me to pray before the tabernacle for a few minutes each day we pick up Gia from pre-school. It's only a few minutes, but it is a few minutes with Jesus. Jesus is waiting there for us, whether Jude is quiet or not. He is waiting whether I am distracted or not. He is waiting just to be with me. How could I make it simpler than that? He isn't waiting for the perfect time when my attention is focused and life is still. He waits for me in the storms and chaos of life so He can still my heart and make it His. 

So we go. With a busy, noisy toddler, we go. Not everyone appreciates it, but we go. Today, I took Jude with me to a Sacrament Double Header. I went to reconciliation and he came with me. He's young enough that I'm guessing he won't reveal the secrets of the confessional! He wasn't still. He wasn't quiet. You know what? Grace and mercy still showed up, because Jesus comes to us anywhere at anytime. The priest was great too and just kept on going even when I was clearly trying to wrangle the toddler. We come as we are to be wiped clean. What a blessing! (Be sure to thank the pastors who make it easy to show up for Jesus with kids in tow as they are too.)

From there I headed back to our parish for an appointment with our priest to receive the Sacrament of Anointing...noisy and active toddler in tow. He wanted to go say hi to Jesus first in all the usual places - the crucifix, the tabernacle, the statue. Instead, we found our priest and headed toward the anointing oils, which are right by the baptismal font. So Father anointed me as Jude splashed in the holy water. He wasn't still. He wasn't quiet. Grace and mercy still showed up, and I got a double blessing of holy water from a slightly wet two year old, who then wanted to head up to the altar to kneel before Jesus. And then the tabernacle. And then the statue with candles. (After sitting down in the main aisle and trying to fill his pants as he blessed himself with the sign of the cross. Father was pretty amused by that one.)

So it goes. It isn't about waiting for the perfect time with the perfect offering. It is simply making the offering with an open heart, willing to follow. Every morning, it is asking Jesus He wants from me that day. It is the practice of knowing my desires and handing them over to Jesus who will perfect them according to His will for His purpose and glory. It is asking for His help to be present, to be attentive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, to respond when He asks me to act...or not to act. This is not something I can do alone. This is not a discipline that will develop overnight. My hope is that with constant reminders to start anew and surrender myself, that I will grow in my ability to set aside those measures of comparison and keep my eyes focused on Jesus and His desires and plans for me. I pray that with practice, I will more joyfully respond when Christ asks me to be a gift or blessing to another, whether friend, family, or stranger, even when it is inconvenient. Maybe with time, I will come to recognize every moment as an opportunity to honor and praise God...even (and especially) in the storm.

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Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Feel free to download this image! Just right click to save. Happy Easter!

"Do not abandon yourselves to despair.

We are an Easter people, and alleluia is our song." 

St. Pope John Paul II

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!!

While I must admit that our Lenten practices were perhaps not as self-righteously penitential as I would have hoped, there is nothing like the joy of Easter morning when we once again proclaim victory. It is a victory over sin, over despair, over suffering...indeed over death itself. We have a Savior who has suffered the humiliation and pain of Good Friday, who has in the time of waiting gone to loose the chains of the prisoners below, so on this day we might all rise in glory to the heights of the heavens. 

“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, 

and the power of sin is the law. 

But thanks be to God, 

who gives us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57

There is a lightness about our spirits today, as we experience the Easter miracle in our own lives. Perhaps it was that both kids were quiet all through Mass - MIRACLE OF MIRACLES! Perhaps it is that they actually took Easter photos and looked at the camera - MIRACLE OF MIRACLES! Maybe it is simply that the sorrow of Good Friday, and all the Good Friday moments of our lives, has been made right by the rejoicing of this day of resurrection. A day when all things are made new, where new life is made possible even after the darkest of days. 

"Never let anything so fill you with sorrow 

as to make you forget the joy of Christ risen." 

