Our van has been acting up (and of course, only starting to do so at 500 on the Friday evening that starts a long holiday weekend.) Basically, the break lights aren’t working, so we have stuck close to home for Mass this weekend.  I followed behind Joshua in his car, while he drove the van, so we could go to Mass on Saturday evening and then today the lights were working so we all went in the van. (There is a  mission parish in the town we live near, with daily Mass and a Vigil Mass on Saturdays. We attend from time to time, when there are sick kids, car issues, or schedule issues for Sunday (that is seldom though.))

The pastor is on vacation, so today we had a priest who, from what I understood, is with the Army Chaplin Corp and is based in Washington State. He didn’t do anything special, but was reverent, and his homily, wow. I was blown away. Simple, yet full of catechesis about our Lady. One of those homilies that I keep harking back to as the day goes on. I didn’t catch his name, but he was wonderful! At the end of Mass, he thanked us (all in attendance) for the our devotion. I can only imagine that it was in part because the little mission church was full and it was the morning after a big party day, and we were there.

Father spoke with Caecilia after Mass, asking her if there was honey on her thumb, because it wast stuck in her mouth. He asked Margaret if she was going to receive her First Communion soon, a question that made her smile. (No, we haven’t started prepping her yet, but soon.) Benedict ran from him.  I love when priests show interest in families (not just my family, but families in general, we need support!!)

So, thank you, Father (From Washington State), thank you for your devotion and your willingness to preach the truth, even when it is not popular or easy!

 

If you are on twitter, follow him! 🙂 He will be sending his first tweet tomorrow. (Well, today, if you are in Italy.)

On Saturday we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. In our house, it seemed as though we partied all weekend. Caecilia’s Baptism Day was the 7th, then the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, then the Second Sunday in Advent. We ate cake and had Chinese take out all weekend. (Well okay, it was all leftovers from Friday night).

Our pastor made sure to let us all know last Sunday that Saturday was indeed a Holy Day of Obligation. He calls them “Holy Days of Privilege” as well, so there was no missing that we were supposed to be in the pews for Mass. There was the normal Friday evening Mass (which is offered every Friday night) and one additional one on Saturday.  We opted for the Friday Vigil Mass as it was also Caecilia’s Baptism Day and we wanted to make sure we went to Mass on that day as well.

On our way there, we decided to stop for Chinese food on the way home. This is rare for us (spur of the moment meal out decisions.) I had put fish in the fridge and made a salsa to put over top of them, but on the way to Mass we remembered our Chinese food tradition on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (started when we lived in Ohio, four years ago.)

Saturday night we went to Mass so that we could go to confession before hand. (Since our parish is a half hour away, it makes sense to stay for the Vigil if we there for confessions already.)  The line for the confessional was long (and in the beginning confusing, we didn’t know/couldn’t tell that there were people waiting in line) and only Karol got in, before Mass started.

Sunday, as we did not need to get up and go anywhere, was quiet. We organized our room a bit, as it looked like clothes had exploded and had overnight cinnamon rolls for breakfast. (I used fresh ground wheat and let me tell you, that adds a big difference in the flavor and texture, they are most filling.) Joshua topped them with a praline topping with pecans from our yard. I folded more laundry as the day progressed, then finally made dinner using the fish I had pulled out on Friday evening. It was good stuff. Thanks Anne for the recipe.

Since we weren’t able to get to confession over the weekend, and I am getting on an airplane this week, we headed to a Penance service at a different parish last night. I love the sacrament of confession, love it. While it was kinda hard to prepare while wrangling the kids  I was happy to go (normally we split up, Joshua goes in while I stay in the van and vice versa, but this time we both went it, because of the lines.).

One of the things we’ve been doing as a family this Advent is the Jesse Tree and Vespers. The Jesse Tree ornaments are actually just hung on a string of yarn above the fire place. We do a reading with them each night, then we pray Vespers. It is a nice way to end the evening. I am also enjoying praying Vespers as a family. We also have scaled back on food and sweets. Not as severe as Lent would be, but no cookies or ice cream right now.  How can we feast on Christmas if we’ve been feasting all of Advent?

 

Please keep our Bishops in your prayers as they participate in their General Assembly. If you are interested in following along, you can watch it on the USCCB website.

You can also read Cardinal Dolan’s Presidential Address here.

Not enough for one post, but a few things for the day:

The first, and most important,  prayers for those in the North East and Great Lakes areas.

I wish to assure you of my closeness and my recollection of those who have been affected by this natural disaster, while I invite everyone to prayer and solidarity, in order to alleviate the pain of the families of the victims and offer support to the thousands of people who have been hurt.- Pope Benedict XVI

We’ve heard from friends and family in the area and everyone seems to be doing well, most without power, but all spared the brunt of the storm. Margaret was scared because her Godmother lives outside of Philadelphia and was in right in the path. Little Margaret prayers were offered last night for all those in the storm.

Last night, I started the costumes for All Saints Day. Margaret will be St. Kateri and Caecilia will be Bl. Mother Teresa. Those were pretty easy to make, surprisingly (for me, as I can’t sew). Benedict will probably end up being St. Benedict of Norcia and Karol has requested St. Michael. I think I can manage, that.

We are having a few friends over for dinner and a bonfire that evening. Thankfully, the weather has turned cool, so we won’t be sweating through the bonfire. (It is 59 and windy right now, chilly chilly for us.) I am trying to prepare for that, but really, I think we can all say that cleaning house with kids around and expecting it to stay that way is just a pipe dream. So I’ve wiped things down and done as much deep cleaning I’ve been able to do.

Also, Karol will be making his First Holy Communion at the morning Mass on the Feast of All Saints. Please say a prayer for him. He is super excited and is very much looking forward to being able to receive our Eucharistic Lord for the first time. I don’t think he realized until this past Sunday that we will be able to receive every time we go to Mass from now on (provided he is prepared.)

 

 

Today Karol makes his First Confession!! Please say a prayer for my not so little boy!