Road to Providence

Dear friends, I will be on retreat at Saint Mary-or-the-Woods starting tomorrow evening. I would ask that you keep me in you prayers! Thank you all!

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Thanks be to God!

Feast of Saint Joseph

St. Joseph's Bread
Originally uploaded by funkyegret

In Sicily, where St. Joseph is regarded by many as their Patron Saint, thanks are given to St. Joseph ("San Giuseppe" in Italian) for preventing a famine in Sicily during the Middle Ages. According to legend, there was a severe drought at the time, and the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain. They promised that if He answered their prayers, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet for their patron saint. The fava bean was the crop which saved the population from starvation, and is a traditional part of St. Joseph's Day altars and traditions. Giving food to the needy is a St. Joseph's Day custom. In some communities it is traditional to wear red clothing and eat a Sicilian pastry known as a Zeppole on St. Joseph's Day.
Altars are also a prevalent tradition. Upon a typical St. Joseph's Day altar, people place flowers, limes, candles, wine, fava beans, specially prepared cakes, breads, and cookies (as well as other meatless dishes), and zeppole. Foods are traditionally served containing bread crumbs to represent saw dust since St. Joseph was a carpenter. Because the feast occurs during Lent, traditionally no meat was allowed on the celebration table. The altar usually has three tiers, to represent the trinity.

(from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Recipe for St. Joseph's bread can be found at All Recipes. Blessing to all on this Holy Feast!

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Thanks be to God!

PHOTO by funkyegrets.

A Hug Can Replace Violence...

I found this reflection in The Little Black Book most enlightening. I wonder how you are touched by it.

Peters approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must
is forgive him, as may as seven times?"
Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times
but seventy-seven times."
(Matthew 18: 21-35)

In Scripture, we can track one indication of the gradual movement of the human race (by God's grace) toward the Reign of God. It has to do with the reduction of vengeance.

~~~Genesis (which reaches back to pre-history) tells of Lamech, a son of Cain, who boasted: "I have killed a man for wounding me, a boy for bruising me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold." (Genesis 4:23-24)

~~~Exodus (which treats events that took place in about 1,200 B.C.) tempers this approach: "If injury ensues, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot..." (Exodus 21:23-24)

~~~Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, takes the human race to a new level: "You have heard that it is said, 'An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you...when someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well." (Matthew 5:38-39)

~~~Now, 13 chapters later in that same Gospel, Peter asks how many times one has to do this. Jesus says that, to bring about the Reign of God, mercy must be measureless.

Vengeance prevents us from moving forward, for it simply adds evil to evil. Jesus calls us to break the vicious circle of evil for evil, and respond to evil with goodness, this bringing creation closer to its destiny.

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This reading of yesterday really caused me to think about my anger toward those who may have injured me, whether real or imagined. Then the Spirit, as he always does, clarified. You see hate breeds vengeance. Forgiveness breeds love. As Christians we are called to love by LOVE. So if I am truly Christian then I have NO choice! I MUST forgive. Oh my!! What a daunting task this is! God bless you all this day with love! A hug is also GOOD!

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Thanks be to God!

The Luck of the Irish To All This Day...

The Eye of God over Dublin
12/2005

Lets begin the day with a wee bit of Irish humor. Here is a delightful Irish tale sent me by my dear friend Juliene O'Dowd West. Sure and isn't it all true!

On a vacation in Rome, I noticed a marble column in St. Peter's with a golden telephone on it. As a young priest passed by, I asked who the telephone was for. He told me it was a direct line to Heaven, and if I'd like to call, it would be a thousand dollars. I was amazed, but declined the offer.

Throughout Italy, I kept seeing the same golden telephone on a marble column. At each, I asked about it and the answer was always the same: a direct line to Heaven and I could call for a thousand dollars.

On the way homeward, I stopped in Ireland . I decided to attend Mass at a local village church. When I walked in the door I noticed the golden telephone. Underneath it there was a sign stating: "DIRECT LINE TO HEAVEN 25 cents." "Father, " I said, "I have been all over Italy and in all the cathedrals I visited, I've seen telephones exactly like this one. But the price is always a thousand dollars. Why is it that this one is only 25 cents?"

The priest smiled and said,

"Ah! But you're in Ireland now! It's a local call."

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Now if you'll be willin' to walk a bit, we'll take a quick tour of Dublin City.

Dublin Skyline by Day

St. Patrick's Cathedral...

and where the good saint baptized.

You can have a grand walk about the city's center.

And end the evening on a bridge over the River Liffey
enjoying the twinkling lights.

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I've no pictures of food
or table settings to boot
but a limerick I do have to share.
No day is complete without one.
So I hope you'll be enjoyin' this'n.

