Good Friday sorrow...

Bare altar on Good Friday at St. Joseph's Cathedral, Diocese of Buffalo

I hope that you are all having a very blessed and holy Good Friday. I am feeling quite melancholy today, and it ties into the suffering theme of the day, I suppose. I've known for a few weeks that the daughter of a good friend was diagnosed with cancer. It's been heavy on my heart, and the news coming out from the hospital via Facebook has been increasingly difficult, particularly today. They received some bad news yesterday. I'm just beside myself, and I can only imagine what her parents are going through. She's just 14, and her name is Julia. Would you wing up a prayer for her health and healing on this Good Friday? It is much appreciated.

On that solemn note, I'm not really in my happy writing place like I usually am when I compose these posts. So I'll keep it brief. But I did attend the Holy Thursday liturgy yesterday, and Henry accompanied me, which meant so much to me. It was an absolutely beautiful Mass. And my very favorite part? The end, with the Eucharistic procession, incense, and repose of the Blessed Sacrament in the side altar. And then the dramatic departure of the priest and deacon without a word. WOW. Powerful stuff, right there. I know that when Anne and I arrive for the Good Friday service at 3 pm, the altar will be bare and the main tabernacle open and empty. Very stark, and fitting.

It's a very gray and dreary day here in WNY, which also seems fitting. If you're able to attend your parish's Good Friday liturgy, that takes the place of Evening Prayer, should you be praying the Liturgy of the Hours this Holy Week. Magnificat, special Holy Week issue, to the rescue. ;-) I hope that you're able to take part in at least one of these beautiful Triduum liturgies, and write in and tell me all about it if you do. :)

I'll be home with the kids again on Monday, but I'll be sure to post about Easter weekend. I'm aiming to attend both the Vigil Mass and Easter morning. #Catholicnerd Until then, I hope that you all have a prayerful end to the Triduum and a beautiful start to the Easter season. Talk to you all on Monday.

A blessed Holy Thursday to all of you!

We have grass! Could spring finally be sprung?!

Hello all, and I hope that you're as excited about the start of the Triduum as I am! I'm home from work for the duration actually, through Easter Monday. A mini staycation of sorts. :) And I'm loving it, it's been a beautiful day here. So far today, I crammed in Morning Prayer, worked a bit on a pair of Easter socks that I'm knitting, then got ready so that the four of us could run a few errands. Mike's car needed a new battery, so we took care of that, and then went to Dinosaur BBQ for lunch. I'd never been there before, this franchise is new to our city, and HELLO! We'll be going there again. :0 Awesome beer on tap plus barbecue sandwiches? Yes, on all fronts. The kids liked it too, getting small barbecued sliders with homemade macaroni and cheese on the side. It was a huge hit.

Now we're home, Anne is napping, Henry is over at a friend's house, and I'm thinking ahead to the Mass of the Lord's Supper at 7 pm. This will be my very first time attending this liturgy, and I can hardly stand it, I'm so excited. My Triduum Fever has rubbed off on Henry and he has volunteered to go with me tonight, which should qualify as a miracle for somebody's cause of canonization, I'm thinking. I'm looking forward to that very much, and I'm hoping that I don't forget about Evening Prayer tonight, because that little enterprise has been going very well so far for the week. I attempted to pray a rosary in the car today while we were running errands, but with interruptions every 15 seconds of...:

"Mommy! What's that? Why is it taking so long, Mommy? Where are we going again? Mommy, Henry made a face at me! ARE WE THERE YET, MOMMY?!"

...I got through two mysteries. :0 Sometimes, that's all you can do. But I'm feeling spiritually bright eyed and bushy tailed for tonight's liturgy. Tomorrow, I doubt I'll do 7 Quick Takes, because I just won't have time, but I will check in with all of you briefly about how Holy Thursday Mass went. And then Anne and I will be attending the 3 pm Celebration of the Lord's Passion and Veneration of the Cross. Oh! And don't forget about the start of the Divine Mercy Novena tomorrow. :)

How is your Holy Thursday going, dear reader? *heart*

The Catholic Nook: Spy Wednesday

It's Wednesday of Holy Week, and suddenly we're on the heels of the Mass of the Lord's Supper! Time flies. Thus today, as I scrolled through my social media feeds, I noticed several mentions of Spy Wednesday. I thought to myself:

"I wonder what that means?!"

And this is one of the many things I love about being Catholic - it doesn't matter how many years I've done this thing, there are still always new and fascinating tidbits to learn!

So, Spy Wednesday. The explanation was simpler than I anticipated, but no less profound. As this is the day prior to Holy Thursday, it is the occasion on which we remember how Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus by going to the high priest and negotiating information in exchange for 30 pieces of silver. The Synoptic Gospels record this scene in Matthew 26:14-16, Mark 14:10-11, and Luke 22:1-6. Ominous music is playing in the background as we draw closer to the Last Supper. :) It is also the day the Scriptures note (Matthew 26:613, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:1-19) that Jesus was in the home of Simon the leper, and anointed with expensive perfume by a woman who was also present. Lots of foreboding right there. As I was looking for information on Spy Wednesday, I read on several sites that this day is marked in Poland with a tradition of dragging a three dimensional representation of Judas through the streets.

We now all know what Spy Wednesday is all about, horray! For my part this Holy Week, I've been like the Little Engine That Could with my Divine Office app, trying to squeeze in Morning and Evening Prayer each day. I'm on the reference desk right now, and I forgot to pray Morning Prayer before I came down (oops!) so that will be prayed when I get back to my office at 11 am. Not exactly on a monastery schedule, but for a laywoman I do what I can. ;-) I've also been trying to think more deeply about the mysteries of the rosary as I pray them, but yesterday as I prayed in the car, I managed to get my Bl. Mother Teresa rosary entangled in my *steering column* as I drove. Right, I was turning a corner, it was REALLY bad timing, *and* was I trying to rewind the Catholic podcast I had on in the background. Is God trying to tell me that I do too much multitasking? I wouldn't be surprised. :) At any rate, I broke my rosary, and had to make a trip to JoAnn's for replacement chain to make it up to poor Bl. Mother Teresa. I've promised her that this will never happen again. :0

How is your Holy Week going dear reader?

