Sharing Stories

                                    

Many people have decorated their homes for the Christmas season.  Once the turkey leftovers are long gone, our family forms an assembly line from the 3rd floor attic, down two full flights of stairs.  We haul out tote after tote of holiday bling… fire brigade style.  We are pulling everything out, but we are really looking for the box that holds our Advent items.

                  Are you thinking, “Hey girl! Just label that box!”?   I would say, “Oh smart friend, my                                  family does not yet know that language known as “box label-ese”!

                 Sigh.

                 That is a Faith Friday for another day.

So, we pull out all the boxes.  Inside are cherished ornaments for the tree, all the Christmas books and caroling music, holiday platters and mugs, hand-made elementary school crafts, cinnamon scented candles, framed cards, outdoor lights and more.  But one box (well, it’s supposed to be one box) holds our Advent wreath, a miniature Christmas tree, and an Advent calendar that is truly special.  It was gifted to us way back in 1995 by a sister-in-law who could not have anticipated the family tradition that would come from her kindness.  It is called “The Story of Christmas”.

This calendar is actually a story book set made up of 24 little board books of various shapes and sizes.  Each tiny book recounts part of the Christmas story, beginning with the Holy Land and prophecies, and of course culminating with the birth of Jesus.  At dinner time, we take turns reading that day’s story before we pray.  It only takes minutes, but we often end up discussing and pondering the events we read about.  Where is Judea?  Is that the same as Bethlehem?  What is a prophecy?  How long was the journey for Mary and Joseph?  Why are there Romans around?  Was King Herod afraid?  Were the 3 Wise Men Jewish?  As the story progresses, we get closer and closer to Christmas. 

Our tradition also includes another step.  Every little book is threaded with a gold cord, so  we hang each one up on a small table-top Christmas tree. (Over the years, our non-readers had first dibs for that coveted job.)  As the calendar empties, the tree fills up. Even visitors who have joined us for dinner have participated; we love having guest readers!   

Advent preparation is frequently and easily lost to Holiday busy-ness.  We lose ourselves too, in numerous social gatherings or late night shopping, baking marathons or endless To Do lists. But at the kids’ insistence,  when we pause to think about what we are preparing for, read a part of the story and then hang the reminder on a small tree, we are just a little less lost, even if we miss a day and have to catch up.  It amazes me that we still have the whole calendar intact after all these years. Maybe, it’s traditions like this that help keep US intact.

Happy Advent!

The Reason

My sister and her family don’t live near us anymore.  This was a great loss to us, of regular adventures and cousin gatherings.  (The cousins number 22 now, with the next generation of 6 in tow!)  But even over the distance I would do anything within my abilities to remain connected to them somehow.

A few weeks ago this connection happened with an unusual text request from my sister:  could I write a nativity play for her 3 and 4 year old preschool class?  And… soon?

A quick phone call provided the rest of the details:  a former teacher taking the old book with her, the same songs that still must be sung every year, and a wardrobe of legendary costumes including Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, and Angels.  Oh!  And please write in references for kids who will be wearing the cow, cat, mouse, star, and earth costumes too.

Of course, I said yes; how long would it take to craft a 10 minute program that included 4 songs already provided?

Well…. Let me share with you:  it takes WEEKS.  I thought and pondered and prayed on it.  I read the song lyrics.  I listened to the music.  I researched appropriate preschool show length. Could kids handle dialogue?  Should there be a single narrator?  I wanted to include personal details significant to the kids, so I looked up information like the names of the principal and pastor, and the street address of the school.  Of course my sister, Mrs. Howard, had to be in there too!

This writing assignment now seemed even more daunting than my weaving together the 2008 classic “A-Z  Mrs. Doyle’s Bee” story, illustrated and published by my nephew’s Kindergarten  class!  And that assignment request did not even require 4 verses of the song “Bethlehem is Full”.

But the more time I spent drafting, the more clear it became.  Who is this program really for?  This is for the littlest of children, and they really needed what is most essential about the Nativity story.  There is no better writing about the birth of Christ in tiny Bethlehem than what is found in the Gospel of Luke:  the angel appearing with news to Mary, her beautiful “yes”, good Joseph as provider and protector, a long journey, a simple stable. Focusing on the essential, the writing came easily now.  We remember how the shepherds came to adore, and of course a cow and cat and mouse could be present in the stable.  Even more, the Light has come to the Earth!  

