Please pray for the soul of my great-grandmother, who died early this morning. She has had Alzheimer’s for a long time. She refused to eat for several days, and refused to drink for the past few days. She received the Anointing of the Sick yesterday. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Life has been so busy. How many times have I said that? It is hard to put things in perspective and see if I am actually busier now than I have been in the past. Something to muse on…
School is keeping me very busy. The amount of homework can be overwhelming, and is often necessary that I remind myself (other people take it upon themselves to remind me as well) that it will all work out somehow. This past Tuesday I had a two-hour presentation to give with a group of myself and three others; it primarily ended up just being three of us. There were a few other things going on as well…so last week was extremely stressful. Monday night I was shaking and went to bed feeling like a truck hit me because my muscles had been so tense all day. However, we survived–and I think we did okay. Then, I had to try to finish the homework that had been put off because of working on the presentation. I still feel quite backlogged on homework, but at least there isn’t much due this week.
This past Friday was fun. Our Thursday class got moved to Friday, so I had to get up and go to morning Mass–because of what I needed to get done for the evening. So…up at 7:15am, leave for Mass at 8:15am, came back to pack up my bags for class, class from 10am-1pm, came back and got started with baking. I made two coffee cakes and two pans of banana bread, and then cleaned our kitchen. It looked absolutely scrumptious in our kitchen: all the counters were clean and covered with baked goods. What was the baking for, you ask? It was for the swing dance that my roommate and I organized! After a short rest-of-the-eyes (not quite a nap) I packed everything up, and we headed over to the school to set up. I played around on the organ for a bit; then a few people arrived and the dancing began. Even though I was not able to dance as much as I would have liked (I kept getting dizzy, for some reason…) I had fun, and enjoyed watching other students learning to dance. 🙂
At about 10pm, the power went out. Unfortunately, that meant that there was no more music; however, the fun continued. We were entertained by some of the guys (I hesitate to call them “gentlemen” in reference to this incident) jumping over chairs, each other, and some innocent bystanders. This resulted in many amusing photographs, where it appears that they are suspended in mid-air. There were also a few photographs taken of me which can be used to scare anyone who knows me. Primarily ones in which it looks like I am attacking the fire from a lighter.
Yesterday was a Mass with Bishop Cordilione and then a rosary procession at the abortion mill. It was hot, but good. The rest of the day was spent resting and doing homework … then last night was a talk/dinner where we heard Fr. Saroki’s vocation story.
Today is hot. It has been in the 90s most of the day, with 5% humidity. The air conditioning takes care of the heat, but I still can find opportunity for complaint in the dryness. :p Earlier this afternoon there was a relatively small fire that was close, but fortunately did not cause any mandatory evacuations.
So…this week, I have a lot to do. A lot of homework to be worked on, and several other activities to use my time. I hope you all have a blessed time, and if I don’t get a chance to write much for another 10 days, please forgive me…and pray for my sanity.
God bless and Mary keep you all.
Please say a prayer or two for me this week. I have been quite stressed, primarily due to a large amount of homework. There is a presentation looming, and lots of other reading and footwork to do. I’ll survive, but need a bit of grace to do it. God bless and Mary keep you all. 🙂
Today was a beautiful day.
It didn’t start off the greatest, but improved as the day went by. I woke around 7am to do some hurried cleaning for room checks and last minute homework before running out the door to walk to school. The beginning of our first class was hard for me to follow, but I think I am starting to get the hang of it; the second half wasn’t as bad. Then we hurried to get the classroom ready for Mass. I am the assistant sacristan, and so I carry a candle to the chapel to bring the Eucharist back for Holy Communion…every so often there are moments in which I realize the awesomeness of what I have the privilege of doing. I carry the lamp before the King; St. Patrick’s prayer “Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ all around me…” went through my head as we returned the Blessed Sacrament to the Tabernacle, and it holds completely true. Christ was before me in the Tabernacle, behind me in the Ciborium, and within me since I had just consumed the Eucharist. Such a thought brings immense joy!
Our second class starts immediately following Holy Mass. We were discussing the early Church Fathers, and we discussed St. Polycarp. Then we watched Pope Benedict XVI’s address to the Bishops over EWTN Live. During the entire discourse I was extremely excited and happy. So happy, in fact, that I ran to the chapel as soon as class was over–and then skipped and laughed in the parking lot. The excitement runs high because of being part of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, as well as being part of the United States of America. And being a young person, with so much before us to influence…hope that it can be done, with much prayer and sacrifice…that I can be one person that God uses to bring blessing to the world, His beautiful creation. God is so good…
When we left, Daniel took me to see a pond that he recently discovered. We had just begun walking when two little boys enlisted our assistance in getting their boat our of the water. They were there with their Mom and little brother, and the remote controlled boat had run low on its only fuel–batteries. As a result, it had become stranded, out of reach. We helped them dig up rocks to throw and create waves to bring it to one of the shores of the pond, finally being successful. However, it was so much fun to all parties involved, that the rock digging and throwing continued. We talked in the midst of the activities, and had a lovely time.
Now I am writing…and glowing from overwhelming happiness…and know not what to say now except:
So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Pray and work for intimacy with Christ, and you will be surprised with what He sends you!
The quarter is well underway. We have begun the third week of classes, and they have proved to be much better than our last set. Although it is a lot of time-consuming work, most of it is enjoyable. My first group presentation is next Tuesday, so that is getting worked on; my icon has been chosen for my research paper; and my second group has the presentation topic chosen and the application work has begun.
It is funny how the story of my life seems to stay so much the same, and yet is so different. One year ago today was the reception of the novices into the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary. I sat with happiness for them, but a certain sadness because I didn’t feel like I had a direction for my life. I desired to know with certainty where I would go, what I would do; and many times, I still do feel like that. However, right now I know what I must do for today; and have only to trust God to give me the grace to fulfill that. And remember that God is bigger than any of my mistakes, and has the power to bring good out of anything.
The optimism in this post is not to say that life is without its struggles. Quite the contrary! I recently started dating a certain gentleman 🙂 which brings a whole new front to the battlefield. I have had extreme bouts of homesickness…I miss my family, the Shrine, friends, thunderstorms, and rain. The battle of prayer continues. I was sick (with a cold) and have been tired a lot lately. And homework still takes a lot of effort (which I don’t expect to change). Yet amidst all this, I must say that I am peaceful. God is good, even when He hides from me in daily happenings.
The sun has been shining a lot lately; very warmly, I might add. It is so blazing hot that I feel like I am burning as soon as I step out in it! The past few days it has gotten up in the 80’s and 90’s. I do not like heat, so have been staying indoors or in the shade. Fortunately it is forecasted to be cooler for the coming week! I shall spend more time outside and keep up my tan. 😀
This past Friday, there was a women’s night. We tied baby-sized quilts to be used in layettes for needy moms. It was very enjoyable! I made two; the first one I experimented and made a simple pattern with three colors of yarn…the second one I didn’t have much time for, so I did it quickly to finish. I haven’t done any sewing or crafts for quite awhile, so it was good to get my fingers on some fabric again. Hopefully I can get some yarn soon, and attempt to crochet some potholders.
Now off to read some of St. Augustine’s Confessions, praying the rosary, saying night prayer and then…blessed sleep. Please keep me in your prayers; you all are in mine. God bless and Mary keep you!
Here are some Bible passages that I have been meditating on a lot in the past few weeks:
“Yes, and I shall rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I shall not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.” ~ Philippians 1:19-26
“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I now in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
May God give me the grace to love perfectly, that I may live for Christ….
A Joy to Love 