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

If you are suffering, struggling, despairing, hopeless - I beg of you - hand it to Jesus. Let us pray with you and share in your burden. We have been there, friends. We know the loss of death. We know the despair of lives turning out differently than expected, of facing what seems like ruin and failure. We know the struggles of addiction, of feeling empty and unloved. We know what it feels like to feel alone and abandoned. We also know, without a shred of doubt, what it feels like to have a Lord who loves us too much to leave us in that grave of despair. We know without a shred of doubt that while we may not understand the valley, Jesus is walking with us through it to the mountaintop where He will leave us with more goodness than we can imagine or deserve. For every dark night of sobbing and heartache, Jesus waits with a bright morning of joy. He makes all things new in His time. Let us wait with you if you are walking through your valley. Rejoice with us in hope for the joy that awaits you.

What does it mean that Jesus is risen? 

It means that the love of God 

is stronger than evil and death itself, 

it means that the love of God 

can transform our lives and 

let those desert places in our hearts bloom. 

The love of God can do this!

Pope Francis

Jesus Christ is risen, He loves you (yes, you!), and He promises to lift you up with Him in glory.

Happy Easter from our family to you(rs)!

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{Lenten Love Dare} You Are Not Forgotten

If you looked me right in the eye

Would you see the pain deep inside

Would you take the time to

Tell me what I need to hear

Tell me that I’m not forgotten

Show me there’s a God

Who can be more than all I’ve ever wanted

‘Cause right now I need a little hope

I need to know that I’m not alone

Maybe God is calling you tonight

To tell me something

That might save my life

Sidewalk Prophets, Save My Life

The greatest desire of our hearts is to be loved, to belong, to be found worthy. Whether we acknowledge it openly or not, how many of our most crushing moments stem from a time when we felt cast aside, invisible, unworthy, unloved, and unnoticed? I know that those times of darkness in my life drain me of energy, joy, motivation, and make me turn inward in a negative way. Most often I can be found crumpled on the kitchen floor - just ask the Hubs!

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta astutely diagnosed us in the west some decades ago. She prophetically noted that 

The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty -- it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a hunger for God.

This has not changed. If we are honest, we are spiraling even further into an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, despite advances in communication technology and transportation. The ability to be connected at any time has ironically left us ill equipped to connect with one another meaningfully. We have become a people of ten second soundbites, 140 character messages, and quick updates. How often do we see one another seated at tables laughing and smiling at our phones and tablets instead of looking at the people who are right beside us. I know I am guilty of it at times myself. It has to stop.

Before we go further, understand that I am not anti-technology. Quite the opposite really. I love how growing technology has given us the tools to connect with one another in a manner unprecedented at any other time of human history. However, as Peter Parker's (Spiderman's) Uncle Ben reminds us, it seems by quoting Voltaire, "With great power comes great responsibility." 

How many people do we walk by without acknowledging with as much as a smile? Do we look people in the eye as we pass, or are we so busy living in our heads with all that is going on in our lives that we barely take a glance at them? When we ask how people are doing, are we truly seeking an honest answer, or is it just a polite gesture with the hope of a quick "I'm fine."? (Hint: we are not fine.)

Here is a radical thought. Take the time to look people in the eye when you meet them on the street, in a restaurant, in church. Try to remember that God created them in His image and longs for their return to Him in the eternal kingdom. Remember that God has placed a desire in their hearts for their return to Him as well. Flash them that beautiful smile and say hello to let them know they have been seen. Leave time in your day to ask how people are doing, really doing, and be willing to listen to their stories. Build relationships with people you might otherwise just pass by along your day. If God repeatedly brings someone through your life, maybe, just maybe, He intends you to reach out to them for Him. 

Be warned. Opening yourself to this will bring people into your life you don't intend. It may (will) push you outside of your comfort zone. God's love isn't just for the righteous. Jesus didn't come for those of us who have our act together (hint: that's no one). He came to redeem the whole world, and He sends us out to the whole world, to all the corners of the earth. Maybe this means that you'll be sent to another corner, or maybe this means that He needs you to lighten up the corner of the world you are in right now. 