*Photo from Patheos

"OW! ANNE!! Be careful with your palm!!" Adventures with my young at Palm Sunday Mass...

AAANNNDDD so began our Palm Sunday Mass experience in a way that I can only characterize as *completely expected.* ;-) But let's rewind back to the very early morning...

I have been looking forward to Holy Week for months and months. And Palm Sunday, being the first liturgy, has a special place in my heart. :) I woke up with an actual excited feeling in my stomach that Holy Week was beginning. I got out my phone and used the Divine Office app to pray Morning Prayer. It was all so glorious I could hardly stand it. Breakfast went well, and then we did our usual morning chores and then getting ready for Mass routine. I wore red, just so that I could match the liturgical color of the day. :0 Then...

Super cute, dramatic offender #1, pictured here in the forefront...

 The children started fighting, which 100% of the time translates to Henry being bored and thus filling his time doing things he knows will annoy Anne, and Anne screaming at him. I was doing my best to retain my serenity and refereed them as best I could *halo*, but right before we left some act of annoyance transpired which left Anne is a huge sulk. Anne, at nearly 4 years old, has the *dramatic pout* expression and countenance down to a science. She resisted putting on her shoes and coat, and went limp when I intervened. Joy.

I got her stuffed into her car seat, Henry smirking all the way because he knew that his efforts at Extreme Sister Annoyance had borne fruit. My serene outlook was already in danger, but it all flew out the window when a disturbance in the back seat, followed by me looking in the rear view mirror, resulted in me catching Henry pulling Anne's hair, followed by Anne walloping Henry with her Olaf purse.

"I thought I told you two TO IGNORE EACH OTHER!"

*cacophony of objections from the back seat*

"She hit me again!!"

"ANNE! Stop that! DON'T EVEN LOOK AT EACH OTHER."

:0

Ugh. We weren't off to a good start, but I will say that things improved greatly. We arrived to find our church decked out in all it's Palm Sunday glory:

We immediately fetched palms, which Anne commandeered forthwith and nearly took my eye out.

"Honey, you cannot wave the palms around, you could hurt somebody."

"But I love the palms, Mommy."

"I know, and you can hold them, but you have to keep them down."

*pointedly ignores me*

It was a challenge. :0 Anne got back from Children's Liturgy of the Word to announce:

"Mommy. There was a little boy back there, and he hit me with his palm RIGHT IN THE FACE."

"I'm sure it was an accident, Honey. That's why you can't wave them around."

*mutinous look*

But we all persevered, me carefully managing Anne's palm use. This was the first weekend that the statues were veiled at our parish. In the past, we've done it halfway through Lent, and next year this will be something the Worship Committee decides on. But for now, Fr. Joe is just trying to keep up with things as best he can. I do love the symbolism of the veiled statues, makes everything look all the fresher at Easter, and we can appreciate them anew.

Henry looked aggrieved by the length of the Passion narrative, but he quickly got into it. The schedule for Holy Week was in our bulletin and I happily took note of everything during the Offertory. I wish I could go to the Chrism Mass tomorrow at our cathedral, but I have a conflict. Everything else I can attend, and plan to. *beams*

As ever, the Palm Sunday liturgy was beautiful, and it really put me in a happily contemplative place for Holy Week. We chatted with our new parish friends afterward about plans for Easter Mass, I'm just so, so pleased about our new sense of community. And the rest of the day improved as well. The children seemed contrite and stopped arguing, and Mike's NCAA Tournament bracket took a turn for the better. Hey, if he wins, I consider that a victory, given that we share the same pot of money. ;-) I also worked on some craft projects, I'll have to devote a whole post to that coming up, maybe next week? Some good, some bad. Some REALLY BAD. :0 It's all part of the adventure.

How was your Palm Sunday, dear reader?

7 Quick Takes {Take 75) Holy Week edition!

OOhhhhh, I have so much fun stuff to report! I had Worship Committee last night, and I want to devote a whole post to that :) so look for that next Tuesday. First, I wanted to spend an entire 7 Quick Takes on Holy Week, as it deserves it, don't you think? I'm in a pretty good mood on this Lenten Friday. Fish fry at our parish tonight, I mean, !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good stuff, right there. OK, so a parish report-in next week, but right now, Holy Week. What am I going to be up to? And what are YOU going to be up to? I want to know. :)

-1- Hope springs eternal...

I love the Liturgy of the Hours, I really do. You'd think this meant that I pray them every day, but, well... I don't. :) I have the app and everything, but fitting it into my schedule is always a challenge. I pray Morning and Evening Prayer sporadically, when I can, and I do use the app when I do that. I knew better than to make this a Lenten goal, because I was setting myself up to fail. ;-) So, what I decided to do is try to pray Morning and Evening Prayer for all of Holy Week. I'm off for part of Holy Week anyway, so I think it may actually be manageable. My plan is to start with evening prayer tomorrow, since that is the vigil of Palm Sunday, and I am SO EXCITED for Palm Sunday. We'll see how this goes. :) But speaking of Palm Sunday...

-2- Mini palm trees from Home Depot? Sounds good to me.

Our new pastor is just darling, I really like him. And for two weeks now, the sacristy has been bursting at the seams with these palmy bushes that he plans to use as decor for Palm Sunday. I can tell that he's trying not to rock the boat by making sweeping changes, but he wants to put his own stamp on things and mix things up from the way we always do things. Because...we have sorta done things exactly the same way every year for the past 10 years. ;-) So he has this new altar decor planned for Palm Sunday, and I'm curious to see how it turns out, and how open people are to it. Based upon the Worship Committee meeting last night (again, details next week) there is some definite resistance to change, so we'll see how this goes.

For my part, I'm looking forward to Palm Sunday, and the kids and I can't wait to get our palms. And the beginning of Holy Week! *swoons* So much liturgical goodness to come. Starting with...

