Little Mary Grace

I urge all of you today to visit Angela's blog, called Mary Grace Holmes, named after her daughter who was born asleep at 21 weeks. I promise you that the photos will stay with you for a very, very long time. They will fill your heart and place in you a reality of what true, pure love is. What a remarkable family Angela and her husband have made.

I am also asking all of you to pray for Angela and her family. Leave a comment for her and let her know that you are doing this.

God bless.

Lenten Bouquet and Lenten Link-Up 2010

It's time for the Lenten Link-Up at Catholic Icing again! Visit Lacy's blog for a bucket load of ideas for observing Lent and making this season-in-waiting meaningful for your entire family--you'll find everything from crafts for the kids, to books, prayers, and observances, to Lenten recipes.

Let me add one more idea right now: I call it my Lenten bouquet, and it's a great way to "mark" your Domestic Church during its observation of this unique season. This bouquet is a symbol of waiting and the promise of new life. It is simply a collection of twigs placed in a large glass vase that is surrounded by a plain violet or purple cloth. Spring-flowering twigs brought in from the cold will gradually open their buds and bloom. Choose twigs from shrubs or fruit trees, such as lilac, dogwood, cherry, peach, or apple. Cut the ends of the twigs at a sharp angle, or slice them up the center, to allow water in. At first, the display seems very stark--it's beautiful simplicity is perfect for Lent! If you keep the water plentiful, the twigs will gradually open their buds as Lent proceeds and as we get closer to the Resurrection. The progress is very slow, so I have had many visitors ask why I have "those twigs" on my dining room table. The perfect conversation piece! It gives me a great excuse to explain Lent.

By the Easter season, the blooms are open and they are beautiful. On Easter Vigil, I change the violet cloth to a white cloth our children decorated with glitter pens. They painted on Easter eggs, crosses, and the word "Allelulia." Give this a try. And feel free to leave a comment and let us know how you "mark" your Domestic Church.

And please don't forget to visit Catholic Icing for lots and lots of great ideas!

If You Arrive Late and Are a Little Frazzled

Check out my new pages, Edifying Catholic Books and Catholic Links for Catholic Moms. As the names imply, they list books and on-line resources of all kinds that are true to the Catholic faith. Pages are located at the top of the blog. I hope you enjoy them, especially during this Lenten season.

If you are still searching for a Lenten promise you can fulfill for our dear Lord, there is still time to begin! Perhaps these resources can help you. Don't give up or put it off! Christ is always pleased to see you, even if you arrive late and are a little frazzled.

There are many ways to add to your Catholic contemplation and prayer. You needn't be afraid if you cannot make a big sacrifice this Lent. Even the smallest acts are pleasing to God and will be blessed, if they are done with a full heart in both love and earnest, with your eyes on Heaven.

May Our Lord, Jesus Christ, bless you in your efforts to draw closer to Him. God bless.

Holy Communion: Jesus' Amazing Love Story

by Kathleen Blease

This is a post I ran in January. In this Lenten season, I feel the need to post it again. In the observance of Lent and in the contemplation of Our Lord's sorrowful passion, we are reminded of just how precious Holy Communion is. I added a photo in the middle of the text.

It has taken me years to understand how the Mass is a sacrifice, not just a remembrance of the Last Supper. And, you know, it is all very simple and very reasonable and real. It took me a while to understand, but I’m glad I finally do!

To be direct, let me put it this way: I know me. And you know you. And since I know me and you know you, then we have to admit that it is indeed a sacrifice for Jesus Christ to leave His Kingdom in Heaven to endure you and me. Would you want to leave the perfect beauty of Heaven to live with you? Would I to live with me?

Let’s review what happens at the Mass itself, and then maybe I can be more clear.

