Bountiful Brunch

We usually go out with Brian’s extended family who live nearby–his parents, one set of Grandparents, his brother and wife, and his uncle and girlfriend–for brunch for Mother’s Day. With the failing health of Brian’s father, going out was out of the question, so Brian thought we should prepare a special brunch to share at “Nana’s” house.

Our menu included 4 varieties of quiche (spinach & ricotta, bacon & cheddar, ham & mushroom, and cheese), 4 varieties of crepes (sausage & cheese, cherry, apple and blueberry) with each of the sweet crepes having a sweetened cream cheese filling and topped with hot fudge or caramel sauce, eggs Benedict (provided by my brother-in-law), fruit salad, muffins, hashbrowns, bacon (lots and lots of bacon, as it’s Great-Granny’s special weakness), fried chicken, and a yogurt grape salad.

Suffice it to say, I didn’t eat again for the rest of the day. My husband is a superb cook, and keeps us quite well fed.

Faithfulness and the Fruit of the Spirit

A connection was made during Mass this weekend, answering a discussion I’ve had with another convert friend. If the Graces received through the Sacraments are real, and we believe they are, then why is it that so many Catholics are sleeping? Where is all that power going?

Brian Visaggio, over at Saint Superman, tied this one up with a tighter bow than I had postulated in the discussion with my friend. He makes this observation:

“I’ve written elsewhere (to which nobody replied sad.gif) that faith is a word we use to mean belief, but in the writing of the New Testament, the word they used meant fidelity, oathkeeping. It’s a word about how you act, how you live. Faith without works is dead because faith without works isn’t faith — you aren’t being *faithful*. Being faithful to your husband doesn’t mean you believe in him — it means you don’t cheat on him. Being faithful to the Lord, in the same way, means that you trust him to keep his promises and that you will keep yours.

To that end, faith, keeping faith, is all about how you live. This isn’t to say people earn their way into heaven, not at all, because it’s simply living the covenant God made with all humanity. “

Catholics sleep because they, in greater proportions than other pew sitters in other denominations, are not being faithful with what they have received. It is the catch-22 of “to whom more is given, more is expected.” We are given the actual life–body, blood, soul, and divinity–of Christ, and we are given an unbroken heritage from the apostles to the present, with all the spiritual and intellectual development of our two-thousand year history, and what do we, as average Catholics, do with it?

It is not that Catholics believe less than our Evangelical brothers and sisters, but that we have been given more to be faithful to, while being exhorted less to live up to that standard. Our heritage is full of examples of what the faithful Catholic can do with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As Pentecost nears, may we embrace all that we can be as Christians, by becoming more faithful to the truths that the Church has preserved for us.

Father-in-Law’s Health

He’s deteriorating rapidly, I’m afraid. He has cancer in his lungs, as well, and is on oxygen and having trouble breathing. He had a stroke this weekend, leading one hospital to diagnose cancer in his brain, but followup at a more advanced facility does not see cancer on their MRI. Ben, our oldest son, is struggling with the difference between magic and miracles, sacramentals as an aid to our faith, not as a power in themselves. Short story is that a former religious ed. teacher had given the kids some blessed medals, which Ben searched the house for and finally found to give to his grandpa soon after his diagnosis, but has now felt that he is somehow at fault for not finding them soon enough. It is terrible to helplessly watch my family suffer this way. All I can do is entrust all to God and try to explain to my kids what is happening, feeble as my attempts might be. I am so grateful for those that I know have lifted our family in prayer. My father-in-law’s mother is flying in this Friday. Please pray that he can be home to spend time with her by then. Also, he needs to resolve the fluid in his lungs so that he can get off oxygen and back into a treatment trial. Right now there are no treatments available to him.

Marriage and Family in the Movies

Brian and I avid movie watchers, but I have avoided reviewing them until now for two reasons: 1) most media today is almost entirely forgettable, and 2) I’m terrible at writing movie reviews.

The last couple weeks we’ve watched a couple of older recent movies: Fireproof and Dan in Real Life.