-3- Washing of the hands? Sounds a bit like a ritual I force upon my children :)

Holy Thursday! One little tidbit that came out of our meeting is the plans for Holy Thursday. Now, I've never been to the Mass of the Lord's Supper (scandalous!) and this year, I'm going for sure, so I'm all excited. But even I know that on Holy Thursday, there is a washing of the feet ceremony. With our new pastor still just getting to know everyone, he decided to to substitute finding 12 male volunteers for this shindig in favor of a hand washing ceremony in which the entire congregation comes forward. Interesting? Yes, I suppose. Somewhat untraditional, but what do I know? :)

-4- Good old fashioned Good Friday solemnness...

I've been to the Good Friday liturgy for the past two years, and now I won't miss it. There is a Liturgy of the Word and Veneration of the Cross. Anne has gone with me the past two years, and I plan to bring her again. I'm hoping Henry will come to Holy Thursday, I'll have to find an incentive to coax him into this. :) But on Good Friday we'll be at the service at 3 pm, and then having a simple meatless dinner later. I will try to pray the Stations of the Cross with Henry before bed.

-5- Divine Mercy novena!

Good Friday is also the start date for the Divine Mercy novena, and I've created a special page with all the details! I pray this novena every year and just love it. Consider joining in! Pray More Novenas is involved this year, meaning that you can sign up to get the prayers and a reminder right in your email inbox. I'm doing that! Join me. :)

-6- A light in the darkness.

In all of my years of being Catholic, I never had ANY idea of the hidden jewel that is the Easter Vigil until a handful of years ago. Now, I will grant: the Easter Vigil can be LONG. There are nine readings, though some parishes choose not to do all of them. The shortest Easter Vigil I've ever been to was an hour and a half. Not bad at all, but I was at one that was three hours. :0 But it's SO WORTH IT. Seeing people receive the sacraments and come into the Church...I cry, even if they're strangers to me! And the fire outside that begins the liturgy? I mean, that's a real crowd pleaser. :) And having the Eucharist in the Tabernacle again after it being missing since the conclusion of Holy Thursday? That's packs a wallop, right there. Hearing the Gloria sung again for the first time since before Ash Wednesday? Oh! It's so wonderful. I can't wait to go.

-7- And finally, we eat chocolate.

Easter Sunday I'm planning for the entire family to attend morning Mass (either 8 or 10 am, that is still under negotiation :)) and we're hosting Easter dinner for our parents. Ham and chocolate for everybody! We have Easter chocolate from Henry's school sale tucked into our cupboard, and I haven't let anybody eat it, which Henry thinks is a human rights violation. But soon! I have other special treats planned for the kids' Easter baskets as well.

What are your Holy Week plans, dear reader? Do let me know! And don't forget to check out more 7 Quick Takes over at This Ain't the Lyceum! Talk to you on Monday!

Have you gotten to Confession for Lent? :) and Worship Committee meeting tonight!

Morning all! It's a pretty rainy one here in WNY. Hey, maybe it'll melt more of the snow.

#win

BUT I have my first Worship Committee meeting tonight at 7 pm, and I'm super excited. I really don't know anything about this little endeavor, but that has deterred me not one bit. Ever since I discontinued as a catechist for the Children's Liturgy of the Word program (schedule conflict), I have been chomping at the bit for another opportunity to become involved at my parish. Lectoring really isn't an option with the kids, and religious education has the schedule concern, so I was really hoping for parish council or a committee or some sort. I work in academia, I am a pro at committee meetings. ;-)

In my six years at our parish, I have never once seen anything about an official council. I believe there is a finance committee, but...no thanks. :) Somebody's got to do it, to be sure, and I'm grateful for those who do, but that's not really an interest of mine. Liturgy? Yes, here we go.

So, we'll see how this works out. We have these books we're going to use that discuss every single Sunday and holy day of obligation within the liturgical year, and that's all I know. But books, Mass, liturgical year?! Those words make my heart sing. I'll report back in.

In other Lenten news, we are on the very heels of Easter at this point. How has it been going for you? For me, this has been a quietly lovely Lent. No grand visions, but on the other hand, no spiritual dryness. I have special plans for Holy Week, which I'll talk about tomorrow in 7 Quick Takes, Holy Week edition :), but in terms of the goals I made for this Lent, I'd say things went decently well. Rosary, Magnificat Lenten Companion, all good. Fasting from dessert, not TERRIBLE. I have not been perfect, but I have done a lot better with this than I ever have in previous Lents.

I did want to get to Confession this Lent, and on Tuesday I was able to cross that off my list, score! I don't know about you, but availing myself of the Sacrament of Reconciliation makes me very anxious. I know that that's silly, that this is a very freeing sacrament, and indeed, I feel that freedom the instant I leave the confessional, but still. I fret the entire time I examine my conscience, drive to the church, and wait in line. And the parish where I attend Confession (the one affiliated with Henry's school, the weekday afternoon timeslot just works better for me than the Saturday one offered at my own parish) *always* has a line. :0 Penitents just flock to this Confession session, for whatever reason. So then I'm standing around waiting and letting my anxiety marinate. I wouldn't say that I'm scrupulous, but I really beat myself up over things. And because of my inherently private nature, it's hard for me to share such details with another person, but I think this is a common struggle others have with Confession as well. So there you have it, but I went, and it was marvelous. And during Lent? It just feels even better than usual. So have you gone?! You should. :) You'll feel great afterward, and with Holy Week just days away, the graces of the sacrament couldn't come at a better time.

So. Lenten update. It's your turn now. :0 How's it going?!

People at our parish like us, I think they actually like us!! on the 5th Sunday of Lent...

Snazzy outfit and Frozen shoes, check!

Happy Monday everyone! Though admittedly, I'm not feeling exactly enthusiastic about being back at work, I did have a fun, jam-packed weekend. So let's discuss, shall we?

