Palm Sunday

Holy Week, Lent

Our Lady of Lourdes with Palm - dscn9905

Holy week. Probably my favorite week of the year. I love the excitement and celebration surrounding Jesus’s triumphant return to Jerusalem. I love the promise of life that those green branches hold, especially after a long, cold winter. I love the bright red color on the altar and in the priests’ vestments. I love the procession in. In past years, I have celebrated Palm Sunday at St. Anastasia, where the procession includes kids and catechumens with loud clappers and everyone in the church waving their palm fronds. This Palm Sunday, I celebrated right after work at OLGC, at the 5 pm Mass. No one in church had any palms, and the only procession was made by the altar servers, Deacon Chris, and Fr. Clement. It felt like I was waiting for the Kings of Kings to pass me by.

But this week isn’t a week of all happy feelings. And this liturgy wasn’t all about being joyful. It was an emotional rollercoaster, to tell you the truth. Fr. Clement told us to pay particular attention to the Gospel today, lengthy though it was, and see what aspects of the story spoke to you. They wanted the parish to speak the part of the crowd during the reading of the Gospel.

I didn’t want to.

I didn’t want to choose Barabbas over Jesus. I didn’t want to call for his crucifixion. But I am obedient, and so I participate. But in my heart, as I was saying, “Crucify Him!” I was also saying, “Please, don’t!”

But then, I thought of how I do this all the time. I am constantly choosing something evil over Him. I am constantly scourging Him and putting Him on the cross, and then asking Him to forgive me my sins. It was such a poignantly sad moment, being a part of this Gospel reading and realizing how very much a part of the crowd I was… am.

There was no music for the recessional. The altar servers, deacon, and priest left quietly. Many people, perhaps unaware that they were supposed to wait for the recessional, began leaving while they were still gathering at the foot of the sanctuary. Not quite realizing the full import of what was occurring. How often do *I* realize the full import of the Mass or what Jesus did for me? Not nearly as often as I’d like to think.

So, quietly, I stood and watched as the procession passed by, reflecting on the joy, the sorrow, and the sober realization of my own failings, but with the hope and knowledge that something incredible is going to happen in a few short days.

National Siblings Day

Siblings

So, I found out late about National Siblings Day. And then, I was either busy at work and when I came home I didn’t spend any time on the computer, so nothing got uploaded or written.

But, finally, here we are:

Muddy Clint

This is my brother, Clint, from EONS ago. 🙂 It remains one of my favorite pictures.

As young as we were, I remember when this picture was taken. It had rained and there were puddles everywhere. This was before my parents had paved the driveway, so it was just packed dirt. My brother and Timmy, our neighbor on the north side of our house, were playing in the mud puddles. My dad had taken his camera out and was taking pictures of my brother. I remember asking him to take pictures of me, but he said something like, “No. We have lots of pictures of you. I’m taking pictures of your brother right now.” I was disappointed at the time, but I am so glad they were taken now. 🙂

I had this one printed out as a 4×6 and displayed in my living room, but unfortunately, back when I had cats, they knocked it down and the glass broke. I hadn’t gotten around to replacing it yet. I think that I’ll just reprint it in a larger size and put it back on display.

Here is another picture from the same day:

Timmy and Clint Playing in the Mud

I love you!

— Hatchling

Spiritually Pregnant!

Prayer/Prayer Requests

If you are observant, you might have seen a tiny change to my site today.

Lilypie Maternity tickers

I got an e-mail this morning letting me know that I’m expecting! 🙂 Spiritually, that is. I have adopted a baby that may be in danger of being aborted (or some other disaster), so I will be praying during these next 9 months for the life and safe delivery of this baby.

Since today I found out about the baby and will begin praying, I’m counting this as my date of conception. I looked up when my due date would be, and that is December 31, 2014. What a perfect day! A New Year’s Eve baby! Just in time for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God!

Please support me during my “pregnancy” and help me pray for my little one. I’ll keep you updated on how we’re doing!

Walking While Catholic

Lent
Lunchtime Walk at Gallup Park

I had training at work this morning and we let out a little early. I stopped at Subway for a quick lunch, then decided to spend some of my “lunch time” taking a walk in Gallup Park along the Huron River. I confess, most of my motivation comes from the fact that I got a new Fitbit on Sunday (it’s a glorified pedometer, but I find it very useful), which challenges me to take 10,000 steps every day. It was sunny out and finally warm enough to go without a jacket — Thanks be to God!

