Henry's confirmation weekend, and some summer socks...

Hello everybody, and what a spectacular June day it is! 😎 I have had such a splendid June over here, and I hope you have as well! Since June is somehow nearly over, I'll be putting up a page soon with the July novenas that I'm planning to pray in case you'd like to join along! 

So we had a big sacramental weekend over here in the home of the Catholic Librarian. One of my babies made his confirmation. 🔥😭I can hardly believe how the time has flown. It was an absolutely beautiful confirmation Mass, and Henry chose my dad as his sponsor (and the confirmation was on Father's Day!) so it was all quite special. 💗

I felt so grateful that things went so smoothly, and that the ceremony was so beautiful. Henry chose St. Maximillian Kolbe as his confirmation saint, and can you even believe these absolutely perfect socks I got for him from Sock Religious?!

They were the sock of the month for June, I mean, obviously this was divine intervention. ;-) I highly recommend their comfy and delightful socks! I just got my reminder email that the July socks will be shipping soon, and I can hardly wait to see who it is!

My sister got Henry this gorgeous St. Joseph themed home altar for his desk, and Henry's Godfather gifted him this beautiful wood rosary blessed by the pope:

He also received some St. Maximillian books. 😍 And he got the exact cake that he wanted, and we're all still enjoying it nearly one week later, hee hee!

It's so precious to have these memories. Last year was much more difficult with Anne's First Communion because of the pandemic, and I'm relieved that things are going so much better now.

In crafty news, I've been working steadily on a pair of summer lemonade themed socks:

Currently on the heel flap. They're going a bit slow, but they're the perfect project for upcoming family summer movie nights, and so I'm glad to have them by my side! This week I also received a small order that I placed with Bumblebee Acres, a skein of robin's egg blue sock yarn that I've been admiring for ages, and an outstanding plaid project bag!

Summer is good. The kids are both finished with school for the academic year, and it just feels nice to relax and have things move slower for a bit. :)

OK, that's what has been happening with me! How is your summer going so far? Any sacraments or crafts happening in your part of the world this early summer? I would love to hear about it in the comments! Also, don't forget that we'll be discussing Part 2 of our Summer Book Club novel on the life of St. Francis Xavier right here next Friday! :-0

Confirmation saints and lots of tears...

Church of St. John the Evangelist (2014), Flickr, CC BY ND 2.0

Happy Friday everyone! I hope that this final week in the Easter season is treating you well. :) I've been keeping up with the Liturgy of the Hours for Morning and Evening Prayer, and I'm excited to move back to the Ordinary Time volume with lots of summer saint feasts coming out way!

Speaking of patron saints, my Henry is preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in June, and I cannot quite believe that this has happened so quickly. Our diocese administers confirmation in 10th grade, so it's like...😳 I still picture him with his blanket lovey, wanting to sleep in our room. Now...well, he doesn't want to do that anymore. :-0 And he's HUGE, the tallest person in the family! This all is the topic of my piece for Catholic Mom for May. 

*heart*

Emotions aside, I've been guiding him through selecting a patron saint name, and also selecting a sponsor. He has selected St. Maximilian Kolbe as his patron, who has always been one of his favorites. 

*explosion of hearts*

I remember reading his story to Henry countless times when he was little and we still did our saint story time. I'm so delighted that he selected St. Maximilian as his patron! And for his sponsor, there is a happy little anecdote...

Growing up, I was raised Catholic, despite only my mom being an active Catholic. My dad had been baptized in a Protestant church, but didn't attend church services of any kind. When I was in high school, he became interested in a parish that opened on indigenous land near us, as my dad's heritage is half Mohawk. We started going to Mass there, faithfully offered by a local Barnabite community, and a few years later, my dad decided to become Catholic. My dad is a real quiet, reserved kind of a guy, and the priest let him enter the Church in a private ceremony rather than with the larger group at the Easter vigil, becuase he knew that my dad would be more comfortable with this. At the Mass, I remember assuming that my dad had picked St. Andrew as his confirmation patron (and what a worthy one!), as that was his grandfather's name. So when Father announced that my dad had picked (at that time, Blessed) Kateri Tekakwitha as his patron, I felt both a rush of surprise, and also an immediate sense of: "YES, this is the perfect choice." My dad's Mohawk heritage is a very important part of his identity, and St. Kateri is the absolute ideal patron for him. I remember so vividly how powerfully emotional that Mass was to me, even as a teenager not so interested in matters of faith, and Father's tears of joy when he welcomed my dad into the Church.

And so when I approached Henry about selecting a confirmation sponsor, I asked if he had anyone in mind, and mentioned that they should be an adult who actively practices their Catholic faith. I suggested both of his Godparents, who are my younger sister and a good friend of ours who also teaches with Mike, and also my dad. Henry surprised me by picking my dad, and I once again experienced the immediate feeling of rightness. My dad is the *perfect* confirmation sponsor for Henry! Our confirmation saints continue to work blessings in our life all of these years later. 