Knowing the background of Fireproof, the story written, directed and acted primarily by amateurs, I had very low expectations of it. I put it in the Netflix queue simply because I read a number of rave, though sparsely detailed, recommendations of it from a variety of sources. To put it simply, it mostly fell flat. I’ll be gracious about the acting, which, while not terrible, was certainly nothing to write home about. The meaning of the film is a message that needs to be broadcast widely and loudly throughout our society, that marriage requires sacrifice. Frankly, true happiness requires sacrifice. But the manner in which this story was told will almost ensure that the message is only heard by a very tiny minority of the population. To me, the movie clearly implied that only non-Christian marriages suffer difficulty, pain, crisis and hopelessness. Every single marriage depicted in the film underwent trials before the individuals involved made statements of faith, and improved dramatically after they began to trust in the Lord.

This story would have been strengthened by a more realistic portrayal of a variety of situations in which marriage requires self-sacrifice and reliance on Grace to achieve success and happiness. There are also significant problems with the way the story handled gender, respect, focusing solely on the husband’s choices and impact of his sins while completely disregarding the wife’s sins against their marriage, and an utter lack of artful story-telling and judicious editing.

The second film, Dan in Real Life, on the other hand completely blew me away. This sat on our instant watch queue for months. We’ve both enjoyed quite a bit of Steve Carell’s other work, and I was prepared for the usual incidental vulgarity. Instead, I discovered a little gem of a picture about family harmony, love, and again, sacrifice. This time, sacrifice was put in its proper perspective. The story begins with a parenting advice columnist, Dan, who is raising his three adolescent (and near adolescent) daughters alone. Along the way, we find out he was widowered. The bulk of the movie takes place during a family reunion vacation at the grandparent’s cottage. After arriving at the home, Dan is ushered out of the house by his perceptive mother, knowing he rarely takes time for himself. At a local book store, he encounters Marie, who agrees to coffee and pastries and then tentatively provides her phone number with the caution that she is in a new relationship. Predictably, this new relationship ends up being with Dan’s younger brother, Mitch, who introduces Marie to the family at the gathering.

Over the subsequent three days, Dan and the entire family fall in love with Marie. More than once, the suggestion arises to be honest about the budding relationship between them, but Dan decides that he needs to quell his feelings for her out of respect for his brother and as a father to his children. Various intuitive females amongst the family allude to something going on between Dan and Marie.

What makes this movie, though, is not necessarily the plot, which is fairly predictable, but the characters of the family members, the true caring and respect between all of them, the jovial, but compassionate interactions. Both Brian and I remarked that this is what we are striving for with our own family, and I think have a good hope of achieving. As a parental note, this story is about as clean as they come, though there is one awkward bathroom/shower scene in which Marie ends up in nude in a shower with the totally clothed Dan who takes the shortest route possible out of the situation.

Not Worthy

This was in my daily reading, from my plan to read through the Bible in a year, the other day.

2 Samuel 6:

9 That day David felt afraid of Yahweh. ‘How can the ark of Yahweh come to be with me?’ he said.
10 So David decided not to take the ark of Yahweh with him into the city of David but diverted it to the house of Obed-Edom of Gath.
11 The ark of Yahweh remained in the house of Obed-Edom of Gath for three months, and Yahweh blessed Obed-Edom and his whole family.
12 King David was informed that Yahweh had blessed Obed-Edom’s family and everything belonging to him on account of the ark of God. David accordingly went and, amid great rejoicing, brought the ark of God up from Obed-Edom’s house to the City of David.

It couldn’t help but bring to mind this passage, not that this is the first time the comparison has been made:

Luke 1:
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And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived 13 a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
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for nothing will be impossible for God.”
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Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
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During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah,
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where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
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When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit,
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cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
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And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord 14 should come to me?
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For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

And, of course, from the Mass:

Matthew 8:
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The centurion said in reply, 6 “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.
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For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
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When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel 7 have I found such faith.
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I say to you, 8 many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven,
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but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
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And Jesus said to the centurion, “You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.” And at that very hour (his) servant was healed.

