The following is a contribution by Mary from the diocese of Cincinnati. She has graciously accepted to write about her experience.

Saturday, April 27, 2013 was an unbelievable day for me as the wife of a newly ordained permanent deacon. Our journey began in 2005 when my husband, a very quiet introverted electrical engineer, came back from living his Cursillo weekend and told me that he thought God wanted something more from him. I really thought he was just having that mountain top experience that one has after making such an intense weekend. But his call never left him and after two years of Lay Pastoral Ministry and three years of Formation, this glorious day came.

It was never ever easy for him or for me. He often says that his Formation was more difficult than completing two advanced degrees in engineering. He was nervous at public speaking and had lots of trouble writing all his papers and memorizing facts for tests. But the Holy Spirit was there for him every step of the way.

I attended classes with him- 45 weekends over three years, which meant we missed lots of family activities and weddings, etc. Someone in our class figured out that we put on over 7,000 miles in traveling from our house to the seminary on those formation weekends. We also had a lot of discerning during this time. It was never what I call a “slam dunk” once he was in the program- no guarantee of ordination. Then came his canonical retreat this Spring and a peace came over him like I have never seen before. I knew then that this is what God wanted for him so writing my letter to the Archbishop came a lot easier than I had thought.

Ordination day was filled with so many tears before Mass began. Every time I saw family members or other wives, I cried but as the music started and the procession began the tears went away and I was totally in the moment. I felt the Holy Spirit and when my husband laid down and the Litany was sung, my soul just sang. He later told me that a feeling of heat went over his back as he lay on the ground- like a healing heat. This week is like being on a honeymoon with God- so many persons have sent gifts and messages and we also received a spiritual bouquet from our friends in Cursillo with offerings of Masses, rosaries, adoration and more.

All I can say is keep trusting in God’s will as you go through formation with your husband. I know we will have challenges but I also know that He will be with my husband and me all along this new journey. God Bless You, Mary G., the new deacon’s wife

What a beautiful message of encouragement! Congratulations Deacon Ralph and again, Thank you Mary for sharing.

God bless you both!

Last night the ladies of my parish, St-Mary Catholic Church hosted a “Stations of the Cross” prayer night for our parish & community. We first shared a meal of baked potatoes with fixin’s and enjoyed fellowship prior to meeting in the church for prayer.

For Roman Catholics throughout the world, the Stations of the Cross are synonymous with Lent, Holy Week and, especially, Good Friday. This devotion is also known as the “Way of the Cross”, the “Via Crucis”, and the “Via Dolorosa.” It commemorates 14 key events on day of Christ’s crucifixion. The majority concern His final walk through the streets of Jerusalem, carrying the Cross.

The Stations originated in medieval Europe when wars prevented Christian pilgrims from visiting the Holy Land. European artists created works depicting scenes of Christ’s journey to Calvary. The faithful installed these sculptures or paintings at intervals along a procession route, inside the parish church or outdoors. Performing the devotion meant walking the entire route, stopping to pray at each “station.”

Today, images of the Stations (or simple crosses representing them) are on display in almost all Catholic churches. They serve mainly as a focus for Lenten worship services. But the Stations can also be performed privately, at any time of the year, even at home.

Most prayers for this form of devotion are similar but because the women of the parish were leading the prayers, we used a guidebook called, “Mary’s Way of the Cross” by Richard Furey. Although I was familiar with it, for some reason it affected me more deeply this time around. As we were praying, I could really feel what our Lord’s mother was experiencing during her son’s passion.

As I was searching the internet for a copy of this little jewel (I did find it & ordered 5 copies from Amazon), I came across a series of 3 videos on Youtube – it will take about 35 minutes of your time to watch all 3 & experience The Stations of the Cross. Listen carefully… the meditations are an excellent guide to an examination of conscience.

I hope you will find this as touching and inspiring as I have.

God bless!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

I have a diversified life.  For instance, we’ve just spent the last 2 weeks in Daytona, Florida for the east coast’s largest yearly motorcycle rally where my aspirant husband Scott & I sell and install our Boogey Lights – the product of the company we own since 2001. Actually, he and I just sell & market our products and we have 2 great guys that work for us installing what customers buy.  Our business is mostly via online but twice a year (March & October), we head out to Daytona and do what we do best… promote our products!