Lunchtime Walk at Gallup Park

I got all set for the walk: I had my Fitbit on, I started the Runkeeper app on my phone, and started my walk. Just a few steps in, I decided that it was a great opportunity to pray the Rosary. I dedicated my Rosary to my dad (today’s his birthday!), Fr. Anonymous, and J (my “Lent person”). I walked until I was half-way through the Rosary, then turned around to return to the car. There was only one area where the walkway was flooded and I had to tiptoe through squishy grass — (Eeew! Mud!) — but was otherwise an enjoyable walk. I ended up walking past the part of Gallup Park where our ROTC group met semi-annually for our PFTs. It seems both so long ago, and not long ago at all.

Swans on the Huron River

Towards the end of my walk, a guy was walking past me. He thought I was waving to him, but I had just finished my Rosary and was making the Sign of the Cross. Sorry, Random Guy.

Perhaps, if he were charitable, he would decide that I was blessing him, instead of ignoring his presence. And, perhaps if I were a more Christ-like person, that scenario would have been the case…. Ah, well, Lent continues. There is still time for me to grow in conformity to Jesus!

Stolen Questions!

Blogging and Blog Friends

Kendra from Catholic All Year got a Liebster Award. I have no idea what that is, but apparently it involves tagging other bloggers and giving them questions to answer, and providing a place where your readers can link to these blogs and see how they answered your questions.

Well, Kendra broke the rules for us, and allowed anyone she didn’t tag to steal her questions and run with them. So I totally did! 🙂

MY QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

1. Where do you live? And why do you live there?

I live in Troy. I happen to live in the house that I grew up in. I left home at 17 and joined the Navy, traveling a bit, then I went to college at the University of Michigan. Eventually, I decided that buying a home was better than renting and my parents happened to be selling the house at the same time. I like my community and have lots of friends in the area, although when the weather is bad, I do wish that I didn’t have a 100-mile-per-day commute to work.

2. What are you currently watching and/or reading?

Well, according to Goodreads, I’m currently reading 52 books. I have “Command Authority” by Tom Clancy on Audible, playing in my car during my commute; I am reading “Two to the Fifth”, which is the 32nd book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony (which I started sometime in high school); Also, “Will Grayson, Will Grayson” by John Green (who is an awesome YA novelist — if you haven’t read “The Fault in Our Stars” yet… totally do); the Bible (again, but a different version because I heard that the average Catholic home has 6.8 Bibles and I don’t want to be sub-normal); and my Anatomy and Physiology textbook — for funzies.

3. What kind of Catholic are you: cradle, or convert? (Or considering?)

I think most people consider me to be a convert. I was Atheist… Really I was nothing. So, I’m a Catholic ‘ex nihilo’ which I think should be it’s own category. 🙂

4. Can you point to one moment or experience that made you a practicing Catholic? (Or want to be?)

Haha, yes! I woke up one Saturday and said (out-loud, to myself), “I’m going to be Catholic,” and promptly Googled “Catholic church Troy.” I chose one and went to the first Mass they offered on Sunday, and went up to the usher and asked “How do I join?” If you’d like, you can read my “conversion story” as it were.

5. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Including the ones I can’t wear anymore or should have thrown away a long time ago or that belong to someone else? Ummm… I have my running shoes that I wear daily. A sad pair of Doc Martens that I had slated to throw away years ago, but never did and now occasionally wear when I have somewhere to go to which I cannot wear my running shoes. A pair of five-inch-heel sandals that I’ve worn twice (once to my best friend’s wedding and once to the same friend’s baby shower). A pair of boots. Ice skates. Two pairs of Rollerblades. Two dressier shoes without their mate. I think that’s it. Oh, and my mom’s knock-off Crocs. She might not be getting those back. She shouldn’t have had a daughter with the same size feet as her.

6. Are you a good dancer?

If you mean my usual Norte Americano Booty Music style of dancing, then… I usually think so. Especially when I’m by myself at home. At the very least it’s enthusiastic. Although, as my disease progresses, I’m no longer able to dance the way that I’d like.

7. Who usually drives, you or your husband?

I’m single, so me. Alas, my car refuses to drive itself.

8. What’s your favorite holiday and how do you celebrate it?

Holy Thursday. I love Chrism Mass, and the annual Pub Crawl of the Altars of Repose.

9. Which is correct? Left or right?

[Images of toilet paper: Left = overhand; right = underhand]

Left. All the time.

