Easter Greetings

To all of my Catholic, Protestant and other Christian readers - Happy Easter.  To all of my Orthodox and Eastern Catholic friends - Happy Holy Week.

And to all, regardless of denomination - Christ Is Risen!

 

 



Linked Up At:
The Modest Mom Blog

Anno Domini 2014 - Happy New Year!

 

Happy New Year friends!  As I mentioned in my 7 Quick Takes the last two weeks, I love celebrating the first Sunday of Advent not only as the start of my Christmas countdown but also as New Year's Day. Several years ago I began the tradition of setting "spiritual resolutions" for the upcoming liturgical year. As a Catholic I am called to keep Christ in Christmas, to celebrate Christmas with a focus on God and the realization that the Incarnate God lives with us not only on December 25th but every day of the year.  Advent prepares me not only to welcome Christ into my Christmas celebration, but to continue welcoming Him into my life on a daily basis. I have blogged in the past about my spiritual goals in 2011 (goals for 2012) and in 2009 (goals for 2010).

 

 

 

So what will I be doing in 2014?  I've decided it to keep it simple this year with just two spiritual resolutions:

(1) Embrace JourneyLiving and live my goals with intentionality.

The main reason I have only two spiritual resolutions this year is because of my JourneyLiving philosophy. Much of my philosophy for JourneyLiving and the goals I chose to set came from Matthew Kelly's Rediscovering Catholicism, a book which I highly recommend. By taking the time to examine my life and evaluate my priorities, I determined five goals for my life which are unchanging.  These are the North on my compass.  The goals for my entire journey.  In 2014 I want to live these goals intentionally, I want them to not be an afterthought or a byproduct but the initial aim of everything I do.  The "action step" for this goal is in the form of a daily examen where I will reflect on my day and what I did toward achieving each of these goals.

(2) Cultivate and continue spiritual friendships. 

The simple fact of the matter is having spiritual friendships makes your faith life easier.  Now I know that the Christian life is not always an easy life, and that God did not intend the Christian life to be the easy life all of the time. But I also believe that there is a reason God created the Church, there is a reason Jesus said "where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am with them" (Mt. 18:20).  That reason is fellowship, God did not create man to be alone, He created us to be in communion with one another, to support one another, and this year I am to cultivate friendships (both old and new) which will support my spiritual life.

 

 

 

"I’m participating in the KEEP CHRIST in CHRISTMAS Blog Link-Up 2013 sponsored by the Catholic Bloggers Network. 
UPDATE for 2014! - I am linking this to the Catholic Bloggers Network Advent LinkUp 2014.

Be sure to visit Catholic Bloggers Network and the link-up for many other great posts! Many thanks to the Catholic Bloggers Network for hosting, and to Monica for coordinating!



An Advent Yes

Today is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, but today's Gospel tells us the story of the Annunciation.  It is one of my favorite Scripture stories.  In my opinion one of the most important Scripture stories.  I think we are called to live Annunciation lives.  We are called to be like Mary.  To say yes to God.  Mary came to have Christ physically formed in her, and we too are called to have "Christ formed in you," (Gal 4:19).

Advent is a season of Hope. A season for saying Yes.  Advent is saying Yes to carving out prayer time.  Advent is saying Yes to recognizing the true meaning of the Season, despite the commercial hustle and bustle.  Advent is saying Yes to the plans God has for our lives.  Saying Yes to sharing a Christmas gift with that new acquaintance.  Saying yes to spending a few extra minutes writing Christmas cards to the people who have gone above and beyond in your life.  Advent is saying Yes to the journey, and following the path to Christ at all costs.  Saying Yes to the message of Christmas and the message of Christ's life.  Advent is saying Yes to God's messengers, just as Mary said yes to the Angel Gabriel.   Advent is about our willingess to say, "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word."(Lk. 1:38).

Practice An Attitude of Gratitude

Not even through the first sentence, and this post already abounds with cliches. But cliches are cliches for a reason, yes?  Thanksgiving has been over for one hour and 26 minutes. My post is officially late.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year. I love turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes.  And I love the laid-back feel of a holiday where jeans are perfectly acceptable, and I don't feel guilty squeezing in a morning shift for time-and-a-half before dinner.  With the unexpected addition of a grease fire, the holiday met all my expectations this year. ___________________________________________________________________
         This year, as the holiday approached, and I found myself busy planning craft ideas for the kids in my program, and talking with them about Thanksgiving, I began to wonder, what does it mean to truly have a spirit of thanksgiving.  Is it enough to simply say thank you when someone holds a door for us?  Or to be thankful for what we are given by others and have been given in life?  It seems this is only a starting point. Or at least it should be only a starting point. True thanksgiving however seems more than simply "giving" thanks, but being thankful. 
          We've all done it before.  Mumbled a thank you to someone holding the door without even giving them a passing glance.  Thanked someone for something we could care less about.  Sure the quick 'thank you,' is still polite. But think how our lives would be brighter if we gave thanks with true meaning.  If we truly were thankful for all the little things in life.  Imagine how it would be to receive, a true, genuine thank you for doing a simple task like holding a door.

        What better place to look for this attitude than in God?  Isn't it God to whom our thanks are ultimately do?  As Catholics, we should remember that eucharist - comes from the Greek for 'thanksgiving.'  This Eucharist is our life source, our ability to give thanks, and in turn it is also the model for our thankfulness.  Just as we are thankful for Christ's sacrifice, so should we be thankful for the small, daily sacrifices of those we encounter.  We should look for Christ in our neighbor, and be thankful for His generosity.