Another round for the Easter Photo Series!
Hope you enjoy!
We just feel so blessed, all over the place.
Thanks for the visit!
Our family’s Special Easter Message for you….
We’ve got a pretty great pastor at our parish. He has lots of admirable qualities as a person, and a pastor of our parish. But if there is one thing that really hits me about this man, time and time again, it’s his gift in giving great homilies. Every homily I have ever heard him give, has been beyond impressive to me. For every time that I have ‘come to’, sitting their in our usual church pew, from the place that I had been while listening to his homily, I find myself wishing that I could have recorded that for our blog. His homilies paint vivid pictures. They are well thought out. Stumble-free. Notes-free. Full of expression. Fact filled. They come full circle, without ever knowing of the constant curve you were taking, and pack a punch in the end. Every one just leaves me longing for a good chunk of time, to ‘just sit there with that’, and ponder it longer.
So with such effective presentation, I hesitate to even attempt to restate it. I will definitely fail in repeating it, in the amazing manner he did. But I do want to share with you the gist of it.
In part, the object of his homily, was to give us a better grasp, on the large numbers, in terms of death tolls that come of tragedies we are all too familiar with. He spoke of 9/11 in 2001, and how in the end, the finale death toll totaled in excess of 3,000 lives lost in that terrorist attack on our country. He spoke of the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, when it was estimated to be around 250,000 people who had lost their lives. And most recently on everyone’s minds, the earthquake in Haiti, where at that time on Sunday, it was last reported that 120,000 lives were ended.
To think of exactly how many lives that is, is difficult, at best. Each and every life, is of great value! They are human beings, who were loved by somebody, if not many. They were each created, one by one, by the hand of God. Each unique and specially designed….like no other. So to really fully comprehend lives lost, in the numbers of thousands, is near impossible. The media focuses as best they can, on the individual life stories of people, families, heart-ache, grief, and the rescues that bring that little bit of hope back to all of us. And to those still looking for their loved ones. So that we GET IT. But to imagine the magnitude of tragic deaths, with such high tolls, is so great, we just can’t adequately wrap our brains around it.
To look at the combined lives lost in these 3 tragic events, is in excess of 370,000 lives. LIVES. PEOPLE. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, daughters, sons. Children. Babies, who had their whole lives ahead of them.
So imagine this.
Since Roe vs. Wade was put into effect 37 years ago (as of this year of 2010), over 500,000,000 lives, have been ended. 500 MILLION! That is over 36 Million PER YEAR!! Wrap your brain around THAT. The senselessness of each and every one, brings me to my knees. While again, EVERY SINGLE LIFE is INVALUABLE, that number of abortions performed far, far exceeds even the total of the combined tragic events discussed here.
Fr. Ken then shared a story, from his early years of priesthood, and his assignment in working with Project Rachel. For those of you who do not know, Project Rachel is an outreach program for those suffering the usually inevitable grief and guilt associated with the previous act, or ‘choice’ of abortions. He said 1=one woman’s story struck him so profoundly, he never forgot it:
It was the story of a woman, who was in her college years, and found herself pregnant. She was pressured, by everyone around her, that this baby would ruin her life. That her dreams would be destroyed, and impossible to accomplish, with a child. She said that although she knew in the back of her mind it was wrong, she was scared, and had the abortion.
The years that followed were filled with days that haunted her. She wondered what her child would have been like. Was it a girl or a boy? What would he or she have looked like? She would notice children everywhere, that were about the age her child would have been. She would see and hear children running, laughing, playing on a playground, and feel such pain and grief in her heart.
She eventually married, and had a family. But there was a hole inside her that she could not fill, no matter how hard she tried. She wanted to forget. To at least let go of the weight of guilt and loss she felt. But there it was, every morning when she opened her eyes. She hadn’t even been able to bring herself to tell her husband of the burden she carried. She feared he would leave her. After all, who could love someone, who would kill their own child? She couldn’t even forgive or love herself, for what she had done.
She carried that secret around, alone, for 15 years. Until one day, she was reading a fictional book. A made up story, that happened to have a character, who went to Confession, to seek forgiveness. And she knew in that moment, what she needed. What she wanted, more than anything. Forgiveness from God. She knew that was was exactly all she needed. So that she could forgive herself, and finally find peace, and be free.
There was one small problem. She wasn’t even Catholic. But that was not enough to stop her from what her heart so desperately needed. So took the steps she needed, went through the entire months long process, got all of the instruction, and did indeed become a Catholic, all so that she could receive the Sacrament of Penance. And she did, the very moment that she could. It was all the healing her heart needed. She knew God had forgiven her. She knew that her child, too, had forgiven her. And so, despite her sadness over the choice that she made, she was able to forgive herself, and find that peace for her heart she had wanted and needed for so many years.