I am feeling so lifted up by all of this lately. Henry will be confirmed on June 20th, and we're all looking forward to this so much! Finally, I continue to plan in the background for a low key Summer Book Club. What I'm thinking is that we'll have a post every 2-3 weeks rather than every single week, and we'll take the entire summer to move our way through. I can plan more once the book is officially picked and I know how long it is. We'll be reading one of Louis de Wohl's historical fiction books based on the lives of the saints, and so far we have 2 votes for St. Francis of Assisi, and 1 each for St. Helena or St. Joan of Arc. Feel free to comment with your pick! I'll announce the title after Memorial Day weekend. :)

Need a quick gift for someone receiving a sacrament in May?

I just love this time of year, don't you? Springtime, new beginnings, Easter...and sacraments of initiation coming up in May. Last year, I just reveled in Henry making his First Communion, I enjoyed that so thoroughly. This year, we don't know anyone receiving a sacrament, and it'll be quite a while until Henry reaches Confirmation age (at least the way they do it in our diocese) or for Anne to receive First Reconciliation, so I'm living vicariously through others. :) I *am* however, on the prowl for birthday gifts for Anne, whose birthday is May 18th, so I was looking and had a few ideas that will work for those needing a gift for First Communion or Confirmation.

Saintly Silver on Etsy, whom I've mentioned before *heart* has a section of Quick Ships of already assembled dolls, ideal for anyone needing one in early May.

She's got 32 dolls listed in the Quick Ship section right now, which is pretty awesome. They usually are on a 6 week schedule to ship, since her order queue is so long and her shop so popular. But she prepares ahead for her rush periods, of which the May sacraments are one. She has boy and girl First Communion dolls (like the one pictured above), with the Anima Christi prayer on the back and a "In Honor of your First Holy Communion" notation. She also has angels, St. Patrick, Mary, and the Holy Family ready for immediate shipment.

Allison also has her rosary shop stocked with rosaries, most of which are ready to ship (just make sure to check for the "Made to Order" indication and avoid those if your deadline is pretty tight). This one in particular is ideal for First Communion, no?

I love the chalice center. But she has a ton of in-stock selection, all beautiful! I like the availability and selection given that First Communions are a mere 4 weeks away.

Do you know anyone receiving First Communion or Confirmation this year?

How is your Easter season going?

Morning all! I have a busy work day today filled with meetings (let's all groan together in harmony, shall we?) so this will be somewhat brief, but I still wanted to touch base with everyone. I was listening to Monday Morning Catholic's Triduum episode on my commute in, and thus dwelling on our current place in the Easter octave, that is the eight days we celebrate a monumental feast such as this one...

Easter is a time of new beginnings, it seems that way to me every year. Everything feels fresh and new. The weather (hopefully; we still have some snow here, but the piles are getting smaller every day), new baby birds and animals, the return of flowers and green things, and the liturgy. We're singing the Gloria again, and saying "Alleluia" for the first time in what feels like forever. And fresh from a Lenten visit to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we all feel revived in our spiritual lives. Hopefully. :)

The spiritual life is never predictable, no? I know this very well, as I'm sure you all do too. I did get to Confession this year, but there have been years where I planned to but didn't make it. Or maybe right after visiting the Sacrament, a spiritual struggle ensued over something you thought was long behind you. Or maybe you feel inexplicable spiritual dryness where just days before you felt vibrancy and renewal. It's never an easy thing, to be sure.

This Easter I'm reflecting back on my experiences during the Triduum with much gratitude. I'm so grateful that I was able to, for the first time, attend all of the liturgies. I'm certain there will be years where that does not happen for any number of reasons, but we do what we can. I enjoyed my experiences very much, and I love that I got to share each of them with someone else - Henry, Anne, Mike and my mother-in-law. It was truly beautiful.

Now, though, we're in Easter and I'm thinking: what's next? It's never boring, that's for sure. I'm excited to see what is to come. Anne's birthday is next month, and with her turning 4, and Henry turning 10 later this year, I feel like life has shifted a bit. Oh right, and I'm older too, yes? :0 It's a gentle shift, but there it is. Am I finally a grown up now? ;-) I feel responsible, but I don't always feel like a *grown up*. When I was Henry's age, and saw adults who are mine and Mike's age now, they seemed SO much older than we are, ha! In many ways, besides acquiring (please God!) a bit more wisdom and experience, I don't feel a whole lot different than when I was 20. But I know that I am different. I just don't feel older, if that makes any sense. But I'm happier, and just as excited for whatever lies ahead.

Those are my reflections early this Easter. How about you? As we embark on Easter season, what do you suspect or hope God has in store for you?

