Joyful Waiting

As I was reading through some of the mass reading for this week I was struck by all the references to Mary’s and Elizabeth’s pregnancies. Mary was pregnant with Jesus, the Savior of the world and Elizabeth, though old in age, became pregnant with John the Baptist, the herald of Jesus.  It reminded me of my two girls who are also pregnant together. In their case Annie is the oldest and Mary the youngest.

 Mary and Elizabeth both were in wonder of their pregnancies because they carried children of prophecy. Annie and Mary, though not carrying children of some ancient prophecy, are carrying children who are an answer to prayer. This summer, while visiting one of my dear prayer partners in Minnesota  I enjoyed an extended prayer time with some members of her church. I did pray that both girls would be pregnant at the same time. I can honestly say that I wasn’t really thinking of Mary and Elizabeth, but I was thinking that it would be nice if the girls had children who would grow up together. They, themselves, did not have any cousins their own age to play with, and I always thought that to be a family loss. However, this time things will be different thanks to the some divine intervention.

Throughout the pregnancies of Mary and Elizabeth there appears to be a focus on joyful waiting. We can see this in Mary’s great prayer, the Magnificat and in Elizabeth’s husband Zecharias’ song.  I, too, am caught in joyful waiting for the birth of these two little ones. Waiting causes the mind to play out various scenarios of the babies’ births. Annie is due on Palm Sunday (March 24) and Mary Rose on Easter Sunday (March 31).Visions of bunnies and lambs having an Easter egg throwing contest is a funny thought. Could there be a St. Patrick’s Day or St. Joseph’s Day birth? Red and green, green and red…it’s Christmas again! I do hope each baby has his/her own birthday.  However, waiting is always best spent praying.  Just like Mary and Zecharias, time in prayer praising God for the gift of new life and the endless possibilities in the lives of these yet unborn children is a wonderful way to wait.  

I think, this principle of joyful waiting can be applied to other situations as well. Waiting for the results of a medical test or treatment, the results of an employment interview, a marriage proposal, a bid on a new home, these can all be causes of anxiety rather than joy. Considering the age of Elizabeth and the circumstances of Mary’s conception, these would both be cause of much worry, apprehension and uncertainty. Instead, both responses to the anticipation of these births were joy.

First, Mary’s joyful response:

My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid;
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
And his mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of his mercy
Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever. (Luke 1:46-66)

Then Zechariah’s song:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
⁶⁹ He has raised up a horn^[a] of salvation for us
    in the house of his servant David
⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
⁷¹ salvation from our enemies
    and from the hand of all who hate us—
⁷² to show mercy to our ancestors
    and to remember his holy covenant,
⁷³     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴ to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
⁷⁵     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Luke 1:67-75)

I have to give it to Luke, the gospel writer of these passages, for focusing on joy. He also gives some advice to those who are fraught with disquiet, distress and doubt. I think that this is particularly directed to women, whose emotions are more easily manipulated:

“Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.” (Luke 1:45)

I pray for a strengthening of faith for myself, family and friends that will bring waiting filled with joy!

HAPPY 2013! 

Of Weddings and Babies or The Nesting Instinct

I'm back. It's been a long time since I wrote a blog. What may you ask, have I been doing all this time? My response, simply nesting. Just like birds, dogs and pregnant women, I've been nesting. I have been preparing a place for my growing family.

The announcement for the first addition, a new grandchild, began in January of 2011, when my married daughter and son-in-law surprised me and my husband with dinner and a cookie dessert that read, "Congratulations Grandma & Grandpa." I remember how utterly thrilled and surprised I was. In months that followed there were many nesting activities that included shopping for baby everything: clothes, furniture, toys, and even baby gadgets like video monitors. Also, baby showers and baby books updated me so I could create the most modern of nests. As part of the new nesting I was doing, I had to re-learn how to change a diaper (like riding a bike, one never forgets) and learn something called "swaddling." The only swaddling that I was familiar with prior to my granddaughter's birth was the verse from Luke 2:7 "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." All I could picture was baby Jesus wrapped up in what always looks like rolls of gauze without showing arms and legs. Well, I certainly discovered the benefits of swaddling, which is wrapping the baby with legs crossed and folded and arms at sides. According to some, this type of care is referred to as the "fourth trimester," or a way to re-create for the infant the confined quarters of mom's womb. Swaddling is suppose to make the baby feel safely secure for undisturbed sleeping. Yes, it does work and I did eventually get better at doing a crisp inside fold to make the swaddle tight. Swaddling...all part of nesting.

Perfectly swaddled or not, the joy that comes from holding, cuddling, and kissing my granddaughter is incomparable. Perhaps it comes closest to seeing a miracle unfold before your eyes. Yes, Miraculous, that is indeed the birth and life of every new child that comes into our world.