Thankfully, my sister said the Nativity script was “perfect”, and it will be released for One Night Only very soon.  Who knows?  Perhaps it will run in future Christmas Programs as well.   One thing is certain:  even the smallest of children will know the important details of that most Holy Night.

There are only 2 more weekends until the start of Advent.  While you might not be preparing a pre-school production, perhaps you too could ponder what is most essential about this Holy season, and start planning now to keep it simple.  You won’t regret it!

Bumps in the Road

                                  

With the “go home” pandemic and “stay home” quarantine, we totaled 9 people in our home.  There was a lot of sharing going on, from family games and dinners to more tightly felt areas, like limited closet space.  But with two children recently moving  into their own rental and some additional shifting of furniture and bedrooms, there is promise of garage floor space once again.  

One thing that did not expand, however, was our fleet of cars.

Mom has a mini-van to haul kids and stuff.  

Dad has a mini-van to haul kids and stuff.  

Kids have a 1994 Toyota pickup to share amongst themselves.  

(You read that right…. 1994).

This little red vehicle might be as small as a pony, but it is a reliable workhorse!  The heater blasts warmth easily (although the amount needed to fill the tiny cab is admittedly not that much).  If it gets too warm, just crank the window down.  While the speedometer does not properly function, you can simply use your phone’s GPS to regulate your rate of speed.  And, I consider it a great skill that my kids know how to drive a stick shift.  (Even better, there is no way to text and drive simultaneously!) Another plus?  The pickup is VINTAGE!

The sharing of Little Red came to an end Saturday when my daughter purchased her very first car.  She had been saving for a very long time, scouting and inquiring and watching for a good opportunity.  There were many things to consider, of course. She works two jobs, pays her own college tuition, and travels out of state, so the car she landed on needed to be affordable and reliable.  

And Saturday, she purchased it: a small sedan previously owned by a local couple. They loved the car, kept scheduled maintenance records, and were happy to see it go to an appreciative buyer.   Dad did some research on the model, and her mechanically minded brother-in-law gave a thumbs up.  Our daughter timidly handed over a stack of bills in the thousands, and dad wrote a $200 check for the negotiated difference.  Proudly driving her shiny car into our driveway, she announced she was taking me for a spin!

But the joy didn’t last long.  Late Tuesday night she arrived home from work in tears; the car was making a funny sound and not accelerating properly.  Googling symptoms was not reassuring.  Although I kept my initial reaction from my daughter, it was definitely a defensive and protective one: we had been cheated!  “Didn’t that couple have children?  How could they sell an unsafe car to a kid???  Don’t they care about a child who is struggling to pay her own way?  She works hard! She’s not an entitled princess who gets everything handed to her, for Pete's sake!  How could they do this to her? To us???  Aren’t there people out there with a moral compass? We can’t afford this!”  

Dad made arrangements for the car to be checked out the next day, but to make matters worse, the poor girl got stranded on a country road enroute to the mechanic’s shop.  She felt defeated.  We all felt lousy.  And after getting safely home, we gathered on the couch to figure things out.  I found myself reassuring my daughter that it’s just a car, that we would help with affordable repairs, that we could navigate this situation… gosh darn it, we can still share cars!  The details seemed little, but the big lesson seemed to be about Trust.  What is God asking us to do on this bumpy path?  He will show us how to gather the disappointments and move forward on the road.  He promises to bring about good from even the most difficult of situations.  God, who is all Good, can be trusted.

Listening to my very own words, I found my own heart softening toward a darker reality: my judgment of the unsuspecting sellers. I now clearly saw my lack of charity toward people I have never even met, and I felt terrible.  How could I be so blind? God was guiding me to see my own bumpiness.  Cars are broken, people are broken, I am broken, and some of these can even be redeemed.  We just can’t lose sight of our destination…. Even if it has to be while riding in a vintage pickup. 

That's Not Fair!

Parents will attest to often hearing from their children the phrase “That’s not fair!”  One scoop of macaroni heaped a little higher on someone else’s plate?  “That’s not fair!”

Someone else gets the cookie that is extra loaded with chocolate chips?

“That’s not fair!”

Even a yawning child might protest a disrupted movie for an earlier bedtime hour.

“That’s not fair!”

But who decides what is “fair”?  And who decides what is “just”?

The Gospel this Sunday certainly encourages us to ponder that very thought. 