Bravely battling my cold, & a touching experience at Confession...

Good day to you all. *weak smile* I appear to be in the full throes of this cold, but I'm focusing on the fact that I am super grateful to not have the flu. I'm feeling very run down and stuffy, and my voice is taking on that husky quality that my husband finds very appealing (*snorts*), so I'm hoping to make it thorough my work day unscathed, especially since I had to teach this morning. That went well, but I am DRAGGING. I had to turn my Introvert Who Needs To Act Like An Extrovert Energy Meter over to "Mega Watt!" so that I wouldn't wilt mid-class. It worked, but I'm feeling the aftereffects. Thankfully, my adorable Mike made dinner before he went to teach, so all I have to do is pop it into the oven when I get home. 

But today is Tuesday, which is the day that Confession is held at one of the parishes near our house, the parish affiliated with Henry's school, actually. And when I go to Confession, this is usually the session that I stop in for. At our home parish, Confession is offered on Saturdays and it just rarely works with whatever we have going on that day. Tuesday afternoon I can stop on my way home from work. And it's Lent. So I have confession on my mind.

Thus, I was thinking about the last time I stopped off for Confession, I think it was in December. I really wish my little Confession app kept track of the last date I attended, I don't think it does that?! IT NEEDS TO DO THAT. But I may be doing something wrong, wouldn't be the first time. ;-)

At any rate, I step into the church, dip my fingers into the holy water font, and as I go to cross myself...I see a large line positively *snaking* back from the confessional. And I, in selfish fashion, heave a long suffering sigh. I'm feeling rushy because I want to get home to Mike and the kids and was hoping for no line. But the last time I had tried to go to confession it had been cancelled, and so I really wanted to get in before Advent was over. So I tiptoed my way to the back of the line.

And there I waited. :) I waited so long that I actually started a rosary to use up some of the time. A few people ahead of me was an older man. When he came out of the confessional, hope sprung in my heart because then I was only a few spots away from having it be my turn. He made his way slightly behind where I was standing and knelt in a pew. Suddenly...

I could hear him talking. To God. :) And I hope that he doesn't mind me reproducing this here, but since he is a total stranger to me, and I don't even remember what he looks like, he couldn't possibly be more anonymous, so I think he would be OK with it. :) I wasn't eavesdropping; he was speaking audibly, and what I heard touched me so deeply:

"Lord, I'm trying not to sin. But please take the temptation away, Lord. You know I don't want to sin, but it's so difficult when I'm tempted."

I don't know (thankfully, because that's just between him and God) what exactly he was referring to, but it matters not. It could apply to pretty much anything, and let's just be honest: any one of us could be having this exact same discussion with God about a sin that we struggle with. I was just so moved by the honesty and vulnerability in his approach to prayer.

And thus I felt quite humbled when it was my turn to go into the confessional. Why was I in such a rush?  My focus was all wrong. Indeed, as my Confession experience was wrapping up, the priest reminded me to share my struggles with God and to just "talk to Him sometimes, like you would a friend." I thought of that older man again, and I have kept his example in my heart since that day.

I don't know that I'm going to end up stopping off at Confession again today (feeling pretty run down) but I will one Tuesday prior to Holy Week, for certain. And I'll think about my fellow penitent each time I go.

Have you ever felt particularly moved at Confession? Do share (with however much or little detail you feel comfortable with, of course) in the comments. :)

It's book club day tomorrow! The post won't be out until the afternoon since I'll be home with Anne and I need to blog when she naps. But I'm so excited to talk about this month's book!

Henry's 1st Communion - Sublime, but if only the child could smile for a photograph...

This is what we're dealing with here, people:

One would think his next stop was a hard labor camp where he would be forced to scrub toilets and eat nothing but green vegetables for the next decade. He was truly happy about receiving the Eucharist, but the photos? Oy. Smiling is not his strong point.

But at any rate, Henry was genuinely excited about the Mass, and I have been waiting for this moment since he was born. SO exciting!

Anne was a bit challenging Saturday morning, so I was praying she wasn't going to have to be dragged out of the church in disgrace:

"Anne, want to wear a pretty dress for church?"

"NO!"

"All right, you can wear pants and a shirt."

"NO!"

"Well you can't go naked."

*sobbing!*

That was a little dicey. But we all readied and got to the church in time for the group photo, the children placing their hands in the prayer position like little cherubs. When Mass started, they all processed in like that, and you could die from the preciousness. Henry was nervous about reading his part in the Prayers of the Faithful, but he did a great job.

The priest called the children up to the altar for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which I'm not necessarily a big fan of, but I appreciate that their intentions (meaning the pastor and the coordinator of religious ed.) are that the children get to see exactly what is happening to tie into what they have learned about the Eucharist being the actual Body and Blood of Christ. I did love that that was the emphasis.