This is a tough two weeks – almost as difficult emotionally as it is physically.  Working with this crowd can be very challenging, almost as much as it can be rewarding.  Although bikers can look as tough as nails, I think most of them aren’t.  They just look like they are. Many that I deal with look like convicts but after chatting with them, I’ll discover that they’re from all walks of life.  Doctors, lawyers, bankers, white collar, blue collar, etc., and yes, occasionally I will deal with a really tough guy.  But hey, if he’s interested in my products, I’ll sell to him and give him the same great service & products I provide any one of my customers!

As for the women, much can be said about them too.  And this is where I struggle the most with the sin I have the most difficulty staying away from.  Judging.  There, I said it. Yes, I do that (forgive me Jesus – note to self… bring this up the next time I’m in that little room with Fr. Soandso.)

I have to constantly remind myself that Jesus loves that woman as much as he loves me, even if her breasts and behind are exposed for the world to see!   The men walking with these women (see, I can’t even say, “ladies”), handle them like trophies… it’s like they’re saying to the men around them, “Look what I got!”…  As for the women, they seem to thrive on that.

I just don’t get it. Most of these girls are drop dead gorgeous.  They don’t need to be walking around half naked to get attention. But they do… I wonder, what’s in it for them, really?  To be seen as an object, to be used, disrespected publically (I’ve seen them groped by their “man” as they walk by groups of other men).  How can this bring them any kind of pleasure?

Can you tell this bothers me?  Last year I happened to be in the ladies room while one of these girls was primping & plumping and I started talking to her.  I didn’t even think about it really… I just told her how pretty she was and that she really didn’t need to dress that way to get attention. She didn’t care… she wanted to look sexy and have guys drool as she walked by… because that’s what the guys do.

I know God loves us all but I have to believe that sometimes He looks at us and just shakes His head asking , “How did my most beautiful & smartest creation (man & woman), get to this point?”

Maybe someday I’ll understand.  In the meantime I try not to stare and if our eyes do meet, I just smile and remember that God loves her too!

Now I do meet some really nice people.  For instance, there’s a fellow we’ve been seeing for a few years that walks around with a small, live alligator.  He runs a rescue for exotic animals – from reptiles to fawns and everything in between.  He makes extra money by having people get their pictures taken with the alligator.  You can tell this guy has a great passion for what he does but you can also tell that financially he could use some help.

Several years ago we purchased from Target a remote-controlled, scaled down replica of a Harley Davidson Road King.  I sometimes bring it out and folks walking by get a kick out of it – they kneel by it and have their friends snap pictures. Last year I turned down $250 for it!  Anyhow, I see our friend Critter walk by with his gator and I get this idea to lend him our mini Harley so he can set his gator on it for photo ops.

After watching how much attention (and tips), he was getting I realized why I had never sold the little Harley… it was meant for this purpose!  I walked over to Critter & told him he could have it as long as he never sold it.  I thought he was going to cry he was so happy!

We saw him again many times after this and he never failed to thank us over & over again! He carried the little Harley in a wagon and set up at various locations for folks to take pictures of his little gator sitting on it. This man was so happy that he almost made ME cry!  He later told us that he’d never made so much money and that he needed all the help he could – he had 156 animals at his shelter at this time!

Another of my favorite people I see in Daytona every year is Doug.  Several years ago we installed lights on his bike & he proceeded to tell me the story of his life. He comes to see us twice a year, brags about our products and calls me “Mom”.  Doug is a recovering alcoholic and he’s been to hell & back. He’s an active AA member & attends daily meetings. When I saw him last October he had a girlfriend, someone he knew from years back.  She too was an AA member & they were both so much in love. He told me that he had asked her to marry him but she was not ready. Well, Doug showed up alone last week with a broken heart but not a broken spirit.  He didn’t resort to alcohol to mend his heart but gave it to God & he knows he’ll be alright… he’s going make it.