There is your challenge for the week ahead. Notice someone you wouldn't normally see (or don't want to see). Look them in the eye, share with them the truth and depth of God's love for them, and let them know they are not forgotten. Pray for them. Better yet, pray with them right there. See where God takes you and follow. 

Let's continue to love 'em like Jesus!

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15 Ways to Start a Revolution - The Love Dare Reimagined

True confessions time: I may have bitten off more than I can chew for Lent (and we aren't even a week in!). I thought it would be easy to find places for us to send cards, love notes, prayers in bulk. I was wrong. For good reasons, I was wrong. 

I had intended to start our project by sending love to our troops stationed overseas. Not having served or having anyone in service in our family, I had not considered that the military or the Archdiocese of the Military would not release addresses freely. Quite prudently, they must protect the safety of our men and women serving overseas. They had some great suggestions in lieu of my initial desires, though. One was to find a VA Hospital to work with, and another was to contact a local family with members serving overseas. My friend, Jennifer, also suggested working with the Wounded Warriors project. All excellent suggestions!

My next goal was to send notes and pictures to children who are in the hospital with long-term or terminal illnesses. While there is not the same safety concern, and we are not asking for names because I know full well that is crossing a boundary with minors for certain, there is the concern of deciding who would get noticed and who would not. We would never want to leave a child out, and without having a good way of knowing how many patients were on a floor or in a ward, it was just too daunting a project. One suggestion since my initial inquiry is to work with a local charity who grants wishes or supports families with sick children, and that is exactly what we will be doing.

Once I get some concrete information about where to mail our notes and artwork (because what is a day at Casa McCormick without artwork?), I will share them on the blog as much as I can. 

All these doors closing on me made me wonder if I was barking up the wrong tree, or doing something that perhaps God didn't want me to be doing over Lent. Then Patty from A Modern Grace left me an note quoting Blessed Mother Teresa, and it hit me. I was just going about it all the wrong way. I was thinking too abstract, too big, too global. I should have turned to my Saint Sister a lot sooner. Once I did, the answer was right in front of me, and shared in the theme of the responses I had been getting. Go local. 

Blessed Mother Teresa always encouraged us to start at home, to begin in our own communities. She encouraged us to create a ripple effect of love that would then spread out across the ocean - not because we went across the ocean, but because we would, by our love to those near us, inspire them to love, and they would inspire others, and so on. That is now what the focus of our Lenten Love Dare will be. Local. Loving those at home. Loving those God puts in our path in a bold way. Loving without fear. 

If you are looking for some concrete examples, here are a handful or two or three:

1. Call a long lost friend.
2. Apologize to someone who you have wronged, but never owned up to hurting.
3. Send a note of encouragement to a friend.
4. Thank someone who has made your life easier.
5. Send your mom some flowers.
6. Tell your parents what they mean to you.
7. Write each of your children a note about your love for them.
8. Write a note of forgiveness to someone who has hurt you, whether they have made amends or not. Leave it at the foot of the cross.
9. Invite a relative or friend who is struggling to church and a meal.
10. Offer a Holy Hour for someone and let them know you are praying for them.
11. If you know someone serving overseas, put together a care package for them.
12. If you know of a family experiencing serious illness, reach out to them and see what they might need.
13. If you know of a family in the midst of grief, make an effort to spend some time with them. 
14. If you know someone who is struggling with addiction, say a prayer to St. Jude for them and send a special intention to be placed at the altar at the National Shrine of St. Jude
15. If you know someone who is incarcerated, send them a note of encouragement and a prayer card. 

There are so many other ways for us to shower our communities with the love of God. This may be one of those times where instead of thinking big, it is more effective to think small and constant. Please join us in this Lenten Love Dare, and let us know how you are working on loving better. Feel free to use the image below in your posts and use the tag #PPDlovedare on social media. Let's get out there and love 'em like Jesus!