When it was time to receive communion, each child was called up individually and parents could go up to receive with him or her. Mike and I went up with Henry. I received while Mike was there to lend support, and it was a cute family moment. Henry looked confused by the consistency of the Host, but he seemed to enjoy the process nonetheless. :)

After Mass, we forced him into a few photographs:

...while we had a fabulous time having our guests back at our house for some food and drinks. Our parents, my grandmother, and Henry's Godfather and his family were able to come, and it was lovely.

The next day, Henry was excited to go to Mass and receive again. This time, under my tutelage he received both the Host and the Precious Blood, which was a huge novelty to him. He also did much better using his missal, more easily flipping between the day's readings and prayers and the Order of Mass, now that he learned so much more about the liturgy via his First Communion preparation. Super cute.

So, that was Henry's big day. Did anyone else attend a First Communion last Saturday or have one coming up this Saturday? Leave me a comment!

Teeth & confession updates (oh joy) and Divine Mercy novena!

Hello! Happy Holy Thursday. :) I have to work the evening reference shift tonight, which I'm bummed about because it means that I can't attend Mass, but I'm persevering. It's going to be a LONG day to be sure.

However, it *is* the beginning of the Triduum, and I'm terribly excited. If the reference desk isn't busy, I may try and stream EWTN coverage of the pope's Mass or something, we'll see. :) And lots of good news to share! Let's see...

*settles in with tea*

Well, first, in secular news, I had one of two periodontal followups to check on my post-operative state. It went well. The tissue graft is looking awesome apparently, although I have to wait another 2 weeks to have any stitches that don't dissolve on their own clipped off. The roof of my mouth, however, is "looking sore," which I of course already knew, since it had been hurting like a *%$! :0 This roof wound was definitely tougher this time around. It is, though, healing, and yesterday for the first time I didn't wake up with it already bothering me and needing to take some ibuprofen. Today as well. I can feel definite improvement. They prescribed this special mouth rinse that will help the wound to heal faster. My honey is picking that up for me today, God bless him. I go back in 2 weeks, but I'm on the mend. The exterior bruising is also nearly completely faded.

So, that's that. After I finished with my appointment, I sped right over to confession. I could tell right away that my chances were good upon entering the church, because only a few other ladies were there. They were all waiting in a line, so I stepped behind them. We didn't move for a few minutes. I suddenly noticed a green light on above a confessional on the other side of the church. The lady ahead of me turns around:

"There's a confessional open over there. It's *just the screen* though."

She said that like it was a bad thing. :0 I much prefer using the screen rather than face-to-face, which is what they were all waiting for. I thanked her and hurried over, in and out of my screened confessional in a few minutes. I prayed for a spell and then got up to go. Those other ladies still hadn't moved. :0 That's the line I was in yesterday that didn't move. Must be a very detailed priest.

Pleased, I hustled out to my car so that I could drop off my prescription before going home for dinner, and I made it in plenty of time. Whew!

Before I go, I wanted to mention the next novena from Pray More Novenas.

I am *super* excited. I prayed this novena last year, and loved it. And this year it is leading up to the canonizations of John Paul II and John XXIII! What a beautiful day that will be. As you know, John Paul II is a personal and much beloved favorite of mine. So I will begin praying along tomorrow. If you sign up with Pray More Novenas, you will receive an email each morning with the prayers, and it is extremely convenient. I also like knowing that I'm praying along with others worldwide.

So, join in! All right everyone, back to work for me. I won't be blogging Good Friday or Easter Monday, but I will return to you Tuesday of the First Week of Easter bright eyed and ready to relay my Easter adventures. Until then!

Confession adventures as we approach the Triduum...

Happy Wednesday of Holy Week, everyone. :) Mine is going along swimmingly, how is yours? Well, swimmingly in that I feel very spiritually happy and content, although I did have a bit of a snafu attempting to get to confession late yesterday afternoon. Let us chronicle, no?

#Catholicproblems

I've been wanting to get to confession for AGES, and just kept putting it off. I've talked about my spiritual dryness on this blog of late, and that was a big part of the problem. I didn't feel right about going if I was really forcing myself to go. I didn't feel a true *desire* for the sacrament, you know? Since Palm Sunday, I have been feeling worlds better, and yesterday, for the first time in months, I truly desired to visit the sacrament. The parish affiliated with Henry's school has confession on Tuesday afternoons at 4 pm (I know, random, right?) and thus I made plans to leave work early so that I could go.

I park, head toward the church, and plot a few minutes of prayer in front of the tabernacle before I actually head to the confessional. I step inside the vestibule. Apparently, Holy Week brings out a blitz in the desire to seek confession, because at least a dozen people turned my way. This gave me pause. What were they all doing there?!

