Jesus In Disguise?

This morning was the first Friday of the month.  My parish has Eucharistic Adoration on those days.  After I dropped Matt off at school, I headed over to my church.  I wasn't really "in the mood" to pray, so I brought a book with me.

Once inside, I said hello to Jesus, mentioned a few intentions, and started praying the rosary.  I don't know about you and your experience with Adoration, but my mind wanders.  Like crazy.  I think about what I'm going to do after I leave, what to have for dinner, and how certain people annoy me.

Nice.

After a few minutes I kept hearing what sounded like two people talking to each other.  I tried to ignore it, figuring it wouldn't go on for long.  But it didn't stop.  The longer it lasted, the more annoyed I became.  Didn't they know I was trying to determine if the ground beef I had in the fridge was still usable?   I mean, I feel badly when my jacket rustles when I walk in.  Who did they think they were making so much noise?

I recited my rosary....grumpily, in my head, without making a sound.

About the time I reached the Fifth Joyful Mystery is when I realized the loud whispers were coming from one person.  It was the lady in the pew in front and to the right of me.  I was able to watch her inconspicuously.

At times I would hear words like "my niece",  "Jesus", "Love you".  It was someone's deep conversation with Jesus that was causing me my negative attitude.  (Actually, I think I walked in with one.)

I went from being annoyed to being jealous.  I want that.  I want that intimate relationship with the Lord.  I looked down at my rosary guide.

The Fifth Joyful Mystery....The Finding in the Temple.  

Fruit of the Mystery:  JOY In Finding Jesus. 

 I would say my faith was at it's strongest back in 2008.  Bill and I had attended our parish retreat and my faith was strengthened tremendously.  One of my daily prayers back then was the Divine Mercy Chaplet.  I prayed and watched it every day at 3 o'clock for months on EWTN.  You could say it was then that I reached my peak in the Joy department.  But like many things I start, I stopped this routine.  Since then, I have never been able to get back to that height.

Today after I left the chapel, I stopped across the hall to visit the parish library.  A man who had been in the chapel came in right behind me.  He made small talk and then suggested, out of the blue, for me to take a pamphlet on the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Wow.  Through my grumpiness in that chapel, God read my heart.  He knew what I wanted (and needed) after seeing that woman.  He sent that man into the library for me. (By the way, he didn't look at anything in the library and left as quickly as he came in)

I think I just got my very own personal nudge from God.  What do you think?




 

Decisions, Decisions

 THE TOP TEN PHRASES GOING THROUGH MY MIND THIS WEEK:

10. Every once in a while life throws us a curve ball.

 9. The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray.

 8.Stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 7. Catch 22

 6.%#%* happens!

 5. Six in one; half dozen in the other.

 4. Back to square one.

 3. It's a toss up.

 2. On the fence.

 And my personal favorite:

1. If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans!

 Bill and I are facing a tough work-related decision. Not to worry. We are prayerfully considering our options. Whatever we decide we'll be okay because our hearts are in the right place.

 I'm reminded of this bible verse:

 "For I know the plans I have for you; plans to give you hope and a future"  Jeremiah 29:11

The Simple Things

  Ever since I got my new camera the kids ask more and more for me to take their picture. I think their hope is that they'll make it to the blog. They asked me to get my camera tonight, so I snapped a few shots during our bedtime routine, mentioning that their hair was not particularly blog-worthy.

 Today was one of those days that seemed to go on forever. I have to admit I was a bit irritable and snapped at every little thing. You'd never know it by the way the kids were acting tonight. They were so happy and goofing around a lot. They seemed to ignore my pleas for peace and quiet and went on laughing and giggling. After a while I just had to give in and laugh with them.

  At bedtime I sometimes do something my Mom used to do to me. I wrap them up in their covers coccoon-like and say "snug as a bug in a rug". Not sure if this is a universal saying. You may know it too. However, my kids love it when I do it. It's one of those simple things that means so much to them. I know this because it's a fond memory for me too. Anyway, I did this tonight and as I was walking  out of the room and down the hall I heard Ann say to Mary, "I love my Mom." She didn't say this for me to hear, but I did.

  And isn't that the way it always seems to go? When you feel like you'd come in last place for Mother of the Year, one of your lovies just comes out with something that melts your heart. She still loves me after all of the griping I did today. No wonder Jesus loves the little children. They are much like Him. Unconditional love.  And THAT is blog-worthy!

Hail Mary

 In what seems like a long, long time ago I went to Catholic School. It was a great experience for me. I had nice teachers, a great group of friends ( 5 of whom I still call "best" friends ) and a tight knit class. There are  so many fond memories I have of school, especially grade school.

  Like any normal child, I looked forward to the times we took a break from regular class time to do something different. Maybe it was going to the choir loft to practice singing hymns for Friday mass; or watch a movie, or go on a field trip. But, when it came time to recite the rosary, I remember getting really nervous. This is why: Our desks were set up in rows and we went in order taking turns saying the prayer that was next. I remember vividly counting ahead to try to figure out what prayer I'd have to say when it got to be my turn. I didn't want to accidentally say 9 or 11 Hail Mary's!! That would be embarrassing.

   Since then, I've grown a lot more attached to saying the rosary, and there is no anxiety with it at all. Tonight I gathered the children in the living room to pray. And although they don't have the anxiety that I had all those years ago, they do still grumble and grouse about it. But it's my duty as a Mom to pass along the faith that my parents gave to me. If anything at all, they see how much peace saying the rosary brings me and hopefully look to our  Blessed Mother for guidance now and in their adult life.

  The rosary ends with this prayer:   

               

  
  Let us pray. O GOD, who’s only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal life, grant, we beseech Thee, that meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. 

  AMEN.  


  


                

Holy Water

 Thanks to the encouragement of good and faithful friends, a few years back Bill and I went to our parish's annual retreat. At first I thought if I were able to get away with Bill for the weekend without our kids in tow, a parish retreat would be the last place I'd want to go. Turns out, it was one of the best decisions we've made.

  Since then, we've built many friendships with good people. Last night, we had a reunion of sorts. It took place at our friends' home. We started with mass. Now, since it's not my norm, I'm not really sure how I feel about having mass somewhere other than a church. But I have to say, it was all very reverent and a wonderful experience for our kids. An "altar" was set up in the family room and all the kids there had a front row seat to the transubstantiation. ( I had to google that ). It was a beautiful thing...so very intimate.

  The not-so-wonderful part for me was the pool party that took place afterwards. I have 5 children who can't swim but think they can. Since our priest friend Fr. Allen was there, I was tempted to ask him to bless the pool, and then maybe I could have relaxed a bit. Probably not.

  Here is a picture I took this morning. In the far distance on the right is our church. We are so blessed to be a part of such a great parish!