My New Blog!

I started a blog on which I'll post my dad's homilies two different ways. I'll transcribe (is that the right word?) them so that they can be read and I'll post the audio so they can be heard!

Two more will be coming very soon!

Check it out here!

I Know...It's Old News Already!

I'm just now getting around to posting my Triduum and Easter experience. Everyone else beat me to the punch! I'm gonna do it anyway!

Holy Thursday Mass was, as usual, AWESOME! I had mixed emotions about the decision to go from a mix of male and female (of various ages) parishioners for the foot washing to all males but I thought it ended up being a really beautiful foot washing all the same. I was speaking with someone who said it was supposed to be all males because it was representative of the apostles and the apostles were all males. Maybe but the argument breaks down when you consider that the apostles did not range in age from about 8 to 80 as our males did! There was another change that I did not think I would like one bit but ended up loving. In the past the oils were presented at the beginning of Mass - I think even before Mass began - by people who represented the oils in a certain way. For example, the oil of the catechumins would be usually be brought down by a couple with a newborn who was going to be baptized (like my husband, Big Bear and myself when she was 4 months old and being baptized that Easter Sunday!) and some of the folks who would be entering the church at the vigil. But, the way they did it this year ended up being really meaningful to me but I couldn't put my finger on why until I read Laura H's view on it.

I was pleased also to see this: women carrying the sacred oils to Fr L, who waited for them at the entrance to the sanctuary. As TPC mentioned, the anointing with oils was/is associated with women in the New Testament. I always enjoy seeing women take on traditionally "feminine" roles, especially ones like this. The women did not enter the sanctuary, they simply approached it. They handed over their gifts, were thanked, and returned to their seats.

What made it more beautiful was that the 3 women who quietly presented the oils were our parish's 3 deacon's wives who quietly serve our parish in an important and special way. The deacon's serve our community and, deservedly, are very well recognized and appreciated for this service. But the deacon's wives serve the parish just as much by giving up their husbands, however, their service is a very quiet, unrecognized sacrifice - just like the uncelebrated service of the women in Jesus' day - like the women who went to the tomb that Easter morning. I am of course, slightly biased, as my mom is one of these deacon's wives! LOL!

The Good Friday service was just as lovely. The chanting of the readings has been much discussed in our parishioners blogs (here, here and here that I know of!) as well as among people in real life - like at the Easter Egg hunt on Saturday morning when I got to chat with the guy who chanted the Jesus part in the Gospel! Yes, I'm a personal friend of Jesus - LOL! As they have all said, the guy who did the first reading and the Responsorial Psalm just blew everyone away. No one was even moving as he sang, "eli, eli, lama sabachthani!".

I would not have a clue how the Easter Vigil went, except for what my pop told me, because when I called my pop on my way to the mall to buy a dress for said occasion and asked him what time it started, I nearly had a wreck! It didn't even START until 9:10...or as my dad said, "It starts at your bedtime"! There was no way I was making it to that so we rearranged plans for Sunday. I was really bummed to miss it but it ended up working out better because if I had not gone, it would not have seemed like Easter because I wouldn't have heard them play and sing Resucito!!! My favorite Easter song EVER...here's another story about this song from last year!

And then...the highlight....Campo's baptism on Easter Sunday afternoon! It was beautiful. We were surrounded by family and friends. It was loving and special! I so appreciate my dad, who after all of the week's activities, took the time to do this for us on such a busy day - program and all! And I really, really appreciate my mom who had the party at her house afterwards - complete with meal, decorations and gifts for the girls! It was fabulous! Here are some pics of the special event!

Special Week Calls For Special Prayers

I should have posted this a week or two ago but just thought of it this morning. Pray extra hard for your parish priests and deacons and whoever else is instrumental in liturgy planning and execution this week. This week is filled with the most beautiful masses and services of the liturgical year. Translation - a LOT of work! Even though my dad is a deacon, I never had a clue as to how much planning and preparation and hard work goes into this one week of the year. It wasn't until I worked at my church for a few years that I realized that this week alone translates into weeks of meetings to plan the masses, time spent contacting people to ask them to be a part of the masses, and practices to get the people who are part of the masses to do the things that they need to do in the right order/speed/way that they need to do them! In other words, it is a lot of work and only a few people doing all of that work!

However, it is all worth it on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week when the Church's most beautiful liturgies take place. I am so pumped up right now just thinking of the week coming up. The feet washing and altar stripping (which I get to do again - 3rd year in a row!) on Thursday. Kissing the cross on Friday. And, well, I can't narrow the Easter Vigil down to just one thing...the dark, the candles, the beautiful readings that tell you how we have gotten where we are, the people entering the church, and on and on and on!!!