Before we get to Catholic stuff, I wanted to briefly mention two shows that I saw this weekend. On Saturday, I took Anne to see the new Cinderella adaptation. I was planning to take Henry as well (he was in it for the popcorn) but in the end, he decided to stay home with Mike and they watched a super hero movie together that they procured from Redbox. Apparently, they felt very manly and bonded while they did this. ;-)

But Anne and I headed to the movie theater, and well...BEAUTIFUL. I mean really, this is a beautiful movie. The pairing with the Frozen Fever short certainly sweetened the pot for Anne, she loved that. But we *both* loved Cinderella. The cinematography and costuming is just breathtaking, and this movie just had a "feel" about it that swept you into a magical place. And can I just say, I WANT HER DRESS. I'm not usually a princessy type of gal; in fact, when I married Mike, the one quality I was looking for in a dress was that it was NOT a ball gown. But her blue gown? *swoons*

It's just swirly and magical and feminine and wonderful. And her wedding dress at the end, in the same style, was also stunning. Gorgeous! I loved the movie, it was terribly sweet and endearing, perfect for little girls. As the final scene faded, with Cinderella and her groom on the balcony in their wedding attire, the theater burst into spontaneous applause. Just lovely.

And yesterday, my mom and I went to see the touring production of The Phantom of the Opera, which is here for about two weeks at a beautiful historic theater downtown. I've seen this show before, but not for many years, and they're redesigned it since then. I had a wonderful time. The new set is amazing, truly, and I just love the music. Afterward, my mom and I went out to dinner to arguably the nicest steakhouse in Buffalo, and I'd never been there before. Travesty! I rarely get to share a meal with just me and my mom, no kids along. It was really, really nice. A wonderful way to end an otherwise depressing weekend of basketball. ;-)

*sound of Tiffany discreetly slipping her bracket into the trash can*

But Catholic stuff! Yes, lots of that. This was the final Sunday of Lent prior to Palm Sunday and Holy Week, and I am nearly bursting with excitement. But before we get to that, we have this week, including the first Worship Committee meeting this Thursday. I will be reporting in on that, to be sure. :) But I'm just feeling so warm toward my parish these days. After 6 years, I finally feel like I'm getting to know some people. Anne has made a friend in a college-aged girl who usually sits near us with her mom. We chat with her every week now after Mass, and this week Anne ran to her with an enthusiastic "HI KENDRA!" when we first spotted her in the parking lot. Anne even brought her back a handout from her Children's Liturgy of the Word session. *heart* Adorable.

As we were chatting following Mass, Fr. Joe came over to greet us all, and a few other people stopped to say hello to Kendra, who introduced them to us...and I just got such a happy feeling from all of it. I've always liked and gotten a positive vibe from our parish, that's why I've stayed there rather than transferring over to the parish affiliated with Henry's school. But now I feel integrated, like people notice that we're regulars and want to get to know us. I'm loving. :)

So, an exciting week ahead. I'm very curious to see who else volunteered for the Worship Committee and what kind of role I can play there. I have my Sourcebook and pen all ready to go.

#nerd

How was your weekend, dear reader?

Holy reminders this Lent- what are yours?

Morning all! It's good to be back with you. *heart* It's become somewhat rare for me to skip a weekday of blogging, but sometimes life happens. Yesterday I had a curriculum committee meeting that lasted all morning, and so imagine, I had to be a responsible adult and attend and pay attention. :0 Then I had just a few quick hours before I had to leave to get Henry to the allergist. Busy day! So no time to blog.

But here I am, back again. It's a beautiful spring day (more melting! *trumpets blare!*) and I was thinking this morning as I drove onto campus how close we are to Holy Week now. Lent has been ongoing for about a month... How has your Lent been going, dear reader?

Mine has been going pretty well. I remember feeling very spiritually dry last Lent (aside from Holy Week, which was transformative), but this Lent has been different. I wouldn't say that it's been perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I've been very aware of my Lenten promises and doing my best to keep at them, and get back to them if I slip up (which I do :)). I'm scheduled to head to Reconciliation next Tuesday, just before Holy Week, and I'm really looking forward to that.

But it struck me this morning that a big part of keeping Lenten promises, or any prayer routine really, is the reminders that we set up for ourselves. I remember seeing Mother Anglica on the EWTN Religious Catalogue show refer to sacramentals and other religious articles as "holy reminders," and I've always loved that characterization. Do you have any small items that you set out to remind yourself to pray? Catholic tchotchkes anyone? ;-)

My very favorite sacramentals are rosaries. The way that I corral mine are mostly in two locations: in my car, and in my purse. I do keep one next to my bed for nighttime praying if I wish. But otherwise, I keep one or two tucked into my purse (along with a slew of chaplets) so that I always have a few with me, and a huge pile in a nook on the driver's side door of my car. :0 I pray the rosary a lot when I drive, and I like to have a large assortment to choose from depending on what I'm feeling on any given commute. We've got Our Lady of Lourdes, Pope Francis, Pope St. John Paul II, Our Lady Undoer of Knots, the Divine Mercy, Bl. Mother Teresa, St. Kateri Tekakwitha...Well, you can see that I have a bit of a rosary habit. ;-) But each morning, I love pulling out the rosary I feel compelled to pray with that day. This morning, I was praying along with Pope Francis, but I've been favoring a blue and silver Our Lady of Lourdes rosary all winter. I pray with St. Kateri a lot when I go to Adoration. I'm planning to pray with St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy image throughout Easter. Love.

On my desk at work, I keep a small wooden statue of Our Lady Star of the Sea, which may be my very favorite Marian title, along with a matching rosary. She soothes me as I work, and is a good reminder to keep at the things I'm working on spiritually. I also have a fairly large collection of holy cards that I maintain for this same purpose. I'm working on getting them all displayed on a French style memo board.

In a very adorable aside, this Lent Anne has fallen in love with her Bible story book and with a small rosary prayer book that I gave her. I have had a bunch of those little rosary books through the years, and she has really taken a shine to her copy. She takes it to bed with her and prays a Hail Mary for each page in the book. I mean...it's ADORABLE. The cover is about to come off, it's so tattered. I recently discovered an expanded version of that rosary booklet, and I now keep that tucked into my purse, I love it. I don't always use it when I pray the rosary, because you know, driving. ;-) But if I'm at Adoration, it's ideal. That little blue book has always been my favorite if I do use an aid as I pray. I like seeing it in my purse when I reach in there for something, along with a Divine Mercy pamphlet that I keep in there as well.

What are your holy reminders this Lent? Do share in the comments. :)

Worship committee assignments & Divine Mercy excitement on Laetare Sunday...