In this parable about a landowner hiring and compensating his daily laborers, he seeks out vineyard workers at dawn for an agreed upon day’s wage.  When he finds unemployed people in the marketplace later in the morning, he offers these workers, too, the opportunity to earn a wage in the vineyard.  Hours later, he finds others ready to work. At noon, 3:00, even at 5:00 pm he is still bringing people to work in the vineyard. The story takes a dramatic turn at the end of the day when the last laborers hired are paid first.  Even more troubling, everyone is paid the full day’s wage, including those who only worked one hour!  The grumbling commences, especially by those who arrived first…

“That’s not fair!”

And we are not talking about youngsters anymore.

The parable strikes a chord in any human being who is, well, human.  We feel on firmer ground when what is being measured makes sense to us, is fair, and is justified in our eyes;  laborers getting unearned reward is hardly fair, not to mention their also being first in line!  Even when the landowner reminds the workers who arrived at dawn that they were not being cheated, he gets to the deeper heart of the matter when he says, “Are you envious because I am generous?”

Ah, now there is a fair question.  So often we get lost in measuring the work and the worth, and we grumble about the blessings we think others are receiving without merit. What damage happens when envy creeps into our hearts? Truthfully, who really is deserving of the FULL reward anyway?  It all belongs to the landowner!

And still, He is abundantly generous, giving us so much more than what is really due.

We should be filled with humility and gratitude because “THAT’S not fair.”

The Assumption

 

   Anyone who spends some time around small children can attest to the awe and wonderment these little people often communicate about, well, anything!  The funny bend of the leg on a green grasshopper, steam rising off a pot of boiling macaroni, twinkling lightning bugs on a warm summer night, the swirl of chocolate as it mixes with milk…  these little observations are taken in, pondered, and delighted in. Children view their world with a curiosity, newness and fascination.  They help us do the same.

    I have had the privilege of working with children for many years, and most recently with the faith formation of the very young child in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium.  Among the many hands-on materials available to them to pray with is a model altar complete with a small chalice and paten.  The children marvel at the beauty and the use of these vessels by the priest at Mass and recognize how special these holy articles must be to hold (not chocolate milk!) but the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  

     It is with this thought that I consider the upcoming Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We can see that, like the sacred vessels set apart for a very special use at every Mass, Mary was set apart to be the vessel that carried Jesus in her womb.  We can better understand why God the Father would preserve Mary from any stain of original sin, so as to be the unstained vessel for the promised Savior.  We call this the Immaculate Conception.   We can see why the angel would declare her “Full of Grace”, because it is by God’s grace all this could even be possible.  To be sure, the effects of original sin contribute to a tug of war in my own will and heart.  But we can ponder how, despite being very human, this same God-given grace would allow the “handmaid of the Lord” to understand and daily choose God’s Will throughout her entire life.  

     So what would happen to such a special person after her earthly life was completed?  Surely something that would show her great honor.  Our faith tells us with certainty that there is more for us after our earthly life. Our Creed declares that we “look forward to the resurrection of the dead.” The grave is not the final destination!   And while our soul and body remain separated until the Last Judgement, for Mary they were not.  She was assumed, body and soul, into heaven.  And THIS is the very special solemnity which we celebrate this week.   Through her, we see how God gives us a glimpse into the promise and the fullness of eternal life.  In her, we see a beautiful model of a life that said “Yes, Lord”.

     But if you ask a child “How could this Assumption be so?” he would simply answer: “Why?  Because Jesus loved his mother SO MUCH!”

“How could we fail to love her whom our Lord loved so much?  It is impossible to love Christ adequately without also loving the Mother who gave Him to us... for the two are inseparable in the great drama of redemption.”                             

                                                               -  Venerable Fulton Sheen

Adoration

 A quick realization that it was Thursday evening, and an opportunity to run up to the local church for Adoration, Confession, and Reception of Holy Communion.  

A prayer service.

It’s late, but Jesus will still be there. 

Kneeling before Him, with no words.  

I feel like stone.  

A thick, dense, column of stone.     

Ah! Thursday!  Luminous Mysteries.  

