Latin Is a Dead Language.

St. Mary-or-the-Wood College, Indiana

I had taken two years of Latin in high school and that was our favorite excuse when exams were returned and we hadn't done as well as we had anticipated. I have this wonderful book now, written by Archabbot Lambert Reilly, O.S.B of St. Meinrad, IN. It's called Latin Saying for Spiritual Growth. Let me share this with you, because I have found there is Life in words in whatever language they are spoken (or not spoken...anymore.)

Cor gaudens exhilarat factem

('A joyful heart light up the face')
Salomo

St. Teresa of Avila says, "Deliver us from frowning saints!" This doesn't mean that we are to be Pollyannas, blind to the harsh realities of life; but it does mean that in our hearts we know that whatever happens, the Lord is dealing with us as we should be dealt with.

When we realize that whatever we are experiencing is something to help us along the road to eternal life, we can bear it, and we can bear it in hope. That inner hope then finds its way to our countenance, and we'll live the truth that Paul expresses in Romans when he says, "We rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" (Romans 5:3-4).

The joy in our heart that we experience when we realize that the Lord loves us and would never leave us will reflect His light for all to see.

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Thanks be to God.

I CAN'T BEILIEVE IT!!!

~~~Sam, the Protector~~~

At about 3:30 this morning I was awaken by sounds made by Sam. At first I thought he had just gotten stuck under the bathroom sink again or leaped up onto the hamper and tried to sit in the window sill (but forgot the window was closed). Well, that wasn't it and I couldn't even find him so I went back to bed. Then I heard the noise again and so I got out of bed again and went to the kitchen thinking he had no water or he was "batting" about the feeder because he couldn't get the food to come down. Well, that wasn't it either. About ten minutes later into the bedroom he prances with something that "squeaked". OH, my GOODNESS. Sam had caught a mouse!! No bigger that a small Jalapeno pepper, he sat there on the floor in front of the closet preparing his meal. Then he did, yes he did, he began to eat it...Well, needless to say I had to leave the room. When I returned about 20 minutes later Sam passed me in the dark hall appearing to be quite content and proud of himself. As for me, I crawled back into the bed, pulled the covers up and went back to sleep with a strange feeling of security knowing now I didn't have to set out the "winter" traps.

Oddly enough, I had seen him bear his prize moles to us so we could see and praise him for a "job well done", but I never saw him devour them. But, as he proved this morning he is more that a pretty cat or "that lazy cat". He is a valuable member of the family. He keeps us safe from "little" rodents, this Mouser Extraordinaire.

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Thanks be to God!

The Trek of the Meteorite Apprentice

A Cluster of Meteorites

I thought as I posted this picture, it almost looks neolithic. They are not beautiful or glamorous to me, but to Ron, "the earthbound astronaut" they rank up there with bars of gold bullion.

Today he begins his quest to learn how to process them for sale. You see he wants to turn his love of space and its specimens-come-to-earth into an opportunity whereby retirement, when it comes, will not bring boredom. There is a gentleman in Syracuse, NY who has cut and etched meteorites for 25 years and Ron is going there to learn the process from the master. So the truck is loaded and ready to go, and just like a kid he can hardly wait to get started.

So it is that I wish the star gazer and meteorite lover a safe journey, patience, and a continued appreciation of the wonders of God's creation along with the prayers offered for a safe return.

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Then God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened.
Genesis 1:14-15

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Thanks be to God!!

Immunization for the flu.

The other day a young father brought in his sons for their annual flu vaccinations. Both boys, followed by Dad, walked up to me. The three year old smiled and boldly proclaimed, "This shot isn't gonna hurt!" His six year old brother, on the other hand, said, "I cried in the van on the way here." When it came time to have the injection the three year old stepped up and sat on the table, but as I approached him with the shot he squealed and began to cry loudly until I had finished. The six year old, though, sat on the table and got his injection quietly, with just the glimmer of one small tear running down his cheek.

I was really touched by this experience! You see we have a lot to learn from our children. They are very much as we are. Some of us who are bold cover our fear with a facade of bravery, consternation, and assertiveness. Others of us, admit the fear, but work none-the-less as hard as we can to overcome the fear and move onward, even if it's with one glistening tear running down our cheek. A real lesson in humility!

And again in this journey of mine, children are my best and favorite teacher.

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Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth...
Seek justice, seek humility;
perhaps you may be sheltered
on the day of the Lord's anger.
Zeph 2:3

***

And I bet you all thought I was going to give you a "medical hint" for the day. Well, the truth is, it wouldn't hurt you to get a flu shot if you work in the service sector or have chronic medical conditions that diminish your ability to fight off the infection.

OH, both boys were sent home with 2 (not 1) but 2 suckers.

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Thanks be to GOD!

All Souls Day

Today is the day we remember, as a people of God, those "who have gone before us with the sign of Peace". My reflection today came from A Catholic Woman's Book of Days by Amy Welborn.

But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here."
~Mark 16:6~

Today we remember, mourn and pray for the faithful departed. We're not the first to do this. A couple of thousand years ago, some women watched their friend and teacher die. They saw his lifeless body carried to a tomb and see the tomb sealed with a stone, separating them from their loved one forever.

Or so they thought until three days later when they found the tomb empty and heard these words: "do not be alarmed." The words came first from the angel, and then from the teacher himself--Jesus, no longer dead but alive. No longer gone but present. The call was clear: Be not afraid for death had been conquered and is no longer the end.

So today we remember, we mourn--because we are human-- and we pray. But we do so in hope no longer afraid.

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Loving God, my the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace.

***

And for this family of God I say,
Thanks be to God!