Ecclesiastes 11:5

Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

Now, the other part of my nesting happened last Spring, when my younger daughter got engaged to another superior-son-in-law. It is just wonderful to be caught up in their love for each other, but weddings also require nesting, and some elaborate ones at that. From ceremonies, receptions, showers, dresses, tuxedos, invitations, flowers, decorations, programs, photographers, videogaphers, etc, etc. The wedding nest has a way of becoming very intricate even when the couples' taste is simple. It's just the natural order of wedding nesting, I guess.

However, the real foundation for the nest is always love, the kind of love mentioned by Paul in Corinthians 13.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. it always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. It never fails.

It gives me great joy to see that kind of Corinthian love in my younger daughter and future son-in-law. I can't wait to see the completion of their wedding nest on their special day. It, too, will be one of God's miracles, the giving and receiving of love. One final thought. I once heard it said that a wedding is one of the few times when you get an opportunity to gather with all the people you love in one place.at one time. For me, that's the best definition of a love nest that's out there.

St. Patrick & St. Joseph

This week marks the celebration of two ethnically associated saints. We mark the feast of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland on March 17. A couple of days later on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, husband of Mary and step-dad of Jesus, the son of God. Both of these saints have many stories and traditions associated with them.

St. Patrick, for example, supposedly used a shamrock, which conveniently grew in Ireland, to point out the miracle of the Trinity, as three persons in one. He used the shamrock because it was already considered a sacred plant by the pagan Druids and being practical (which I believe most saints were) tried to make a connection to something with which his audience was familiar.

There is a lot of dancing, parading, toasting and wearing of the green to celebrate this great saint's feast. My children love the parades while I like sitting down with my husband in front of the television watching, "The Quiet Man," for the umpteenth time, while sipping on tea and soda bread. Yet, in the midst of all this revelry I do like to take some time each year to quietly read through Patrick's Confession and "Letter of Coroticus," which put me more in touch with the person of St. Patrick than any parade or movie can. My favorite part of Patrick's work is his "breastplate" also called a "lorica," which is a rhythmical prayer calling on spiritual armor for divine protection. It reminds me of the passage from Ephesians 6:10-18 that also talks about putting on "the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devils' schemes."

I strongly recommend that a real celebration of Patrick's life for anyone would include reading both the passage from Ephesians and the Lorica itself. With the scope of recent political, economic, and natural disasters Godly protection is what we all need. Here is just a part of that ancient prayer of Patrick:

Christ be with me, Christ within me

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me,

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ is hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

St. Joseph, whose feast is celebrated two days after Patrick on March 19, is considered a favored saint of both the Italians and Polish. He is also considered the Patron Saint of Families. Celebrations of his feast usually include tables of ethnic specialties. Since St. Joseph's Day usually falls during the time of Lent, if it is on a Friday (which requires fasting from meat), you are exempt from the fast, so you can participate in the festivities of the feast. Celebrating the life of St. Joseph, the consummate family man, by getting together with family and friends seems a very natural way to celebrate this man's life. For me St. Joseph's Day will always remind me of my father, since his name was Joseph and he so enjoy receiving special cards and goodies on March 19. Biblically speaking, Joseph does not. There are no words of his recorded in the Bible. Instead, he acts. Rather, he obeys. An angel appeared to Joseph three times, first to tell him not to divorce Mary because she was really pregnant by the Holy Spirit, not another man. Twice more an angel appeared to Joseph, telling him to leave town for Egypt because soldiers were out to kill his son. Later, the angel came again to say that it was now safe to leave Egypt and return to Nazareth. Also, scripture says that Joseph was the one who named Jesus, because that was the name given him by the angel, Matt. 1:21 "She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Joseph, definitely a man, not of words, but action. Though we have no definitive words from Joseph; his actions speak much louder than any words could have. Reflecting on this, maybe a better the way to celebrate St. Joseph's Day, would be to spend some quiet time seeking the Lord. There may not be any angel visitations, but maybe in the quietness of the moment, God's voice will be strong enough to hear his calling into our lives in the same way Joseph did.

Patrick, a man of words, who preached and converted a nation.

Joseph, a man of visions, who listened and acted to protect a son.

BLESSINGS TO ALL!

