Category Archives: Sacraments

Seven Quick Takes Sunday

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The other Jennie does it on Friday. So I’m a little late. What else is new? 🙂

1. Broken McSickyPants
This is my new name. My medical issues have only gotten worse. I still have the continual chest pain (which has now become more pronounced) and dyspnea on exertion. Lately, we have added to the mix dizziness, incredible fatigue, nausea and that awful feeling like you are about to pass out. My doctors still don’t have a good idea of what is wrong with me, since I have been passing all of my medical tests (I guess I’ve always tested pretty well). At least the infected poison ivy spots are finally clearing up a little and healing! 🙂 I do not feel like myself, and I hate that I can’t really do anything. Praise God, He gave me a good sense of humor and a sunny disposition. I am actually pretty happy overall.

2. On Being a Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist
Today, we had the pleasure of having Fr. Stanley celebrate Mass with us. Since I go to daily Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel, where he currently is at, I have been able to see him upon occasion (although he doesn’t really do the 6:30 a.m. Mass that I typically attend). Having him here at St. Anastasia for Sunday Mass was a real treat. He was my first confessor and he has a very comforting way about him. He joked about the length of his homilies as he began his homily today. I was sitting next to the girl I sponsored into the Church this year, and at one point she commented that the wooden pew was hurting her butt for some reason this week. I laughed, “You probably aren’t used to sitting in one spot for so long!” Again, picking on poor Fr. Stanley’s homily. 🙂 In my defense, he started it! 🙂 God gave me a wonderful gift of joy today, particularly during the Mass. I was happy that Fr. Stanley was there, but this went beyond him. As I went up to the altar and received my paten of consecrated hosts, I remember cradling the paten in my hands. I must have had some big idiotic grin on my face, but I wasn’t really worried about that. I just gazed lovingly at Jesus in my hands and thought to Him, “I love You!” I know, it sounds pretty sappy, right? But that’s okay. I don’t mind being sappy. 🙂 I love Him. 🙂 Sometimes I wonder what people think when they get me in line for Communion. Here I am with a huge smile on my face, handing them our Lord, and nearly petting Him into place in their hands — to make sure He gets there safely. Hopefully, they share in my joy at the presence of our Lord, and aren’t standing there thinking that I’m a little odd or something.

3. The World is Now a Safer Place!
Why? Because I finally got new tires on my car! After 1 year, 7 months, 23 days and nearly 47,000 miles of driving, it was finally time to discard the old and buy some new. Of course, the “red” tire health report card, “Change your tires IMMEDIATELY” postcard, squeaking around off-ramps in dry conditions and, finally, hydroplaning in the rain while driving straight all contributed to this decision. Perhaps that fact that I had racing slicks on my car is the reason why I got that speeding ticket a while back, earning me the name Zoomie Vroom McLawBreaker. I really liked that name, by the way. But I have been good, and have been using my cruise control until I can re-train myself to enjoy lower velocities.

4. iPhone vs. BlackBerry Tour
Ah, just when I thought that I would finally change service providers in order to get the fancy-pants new iPhone (since bundling my home internet, land line, and TV service would save me about $60 a month), I have been given pause to reconsider. On Saturday, after getting my tires changed, I walked into the Sprint store, help up my current BlackBerry and challenged, “Why should I not want to trade this in for an iPhone? Convince me!” Now, mostly, I like the iPhone for all the apps and stuff that you can get with it, and for the larger screen. The touch screen keyboard would be a hindrance to typing as you drive (just for example, not that I do this necessarily . . . . ), but it is fun for scrolling. Being able to sync to my Podcasts and iTunes is also a definite plus. I know that iPhone is compatible with my work e-mail system, so that’s not an issue either. And it can go international, which was the main reason why I picked my BlackBerry 8830 in the first place.

Now, nice things about the BlackBerry Tour include the fact that I can increase the memory by adding a micro SD card, and that they give me a 1 GB out the door. That’s pretty sweet. Then, I found out that the new BlackBerry will also have a similar capacity for apps. As an upgrade to my current phone, this one has all the same capability, but adds on a camera and video feature, which I had been missing. The screen resolution is also pretty sweet. They say it supports AAC encoding, so I shouldn’t have to convert my iTunes library, and that it might soon or already does have an app to help with syncing.

Soo…. What can the iPhone do that the Tour cannot also do? And I can still save my $60 a month, by getting rid of my second cell phone. Please discuss benefits of one over the other in the comment box.

