The boys play sports, they watch sports, they talk about sports, they probably dream about sports! Since they love it so much, it is a great tool to teach them about other things in life. One day a thought popped in my head, so driving to Good Shepherd this Wednesday I decided to try it out and I asked, “What do you think is more important, the practice or the game?”
Last weekend on our final day of Level I formation for Good Shepherd, a super-charged, emotional, and sensitive topic came up during break. No, it wasn't politics. It was Santa Claus...
The poor tax collector stood in the back not to be hidden, but because he was fully exposed to the God who made him. Because of this, he could not even raise his eyes. There, in the gaze of the God of the Universe, he was laid bare and begged for mercy. He knew who he was, but more importantly, he knew who he wasn't: he was not God.
I have to admit... I would never in a million years have thought to do that when I was 11 years old. Rosaries were prayed by the old people in church and when someone died. I figured I would probably grow up and pray the rosary, but not "now." Right?
Sibling rivalry. It's a thing. There might be some families where the siblings don't struggle to get along, but I'm pretty sure they live in a faraway land called "Nowhere."
"Why are you crying?!" I asked a particularly distraught child one day, as she was finishing a Popsicle I had given her. "(Cousin's name) is playing with my [insert favorite-toy-of-the-day here]!" Okaaaay. Let's leave aside the fact that its' a beautiful day at the playground, all of us are healthy, we're snacking on yummy sugary treats, and we get to be with our cousins. God's in His Heaven, kiddo, and all is right with the world. But, for this little girl, all was not right with the world. She doesn't have a particular THING and it was making her miserable.
"Wait. You're bringing ALL of your kids?" Well, it was tempting to find a sitter and attend the upcoming Christ Our Life conference (September 24th-25th at Wells Fargo Arena!) like a "date" with my husband, but we decided to splurge and bring all of the kiddos for a couple of reasons...
"What did you say?" I made a rule many years ago that if my children mumbled something inaudible, especially if it seemed as though it was unkind, they would have to repeat it again until I could hear it properly. "Nothing," is sometimes the reply I get. But it's never nothing.
World Youth Day Reflections This day was singular in World Youth Day history in that it took place during the Year of Mercy in the Land of Divine Mercy. Our pilgrimage was a reflection on God's inexhaustible fountain of mercy and forgiveness.
World Youth Day Reflections... July 25, 2016 was the day that I hired a new tour guide for my life: my guardian angel. I know that my angel has “led and guided” me my whole life, but this whole trip to Poland taught me that every “wrong turn” has something to offer.
It would be impossible to recount the many adventures, misadventures, and spiritual experiences of this incredible event in our lives: World Youth Day 2016. Suffice it to say it will take long reflection to fully realize the fruits of such a sojourn. But since so many of you were following our journey and not so many of you were able to follow us on our Facebook Page (Family Fiat: World Youth Day 2016), I wanted to assure you that we did make it there and back again safely, though we are not quite the same people that left you three weeks ago. (That's a good thing, I suppose).
"How about this: you kids look at me right before Communion, and if I give "the nod" then you'll know to just keep walking out the door instead of coming back to our pew?"
World Youth Day 1993 in Denver was perhaps the most life-changing experience I have had. I was 14 years old, and my mom was one of the chaperons. The debt of gratitude I owe to the great Polish Pope has been drawing my heart back to WYD ever since, though until now, it has not happened. I knew that the clock was ticking for how long I could physically handle the "youth" part of this event, so when I saw the location was POLAND, well... I set my heart on it.
My parents didn't write articles about their brilliant ideas for instilling Gospel values in their children, they just lived it. But it goes to show that the simple ways that parents live their faith have life-long effects on their children...
I hope that the whole parish will join me in welcoming our new parish sacristan, Robert Thacker. Robert is a ten year old young man who has been in our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program for three years now. His mother, Diane, gave me permission to share with you the story about how he came to serve our parish in this way.
Sometimes we adults get a little caught up in the hows and whys and complications of faith. We see evil and we are scandalized, we experience suffering and we are jaded. Is God really there? Does He really love us at all? But that beautiful day in May 2012, the simplicity of a child cut through all of the big words and big ideas and explained the great Sacrament we celebrate this weekend (Corpus Christi) as one simple concept: Love.