An InLinkz Link-up

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You Are Precious to God

We must never undervalue any person. The workman loves not that his work should be despised in his presence. Now God is present everywhere, and every person is His work. St. Francis deSales

I was driving on the interstate a few weeks ago on my way to meet a friend, and as is my nature, I was becoming rather irritated with the irrational driving decisions of those around me. It was beyond my ability to understand, why on this beautifully hazy winter day, drivers insisted on driving well below the speed limit or changing lanes without using their signal. The thought mystified me. So much so, that I may have begun to utter quietly some disparaging remarks about said drivers. Shocking, I know.

Under that hazy sunlight, in my speedy little van, I heard the voice of God. No, not audibly - Val Kilmer hasn't installed any speakers in our van to my knowledge. (100 points if you get that movie reference!) Still, I heard the whisper of God remind me that this clearly annoying driver was precious to Him. All I could think in that moment, after having expressed my annoyance, was, "You are precious to God." 

Every driver. All the way. "You are precious to God." 

That revelation has stuck with me for all these weeks. All these weeks I have been meaning to write about that day, and yet life has interrupted my best efforts. 

"You are precious to God." 

How much strife, division, conflict, anger, destruction, havoc - how much woundedness could we avoid if we remembered just that one thing. 

"You are precious to God." 

That desire that lies in the deepest recess of our hearts, no matter how much they are hardened by the burdens and beatings of life, to belong to someone, to be precious to someone. 

"You are precious to God." 

Yes, you, who have taken another's life.

Yes, you, who destroyed your family.

Yes, you, who injured me.

Yes, you, who destroyed the most innocent of children.

Yes, you, who are triggering in me the most violent anger.

Yes, you, who with whom I cannot seem to find a single common thing. 

All of you, regardless of who you are to me, you are precious to God. 

All this time I have wanted to write, and yet the words wouldn't come. Then a few days ago, just as I was ruminating on this phrase, this came into my email from Steubenville University:

What are the chances? For those who follow my blog, you'll know that Blessed Mother Teresa is a patron saint for our family, and that I feel a strong connection to her. It seems she was prodding me along. Maybe this message wasn't just for those other people. Maybe, just maybe, God was saying the same thing to me.

"I am precious to Him." 

With all my shortcomings, with all my quirks and failings and sinfulness and insecurities.

"I am precious to Him." 

No matter what someone else has done to me, called me, thought of me. 

"I am precious to Him."

Not in the future, not another day, but right now, in all my brokenness.

"I am precious to Him."

You are precious to Him. He created You. He calls you by name. You are His beloved, His son or daughter, His forever. 

No matter where you have been, where you are, or where you think you are going, you are never too far away to reach out for the love of the Lord. No matter what has been done to you, you are never too far away or too broken to let the Lord share His love through you. 

We must love better if we are to bring light to this dark world. If we are to leave our children with a better world than where we have been, we must love with abandon. We must let the Lord say to us and through us to one another, no matter what you have done, you belong to Him. 

"You are precious to God."

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Rest in Love

This quote from my morning devotional struck me today:

Women balancing life. Some days we think we can do this thing well, and we strive to stay on top of every detail. But the days we are running behind or nothing is going right, we can become discouraged...no matter what struggles we face, His love is greater. ~ Jocelyn Hamsher, Circle of Friends

Today is one of those days where I prayed for grace to cover my day in the morning, and by ten o'clock it was clear that someone else had a plan to bombard me with plenty of situations to test my resolve to stay open to grace and not give in to drama and anger. Don't they know it's a "sensitive time of the month?" Oh, yeah, they do. 

Even in the midst of that, in the depth of irritation and imperfection, God's love is greater. He doesn't wait for us to be perfect, to wipe ourselves clean, to get up off the ground. No. 

But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

I don't have to do anything to be loved. We don't earn love or act to keep love. Love is a gift given out of generosity and freedom. Whether we aspire to glory or fall face down in the mud, we are loved beyond measure.While we strive to be worthy of that love, and we ought to strive to give honor to the Lover, we do not need to be "worthy" to be loved. It isn't a measuring game, a scoreboard. God doesn't love us more if we behave better. We honor Him more, but He does not love more. 

