Waiting for Patience

I have a confession to make: When I first started as the Middle School Youth Minister at St. Mark, I didn't know what the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit were or how many fruits there were ... and I was the Confirmation Coordinator. I didn't learn those things until about 30 minutes before my first Confirmation Parent/Candidate Sessions a year and half into the job either. And I did not actually learn all twelve fruits until about 3 years ago. These are just two of the things I make my students memorize and learn now. Yesterday, my 8th class of Confirmation Candidates were just confirmed. My team has changed. My level of responsibility has changed. My parish has changed. My job has changed. And my understanding of the Sacrament of Confirmation has changed. This year's group was prepared by some adults, some teens, a nun, and me. Quite the group! I cannot believe that I've seen almost 600 students confirmed. Through it all each class has gotten better and bette...

Yesterday at Mass as I was looking at all of the covered statues in my parish and Fr. W was preaching, I was reminded of something I always forget, especially at this time of the year. I forget how incredible and amazing it is that Jesus died on the Cross for me. Not just for the whole world, but that He did it for me. I know that seems like a silly thing to forget - I know He died on the Cross. I don't forget about the Crucifixion. I forget that He loved me so individually and singularly that He died on the Cross for me. I forget how amazing that is especially when life is kind of awful at times. Maybe not awful, but just hard. Lately life has been a little hard. I thought something great was going to happen and then it was nothing - and not just nothing, but almost my biggest fear. Instead of the happily ever after, I got the "oh, well, I guess this is it, then." And moving right along to pick up my guard where I dropped it a few months ago. This all happened rig...

What this post was going to be called: "Things You Learned in 2nd Grade and then Forgot (probably)" I think about these things a lot, probably more than I should.  Mostly every time I'm at Mass and am distributing communion.  Last week at our young adult Spirituality Group we were discussing something about how to receive communion regarding the communion rail at a neighboring parish we were going to be going to Adoration the following week.  It was then solidified that there are a LOT of things we were taught in 2nd grade when we first received communion that we were expected to retain for.ev.er!  There is no other time when this happens in our lives.  You're told something at the age of seven.  Then never reinforced again, not really.  Some Religious Education classes talk about the big things again, but since you learned it in 2nd grade, you don't need to really learn it again because there's more stuff to learn. I'm reminded of these things...

I try not be decisive or political on this blog.  Just because I would like to keep it as a catholic girl's journey through life - the ups and downs on the roller coaster that is the single life.  I don't want to become a place where comments can become uncharitable or, quite frankly, ridiculous.  I have a bad habit of getting all hot over those situations and it drives me nuts. However, I cannot ignore or not write about things that shouldn't even be controversial.  If we (both sides of the pro-life movement) are claiming to be 'pro-woman' and 'pro-family' and 'pro-health' then we really need to decide what that means.  We already have different definitions of words: fetus, for instance.  Some of us think that is actually a baby that is growing and developing - then there are others who believe it is a clump of cells that is actually harmful to a woman's body. So I bring you the most ridiculous part of the pro-choice, or whatever...

The other day I saw this photo from a friend on facebook: And it got me thinking about the vocation crisis in our country - and what can be done.  It's also a follow-up to some thoughts I had about this article I found about a month ago. This year there is one guy being ordained a deacon in the US, another in Italy  and a guy being ordained to the priesthood.  There is a serious issue!  We are doing something wrong, or something else not enough.  So I got to thinking about what can be done to bring more men into the priesthood. The first issue is even bigger than the number of men in the seminary - it's that boys aren't even thinking about joining the priesthood.  In our diocese, teens were asked "have you ever considered a vocation to the priesthood or religious life?" and they responded overwhelmingly 'no' - 75% of youth.  This is an issue - our children aren't even considering this as a life decision! So what can be done?  I th...