5. This Crazy Bipolar Weather
Today it has been alternating between being sunny with puffy white clouds and torrential downpours. Seriously. We left Mass, went to CostCo, came back and it started raining like crazy, just made it in the church before we got completely soaked. Then, we had our 1.5 hour Faith Café meeting, and by the time we got out, everything had dried up! I even managed to mow the lawn when I got home! It wasn’t wet anymore! Then, just now, the rains came again. I raced out, snapped a couple pics, then . . . it was over. Sun’s peeking out again. 🙂 Gotta love Michigan!
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6. Reading Material
I am SO excited, because I have finally finished reading the entire Bible! Okay, okay, so I did this a couple weeks back, but I am still excited! I have bought myself a new Ignatius Bible, RSV translation, the leather one. Yay! Isn’t it gorgeous?! (Humor me)
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My next project is to read the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church! 🙂

7. Blogging and Facebook
Have you guys noticed this phenomenon in your personal life? I have noticed that the more I am on Facebook, the less I blog. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not. I tend to get more feedback from Facebook (I think my “feeds” are more read there), yet I can’t usually go into depth on any topic. I just found out how to link my blog posts to my Notes on Facebook. Let’s see if this helps any, or just confuses the matter. 🙂

Tennis

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After Mass, Lindsay and I went to the Troy Civic Center and played tennis for a little while. It was so much fun! We haven’t played in quite a while. The courts were completely empty, unlike the completely full ones at Athens we had first looked at. Good thing they were, because our game . . . wasn’t all that great. We ended up using all 3 courts and spent probably more time chasing the balls than actually playing. I got so out of breath so quickly, but ignored it, because I was having fun. That, and I’m too stubborn for my own good. I started to get increasingly dizzy, but I ignored this as well. After a little while, Lindsay said that she was getting tired, and that she wanted to stop for the day so that she would still have energy to do some things around her house that she wanted to get done. I was sad to stop playing, but agreed. She said that we should break me in slowly. I think we’ve already been over the fact that I’m not very good with doing things moderately. 🙂

I was really tired driving her back to her car and started to get very sick. I was feeling entirely awful by time I got home. I did just a couple things, then lied down for a nap. It was just before 1 pm. I woke up again sometime after 4 pm, and after doing a few light things in the bedroom to get ready to move back into my own bed — perhaps tonight — I was ready for another nap. And it had only been 30-45 minutes! This is truly getting ridiculous!

I got up again, and shortly thereafter, maybe about 5:30 pm or so, I got a phone call from Lindsay. She had cut herself with her electric hedger while trimming up some bushes and needed me to take her to the ER. You’ve probably never seen me grab my things and leave my house so quick! 🙂 It was better than I had anticipated — thanks be to God! We went to the ER, where she got 3 stitches. We had some very yummy Chinese food for dinner, and returned to her house. I was exhausted, again. So, when Erwin showed up after karate, I left fairly soon afterward. I hate to say it, but I am probably going to go to bed again very, very shortly. 😦

Looking forward to the fireworks tomorrow!!!! 🙂

Oh, and a quick note about the photo. Yes, it was taken after our tennis game, but no, my hair doesn’t look like that because I’m that sweaty. My hair looks like that because of the COPIOUS amounts of Oil of the Sick which Fr. Mark used on me! 🙂

Have a good night!

Snails

Health and Medicine, Jennspeak, Of Trials Opportunities and Gifts, Sacraments, St. Anastasia, Tales of My Amazing Priests, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This morning I went with Lindsay to St. A’s for the rosary and 9:30 am Mass, which was to be a healing Mass. I was looking forward to getting anointed, since I have had all these medical things going on and figured that God can heal me better than the doctors, who have yet to figure out what’s going on. 🙂

Since it’s Friday, we prayed the Sorrowful Mysteries. These are my favorite mysteries, I think because they are the only ones I have memorized. 🙂 I offered my rosary for the intention of a few people, one in particular, and as I was praying it, I pictured them in Jesus’ place: in the garden, being scourged, being crowned with thorns, carrying the cross, being crucified. I saw myself kind of in the picture too. My heart was breaking, going out to them. It made me sad to see them suffer like that, so I was trying to take the burden from them, although I knew that it was something that they had to do and didn’t want to interfere with God’s plan. I know, kind of a weird thing to be thinking of during a rosary, right?