Fr. Ken circled us back to the tragedies that have taken so many lives, and changed forever, the lives of so many others. He spoke of how beautiful it is, that when things of such devastating nature occur, people come together. People generally come together in forces, to make a difference. To relieve the suffering, give to the needy, and work together to get the jobs done. People volunteer. People donate. Celebrities of all kinds use their faces for good, working themselves to make a difference, and encouraging others to do the same. People pray. People go. People give. People sacrifice. People offer any useful tools of use they may have, to make a difference in any way they can. It is indeed, a beautiful, amazing, and powerful force, when people’s compassion rises above all else, and comes together. As miracles come to light, faith, bit by bit, is restored. As is LOVE, for all people. Each and every single rescue gives us reason to celebrate LIFE. And thank God for it.
As Fr. Ken ended his homily, on a note of such hope, I thought about those numbers. I thought about all of the people that HAVE come together in the wake of such tragedies. Our armed forces. The Red Cross. Emergency personnel. Celebrities. Missionary workers. Ordinary people, like you and me. All of those people, that together by the thousands, do anything they can, to SAVE people, to RESCUE even as much as ONE LIFE. Because every life is invaluable. One life, IS worth saving. It’s the truth. Many of us thank God, that so many come forth to help, for the sake of lives on the line.
And I wondered: Out of all of these millions of people who have given anything and everything they can, in a great effort to rescue others in these heart-breaking and horrific disasters, and give them back the opportunity to live their life…..How many are pro-choice?
We are a Catholic family, and our triplets {J, O & S} made their Sacrament of First Penance/Reconciliation last Saturday!
It was a nice service, considering they were only 3 of 78 other kids celebrating the same Sacrament that day- and that was only half the class! The other half made theirs the previous Saturday.
They all did very well, and I can say our 3 were not as nervous or hesitant as I half-expected. I’d venture to say they were perhaps over-prepared for this first time. They knew their Act of Contrition by heart, and were counting on saying it on their own, and were expecting a lot of the usual procedure they had learned. But, as it were for this time, the whole class read that prayer together from their program, and many little things were done a tad differently, for the sake of getting through that many children in a timely-manner, I guess. We weren’t really sure how the service, or Confession for each child, was going to go, so, we were ready for anything. There were 9-10 priests on hand, and they were scattered about the church in empty pews. Nonetheless, they know things will be a bit different from here on out, and they’re ready!
After the service at the church, there was a reception gathering at the parish center with all of the children, parents and teachers, for treats and coffee. We only stayed for a short bit, because we couldn’t verify anything there was peanut safe, and I felt bad – so we went home and had a treat. On the way home, the kids talked about how they felt good having had their first Confession. {O} said she felt like she had a ‘clean heart’ now, and the boys agreed that’s how they felt too. Their sweet little smiles warmed my own heart. Of course, that was 7 days ago. ; ) Another ‘cleansing’ is due for us all, just around the corner, as it is tradition in our family to go at La Salette Shrine every year, on Jan 1st or 2nd as well. We always go to Mass and Penance there.
A little bit later, we took a gift card we had been given from a friend to a very nice nearby restaurant, and went and had a celebratory lunch together as a family. Hardly anyone else was there, so it was really peaceful, and the food was really good. Later that night we had a family-movie night.
They did receive beautiful certificates with their name on them, which will go into their ‘baby bins’. (At what point/age will we stop calling them ‘baby’ bins? lol) Someone in the parish also made these adorable snowmen for the kids, that held little dum-dum pops. So cute.
All in all, the kids are just happy they are 1 step closer to the Sacrament they are truly looking forward to: First Holy First Communion. They have been waiting to be able to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, for so, so long. That’s a day we all look forward to.
In wrapping up our Hallowtide series, in this Part II, we want to share with you a little bit about our All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day, which we always try to acknowledge in some way in keeping with our Catholic faith. If you missed Part I, with a fun-filled peek into our Halloween/(All Hallow’s Eve or All Saints’ Eve), you’ll want to visit that HERE. We think you’ll enjoy it.
We really kept All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day simple this year. But sometimes, for us, simple is the most enjoyable kind.
On All Saints’ Day we honor all the saints and martyrs, both known and unknown. We especially honor the blessed who have not been canonized, and who have no special feast day. This day (Nov. 1) is also a holy day of obligation for us, so we attend Mass, and often try to visit a cemetery.
The last day of Hallowtide, referred to as All Souls’ Day, is a day in which we commemorate the souls of all faithful Christians. We especially remember those we have loved and lost, and pray for their souls. We tend to enjoy making Soul Cakes on this day, in accordance with tradition.
So this year, we took a drive one of the late afternoons, to a large cemetery in town. During the drive on the way there, we reviewed again the history of these days, and what we are to reflect on during them. When we got there, we filed out of the van to venture around for awhile. I enjoyed taking photos, of the details surrounding us, and the somewhat-mysterious but obvious significance of it all.
One thing we all noticed right away, was the evidence everywhere, that there were many people laid to rest there, who had loved ones who have not forgotten about them. We could tell that many of the grave stones had even been visited quite recently. This is likely due to the 3 days which we were in the midst of, when many loved ones who have passed, are remembered by those they left behind.
