Lent
Suffering Stations
Good Friday. My mom and I went to the church today to pray the Stations of the Cross. At each of the 14 stations, there was a meditation about a particular element of suffering that Jesus Christ endured as he carried his cross to the place of his crucifixion and was ultimately put to death. Each […]
Look of Love
I always look forward to Holy Thursday. Maybe that is strange. But to me the day offers so much symbolism and meaning to contemplate. I went to Mass this evening and the scripture readings included the story of Jesus’ last supper with His apostles. At the meal, Jesus washed the feet of his friends. He […]
Power of Prayer
Tonight I talked with a friend who told me a story of how a group of kids learned about the power of prayer. Every year the youth group participates in a 30-hour Fast during Lent. They have nothing but bread and water for 30 hours and at the same time raise money for the local food […]
I Have a Nun
Today I got a call from my son in college. It is always good to hear from him. He is trying to figure out exactly how to schedule his summer and hopefully final year in school while completing his master’s thesis. We went back and forth discussing some different options when he said, “Oh, I […]
Lent For Others
Today was my mom’s first session of a group voice therapy. It was a very small group – just 1 other person. She was an older woman who also has Parkinson’s and is living with her daughter. We all went into a room and after some warm-up exercises, the therapist instructed my mom and the […]
Coming Together
My sister’s new home is a small ranch property located in a neighborhood of sorts consisting of 10 small ranches along a dirt road. My sister’s property is at the very end of the private road. The road has been a mess pretty much since they moved in a few months ago and is in […]
Red Sashes
Tonight I went to the Good Friday service at the church. As I sat down, I noticed a man a few rows in front of me that had a red piece of cloth draped over his shoulder like a sash. I looked around and saw that several people had the same red sashes. I wondered […]
Palm Sunday
Today is Palm Sunday. I always enjoy going to church and getting fresh new palms. I do not so much enjoy reading the Passion – the part of the Bible that describes the last few hours of Jesus’ life. I don’t mind so much that it is long and typically we stand through the whole […]
New Church Experience
Tonight I decided to go to an evening of prayer and supper at the church. My parents were not up to going out in the frigid weather, so I went by myself. I have not been going to this church a very long and have not participated in anything outside of Sunday Mass, so I realized […]
Praying the Day
This morning I read my daily devotion that continued on the theme of happiness. It was a quote: “You pray, you love—that is the happiness of man upon the earth.” ST. JEAN MARIE BAPTIST VIANNEY, THE CURE OF ARS Quite honestly, my prayer life has been lacking. I don’t like feeling far away from God and […]
Still Finding God 