After the rosary, I wanted to sit next to Lynn for Mass, so we moved. As we were waiting for Mass to start, Lynn shared with me the hymn from today’s Magnificat morning prayer:

O Love of God incarnate,
our flesh, our blood, our bone,
where sin has torn and marred us,
You make our wounds your own.
You take our guilt upon you,
our burdened spirits bear;
in death you go before us,
and you await us there.
You rise, our wounds upon You,
the nail prints clearly seen,
Your ravaged side still open –
but love has washed them clean.
the pow’r that conquers evil
in You now stands revealed.
We touch You, unbelieving,
and find that we are healed.

For some reason, this really disturbed me. I didn’t want to hurt Him any more. I didn’t want Him to have to suffer for my wounds. I was horrified. I wanted to protect Him. I handed the Magnificat back to Lynn. She asked what I thought. I said something like it was scary, because I couldn’t quite articulate what I thought about it.

I sat there praying, my heart saddened at the thought of causing the Lord more pain. Mass began. It wasn’t that long into Mass that a thought or image or something popped into my head, and but the whole thing into perspective for me. Then, I was so full of joy that I was actually giggling. In the middle of Mass. It was great. I mean, I don’t want to be disruptive and stuff to people around me, but I love when God interacts with me like that. See, because it wasn’t just a random thought popping into my head, it was Him trying to teach me something. Here, I’ll share it with you:

The image which came to mind was me, as a tiny snail. I was suffering because I had a toothpick stuck in me and had this marble squishing down on me. Jesus came over to me, and asked me if I would give him my toothpick and marble. He was the size of a normal-big human person, and I was this little 1 cm or so snail. My little snail-self took a big sigh and said, no, that I didn’t want Him to hurt and that I would keep my toothpick and marble. He laughed, lovingly, at me and made a beckoning motion with his right hand, saying, “Come now, give Me them. I can take it. I am strong. They are not going to hurt Me.”

I thought of my dad, and how he would want us to work through our own issues, and would be disappointed in us if we had to come to him for help. My snail-self wavered.

I saw things from Jesus’ perspective. Here was this tiny, little snail, with a little toothpick and a little marble. Insignificant little things, really, but they were hurting the little snail. He was looking on with love, and wanted to take them away from the little snail, but he wasn’t going to take them — he wanted the snail to ask for them to be taken away. He said again, “They are not going to hurt Me. I am God. Don’t you think that I can take it? That is not what hurts me, these things. What hurts is when people turn away from Me. Please give them to Me.”

Then, I understood.

Then, my little snail-self was joyful and saying, “TAKE IT! TAKE IT! TAKE IT! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!” and offering to him gleefully my toothpick and marble. And I was washed in joy and His love. I wasn’t hurting Him, I was letting Him in — and that’s what He wants.

As an aside, at the end of Mass, Fr. Mark said that they weren’t going to be doing the Anointing at that Mass, but next Friday — which I wouldn’t be able to attend. I was disappointed, since I hadn’t been anointed for these medical things and really wanted to be. Lynn suggested that I ask him after Mass if he would anoint me, but I was hesitant — I don’t like to infringe on people’s time like that, asking for favors. Then, Lindsay said that she was going to ask him if he would hear her confession. So, she actually asked for me, by asking him if he had time to do 2 more sacraments. And so, the little snail got to give away her toothpick and her marble. 🙂 Thanks be to God for Lynn and Lindsay. And praise God for the unimaginable love that He gives to us all, for no reason whatsoever.

Take Nothing for Granted

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Last night, my brother came over, which was great. I don’t get to see him all that often. He stayed until about 12:15 am, when I finally had to go to bed, so that I’d be able to get up this morning. About 3 am or so, my roommate woke up and was violently ill. Poor girl — I hate being sick like that. I got up and gave her some baking soda water to try and calm her stomach, then tried to lay back down for a little while.

Of course, then I overslept. I ran around and figured that I’d at least attempt to make the very end of Mass, even though I don’t like walking in late. I pulled into the parking lot about 6:50. Mass always goes at least until 6:58. People were already leaving. How strange. As I walk in, a friend was walking out, so I asked her if Mass got out early today. She said that no priest ever showed up.

“Are they okay??” I ask, worried now. This is not typical.

She shrugs, “They probably just slept in.”

True, that’s most likely what happened, but what if something happened and someone’s really hurt or ill or had to go to the hospital??

So, I went into the chapel and prayed, prayed, prayed.