The Mass is well arranged to help us prepare to receive Christ. First, we approach the Lord calling to mind our sins and asking for His mercy. Then we say, “Glory to God in the Highest,” to remind us just how merciful God is to us sinners. As the Mass progresses, we hear from the Old Testament, including the Psalms traditionally attributed to King David, the Acts of the Apostles, and then the Gospel of the Lord itself. (I’d like to add here that the Old Testament is just as Christian as the New Testament. It explains how God prepared a nation into which his Only Son was born. And for this we are to be grateful to the Hebrew nation.)

These first parts of the Mass bring us into the Light of Christ in a humble way and with the best mindset.

Then, in the Creed, we also address that Christ is one hundred percent divine and one hundred percent human. You know, in the Gospel, Christ uses the words “Son of Man.” His is very humble. I can’t help but be moved by the image of Christ, Son of God, standing before the people and saying that He is one of us! How remarkable is it that the perfect form of God chooses to be one of us and love us with all His might! Don’t forget that God has every power to come to this earth in any form, yet He chooses to be human, beginning as we do, as a tiny and helpless babe.

Well, now, this is not the whole story. Christ did something that was never done before, something brand new to humankind. He died for us, he an innocent lamb, to show us exactly what perfect love looks like. He gave His very last drop of blood so we could see and believe.

(The Passion of the Christ)

This love story begins so beautifully. And there is no ending! It is the everlasting covenant.

There is yet one more facet to this amazing story we should all bear in mind. It did not take place in history. It is taking place today. Jesus still exists. His love still exists. His sacrifice is still taking place. He shouldn’t be spoken of in the past tense. He still walks this earth. How so?

Let’s return to the Mass. The altar is prepared for Holy Communion. As the gifts are brought up to the altar, we bring what is in our hearts. We are to give to Jesus our hearts as He is about to give Himself to us. He calls us to be in Him and He is in us.

And then the beauty of Heaven begins. At the Consecration, Christ is now the priest of the Mass and Heaven touches Earth. Did you ever notice how clergy, such as a bishop or the Pope, remove their skull caps while preparing the altar? They are subjugating themselves to Christ. And they now become Christ’s hands. Yes! Heaven is now touching Earth right there before your very eyes through the hands of the priest! Christ tells us in the Gospel that the bread now becomes His Body. And the wine now becomes His Blood. All through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the Eucharist. The Invisible Christ.

Jesus is sacrificing Himself all over again for us, as He first did on Calvary. Christ reigns in Heaven, with all the glory of the angels and His Heavenly Father. He reigns in complete love and peace, and yet He chooses to come down from Heaven and be with us...us, crazy mixed up people He will forever love…us, living in this human world. He is here through the priest’s hands. And then He is in us through Holy Communion, the Eucharist.

And so Christ is giving himself to us again and again and again. Every day at every Mass. Think about how many Masses there are each day in the world. Perhaps every hour? Every quarter hour? Every minute? Each and every time the Consecration takes place, Heaven is with us, because its King, Jesus Christ, is with us in the Eucharist.

Make no mistake about it. Do not become confused by what others tell you. When you are receiving the Eucharist at Holy Communion, you are receiving Christ himself. Yes, it is a remembrance, but not just a remembrance. Jesus didn’t say, “Think of this bread as my body.” Or, “This bread is a symbol of my body.” No. Christ said, This IS my body. This IS my blood. The blood of the new and everlasting covenant. The fulfillment of the covenant God the Father made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses and Joshua. And you are receiving that fulfillment from Heaven itself.

Jesus himself instituted the Eucharist. People didn’t just make this up to honor him. The Eucharist is so perfect and reasonable that only God could have come up with this. And it is complete, Christ in His entirety. It is truly divine!

I would doubt that the Twelve Apostles understood what the Lord was saying at the Last Supper. It took quite a while for it all to make sense to them, I should think. It certainly would take a while for me to understand. But their hearts were in the right place. Theirs were with Christ. They came to Him with their hearts…and HE DID THE REST!