10. Do you have any scars?

Yep! There’s a ton on my knees from being a fairly tomboyish kid, but the biggest one is from my brother. We were riding bikes and he cut me off, so I ran into (and flipped over) a mailbox. I have a long, vertical scar on my left thigh from a muscle biopsy about 3 years ago when I was diagnosed with my mitochondrial myopathy. I have 4 scars from last summer’s meningitis (I developed large blisters from the adhesive used to hold my IV down). I think that’s it?

11. What’s the most famous thing you’ve ever done?

I was asked to edit a paragraph for the English translation of a homily given by Father Cantalamessa, the preacher to the Papal Household. I was asked this because I used to be a Reactor Operator in the Navy and it concerned the behavior of neutrons and Father wanted to make sure the science was right. As it happens, Father’s books are translated into English by the wife of one of my professors in Seminary, where I’m getting my Master’s in Theology, so… My paragraph was published nearly verbatim the way I had written it, and I got an e-mail from my professor saying, “Thanks, Jenn. I thank you. My wife thanks you. Fr. Cantalamessa thanks you. The Holy Father thanks you!,” which was pretty awesome.

This is my paragraph:

We all know about the nuclear energy that is released by the fission of the atom. An atom of uranium absorbs a high energy neutron and splits in two, creating two new elements from the original; energy and more neutrons are released though this process. This begins a chain reaction. The two new elements in turn can themselves absorb neutrons and break into four new atoms, and so on to the point where the energy released in the end is enormous. It is not necessarily destructive energy because nuclear energy can be used for peaceful purposes on behalf of the human race.

You can read it in context, too. It’s on Zenit’s website: Fr. Cantalamessa’s 4th Advent Sermon from 2011.

And I’ll leave you with a gratuitous photo from last Sunday’s Mass. It was a random church that I found courtesy of Masstimes.org when I realized that I was running late:
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows

Now, for my questions and people to tag…

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

1. What is the best characteristic of your spouse/best friend?

2. What is your least favorite routine task and why?

3. What part of your faith life do you think is particularly strong?

4. What is your favorite way of giving back to the community/taking care of your neighbor?

5. What was your favorite place to visit on a vacation/trip/pilgrimage and what should I not miss if I go there?

6. If you are sad, how do you cheer yourself up?

7. What book(s) do you think everyone needs to read?

8. If the Church were to canonize you, what would we remember you for?

9. What do you most look forward to in the next 5 years?

10. What do you like best about your job/daily work?

11. What questions do you have for me?

I’m tagging:

Stacy from Attached at the Heart

Shauna from Dream with Your Eyes Open

Nikita from The Unpaved Path

Jen from Far Beyond Pearls

Amy from Blessed by God

Andi from Bringing the Sunshine

Lydia from Small Town Simplicity

I don’t know if any of them read my blog, or have a pingback to know that I’ve linked them…. I guess I’ll find out! 🙂 And, of course, I’m happy to read from any of the rest of you! Link your blog post or answers in the Comment box. 🙂

God Gives So Much More Than We Do

Lent, Sacraments

This will also be a fairly short entry. Mostly because I didn’t really do much on my Sunday.

I had made plans to try to get together with my friend, Terry. However, this didn’t go as I planned, as I slept most of the day. Seriously. I woke up at 4:49 pm and debated whether I should try and jump out of bed and rush to the 5 pm Mass at St. Anastasia. Ultimately, I decided that God deserved better than that and resolved to go to the Last Chance Mass (TM) at Ss. Cyril and Methodius at 8:30 pm.

There was one very short intermission in my sleep-a-thon. I woke up sometime around noon, made delicious asparagus risotto for lunch and promptly fell back asleep. Food coma or something. 🙂

Between 5 pm and 8 pm, I read more of “Will Grayson, Will Grayson” by John Green, who — if you haven’t read any of his books — is awesome.

I got to church just at 8:30 pm and took a seat in a pew near-ish to the front. The altar was decorated beautifully for Lent. Cyril’s has this statue of Jesus, showing all of his wounds from the scourging, and they had put a purple cloak and crown of thorns on the statue. It was right next to the altar. Behind it, was their giant crucifix, backlit with purple lighting. Very moving. One day, I’ll try to get a photo of it. I remember staring at the statue for a bit, saying to Jesus, “I want You.”

At Intercessions, I was praying for Fr. Anonymous, my goddaughter and her parents. Then, just before the Sign of Peace, who should pop into my pew but her Mom/my best friend! How awesome is that! I was so glad to see her!

