A Guest Blog from The Link Family Blog

I'm not going to lie, I copied most of this from a blog I wrote earlier in the day...but seriously, running after two little crazies all day long doesn't leave me with much time to write TWO separate blogs in one day...So, parent of the year signing on for the first time in a couple of months...I know you all missed me. Happy first day of Spring, happy snowy first day of Spring.  Seriously??  Have we not enjoyed the snow enough?  I guess not.  I am the worst mother ever because I hate taking my kids out in the snow...I mean hate it.  Which often results in extremely hyper littles later in the day.  So I do laps with them around the living room/kitchen. It also doubles as my exercise some days.  And I need that exercise because of this which I am currently getting ready to try right now.  Don't judge me, I know it's Lent...I also know that I will die if I don't have coffee, and that would be super tough on Marty. So go with me here.

okay we're ready...

In all seriousness we have been working really hard to simplify our lives this Lent and it is HARD with kids to really live simply and actively pray through the day.  A fantastic priest friend of mine told me that the key to holiness is knowing yourself, and knowing that "your self" has changed since becoming a mother. This could not be more incredibly true. There are a lot of days I berate myself for not "spending time in prayer" when in reality I DO spend a lot of time in prayer but my prayer looks much different now that I am a mother.  And I have to not only accept that but embrace it.  My Vocation went from "wife" to "wife and mother" and that is a beautiful thing.

So prayer is different, life is different, and right now my coffee is different, different and delicious.  I mean, seriously, when has Ree ever steered us wrong?  I am going to continue to try this Lent to live simply, Marty and I have talked about a million (or maybe 20 things) that we could do...one of them is not using the stove on Fridays during Lent.  Which is much harder than I thought it would be...but reminds us that there are so many people who don't have hot meals...and I know I sound all preachy and you're thinking to yourself that I'm drinking hot coffee with butter in it but hey, we all have to start somewhere, okay?  Living simply will be different for everyone because, let's be honest, motherhood looks different with everyone...as much as I aspire to the Pinterest mama, it might not be in my immediate (or extended) future.  But doing the best we can with what (and who) we're given is exactly what God calls us to.  Some days that is a marathon of BowToons and some days it's making sure that my babies get out of the house...God calls us all to our own holiness and as long as our eyes are on Him, it's the best path we can walk....so that's that.

...today I just need to drink my coffee and embrace my Vocation....

Thanks for reading, you can always pop over to my blog to get a good laugh and hopefully a little inspiration,

AnnaMarie

A late Ash Wednesday reflection from guest blogger Teresa Jeschke

Happy Ash Wednesday!  Yes, may our Lenten season be joy-filled and may we give all glory to God during this precious liturgical season.

 

At 6:30 am Mass today I heard the best Ash Wednesday homily and it was as though Jesus was speaking right to me!  I am a Hospitality Minister at Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish here in Ellicott City and when the call went out for ministers for today’s four Masses, oddly enough I chose 6:30 am…odd because all previous years I’ve attended the 7:00 pm Mass.  I even hesitated a few minutes prior to signing up on-line because, well….it’s 6:30 am Mass which meant getting up early on a day I work from home!

 

But, as I should have recognized at that moment, God already had this planned for me.

 

Arriving at the church, it was dark and extremely cold, and I was only the 3^rdperson there at 6:00.  As more of my faith family arrived, the joy in my soul was bubbling up and out and was recognized by many who said that I was the right one for the early Mass because I was so happy and welcoming….which I was truly feeling.  Our God is such an awesome God.

 

So, the homily which was given by Fr. Jim Sorra, our guest for awhile and who is the Archdiocese’s Vocations Director, was about remembering why we are doing the things we’re doing during Lent.  That, if I am giving up sweets so that my clothes are not so tight come spring or if I am giving more to charity so that I feel better about myself, then I am no better than the hypocrites in today’s Gospel because I am doing these things for me and making Lent all about me.  Anything I choose to do during Lent should only be done for the glory of God and His Kingdom.

 

Yikes!

 

It was as though I had confessed this to Fr. Sorra and he was counseling me because as I had pondered a few weeks ago what I wanted to do for Lent, the first thought was to give up sweets and junk food because those are my nemesis, and well, it will help me lose those pounds I need to for the weddings I’ve got coming up this summer.

 

Could our Lord have been talking any more directly to me?!?!?!?

 

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ…..and please create in me, O God, a clean heart.

 

 

A New Set of Resolutions

Hello my Catholic women friends! Are you feeling compelled to start something new? After all, we just celebrated the New Year! Our resolutions seem to take the same theme year after year. Last year, research by the University of Scranton listed the following as the top ten resolutions in the United States: 1) Lose weight, 2) Get organized, 3) Spend less, save more, 4) Enjoy life to the fullest, 5) Staying fit and healthy, 6) Learn something exciting, 7) Quit smoking, 8) Help others in their dreams, 9) Fall in love, and 10) Spend more time with family.

This year I was refreshed to see that our wonderful Pope Francis’ most memorable quotes were used to inspire Paterno Esmaquel II to write a post on Rappler, “New Year’s Resolutions: The Pope Francis List”!

As I am tired of my own feeble attempts to overcome some of my imperfections, I thought, “What better list to use as my own inspiration?!” Then I started reading…hmm, I should have known. These are not for the faint of heart!  But I have been striving to become a better representation of Christ in earnest for the past couple of years and nothing good comes without sacrifice…remember sacrificial love brings joy and blessings we never thought possible.

So, let’s take a look at a few of the resolutions on the Pope’s list. Number one: Don’t gossip (this one is closely related to Number 6, stop judging others.) Wow, just for one day, watch your words. How often do we speak of someone else without realizing that we are indeed gossiping! Avoiding gossip takes the awareness to respond instead of react to what is being said in conversation. This can be hard in many ways, but the most frequent time I find myself in this position is when I am with a group of my friends and the conversation takes a turn toward complaining. I find myself making statements that may not even hold weight in light of the circumstances being discussed for who knows the truth of any situation unless we are directly involved?

Surprisingly, complaining is rampant in parish circles when we become involved for the work of the Lord and find things not going as we may like! This was a huge eye-opener for me about 25 years ago when I really started doing ministry and volunteer work. 

The hardest part of this situation? Backing out of it. When you become aware of being involved in gossip, the best thing to do is to change the subject. If you are really confident and feeling like the Spirit is with you, say something like, “You know I’m not really comfortable talking about…” Be a challenging, spiritual leader with these words.

How about Number Three: Make time for others. This is actually quite simple. We don’t have to give hour upon hour on a weekly basis to check off the box. Actually, the most remembered instances of making time for others tend to be unplanned moments of interaction. Those acts of kindness done when you are in a hurry yourself but recognize that someone else’s need may be greater. 

Think about the recent season of busyness…Christmas. How many times were you in line or at a checkout counter? Were you able to be patient with the seasonal cashier that was in-training and taking a long time to ring up your purchase? What a gift it would be to let the person know that you were not in a hurry and understood they needed to take their time and to thank them for working so you could shop! I know you can think of hundreds of other ways to check off the box for Number Three…just keep up your antennae for opportunities. Reward yourself by keeping a journal of them and saying an extra prayer for that person as you write about it.

So there are a few from “The Pope Francis List”. Here is the link to the entire list and the Pope’s reason for making them worthwhile resolutions http://www.iccparish.org/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/01/New-Years-Resolutions-by-Pope-Francis.pdf

May you be greatly blessed in this New Year. And remember Christ loves us even when we don’t perfectly meet our resolutions!

Ellen Marie Dumer