Does a healthy soul ever feel worthy? This feeling is a humbling experience, but Christ does not stop there. He expects something of us. We choose whether to reject him in our injured sense of pride, or faithfully accept what He has offered to us. See how he has rewarded these individuals and families with blessings? And the blessings spill over, not just with the one who shows faith, but on those they love as well!

This communal gospel, this common theme that decisions made by one individual can heal, sanctify and bless others outside the periphery of the initial exchange is one of the great mysteries I have received from the Catholic faith. It is not a replacement for each individual having a personal faith in Christ, but a means by which Christ shows his magnitude, his loveliness, his adorableness, drawing us ever closer to his mercy and our ultimate salvation.

Pentecost Awaits

Faith is demanding. To have real faith inspires a response in the soul which motivates action in one’s life. It seeks a continual upgrading, renewing, rebirthing of who we are as people and who we might become because of the purification of the Lord. But unlike the particular strain of Christianity with which I was raised seemed to embrace, the process is not automatic or instantaneous. It is not without pain, effort, sweat and tears. It requires leaving behind the comfortable, thoughtless ways of reacting and living life, in favor of virtue. It means leaving aside justifying one’s actions to see ourselves the way Christ sees us, measuring ourselves by the examples of Christ, his Mother, the Apostles and Saints whose lives are documented within Scripture and throughout history. It is basically just plain hard work.

I mentioned to my husband that I’d just like to quit. But I could no longer quit having faith than will myself to quit breathing. I’m convinced God exists. I’ve slept in Abba’s lap after my own daddy’s ultimate failure. I’ve encountered His messengers in desperate times of need. I’ve united with His body in the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist, and poured out my failings in Reconciliation. I have seen the renewing of Grace through the lives of my children after Confession. I have given life to new souls! To even think of what life might look like if I lived it according to my selfish desires makes me cringe. It would not be a happy family life, of that I am certain.

It’s been a long time since I have had tangible consolation for my faith, but giving up is out of the question. Soon, I can feel it like my next breath, soon the pause between inhalation and exhalation, there will be new life here. Soon will be the graduation from this piece of work to the next. Come, Holy Spirit, come!

Easter update

How was your Lent? How is your Easter?

Lenten observance is becoming more a matter of the rhythms of life, needing less forethought and planning than in years past. I did make the fast days, despite nursing. As far as my chosen penance, I felt the absence of my usual blogging distractions, but I’ve been able to put some of that time to purposeful use. I made much more progress on my NFP training, was able to finish a couple volumes in a multiple volume text of Chesterton’s writings–though not the more spiritual of works, The Father Brown Mysteries–and accomplished some other reading. I’ve made some progress on website work, including leads on new clients. So, I’m going to have to work on greater balance so that I don’t stagnate and just sit and read people’s thoughts all day.

Eliza finally got over her pertussis about halfway through Lent. We’re easing back into our previous schedule, as I’ve been leery of exposing her too quickly to too many germs. Also, I am not recovered from the lack of sleep experienced through 8 or more weeks of dealing with pertussis-infected children, and don’t always feel up to chasing the toddler around daily Mass, or other more stressful situations like that. Last week went well, the previous, not so much.

There are other things going on as well. I haven’t yet decided how much I want circulating on the internet, but if you feel inclined, pray in general for marriage, and for ours specifically. Not that it is in jeopardy, but we’re going through some necessary growing pains, and it is both uncomfortable and rewarding.

Those of you who have been praying for my Father-in-law, I am very thankful. He’s still hanging in, but has cancer in his lungs, radiation and chemo have been unsuccessful to date. He is now in a study trial through Madison, so spending quite a bit of time driving the several hours back and forth each week. He had breathing trouble again this weekend and is now on oxygen for the foreseeable future. We don’t know how much time is left, just taking it day by day. Keep praying, please!

Lent

I am giving up blogging/reading for Lent. I plan to actually finish some of the spiritual reading I have begun. See you at Easter!