I see this as part of the over-abundance that God gives us. I was (very minorly) faithful in making sure that I attended Mass, and that I was dressed properly and in a right frame of mind to worship Him, and in return He brings me something that gives me joy. 🙂 He also gave me the grace to really pay attention and participate in Mass, for which I was grateful.

He is so good!

A Blessed Day

Exciting Adventures of the Everyday, Sacred Heart Major Seminary

Today was a good day. It also happens to be the 9th anniversary of my child’s birth (stillbirth). I managed to only cry twice today and prayed in a special way for my baby.

I started my day by going to see Divergent at the movie theater at 10:50 am. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie on the big screen. No one was able to go with me that early in the morning (and I didn’t want to pay more $$$ for a later time). They changed it a little from the book, but it was still a very good movie and I still identified strongly with the character of Tris. Formation is pretty powerful stuff, and her training for Dauntless reminded me quite a bit of my formation in Navy boot camp.

After the movie, I made a quick lunch and called a friend I hadn’t spoken to in a while. We said we’d try to get together tomorrow.

Next up, late lunch/early dinner in Mexicantown! I picked up April, her sister Mary, and her friend Michelle, and we met up with Joe and Katie at Xochimilco. Food was delicious and we had a great time learning about each other’s professions, wedding details, and current events.

Katie and Joe at Xochimilco
Katie and Joe

Mary, April and Michelle at Xochimilco
Mary, April, Michelle

In the only picture of me, I had my eyes closed, so I’ll leave that one out. 🙂

With full tummies, we headed to Sacred Heart Major Seminary to see a play — 1776 — put on by the seminarians, including Gabby’s godfather, Jim.

1776 Play
Jim played Caesar Rodney (Delaware)

We arrived early — so as to get good seats — and spent our pre-play time taking a tour of SHMS. Highlights were definitely the chapel and the tabernacle. We stopped and prayed for a bit. It was lovely. So calm and peaceful, praying before Jesus.

SHMS Tabernacle
The beautiful tabernacle at Sacred Heart

SHMS Chapel from the Choir Loft
The chapel, as seen from the choir loft

I got to see a lot of my friends, both seminarians and others attending the play. It was nice to see everyone, albeit quickly and get some hugs in.

We ended our lovely day with a trip to Sonic for ice cream! Perfect ending! 🙂

Around the Internet…

Links, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Every so often, I have to make a post like this, where I share some of the cool things that I have found while surfing the internet. Usually, there isn’t much to say about them, so they don’t get their own post, and half of the time, they are in a post just so I have a reference (and to get them off my to-do list!).

Activities

One day, I’d like to take part in the Adult Learn-to-Row program at the Detroit Yacht Club.

Books/Reading

Brandon Vogt shows us how to build a Catholic e-book library.

Scribd is a site that allows you to read as many books as you want for a small fee per month, kinda like Netflix for books.

Oyster – another site like Scribd; however, it appears to be available only

It’s a great year for the book-to-movie genre. Here is a list of 16 that are coming up!

Computers/Electronics

Adafruit – they have projects/supplies for a bunch of different things, including Raspberry Pi and Arduino

Looking to make your own circuit boards? 123D Circuits offers a place online to design and test them, and will even print out boards for you with the necessary connections. 🙂

Food

U of M’s MHealthy Program offers lots of healthy recipes online.

Budget Bytes has delicious recipes that won’t break the bank! Food is getting so expensive!

Crockpot Freezer Meals — one day, I will either do this, or do a freezer meal workshop with Wildtree products by my friend, Stacy.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie – somebody make this for my birthday. Please.

Products/Shopping

My Social Book offers a yearbook-style product that accumulates your Facebook posts, comments and photos. It’s pretty cool. I had a small one made. I like looking at the things I was interested in and the conversations that I had years ago. It’s probably a better replacement than a yearbook for high-school kids, at this point. 🙂 (There are also Instagram books, Twitter books, etc. out there.)

My wallet officially died today. Meaning, it’s been dead for a while, but today I finally tossed it in the trash. I demonstrated my need to a co-worker and expressed my dissatisfaction with many of the options out there, and he pulled out his wallet from Big Skinny. I spent much of the morning on their site, and think I have found a suitable replacement.

Religion/Spirituality

Meg gives us 50 ways to talk to God.

Saints in the Making University has a Lenten program that I subscribed to. Every day, they send me a different set of challenges that work to help me grow closer to Christ.

Travel

The Delicious Day gives us 16 reasons to visit Detroit. Nothing like a staycation!

Need WiFi? U of M is now part of a program that allows traveling students, faculty and staff access to WiFi at other academic institutions.