For a Monday morning, I'm in a really good mood. Most of it relates to Catholic stuff, which I'll get to in a moment, but I'll admit that part of it is the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament and the beer Mike and I will be consuming Friday afternoon. :0 Every year, Mike hosts a March Madness pool, which is great fun though we don't watch basketball the remainder of the year. So I'm always a good sport and fill out a bracket. ;-) And this year, for the first time in the history of the Tournament, the University at Buffalo Bulls are making an appearance! They won the MAC, which is an automatic bid, and they're seeded 12th, slated to play West Virginia Friday at 2 pm. I'm taking the afternoon off, and much beer consumption and revelry will ensue. Looking forward. It's just a nice little pick-me-up for the spring.

But yesterday! So lovely. Laetare Sunday, halfway through Lent! No rose vestments at our parish this year, sadly. We do have a new priest, but I assumed vestments stayed with a parish, though perhaps I am wrong about that. Our previous priest had rose vestments that he wore on Gaudate and Laetare Sunday each year. Our new priest was wearing violet yesterday, which is the main liturgical color for Lent and the other option for Laetare Sunday in the absence of rose. Mass was absolutely beautiful, and when the kids and I went back to the sacristy afterward we saw Palm Sunday paraphernalia piling up back there. Oh!

SO EXCITED.

But back to the sacristy. There was a reason I was in there. Fr. Joe made an announcement about the Worship Committee and the upcoming first meeting. He asked those who had expressed an interest in volunteering to pick up a Sourcebook after Mass. Being the Type A eager beaver that I am, I discreetly stalked him after the closing hymn as the kids and I chatted with some of our new friends from the parish. When he paused near us to talk to the head of the music ministry about upcoming liturgies, I sensed my opportunity to pounce. As soon as he was done, he turned and found my smiling face. :0

He was pleased by my interest and went right back to get my book for me. A liturgy book, homework, I LOVE THIS STUFF!! The meeting is next week and I couldn't be more nerdily pleased.

In other exciting news, Pope Francis announced on Friday an upcoming extraordinary Jubilee Holy Year of Mercy. I live for this stuff, people. Holy Doors being opened, special THEMES, I mean. :0 This special year will begin on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2015, and run through the feast of Christ the King in late November, 2016. I was so happy to read about this, since I have a devotion to St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy. And with Divine Mercy Sunday quickly approaching, I had ordered a corresponding rosary to pray the novena with, since that starts each year on Good Friday. I mean, could the timing be more perfect? It arrived Saturday. Da da DA!

Rosaries by Allison

I'm dying to pray with it, but am saving it for the Divine Mercy novena. Which I'll post more about as Holy Week draws closer, so consider joining in! Lots to look forward to, to be sure.

How was your Laetare Sunday, dear reader?

Spring thaw (!) and loving my parish, on the 3rd Sunday of Lent...

Morning all, and can I just say THE SUN IS OUT!! I may have Anne dress up like the sun this week to herald it's return to our lives, that's how major this is. The air is decidedly non-arctic all of a sudden, and the temperature is staying *just* above freezing. This week it will actually get up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This is good, because we don't want the snow and ice to melt to quickly and cause flooding. So...BOOYAH! This is exciting. Our driveway is slowly losing it's power to kill us, and the streets are widening. Life is grand.

I had a really, really nice weekend, let's see...Friday I had dance rehearsal, and we suddenly we realized that it's March. Not like this is a huge shock or anything, but we've been frozen into place at the studio for the past month, and we're finally snapping out of it since our spring hafla is less than two months away. We've begun rehearsing ALL of our choreographies again, not just the new one, which certainly keeps things interesting.

Saturday, we had a surprise party at the studio for Claire, who had a milestone birthday. *Extremely* fun! She was genuinely surprised, we fooled her well and good. :) I was doing the math on Saturday, and I've been learning Middle Eastern dance with Claire now for just over 7 years. She is so much more than just my dance instructor - she's a beloved friend, and I appreciate her more than I can express. Her classes have enriched my life so abundantly. It was splendid that we could all get together to show her how much she means to all of us. Her daughters found zebra print balloons and lanterns to decorate the studio with, which just really fit her personality :) and a great time was had by all.

Also happening this weekend were more performances of The Mousetrap for Mike. This was the second and final weekend of shows, and I attended the cast party with him yesterday. I find my husband so incredibly adorable in his actor role. :) He is SO talented, and I absolutely love seeing him find his creative niche. He is definitely well-regarded within the theater group, and is already being sought after to audition for upcoming shows in the fall and next year. I loved being his date at the party yesterday. ;-)

So, fun abounded. Of course, the kids and I also went to our very favorite 10 am Mass yesterday, made more of a challenge this weekend due to Daylight Saving Time. It certainly would have helped if I had gone to bed earlier, but I *didn't*, so it's nobody's fault but my own. Thus, I was somewhat rushed Sunday morning and blearily got the kids ready. The worst part of the morning Mass routine is actually getting them bundled and into the car:

"STOP DOING THAT! MOM! Henry threw my coat!"

"NO I didn't! I just...*put* it next to her."

"Stop it HENRY! MOM! Henry pulled my hair!"

"I didn't do anything!! I mean it, I didn't do anything!!"

Let's all heave a long suffering sigh together, shall we?

But once we got to the church, everything was fine. Anne was so preoccupied with the actual Mass that there was no bathroom request for the second time in recent history *does dance* and Henry had a halo perched upon his head the entire time. Suddenly, we're nearly halfway through Lent! I am *super* excited for Holy Week this year, I'll talk about that more as it approaches. But I finally did take a step to try and be more involved in my parish by calling to volunteer for the new Worship Committee our priest is trying to assemble. I haven't gotten a call back yet with any information, and I feel like I'm waiting for a date that I like to call to ask me to go out again:

"It's been 5 days. Is that too long? Did I misread the situation?!"

So hopefully I'll hear something soon, because I'm really excited by this prospect. :)

How was your weekend, dear reader?

Getting involved in parish life & pushing cars up snowy driveways, on the 2nd Sunday of Lent

Morning all! I don't have a lot of time today, so this will be a brief check in, but I wanted to chat with you all as I do every Monday. :) We had a jam packed weekend for the second Sunday of Lent, so let's get started!