Last year I slipped a little prayer card in his mug holder… last week, he came back just before we left, gave me a big hug & with tears in his eyes (he’s a very sensitive guy), thanked me for that little card. He figured out that I had put that in there & he said he looks at it often, thinks of me and our pep talks and it gives him strength…

THAT’s what Daytona is all about!

The older I get, the faster the years just wiz by!  I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one that feels this way – it’s funny how when you’re young, time just crawls slowly along…  couldn’t wait to be “13″, couldn’t wait to be “18″, couldn’t wait to be 21!  Now here I am almost 55… how did that happen?

I love receiving Christmas cards with letters inserted detailing the senders timeline – it’s kind of like Facebook on paper!  Speaking of Facebook, on the last day of 2012, I deactivated my personal account. Actually, I was looking to delete it & in my haste to do so before 2013 chimed in, I couldn’t find that feature so I’ll have to return to totally remove it from the grid.

As much as I enjoyed sharing & reading others posts, I came to the realization of what a waste of my time this practice was!  I’m not going to go into the details of my rationalization of using Facebook but I will say that for the past year I have been mentally tallying the time spent on this activity.  Ridiculous!

I need to get back to doing the things that are rewarding… like reading! I’ve always been a huge reader – I’d read anything!  However, in the last year I’ve read very little – unless we were traveling & I couldn’t do anything else.  As part of his aspirant program,  Scott has read several books that are very appealing to me – now I should have time to read them also!  I’m about to start “The Holy Longing” by Ronald Rolheiser.  It came highly recommended… Scott enjoyed it immensely!

As I grow in my spiritual journey, activities that I used to find attractive have all but disappeared from my life!  For instance, I used to be a huge fan of criminal thrillers & the like.  Then one day I asked myself, “What kind of crap am I feeding my mind?”  Our minds are like tape recorders… you could be recording the beautiful sound of a songbird & when you replay it, you hear the rumbling of a large truck in the background. You didn’t intend to record the truck but it’s there.

Our mind (sub conscious) works the same way.  While I’m rationalizing the positive plot of the show, my mind through my eyes is seeing horrible scenes of death, psychotic murders, violence, etc.   My sub-concious records those scenes and then retaliates by giving me nightmares!

All this being said,  I have a comfy chair, excellent lighting, a constant supply of excellent coffee (thanks to a subscription option with Amazon), a 5 lbs Chihuahua that asks nothing more than to snuggle up close while I flip the pages (or swipe) and best of all, a husband that can supply me with books that will feed my soul and hopefully bring me closer to God instead of away from him!

I am truly blessed as I have all the tools and resources needed to improve my spiritual life as Scott & I together pursue his journey towards the diaconate.  Now, if I can only start the process of looking for a spiritual director I’ll be getting back on the right track!

A few years ago while Scott & I attended the Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta, I caught site of a man carrying a canvas image of Our Blessed Mother.  He was walking quite briskly, obviously with a destination in mind.  I was only able to see the image briefly but I knew when I saw it, that I just had to have that image in our home.  The memory of that image stayed on my mind & I knew I’d have to look it up later.

That afternoon while I was aimlessly walking the halls where the vendors were selling their wares, I happened to see “her” again.  She was leaning against the backdrop behind this particular art vendor – there were other frames covering her but the small glimpse I caught was enough to rekindle that memory.  I knew exactly what I was looking at!  Had I not looked in that direction as I walked by, I would have missed her completely!

The vendor explained that the original painting was named “L’Innocence” & the artist was William-Adolphe Bouguereau.  I bought the replica immediately for a little over a hundred dollars – I would have paid more if I’d had to.  I was so drawn to that image!

Our house was under construction at that time but I knew she’d have a special, prominent place in our home.  You can see her here, above our fireplace right next to our Sacred Heart icon and other statuettes near & dear to our hearts.

A few weeks ago our church held it’s annual Fall Fest & a silent auction was held in our parish hall.  I had the opportunity to check out the items offered early because I was set up to face paint outside & I knew I wouldn’t have the opportunity to bid on anything if I waited.