My sweet husband, who knows just how much this week means to me, has encouraged me to try to make all 3 of the masses/services (I'm not sure what the correct term for Friday's service is since it's not a mass) this week despite the fact that it means he will have to have all 3 kids alone night after night. It is even more amazing that he is so understanding when you take into account that he is not Catholic! I don't know that I'll make it to all 3 but I'm sure going to try.

And tomorrow, we get to wave our palms in celebration of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Even though we know what is to follow, for this one day, he gets to be the celebrated King. I wonder if He even knew that what was about to happen was so close at this point. I hope not, I hope He got to enjoy it...at least for that one day.

S-I-X-T-Y????? Happy Birthday Grampy!!

Just want to say happy birthday to the very best dad and Grampy in the world! You have touched so many lives in your short sixty years...especially your family. Your grandchildren adore you and are busy working hard right now on their cards for you...well, except for Campo. He's just sleeping as usual!

Hope you have a special day today and that God blesses you in a special way!

We love you!!

Happy 20th Anniversary!!

I remember how proud I was watching my dad be ordained a deacon 20 years ago but it doesn't even compare to how proud of him I am today watching him serve the Lord by impacting peoples lives and making Jesus real to those he comes in contact with each day. It keeps him busy to say the least. My mom's response to people when they ask where my dad is goes, "Our Father, who art in a meeting". But, it brings him such joy and such satisfaction that it is worth the sacrifice we have to sometimes make...like when I noticed the other day that he has a rehearsal dinner scheduled on my birthday!! Oh well...it's not a biggie this year anyway.

I've been having some memories related to my dad becoming a deacon that I thought I'd share today. The first is the day he told me that he and my mom had made this decision. I was in the 3rd grade. A little boy in my class had been involved in some sort of accident that resulted in his death. The day of his funeral I was sick but desperately wanted and needed to be there to say goodbye with the rest of the class. So I stayed home until my dad picked me up and took me to the funeral. Afterwards, he was driving me to my doctor's appointment (I think I had strep throat) and it was there in the car on the way to the doctor's office that he told me this big news. Funny that I remember all of that but I don't really remember how I felt about the announcement. I think I just thought it seemed pretty okay with me.

I also remember how he had to go away for an entire weekend once a month for 4 years. I was in 4th grade when he started and in 8th grade when he was ordained - and I was the oldest of 3! When I think of it now, especially now that I'm a mom who lives for the moment that my second pair of hands arrives, I don't know how my mom did it! I know it was hard on her because we've talked about it but...I look back on those weekends and remember them being really fun. But, that's how my mom was and is today with my kids. She can make things so much fun. One particular weekend that stands out in my mind was a rainy one. Again, as a mom now, it makes me shudder to think of a whole weekend alone with 3 kids and not being able to get out of the house! But I remember that we made a huge train track out of pillows all throughout the downstairs or our house. We must have used every pillow from every bed and couch in the whole house. It was a blast!

As I got older, I had mixed emotions about my dad being a deacon. Deep down inside I was immensely proud and new that it was a really special thing. But as I grew into a teenager I couldn't express that of course. I had to be pretty cool about it. My friends would joke and call me a DD for Deacon's Daughter. They said I could be like the preacher's daughter on the movie Footloose. I would agree and laugh along with them although I had never seen that movie and had no idea what they were talking about! I quickly figured it out from how they talked about that character and soon I began to take that on as a bragging point to show people that I was a "cool DD" which is hilarious because I couldn't have been more opposite than that girl!

Last, I remember the first mass that my dad served as an ordained deacon. I was used to seeing him up on the altar helping and serving in different capacities but this was the first time as "the deacon". There was of course the now often told story of the pastor of our church announcing that my dad would not be preaching that day because he did not have all of his faculties. After the church finished laughing I think he explained that faculties in this case meant that he had not finished his "preaching training" for lack of more knowledge on my part as to how to explain it but of course it sounded like the priest was saying that my dad was loony. I had no idea what either meaning of the word was so I had no idea why everyone was cracking up.

But there was a part of the mass where I did get to laugh. When they got to the part of the mass where the deacon (in this case my pop!) sings, "Let us proclaim the mystery of faith" my whole family just cracked up. I think partly because we were not expecting it and partly because, well, he wasn't a bad singer...I just think maybe his very first time doing it didn't sound so natural or something? Not sure why but it just struck me, my mom and brother so funny and I remember us just all giggling there in the pew.

Those are just some of the memories I have about this special time in our lives. I don't know if anyone but me will even enjoy them but I sure have had fun thinking about these things. The rest of the 20 years has been filled with watching my dad proudly from the pews, listening to people rave about how wonderful he is and sometimes even just going to my knees to pray for some of the things he has to do like being with people when they die or helping families through crises. I don't know how he handles those things but I know he depends on God to give him the graces he needs in every situation - and God does not let him down.

Please say a prayer for my dad and his ministry as well as all who are called to serve the Lord in any way. Here's to another 20 great years pop!