Happy Easter ... and Farewell

Christ is Risen!

I don't make a habit of staying out late on Saturday evenings ... but I made an exception, tonight, for the Easter Vigil.

I assisted at St. Stephen's, the parish I was Confirmed in. My Confirmation is my most treasured memory, the happiest day of my life thus far. That was when I firmly, seriously began discerning. Only two years have passed, but it seems so long ago. Being able to sit in the pews again, and watch another RCIA class receive the Sacraments, was a real blessing.

I also enjoyed re-denouncing Satan.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to see Cardinal McCarrick. He travels bunches, and this will probably be the last time I will ever be able to hear him preach the Gospel. So I want to sort of say my goodbyes. Speaking of which ...

I really do love this blog, and thinking up interesting things to write about and entertain you with. As far as discernment goes, it has been a real gift to me, because I'm better at writing things out on paper rather than just thinking them out in my head.

You guys who read my blatherings have also been a real gift. We have a real little family here in the Catholic Blogosphere, and I love you all dearly. But you and me, we both know, I can't be blogging anymore. The entrace date is getting closer now (92 days), and it's time to begin detaching from the things that won't be a part of my life any longer.

Now, just so you know, I'm not pulling a complete Charlotte's Web on you. It's true that I'm trying to die to the world. (We can only live by dying, after all.) And it's true that this blog is going silent (although you might tune in during the first half of July to watch for a wave-goodbye.)

But I'm going to keep up with you guys the best I can. And wherever I am, we can be united in prayer for one another. You pray for me, and I'll pray for you. And then we'll meet each other in Heaven. Okay? Now, don't be sad. If you need to reach me, to ask a question or talk or anything, you can email me at Lilllabettt@aol.com. God bless and Mary keep. I leave you now with Saint Caterina and beloved Papa. (It is Papa's 79th birthday today, by the way.)

"When God visits you with measureless gifts, let your memory open immediately to receive what your intellect knows is His divine love, and let your will rise with burning desire to receive and gaze at the blazing heart of the giver, the gentle, good Jesus. Thus, you will find yourself burning and clothed with fire ... This is what took away the pain of the holy disciples when they had to leave Mary and one another, although they willingly bore the separation in order to spread the word of God.

Run.
Run.
Run.

May God always be in your soul.
Amen, Jesus, Jesus."

--From a letter Saint Caterina of Sienna wrote to her confessor.

Wishing you a holy Palm Sunday

This is the third Palm Sunday Mass I've ever attended, I think. I like it because it's Holy Mass, of course, but Palm Sunday always seems to strike a weird chord with me. It's a fascinating mix of celeberatory and mournful things. Red vestments for Christ the King, Hosanna to the Son of David ... and the Passion of the Lord according to St. Mark? A striking combination!

Today was especially nice (I once again didn't get a palm to get blessed, but I'm a big girl and am thus okay with this,) cuz America's brand spankin new Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, was the main celebrant.

After Communion was over, the rector of the Basilica got up to say how happy he was to have the new nuncio at Palm Sunday Mass, and how lucky we were to receive a man with such wonderful diplomatic talent.

When he was finished, the Archbishop stood to give the final blessing. Before he began, he said, in an embarassed tone of voice: "Many thanks to the rector. I ... I became a diplomat because of obedience to the Holy Father. First of all I am a human being. I am a Christian; by the mercy of God I became a priest and a bishop. I would rather you remember me as these things instead of being a diplomat."

Very awesome I think. He has a cool accent, too. Almost as cool as Gabriel Montalvo's but not quite!

I'm Telling You, Ya Need To Get His Podcast

Excerpt from CNS.

Many liturgical abuses, Cardinal Arinze said, are "based on weakness of faith or ignorance" or on a wrong idea of creativity. Where improper practices occur, it is important to begin identifying them and talking about them, but without harming the people involved, the cardinal said.

"Suppose a priest comes at the beginning of Mass and says: 'Good morning, everybody, did your team win last night?' That's not a liturgical greeting. If you can find it in any liturgical book, I'll give you a turkey," Cardinal Arinze said.

Cats and Dogs and Soggy Logs

The rain doth poureth in DC.

Today at Mass, I sat in a pew with two Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist on one side, and another Sister from an Unknown Community on the other. I was pleased indeed.

This week, my job is running our Spring break camp, and I'm going to be riding herd on 20 third graders. (I should be grateful for this; in the original plans, I was in charge of so many kindergarteners.) The bambini are going to be super jazzed to be out of school, and they will not be best served by a teacher who is constantly doubled over in "grown-up pain." Some Divine intervention may be required, I think.

Speaking of pain, I'm reminded of two extra cute things that happened this week:

1. A mother dropped her kid off, and mentioned that she (mom) was sick. Her three year old daughter explained to me: "She's in a lot of pain."

2. In the middle of a lesson, a fourth grader raised his hand, and told me: "Miss. Betsy, I'm dull today." See, he was remembering that one of our vocabulary words, dull, meant "boring," but here he was using it to mean "bored." I struggled mightily trying not to laugh.

Truly, children are a blessing!

My education is on-going

Today's Lesson:

Humble people are not afraid of anything.

Be humble.

Be not afraid.

How to talk to a modernist DRE, if you must:

One day, a little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.

During their conversation, the teacher told her it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human being, because even though it was a very large mammal, its throat was very small.

The little girl stared back at her teacher, and stated that no, in fact, a man named Jonah was once swallowed by a whale.

Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not ever swallow a man; it was physically impossible.

The little girl said, "When I get to heaven, I will ask Jonah".

The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?"

The little girl replied, "Then you ask him."

How I Learned to Love St. Francis

Most people, I suppose, have a natural affection for Saint Francis of Assisi. In contrast to St. Dominic (who has an almost exclusively Catholic flavour,) Saint Francis possesses an ecumenical personality; he's admired by Protestants, non-Christians and pagans alike. Everybody seems to love St. Francis!

I think that was part of the problem with myself. I am a natural contrarian, given to disliking things simply because everyone else likes them. So even in my pagan days, I was repulsed by this strange stigmatic, whom all human beings seemed obligated to appreciate by precepts of basic decency.

Then again, I had more practical reasons for avoiding St. Francis. When I was a pagan, I was a conservative pagan, and could barely stomach the more splashy, worldly, utopian, social justice agendas pursued by some who professed the Franciscan Rule. In secular settings far and wide, I heard the Prayer of St. Francis, and rolled my eyes in exasperation. I read the Canticle of the Sun and sighed heavily. I did not (and do not) go for what I considered "this hippy junk."

So how did I get over this prejudice of mine, so much that I'm able, willing and wanting to enter a Franciscan religious community? I read G.K. Chesterton's book on the subject, of course.

In his remarks, Gilbert Keith says that the legend of Our Lady's Tumbler is the thing which captures the Franciscan spirit most completely (aside from the Franciscan spirit itself, of course.) I nearly keeled over when I read that, because I'd read the legend years before and been more affected by it than few stories previously or hence.

This is how I learned to cut through all the clutter the world has arranged around St. Francis, and get to the heart of what his spirituality actually is. I dare you to read Our Lady's Tumbler with St. Francis in mind, and not fall in love with him ... click below to read the whole story (it takes about 3 minutes to read)

"There was once a tumbler...

Interesting Trivia

The European cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam are a few years away from having Muslim majorities. Islamic leaders in England have drawn up plans to build a mosque in London capable of holding 40,000 people.

Brussels is the capital of Beligum, and the headquarters of the European Union. What, pray tell, do you suppose the most popular name for little boys in Brussels is?

Answer: Mohammed.