Intentional TV Viewing

We fired the Satellite company this month. We have a variety of means of access to entertainment, and decided this was a large monthly bill, mostly redundant, that was time to be cut. We’d already negotiated a fairly low, 2yr. fixed internet rate with the Cable company, through which, with a pc connection to the TV, we now can watch nearly all the shows we follow over the internet. We also discovered that the retro TV antenna still attached to the house is not so retro after all, needing just a few adjustments to capture the digital/HD feeds the major stations are now broadcasting.

It’s been two weeks since the satellite was disconnected. Maybe it’s too soon, but I’ve definitely seen a change in our viewing habits. We discovered the TV actually does have an Off button. We previously enjoyed the freedom of a DVR, but if there was nothing on it, we’d channel surf the too many channels and find something probably not really worth watching. These days, we watch a show or a Netflix through Xbox360, or turn it off.

I’ve remembered what peace and quiet means, even surprisingly when the kids aren’t all that quiet.

I actually finished reading a book.

And I can’t say that I’m missing out on anything. Except American Idol. Because they don’t have a complete show feed on the internet and the show airtime doesn’t work for me. But, I think I’m okay with that.

Fed up with the angry ‘Conservatives’

I first became acquainted with Conservative Talk Radio through my father, who became such a Rush Limbaugh devotee when I was in high school, that he would set up a tape recorder in his fourth grade classroom to tape the show to listen to later in the day. I never liked Limbaugh’s style. But I adopted, as is rather natural of children, my father’s political viewpoints.

Later on, after marrying and moving to Wisconsin, I discovered a Milwaukee Talk Radio station whose host had a more amiable style, and enjoyed listening. Only occasionally did I quibble with his point-of-view. Through the years, I’ve become familiar with Hannity, and Savage, and other local guys less well-known. The format is nearly identical, though the styles of presentation differ by degrees. But somehow, contrary to the assertion of my high school government teacher, I have drifted left over the last several years.

Little things have highlighted this effect. I’d checked out of political talk radio roughly a year ago, preferring Relevant Radio. But my reception has been weak this winter, so I’ve been forced to dial surf. I mentioned a week or so ago my encounter with two different “Conservative” hosts airing the exact same topic condemning large families, on account of the irresponsibility of the recent octuplet mom.

This week, I found myself calling my husband to air my aggravation on that aforementioned Milwaukee Talk Radio host’s current diatribe against a proposed Wisconsin minimum wage hike. Mind you, it was not necessarily his opposition to the proposal I differed with. I have not come to a personal conclusion on that. What irritated me was his complete blindness to the lot of the average American wage earner, or rather, wage-slave. He actually asserted that employers pay employees whatever the job is worth. And this is exactly where Capitalism falls flat, because business owners have little to no incentive to offer a fair wage. The bottom line is the accumulation of wealth, and if they can find someone to do the job for a lower wage, they’ll hire him. In this sort of economy, with individuals desperate for work, the sheer quantity of available labor by economical principals drives down the cost of labor. This host actually told a caller that if he thought his labor was worth more money, to walk into his boss’s office and ask for it! Right!

I’d once discovered public radio as a child, tuning into the broadcast of Classical music mid-day during summers. As an adult, I believed the Conservative hosts that public radio was boring, full of angry Liberals jealous of the success of Conservative radio. But desperate for a reprieve from frothing, frantic hosts, I tried it. And you know what? The hosts labeled as “boring” actually have a soothing tone of voice. The topics brought up were diverse and rarely explicitly political. It’s like an audio version of the Discovery channel, undoubtedly biased (but so are the alternatives) but educational and stimulating, too. I even heard a host defend Bush’s actual stance on Islam, opposing the caller’s perspective.

Lesson learned: ‘Conservative’ talk show hosts are not actually very conservative, and they may have earned the reputation of being angry. Liberal radio hosts, or at least public radio, are not oppositional, bleeding heart lunatics.

But, please Relevant Radio, may your signal return with the sun!