Then, I thought about what the other people might think, who also go to the 6:30 am Mass. I was concerned that they might be upset with the priests, and I prayed for their understanding and forgiveness, too.

I prayed for all the people who don’t get to go to Mass every day; for the priest shortage; for the upcoming Year of the Priest.

I prayed for Fr. John. I prayed that he was okay and that nothing bad happened that he had to take care of. I prayed that whoever had not made it to Mass, that they were okay and that they wouldn’t get too upset at themselves for missing (if it was a sleeping-in kind of thing). I prayed that Fr. John wouldn’t get too mad at whoever missed Mass. I prayed that (if it were a sleeping-in kind of thing) our priests weren’t working themselves too hard. I prayed that if they needed the extra sleep that God would heal them in mind and body and refresh them. I prayed that they would have stamina and endurance and be able to fulfill all the tasks which God calls them to. I prayed to the Blessed Mother to take care of her sons, to protect them and to care for them.

I prayed and I worried. I said things like, “God, I trust You that everything will be okay, but please, please keep him safe!”

I went to Starbucks to get my morning coffee, and on the way back decided to stop by the church again — to see if anyone had showed up for the 8 am Mass. On the way back, I was praying for him to be okay, and alternately thanking God that he *was* okay. Which was a little bizarre. I got to the church, and Fr. John’s car was there, so I was a little relieved. I gathered up the toys I had to give him and went inside and waited for a little while, but didn’t see him. I snuck down to the church proper, and saw him sitting on the far side, praying. I didn’t want to bother him, and it was getting late, so I left to go to work.

I’m glad he made it in. That something’s not grossly wrong, but I still pray that he is okay and not sick or overly tired or facing any big problems. May the Blessed Mother continue to care for him.

I was running **really** late for work now. So much that I knew that if I parked in the commuter lot and waited for the bus, I would be definitely late. So, I had to park in the structure. That’ll be $10 for the day. Ouch. But I’m glad that I at least know that he made it to church. I hope that if it was Fr. Lee who was to say Mass this morning, that he also is okay.

Worry. Pray. Worry. Pray. Whew! Caring for priests is a hard job! 🙂

Adam Thad Riviera

Photography, Sacraments, St. Anastasia,

Adam Thad Riviera

Adam Thad Riviera, of Troy, died peacefully, May 17, 2009, at William Beaumont Hospital in Troy. He was 21 years old. Adam was born October 1, 1987, in Detroit.

Adam is survived by his parents, Michael and Helen Riviera, sister, Tara (Mark) Moore and brother, Michael Riviera. He is also survived by his grandparents, Paul and Lina Riviera and Margaret Witczak and his aunts and uncles, Gus and Monica Reis and Frank and Theresa Riviera. Adam is preceded in death by his grandfather, Thaddeus Witczak.

Funeral Mass will be at St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church, 4571 John R., Troy, Friday at 11:30am. Friends may visit at the church beginning at 11am. Visitation at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home, 1368 N. Crooks Road (between 14-15 Mile Rds.) Thursday 3-8pm. Prayer service will be at 7pm.

Memorials appreciated to St. Anastasia Church, 4571 John R., Troy, Michigan 48098.

The Blood of Christ

Of Trials Opportunities and Gifts, Of Vice and Virtue, Prayer/Prayer Requests, Sacraments, St. Anastasia, , , ,

A friend e-mailed me, asking if I would serve as Eucharistic minister this weekend in her place, which I gladly accepted. I arrived early to sign up for a spot, but when I arrived, all the “bread” positions were taken (why they call it “bread” and “cup,” I have no idea, because we only go up into the sanctuary after consecration, so shouldn’t they be “Body” and “Blood” positions?).

I have only ever given out the Body of Christ, and ever since that first lecture in RCIA when Fr. John was speaking about dropping the host or spilling the consecrated wine, I have been terrified of doing either. I am still concerned when holding the Body of Christ, but, as a non-liquid, He is less . . . wiggly . . . in this way than the Blood. That, and I have nightmare daydreams about little kids grabbing the cup from me and spilling.

When I saw that I would be doing a “cup” position for the first time, I was kind of freaking out. After all, it wasn’t my choice to be a Blood minister. I had thought that eventually I would choose to try being a Blood minister (okay, there’s gotta be a better term for this) . . . you know, when I was ready. I told several of the other Eucharistic ministers with me that this was my first time — looking for reassurance. They were all very nonchalant about it, so I was left unvalidated in my fear. Adding to my sense of unease was the fact that I had been listening to the Bible on CD on the way in to church, and I was in the middle of Leviticus, where they are talking about splashing the blood on the altar. Which I really didn’t want to do today.