It is especially when we feel battered, bruised, broken, and dirty that it is time to stop trying so hard and just rest in the arms of Christ. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. Pope Francis recently reminded us that "even when we break our bond with God because of our own sin and selfishness, 'even in this case God will always go in search for him to restore that union that lasts even after death...The certainty of God's love gives a new and full meaning to earthly life and opens us to hope for life beyond death.'" He reminds us of the words of St. Paul in Scripture:

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

It is time to allow ourselves to be loved in the middle of the battles we face so we can be filled with the love of Christ and get up to fight another day. On the bad days, especially, instead of fighting until we are empty, perhaps it is better to just stop, drop, and rest in the love of God...if the kids will let you. 

PS - Shameless self-promotion alert: If you are looking for a reminder of how much you are loved, check out my "I Am Loved" necklaces over at the Etsy shop.

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{SQT} On Words, Madness, Blankets, Baking, and Fighting the Good Fight

It seems that Quick Takes are already off to a sporadic start here. C'est la vie...and so it goes. Here is a quick recap of my heart and home over the last week (or so).

--- 1 ---

My Word of the Year: I don't usually surrender to making resolutions, and though I have seen people adopt a word for the year, it wasn't something I had ever done...until now. Read all about it (plus a few other things) here.

--- 2 ---

Cartoon by David Pope as shared on Twitter (@davpope)

Je suis Charlie: The world continues to go mad. Continues, because let's face it, the madness has been among us since the first drop of blood was spilled after the fall. I appreciated the response of artists following the attack at Charlie Hebdo in Paris. It just goes to show the vital part art can play in the expression of ideas and healing of hearts (and in the proclamation of the Gospel message, though that isn't quite at play here). 

The #jesuischarlie tag has become widespread in showing solidarity throughout webland, and I seem to not be the only one who has read that as Jesus is Charlie. A woman in my prayer & fasting e-group sent this reflection after her similar mistake.

When the media was showing the signs 'Je Suis" CharlieI kept seeing in the first two words Je Suis   JESUS  then when I looked at it I saw JESUS  ISThen when you learn that those two words in French translate to I AMIt gives me Faith and Hope of His everlasting Covenant  right?

He is, and always will be, the great I AM.

--- 3 ---

Eternal Rest Grant Unto Them: This week also marks the anniversaries of both of our father's passing. My dad passed away 18 years ago and the Hubs' father passed two years ago. You would think after 18 years I'd have some wisdom to offer him, but there really are never any words. For both of us, we have children who will never know their grandfathers. We have mothers who still grieve in their own ways. We ourselves continue to make an attempt at grieving while still carrying on with life with small children. One day perhaps we will figure it out, but I have a feeling we will keep muddling along and grabbing onto Jesus to lift us up and dust us off as we do it poorly. Maybe we can at least hope to be able to have audible words to attach to the thoughts and feelings. 

In the meantime, we continue to pray for our fathers' souls, so that one day maybe our children will know them and we might aspire to see them again in the heavenly kingdom. Your prayers are appreciated always!

--- 4 ---

Brrr! It's Cold In Here: (no Toros in the atmosphere - just cold) There isn't much of a story to go with that. I just wanted to share that picture because...well...HELLO...he's adorable! There's a similar picture of G in the window from past winters too. I will have to dig that out and do a side by side one day. Today is not that day. Now that I've been speaking of cold...I guess there may be a sad story to go with it. 

On New Year's Day, a man froze to death on a front porch in Pontiac, Michigan (which is in the northern metro Detroit area). There is now an effort underway to get warm items to the homeless who may not be able to make it to a shelter or warming center. Faith@Work in Troy is collecting items. I know we have more than enough blankets and winter gear at our home. Perhaps you'll join me (if you're local) in clearing out some excess and helping those whose lives may depend on things that are currently warming your closets instead of your bodies. Here is the official word from Faith@Work. 

