Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Highlights! or Why It's Good To Be Young, Fun, & Catholic!

Why it's good to be Young, Fun and Catholic: 

The Pope, the Pope, the Pope visited us this week!  I love his smile!



So beautiful! This is what I imagine Jesus would have looked like talking to the children!

Also, wow, cool the Lunar Eclipse, God's show of the universe in our own backyards:

So cool! Thank you Lord for sharing your world with us!  How you could ever think someone great is not behind all of creation!

Confirmation Prep!  Yes, you heard me correctly! Normally I cringe when I have to begin getting materials ready for our parish confirmation program because we don't have a specific program we to use. This year I've discovered a program that really speaks not only to the teens, but to their parents and sponsors and to me too!  It renews me as a catechist and parent and writer!
 And as someone whose mission in life is to get everyone I know and even those people I don't know to heaven, it has had a renewing, invigorating effect on me!

St. Francis de Sales. Yes, I've heard of him lots of times, in fact I have studied his teachings because I am a Daughter in the Society of St. Francis de Sales, but while reviewing my confirmation materials, I came across a story about him being an unsuccessful proclaimer of the Word until he began writing notes to people and slipping them under the doors of their homes. He was reaching out to the un-churched, those who aren't making it to Church.  And that's what I do with my youth newsletters and staunchly defend spending the paper and postage to keep mailing it to every child in my parish!  They have to hear about God and the Church somehow if they aren't coming to Youth Group!

And of course, my patron Saint, Michael's Feast Day is today and the Guardian Angels Feast Day is Friday!  St. Michael and St. Joan of Arc are my patron saints because I teach martial arts self defense to young people. 

So celebrate!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Tune-Up

   Just recently I began a 12 week workout program my personal trainer, who is also my daughter, invited me to join.  I thought it was a good time to get myself a little more in shape, tone up and evaluate my eating and exercise habits.  Three weeks into the schedule I find myself huffing and puffing through the exercises at times struggling to keep up with the other shall we say, much younger women who are also in the program!
  It made me think about little I knew how much I had "lost" in tone and muscle since getting a desk job eight years ago and how I really need to remember to fit my workouts into my busy days.
  The same could be said of my spiritual workouts.  How often do I go along every with my prayers, going to Mass every week and kind of forget to 're-tune' my spiritual self?  My physical workouts have me looking at my spiritual side too wondering if I need to 're-tone' aspects of my prayer and studying.
  Because everyone needs a tune-up!