Gratitude

I cannot remember exactly when I purchased my three-foot tall artificial Ponderosa Pine. But I do remember it being boxed up in the hall closet of my apartment six years before. I had bought it because my "ex" had kept our Christmas tree and all of our Christmas decorations when we separated.

That year, Christmas was so depressing that I didn't even bother to break the seal on the Christmas tree box and pretty much skipped the holiday altogether. It was my first Christmas alone after the demise of my 23-year marriage. My son was two states away at school and my daughter busy with her own little family. Both kids were making themselves scarce because of the warring going on between their father and me.

But the following Christmas was better. I had met my fiancé, Karl, and when we moved in together (Oops! I wasn't a Catholic yet), my Christmas tree had been included in the "merger" of Karl's stuff with mine. His "ex" had gotten custody of all their Christmas decorations, too. So that first year, when I put up the tree and hung the seven little ornaments on it that I had purchased from Wal-Mart, I felt like that year I could begin to celebrate Christmas again. And we did. Later in the season I bought more ornaments and stenciled the names of our pets (four dogs and two kitties) on them. I hung up felt Christmas stockings on the fireplace mantle and put up a miniature Christmas village.

We celebrated an early Christmas with my daughter and grandchildren. It was a little bit awkward because of our new family arrangement. But we went through the motions anyway. We also flew out of state so that I could meet my fiancé’s family. It was the best trip of my life. My fiancé’s family was warm, loving and accepting.

A year later, when Christmas rolled around, it was - again - better than the one before. I put up the little Ponderosa Pine in the corner of our living room - this year with a tree-top Christmas star and the "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments that my daughter had passed along to me of her and her brother. I added more houses and an ice skating pond to my miniature Christmas village.

Again, on Christmas Eve my daughter and grandkids celebrated with us. Our house was a joyful chaos of small children, wrapping paper, and toys. My fiancé’s son spent Christmas Day with us, and I cooked a turkey dinner. Now, like beads on a thread, I had managed to string together two Christmases of good memories.

The next year, my fiancé and I were married, and I inherited his two adult children, in addition to my own. Suddenly, I was a mother of four!

Over the next two years, we quit smoking, gained two more grandchildren, bought a house, and both of our sons finished their deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, thankfully, in one piece. Our youngest daughter finished nursing school, and our youngest son married a fabulous girl two weeks before our third wedding anniversary. We also inherited her lovely family.

This year I became a Catholic. My husband and I began meeting with a priest and attended a class on convalidating our marriage. With the help of our priest (and a lot of paperwork and introspection), I righted my past marriages with the church. On October 29th, my husband and I were remarried in the Catholic Church, and our marriage became sacramental.

Time has brought my family healing and reconciliation. My children have worked out new Christmas traditions with their dad, and my husband and I have developed our own traditions with our children and grandchildren.

Now that I can afford to get a bigger, nicer Christmas tree or maybe even a real one, I just can't bring myself to do it. My little Ponderosa Pine has too much sentimental value to just pack it away and forget about it.

We all have times of extreme difficulty and sadness, and six years ago I couldn't even imagine the happiness that is mine today. But God helps us, time helps us, and we learn to help ourselves.

This December, as with the past six, my little Christmas tree will bring me a fresh supply of gratitude.

Defending Sacred Tradition

From the Apologetics Zone:

http://www.envoymagazine.com/backissues/4.6/apzone.htm

Anti-Catholic Whoppers

From Catholic Answers Magazine:


http://www.catholic.com/library/Anti_Catholic_Whoppers.asp

Catholic Apologetics 101

My Protestant friends say that their church goes by the Bible Alone, but that the Catholic Church has added a lot of man-made traditions to the Word of God...is that true?



No, it is not true. Protestants have as their sole rule of faith the written Word of God, which we find in Sacred Scripture. The Catholic Church has as its sole rule of faith, the entire Word of God, as it is found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

All of the Word of God was at one time passed on orally...Sacred Tradition. Eventually, some of Sacred Tradition was written down...this became Sacred Scripture, which is written tradition. However, Scripture itself tells us that not all of the things that Jesus said and did were written down. And listen to what Paul says about "tradition":

2 Thes 2:15, "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter." Traditions! Traditions taught by word of mouth, in other words, oral tradition, and traditions taught by letter. Traditions which they are being told to "stand firm and hold to". Sacred Scripture and

1 Cor 11:2, "I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you." The Corinthians are being commended by Paul because they maintain the traditions that he passed on to them. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

2 Tim 2:2: "and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." What we have here in 2 Timothy is an instance, in Scripture, of Paul commanding the passing on of oral tradition.

1 Thes 2:13, "And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers." So, they received as the Word of God that which they heard, not simply that which they read in Scripture.

In other words, the Bible clearly supports the Catholic Church's teaching that the Word of God is contained in both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

(Excerpted from Two-Minute Apologetics, Bible Christian Society)

Got Boomerang Kids?

This might help:

http://www.helium.com/items/1650579-boomerang-children-kids-adult-children

Want to lose weight?

Here's what I did:

http://www.helium.com/items/1646462-weight-loss-feel-better-self-esteem-self-image

Looking for Happiness?

Click on the link below:

http://www.helium.com/items/1646278-happiness-serenity-controlling

Did Political Correctness Put Our Troops in Harm's Way?