I was doubting my abilities to adequately protect Him until He was safely consumed and united with the faithful. Silly me, right? I mean, obviously, Jesus can take care of Himself. But, you know, I worry anyway. So, I was praying about this — trying to ignore my fear and trust that God wouldn’t have anything bad happen.

Then came the homily. Our associate pastor was the one celebrating this Mass; however, our pastor came out to tell us of a situation in the archdiocese which has recently become public. As I reflected on the matter, I was made even more aware of the significance to me of being the one who would be providing access to people to the Blood of Christ. Because it is the Blood of Christ which washes away our sins and effects our reconciliation with God. True, that we receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus under either/both species; however, it is a stronger sign (for me anyway) in drinking of His Blood.

I felt, particularly at this time, that it was a time where everyone affected — our parish, the archdiocese — needed to be immersed in Christ. It was a time for reconciliation, healing, and most of all, for love. Whatever the truth of the matter, there are two people directly involved — both of which are hurt — and many other people indirectly hurt. This really hits home demonstrating the devastating effects of sin and how sin is a community affair — not limited to the involved parties.

I pray for God’s will to be done in regards to the situation, for His healing hand to be on the minds and hearts of everyone affected, and that the Holy Spirit works within us all so that we can love, show love and be love to all those who need it — especially in this matter. I pray that this will not divide us as a community. I pray that we will continue to have faith and trust, and leave the judging in His hands.

I do feel that I have a particular vocation, and it sometimes expands in scope, and I believe that in this case it includes this situation. Please pray for my compassion, empathy and strength, and the capacity for rendering whatever aid God asks of me.

So, I felt blessed to be able to participate in this way, in this specific Mass, being entrusted with the Precious Blood of our Lord. Somehow, it all tied together perfectly for me in a way which confirmed to me God’s presence. As was very recently pointed out to me, I am in His hands always — and that goes for every single one of us.

Sorry to be so vague.

— In His Love

Reconciliation

Photography, Sacraments

Since tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday, I thought it would be best to reconcile myself with God. I figured that my priests at my home parish would probably be quite busy, so I decided to drive down to St. Bonaventure in Detroit.

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It had only been 2 weeks or so since my last confession, but I have things that I struggle with for which I need grace, and I have been feeling rather conflicted between the “me” that I was before and the “me” that I am now that I know the Lord.

During my absolution, the priest said that he absolved me of all the sins of my past life.

That’s right. My past life.

That hit me about like an anvil.

It wasn’t all that long ago that I was attending a lecture by Fr. John, where he was telling us that Reconciliation is like a second baptism, where we are cleansed from our sins and made new again.

Each time I go to Reconciliation, I am made into a new creature, and my past sins are forgiven and gone. They truly are the sins of my past life.

Then, before I left, the priest gave me some prayers. I got a booklet called “One Bread, One Body” which appears to be some daily reflections taking us from Winter into the Lenten season — a little out-of-date, but I am sure still very valuable and worthy of reflection. A sheet on how to pray the rosary (since I admitted that I do not really do this all that often). And these two prayers:

A Litany of the Person
image of God
born of God’s breath
vessel of divine Love
after his likeness
dwelling of God
cacacity for the infinite
eternally known
chosen of God
home of infinite Majesty
abiding in the Son
called from eternity
life in the Lord
temple of the Holy Spirit
branch of Christ
receptacle of the Most High
wellspring of Living Water
heir of the kingdom
the glory of God
abode of the Trinity.
God sings this litany
eternally in his Word.
This is who you are.

My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you well never leave me to face my perils alone. — Thomas Merton, “Thoughts in Solitude”

I do not normally get emotional going to Confession. I wasn’t particularly emotional during this one, or right afterwards. I came out of the confessional and went into the church to pray my penance in front of the tabernacle. As I was kneeling there before the Lord, I just started weeping. I couldn’t tell you why. I was sorry for my sins, but I wasn’t weighed down in sorrow. Actually, despite my tears, I felt… love. His love for me and mine for Him. And gratitude.

I am not sure why, but I find much comfort in going to St. Bonaventure for Reconciliation.

Great Weekend!