PROJECT MICKIEJoin us as we collect freshly laundered blankets, hats and gloves in honor of Mickie Roquemore. Mickie is the gentleman who froze to death on a front porch in Pontiac, on New Years Day. Let us bring good out of the tragic loss of his life and let us honor his memory by helping others.Please drop your blankets, hats, gloves at Faith @ Work. We will work with other organizations like Song & Spirit to make certain they get to those on the streets.

Spread the word and pray for the homeless.

Faith @ Work, 1977 E. Wattles, Troy, MI   48085   248-250-9216

If you are local and cannot make it to Troy, please contact me if you have items you would like to donate and I will work with you to find a way to get them to those who need them. 

If you are not in the local area, please consider contacting agencies that work with the homeless or ministries that have outreach to those who are not making it into a warm place on these deathly cold nights. Here's a great chance to love selflessly and serve joyfully and allow others to live with dignity.

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Breaking Bread...Not Bad! My adventure into baking our own bread began by my mistakenly buying "light" bread at the store. I have a sensitivity to any artificial sweeteners (as in they make me ill), so I happened to read the label a little more closely before I opened it. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Holy moly. I know, I know. I have read all the articles, heard all your voices. Natural is the way to go. Make your own foods. But y'all...I'm lazy, dontcha know?

Combine this reading exercise with the fact that my stand mixer now sits in the kitchen finally and has been seducing me with its shiny ways, gently calling my name...and I decided to bake my own bread. Nevermind that the yeast packets I'd gotten when I first had the idea were well "expired." I know about those dates too...scams, right? Thank goodness for the joys of social media! I posted the packets on Instagram and called out to the lovely ladies who actually are not lazy and bake your own bread. With their help, I figured out that dates on some packages are in fact a scam and got to Holly Homemakering it up. Add to this the scones I made on Sunday (because, hello, Downton Abbey is back), and I am now a domestic goddess in the making. It may be a very slow making, but here I go! 

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In the Shop: I've taken a bit of a break over the holiday, slacker that I am. I am about to take things back to full speed again with some new products and more of the mugs. Stay tuned as these start to be completed. If you want to follow along, you can find the shop on a separate Instagram page.

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Fighting the Good Fight: It seems like the holidays were filled with not the best of news. Cancer, death, you know, not the things that make your sing fa-la-la-la-la. Here are a few people who could use your help as they fight the good fight.

The Lenaburgs: Many of you know Mary and her dear Courtney, who went home to the Lord a few days after Christmas. While their immediate needs are met, there are approximately still about $27,000 in medical bills to be paid off, and if we could offer them a even little extra so their hearts and minds can rest and not have to think about provision at this time, wouldn't that be the best thing ever? If you feel called to donate, you can donate via PayPal or GoFundMe. While I only know Mary through her blog, her witness of selfless, unconditional, sacrificial love has impacted me deeply. Prayers for peace and healing as they grieve their beautiful daughter.

The Allors: Jaclyn is a friend of mine who was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 Uterine Cancer. Even after surgery, there is still a fight to be fought, and if anyone is gonna kick cancer's ugly butt, it is gonna be this lady! She is a fighter! Jaclyn has four children and piling medical bills, of course, so if you feel like you want to find out more about her or help them out, a friend has set up a GoFundMe in her honor.

The Coakleys: Paul and Ann are friends of Mary Wilkerson (of Let Love Be Sincere fame). Their story is just incredible in terms of the amount of fight they have had to bring. While their initial goals of fundraising have been met (praise God!), please go over to YouCaring or GoFundMe to read more and give more if you feel called, or simply add them to your prayers. They are fighting one heck of a fight.


That's all for this week. Now let's get out there and love 'em all like Jesus!

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Hail, Full of Grace

Painting by Cano.

The Immaculate Conception is by far one of my favorite holy days of "obligation" in the Church. I think for me the wonder and the possibility of that moment captures every corner of my imagination (as though my imagination was a box with lots of corners). Can you imagine? From the beginning of time, God had already had in mind the role He had for Mary in the history of salvation. 

Hail, full of grace. 

