Jan. 31, 2008
So here we are on the last day of January and you may be wondering what the three items in the title have to do with one another. Let me explain.
My dear husband, who will be 50 in the summer, has started Nutrisystem in order to lose around 50 pounds or so. It's all in the interest of health -- and permission to purchase a new (read different....we can't afford new) motorcycle on his 50th birthday. It's amazing that one month of food can fit into a foot locker-sized cardboard box. And it's providential that my husband and father-in-law installed new cabinets in the laundry room over the holidays as that is where the Nutrisystem food is stored. All in neat little boxes. Red for dinner, green for lunch, etc.
So, hubby is sticking to the diet so far (week 1) and losing a few pounds, but the box itself is worth its weight in gold. We have two children, 7 and 8, and they have turned the box into a time machine set for different times such as the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Columbus' time, Pocahontas' time, and, of course, dinosaur time. The box is complete with buttons which are accurately labeled. During breaks in homeschooling they travel to a different time and have adventures. I have to mention that these times correspond with the history dates they have so far memorized for homeschool. And their adventures are significantly augmented by their reading of the Magic Tree House books in which a brother and sister, ages 7 and 8, go back and time and have adventures. Funny how art imitates life in this case.
So, here in the cold heart of winter as we prepare to enter Lent, I am grateful for many things: For my husband's health, for my childrens' ability to be children and avoid the consumeristic appeal of Webkins and American Idol and video games. And I am grateful for imagination -- the forerunner of hope.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Screwtape Continued
Jan. 16, 2008
As promised, more excerpts from The Screwtape Letters and why they matter:
"You mentioned casually in your last letter that the patient has continued to attend one church, and one only, since he was converted, and that he is not wholly pleased with it. May I ask what you are about? ....Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhoood looking for the church that 'suits' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. The reasons are obvious. In the first place, the parochial organisation should always be attacked, because being a unity of place and not of likings, it brings people of different classes and psychology together in the kind of unity the Enemy desires (Enemy meaning God). The congregational principle on the other hand, makes each church into a kind of club, and finally if all goes well, into a coterie or faction.. In the second place, the search for a 'suitable' church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil."
In my first eight years as a Catholic (until we moved to VA), I attended only one parish except for the occasional visit to a friend's church. It was a little, un-lovely, cement-block parish in a Navy town full of regular people. It was not overwhelmingly friendly at first. But it was the closest Catholic church. We persisted in going, finally meeting people, getting involved in various ministries. The priest was sort of grouchy and we had several unwed mothers in the congregation. I learned a lot there, became a devout Catholic there, made wonderful friends and truly became part of a community that loved and forgave one another and tolerated each other's imperfections.
Unfortunately, the parish model does not exist where I live now. Not every town or neighborhood has a Catholic church. My husband and I alternate between the cathedral and the "ethnic" Catholic church around the corner which traditionally served African-Americans. Both churches have their good points. But neither seems to be a true community because both draw from all over the county. The point CS Lewis makes is one that I needed to hear again, however. I am not in the church to be a connoisseur. I am there as a student and a servant. No matter where I find myself, I can learn more and love the people I find there.
Thanks be to God.
As promised, more excerpts from The Screwtape Letters and why they matter:
"You mentioned casually in your last letter that the patient has continued to attend one church, and one only, since he was converted, and that he is not wholly pleased with it. May I ask what you are about? ....Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighbourhoood looking for the church that 'suits' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches. The reasons are obvious. In the first place, the parochial organisation should always be attacked, because being a unity of place and not of likings, it brings people of different classes and psychology together in the kind of unity the Enemy desires (Enemy meaning God). The congregational principle on the other hand, makes each church into a kind of club, and finally if all goes well, into a coterie or faction.. In the second place, the search for a 'suitable' church makes the man a critic where the Enemy wants him to be a pupil."