When I walked in the hall I immediately spotted a beautiful, hand-made grotto which held a gorgeous statue of Our Blessed Mother.  Overwhelmed with the same feeling I had at the Eucharistic Congress years ago, I contemplated what to do. I had to have this to display on our property!  I put the first bid in high & left to tend to my booth where children were already waiting to have their faces painted!

My husband arrived later that afternoon as he was at one of his week-end formation classes.  I told him how I felt about the grotto I’d bid on but I was too busy with the kids to talk to him about how important the grotto was to me.  I later found out that one person had bid over me but Scott was the last bidder. We happily drove home with our new grotto!

Today I finally made time to get out & fix up an area fit for her on our property.  Although we have about 18 acres of land, there are very few areas where I could put her & display her properly. I settled for a small corner right by the gate to the entrance to our house.  Scott picked a special prayer which we prayed & he sprinkled her with Holy water.  Hopefully soon we’ll have her blessed “officially” by a Deacon or Priest.  I’ll also have some bushes moved around so we can see her better but right now, I think she’s right where she belongs!

To most Catholics,having a grotto with a statue of the Virgin Mary or a beautiful image above their fireplace is nothing out of the ordinary considering our devotion to Our Blessed Mother.  However, for me this is really extraordinary.   I wasn’t raised Catholic – as a matter of fact, devotion to Mary was frowned upon in my home. We wrongly believed that Catholics worshipped Mary. Today I know better and as I grow in my faith, I feel a spiritual pull towards her & her incredible “powers”.  All she wants to do is to point us towards her Son. What an awesome mother she is!

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death!

Christine said it would be alright for me to do a guest post here once in awhile. I thought today would be a good time to do so as I’ve had quite a day of reflection after reading several of the post-election blog posts and commentary. Thanks for letting me share on your platform, sweety. xxxooo.

As a man in formation for the permanent diaconate for most of the next four years, this election has reminded me that I’m heading into the front lines of a cultural battle over the respect for life, religious freedom, and respect for a moral life prescribed by a loving and just God. The coming years will be very difficult for the Catholic Church I hope to represent as a member of its clergy in 2016.

This article by Msgr. Charles Pope in Washington DC clearly states the challenges the church will face in these coming years. Msgr. Pope calls out the Democratic party as our opponent in this war on Christian values and religious freedom, but I don’t think this is entirely fair. I’d go so far to as to say that the Republican party is really not much better in this regard. The GOP simply sings the songs we Catholics want to hear. Eight years of a Republican administration prior to the current administration did little to change the tide of relativism sweeping our country and there’s really no evidence that a Republican administration this time around would have had much of an impact on the challenges we face in the church today.

While the Democratic party’s platform is one that most closely embraces the values of the majority in our current culture of death, it’s simply reflecting the will of the majority of the people. In a culture that places the highest value on personal choice and ”freedom,” there’s little regard for the life of our unborn or the religious freedom of those who have “old fashioned” religious beliefs. In the view of today’s culture, we Catholics need to get with the times and see the new “truth” that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Truth today has been redefined by the culture as that which best serves me and my beliefs. Truth is relative and as long as I’m not hurting anyone else in I should be able to do any pleasurable thing I desire, at any time.

To support a hedonistic lifestyle where anything goes and which apologizes for nothing, we’ve conveniently convinced ourselves that unborn babies are not people. They are simply an unfortunate by-product of our right to sexual freedom. This problem of an unwanted pregnancy can be conveniently dealt with with the morning after pill or a trip to Planned Parenthood. Our culture has rationalized that abortion is not murder, it’s a woman’s right. Children are no longer thought of as a gift from God, but as a consequence of failed contraception. (As an aside, it strikes me as bizarre that so many people who are pro-choice are also passionate about animal rights. Think about how twisted the idea is that it’s ok to take the life of an unborn child, but if you purchase a fur coat you are evil.)

I don’t believe we should look to the political parties or their politicians to influence the values of today’s culture. We must understand that politics today is about telling people what they want to hear, not about leading them to the moral high ground. Matthew Warner so eloquently stated this in his blog post today, which is well worth a read.

