This is Urgent

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March_2008_009Do you feel sometimes as if it's all too much? I don't mean the clutter this time, or at least I don't mean only the clutter. Do you feel as if there is just so much that's expected of you and not enough you to cover it all? Are the burdens of your daily life bearing down on you with a heaviness that is nearly crushing? How could that be? You live your faith. At least, you try to live your faith. And you know that God says His grace is sufficient. No matter what the suffering, He has graces abundant enough for you. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows exactly what you need. So why? Why is it all too much? Why does it feel like there's plugged duct in the strength and grace supply line?

What if  the exact amount of grace that you need right now is ready and waiting for you? What if whatever strength you are lacking could be yours?  What if you could have right away?

You can. In nearly every town, there are numerous confession times for the next few days. You walk into that confessional and you dump. You dump all the gunk that is blocking the channel of grace. You lose all the muck and you gain all the grace you need. You come out feeling loads lighter. Then, you receive our Lord in Communion and suddenly, it's not too much at all. You have more than enough.
Go now. Get yourself some grace. God is waiting to give it to you in abundance.

"Issues" with dates and time

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I'm thinking these days that Nicky might have inherited his obsession with dates and times and rhythms and routines from me. Who thought it was a good idea to have Daylight Savings Time begin in early March? It's taking me weeks to adjust. Who thought it was a good idea to have Lent  smack in the heart of flu season? I'm still trying to regain my balance. And now, Holy Week is the week between Selection Sunday and the launch of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. This will have my husband the director dashing from the Verizon Center to the Shrine as he attempts to combine college basketball with Holy Thursday on EWTN.  Then he'll do it again on Saturday as he dashes from hoops victories to the Easter vigil. Throw in pre-production preparations as they get ready for the Pope's visit, and it means that I won't see him at all this week. My children are taking bets on how many times I say "EWTN" when I mean "ESPN" and vice versa. My Lenten cleaning has reached a fevered pitch. I'm not blogging it; I'm just doing it, trying to redeem time. And as I do it, I'm thinking about how I'm going to mesh the tournament with the Triduum and help my children live their faith in the world but not of the world.  And, I admit to blinking back tears when I saw photos of this familiar scene and remembered Seder dinners in that kitchen with much smaller people and I realized that this year will be Lauren's last Seder at home and we missed it...
Dear Lord, we really can't control time at all, can we?

Lent Day 36

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Fast: Do you have talent? Remember to give God theglory. “The sole thing in myself in which I glory is that I see in myself nothing in which I can glory.” – St. Catherine of Genoa

Pray: Repeat a short prayer while you do the dishes today: “O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours!”

Give: Invite a friend for lunch. Don’t worry about making the house look perfect or cooking fancy food. Be truly present to her.