In my first eight years as a Catholic (until we moved to VA), I attended only one parish except for the occasional visit to a friend's church. It was a little, un-lovely, cement-block parish in a Navy town full of regular people. It was not overwhelmingly friendly at first. But it was the closest Catholic church. We persisted in going, finally meeting people, getting involved in various ministries. The priest was sort of grouchy and we had several unwed mothers in the congregation. I learned a lot there, became a devout Catholic there, made wonderful friends and truly became part of a community that loved and forgave one another and tolerated each other's imperfections.
Unfortunately, the parish model does not exist where I live now. Not every town or neighborhood has a Catholic church. My husband and I alternate between the cathedral and the "ethnic" Catholic church around the corner which traditionally served African-Americans. Both churches have their good points. But neither seems to be a true community because both draw from all over the county. The point CS Lewis makes is one that I needed to hear again, however. I am not in the church to be a connoisseur. I am there as a student and a servant. No matter where I find myself, I can learn more and love the people I find there.
Thanks be to God.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Grace Visible and Screwtape Revisited
Jan. 14, 2008
Here I am in wintry Wiconsin, where the sky and the ground match. Both are white. One is white with the falling snow and one with the fallen. And my sister lives in a little gray house near the railroad track with her husband and daughter, and grace and faith.
Actually, her daughter's name is Grace. And she is a beauty - almost six months old with the bluest eyes, fattest cheeks and pink skin. My sister is preparing to take the treatment for thyroid cancer. Nearly three years into their marriage, they have definitely had their share of difficulty. First a still birth, then a miscarriage. But then Grace. And my sister makes lists of things she is grateful for in spite of her difficulties. And her faith seems so strong still. The thyroid treatment is something to get through, like walking through a hallway. A difficult hallway but to a pleasant room on the other side. I can only wonder how I would respond to the situation. But she is handling it with grace and faith and it is my privilege to be here for one week to help out as needed. Of course, I miss my family and can't wait to see them on Saturday. But it is just a week. And I am blessed by Grace made visible.
Another blessing to me is the re-reading of that wonderful classic, Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I loaned out my two copies and haven't looked at it in a couple of years. A couple of passages have really jumped out at me and I quote them here. Keep in mind that the narrator is a devil and the Enemy to whom he refers is God:
"The Enemy allows this disappointment to occur on the threshold of every human endeavour....In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing. The Enemy takes this risk because He has a curious fantasy of making all these disgusting little human vermin into what He calls His "free" lovers and servants -- "sons" is the word He uses.,.... He therefore refuses to carry them, by their mere affections and habits to any of the goals which He sets efore them: He leaves them to "do it on their own." And there lies our opportunity. But also remember, there lies our danger. If once they get through this initial dryness successfully, they become much less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt."
And that is a much-needed reminder to me as my husband and I struggle with our transition to life in Virginia. It hasn't been fun and wonderful. Work has been hard. The Catholic culture in the area is minimal and very different than what we are used to. But the fact remains that it is an excellent opportunity for my husband, and there are Catholic churches in the area. Who said faith was going to easy? Not Christ nor any of his followers.
More on this great book later. But today I am grateful for C.S. Lewis, Grace, my sister, my family and my husband in particular.
Here I am in wintry Wiconsin, where the sky and the ground match. Both are white. One is white with the falling snow and one with the fallen. And my sister lives in a little gray house near the railroad track with her husband and daughter, and grace and faith.
Actually, her daughter's name is Grace. And she is a beauty - almost six months old with the bluest eyes, fattest cheeks and pink skin. My sister is preparing to take the treatment for thyroid cancer. Nearly three years into their marriage, they have definitely had their share of difficulty. First a still birth, then a miscarriage. But then Grace. And my sister makes lists of things she is grateful for in spite of her difficulties. And her faith seems so strong still. The thyroid treatment is something to get through, like walking through a hallway. A difficult hallway but to a pleasant room on the other side. I can only wonder how I would respond to the situation. But she is handling it with grace and faith and it is my privilege to be here for one week to help out as needed. Of course, I miss my family and can't wait to see them on Saturday. But it is just a week. And I am blessed by Grace made visible.
