Category Archives: Critical Mass

O Sapientia!

Advent, Critical Mass

Today begins the O Antiphons! It’s when the prayers of the Church change to more intently prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ. O Sapientia is the antiphon for today and it celebrates Jesus as Wisdom: Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus in old Bibles) 24:2; Wisdom 8:1

In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, in the presence of his host she tells of her glory

Indeed, she spans the world from end to end mightily and governs all things well.

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament
Teach me Your ways, O Lord, that I might grow in wisdom.

Bible Study – Session 15, Adventures in Matthew

Bible Study, Critical Mass, Jennspeak, Neat Things I Didn't Author, Prayer/Prayer Requests

This was a really productive Bible study for me this evening. I really enjoyed answering my questions and reflecting upon the Word of God. Here are three things which I came across this evening that were of particular significance to me:

1. “To deny oneself is to disown oneself as the center on one’s existence.” — The Catholic Study Bible (Pg. 1283; MT 16:24)

2. Sin thwarts us in our vocation as God’s children. Pp. 549, Catechism of the Catholic Church

3. Regarding the Transfiguration: “Peter did not yet understand this when he wanted to remain with Christ on the mountain. It has been reserved for you, Peter, but for after death. For now, Jesus says: ‘Go down to toil on earth, to serve on earth, to be scorned and crucified on earth. Life goes down to be killed; Bread goes down to suffer hunger; the Way goes down to be exhausted on his journey; the Spring goes down to suffer thirst; and you refuse to suffer?'” — St. Augustine, Sermo 78, 6: PL 38, 492-493, cf. Lk 9:33

Sin is, to me, a fixation on self. A feeding of that which is of the earth and of ourselves. A selfishness of mind, body and spirit. A turning from His will, in the preference of our own. By pleading with God to remove all suffering from our life, we are asking not to be a part of Christ’s redemptive suffering on the cross. And to choose not to take up our cross and suffer alongside Him, we are choosing also not to share in his Resurrection and kingdom. Instead, we should choose to take up our cross, and suffer alongside our Lord — but not blindly. We should always unite our suffering to his for a purpose. Somehow, God will make our suffering efficacious for those purposes. We should not waste our suffering, but have it be used as redemption for others. Enter fully into the body of Christ and give fully of ourselves — not only the good parts and the surplus of ourselves and our possessions, but of our suffering, pain and need. When we have given of ourselves until we are empty and wrung out, will we truly know what it means to submit completely and receive back all the grace of our Lord. The more we empty of ourselves, the more we have room for Him.

Lord, in the words of John the Baptist on this day of the Baptism of our Lord, help me to decrease in myself, so that He who dwells within me can increase.
Amen.

Also, at the beginning of Vocation Week, let us remember the words of Fr. Mark’s homily today (he quoting someone else, I just forget who): “There is no VAcation from your VOcation.” How true. May we always live according to God’s plan for our life. Please join me in praying for people’s discernment of the vocation God has in mind for them, and the acceptance of this calling, whether to the priesthood, diaconate, religious life, married life or single life; may all of God’s people live for the glory of Him according to their state of life.

Book Meme

Critical Mass, Neat Things I Didn't Author

I got this from Jen’s site:

Book Meme Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

 Okay, my nearest book at the moment happens to be “Theology of the Body Explained,” by Christopher West.  On page 123, after the fifth sentence, the next 3 sentences are as follows:

“It is as if the reason for this refusal of life to surrender, which is manifested in ‘generation,’ were always the same ‘knowledge’ with which man goes beyond the solitude of his own being, and, in fact, decides again to affirm this bein in an ‘other'” (86).  Man and woman affirm the goodness of life in their openness and readiness to beget a man with the help of the Lord.  John Paul continues:  “Man, in spite of all the experiences of his life, in spite of sufferings, disappointment with himself, his sinfulness, and finally, in spite of the inevitable prospect of death, always continues, however, to put ‘knowledge’ at the ‘beginning’ of ‘generation.’

5 people to tag….  Hmmm….  Okay:  Kasia, Joe, Jill, Karen, Donny

Gospel is Funny!

Critical Mass, Humor of the Day

Whoo!  Today’s Gospel made me laugh (although I managed to barely contain myself until after I had left the church…barely…)!

Not the bushel basket part, we know that’s supposed to be funny.  But the part where it goes, “the measure by which you measure will be measured out to you.”  Okay, we hang up stockings for Christmas.  This year, I was buying decorations or something at the dollar store and I saw that they had these huge stockings.  So big, I might be able to fit inside one of them, not just my foot.  So, I got one, gleefully shoved it at my mom and told her to “Fill it!!!”  Not necessarily because I want all that stuff — I just thought it was hilarious.  In the same way, I think my miniature dishes and silverware are a riot.