*gentle snort*

Usually, you can hear crickets chirping anytime you go to your parish for the weekly scheduled confession slot. At least at my parish. Not this time. I dipped my fingers into the holy water font and headed to a pew to pray, also figuring I could use the time to sort out my approach. Most of the others present were clumped up on one side of the church nearest to the confessional usually put to use by the pastor. I see him approach the confessional, go inside, and turn on the green light. Someone hustles over to get inside and immediately a huge line forms.

Ugh.

I was hoping this was going to be a quick affair, because yesterday night I was scheduled to make chili for dinner. Mike has play rehearsal every evening during the week, and the chili takes about an hour and a half to make. I needed to get it started to assure that we could eat, clean up, and take care of everything that needed doing before he had to leave. I was on a time crunch.

As I'm contemplating my next move, another priest enters the sanctuary. Huzzah! He goes into a confessional on the opposite side of the church, nearer to where I was praying. I feel triumphant. As I stand up, however, several older men from the other line start to zip over to shorten their wait time. And by "zip over" I mean they hobbled with their canes as fast as their legs would carry them. It just felt wrong to rush over and get ahead of them. So I waited until they made their way over toward confessional #2. Another lady slips into line as I walk over.

As I step into line behind her, something happens that has never happened in all of my Catholic years. Someone was in the face-to-face side of the confessional, and hence the red light was on. One of the zipping older men apparently does not notice this and swings open the door to the screened side. The lady ahead of me calls out a warning to him, which he also does not hear. He closes the door and apparently gets comfortable in there. :0

We all stand there, not really knowing what to do. A few moments later, the well-intentioned interloper emerges, clued in by the priest, assumedly. He waits *right outside* the confessional door. The rest of us wait in line awkwardly.

By this point of the action, I'm getting antsy. I'm worried about getting dinner started on time, and there are now 3 people ahead of me, plus the person currently in the confessional. I glance at the other line. They have moved a tad, but the line still snakes like a leviathan. Penitents seem to have multiplied exponentially over on that side of the church. I glance up at the clock. It's now nearly 4:15, and face-to-face guy is apparently having a lengthy and intense conversation with the priest. We haven't moved an inch.

I wait about 5 more minutes, and make the difficult decision to step out of line. Confession just wasn't happening yesterday, as much as I would have liked it to. I hurried home to get the chili going, and we were able to get everyone fed and cleaned up before Mike had to leave, but we didn't exactly have any down time in there. I made the right decision.

When I called that church yesterday to make sure the confession time was the same, the parish secretary told me that they were also offering confession today from 4-6. I have an appointment with the periodontist at 3:30, so I'm hoping to stop on my way home (again :)). Mike is home on Wednesdays and is making dinner for us tonight, so I won't have the time crunch situation. Here's hoping.

Has anyone else gone to confession this Holy Week? Leave me a comment. *beams*

Adventures with First Communion preparation...

My little Henry is 8 now, can you believe it?! Seems like just yesterday that he was born and I nearly became comatose from all of the sleep deprivation. Come to think, thank God he's 8 now. :0 And he's in *third* grade, and about to make his First Holy Communion May 3rd. My precious pumpkin!

Since he is enrolled in a Catholic school, Henry gets religious instruction every day. I have quizzed him on his understanding of the Eucharist, can't take these things for granted. :) He's excited about finally being able to come forward and receive, after so many years of waiting. Henry is very tall for his age, and a few times Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion have tried to give him communion, since he looks old enough to receive. I started encouraging him to wait for me back in the pew while I go forward to smooth out this problem. :) After all this time, he's very happy to move to the next step.

We read saint stories every night before he goes to bed, and many of them were devoted to the Eucharist. I always try to drive that point home when I read, especially if the featured saint was a child when they died. I'd like to take him to Adoration with me one day before the First Communion Mass, I think it would really solidify for him exactly what we believe about this sacrament.

And so, as the day draws closer, I knew there was one thing left to tackle: The First Communion banner.

*long suffering sigh*

I am not crafty. I can knit and crochet, but glue and felt are not my friends. And one of the things that the coordinator of religious education at Henry's school asks the children to do is create one of these banners, an artistic rendering by the child of their faith and the sacrament.

All I can say is thank God I have this blog and whine on it regularly, prompting a miraculous comment that there are kits out there that will come to my rescue. KITS. The religious education lady did not mention kits, gentle reader. She simply gave us a raggedy piece of burlap with photocopied sheets of letters and faith symbols that we could use to sketch and cut out our own shapes. I was petrified. I mean, can you *imagine* the mangled chalices and grape vines that would have resulted from this endeavor? And that would be from MY efforts, let alone Henry's, who has every POSSIBLE genetic scheme working against him with regard to artistic ability.

And so I ordered one of these aforementioned and blessed kits. The felt shapes are all cut out for you, you can just pick which ones you want to use and arrange them however you like.

Glory.