Another blessing to me is the re-reading of that wonderful classic, Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. I loaned out my two copies and haven't looked at it in a couple of years. A couple of passages have really jumped out at me and I quote them here. Keep in mind that the narrator is a devil and the Enemy to whom he refers is God:
"The Enemy allows this disappointment to occur on the threshold of every human endeavour....In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing. The Enemy takes this risk because He has a curious fantasy of making all these disgusting little human vermin into what He calls His "free" lovers and servants -- "sons" is the word He uses.,.... He therefore refuses to carry them, by their mere affections and habits to any of the goals which He sets efore them: He leaves them to "do it on their own." And there lies our opportunity. But also remember, there lies our danger. If once they get through this initial dryness successfully, they become much less dependent on emotion and therefore much harder to tempt."
And that is a much-needed reminder to me as my husband and I struggle with our transition to life in Virginia. It hasn't been fun and wonderful. Work has been hard. The Catholic culture in the area is minimal and very different than what we are used to. But the fact remains that it is an excellent opportunity for my husband, and there are Catholic churches in the area. Who said faith was going to easy? Not Christ nor any of his followers.
More on this great book later. But today I am grateful for C.S. Lewis, Grace, my sister, my family and my husband in particular.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Rediscovering Prayer
Jan. 6, 2007
I did not make any New Year's resolutions this year, but have begun recommitting myself to prayer in the New Year. I think it actually began on New Year's Day -- which is a holy day, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. That night I said the Rosary and every day since I have said the Rosary, even if it is 11:30 p.m. when I remember to do it. I feel like a person walking in the desert who has happened upon a stream of fresh water. And I wonder why I ignored that source of strength and refreshment so long.
My very first post on this blog was about the Rosary. It is truly the source of my conversion as I said it almost daily during my mother's illness in 1998.
When I had Olivia in 1999 ( and entered the Church), I didn't pray the Rosary daily, but I did pray throughout the day as any mother of a newborn might do. When I had two children under 2 years of age, my prayer life was a source of both spiritual refreshment and communion as I felt Jesus and Mary were my only constant companions in a life constrained and isolated by alternating napping and feeding schedules. And when my son's health prohibited me from going anywhere one winter, my prayer life increased again.
I am so much more myself and more serene when I pray, and the Rosary is my prayer of choice because it highlights all of the major points of Christ's life and Mary's interaction with them. It helps me to see Christ in others, and it helps me to see that Mary is truly a model for all mothers and women.
Last night, I saw something on television about the Liturgy of the Hours. I know nothing about that except it is the prayer of the Church, and the priests say it. But after Vatican II, lay people were also encouraged to say it, I think. I plan to try to learn more about that and to continue my commitment to prayer especially as I prepare to go to Wisconsin to help my sister.
I did not make any New Year's resolutions this year, but have begun recommitting myself to prayer in the New Year. I think it actually began on New Year's Day -- which is a holy day, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. That night I said the Rosary and every day since I have said the Rosary, even if it is 11:30 p.m. when I remember to do it. I feel like a person walking in the desert who has happened upon a stream of fresh water. And I wonder why I ignored that source of strength and refreshment so long.
My very first post on this blog was about the Rosary. It is truly the source of my conversion as I said it almost daily during my mother's illness in 1998.
When I had Olivia in 1999 ( and entered the Church), I didn't pray the Rosary daily, but I did pray throughout the day as any mother of a newborn might do. When I had two children under 2 years of age, my prayer life was a source of both spiritual refreshment and communion as I felt Jesus and Mary were my only constant companions in a life constrained and isolated by alternating napping and feeding schedules. And when my son's health prohibited me from going anywhere one winter, my prayer life increased again.
I am so much more myself and more serene when I pray, and the Rosary is my prayer of choice because it highlights all of the major points of Christ's life and Mary's interaction with them. It helps me to see Christ in others, and it helps me to see that Mary is truly a model for all mothers and women.
Last night, I saw something on television about the Liturgy of the Hours. I know nothing about that except it is the prayer of the Church, and the priests say it. But after Vatican II, lay people were also encouraged to say it, I think. I plan to try to learn more about that and to continue my commitment to prayer especially as I prepare to go to Wisconsin to help my sister.
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