by Mary | Feb 22, 2008 | family, Original NSS, parenting
Well, we are just hours away from the official end of mid-winter vacation (I don’t count weekends), and I just have to say that this week had to be a monumental disappointment for my kids. All they wanted to do was make some homemade bread and play some games, but with my crazy work-from-home schedule this week, they were pretty much on their own. I never painted Olivia’s toe nails. We never finished her scrapbook. I never played Scrabble with Noah. I never even played Candy Land with Chiara. We did make it to the library a couple of times and to the Perfect Blend, their favorite shop for smoothies and treats, but that’s a far cry from Disney World — or the bowling alley for that matter. (more…)
by Mary | Feb 22, 2008 | Original NSS
I want to catch all my weekday-only visitors before the weekend sets in. If you have a Sirius Radio subscription, please tune in on Monday morning at 7:30 a.m., when I will be a guest on Gus Lloyd’s Seize the Dayshow on The Catholic Channel, 159 129 on the Sirius “dial.”
I’ll be talking about my new book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Catholic Catechism, which you can pre-order by clicking HERE. (Just a reminder that Amazon is posting the wrong cover and an inaccurate bio, so pay no attention to any of that. The real cover is much nicer and can be seen HERE.)
Gus tells me I’ll be part of his “Everyday Heroes” segment. I warned him that I am definitely not an everyday hero, but he scheduled me anyway. So, please, check out the program while you’re driving to work or eating breakfast. If you want to know more about Gus and the show, click HERE. And a big shout out to my friend Michele for giving Gus the heads up about me and my book.
by Mary | Feb 21, 2008 | Lent, Original NSS, spirituality
I recently wrote an article on Lenten family traditions for Our Sunday Visitor, a national Catholic news weekly for whom I am a contributing editor. I thought some of you might like to hear what other people are doing to celebrate this special season. Some families go the whole nine yards, giving up TV for the entire season of Lent. Whoa! We are nowhere near that level of holiness at our house. Give up watching Lost? But I waited so patiently for new episodes to begin — almost simultaneously with Lent. Bad timing. Anyway, here’s the article with some great ideas from some really cool people and a few links to other Lenten resources as well:
Making Lent More Meaningful
By Mary DeTurris Poust
For Catholic families, Lent can be a time to step away from the normal routine to create new and sacred traditions that go beyond simply giving up a favorite food or putting money in the Rice Bowl. While those basic sacrifices still play an important role in Lenten traditions, today’s families are working hard to incorporate more prayer, service and meaning into their communal walk through the spiritual desert.
Some families go without any television or “screen” time for all 40 days. Others commit to visiting the sick or lonely in lieu of typical recreational activities. Still others add the Rosary or other prayers to their nightly routines.
Whichever path a family chooses, the actions often blossom into treasured annual traditions and sometimes even into new routines that spill over into Ordinary Time and ordinary lives.
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by Mary | Feb 20, 2008 | family, Original NSS, parenting
Well, the kids were painting again — something they seem to do with frightening frequency, especially when you take into consideration that they are just feet away from the clean laundry. Yesterday, Chiara was busy at the easel, painting what she said was a brown snowman. Olivia came around to get a look and immediately declared that it was not a snowman but a bishop. Up until that point I had been folding the previously mentioned clean laundry, but at this comment my ears perked up.
I came over and stood behind Chiara’s shoulder, and, sure enough, there was a bishop, miter and all. We think Chiara was trying to capture the ordination rite known as the Laying on of Hands. See how his arms are extended over the head of the yellow abstract priest-in-waiting? Or maybe he’s sprinkling the congregation with holy water? Distributing Communion? (more…)
by Mary | Feb 19, 2008 | family, Original NSS
So we’re into our second week of Lent, and I have to admit that this has been a less-than-stellar outing for me so far. I’m doing fine with the fasting and sacrifice portion of our program; it’s the prayer and service that’s tripping me up. To be quite honest, I have felt unable to pray pretty much since Ash Wednesday. It’s a new feeling for me.
Don’t get the wrong idea. Even on my best days I’m pretty deficient in the prayer department. Let’s just say that if they were picking prayer teams, I would be — as I was throughout my school athletic career — the last one picked. When it comes to prayer, I just can’t seem to get it together. But what I’ve been feeling for close to two weeks now is something different, an absence, a disconnectedness, even — if I may sound so melodramatic — an abandonment by God.
I’m still reading spiritual books, but I just can’t form the words of prayer. In fact, I can’t even form the thoughts of prayer. At least not strictly personal prayer. I still stand beside my children’s beds each night and make the Sign of the Cross over them and call on the Blessed Mother and the guardian angels for protection, but when I settle down to try to listen for what God is trying to say to me, I find myself in an empty, dry, dark place. (more…)