Of course, Peter’s denial of Christ certainly didn’t appear as though his heart was in the right place. His fear overwhelmed him, but when Christ appeared to the Apostles after His crucifixion, Peter was elated and began to understand all that Jesus placed in his heart. Jesus then ordained His Apostles during His forty days with them after His Resurrection, Easter Sunday. He instructed them in all they needed to do. I can only imagine how fear must have struck them again when Christ ascended into Heaven, and the Apostles felt they were alone. But, alas, Christ did send the Advocate He promised, and Peter’s heart was moved into action at Pentecost. He and all the apostles knew what to do next.

They didn’t give up their lives for a symbol made with bread and wine. Today, our priests don’t give up careers, family, and the opportunity to give their parents grandchildren for a symbol of bread and wine. Just like the Twelve Apostles, our priests, our modern day Apostles, give their lives to Christ, a deep abiding love. The Twelve Apostles didn’t leave the comforts of their home and family to travel to strange, foreign lands and suffer persecution for a symbol. They loved the Eucharist, because the Eucharist is Christ Himself, whom they love with complete devotion. He is for all generations to receive. And today our priests are living this amazing love story. When they give up marriage, they do not live without love of another. They live in love; love is their life.

At every Mass, at every Holy Communion, you receive the same Christ who touches Peter and calls him the rock upon which He builds His church. You receive the same Christ who heals the lame, who makes the blind see, who raises Lazarus from the dead! This is the same Christ who dies on the cross for you, who is resurrected, who is ascended into Heaven, where he reigns as its King.

Imagine, this all-loving and perfect Christ longs to be with you each and every day, and in a physical way. Not through a symbol, not through just a prayer, but through a physical host that resides in you. IN YOU!! When Jesus hung on the cross, He said, "I thirst." Mother Teresa, now Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, had a calling from Christ, during which He placed in her heart the meaning of these two endearing words. He thirsts not for a drink but for us to come to Him. To love as deeply and as abidingly as He loves us. Near His last breath, He is calling us, aching for us. These are the words that sustained Mother Teresa in her work and made her the living saint we all loved. And He gives us Holy Communion so we, too, can physically live with Him and hear His call.

There is no doubt that the Mass is indeed a sacrifice. Without the true presence of Christ, it is a prayer service. Prayer services are good, and prayer will bring you closer to Christ by putting your mind and heart with Our Lord. But a prayer service is not a Mass. A Mass is receiving the physical Christ in His body, blood, soul and divinity. Yes, you are also receiving his soul and divinity, which are the essence of Christ.

Now, as I said: I know me. And you know you. And since I know me and you know you, then we both know that this indeed is a complete sacrifice…to leave Heaven and endure me and you! All out of love and compassion. He is truly crazy about us and devoted to us, His Father’s creation! If you are to be the only person on earth, He will still die for you, so you will understand His deep devotion and seek His Heaven.

Go to Mass. Love Mass. Sit in the front pew so you see only your Christ. Sit in front of the tabernacle. Visit the tabernacle as often as you can. Visit with Christ. You do not need your church to hold Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament to do this. Many churches welcome visitors anytime. Also take a few moments after Mass to pray in front of the tabernacle. Don’t just leave after the recessional hymn. You can visit your friends anytime; they will understand. When you are before the tabernacle, give Christ your heart. You don’t need to say anything. He will say it all to you by filling your heart with an understanding and peace that can only reside in love. This is indeed Jesus Christ, Our Lord and King, who reigns with love and compassion. And as Catholics, we receive Him at each and every celebration of the Eucharist, the Mass. God bless.

Rewrite, My Friend! Rewrite!

by Kathleen Blease

My son's 7th grade paper. Three drafts to an A.

The science fair is over. The classroom is cleaned and the rubber cement has been scraped off the floor. One research paper is finished and another is in the mix.