***
'Tis famous the food of Killarney,
As tasty and fresh as sweet Blarney
Know well it is nice
When served fast on ice,
Gourmets shriek for Chili con Kearney.

Published by Peter Pauper Press
White Plains, NY


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And may God be with ye
this day and always!

Thanks be to God!

When all is said and done it's a true delight to visit Kathleen Cuisine today to see the wonder of all that can be seen in other little corners of the world!

A Saturday in INDY

Reitz Memorial High School Winter Guard
3/2009

Is it possible that when you are a grandmother you are more sensitive about watching family members perform? I don't remember tears in my eyes when I watched Laura or Wes perform at solo and ensemble. I didn' t even cry when Wes sang Bridge Over Troubled Waters at his high school graduation. But yesterday watching Kellie (3rd from the left) perform her teams winter guard performance tears did indeed well up in my eyes. Perhaps that's the reason I succeeded in getting only one good picture! They were disappointed in their performance, but when all was said and done they were 5th out of 35 school. Quite an achievement!

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Earlier that morning, Ainsley, my 6 year old granddaughter, and I had a chat. She jumped on the sofa and said "Grandma, I'm so excited!"

GM: What are you excited about?

AK: Aunt Mimi (Marianne) is going to have a baby and I am so excited. I love family.

GM: I love family, too.

AK: It is so much fun to have us all together and now you know there will be 12 of us.

GM: Yes, I know and it will be fun.

AK (With a twinkle in her eye): That means that along with Maddie you have another one of us to put on your sweatshirt.

And with a giggle she was off. You know she's right! It is fun when we are together! Family is a wonderful treasure given to us by the Father. Oh my, how fortunate I am.

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Thanks be to God!

the lesson

the lesson
Originally uploaded by pioforsky

Five (5) lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor
gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student
and had breezed through the questions until I read
the last one:

'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?'

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the
cleaning woman several times. She was tall,
dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leavin g the last question
blank.... Jus t before class ended, one student asked if
the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

'Absolutely,' said the professor. 'In your careers,
you will meet many people. All are significant. They
deserve your attention and care, even if all you do
is smile and say 'hello.'

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her
name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m. , an elderly African-American
woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway
trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had
broken down and she desperately needed a ride.
Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally
unheard of in those conflict-filled 60s. The man
took her to safety, helped her get assistance and
put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his
address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a
knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a
giant console color TV was delivered to his home.
A special note was attached..

It read:
'Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway
the other night. The rain drenched not only my
clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along.
Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying
husband's bedside just before he passed away... God
bless you for help ing me and unselfishly serving
others.'

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less,
a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and
sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

'How much is an ice cream sundae?' he asked.

'Fifty cents,' replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and
studied the coins in it.

'Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?' he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the
waitress was growing im patient.

'Thirty-five cents,' she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

'I'll have the plain ice cream,' he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on
the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice
cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress
came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the
table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish,
were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had
to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a
roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if
anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the
king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the
King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did
anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of
vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the
peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the
stone to the side of the road. After much pushing
and straining, he finally succeeded. After the
peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed
a purse lying in the road where the boulder had
been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note
from the King indicating that the gold was for the
person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The
peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a
hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who
was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only
chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had
miraculously survived the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the
illness. The doctor expl ained the situation to her
little brother, and asked the little boy if he would
be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a
deep breath and saying, 'Yes I'll do it if it will
save her.' As the transfusion progressed, he lay in
bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did,
seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his
face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a
trembling voice, 'Will I start to die right away'.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the
doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his
sister all of his blood in order to save her.

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This is one of those emails you get from friends that you just have to send along. You needn't forward it if you don't want to. If you wish just link it if you so desire. I do believe the more who read this the more people will find a reason to see the value in one anther! Don't you?

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And for Sylvia who sent this to me I say,
"Thank you and thanks be to God!"

Gratitude...

At times I am embarrassed at work when someone says thank you to me for whatever it is they are grateful. But I am seldom taken by surprise as I was just the other day. I had just weighed this dear lady, who now needs the use of a walker, and we were going down the hall to the patient room. I told her you're welcome and then asked her why? She said it was because I said "follow me" not "walk this way." One seldom thinks about the words we use and how they might be understood by others. It was a lesson for me in kindness. She was grateful for my choice of words which to her allowed her to feel less handicapped. Perhaps, now I will be more thoughtful in my use of language in the care of my charges each day.

Cinquain on Kindness
Kindness
True charity
Given in tenderness
Virtue

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Thanks be to God!

Baking Wednesday...

There are two scrumptious recipes I am going to make today after I get home from work at noon...I've begun baking on Wednesday! I like to bake and so this is one day when I usually don't have any conflicts. Well, except for my visit with Sister Dorothy on the 1st Wednesday of each month about my travels on the "Road to Providence."

