Good Friday

But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins.
Upon him was the chastisement that makes
us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
Isaiah 53:5

Another Profound Meditation

The Wedding at Cana has always been my favorite bible story. I love that Jesus worked his first public miracle at a wedding, underscoring the dignity of marriage. I love that this miracle was wrought through the intercession of Our Lady--Jesus refuses his mother nothing. He called her "woman", which at first seems curious or even disrespectful, but when looked at on a deeper level is so profound. He is affirming her role as the "new Eve", the "woman" foretold in Genesis whose seed would crush the head of the serpent. I am especially moved by the fact that Our Lady was so completely united to God's will that she was willing to set her Son on the path to the cross before his "hour" had come. She knew. And she still asked.
Our Blessed Mother's last recorded words in the Bible were spoken at the Wedding at Cana, and they echo down through the centuries to us even today: "Do whatever He tells you."

Happy Catholic has posted a series of meditations on The Wedding at Cana and Our Lord's Passion by Fulton Sheen. They are not to be missed: (I have them on my Shared Items list, but they really deserve more attention)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Jesus Meets His Mother

Charlotte has a beautiful meditation on this station. It moved me to tears this morning. Go read it. You will be blessed.

Small successes - Holy Week edition

1. The kids and I made a grotto for our altar--in time for Holy Week, according to my original plans!! I think it came out nice, but it sure was a mess in the making!
2. I purged the mudroom yesterday. Oh boy, did it need it. Packed up two bags of garbage and 1 bag of clothes and shoes for the PlanetAid box. Also got college girl's room picked up in preparation for her returning home on May 1!!!

3. My plan for the NCAA brackets was successful! I soundly defeated the members of my household for the first time...of course, it was mainly my hubby that I was gunning for, though...;)

Visit Faith & Family Live! for more Small Successes.

Happy Birthday, Honey!

I want to wish my wonderful husband a very happy birthday. He tends to be quiet and even a little shy sometimes, but he is a great husband and daddy.
I am so grateful that my children get the opportunity to grow up with a dad who is completely devoted to them, and to me!
I love that his family is his first priority.
I appreciate the hard work he does to provide for us and the incredible work ethic he possesses.
I am so proud to be the wife of a man of such character and integrity.
I am humbled by his faith, inspired by his devotion to Our Lord and to us, and deeply impressed at the depth of his love.
I am honored to call him "husband". God bless you, Scott. Happy Birthday!

Wouldn't want to do that, would we?

I sort of surprised my dear husband tonight with a birthday dinner at a local restaurant. He knew we were going, but he didn't know who was going to be there. It was only family...just a few extras he wasn't expecting. He was pleased.
Scott tends to be a quiet man and is not comfortable with attention being called to himself....well, unless it has something to do with sports, and then he is perfectly happy to take a bow! Anyway, he is adamant that he does not want any of the hoopla or singing that is done in some restaurants for patrons' birthdays.
Him: "I will stand up and walk out if that (the singing & hoopla) happens."
Now this made me chuckle because that would certainly call more attention to him than the singing, but whatever. I respected his wishes.
However, another family member, one he cannot divorce:), began singing the dreaded Happy Birthday song to him and we all joined in--quietly. In fact, a nearby waiter said that that was the quietest Happy Birthday he had ever heard. And Scott remained in his seat.
We had a lovely evening, and no undue attention was focused hubby's way.
As we were saying good-bye outside the restaurant, though, my husband and his aunt (yes, aunt!) began to scuffle as only two stubborn New England Yankees can. She had the audacity to try to slip him some money for his birthday. He was having none of that. So he and his aunt had a wrestling match (yup! wrestling match!) in the parking lot in front of the windows of the restaurant. At one point during the skirmish, he actually picked her up in the air. In the end, she won when she slipped the money inside his sleeve and he couldn't find it.
Thank goodness no one called 911 and we were able to slink into our cars and scurry home.
Sheesh, it's a good thing we didn't draw any undue attention to him by singing, right!?

OK, he may be awesome, but....

At our family co-op this morning, my niece was reminded that next week is Holy Week. Her immediate response:

Emmalee: "Oh yeah. I have to put Jeff Gordon in the tomb."

Me: "Wait. What?"

Emmalee: "I have to wrap Jeff Gordon up and put him in the tomb on Good Friday." (Apparently, they use a figurine of Jeff Gordon to represent Jesus--what is their mother teaching them?!)

Ummm, Emmalee, just remember, no matter what Uncle Scott says, Jeff Gordon is NOT Jesus!