In a past life, when I worked at the Times Books imprint at Random House, Inc. in Manhattan, a young author by the name of Robert Wright had just completed his first book, Three Scientists and their Gods. If memory serves me, Bob just started, scarcely in his 30s, as the editor in chief of the Atlantic Monthly. He was tall and slender, topped with blonde hair and a boyish face. He wore a tweed jacket and a certain look of intellectual exasperation. “Bob,” I inquired, “I’m putting your book into production. Is there anything you would like to do before I send it downstairs to the production editor?” “Yeah,” he said as he ran his hands through his hair, “You can let me re-write it!”  I smiled: “Why? It’s good!” His hand punched the air to make a point. “Oh, but I can make it better!”

Yes, indeedy, anything written can be made better (except the Word, of course). Now, there are a few types of editors: copyeditors read manuscripts for tiny details and make sure that all the t's are crossed and all the i's are dotted. Line editors read them for grammar and smooth-sailing sentences; clunky ones are nixed and rewritten. Then there is the developmental editor. Ah, yes. We are cut from a different cloth. We don't have the master eye for details like the other two; we obsess over logic. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How are our best buddies. They go with us everywhere and drive everyone crazy. When there’s a hole in the writer’s logic, it’s the developmental editor who introduces him to the 5Ws and How. And we don’t stop there; you see, we can’t sleep at night if chapter one should be chapter three and chapter three should be chapter twelve. Or, Heaven forbid, a lame paragraph sends the reader down the wrong path, only to meet the dead end of confusion. It kills us to see logic wasted. Linear, my man, linear!

The developmental editor is the editor about whom authors have strong opinions. Some rave over how she makes beautiful books out of the piles of spaghetti plopped on her desk. After all, it's not the editor's name that graces the covers; these authors send thank you cards and breathe a great sigh of relief. Others pout and cry uncle: “You’re making me redo this? One time is enough for me!” For these authors, the developmental editor is more than happy to take it upon herself to re-write the manuscripts as she sees fit, on the sneak. Better to re-write than to face the mobs with an incoherent diddy of a book, and (gasp) with her name listed in the acknowledgments. I can only speculate that these authors breathe a sigh of relief, too, but thank you cards are not forthcoming under these circumstances.

After some years in the biz, I now have my newest victims-- my boys. They are young, fresh, and very reluctant. Oh, to be the son of a professional book editor. The torture. Rewrite! Rewrite! Ever since my guys have been old enough to fashion a paragraph, I have impressed upon them that they should never be married to what they write. There is always a new way to express an idea. Writing is an exploration and a journey; and the more you dig in, the more you grow. To get right down to the crux of the matter: Like many tasks in life, it's better to be in love with the process than the outcome. If you’re looking to get it right the first time, you’re heading for an experience that’s about as exciting as the dentist’s drill! Heady stuff for a third grader, I know, and my sons have gone through as many as four drafts before hitting the editorial home run.

My oldest son, in 8th grade, is now accustomed to my edits. He leaves his paper dutifully on my desk and asks me to "give it a read.” The red editing pencil comes out, and the work begins. I follow a few basic guidelines. Sentences and paragraphs that are well crafted receive a positive note. I use standard editing marks to show him how to fix sentences that are grammatically incorrect or clunky. Or if I suspect there would be a better way to explain something, I ask him, in the margin, to think about another approach. On the other hand, sentences that could be rewritten to sound more mature are left alone. After all, it’s his paper, not his mom’s, so it's better to let the youngster's voice shine through. Nevertheless, holes in logic are noted with my trusty 5Ws and How. I treat him just like I would an author. And, you know, he tackles it (the whining has subsided over the years to a small sigh), searching and researching to find the materials, crafting his work to make it right—or as Bob Wright would want “better!” Over the years, I have found that fewer sentences sound less than mature, and his paragraphs are more fleshed out without his mother’s prompting. Well done, son!