FREEDOM

Last week PBS featured an amazing program. 2011 is the 25th anniversary of the musical, "Les Miserables," which is, by far, my all time favorite musical. The songs when combined with the story of a man who seeks redemption and restoration for his sin by loving others and then turning his love to God, captivates one's heart, mind and soul. This production featured all the songs and story lines from the play without full staging and props. As I sat back and watched I especially took note of the songs of the young "schoolboys," who were captured up by the ideals of the French Revolution Liberté, égalité, fraternité, French for "Liberty, equality, fraternity (brotherhood). Those same ideals later transferred to our own American Revolution and came out as ,"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Those images of the school boys at the barricades waving the French flag and proclaiming freedom for all, drew for me an astounding parallel to the recent revolution in Egypt; which, thank the Lord, was more peaceful than both the American and French Revolutions. The other Middle Eastern revolutions do not look as peaceful.

However, revolutions they all are indeed. People seeking freedom to express their ideas and ideals about the ways of government. People seeking equality of opportunity and decrying the corruption of their leaders. I was so taken by the program that I decided to start reading Victor Hugo's original work on which the play is based. I was confronted by this line from the preface, "So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth, and adding the element of human fate to divine destiny; so long as the three great problems of the century-the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of woman through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light---are unsolved; so long as social asphyxia is possible in any part of the world;--in other words, and with still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Miserables cannot fail to be of use." The story of Les Miserables is as poignant and piercing today as when it was published in 1862. Yes indeed, exploitation of women, poverty, and the crippling of children from a variety of social problems such as neglect, divorce, and abuse, all exist today. Unfortunately, they exit not only in countries with dictators, but also countries, like our own democracy. What's to be done to restore freedom both here and abroad?

I suggest we pray, like never before, for those who are seeking freedom from oppression and freedom from want, here in America and in the Middle East; that once free they will have an encounter with the only one who can grant permanent freedom, now and forever: Jesus Christ.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

The Nuns: The Original Tiger Moms

Whether they be Tiger Moms (Asian moms who apply strict discipline to their children in order to focus on expectations of excellence along with a deep respect for parental authority and devotion), or Soccer Moms (suburban moms who spend an inordinate amount of time transporting their children to various sporting events in order to foster athletic prowess), when in comes to high expectations and strict discipline using a variety of methods, which by today's educational standards would be labeled abusive, no mom beats the good sisters or " s'ters."

They had a style all their own. Their goal was to transform a classroom full (and I mean full, sometimes as many as 50 children in one class) of assorted children into respectful, God-fearing, hardworking adults.

Respect was indeed the order of the day. When a nun walked into the room, everyone stood up as a sign of respect for her position as teacher and as someone on the path to sainthood. "Good morning S'ter," we all chanted together. Woe to the sleepy student who failed to instantly stand at attention. Writing out the sentence, "I should stand when Sister enters the room," 100 times would be a fair punishment. Of course, one's punishment always had to be signed by one's parents who would deal out another lecture on respect and perhaps another punishment.

Proverbs 1:7 states that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..." I think that some nuns may have emphasized the importance of bone-chilling, sweat-dosing and nightmare-making fear of God, to the degree that some of their students did not encounter the image of a loving Father ( Prodigal Son Dad), until later in life. This God runs to meet us with open arms when we call on him in the midst of the effects of our self-indulgent lives. Fear of mediocrity is what seems to govern the lives of the Tiger Moms, yet fear of the Lord comes from not running from God, but to Him when one realizes the depth of one's sin and its consequences. As Chevy Chase used to say on Saturday Night Live, "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not."Well, keeping the fear of the Lord in one's mind can be as simple as saying, "You're God and I'm not."

Hard work. I was raised on it, not only at home, but daily in the classroom with the nuns. Drill, drill, drill. Whether it be multiplication tables or verb conjugations. There was no thought given to making our lessons "fun" or adaptive to different learning styles. Memorization and drill is just that, memorization and drill. And it is because of those rigorous drills that today I can do simple math problems in my head without the aid of a calculator compared to many of today's students who have difficulty doing simple computations without an electronic gadget.

Also, there was no attention paid to our little egos. We all knew who the brainiacs were and were often reminded of the fact that the rest of us were intellectually limited. Just think about all those reading groups. They were not designed to help us climb the educational ladder as much as giving stature, early on, to those who were academically gifted. Tiger Moms would applaud the nuns for this, since they believe that excellence over ego is the only thing that matters.

So that's it, I've stated my comparisons and invite you to let me know what you think.