Such as the resting place of this deceased one. Notice the fresh flowers, and the Happy Halloween pumpkin. I loved the bench at this site, that really spoke volumes to me. Someone really planned on visiting their loved one’s grave site, often. It made me feel sad, that I am not nearby my mother’s grave site. I know I would spend time there now and then.
–
This girl was so young. Just look at the flowers! Look at the multitude of stone sculptures and decorative paraphernalia. She was certainly very loved, still is, and in no way is forgotten.
–
Everywhere we looked, there were such personal items. And all the while, these tokens of love said so very much to us. They told us all, about how much these people were loved, and how much their death was such a loss to someone. Maybe to many. To those who knew and loved them.
I personally was moved too, to think how much these tokens must mean, to be brought there, and placed like they were. Each and every item left, must have such a story behind them. I was really quite amazed to think how, the amount of love that brought them to leave such things with the loved ones that they lost, was greater than their fear of these things being taken. It restored some of my hope in the human spirit, to see so many items, some obviously having been there a long time, left so undisturbed.
Some of the little things just plain broke my heart, like the baseball on top of the gravestone of this little boy’s site.
–
This one made me chuckle a little. I guess this man’s job meant a whole lot to him. Or, maybe it’s significant as a piece that connects someone left behind, to the one who has passed. Perhaps a long time co-worker.
–
The kids were really so interested and intrigued. This particular stone had a feature I had never seen before.
A case within the stone to display meaningful momentos. It had a door on the back, that locked. We found that so interesting. On a humorous note, we knew one thing for sure about the the life of the person that rested here. They loved gambling!! I didn’t take a photo, but the scene etched below this keepsake case on this stone, was actually Foxwoods Casino! lol. Do you see those circles at the top of the stone? Believe it or not, those are casino tokens, embedded into the stone. lol.
–
The artwork on so many stones, that told us something about that person, was often so beautifully done.
–
Like this one. What a beautiful scene. How symbolic, to see the empty chair there on the shore, facing the source of light.
–
We really walked around for a very long time. It was fascinating, really. The pieces of stories everywhere. Like always, when I reflect on the lost earthly life of anyone, I wondered about each one of these. Did they have faith? Did they have a relationship with God? Did they embrace a realization that Jesus Christ was sent into this world, to die on a cross for them, and to give them eternal Salvation?
Where were their souls? We prayed for them all. One by one, and collectively.
We walked around until near dark, because no one really wanted to leave. We wandered until it really got too cold, and our hands were frozen. It was a simple thing to do, but the emotions it stirred was surprising. So many lives. So many questions.
–
Our seasonal Liturgical table holds the prayer cards of some of our own loved and lost ones.
–
We added the names of those who we have known that passed away in the last year, and who’s souls we must remember, and pray for.
“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, and all the souls of the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.”
–
On the Sunday nearest All Soul’s Day, our church is filled with lit candles….one representing the life of each person in our parish who passed away that year. Our old dear friend, (Mr.) Bill, did not have any family living near by, except for his daughter who lives in New York, but comes down often. His daughter was not at this Mass however, so we took his candle home with us, and let his daughter know we have it for her.
–
Also on that Sunday, our pastor gave such a profound sermon. Honestly, he is so gifted with giving sermons, that you get lost in the depths of what he is telling you. You tend to forget where you even are, physically, until his sermon comes full circle, with such a powerful point, as it always does. I wish I could have taped this particular sermon, for you all to hear. My explanation will never do it justice. But on the one hand, he was saying how many religions talk about how us Catholics shouldn’t pray to the saints, asking them to pray for us, or for special circumstances. That we should only pray to God. He went on to say how, we often ask ‘each other’ to pray for us or our loved one, so why would we not ask for the help of those who are right there, in Christ’s presence? Those who are closest to Him?
He also talked about the saints, and how one would ‘think’ saints were so near-perfect….dedicating their lives to God and rarely doing wrong. But he whipped out a laundry list of saint’s names, and made points about each of them off the top of his head, that were indeed startling facts to some of us. Saint Monica, for instance, had a significant drinking problem. St. Paul used to persecute Christians. Thomas Aquinas was obese. St. Francis of Assisi, was believed to be completely off his rocker. So much so, that he was almost thrown out of his own order! Fr. Ken went on and on with the imperfections of well-known saints. In the end, I think many of us sitting there realized, that WE actually have a fighting chance at becoming saints ourselves! lol It helped us realize that we are all sinners indeed, just as the saints were. We were all made in Christ’s image, but certainly human, and all called to never stop pursuing a life which walks with Christ. With each day of our life, we must find ways to grow a closer, more intimate and meaningful relationship with Him.
As we reflect on and pray for the souls of the saints in Heaven, the souls awaiting Salvation in Purgatory, as well as the ones still living here on earth, let us not forget our own!! May we nurture our own souls, sustaining them with that which gives us life, so that one day we too will be in Christ’s presence for all of eternity. I think that’s what we all really want, in the end.
Because whether we think we’re called to be a saint or not, we all are.