And so Henry and I got to work Sunday afternoon. He got really into it, excitedly going through the symbols and choosing which ones to use. He arranged them all by himself, and even added some embellishments in the form of glitter glue, which did make things interesting at the kitchen table for a time:

"Why is there gold glitter in your hair? Oh. You guys are working on the banner."

"Yes! Doesn't it look good?" *angelic beam*

"It looks great. What's that...on the host?"

"A cross. Doesn't it look like a cross?!"

*amused eyebrow arch*

And so, da da DAH!!! This is the result of our efforts:

We just need to glue down the other side of those top pieces so that it can be hung. But I'm real proud of him, I think he did a great job.

We still need to get him a special outfit to wear for the big day, and I need to plan a little party for him. And a gift. He already has a rosary, that I gave him for his First Reconciliation. Other ideas?

All right everyone, I'm off from blogging tomorrow due to part 2 of my dental surgery. :( I will report in sometime on Thursday. But in the mean time, I'm sure I'll be on Twitter, acting all pathetic. Talk to you all then. Yay?

:)

A First Communion meeting of below zero wind chill and super glue...

Friday evening found me freezing my saint medals off at Henry's school for a parent's meeting regarding the upcoming big First Communion celebration. And so, how did it go?

:)

I left the house around 6:45 for the 7 pm meeting feeling a bit punchy, since I was not happy to be missing my dance class. Certainly, Henry's receiving the Eucharist is more important than my dance class, I just object to the scheduling of these meetings. Friday evenings, really? Mike has fielded the last two (also on Friday evenings), and they're crowded, somewhat chaotic gatherings since the school kids are pooled together with the larger religious education program. I suppose I wish they simply organized things differently. If I were in charge, that's what I would do, and I feel very self righteous about the whole thing. *gentle snort*

But that's neither here nor there. I arrived, and the 30 second walk from my car to the building was downright excruciating. It was *so cold*. This has been some kind of winter, to be sure. I simply couldn't warm up the entire time I was there, and thus was a dork and left my scarf on. Anyway, I signed in, picked up a packet of paperwork, and was directed to fetch a burlap canvas. Uh oh. This must mean A CRAFT.

Now see, people think that because I knit and crochet, that means I'm *crafty.* My friends, I am here to tell you that I am not. Sit me down with construction paper, glitter, dried macaroni, felt and high intensity glue, and when you come back you'll find me trying to herd a pile of glitter onto a specific spot in my clumsy drawing amid a confusing arrangement of felt shapes with my right index finger and thumb glued together. Art was just never my talent.

But just as in school, I have to do it anyway. :) Henry and I need to create a "First Communion banner" with his name and Eucharistic imagery on it. Despite my utter lack of talent with such implements, I *am* looking forward to this. This is going to involve a trip to the craft store, and I'm angling for the scrapbooking aisle where I'm thinking appropriate felt shapes and images will be pre-cut out for us, just waiting to be stickied onto our banner with their own self-adhesive tape. This sounds Non-Crafty Person Proof, no?

So, there is that. We also have to bake a small loaf of bread, and you see, this is another one of my distinct lack of talents. Baking = Dangerous in the Catholic Librarian household. I really wish we didn't have to do this, but this is apparently how it has always been done at this parish (the one affiliated with Henry's school, which is not our home parish). And the Lady In Charge *clearly* does not like to do things that Have Not Always Been Done. The meeting lasted an hour, and it was clear that she reigns as Queen of Religious Education for this parish's program, no doubt about that, and has for approximately the past 20 years. She's perfectly lovely, but it was apparent that there was a Way Things Are Done, and nobody is going to mess with that, no sir.

Anyway, back to small loaves of bread. This seems rather pointless to me, but it's a part of the Offertory, so we either have to bake one or buy one. I'm seeing myself in an explosive cloud of flour sometime in early May, I'll keep you posted on that.

There was lots of talk about what the children should wear. It all seemed like common sense to me, but I realize that there are people out there who do not use common sense when it comes to clothing. I do like that each child is called up by name to receive, along with his or her parents, and so I'll be able to receive the Eucharist right after Henry does. We had to put in for a first and second choice for date, since there are 2 First Communion Masses, and I'm hoping we get May 3rd. May 10th is so close to Anne's birthday, and that's a lot of parties in 2 weeks time for your easily harried hostess. :)

So we'll see. I came home armed with good information, albeit freezing and bearing burlap. Anybody else have a First Communion coming up this spring? It's a lovely thought, is it not? Leave me a comment!

The Catholic Nook: Confession

I've written a little bit about Confession before, but never any in-depth treatment, and since I actually received the sacrament this week, I thought the timing was perfect. :)

As I mentioned in the link I pasted in above, Confession is definitely one of the lesser understood of the seven sacraments, by both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.  Let's start with definitions and a description from the Catechism, and then we can move on to personal experiences (my favorite!).