Photography, Sacraments, St. Anastasia, Tales of My Amazing Priests

Sorry if this post is incoherent.  Not much sleep this weekend, but it was so much fun!  🙂

First, the Priests vs. Seminarians game on Friday.  I arrived early and got to tag along on a tour of the Sacred Heart by Jonathan the Seminarian. 
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The game was good, and although the “official” score was 73-73,
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that was only after a mercy-gift of 30 points at halftime.  Fr. JJ was the impromptu coach for the Priests.  I was thoroughly on the side of the priests, but I was watching for that #13 player, who was our gracious tour guide.  🙂 
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After the game, we hung out at the bar (yes!  Seminary has a bar!  With $1.50 beer!)
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and had some pizza which was provided.  Then, I tried to give Lindsay a tour from what I remembered.  We made it to the chapel and the library and found the hallway with the old photos of our priests when they went to Sacred Heart.  That was so funny.  I took pictures.  🙂

Is this not the best Boy Band hair you have seen? 🙂
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Saturday morning I had my hair done,
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and got ready for the wedding.
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I was really early, perhaps the first one at the church, so I ran between Katie and Joe a little bit before the wedding, as I do.
They had 4 priests, a deacon, and 2 altar servers.
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See, I’m not kidding! 🙂
It was a beautiful wedding, and I was so glad to be able to witness it!
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Here’s a link to the video of the beginning of Fr. John’s homily to Katie and Joe.  Here’s a link to my Flickr page with all the pictures I took at the wedding.

After the wedding and the reception at Picano’s, there was an after party at the hotel. Then, I went home and danced a bit on my own, before collapsing in bed. I did manage to make it to Mass the next day with gorgeous Morning After hair (actually, wasn’t too bad). Then, I spent all day getting stuff uploaded. 🙂 Didn’t get anything else on my list of things-to-do done this weekend, but a great weekend overall! 🙂

Now…. What’s next??? 🙂

Extraordinary Minister For a Day

Sacraments

Today, I got to attend the Women’s Conference.  There’s tons of stuff I could blog about from that conference, but for right now, I’ll just blog about the Eucharist.  🙂  At the end of Mass, Kasia came up to me and asked me if I would help consume the extra hosts, so Lindsay and I went into the “Clergy and Staff” room with her and a few others and began consuming the hosts.  We weren’t really sure how to go about doing this properly, and as more people came in after Mass (so that there were now about 15 or so people to consume the 2.5 ciboriums/ciborii/however you call the plural), a few began questioning that we were “taking” the hosts, when we should be “receiving” the Eucharist.  So, 3 people took up the ciborii (gold cylindrical bowl-thingys, are you happy?!?) and began going around to the rest of us as EMs, “Body of Christ.”

I have to say, I have never, ever received Jesus so many times as I did today.  🙂  After a little while, I saw that Jill kept handing out Eucharist, and wasn’t getting any for herself, so as she passed me by again, I asked her if she wanted me to take the ciborium, so that she could receive. 

So, now you have *me* giving communion.  Good thing for me I temporarily forgot Fr. John’s scary lecture about dropping the Eucharist, or I would have been too scared to do it.  But today, the issue was not dropping Jesus.  Quite the opposite.

See, as I was passing out the Eucharist, He didn’t want to leave my fingers and go into their hands.  And I wasn’t about to toss Him into their hands or anything like that.  So, while most Extraordinary Ministers that I’ve had serve me tend to look at me while they are saying “Body of Christ” and then wait until I say “Amen,” I was the one who was more focused on the Eucharist:  staring at Him, placing Him in their hand and then kind of petting Him into place, so He would stay there with them.

So, I’m not sure.  Do I get negative bonus points for excessive fondling of the Eucharist??

Bad Pun…

Health and Medicine, Humor of the Day, Jennspeak, Sacraments

I need a knight to save me from the dragon.

Wait….

Did I say that right?  No.  I meant:

I need a night to save me from the draggin’.

Because I am really, really, really, really tired and beat.  All work, no sleep, little food, lotsa caffeine….  Welcome to my world this week.  I don’t think I will have a problem sleeping on the plane — if I ever manage to pack my bags, that is.

I was so excited (or, well, as excited as you can be when you are nearly collapsing with exhaustion) to hear the communion antiphon this morning at Mass:

“Come to me, you who labor and have burdens, for I will give you rest.” (As well as I can remember it….)

Amen!  Sign me up!  (Or was I given that rest in the Eucharist?  I *am* feeling a little less tired now….  s/p megacoffeeofdoom….)