This was opening weekend for Mike's community theater group, putting on a production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. Henry and I went to the Sunday matinee, and oh! It was wonderful. :) Mike plays Detective Sargeant Trotter, and he was just marvelous. I was very nervous for him, because he had a lot of lines to memorize this time, but he did great. I absolutely love seeing him up on stage. Makes me feel all proud. :)

Afterward, we went out for a bite to eat, and then got home to..a mess. It was snowing, you know, AGAIN. :0 And our driveway, already not in great shape due to the narrowness of space between our house and our neighbor, and the fact that we have had zero melting because of continual freezing temperatures, was a disaster. I did my very best to gun it up the driveway, but to no avail. My little Honda was stuck. And by stuck, I mean STUCK. It took 30 minutes plus three people, two physically pushing the car, to get it out. It struck me as we finally got the car free by rocking it back and forth a bit, that pushing a car out of thick, heavy snow is rather like giving birth. :0

*represses a few memories*

Neither very pleasant, to be sure, but a satisfying result. I'm not going to comment further on the snow situation here, because I'll just work myself up again, it's so endlessly frustrating. February was the coldest month in WNY history, EVER. I know other places get colder, but we've had so much snow and we're just stuck with it because it piles up and will not melt. It's not an easy combination, and we're all dying for a little let up. But that's that.

In happier news, Mass for smashing, as usual. I actually got a reprieve from bathroom trips this week, Anne was happily distracted by Children's Liturgy of the Word. Our new priest was there again, and announced that he wants to start a Worship Committee, and is looking for volunteers.

:0

I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for years. There are other volunteer opportunities at our parish, but they're just not a fit for me based upon scheduling or lack of talent on my part (music ministry). ;-) But committees? I'm good at those! And assumedly they meet once a month or so, and I can commit to that. So, interested people were asked to call and leave their name with the parish office, which I did this morning. I'm excited to see where this goes! Hopefully it'll be a good experience, I will keep you all informed.

How was your 2nd Sunday of Lent, dear reader? I'll talk about Lent again this week, since we're well into it now, and detail how it's going over here. Talk to you tomorrow!

So much snow and an insidious cold, but the warmth of community, on the 1st Sunday of Lent...

"You kind of set off an eternal winter, everywhere!"

Yes, that would be my family standing on the snow beside our driveway, and that thing behind their heads is our ROOF. That pretty much sums up the state of things over here in WNY right now. I usually enjoy winter, but this year has me very weary. And now I have caught Anne's cold, so you can just imagine the level of crankiness I bring with me this morning. Aren't you delighted to be here? ;-)

So I'm feeling all stuffy and weak, and I'm not happy about this at ALL. I just brewed some tea, so hopefully that will help. But anyway, you're not here to dwell in cold misery with me, let's focus on the positive, shall we?

As I mentioned on Ash Wednesday, our parish has a new pastor. There was a retirement elsewhere in the diocese, and thus some subsequent priest shuffling to accommodate for that. The kids and I really liked our first impression of the new guy, Fr. Joe, on Wednesday, so I was excited to see how he handled his first Sunday Mass with us. After all, that would be the first time many parishoners saw him.

I know that I remarked on Wednesday that he was a good homilist, and he only reinforced that yesterday. As we all sat down following the reading of the Gospel, he paused, then said:

"I've been thinking about what I'd say to you all right now...for the past two months."

Immediately, we were all rapt with attention. :) He talked about how happy he was to be with us, and how he wanted to get to know us all. He said that he loves sports and if we let him know when the kids had games, he would come watch. He wove in humorous anecdotes from his own life to let us know how he planned to structure his homilies for the foreseeable future, and how we can try and grow in holiness together throughout Lent and thereafter. He made some jokes and mentioned that his favorite drink is a Manhattan. I love this guy! He was done about 5-7 minutes later, and here's the thing - he didn't need to go on for any longer. What he said resonated with the group, and everyone was hanging on every word. It was a very effective and engaging use of time. When he stepped down from the lectern, there was the slightest pause of surprised silence before the congregation gave him a round of spontaneous and hearty applause. I'm not normally a fan of clapping in Mass, but this time it fit. He made us feel wanted and special, and we wanted him to feel appreciated and welcome. It was lovely.

During the Liturgy of the Eucharist I just felt all warm and glowy. I was worshipping with my family in faith, and I'm very excited about where we are headed together. And we have two people from our parish receiving the sacraments this Easter Vigil and coming into the Church! *tears!* We did a little send off for the Rite of Election as part of the liturgy.

I could hear people talking about Fr. Joe as we all exited the church following Mass, and everyone seemed pretty chirpy and happy about the whole thing. We paused to talk to a sweet teenage girl who has taken a shine to Anne, and to our favorite usher, and I really feel like we're becoming a part of the community. I will grant, we've been members of this parish for about 7 years, but when you're an introvert, these things take time. ;-)

I feel very blessed this Lent. How was your first Sunday of the season, dear reader?

Of new priests and ash blobs on Ash Wednesday 2015...

I call this one "Birthday Girl With Ash Blob" :)

Hello everyone, and a blessed Ash Wednesday to you! I just returned from Mass with the kids and...SUBLIME! We have a new priest at our parish and this was his first liturgy with us. I was nervous about this, because I really liked our other priest, and well, change is hard for me. ;-)

So we arrived and settled into our pew, our pile of coats, hats and mittens taking up the space of a whole separate person, and out comes the priest. Right away, I liked his face. :) He has a kind face. He seemed enthusiastic about being there, and like he really wanted to put his best foot forward. I warmed to him right away.

When he told a cute Lenten story from his Catholic school childhood to begin his homily, followed by an endearing joke, and then said how happy he was to be there with us...he won me right over. I love that style of presentation, very accessible and easy to relate to. He spoke for a few minutes about how he would share his story with us a little each week, about his journey to the priesthood and to our parish, and also share his Scripture reflections with us, so that hopefully we can grow in holiness together this Lent. And BOOM! That was it. Short and sweet, but extremely engaging and effective. I love this guy! I looked over at Henry and saw that he was actually paying attention and looked impressed.

