Happy Veteran's Day

To all my fellow veterans:  As your nation honors and thanks you today, have a great day!  I am so happy that our nation sets aside a day to remember all those veterans who are still with us and that we honor them with praise and parades for their sacrificial service to our country.  God Bless all of you, Brothers and Sisters!

God Works in Mysterious Ways

St. Mark, the Evangelist

Last night I went to a Byzantine Rite Divine Liturgy (and yes it is a Catholic Mass!)  It was so powerful and so beautiful, I wish I could belong to an Eastern Rite Church.  The reverence of the Eucharist, the reverence sung in chant, the reverence shown to the Theotokos touched my soul in a way I haven't experienced in a long time.  The Byzantine Rite community here is very small and they only perform the Divine Liturgy once a month.  It is about a 40 minute drive but I may go again some time.  My love for the Eastern Tradition of our Church has renewed my love for our Sister Church.  I had just written a post about the bad taste in my mouth after visiting a bigoted Orthodox Church the day before.  God knew I needed to experience the Divine Liturgy for myself to appreciate our Eastern brothers and sisters.   God really does work in myserious ways.

I Can't Believe the Hostility



Elijah passing his mantel to Elisha

Wow!  What a beautiful church we visited today.  A beautiful example of Byzantine architecture and art.  Boy, what anti-Catholic hostility we encountered.  We went to a Antiochian (Lebanese) Orthodox Christian Church (yep, that was in the name) today.  I will not mention the name of the parish out of my deep respect and love for our sister--the Orthodox Churches.  But, wow, is the respect and love so far from mutual.   Frankly, why all the open hostility for Catholics and our Faith?  Was it necessary to present us a rewritten, pointedly anti-Catholic, pamphlet on the "history of Christianity" when we entered the 'chapel' for the tour of the Church?  A false picture of how the Catholic Church split away from the "true church" as the pope asserted his "power"?  Was it necessary to point out that they are not Catholic?  Many times?  Was it necessary to falsely claim that the Church 'made up' the name Catholic after "they split from' the Orthodox, who, according to our bigoted tour guide, had to then 'find a name for itself' to distinguish them selves from the newly named Catholic Church?  Was it necessary to laugh at someones question about whether or not Orthodox believed in the Immaculate Conception? 



Theotokos--Mother of God



I was looking forward to a nice tour of a beautiful Church.  I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer.  I was fuming.  But I wanted to be respectful and polite in the house of God despite not receiving respect in kind.  The 'tour guide' was deliberately, knowingly, and pointedly making sure he pointed out not only the differences in our churches but also how the Catholic Church was wrong.  I'm sorry BUT YOU'RE WRONG!!!  I used the excuse that my 5 yo needed the bathroom to leave the group as it went into the sanctuary.  If you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all, right?

It makes me wonder why the Catholic Church is trying so hard to reach out to our brothers and sisters in Christ for unity, only to be spat in the face with such open contempt.  Why do so many of the lay Orthodox feel that Catholics reaching out to them for unity against Satan and all his army is a sign of weakness in Catholics?  Why do they embrace all other religions in the area, call them fellow Christians, but scorn their sister Church?  I just do not understand.  On the one hand they're all 'let's preach love and peace,' but on the other hand spew hatred and bigotry at other Christians?  Really?  That is what Orthodoxy is?  I sure hope not.  Because bigotry and hatred for fellow Christians is not how you persuade your (supposed) foe that you are right, and you're hostility is not going to win converts.  Word to the wise:  Converts to are not attracted to a church that preaches the love of Christ but spews hatred toward their fellow Christians.  It only fuels the flames of the ant-Christian (of any 'flavor' including Orthodox) faction.   I pray that this 'tour guide' was not typical of the attitude of the patriarchy of the several branches of the Orthodox Church--or at least not all of them, as they are NOT in union as (also) falsely claimed by our 'tour guide.' 

It left a very bitter aftertaste in the mouth.  I pray for the restoration of my respect and love for the other "lung of the Church" as Pope Blessed John Paul II called our Orthodox sister churches.  BTW, I still love seeing the art and architecture of the building but I will have a hard time removing the memory of that bitter, bigoted, awful visit to that wonderful house of God.  I will continue to pray the Rosary for the unity Christ so desired for His Church.  If that makes me weak, so be it. 

Vote!

Happy All Souls Day!

Don't forget to vote today!  Be responsible Catholic citizens and vote as Catholics (ie, pro-life).

No on SQ 744!!!
Praise God SQ 744 was defeated!  Now, can we get an actual bill that will ACTUALLY improve our schools--not school spending.



Happy birthday Becky!!!!

Is it just Me?

(Not a post for kiddos)
We really like where we live right now.  It is about a five minute walk to the church.  We love walking to church.  The house is nice.  It is a fairly nice neighborhood, but like all neighborhoods it has its problems. 

One is neighbors who do not clean up after their dogs.  It is sooo aggravating to find dog piles in the front yard.  When I take our dogs for a walk, I always carry a bag.  I always clean up the dog product if there is any.  I guess I can feel superior for being a responsible and considerate pet owner.  I resent those who think it is okay to let there dogs go anywhere. 

