Eucharist
Sunday
Unfortunately, it is getting more and more difficult for my mother to attend Mass. This morning I decided to meet my son for the early Mass while my sister stayed with my mom. It had been a long time since I had been out early on a Sunday morning. There was little traffic and I […]
Newly Confirmed
At Mass today, there were 6 people who entered into the Church. They had all been Baptized in the past, so today they received the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Eucharist to complete their initiation. When they were Confirmed, the priest literally poured the chrism oil onto their heads. Then he rubbed it into their […]
Perfect Trifecta
Today I was happy to have a few hours to myself. I scheduled the day so I would be able to spend some time in the church. I arrived just a few minutes early for the time for Confession and was actually the first one there. It was nice to have a different priest from […]
Special Mass
A couple months ago, I had scheduled with our parish that one of the Mass intentions would be for my dad. It was on the books for yesterday. Since I was away, my sister took my mom to the Mass. Our “usual” seats are in the first row of chairs in the back of the […]
Another Strange Mass
There weren’t very many people in the pews when we arrived at Mass this morning. That was strange to begin with. When it was time to start Mass, the music director announced that, unfortunately, there was no priest present to celebrate Mass. A deacon was there, so we went ahead and started with the Liturgy […]
Why Mass
Since it was snowing outside today, we participated in Mass online with one of my favorite priests. The topic for his homily was why should we go to Mass. He had several good points and examples that were uplifting instead of berating, which is part of the reason why he is one of my favorites. […]
We Received Communion
Today when my mom and I were checking in to see my dad, the Eucharistic minister came in right behind us to give my dad Holy Communion. We found him sleeping in a chair and were told that he was up and awake all last night. He would respond every now and again and did […]
There Is No Other
This morning I prayed with Isaiah 45:15-25. The words, “I am the Lord, there is no other,” reminded me that it was the theme for a retreat I took the high school youth to many years ago as a youth minister. I was immediately taken back to the place, the summer heat, the music, the […]
Meaningful Discoveries
A while ago, I put together a notebook with some pens and pencils and put them on the table in my dad’s room. The hope was that he would write down some thoughts or note. After a week or so, I wrote a small I Love You message on the first page of the still […]
Lamenting Loss of Worship
In my Bible class tonight, we took a look through Book 3 of the Psalms. In this section, the temple of worship had been destroyed and defiled. David and others were lamenting the loss of the physical temple, the place where they would worship God. They also felt victimized – rightly so – by their […]
Still Finding God 