08 | March | 2013 | Paroxysm of Giggles / Critical Mass

— 1 —

This has been the slowest. week. ever. I have been feeling particularly bad throughout the week and have been barely hanging on minute to minute.

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On the plus side, I have been able to go to work, which is a blessing because I need the Benjamins to pay the bills.

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And… I have had tons of suffering to use redemptively for the good of others. Which has also meant that I have been praying A LOT!!! 🙂

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Although I feel miserable most of the time… God is with me through this, so I still have joy. I am still blessed and I still love my life. These things will not change. I am grateful for all that God has done for me.

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I think I’ve been driving my priest crazy with all of my prayer requests. But really, he’s one of my best friends and gets the distinct honor of knowing these kinds of things. 🙂 Plus, I comfort myself by picturing a man-shaped depression being worn into the tiles in front of the tabernacle from the hours and hours per day that he spends laying prone in prayer on my behalf. This is what happens, right???

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One last sickie-take… If you happen to have any intentions, feel free to send them my way! I will be sure to pray for them, especially when I am feeling crummy when, I am told, they are most efficacious. 🙂

— 7 —

And now for something fun!! I got the great (stolen) idea to do a podcast on various things/topics around the church, hosted by our young adult group: Firestarters. I roped Fr. Eric to do this for the first session, and I have to tell you… I am SO looking forward to the creation of the “gag reel”! Here’s a little taste, “These are votive candles. They are called votive candles because that’s what they are.” I can’t make this kind of stuff up, people!

In keeping with the theme of the week, I will leave you with a pouty-face picture. Keep the faith, peeps! 🙂

God Bless!

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at Conversion Diary!

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament

Memorial of St. John of God, religious

Today’s readings:
Hosea 14:2-10
Mark 12:28-34

[Read the Daily Reflection at Take Five for Faith. Unfortunately, there was an error in the bulletin this week and the reflection from yesterday was reprinted for today.]

For those of you who are like me and less inclined, perhaps, to poetry, the reading from Hosea can tend to be something which we skim over without extracting a lot of meaning. I know, for me, I need to make a conscious effort to slow down and think about the images being presented and what they mean.

In the first stanza (Is that what it’s called? I’m really bad at poetry. Really bad. I mean verses 2-3.), they are talking about a people who have hit the proverbial rock-bottom. They aren’t able to stand on their own; they have collapsed. Their “friends” won’t be there to help them. They don’t have any defenses. They are utterly incapable of saving themselves. Even the most pitiable people in their society — orphans — pity *them*.

Think about that for a minute. Have you ever been in a situation that was dark and seemingly hopeless? Where everything seems to have crumbled away? Where you were tempted to despair? Savor that emotion for just a moment.

Now, let’s read what comes next in verses 4-7. God is telling them that He is going to break into their lives — into their despair and hopelessness — and He is going to not only restore them, but transform them (and the situation) into something precious and beautiful.

To be swept from the absolute worst of situations to the best of situations… What an amazing feeling! And a reality that happens to us far more frequently than we realize.