#victoryisours

We all received our ashes, in the usual form, which is a rather blob-like structure, for whatever reason. A few people left right after receiving ashes, which I have to admit I find a bit baffling. Ashes but no Eucharist? But in fairness, they may have been on their lunch hour and had to get back to work. The fact that people journey to church at all on Ash Wednesday is an excellent thing.

So now we're home and Anne is down for her nap. I'm drinking tea to distract myself from my tempting pink cookie cake, and plotting egg salad sandwiches for dinner. It's truly been a lovely Ash Wednesday so far.

The only sore spot on the day was one minor incident this morning involving my wood knitting needle breaking about 90% of the way down a row of 353 stitches worth of fingering weight leaf lace, setting some stitches loose, and well. It wasn't pretty. :0 I had some *strong* words for that needle and I viciously removed it and replaced it with one of it's nickel-plated cousins. I hope it felt appropriately contrite and insulted. Some yarn overs had to be sacrificed in this process, causing me to have to unknit backwards so that I could fix the problem spot. I wasn't too happy about all of this, but all is well that ends well. I have one leaf that looks a bit drunk but it'll have to do.

OK! I'm cold and need more tea. I'm planning a quiet rest of the day, but I'll be on Twitter for anybody who wants to chat. :) And I'll be back tomorrow! How is your Ash Wednesday going?

Ash Wednesday - why is it so beloved, and what happens if your birthday falls on it?!

Ash Wednesday is interesting, is it not? It's certainly an important day in the tradition of our faith. It marks the beginning of Lent, our major penitential season leading up to the holiest day of the year. It offers a physical sacramental to remind us of what we are doing and why during Lent.  The Church asks us to fast from food between (smaller) meals, and to abstain from meat, denoting the serious nature of the day. So there is all of this, but technically Ash Wednesday is not a Holy Day of Obligation. Catholics are not bound to attend Mass on that day, and indeed many parishes hold scripture services with ash distribution instead. My parish does. Although there is still an 8 am and a noon Mass, and my forehead as well as my children's will be in attendance at one of them. :0

Yet, Ash Wednesday is one of the highest attended services of the year (along with Christmas), even more so than Easter. Our diocesan newspaper mentioned this in an article recently. It doesn't really make any sense, but there you have it. There is obviously something about the ritual of ashes that resonates with people who otherwise attend Mass infrequently. Thoughts on this?

At any rate, let's talk about Lenten birthdays (great post on this topic at Catholic All Year, by the way). When one's birthday falls on a Church mandated day of fast and abstinence, what does one do? Celebrate before, or after? Or, if you're me, BOTH!

:0

Indeed, my always dreary February birthday falls on Ash Wednesday this year. So, hey! Why restrict one's birthday to a single day? I'm calling this a birthday WEEK (sans Wednesday) and just enjoying the ride. :)

I met Mike and the kids at a local Irish restaurant after work yesterday for a family birthday dinner. Shepherd's Pie and Harp, I mean...life is good, yes? We had a very nice time. When we got home, this was waiting for me:

awwwww....

All I asked for this year was a cookie cake, and to go to the Catholic New Media Conference. I'm getting both. :) I feel loved. *beams* So we enjoyed some of the cake last night, and Mike and I watched Downton Abbey after the kids went to bed. It was a *wonderful* evening. Tonight, we're going to enjoy more cake. Because tomorrow is, you know, Ash Wednesday. :)

So, I've decided that tomorrow, although technically my actual birthday, is just going to be Ash Wednesday for me. I'm taking the day off from work, going to Mass, and just going to focus on the Lenten side of things. And I'm looking forward to it, I love Lent. But no cookie cake. :) We will fast tomorrow. Thursday, I'm having dinner with some friends from college, and Saturday night Mike and I are going out to dinner by ourselves. That's a lot of birthday, yes? Plus, I have the CNMC to look forward to in June. I'd say this is a pretty great year.

What are your plans for Ash Wednesday 2015, dear reader? Do tell me all about it. :)

7 Quick Takes {Take 69} Lent lists are so much more fun when you make one with a friend edition...

Oohhh, it's the last Friday of Ordinary Time before Lent. How did *that* happen? It's a humbling thing as you get older how quickly time goes. And not as in "wow, how is January already over?" but rather "2005. That wasn't 10 years ago, 1995 was, can't you do math?!" Yes, DECADES are like the blink of an eye, let alone liturgical seasons, so let's make them count, shall we?

I spent a lot of time thinking about what I'd like to do for Lent this year. I chronicle my plans here not to be sanctimonious, but quite the opposite. I make plans because I frequently get all ambitious, and then I fail. A LOT. So the list helps keep me accountable and get me back on track when I inevitably fall off the wagon.

-1- My overall philosophy for Lent. This may be the most boring subheading I've ever written :0

I was having a difficult time coming up with a plan for Lent this year. Then I had a phone conversation with a friend, and she asked me what I thought of when I pondered Lent - giving something up, or something else? Boom! Starting point, right there. :) It's true, for the past several years I haven't given anything up for Lent. I've preferred to see it as a time set apart, a time to add things in, and generally focus on being more prayerful. I like that philosophy enough to continue it this year, so that's what I'm going to do. And the first thing on my list is...

-2- Marian Consecration

For the past two years, I've undertaken consecrating myself to Jesus through Mary via the 33 day reflection period originally put forth by St. Louis de Montfort. The first year that I did this, I used the book 33 Days to Morning Glory, by Fr. Michael Gaitley, and that's what I'm going to use again this year:

I usually embark on this at the very beginning of the year, starting in early January and consecrating on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in mid-February, but with my little second honeymoon with Mike falling right at that time, I kind of forgot. ;-) So this year I decided to build it into Lent, and thus the prayers/reflections begin February 20th, with a consecration date of March 25th, the feast of the Annunciation. This is a beautiful undertaking, and I adore this book, so I've you've never done this before, consider joining in! The book is available for Amazon Prime shipping, and can be to you easily before the 20th. :)

-3- A daily rosary

I love praying the rosary, I really do. It's so soothing to me. I'll be honest: I don't always get through a full five mysteries. But I see it as a good thing even if I pray a mystery or two in the car each day. So, for Lent, I'm going to take that up a notch by really applying myself to start AND finish a rosary each day. I'm certain some days that won't happen, but I will do my best to apply myself and strive toward this goal.