Confession is more properly called the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. In paragraph 1422, the Catechism tells us that when we approach the sacrament we are looking to "...obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and [we] are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which [we] have wounded by [our]sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for [our]conversion."

The Catechism then discusses the different ways Confession may be described, and it's quite lovely [paragraphs 1423 and 1424]..

"It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father from whom one has strayed by sin."

"It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction."

"It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" - acknowledgement and praise - of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man."

"It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the penitent 'pardon and peace.'"

"It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles...He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's call..."

Often, I think Confession is seen as an embarrassing waste of time. "Why should I have to tell my sins to a priest, when I can just do that directly to God?!" I'm going to be honest: I used to think that too.

But I have come to realize that this sacrament offers SO much more than that. Let's go through each of the above points with regard to Yours Truly.

Sacrament of Conversion - We are all called to conversion throughout our lives, this is not a one-time deal. And when we go astray, it's SO easy to rationalize that this isn't such a bad thing. "Why should I feel guilty about this? It's not so bad/everybody else is going it/it makes me happy, and so what's wrong with *that*?!" We allow ourselves to blame the Church, "Catholic guilt!!" instead of blaming ourselves. Sin drives a wedge in our relationship with God, and we *should* feel guilty about that and about what we have done to cause that. It doesn't mean that we should torture ourselves over it, we're human and we *will* sin no matter how hard we try not to, but we need to grow enough in our faith that we recognize what we're doing wrong and how we need help dealing with it. By going to Confession, we're acknowledging that we recognize what we've done to sin and we're asking for God's help in doing better.

Sacrament of Penance - By going to the church and to the priest/confessional, we're physically moving towards our goal of cleansing ourselves of sin and reconciling ourselves to the Church. It's easy to just wing up a prayer while sitting at our desks at home: "I know you forgive me, thank you God." But getting in our car, driving to the church, waiting to speak to the priest, kneeling down and making ourselves vulnerable...this all takes effort. It takes perseverance. It takes courage. :)

Sacrament of Confession - Speaking of courage...yeeaahhh, I know it's unpleasant to air your dirty laundry in front of some guy you may not know very well. It's embarrassing, it's uncomfortable, it's humbling, it's all of that stuff. But does it act as a major discourager from committing that sin again and then having to go BACK to your friend the priest to tell him all about it? You betcha.

Sacrament of Forgiveness - I know that I *feel* God's forgiveness when the priest prays the prayer of absolution over me. Having another person verbalize that forgiveness to you has power.

Sacrament of Reconciliation - Having gone through the whole experience of a confession, I can say that yes, the sacrament *imparts* something very real, that you have been forgiven and are reconciled in your relationship to God and to the Church. You just feel different when you step out of that confessional.

And so we have yesterday. I stopped at home to fetch young Henry and off we drove to Confession. Our arrival was heralded by the inevitable 3 little old ladies that are present at every offering of Confession. I wanted to examine my conscience and Henry wanted to bounce around the church and look at the statues. I told him he could do that afterwards, and so he got in line ahead of me. While he was in there I could hear his little voice mingling with the deeper voice of the priest, which was very sweet. :)  In a few minutes, Henry came out and slipped into a pew to say his prayers, and it was my turn.

I always feel a little awkward at the start of confession, and at this parish the screened side of the confessional is real dark (it's not at my regular parish, which has a seat in there with full lighting and the Act of Contrition taped up on the wall :)). Therefore, I managed to kick the kneeler by mistake, making a bunch of noise and hurting my toe. This is not unusual for me, your resident Klutz.

When I knelt down, the priest had a very sweet welcoming message before I even said anything. That set a very nice tone. :) I told him how long it had been since my last confession and away we went. I gave him my carefully prepared litany of sins and he listened quietly. When I finished, he provided a few words about pertinent Scripture and assured me soothingly. I said my Act of Contrition. Then he prayed the prayer of absolution which is always the highlight of every confession for me. And then I was done! But not before losing my purse in the dark and having to grope around for it.

When I got out a little old lady took my place in the confessional and Henry was nowhere to be found. After I prayed for a few minutes I located him poking around on a side alter, he's precious.

And so there you have it. Not so painful, truly. Catholics are obliged to avail themselves of this sacrament at least once per year. And yes, there have been years where I have just done the minimum. But in recent years I have done better. If it's been 3 months since I've gone, I really prioritize it. And let me tell you, you WILL notice a difference in your spiritual life if you go to Confession more frequently, it's just a fact.

Happy vigil of the Feast of the Assumption everybody. :) And if you haven't been to Confession in quite some time...consider going! You won't regret it.

May is a wonderful month to be a Catholic, and other upcoming weekend shenanigans...

