Waiting for Patience

Have you ever had people in your life who have expectations of what your life is like, as a single person? Do friends or family ever make assumptions about your life simply because you're unmarried? Did you ever have expectations about being single which turned out to be different than the reality? How do you manage the expectations of others with the reality of your day-to-day? Boy I have a LOT of thoughts on this ... hopefully they will be written coherently and not all over the place! There are two questions here: Do I have expectations of what the single life is? AND Do others place expectations on me because I'm single? Although I think the prompt is really getting at the latter, the former is more of a big deal for me right now and has been on the last fifteen years of my life. So I will get the easy one out of the way and then deal with the more difficult. Do other people have expectations of me? Yes, of course - I have them of others. Do they interfere ...

We're more than half way through Lent... how's it going?! What did you decide to give up/take up? Did you make any spiritual goals? How have you grown thus far and how do you hope to make the most of the remainder of the season? I missed last week for the link-up (and a bunch of blogging / writing stuff) because St. Joseph's been kicking my butt with his response to this month's Novena! More details to come, but prayers for courage and patience from y'all would be much appreciated. I am back this week and excited to talk about penance - well, not really - but happy to discuss Lent. Last year my Lenten sacrifices were much greater than this year. I went to Mass on Ash Wednesday and then promptly gave up my cell phone, got on a plane to a country with only one flushing toilet and a serious lack of electricity and went from there. When I came back to the US, I gave up coffee for the remaining of Lent which was really difficult with the jet lag and overall...

Over the course of the last six weeks , I've been sharing my journey from "no latin ever" to where I am now. I wanted to conclude with why I think preserving, attending, and cherishing the Old Rite of the Mass is important. This can be applied to anything we do in the Mass actually, so even if you don't want to attend a MEF or don't have one around, this can apply to your Mass going experience as well. I try to attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form in my parish when I can, but this amounts to maybe 2 times per month, maybe. So that's 2 out of 25 Mass experiences a month, not even close to a majority, not even a number that is statistically significant. However, appreciating the Mass in this form has helped me to appreciate the Mass in the Novus Ordo  as well. Why? Because it is beautiful. I was thinking of this verse from Philippians 4:8 as well: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pu...

--- 1 --- Happy Friday the 13th to You! & Happy 30th Birthday to me! Well, I can't say that I'm excited to turn 30, but I can say that I'm excited it's my birthday! Yesterday we celebrated at work and our receptionist (the resident cake maker) made this for me! It was SO delicious - Salted Caramel Latte Cake ... and each bite was like having a nice warm latte in the middle of the afternoon! It's from Annie's Eats if you want to make it! --- 2 --- Earlier this week I had a small revelation in prayer that I wrote about ... if you missed it check out " Simply, That's How " with a mix of me, Papa Frank, and Therese. --- 3 --- I'm one post away from finishing my Latin & Me series. It's been so good for me to reflect back on this journey as I'm turning 30. The Katie who turned 25 wouldn't even have thought the Katie turning 30 would be who she is now. I guess that's how it always is though, right? We ca...

A little over a month ago Fr. C told me he was doing a Requiem Mass for a woman who was not a parishioner but who he had visited to give Last Rites to the week before. He said it was just going to be our Organist, the husband who wasn't Catholic, and maybe a few others and that I was invited if I was interested. I've been to many funerals - and now working at the parish I've gone to many funerals of people who I never knew either because it was the only Mass time that worked for me that day, there were few people who were going to be in attendance, or a variety of other reasons. So I decided to attend Maureen's funeral Mass out of pure curiosity for the Requiem Mass in the Extraordinary Form. I don't know all of the ritual that goes into the rite because it was my first time and additionally, it's a very rare experience; however, I can tell you that it was absolutely beautiful. I can say that not knowing a word of what was said. It's so hard to describe....

We seem to always have something say about guys treating us right! Or, not right! But, what does that mean? Have you ever thought to share those insights so guys have a better idea on what to say/how to act? Well, let's do it! What are some good habits guys can take up when dealing with us ladies? Well, we've talked about Chivalry before. I just reread that post yesterday because I was looking at my blog stats and noticed that it is my most read post. I thought, "what made that so good?" But if you remember it, or clicked over just before getting to this sentence, you'll remember that I was talking about a priest friend of mine who was so kind to me when we last got together (and always has been).  Last week I had a similar experience when I did some errands with Fr. C (our associate priest) to prepare for an event we were having with the 20s & 30s of the parish with our new Aquinas' Finest  efforts. Such a gentleman. I think these are skills...

“This is how the Lord acts: He does things simply. He speaks silently to you, to the heart. Let us remember in our lives the many time we have felt these things: the humility of God is His style; the simplicity of God is His style. And even in the liturgical celebration, in the sacraments, what is beautiful is that which manifests the humility of God, and not the worldly spectacle. It would do us good to journey through our life and to consider the many times the Lord has visited us with His grace, and always with this humble style, the style He calls us, too, to have: humility.” —Pope Francis, daily homily, 3/9/15. Read more.  (found on The Deacon's Bench ... if you don't follow, you should - he's got all kinds of fantastic stuff each day) How many times have I tried to figure out the complicated nature of God? The answer to that question is incalculable . Just this morning, for example. At our parish we have Eucharistic Adoration every day between the Daily Masses. I...

--- 1 --- Last weekend I did a little decorating - putting up some pictures downstairs in the living room and finally hanging the amazing Congo map MG got me for Christmas. Another Wall full of a story! The adjacent wall has a bigger story too, if I haven't shared it with you before... All photos and things from my trip to the Congo. The frame in the bottom right now has a photo in it as well. The fabric in the upper left is a dress that they purchased for me that will be admired more on the wall than in my closet! I also put these curtains and frames up in the guest bedroom - which makes me SO happy whenever I walk up stairs. That side of the house looks so put together! A happy place, rather than a drab place, for guests to hang out in while they stay. --- 2 --- An interesting quote from Matt Walsh  I found the other day about when he and his wife finally walked into a building they didn't know what was inside. It was a new Mega-Church - reminds m...

Today we continue my journey toward an appreciation of Latin and Mass in the Extraordinary Form. To read about the other parts check out  one  and  two  and three . Just a reminder that this is my personal journey, not a comprehensive discussion of the theology. The progression of my thoughts is following the pattern of change that happened at my parish here in Charlotte as well as my own personal experiences and thoughts. The next big thing that happened after changing the way we distribute communion (see part three ) was an incorporation of Latin responses into the Liturgy accompanied with an overall shift in the style of music that accompanies our Liturgy. To begin my appreciation for music in Latin I have to travel all the way back to when I was in choir during Elementary School with Ms. Kronenwetter and Mrs. Herzing (my distant cousin). Fr. Ananias came to our parish when I was in 3rd or 4th grade and he wanted us to sing in Latin. So during the season ...

We've all likely heard about them, but have you ever done one? If so, what was your experience? If you haven't, would you consider doing one? Why or why not? Okay so I realize that the purpose of this topic is not the speed at which we date. But what if it was? Then I would say fast ... as long as the rules of discernment are being followed. The point of a dating fast, like what Brenda over at Triple Braided Life  talked about in January , is to deliberately take a break from dating to grow closer to the Lord and deepen your faith. The point is deliberately , right? I've been doing this a lot minus the deliberate part, so I can't say that I've intentionally done a dating fast. I can see how it would be important for the culture we live in since there are so many crazy things that single people are expected to do and be. I think it's important to be deliberate  and intentional  in our dating. Why? Because it's preparation for the biggest dec...