-4- Magnificat Lenten Companion

These little books are always a joy each Advent and Lent:

I often get the print copies, but this year I forgot to order in time, so I downloaded the Kindle copy. For 99 cents, this is a steal. There are daily reflections, and this year, there are suggestions each day for small acts of charity or penance that you can try out. Excited. :)

-5- Sacrament of Reconciliation

I am *so bad* about availing myself of confession. I do go more than once per year, but seriously. I should do better. Lent is the perfect time to go, regardless of when I last went. So I will make it a priority to get there before Easter, and I downloaded the Confession app to make the Examination of Conscience easier. I used it last time I went to confession, and I really liked it. I do wish it kept track of when I last went to Confession, but I don't think it does that, at least the Android version. Anybody know if this is possible?

-6- Fasting

So, I'm not really a faster (sp?!) aside from the what the Church requests on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Since I have relatively little experience with this, I thought it would be nice to experiment a bit. I'm thinking that I will select a day every week or two to eat very lightly at lunch or dinner and not eat between meals at all. The point, of course, being to focus more on spiritual things rather than on food. We'll see how this goes.

-7- Friendship

And happily, I have my very own prayer partner to check in with and encourage me - YOU! :) I'm hoping that this is a fruitful Lent, leading up to a spectacular Easter. What are you doing for Lent this year? Let's help and encourage each other. Please detail in the comments!

OK everyone, I'm off! Work to finish, family to feed, and then dance rehearsal later. I will talk to you again on Monday, and in the meantime, don't forget to check out other 7 Quick Takes over at This Ain't the Lyceum!

St. Michael novena, upcoming Lent plans, and can't miss out on the Catholic fun!

Morning all! No new snow today, and I got out of the driveway without getting stuck, so this makes for a perkier Catholic Librarian. :)

I also received notification in my email that Pray More Novenas is starting a novena to St. Michael the Archangel today. His feast day isn't until September 29th, but petitions for healing and protection seem timely in the days leading up to Lent, no? Perfect! I created a blog page to remind us all of the novena, and you can access the Pray More Novenas page that way as well. The novena runs today through Ash Wednesday.

Speaking of Lent, I've been awaiting inspiration, and the fount of beatific visions just isn't coming to me right now, but no matter. I am a librarian, I am resourceful! I made a list *pushes glasses into place*. I have a plan, folks! An official plan. More about that in 7 Quick Takes this coming Friday. 7 Lenten things, oh yay!

In other exciting developments, I have official flight reservations to attend the Catholic New Media Conference on June 7th.

*balloon release!*

 I agonized over the available times, wanting to arrive early enough on Saturday so that I don't miss anything (without having to pay for another night of hotel by arriving Friday night) and then secure a not-too-late flight back home Monday. However, I don't relish the thought of getting up at some ungodly middle-of-the-night hour, so I didn't want it to be TOO early. I reluctantly chose a 7:30 am Saturday flight, which means I'll still have to get up pretty early, but it's not apocalyptic. Mike pointed out a 9:30 am flight:

"Well yes, that would make for a much more pleasant morning, but then I won't get in until 3:50 in the afternoon, and if there's a delay? Too late."

A layover is at play, ugh.

"I'd rather get in as close to noon as possible. There will be activities planned for the evening, and I don't want to miss those. I can't risk missing ANYTHING FUN."

I take my fun very seriously when I am with people whose company I covet and enjoy.

*Mike arches an amused eyebrow*

"Ah. We can't have you missing anything fun, especially when it's Catholic fun."

"That's right."

*approving nod*

Glad he saw the reason behind my stance. ;-)

So I'm all booked for that trip! I get in just after 1 pm, so if you're going, let's start planning the fun now. :0

Of really bad evenings and needed Lenten plans, come cheer me up!

I'm going to be honest - I woke up in kind of a surly mood. :0 I have St. Agatha right here with us because it's her feast day and I need a pick-me-up. Hi St. Agatha, pray for us please!

Ok, so my porky mood. Que pasa? I didn't have the best of evenings yesterday. It was just one of those times when nothing seemed to go right (aside from my potato soup in the crock pot, that stuff is *fantastic*) and the kids were bent on irritating each other, and Mike had play practice, so I was refereeing the two ruffians by myself. And then Anne didn't want to go to bed. AGAIN. And then once I got her in bed and started working on my Downton Abbey shawl I did something wrong and suddenly my 321 stitch shawl was 322 stitches. Lesson to all of us: when you are tired and cranky and your small child is howling upstairs because she doesn't want to sleep, that is the WRONG time to try and tackle a lace chart. You're welcome. ;-)

AND THEN my son comes to me and admits that, for no discernible reason, when taking his before-bedtime asthma medication, he took three times the recommended dose rather than the single chewable he has taken every night for years and years. Well, this may have been right around the time of the lace chart mishap, for understandable reasons, now that I think about it. But at any rate,  I feel myself pale and fire off a litany of questions to him, which makes him get this confused look on his face, like "what's the big deal?"

OH.SIGH.

Mike got home right around the time Henry was in tears as I made the necessary phone calls. He's fine, we just had to keep an eye on him, and needless to say we had a stern talk with him about prescription medication. Not a good evening.

So I woke up with all of that still weighing on me, you know? Henry was still fine this morning, all is OK there. But I just felt... blah. And my throat has been feeling "off" since yesterday afternoon, I'm worried that some nefarious illness is lurking there waiting to strike. Plus, it's February 5th, which this year means that Lent begins in...

13 days.

!

I have barely thought about Lent. I have no plan formulated or goals set or anything like that. I've been enjoying my Ordinary Time, it is true, but I do have to begin thinking of ideas since Ash Wednesday will be here before we know it. What are you all doing for Lent this year? If you have ideas, please do let me know. I love getting comments, it always makes my day, and I could use some cheer right now, yes? :)

I'm off to order some yarn to make myself feel better...