Now a note about red pens and pencils: I once read in a well respected home schooling magazine that red pens and pencils are a no-no. Children, apparently, find them insulting and become overwhelmed by a paper covered in red marks and comments. This, the expert said, leads to tears and disappointment. Hmm. I never thought of this. So when we visited Staples at the start of the school year, I happily asked the boys what color pens they would like me to use. I heard that purple was a favorite among the school age sect. I presented a few gel pens for approval. My boys screwed up their faces, simultaneously. (I love when that happens.) “Why?” they said. “If you use purple, we won’t see it all that well. No, we like red. Get red.” So much for educator’s psychology. The checking and editing pencils made by Ticonderoga are perfect for the job—red and erasable (hey, even us editors need to erase!).

Well now, whatever happened to Robert Wright? I hear he’s still out there, thrashing out the big ideas he loves to explore to get the kernels on paper. I haven’t read his more recent titles, but I suspect that he’s finding out why book critics are called book critics. It's a tough world, publishing is. Well, Bob, you were right. Big ideas take an enormous amount of patience and most of all, yes-indeed, rewrites. Enjoy the journey! God bless.

King of His Domain

by Kathleen Blease

He was in full regalia, this king of his domain. Each and every visitor was met by his salute. His name was Tom, and he guarded his kingdom with fervor and zest. Tom greeted me as I turned into the dairy farm’s driveway, waddling behind the car, calling out “Halt, who goes there?” By the time I reached the end, he quickly made an about face and returned to his post, perhaps to meet the next intruder.

(photo source: Vestaldesign.com)

I went into the store, purchased jumbo eggs, meat, and milk. On my way out, a little cat met me, and I bent down to scootch his ears. While putting the packages in my car, I noticed a little white egg a hen had deposited in the snow right next to the back tire.

I hopped in, turned the car around (mindful of the egg), and was met by his majesty at the driveway. Tom rushed my SUV head on, puffed up, noisy and nosy, strutting his stuff. I stopped and he came along side the car. I pushed the gas pedal, and the king bird ran along side me, waddling, as his feathers were out in full suit and armor, his chin curled over his massive breast.

A little more gas. By the time I peered out the window, his suit of armor was half its former size. He was in streamline mode. Smooth as silk. His neck extended out as far as it could reach, his beak leading the way. He was in full stride! Chaaaarge!! His face was bright blue, and his eyes were focused straight ahead, set on the finish line. Oh my, he was in his glory! At the end of the driveway, he fluffed his feathers again, puffed up, curled his chin back, and began gobblin' his command: “Away with you! Away with you!”

What a beauty!

When I got home and pulled into the driveway, a little black-capped chickadee landed on the birdfeeder next to the car. He puffed up his plumage and with a loud and raspy “chick-a-dee-dee-dee!” barked his command: “Away with you! Away with you!”

All creatures great and small, the Lord God made them all! God bless.

Food for Fridays

by Kathleen Blease

The Lenten season is always a challenge for us moms with growing teenagers and hungry husbands! New recipes make it into my recipe box.

At Mass on Ash Wedsnesday, Father explained that Lent means "to lengthen." The days are getting longer, and more light is entering our world. Spring is just around the corner! New life is about to spring up! Even with a foot of snow on the ground, my husband and I are perusing seed catalogs and planning our garden. I'm dreaming of cooking with my own homegrown fresh herbs and vegetables again. There's nothing like going out to the garden to fetch dinner!

Lent is a great time to make the transition from heavy winter roasts and casseroles, like pork roasts and lasagna, to lighter and healthier meals. What a wonderful season is Lent! We make sacrifices to Christ, through our Lenten promises, grow closer to Him, and become healthier all at the same time. Our Lord certainly does know what's best for us.

Check out the new feature to Kathleen's Catholic--my new Lenten recipes in the link above. A delicious soda bread. A bright bean soup. And a scrumptous egg croquette. (My teenage son just said, "Oh, yea, I like your croquettes!") They're very satisfying and easy to prepare. Perfect for Fridays. Enjoy!