Painting by Rubens

Mary had to be created in a special way, set apart from all other human creation. She would bear God in her womb. She had to be created immaculate to carry the Christ child, the Savior, our Redeemer and hers next to her heart. 

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,and you shall name him Jesus.

Painting by Antolinez

Mary, the mother of God, created without sin, didn't simply bow her head and say, "You got it!" She was taken by surprise at the news of the angel. She was in awe of what was being said to her and asked of her. In her perpetual state of grace, she met that awe and bewilderment with reverence and docility to the work of the spirit. But she appeared to be taken aback just the same. "Do not be afraid," the angel said to her. "You have found favor with God." In her stupor, what immense faith Mary had to even think this possible. In her undefiled soul, God had prepared her from the time she was even thought of for exactly this, to be receptive in this moment, to believe in this moment. 

As it was with the virgin mother two thousand plus years ago, it is with us. While we have not been prepared immaculately to bear in our womb the Savior of the world, we have each been prepared for some specific purpose by God from the moment we were thought of by Him. He says to us what the angel said to Mary, though perhaps it begins a little differently. 

Perhaps to me it sounds more like, "Hail Rakhi, with a bit of grace..." 

Yet, He says the same thing to each one of us. "Do not be afraid. You have found favor with God. Behold, you will..." That's the challenge isn't it - to be docile to the Spirit that is calling us to cooperate with God's plan? To discern how God has prepared us to participate in the work of salvation is a lifelong endeavor. Some days the whispers are difficult to decipher, and other days the angel is loud and clear. Sometimes we hear that call and cower in fear. "Not me, I'm not good enough, I'm not smart enough, I'm not holy enough, I'm not {enter disqualifier here} enough, I'm not enough."

That angel says to us, "Be not afraid. You, yes YOU, in all your mess, in all your sin, in all your brokenness, YOU have found favor with God and He has a plan for you. A beautiful, wonderful, seemingly daunting, fulfilling plan just for you. You will not know all the details, but you can trust that at the end of the day it will play a part in His plan to redeem the world and draw you back to Him for all of eternity. You have found favor with God."

Happy Advent!

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WIWS: Adorning the Temple

After what seems like roughly 3.14159 million light years, I am back with a What I Wore Sunday post and linkup with the ladies at Fine Linen & Purple. Without further ado, here is what I wore to Mass:

Sweater: Target clearance

Scarf: Florence, Italy on our honeymoon

Skirt: Thrifted

Tights: really old

Boots: DSW

Glasses: Costco

Hair: Waved ... it's my new thing.
Porch Decor: Still Halloween, though a squirrel took a bite out of Raphael there.

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“It doesn’t make sense to call ourselves ugly, because we don’t really see ourselves. We don’t watch ourselves sleeping in bed, curled up silent with our chests rising & falling with our own rhythm. We don’t see ourselves reading a book, eyes fluttering and glowing. You don’t see yourself looking at someone with love and care in your heart. There’s no mirror in your way when you're laughing and smiling and pure happiness is leaking out of you. You would know exactly how bright and beautiful you are if you saw yourself in the moments where you are truly your authentic self.”

– Unknown (shared by Hallie on the Moxie Wife FB page)

That quote popped up on my Facebook feed this morning and made me cry. Thanks, Hallie. :)

It has been awhile since I have really taken the time to intentionally dress for Mass. Last week I got tired of just throwing on clothes and running out the door, and this week, I connected the dots of the transformation that had taken place in me since I had last participated. Oddly enough, the lightbulb went on when I was in Target and was uninterested in accessories or clothing for myself. That Target is a magical place...

While some of that disinterest is from a place of craving more simplicity, some of it really is borne out of frustration that I feel frumpy or dowdy in most anything I wear. I do not feel good about myself when I look in a mirror, and so I simply throw on something that looks okay and move on about my day. I've been so focused on the outside that I didn't stop to think about how it was connected with what was going on in my heart. 