The First Luminous Mystery is the Baptism of Our Lord.  Our Father who art in heaven… (Jesus, wash over me, let your healing waters wash over me). The Second Luminous Mystery is The Wedding Feast at Cana.  Our Father who art in heaven…(Mary instructs, “Do whatever He tells you to do”...Jesus, I want to, I really want to).  The Third Luminous Mystery is (in a bellowing voice) THE PROC-la-MA-tion OF the GOS-pel.  Our Father who art in heaven…. (Jesus proclaiming the Gospel, illuminating the Word, sharing the Good News… oh thank you for the Good News!).  The Fourth Luminous Mystery is The Transfiguration.  Our Father who art in heaven…. (Revealing your absolute divine glory… change me too, Lord! Change me, too!).  The Fifth Luminous Mystery is The Institution of the Eucharist.  Our Father who art in heaven… (Institution?  Jesus.  Jesus himself…. Up on that altar, in the monstrance.  Now.)

NOW.

Veiled, a mystery, hidden in a monstrance, in what looks like bread.   

Brilliant light, 

illuminating.

The hardened stone. 

Do something with the thick column of stone.  

Anima Christi... “Soul of Christ, sanctify me.  Body of Christ, save me.  Blood of Christ, inebriate me.  Water from the side of Christ, wash me.  Passion of Christ, strengthen me.  Oh Good Jesus, hear me.  Within your wounds, hide me. Separated from you let me never be.  From the evil one, protect me.  At the hour of my death, call me.  Into your presence, lead me, that I may praise you in heaven with all your saints, forever and ever, Amen.”

Dense columns can be changed....even tumbled, in prayer.

AMEN.

AAAAAA-MEN!

New Life

 This week we welcomed the birth of new life in our family.  Our first grandson, our third grandchild, was born to our daughter and son-in-law.  We eagerly anticipated this child’s arrival, prepared for him, and prayed for him.  We helped plan for the care of his big sister, made sure everyone had meals, and helped take care of the little details that would make this week and all the weeks that led up to it go a little smoother.  While I know that our help was appreciated, the real work was on the new mom and dad. For nine months they have had to navigate the joys, worries, and concerns that a new life brings.  They have had to discern decisions and serious life changes as well, because we all know that little babies bring big changes.  But as all experienced parents already realize, the work (nor the joy) does not end at the arrival.  

This week also marks another event that many more have eagerly anticipated, prepared for, and prayed about.  Our St. Mary’s Church welcomes a group of catechumens who have, for many many months, readied themselves to be sacramentally received into the Catholic faith.  These individuals have discerned a call and prayerfully responded to a yearning. They have attended lectures, studied key elements, listened to the witness of others.  They have had to navigate the concerns about how life will be different, and the implications of having to live differently, for surely life will be different.  They have asked questions, pondered truths, and sought answers, not all of which have yet been satisfied.  Still, they step out in faith. 

Like the anticipated arrival of a new child, each of our catechumens have anticipated this new life in Christ.  May we all continue to support them in their faith journey, welcome them into our faith family, and witness to them what it means to be a new creation.  Let each of us share that the work, and especially the joy, does not end with the first day!

May God bless them abundantly!

Not Alone

I stepped back in time today.

No, I didn’t visit a museum, or some historical colonial settlement. 

I stepped into my junior high classroom.

One day we were there, teaching and inspiring and leading, doing our best to deepen the faithful lives of these young children, getting ready to cheer on 3rd and 4th graders for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Basketball game....  And then suddenly we weren’t.

With Memorial Day right around the corner, today was “pack up” day, but there were no students to gather their things.  Lockers still had notebooks and binders, desks still had papers to complete.  Library books, now long overdue, were stuffed in cubbies with too small P.E. shoes.  

And on my bulletin board was my March calendar, waiting… waiting for me to see this: 

“It is in the company of Jesus that you work for the glory of God.”

In the days and weeks that followed our abrupt departure, the demands of teaching and learning dramatically changed, even intensified. How do you teach without students?  How do students learn without teachers?  It was a lonely, confusing time.  How could I possibly make the faith formation of students relevant without being present, without relationship?  

What followed was extraordinary though.  Teachers were intent on making learning meaningful by determining what was essential and purposeful. Students stepped up and trusted the process.  Parents found ways to support and encourage their children.  

I found myself “surrounded” by people who were determined to find a way, and the learning didn’t stop:  we just refocused on our priorities and adjusted to the circumstances.

And I wasn’t alone. We weren’t alone.  We were very clearly being led.

When our daily work is focused on Who we serve, then every obstacle becomes a means of growing in relationship, with Him and with one another.  And the results? They are amazing.

Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, 

by the power at work within us,

to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus 

to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians: 3:20-21