So, “the measure by which you measure will be measured out to you.”  Okay.  I had this image all through Mass of going to the store and buying a bathtub-sized liquid measure.  Here you go!  *THIS* is the one by which I measure!  🙂

Not that I want to be greedy here, but maybe God would see it and laugh, and that would be the whole point.  🙂

I was still so amused by this that I just had to tell the guy at the coffee store.  So, I was good and I shared the Gospel today with someone.  🙂  He commented, “You go to church this early in the morning?”  I said, “Yup, that’s my day:  God, coffee, work.”  He replies, “And probably in that order, too.”  [Meaning my priorities.]  I cheerfully respond, “Yep!”

The Meaning of Penance

Critical Mass, Lent, Of Trials Opportunities and Gifts, Of Vice and Virtue, Tales of My Amazing Priests

Okay, last year before Lent:

Fr. John’s talking to our RCIA class.  He is giving us examples of things that we could give up (or take on) for Lent.  I hear something like, “Some of you might give up their daily Starbucks or Caribou or whatever it is -” 

*and he’s looking in MY direction*  Now, wait a minute!!  He can’t possibly *know* that I have, like, 8 coffee cards in my wallet.  No way.  He doesn’t mean to imply that *I* should give up coffee and put that money towards a good use.  He must mean someone else.  Certainly, God wouldn’t want *me* to give up coffee.  I need that caffeine!

The following week – I’m sitting somewhere slightly different in the room.

He does it again!!  Aaah!  Quit looking at me when you mention coffee.  I don’t wanna give up my coffee.  Quit picking on my coffee!  *internal tantrum occurs*

I get a thought:  maybe God wants me to give up coffee for Lent.

Drat!  And here I wanted to give up something else, like perhaps solid food.  That would be fine.  I could do that.

So, I did what he said and went home and prayed about it, and….  *sigh*…  gave up coffee for Lent.  It actually went quite well.  Must be grace, because it certainly wasn’t me.  I even managed to resist when people in the store came up to me with nice, fresh, free samples of coffee.

This year:

I have issues with cooking.  I have issues with food.  I have issues with grocery stores.  I was nearly hyperventilating at Kroger the other day, just thinking about having to stick stuff in the cart.  I come up with a brilliant idea:  on the days that no one signs up to come over, I’ll just fast….  Brilliant, eh?  True, I’d probably not really end up doing that, because I realize it’s a cop-out, but in the meantime — it’s a fairly attractive thought.

Here’s the stupidity (or well, more stupidity):  I mention this “great” idea to a friend.  Said friend (ugh!) knows me too well.  🙂  She states, “No, no, no – in your case, fasting would be less penitential than eating alone!!!”

Drat again!  Seriously, have you been talking to my eating disorder specialist?  Didn’t she tell you that we like to be tricky?!?  I wasn’t kidding that this will be a hard penance for me, and I’ll have to work against myself so that I don’t sneak it into being something unhealthy, and really against what I want it to be.

Speaking of Bad Dreams….

Critical Mass, Tales of My Amazing Priests

Since Kasia brought up her bad dream, I figured that I might as well post about the one that I had last week, you know, to keep her company.  🙂

Here I was at church, and someone comes up to me and says:

“Fr. J.J. has left.”
“What do you mean he’s left?!?”
“Well, you did know that he was only a temporary pastor, didn’t you?”
“What?!?  No!  No one told me that!  Aaaah!”
“Don’t worry, we’ll find you another one.”
“No!  Not again!”

Apparently, in my head, I’m thinking that pastors come with a 6 month term….

Other things that shouldn’t be said to parishioners:

“Fr. Stanley has gone to a better place.”
“WHAT?!?!?  He died?!?!?!?”
“No, no — he’s on vacation.”

Yeah, that last one, wasn’t a dream — it was actually said that way.  No wonder I’m a little Mendeled.

This Will Get Me Smacked….

Critical Mass, Of Vice and Virtue

I just had to add this to my blog.  It is my response to someone’s post.  Somehow, I can’t resist sticking my foot in my mouth at any given opportunity…. 

Just a couple of notes regarding:

“for male homosexuals, there is the additional incentive of a rather closed men’s community where they need not prove themselves as men; …. and in the catholic and russian orthodox churches, there is the attraction of the garments and the aesthetic rituals, which male homosexuals may, in their childish perception, experience as feminine and which enable a narcissistic showing off, comparable to the exhibitionist joys of homosexual ballet dancers …. These interests stem for the most part, then, from an infantile, self-centered imagination and have precious little to do with the objective contents of Christian belief.”

Okay,  1) no matter if you are homosexual or heterosexual, in the course of your ministry, you may be placed in situations where you may be tempted.  Temptation exists everywhere, inside and outside of the priesthood.  We are all called to chastity, whether we are ordained, married, or single.  I don’t necessarily believe that it is a different issue for a heterosexual man to refrain from engaging in illicit activities with a woman, than for a homosexual man to refrain from engaging in illicit activities with a man.  Again, isn’t it supposed to be about your *will* and not your *emotions*?

