Mary Did You Know?

Trust In God

I can't believe I haven't posted since February. Where has the year gone?

Formation has been advancing nicely. We're just finishing up Story of a Soul, which is one of my favorite books. I own the Audible version and 3 other versions. And the movie...Therese by Leonardo Defilippis. And a number of other books about or by St. Therese. It is facinating to read her letters. Everything was "little" then.

I hadn't heard of St. Therese until about 10 years ago when I finally got curious about who Mother Angelica was talking about. She mentioned "the little flower" quite often. I finally looked her up and fell in love with her little way. It was several years before I was introduced to the other Carmelite saints. All of which have their own appeal.

Her innocent look on life made me feel like that was something I could do. It didn't require any special knowledge or indepth understanding of theology. It just required one to trust in God. I could do that. Or so I thought.

Putting trust in God is much harder than it seems, but I've been working on it. There is a tendency to want to take control. How else will things get done if you don't do them yourself? Every time I take things into my own hands, they usually turn into disasters. For example, when I was looking for a job, I applied to everything that came along and every one of those potential jobs ended in failure. I couldn't understand it. I had the education and experience. Nothing panned out. I finally just threw my hands up and turned it over to God. I ended up with 2 jobs and several more job offers. One of those jobs is my current job at the place I was originally laid off from. God had a plan. I just needed to let him do his thing.

This job won't last forever, so I'm working on building my freelance writer business to support me. I am trying (keyword = trying) to leave it in God's hands to lead me where he wants to go. This might work better if I was a better listener and had some patience. But, I'm not and I don't, so it's a struggle. Lucky for me He is always there nudging me in the direction he wants me to go.

This Little Light of Mine I'm Gonna Let It Shine

Last fall I took on teaching religious ed. My class is a rambunctious bunch of 1st graders who, much to my disappointment, are very smart. I thought that by teaching 1st grade I would have it easy. Well, I thought wrong.

They come up with some of the most difficult questions to answer. Like, "How does grass grow?" and "Why can't men have babies?" I'm just not intellectually equipped to know how grass grows and I'm not touching the men having babies thing. Not with 1st graders anyway. I have no desire to get stoned by parents.

My 1st graders are so much fun, though. They are filled with energy and that innocents that is gone in older kids. At around 7 years old, they still have an interest in church and God and praying and being good. They accept that there is a right and wrong, a good and bad. It's such a nice change from the many adult Catholics who don't care what the church teaches.

I hope that I am passing on more than just information about our faith. I hope that I am passing on my love and commitment to God as well. I pray that when they get older, that love of God will burn just as bright as it does now.

We Three Kings Are Buried In Symbolism

This Christmas season, I have learned so many new things. Such as, it's been six months since I last posted (oops). And that there is meaning tied to the three gifts of the wise men. Here all this time, I just thought they were just expensive gifts. Guess I should have sung more than just the first couple verses of "We Three Kings" all these years. 

In formation, I'm reading "The Story of A Soul". I've read this book before (multiple translations), seen the movie, and listened to the audio version. Each time, something new pops out at me. Someday I hope to be able to live so at peace with giving over all control of my life to God as she did.

I was listening to the last part of the audiobook while I was researching Myrrh and something jumped out at me. Therese was describing the blood she was coughing up as a good thing. It wasn't a sad affair where she was afflicted by her illness. To her it was a blessing, a sign from God that he was calling her to him. If she lived today, her illness would be treated and she would have lived for many more years. I wonder how much we may have lost if she had not felt called to God's side.

In our modern world, we see illness as something horrible. Something that needs to be cured at all cost. We don't embrace death, but rather curse it and try everything possible to keep it at bay. How weak of faith we are to hold on so tight to things of this world. We should not forego finding cures for illnesses, but we should neither be afraid to leave this world, for what awaits us is so much better if we align ourselves with God.

If we had been there in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago, would we have accepted all of the gifts that the wise men brought? Or would we have pushed away the myrrh because it was a symbol of death? I'll admit I'd be a little freaked out if some magi predicted the death of my son, but I think I would accept it. We all die after all. I just don't think I would be quite so excited about death as Therese, though. But, then she is a saint and I am a long...long...long ways from where she was when she wrote "The Story of A Soul".

Merry Christmas!

Sisters! I bring to you the Adored,

The Eternal God, so small, so weak;

I plead for the Incarnate Word,

Because as yet He cannot speak.

To Jesus, exiled from His home,

The cruel world no shelter grants;

And so to Carmel's shade I come,

  To find the shelter that He wants.

Ever your praise, your tenderness,

Your welcome sweet, your warm caress,

Be for this Child!

Oh, burn with love, for He loves you,

   This Child, who is your God and Lord.

Pathetic mystery! He who begs, tonight, of you,

Is the Eternal Word!

Come then, my Sisters! without fear,

Each in her turn, to Jesus' feet,

Offering your love to Him most dear,

And you shall know His will so sweet,

Yes, I will tell you the desires

Of Jesus born amid the snow;

For you are pure as angels are,

And you can suffer too, you know!

Ever your cares, your suffering,

And all your joys so light of wing,

Be for this Child!

Oh, burn with love, for He loves you,

This Babe, who is your God and Lord!

Pathetic mystery! He who begs, tonight, of you,

Is the Eternal Word!

(From THE LITTLE DIVINE BEGGAR OF CHRISTMAS by St. Therese of Liseaux)

Wish I Had Learned Latin When I Was Young

A couple of years ago, I discovered the Latin Mass (or EF). It was new and interesting, but completely weird. I didn't understand the language nor the order of the Mass. I just watched everyone else and stood when they stood, kneeled when they kneeled and sat when they sat. The church was so quiet while the priest performed Mass with little input from the congregation. There was no chatting or kids playing in the seats. Everyone was focused on the Mass and being reverent. It was weird and I wasn't sure I would attend that Mass again.

Fast forward to today. I still occasionally attend the Latin Mass and now even recognize a few words. There is no hope left that I will ever figure out the order of the mass, but I keep trying. There is a beauty to the Latin Mass that isn't present in the Norvus Ordo (NO) Mass. I am greatful that Pope Benedict XVI (now Pope Emeritus) brought back this beautiful tradition.

I come from the lost generation of Catholics. We are the ones who never learned Latin, never learned the specifics of our faith and basically got short changed. It took me years, but I am now beginning to learn all of the things that I should have learned when I was younger. Only it is much harder this time around. Thanks to the internet and thousands of Catholic resources doing so is much easier.

Youtube is one of my favorite resources for all things Latin. You can view EF Masses, pray along with the rosary in Latin, learn a little Latin, and so much more.

What are your favorite Latin resources?

It's Official

There's me with Father. I am now officially accepted into formation to pursue study towards my first promise. It still doesn't seem quite real yet. I can't get over the idea that I need to step it up a notch now that I'm official.

To celebrate, we had this beautiful cake that was almost too pretty to cut into. It was just as yummy as it looked.




The best surprise was my formation partner returned and we have a new Aspirant as well. Our little community is growing.