For those of us that grew up Catholic, May is a month of Marian crownings, First Communion and Confirmation. Lots of lovely sacraments and traditions enmeshed in here. We still have a year to go before Henry makes his First Communion, but I see it on the calendar for his school for this Saturday, and they have a May crowning next week. :) Adorable.

I'm on duty for the Children's Liturgy of the Word this Sunday, and in my quest to go out with a bang, I took the time to print out some leaflets to give to the kids about how to pray the rosary, including small photos of each mystery. I'll talk about that for a spell in addition to the readings from the lectionary. After this, I'll probably have only one more CLOW to run. I'd like to volunteer in the parish in some other way, but I'm not certain exactly how yet. I'm sure something will present itself.

In the mean time, the kids are enjoying our new springtime weather. Anne is running around in nothing but a Onesie and wearing summer jammies to bed that make her more adorable than usual, as if that was even possible. She's been particularly sassy lately:

*click*

"Anne sweetheart, Mommy is in the bathroom. Could you close the door?"

"No!"

"Why don't you go see Dora?"

"Map?"

"YES, the Map! Go see the Map!"

"Hold that Map."

"You can see him, but you can't hold the Map, Sweetie."

"Kiss that Map."

"I'm sure he would appreciate that, Darling."

"I'm the Map, I'm the Map..."

*Anne races off, leaving door wide open*

As well, we have our hardwood refinishing coming up on Monday, and your Catholic Librarian, while remarkably level-headed and calm (*snort*), is still feeling some apprehension about the disruption this will cause to our household. Our couch is going to have to go into the garage and all of the other furniture from our living room and dining room is going to have to be smashed into the kitchen and the small office.

*sobs*

But the floor *really* needs to be refinished, this isn't a frivolous project. There is *plywood* in some places and paint spatters abound. This is what we found when we lifted the wall-to-wall gold carpeting after we moved in. It's a good floor that was treated very badly and it's needed to be refinished for years. I know we'll be so glad that we did it when it's finished, but it will be painful in the interim.

We're planning some family activities for the evenings next week as well as some inexpensive places to eat out. We'll see how this goes. :-\ One day at a time though, and on Monday we're taking the kids to our local golf dome. We were there a few weeks ago for a birthday party, and both children LOVED it. Nice restaurant with inexpensive but good food looking out onto the golfing, and afterward we can play mini golf while one of us chases a golf ball-wielding Anne. Good times.

What kind of Catholic are you if you...go to *confession*?

Mike and I had an interesting discussion last night. He happened to mention to a family member (also Catholic) that he was picking up a book for me at the public library so that I had time to stop off and go to confession on my way home, since the parish where Hank goes to school has confession on Tuesday afternoons (odd, but true). He said that the family member looked quite surprised and said:

"Tiffany is going to confession? *Why would she need to do THAT?!* I don't believe in confession."

In the conversation that ensued, the family member also mentioned that she doesn't believe in papal infallibility, or the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

So this got me to thinking. It does seem to me that often, Catholics who regularly go to confession are viewed with suspicion:

(1) What on earth do they do so horrible that they need to confess it so often?!

Or incredulity:

(2) They go to confession? In one of those creepy little wood boxes with a priest? FREAKS.

I don't mean to imply that all people who are averse to the idea of confession are mean spirited, certainly not. But in my opinion, the sacrament of reconciliation is the least understood, by both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. And it's definitely underused.

So, as Mike and I were talking, he gave me his analysis:

"I told her that you shouldn't be a Catholic just because that's what you've always done. If you don't believe in the major tenets of the faith, it's not right to call yourself a Catholic and badmouth it's main beliefs. She should realize what I've thought she was for a long time now: an Episcopalian."

I had to laugh at that. :) I mean, I appreciate what he's saying. You should align yourself with a religious faith because you believe it to be the truth and take pride in it. Your faith should be your own and not simply something you call yourself because you never really thought too deeply about it. And if you feel very strongly that you cannot accept certain teachings of that church, maybe a different worship community is right for you.

But on the other hand...what about healthy doubt? We're not all robots without minds of our own to think things through and analyze them. And what if you're struggling with a particular teaching, but you continue to study and to pray about it? Certainly, there's a place for you in the Church. I wouldn't want it any other way. But where does that line come into play that a person, via their words and actions, actually disengages themselves from the Church? This family member attends Mass every Sunday. That to me says that she feels strongly about her Catholic identity.

So...what makes a person a Catholic? It certainly isn't up to me to decide the answer to this question, but I think it's interesting to ponder. I certainly don't like conversations that deteriorate into what makes a person a "good" or a "bad" Catholic. None of us is perfect, and all one can ever do is try their best to live out the faith and be a good example.

Confession was awesome, by the way. And this parish actually had *2* priests hearing confessions, practically unheard of nowadays. And a decent number of people came and went. I always feel so good after I go to confession. It can be intimidating, but it certainly is cleansing.

Food for thought. :)