I am spending a couple days at the cabin with my brother. I got up pretty early this morning and walked with my brother and his dog. It was so peaceful and still. The air was crisp and fresh with the smell of rain on the trees. After our walk, I sat on the upstairs balcony and prayed the rosary. My brother’s dog joined me for part of the time. It was serene and I thanked God for allowing me to enjoy this time.
I Found God today in a serene moment.
I felt drawn to church today, especially as I thought about the horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. I can’t even imagine what those children and parents are going through. I also can’t imagine a person allowing evil to have such a grip upon them. I went to the noon Mass, which had many more people than I had seen in the past. It seems there was a lot of solidarity and people wanting to do something helpful. The mayor of Minneapolis said, “And don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying.” His statement struck me. I don’t know if he was discounting the power of prayer, was just frustrated and saddened, or asking that more be done in the political realm. Whatever the case, I feel that our response should be both/and. Prayers do have power. I have seen it. So, praying is doing something tangible in my opinion. At the same time, it is horrifying that children are killed going to school and praying in a church. So, action does need to be taken in other ways as well. At Mass, our pastor said that he knew the pastor at the parish of the Annunciation and that they were in seminary together. He said he could not imagine what he must be going through right now as he tries to minister to his parish. He will be collecting notes of prayes, love, and encouragement from our parish to send to his friend. He said it is the least that we can do and was certain that it would be meaningful. I was glad I went to church. I felt connected to the bigger Catholic church. And I do pray that all those effected by this tragedy will be able to feel the love and support of people across the nation.
I Found God today connected in prayer.
I was talking with my neighbor this morning and she told me about spending the day with her 7 year old grandson. They went up to the mountains and road a train. They also saw some mines which is the little boys new obsession. On the drive home, they passed a huge plot of land. My neighbor asked her grandson what he would do if he had lots of land like that. The boy had some pretty grandiose ideas. First he would build a mine – of course. Then he would build houses for the miners to live in. He would need kitchens and workers to feed them. There would be a big “H” and “L” on some other houses. My friend tried to guess what that stood for, but was unsuccessful. The boy said it was for homeless. He would go gather up all the people who didn’t have a place to live and bring them to his property. Then he would teach them how to be cooks, or miners, or other jobs. I was amazed at the extensive imagination and the big heart of the little boy.
I Found God today in a little boy with a big heart.
I spent some time volunteering at the Newman Center today. One of the young ladies was humming as she went from here to there. I loved hearing that. I told her I enjoyed her humming and it reminded me of my mother who always had a song playing. The young woman said that she felt it was God’s way of having her share part of who she is with others. I loved her perspective.
I Found God today in the gift of humming.
This evening I watched a program featuring a woman who talked about having an abortion when she was a young teenager. She was only 15 years old when she found herself pregnant. Her mother didn’t want her to have the baby and didn’t want the baby to be born under those circumstances. So the young girl was forced to have an abortion. Later in life, after she married, her first 2 pregnancies were miscarriages. She was certain God was punishing her for what she had done so many years ago. Many years later, she experienced a conversion to the Catholic faith. She said when she went to Confession, she was overwhelmed with the thought that Jesus died for her sins, and now she was freed. However, she still carried the thoughts that she was a bad person. Years later still, she went on a pilgrimage to Lourdes where she entered the bath. She said it was a surreal experience which was impossible to put into words. After that, she was completely healed from her guilt and shame. She leads prayer groups now for women who have lost babies and revealed that even those who say they are fine have a deep hole inside them that needs healing. I was impressed with her honesty, humility, calm demeanor, and love that she felt for others. I thought about what an amazing, loving, generous God we have and how He always offers us more and more grace as often as we continue to go to Him.
I Found God today in His generous love.
My son’s wedding is in just a couple weeks now. I have been talking with my siblings about coming and staying at my house. My nephew and his wife are coming too. Everyone wants to stay here and be all together. Today my sister reminded us of a time many years ago when we were all at the house together and had a pajama party. I think that’s what it will be like for a couple of days and I’m very excited about it. I’m so looking forward to having everyone all together for a joyful occasion.
I Found God today getting excited about having my family all together.
It has been so hot lately. I have been able to open the windows in the morning for maybe a couple of hours but then have to close up the house and run the air conditioner most of the day. Last night, a cold front blew through and cooled things down significantly. It was so nice to have the windows open all day today and let the air come through. It just feels more energizing to me and I enjoy the sounds of life happening outside. There were birds, dogs, children, neighbors, lawnmowers, cars and trucks etc. Ordinary perhaps, but so much better than the sound of the air conditioner.
I Found God today in the cool air and sounds of life outside.
Today a friend and I met for lunch. Unfortunately, the place she chose was not open. We talked about going another time when she told me that her birthday is next week. She said she usually celebrates for a whole week. I told her we should start today then. So she chose a Mexican restaurant for lunch. When we arrived, they had a big sign by the front door advertising a “Chocolate Pinata”. Of course, we decided to get one. We sat outside in the beautiful weather with a beautiful view of the mountains and exchanged stories of healing trips we had taken this summer. We both had a light lunch and ordered the pinata. It was much more of an event than either of us anticipated. The waiter brought out a giant tray that covered almost the entire table. The tray was decorated with chocolate and marshmallow syrup and whipped cream with a couple of containers of chocolate sauce. In the middle was the large, round, chocolate pinata suspended by a metal stand with a curved hook on the end. The waiter gave my friend a wooden stick. She gave the pinata one hard whack, and the whole thing came apart. Inside were little custard filled churros, fresh strawberries, and pineapple. They now covered the tray along with the broken pieces of chocolate. My friend and I had long forks to retrieve the goodies and dunk them in the chocolate sauce. It was quite a treat and a great way for my friend to start her birthday week. Both of us were so happy to have spent the time together and have such fun.
I Found God today spending fun time with a friend.
As I was out and about today, I was stopped at a red light near the elementary school. This particular light is very long, so I have time to look around and notice things. Across the street was man walking with a little girl. I assumed he was the dad. As they approached their crossing walk which was also red, the man started doing marching and backwards steps and such. The little girl was amused and tried to do some of the same steps. What was really funny was that the man was doing his steps right in time to the music I was listening to. I wondered if he was also listening to it. It was an amusing scene that made me laugh.
I Found God today in a funny and ironic dancing man.
Many years ago, I was on a retreat with a pastoral council. In the evening, someone put in the movie, “Into Great Silence”. It was filmed in the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery nestled deep in the French Alps. For approximately six months, the filmmaker immersed himself in the daily rituals, prayers and tasks performed by the Carthusian monks, considered to be among the most ascetic of all orders. The majority of their lives and the film was silent. Most people on the retreat couldn’t watch the full movie. However, I was enthralled by it. Today I talked with a woman who recently made a 5-day silent retreat. She said she usually does a silent retreat for 8 days. I couldn’t even imagine. Her retreat was led by her spiritual director via the Internet. She did actually speak to him a couple of times as a check in. She said her time was spent Jesus. She was in Eucharist Adoration for several hours. Some time was spent walking, but even then she was praying. She said by the time dinner finished, she was exhausted. So she did some light reading, which was about Catholicism and the New Testament. But, she said she loved every minute of her time away with Jesus. She highly recommended I take one. Perhaps some day I will.
I Found God today in a woman’s faith.
