Faith
60th Birthday Mass
A friend of mine and her husband have been making regular trips to France and Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago – The Way of St. James. It is a pilgrimage journey with religious sites along the way ending at the tomb of St. James. They recently made their way back determined to finish […]
Church Offers
I met with some friends today and we got on the topic of Catholic funerals. We talked about the beauty of the traditions and customs of the Church. Typically, funerals begin with praying a rosary, then a full Mass. I thought of 2 specific priests who sang the final blessing as the deceased is taken […]
Musically Gifted
My dad and brother have been busy transferring the old cassette tapes into the computer. The next step is to put them on CD’s so they can be played easily. My brother completed the first one today and we all listened. It was a compilation of my mother playing the piano when she was at […]
Pie Note
The other day, a friend said he was thinking of and praying for me. That same day, another friend mailed me a note. I received it today and lit up immediately. The envelope and card displayed a berry pie topped with crust cut-outs designed to look like the American flag. It looked just like the […]
Jesus, A Friend, and Two Deer
When my son’s best friend died, I went over to my church and scheduled him to be specifically prayed for during the petitions at a couple of Masses. Today was one of them. Mass was at 7:00 am. Even with all my good intentions, I was a little late. I heard the Gospel, there was […]
Unexpected Prayer
Today I received a quick note from a young man I worked with for a while. He was just letting me know that he was thinking of and praying for me. That really touched my heart. I Found God today in an unexpected note of prayer.
Respite Retreat
This weekend I was truly blessed to be able to take a personal respite retreat. I was really desiring some time to just be alone and take a little break. As I thought and prayed about the best way to do this, I was reminded of a monastery I had driven by several times that […]
Not Much Has Changed
As my dad continued to listen to some audio tapes today, I heard them as well. One in particular was he and my mom speaking to my dad’s aunt some 40 years ago. They got talking about the state of the world and the end times. They discussed the church’s beliefs as to when Jesus […]
God’s End Game
Today at church, the scripture readings were focused on the fact that we, people, are very busy every day doing the things that we find important. Some of the things we do are necessary for living, for survival. But all things in this world will fade and pass away – even ourselves – and we […]
Repose of the Soul
Years ago when my mother-in-law died, I was distraught at the fact that there was no wake, no funeral, no services. I spoke to a priest friend of mine who suggested having a Mass said for her. What that means is the Sacrifice of the Mass would include a specific prayer for her soul. I […]