2)”rather closed men’s community where they need not prove themselves as men” – Well, I can’t say with any type of authority, but I would imagine that whenever you have a community, you will have people looking at whether or not you live with integrity.  Is the author here referring to some public display of machismo as the “proof” that might be required or not?  I don’t know about you, but for me, the priests that I know are perhaps some of the strongest men, real men and an incredible credit to their gender, that I have met.

3)  It appears that this author is reducing all people who have homosexual inclinations to people who are childish and feminine, and that they are caught up in narcissism and are unable to control their “urges.”  I would submit that we all have disordered thinking to one degree or the other and that temptations to pride, irreverence and narcissism are not solely reserved for this population.  It sounds an awful lot to me like a stereotypical judging, and not like a reasoned loving of our neighbor, this statement.

Shouldn’t we give each individual our love and respect as a child of God with his own innate dignity?  After all, we are all sinners.

Update:  I knew I should have linked to the original post, but in my HTML suckage, I am forgetting how to make a link.

Here’s to the initial blog post that I was reading:  Orthometer

And, here’s to the blog post that was referenced in the initial post — the one I actually responded to:  Abbey Roads

Trial Run – Oh! What a Comedy of Errors!

Critical Mass, Lent

Okay, now promise not to be scared….

Truly, I *do* know that pasta is to be drained before serving it.  Really.  But, I was busy talking (don’t say you are surprised there), and we had cooked so much pasta, that when I glanced over, I thought that I had already done that part, and went right ahead and started serving it — water and all. 

Whoops.

At least it was only the pasta itself, and nothing else was added yet.  An easy fix.

Then, I forgot to bring the veggies to the table.  So, we had them for dessert.  🙂  See what happens when I invite someone over without planning what I’m going to make ahead of time?  I forget what I had decided on.

Aren’t you all glad that I’m going to be planning my meals for Lent?

Maybe…  I should post little checklists, so I can cross things off as I finish them….

You are all still coming….right?!?!?!?  🙂

Lenten Project – Unexpected Developments: Day 13

Critical Mass, Lent

I’m not quite sure how it happened, but apparently I have acquired a sous chef who will come over approximately 3 nights a week and help teach me and provide me with some recipes.

Don’t worry – I will make sure it remains a penance.  🙂  And I do expect to be doing all of the labor.  For my sous chef, she figures that this will dovetail nicely with her own plans for Lent.

How fun!  Is it Lent yet????

Note:  Someone pointed this out to me yesterday….  If you plan on attending a meal, if possible, please let me know a day in advance, so I have some idea of how many people I will be cooking for and can adjust quantities as needed.

Please!  Visit often!  Yay, people!

I will post pictures as I progress.  Please also use this blog to submit any tips or reflections on the experience!

Behold! My Lenten Project!

Critical Mass, Lent

This year, I have decided to take on probably one the things the I have most issues with, for a variety of reasons. I am going to make myself deal with food, cooking, and the grocery store. I just may need therapy later, but I think this is the time to try and do something positive, when in the past I have done anything but. For my Lenten penance, I will not be able to eat anything from fast food or a restaurant. I cannot cheat and buy little microwave dinners. I must learn to actually plan, prepare and cook actual, healthy dinners. And not just dinners, but lunches and (maybe) breakfast. (Okay, my one dietitian friend is *really* pushing for me to have 3 meals a day, all balanced. I don’t know if I can go that far. Let’s be a little realistic.) I can only eat food gotten from a grocery store and made at home (vegetable markets and specialty shops, I think would be legal). So, no buying pre-made meals at the store (Drat!). I anticipate this to be difficult. On paper (or blog), it may not seem like a big deal, but then, this is me, so if you know me, you know how monumental this actually is. Given that, I should be dreading it. Oddly enough, I am excited. Tackling one of my biggest demons. Heeheehee! Bring it on!

Since I certainly will not be able to make it through this in isolation, in addition to the enormous amounts of prayer that I will need to get by, I have enlisted the aid of my friends in this manner: I have extended an open invitation for anyone to join me — for any meal — to give me company and support. I figure that this will be good for a number of reasons.
1. I will not go insane. Or at least, maybe, to a lesser degree.
2. I will get to see people more (hopefully). And, I love spending time with people.
3. I get to share the fruits of my labor (or plague them with bad cooking…but hey! It’s Lent! More penance for them!)
4. Other people need a healthy meal too, and since they might be spending more time in prayer, etc. themselves for Lent, my cooking may help their endeavors as well.

So, here is a near-copy of my 40 (like the number?) printed invitations that I am going to be giving out to try and entice people to my table (although, please feel free to contact me and drop in):

Congratulations!

You have been invited to participate in Jenn’s Lenten penance! Don’t worry, you don’t have to do anything but enjoy. This year, Jenn has committed herself to the Betty Crocker Penance. No fast food, no restaurants, no cheating — just home-cooked, healthy meals…so she’s actually got to use that kitchen-thing.

For her sanity, she is extending an open invitation for you to stop by, any day, for a home-cooked meal and companionship. Feel free to bring a friend!  I hope to see you often during these 40 days!

Love, Jenn

(Please see [this blog] for more information, menu, and meal times.)

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