At any rate, here are two recipes I would like to share with you. The first comes from Father Schipp via my dear friend Karen. When he participates on a Cursillo team everyone anticipates this wonderful delight.

Picture by JustCallMeSassy

Peach Crunch Cake

PREHEAT Oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x11 dish with Pam. Pour in two regular cans of peach pie filling, covering the bottom of the dish. Coverthe peach pie filling with one box of yellow cake mix. Cut into slices 1 1/2 sticks of butter and place over top of cake mix, sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake for 45 minutes and serve warm with ice cream. A perfect and easy desert.

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The next comes from Cuisine Kathleen. The best Irish Soda Bread I've tasted and so easy to make!




Irish Soda Bread....Kathleen


4 C flour
1 t salt
4 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
3/4 C sugar
2 t caraway seed
1 C raisins
1 egg
1 t vanilla
2 C buttermilk
1/4 stick of soft butter

Sift dry ingredients. Mix in the seeds and raisins. Add buttermilk and vanilla and mix.

Add beaten eggs and soft butter, mix

Put into 2 greased loaf pans, or 1 10 in round. Slit the top with a knife.

Bake at 350 about 30 to 35 for loaf pans, 50 for round.
Brush with butter or milk 10 min before removing from oven.
Check center to see if done, do no over bake..



Kathleen say, "I make mine in a stand mixer, and it can be easily doubled. [And] [y]ou
can omit the seeds.."

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For friend new and old who are wonderful cooks and who are willing to share their secrets

I say, "Thanks be to God!"

God's Self-revelation

The Self-revelation of God

The dialogue between God and humanity is the give-and-take of self-revelation and response. That's what's happening in every relationship, you can't understand the rules of prayer.
In prayer God is gradually disclosing himself, revealing herself. So revelation and faith are correlative. There cannot be faith without revelation. We cannot believe in a person who has not shared himself or herself with us. To the degree that person has shared with us, we can believe in that person.

It's the same way with God. When we waste time with the Lord and listen, we're allowing
God to reveal not information but Self. This is what's symbolized on the cross: God is totally disclosed, God is the totally given God. But it takes us a lot of scraping and converting to open ourselves up to that disclosure. If we are filled with ourselves, there is, quite simply, no room for the other, and surely not The Other.

excerpt from The Price of Peoplehood
Radical Grace, Daily Meditations
By Richard Rohr, O.F. M.

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And so it is, as I read this, thatmy prayertime this morning came to mind. Though I seemed focused on the prayers I was saying and the words upon which I was reflecting, I was doing all the talking...MY prayer should be, "Lord keep me QUIET." Perhaps my concern is that if I'm not talking, he won't be listening. Well, I couldn't be more WRONG. Can you sit and be quiet? Can you simply just SIT and be quiet. There are no lessons for this. There is no text with a lesson plan. I have to teach myself the art of QUIET! Will I ever learn!?! The funny thing is, only God will know!

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Thanks be to God!

The Simple Women's Daybook

It's been so long since I've done this I"m not sure how this will turn out...It requires some thought and reflection on what my week may be. so to begin.

After you visit here please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman and journey along the path of life we all share.

1. Outside my window...it's dark again. Last week the sun was rising, but today its will be coming up as I start for work.

2. I'm thinking...this week should be less demanding as I have fewer meeting to attend and less projects that require immediate attention.

3. I'm thankful for...having spent quality time with David and the rest of the Charlotte Kellers via the webcam. It's finally up and running again.

4. I'm wearing... robe and slippers.

5. From the Kitchen...Will come Tuna Helper, green beans and fruit for desert. Lent is a good time for reflecting on being satisfied. I need to remind myself the being full is not comfortable, but being satisfied is.

6. I am creating...the work of counted x-stitch Laura gave me to make for her birthday 3 yrs ago. I'm embarrassed! I think it's one I would not have chosen and it's hard to finish...But her birthday is in May and I am determined to finish it!

7. I am reading...Mother Theodore Guerin A Women for All Time by Penny Blaker Mitchell

8 . I'm hoping...we will have the opportunity to travel to INDY to see our granddaughter Kellie perform with her Winter Guard Unit from Memorial High School.

9. I am hearing...Duchess snoring. She is asleep on the floor next to my feet.

10. Around the house...It's decorated for St. Patrick's Day. Sure and won't that be a grand time.

11. Few plans for the rest of the week...Grouping with my Cursillo friends, baking some MORE Irish Soda Bread, preparing to spend time with family this weekend.

12. One of my favorite things is...Watching old Charlie Chan movies. Had time to do that this last weekend as I worked on the x-stitch. It was most relaxing.

13. Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

The Hope of Spring.

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Thanks be to God!