Another is a next door neighbor that won't give us the time of day.  The one and only time I have spoken to them is when I caught them getting out of their car in the drive way.  While trying to introduce myself and ask them about overhanging tree limbs, they were rushing toward their front door like cornered animals.  When I did get a tree guy to come cut off the limbs from their pecan trees (my daughter is allergic to pecans) they would not answer their door.  So, I left a note on the door and let the tree guy go at it--in their yard.  Not a word came from their side of the fence.  They are not hermits though.  We know that from the half dozen cars parked in front of our house for their occasional Sunday get-togethers.

My not-so-favorite thing though is what happened yesterday.  After our lovely stroll home from church, I spotted something gold on the lawn.  I thought, "Great more litter on the lawn."  As I bent to pick up the gold thing, I saw exactly what it was--an opened condom wrapper.  I don't know if it was carelessly tossed out some one's car window (this happens frequently, as we live on a corner with a stop sign) or if someone threw it in our yard on purpose.  We don't hide the fact that we are Catholic.  We have a very old statue of Our Lady of Mercy in the front garden.  Were we a target?  I don't know.  But finding such a disgusting item in my front yard on a Sunday coming home from Church is almost too disturbing for words.

Is it just me or are people less considerate than they used to be?  I guess I am too used to living on Air Force bases, and the German countryside, for the 23 years before we bought this house.  I am not used to all the trash, or kids walking through my yard, or some jerk stealing a CD player from my van.  Living in the "real" world takes some getting used to.  I don't like it at all.   

Catholic Voters, Stop Being Stupid!

"Catholics, even though we live in a country and are citizens of that country, have a higher calling and responsibility to God and to our neighbor to promote God's truth even when others hate it, reject it, and hate us for proclaiming it. We are citizens in an earthly realm, but more importantly we are citizens of the new kingdom of heaven with Jesus as the Lord, His laws as our prime way of life, and called to live them and to promote them even to unbelievers."  --Father Richard Perozich

From the article "Priest to Catholic Voters:  Stop Being Stupid" by Matt C. Abbott for RenewAmerica.com.  Please go to his web/news blog and read the entire article.  I wish more priests spoke up like Fr. Perozich.

Circle of Grace

This weekend several DREs and catechists met at the Archdiocesan center to learn about a new program called "Circle of Grace."  They were/are very close to the chest so-to-speak about the whole thing.  They did not let us look at any of the material before hand nor did they answer any questions.  I guess that is a way to get people to come to the training. 

"Circle of Grace" was developed by a committee in the Archdiocese of Omaha to meet their child safety education needs.  They developed the program with DREs, catechists, and even consulted child psychologists.  They've implemented it in their Catholic school programs as well as their RE programs.  It has been so well received by the schools, churches, and parents that some protestant churches in the Omaha area have adopted it to their programs.

"Circle of Grace" is a new child safety education program and I am proud to say that I am excited about it.  I tell you what, I was very dubious before the meeting.  I am not now.  Frankly, the Archdiocesan program we have now is pretty dismal.  It's boring, it's not well written, and it has nothing for the kids to get excited about.  This program is everything that program isn't.  It is exciting, fun, and interactive.  The program is all set up for the catechists, and they can integrate it into their existing programs.  They emphasize that this is NOT a sex education program and it is not a 'stranger danger' program.  It integrated our Catholic Faith and keeping one safe and healthy. 

The Program Goal
The goal of the Circle of Grace program is to educate and empower children and young people to actively participate in a safe environment for themselves and others.
 
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

Children/young people will understand they are created by God and live in the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• God is "present" in everyone's Circle of Grace.

Children/young people will be able to describe the Circle of Grace which God gives each of us.
• God is “present” because He desires a relationship with us.

Children/young people will be able to identify and maintain appropriate physical, emotional, spiritual and sexual boundaries.
• God helps us know what belongs in our Circle of Grace.

Children/young people will be able to identify all types of boundary violations.
• God helps us know what does not belong in our Circle of Grace

Children/young people will demonstrate how to take action if any boundary is threatened or violated.
• God helps us know when to ask for help from someone who we trust.

The program and sample curriculum can be viewed here: http://www.archomaha.org/pastoral/se/circle.html

Our Archdiocese has decided to implement the program here, and I am happy for it.  This year it is optional.  A catechist can use the old 'curricula' or implement the 'Circle of Grace' curricula this year.  Next year, it will be taught in all the parishes in the Archdiocese.  As a catechist, I am excited to see a program that implements child safety in a child-friendly, Catholic faith-based manner that is relevant and, honestly, easy to implement.  I, for one, will be implementing the program this year.  I wish I had had it at the beginning of the year.  I could have integrated the first Circle of Grace lesson with another lesson I taught at the beginning of the year. 

I'm excited about the program and I hope that it will excite and prepare the children for life in this world, as well as, preparation for the next.