Nothing is worth doing that is not worth doing badly. So, I will continue blogging.
Perhaps I should have called this Confessions of a Busy Catholic. With a full-time job and two kids in school, I'm not sure when I thought I would have time for this. But I'll forge ahead.
Yesterday, I went to Mass on my lunch break. My job is not terribly busy. In fact, I sometimes have a little extra time on my hands, yet I still find it hard to drag myself out to noon Mass.
First, I often give in to the temptation to eat lunch too close to Mass time, thus counting myself out of receiving the Eucharist.
Then, I think how inconvenient it is to walk to my car and drive away from campus (I work on a secure campus.).
The next challenge is finding a parking spot in a seedy part of town that caters to bonding companies and small law offices. Of course I need to have change for the parking meter and be willing to walk 4-6 blocks to the chapel inside St. Peters.
Really, after all the martyrs went through, the fact that I give in to these challenges sometimes is quite humbling. But yesterday, I didn't. Yesterday, I went to Mass and I had the pleasure of hearing the gospel about forgiving 70 times 7.
And I finally got it; I understood the message of forgiveness. How the one who is forgiven much loves much. And I realized that I have to forgive those who injure me because God forgives me when I injure him. And I injure him whenever I sin, although he has blessed me so abundantly. That realization was worth the inconvenience of getting out on a gray, cold day and finding a parking meter so I could walk to Mass at St. Peter's.
It was worth the inconvenience for the blessing of drawing close to God in the middle of America, where we are often too distracted by our IPODs and American Idol to pay attention to the most important thing.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
First Confession
I am having a heck of a time figuring out how to post photos on this blog. So, first things first -- I am not all that web-savvy. Still, I will blog forth.
A clarification -- Practical Catholic means living a faithful Catholic life while living a regular life of working, paying bills and raising kids. We are not close to perfect, but we do our best.
Take yesterday, for example: Son threw a kid's flashlight at Daughter, hitting her on the head, where she had previously bumped it on the ceiling while jumping down the stairs. These are basically good kids who rarely get into trouble. Son received some Fatherly discipline. And I off-handedly said, "He can go to confession with me; I was planning to go anyway and he's a little overdue." My husband said he was overdue, as well.
The next thing I knew, all four of us were in the station wagon headed to Confession. I can't remember the last time the whole family went, but it was good. A great exercise for Lent and I reminded the kids in the car that confession is not about feeling guilty; it's about receiving the forgiveness of Christ. It is also a great exercise in humility. I always feel better afterward and the kids said that they did, too.
Today, Sunday, I took Daughter to the Mohter-Daughter program our diocese puts on for girls ages 10-12 about God's plan for growing up and becoming, well, a woman. I don't think it was truly new information for her but I think it was good for her to see that all the other girls her age are having those issues and questions, as well.
Son got to go to a Knights of Columbus function wtih his dad (An appreciation dinner for the religious sisters in our diocese) and help with the dishes, etc. Now, we are getting to jump into the very busy-ness of the week. Maybe sometime this week I will figure out how to post pix, etc.
A clarification -- Practical Catholic means living a faithful Catholic life while living a regular life of working, paying bills and raising kids. We are not close to perfect, but we do our best.
Take yesterday, for example: Son threw a kid's flashlight at Daughter, hitting her on the head, where she had previously bumped it on the ceiling while jumping down the stairs. These are basically good kids who rarely get into trouble. Son received some Fatherly discipline. And I off-handedly said, "He can go to confession with me; I was planning to go anyway and he's a little overdue." My husband said he was overdue, as well.
The next thing I knew, all four of us were in the station wagon headed to Confession. I can't remember the last time the whole family went, but it was good. A great exercise for Lent and I reminded the kids in the car that confession is not about feeling guilty; it's about receiving the forgiveness of Christ. It is also a great exercise in humility. I always feel better afterward and the kids said that they did, too.
Today, Sunday, I took Daughter to the Mohter-Daughter program our diocese puts on for girls ages 10-12 about God's plan for growing up and becoming, well, a woman. I don't think it was truly new information for her but I think it was good for her to see that all the other girls her age are having those issues and questions, as well.
Son got to go to a Knights of Columbus function wtih his dad (An appreciation dinner for the religious sisters in our diocese) and help with the dishes, etc. Now, we are getting to jump into the very busy-ness of the week. Maybe sometime this week I will figure out how to post pix, etc.
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