In my last post, I talked about the chaos that seems to be ruling the day. It is unsettling for me to live in chaos, and to be so unsettled interiorly quickly leads to a downward spiral into apathy. It becomes all too overwhelming and I begin to shut down. I stop putting in effort on myself, on my home, on my dreams, and even in my prayers. It is a dangerous place, but faced with exhaustion mentally, physically, and spiritually, I go into bare minimum mode. 

It is also amazing how bringing something into the light and laying it at the foot of the cross truly begins another transformation. Things are still chaotic, but we are making progress on that front. As things in the home become more orderly, and I make more of an effort to provide the tiniest bit of structure to my prayer life even if it doesn't quite appear robust, I begin to see again how the exterior can influence the interior and vice versa. Sometimes it is precisely when I feel the worst that I need to make an effort to look my best so I can remind myself that I am the temple of a living God. God is alive in me even when I feel like death warmed over. As such, I must adorn that temple in a way that reminds me and everyone else that the Holy Spirit is alive and well...and not a frump.

Brothers and sisters: You are God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy. 1 COR 3:9C-11, 16-17

I owe the One who gave everything for me everything I have. That includes my misery, my unrest, my sadness, and my frustration. It is in those things that I am most united with my Jesus on the cross, and it is in that unity that any suffering, real or perceived, is put into perspective. It is in those moments that I am reminded that I am a stranger in a strange land and that my true home will be in heaven. 

No, I am not healed from whatever is plaguing me at the moment. I am sick, and I am exhausted. I still feel like a bit of a misfit in my body and in my life despite the fact that I really do recognize just how blessed I am. I love my husband and my children - God gave me all I had been desiring. This isn't a plea for pity, though I will take prayer. I am, however, recommitted to offering everything to the One who is everything to me...and to making sure He remains everything to me. He is the air I breathe, He is my joy, my energy, my blessing, my hope, my direction, my dream, my consoler, my source of the love I want to feel and give. I surrender all to Him, over and over and over until it becomes second nature, which may take eternity for this little control freak of a mama!

Suscipe

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,

my memory, my understanding,

and my entire will,

All I have and call my own.

You have given all to me.

To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is yours; do with it what you will.

Give me only your love and your grace,

that is enough for me.

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Simple Sunday Snapshot {9.21.14}

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD. Isaiah 55:8

Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:15-16

My first and immediate response whenever I read and hear this passage is a sigh of relief. Procrastinators still have hope!! 

In all seriousness, I was once told by a "cradle Catholic" as I was trying to learn the intricacies of the faith and the reason behind its teachings that really, I'd never actually be Catholic since I wasn't born into it. 

Bite your tongue. I surely did. Let's not even get into that whole go to all the nations, preach the Gospel, and baptize everyone business.

While that is an extreme example, I do think that we all risk being lured into a trap of spiritual superiority. I notice it in myself at Mass. Someone STILL doesn't know the new responses. Look who's waking in right before the Gospel. 

Here's the kicker. Jesus came to offer the gift of salvation to all of us, whether we've been following from the beginning or whether we are walking in at the 2 minute warning or sneaking onto the field at the final buzzer. So that person who just doesn't get it? If they're still drawing breath, they've got time, and we'd better be in the business of helping them instead of pointing fingers.

Sure, it doesn't seem fair some days. We struggle to stay faithful for all our days and someone had a deathbed epiphany of repentance and they're offered the exact same mercy and grace as the rest of us. 

That's just what we hear in Isaiah. We aren't supposed to get it. His ways are not our ways. Instead of trying to understand His boundless and timeless mercy while our eyes are still veiled in a fallen world, we do better to trust that He treats us all with equal mercy, even when we stumble in our foolishness. Instead of comparing our piety and worth with those around us, we do better to simply get to work in the business of the Kingdom so when He comes to pay us, we are there, and not at the water cooler rolling our eyes. (Do they even have water coolers anymore?) 

So let's get to work this week, and remember, if we are a bit sluggish or late to the game, Jesus is still there waiting with the fullness of His mercy, His love, and His grace.

Blessings!

Rakhi