spirituality

Recent Catholic Mass changes are stupid

January 29, 2012

When I told Mark at church this morning that I was going to write a post about the new wording for the English Catholic Mass, he asked if I was going to write about how I can’t remember the changes and am always saying the wrong thing. I said, “Yes, that and the fact that the changes are stupid.” He looked at me with huge eyes and said “I’M going along with it and YOU’RE calling it stupid?” Well I am. Full implementation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition began around the United States and most of the English-speaking Catholic world...

“I don’t like mysteries”: Kid questions about heaven

July 19, 2010

Driving home the other day, Grace (5 and 3/4) and I had the following conversation. Grace: Can you really see planets? Me: Yes, you can see a couple of them sometimes. They look like really bright stars. Grace: Do people become stars when they die? Me: Some people believe that. Grace: But are they right? Me: I don’t know. Only God knows exactly what happens when people die. Grace: Simone’s hamster died. Do you think it went to Heaven? Me: Maybe. Grace: I think Heaven is on one of those planets. Do you think so? Me: I don’t know....

A calming knock at the door

May 1, 2010

Wednesday was a rough day. I don’t know why, it just was. By mid-afternoon, I was sitting surrounded by mess, overwhelmed with where to begin, frustrated with a computer problem and nearly in tears. I was about to send out a distress call on twitter. But before I could hit the enter key, there was a knock on the door. Crap. It was Judy, the Jehovah’s Witness who keeps showing up at my door because she took my politeness for interest the first time she came. At that point, though, I was willing to talk to anyone. Yeah, I...

38 is the magic number

January 21, 2010

Coincidence doesn’t seem a big enough word for this. Remember that we packed enough food the other night to feed 38 children? If you read the blog I linked to, you would see that local reporter Trish Van Pilsum has been writing about an orphanage with 38 children in it. It was one of the few buildings in Leogane, Haiti, spared in the earthquake. After yesterday’s magnitude-5.9 “aftershock,” Trish was told that “Feed My Starving Children in the Twin Cities has agreed to send 38 pallets of food specifically to Leogane.” If you haven’t read Trish’s posts yet, check...

Where God wants me to be

September 13, 2009

This was a modified version of a forward I received on Sept. 11 but it’s a good Sunday reminder that God has a hand in our lives, even when we don’t know it or are unhappy about it. Several people survived the Sept. 11 attacks because of: A child starting kindergarten; a child dawdling. A faulty alarm clock. Spilled food that required a change of clothes. Car troubles, accidents and late buses. Many other every day and maybe even irritating reasons. When I’m stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a phone … all the little...

Almost Advent

November 22, 2008

A friend who is way more crafty than I am made this FABULOUS Advent calendar. And it got me thinking about we will do this year. Though I’m repulsed by all the Christmas decorations already up everywhere, I am prepared to start planning for Advent, which begins a week from tomorrow (Nov. 30). We have an Advent wreath and maybe we’ll actually remember to light the candles this year. I am looking for something to do at the wreath though, rather than just lighting the candle and walking away. Anyone know of any preschool-age-appropriate prayers or activities to go...

The moral candidate — not as clear as it seems?

September 1, 2008

Warning: I’m going to talk politics. (I know. I’m a bit flabbergasted myself, but it’s hard not to think about November’s election with the Republican National Convention — or what’s left of it — happening just blocks from where I now sit.) So if you can’t stand another second of political angst, close the page now. I came across the Voter’s Guide for Serious Catholics on a friend’s blog. It calls these issues the five NON-NEGOTIABLE ISSUES, because they are intrinsically evil: abortion euthanasia homosexual “marriage” embryonic stem cell research human cloning (I’d like to know why they did...

this and that

April 10, 2008

Grace had her first real visit to the dentist yesterday. Didn’t think to take my camera; I could have made a cute scrapbook page. Sad face. But anyway, she did an awesome job. First, I had an exam (no cleaning) and Grace sat in a kid-sized chair next to me, just watching. I gave her a magazine but she just watched the whole time. Then it was her turn. She got into the chair and leaned back with no hesitation. They give patients big sunglasses to protect eyes from splashing and the bright light. Grace’s had Tigger on it....

to do: start a mom’s group

April 4, 2008

I mentioned this briefly in my rambling “open doors” post that nobody commented on, but here’s the whole mom’s group story. I’m putting on my serious hat, k? No, it’s not the only one I own. Last November I went on a retreat with some women from the nondenominational church where I’ve been attending a mom’s group for the past year and a half. Near the end of the retreat, we were all reflecting silently on how we were being called to serve other women in the church. By “the church,” our leaders meant Bethany in particular. And being...

Little People getting ‘the bite and the sip’

March 27, 2008

The other day Grace was playing with her Little People and told me they were going to go to church. I was in the kitchen for a while and came back to this: Grace: You missed it. They’re all in order already. Me: Where are they going? Grace: Back home, to their seats. Me: Oh, what were they doing? Grace: Getting the bite and the sip (as she mimes people receiving communion) Me: Why is that guy all alone? Grace: He’s the Jesus Me: No, Jesus lives in Heaven, not here with us. Grace: But he used to live...

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