Obama salutes Fort Hood victims, condemns murders:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_fort_hood



Excerpted fom the above article:

"Even as Obama honored the dead, there was government finger-pointing over what had been known about Hasan and whether he should have been investigated further.

U.S. officials said a Pentagon worker on a terrorism task force had looked into Hasan's background months ago and had concluded he did not merit further investigation. Two officials said the group had been notified of communications between Hasan and a radical Islamic imam overseas and the information had been turned over to a Defense Criminal Investigative Service employee assigned to the task force. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation."

Building Bridges

Vatican releases apostolic constitution

for Anglicans seeking union

Click below for news article from Catholic Culture.org:

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=4551

Protecting Life

Catholics made a difference:

http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=34796

Nana's Week-end

Last week-end, my grandchildren tested the limits of my patience. I’m not used to being held captive by little people. But, like it or not, they were stuck with me while their single mother was in Las Vegas celebrating her graduation from nursing school.

Meanwhile, back at my house, never-ending cartoons droned all day in the background, Leggos were scattered everywhere, and crayons (with all the pointed ends bitten off) were strewn around the house. My formal living room, with its pastel blue carpet, new furniture, nick-knacks, glass figurines, and polished cherry wood piano, was never intended to be used as a playroom for three rambunctious children, aged two, five, and nine. At least the crayons were nontoxic, as all of those little Crayola tips had migrated to parts unknown.

On Saturday, when I scolded my two-year-old granddaughter for not coloring inside the lines, I realized that, at some point during the last ten years of no babies, kids, or teenagers, I had lost my flair for mothering. Or maybe I was just a bit rusty because twenty years ago I'd been un-phased by poop, snot, or vomit, potty training, baseballs batted through upstairs windows, "last-minute" science projects, outbreaks of lice or pinworm, parent/teacher conferences, "mature" adolescents (oxymoron) with driver’s licenses, curfew violations, or Friday fever fakers. Then, I could do ten things at once without missing a beat and was able to switch gears in nanosecond. Gone are those days; hello senility and senior discounts. . .

In a few days, though, now that my grandbabies are back home with their mom (tearing up their own house), my appreciation for their robust health and indefatigable energy will return. I will recall, with wonder, the simplicity of their heartfelt ecstasy at discovering pine cones and daisies during our walks through the neighborhood. I will marvel at how much they remind me of their mother when she was their age and wonder how my childrearing years slipped away so quickly. I will feel grateful for the privilege of being a grandmother.

Right now, though, I am filled with a new appreciation for the quietness of my home and the undisturbed, daily rhythm of my life. And I have a fresh understanding of why childrearing is primarily reserved for the young.

Mary and the Saints

In 1 Timothy it says that Jesus is our sole mediator, yet we pray to Mary and the Saints. Is that going against the Bible?


Click on the link below for the answer:

http://maryandthesaints.blogspot.com/

Ft. Hood Shootings

Our oldest son is stationed at Ft. Hood -- where the massacre happened. I am thanking God that he is okay and was not in harm's way.

I had a fright, though, watching the news when the story broke.

My prayers go out to the shooting victims and their families.

Why do Catholics confess their sins to a priest, rather than going directly to God?

Well, the quick answer is because that's the way God wants us to do it. In James 5:16, God, through Sacred Scripture, commands us to "confess our sins to one another." Notice, Scripture does not say confess your sins straight to God and only to God...it says confess your sins to one another.

In Matthew, chapter 9, verse 6, Jesus tells us that He was given authority on earth to forgive sins. And then Scripture proceeds to tell us, in verse 8, that this authority was given to "men"...plural.

In John 20, verses 21-23, what is the 1st thing Jesus says to the gathered disciples on the night of His resurrection? "Jesus said to them, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.'" How did the Father send Jesus? Well, we just saw in Mt 9 that the Father sent Jesus with the authority on earth to forgive sins. Now, Jesus sends out His disciples as the Father has sent Him...so, what authority must Jesus be sending His disciples out with? The authority on earth to forgive sins. And, just in case they didn't get it, verses 22-23 say this, "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'"

Why would Jesus give the Apostles the power to forgive or to retain sins if He wasn't expecting folks to confess their sins to them? And how could they forgive or retain sins if no one was confessing their sins to them?

The Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another. It also tells us that God gave men the authority on Earth to forgive sins. Jesus sends out His disciples with the authority on earth to forgive sins. When Catholics confess our sins to a priest, we are simply following the plan laid down by Jesus Christ. He forgives sins through the priest...it is God's power, but He exercises that power through the ministry of the priest.

~Excerpted from Two-Minute Apologetics, Bible Christian Society

Dynamic Speakers, Emotions, Feel Goods

The priest who spoke at our convalidation seminar was eloquent, dynamic, and full of charisma. Why don't all priests speak like that? I found myself wondering. As a convert to Catholocism from the Non-Denominational Protestant faith, I expected to be entertained. After all, the more engaging, the better the priest, right?

Over time, though, I began to realize that the Mass is a sacrifice. We participate in it -- just as the members of the early church did -- who risked life and limb for the privilege of just being there. I doubt that they were concerned about being entertained.

In the Eucharist, we are partakers of Christ incarnate. What more could we want?