I would strongly recommend any educator and/or mom, to read the article about Tiger Moms in last week's Time magazine. Here's the link:

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2043313,00.html

There's lots of food for thought and discussion in terms of our own experiences and those to come of future generations.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Proverbs 22:6

Putzing Around on my IPAD

After the presents had been opened, dishes washed and floors swept, it would finally be time for me to indulge myself in an experience that my mother often referred to as "putzing around." You know, doing absolutely nothing by doing everything. Moving magazines, newspapers and advertising flyers from one pile to another, rearranging the pillows on the couch, checking the contents of the refrigerator, petting the dog, dusting some shelves that really don't need dusting, looking over the mail, seeing if the garbage cans need emptying, etc...etc...etc. My mom was the queen of putzing around. Today's woman, however, hardly has time to just putz. We are the multi-taskers, not the putzers; scaling the heights of our professions, whether they be home bound (the Martha Stewarts of the world), or workplace bound (the Hillary Clinton types); today's woman has nary the time to putz. But, this Christmas vacation, I putzed in a very techie way. I putzed on my new IPad and loved every minute.

Why rearrange those couch pillows when I could play a quick game of Mahjong or Scrabble? It's too cold to go to the Art Institute, so instead I put together puzzles of the great masters like Monet, Vermeer, Van Gogh, and Botticelli to name just a few. I can also read sections of various newspapers, that I oh so missed doing because of the escalating subscription fees. The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times are all free. Yahoo!! AARP and Life Magazines are also free. I just finished reading my first e-book on the Kindle app (application). It wasn't free, but it was a great way to read in bed with low light since the Ipad is back-lit and I can adjust the size of the font, which is great for a four eyes like me. I was also able to download some free classic books like Jane Austen's entire collection. I love going back to 18th century England. However, I think that only the wealthy ladies of distinction had time to putz. The rest were busy feathering those chickens and milking those cows.

I can even create on the Ipad with an app that's called "PortaPoet" that helps you write and rhyme your poetry. Here's my first:

Hope in a new year.

Now no more fear.

Just look around and cheer

And have another beer!

Putzing around with poetry for sure!

I have arranged my apps in different files and I always start my day, not putzing, but praying. I have a Devotional file with Bible quotes, C.S. Lewis quotes, Daily Mass Readings with a listing and short bio of the saint of the day. Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth Seton. In addition there's a Bible Answer Game that sings out "Alleluia" when your answer is correct and a crash of thunder when you're wrong. It's easy to read or reference various Bible translations that are free with an app called "Touch Bible." Verses are easy to find with a spin on a drum that lists the translation (NIV, ESV, WEB, etc.), book and verse. I also found a free devotional called "TODAY" that starts with a scripture reading and ends with a short prayer.

My "Heritage"app by fotopedia takes me around the world for viewing spectacular sites complete with historical information and those detailed satellite Google maps. Speaking of history, each day I can check what happened on that date centuries ago with my free "On This Day" app. Today, January 4th, The New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City. How's that for putzing around the world and through history?

My recommendation is to take some time this year putzing around with an Ipad. If you don't own one, I'm sure you know someone who does. Try it, the putzing path is worth the price.

Favorite Christmas Books

I've always been a book person. Someone who loves to read and talk about books. I find them both informative and a simple way to escape the mundaneness of daily existence. With a book I can immediately be transported to a different time and place. I can become engaged in the conversations of the high and low of humanity instantaneously. Christmas books, I think, offer a plethora of pleasures that can't be matched with the fare on film, be it television or the movies.

My first favorite is The Golden Christmas Book, circa 1947. The book has a picture of Santa with laughing, angelic children on his lap,and a paper Christmas tree on the inside cover that crinkled when I opened the book. It was filled with stories of elves, angels, and good boys and girls preparing for Christmas by trying to make things right.

Reading Christmas stories to my own children was also something I relished every year. Their favorites were A Velveteen Rabbit ; by Marjorie Williams; which is the story of how a stuffed animal becomes real because of the gift of love and The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg which is the story of how a trip to the North Pole strengthens a young boy's belief in the reality of Santa Claus.

However, of all Christmas books (besides those of Matthew and Luke) my most favorite Christmas book, the one I re-read every year is by Max Lucado, a Christian author. It was originally titled, Cosmic Christmas in 1997, but later renamed An Angel's Story in 2002.

It begins in heaven and presents a picture of the war Lucifer wages against the eternal, steadfast and all encompassing love of the Father.

Lucado focuses on the angels and their part in the war. It pits God's army of angels, including Gabriel, Michael and some new ones named Paragon, Aegus and Sophio against Lucifer and his followers who try to thwart God's plan for a savior. Yes, Lucado admits that part is fictionalized, but for me it presents a strong picture of the battlefront where we all live, especially at Christmastime when everything and everybody wants to draw us away from the simple joys of the season.

So, if you're looking for an escape from the today's Christmas "battles" against goodies, gadgets and gobs of glee, pick up a copy of Lucado's story. It's a quick read and I can assure you that the warfare will subside and you will delight in the season's simplicity of God's greatest gift: His Son!

"For the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

What are your favorite Christmas books?