If it’s not the Republicans or the Democrats who are going to lead us into a better world, who is going to do it? Ready for this? It’s the Church! The Body of Christ. It’s all of us together who have faith and are faithful to the Magisterium of the Church which is guided by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are the ones who are being called to lead our culture back to God by our example and our teaching. By our compassion and our care for the sick, the elderly, the poor, the imprisoned, those who are marginalized for any number of reasons.

This will happen only by means of prayer and our prayerful actions serving those in need of love and protection. It’s both our faith AND our faithful actions that will bring God’s justice and mercy to the culture of death that is starving for God’s light and doesn’t even know it. By letting God’s light shine through us he will call people back to himself, back to the Church he has entrusted with the full deposit of faith. Through us as members of the Body of Christ he will draw us to himself. This is the focus of the New Evangelization begun in this Year of Faith.

We must each discern and take our call seriously, putting our gifts to work in His service if we expect to effectively defend and advance our faith in these modern times. It’s not the Republicans or the Democrats that are going to do this for us. We as the Body of Christ faithful to the Magisterium of the Church must assume responsibility for this pressing task under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

As I see it, there is a no more exciting time to be called to the front lines of the battle the Church must wage for the hearts and minds of a people who are distracted and deceived by a culture of death and materialism. There is no greater privilege for me than to discern and act upon the call to service of that Church as a deacon. What about you? What’s your call? Will you answer it?

Consider taking time in daily prayer during the coming year to listen to and discern the work God has for you. There are many good resources available to help you do this. In particular our diocese’s Life at 25 blog contains a wealth of information and inspirational material. For me, perhaps the best resource in addition to reading Scripture has been the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This invaluable resource clearly defines our faith and its teachings. I’d strongly encourage you to read a bit of it daily over the next year.

While defending our faith is not going to be easy, you’ll find no greater happiness when you do your best to practice it in the way God intends for you. Each of our vocations is different, but I assure you we each have a call to share the light of our faith with a world that is immersed in darkness. Be faithful to your call and you’ll be amazed by what God will do through you. Forget about politics and the four year election cycles, we serve the King of Kings who reigns eternally! Let us be as passionate about our faith as so many are about their politics.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Amen.

In an earlier post I wrote about how I wasn’t convinced this was a journey my husband was supposed to take.  How could it?  This was life changing and it involved me also.  Actually, my part of this journey was quite more than “involving”…  my full support was expected – or more likely, necessary!  So how he be the only one hearing God’s voice to this calling?  I didn’t hear or feel anything pulling me in this vocational direction.

However, after quite a bit of prayer and reflection (and reading a book that had nothing to do with the diaconate program), I experienced what was like an epiphany of sorts and felt in my heart that my husband’s direction was heartfelt and it was my duty as his loving wife (remember the part, “For better – for worse”), to actively support him and encourage him every step of the way.

I am so proud that God has chosen my husband… of all the men he could choose, my husband was one of them.  Obviously God saw something special in him and I needed to wipe the grime off my eyes and see what God sees.

Before this “epiphany” I would look at my husband and see him with my loving wife eyes, my human eyes.. my judgmental wife eyes, my “I’ve been looking at this man for 12 years” eyes… Granted, I’d see an honest, loving and very generous husband and father.  And that was enough for me.  And then I saw him as I think God saw him…

A man who’s principal desire is to please God, and by the same token please his wife, family and church community.  A man hungry for answers about his faith and always excited to share what he’s learned. A very smart and educated fellow but also humble and sensitive at times.  A serious man with a heart for the needy and a desire to bring technology to everyone who has eyes to see.  A man who’s always met his obligations no matter how tempting it was to let some slide.  A husband who’s always supported his wife, no matter where her journey has taken her.  A father with unconditional love for children that have not always been understanding of their dad’s life journey…

When my grimy eyes were cleansed and all this was revealed to me, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that my position would be to give my husband full support – no matter where his discernment led him.  And simply to support him was not enough… I needed to stand by him with joy and gratefulness in my heart.  Grateful that God loves me so much that he blessed me with a man who would hear His voice and follow it.

I guess in my naivety I thought that all the wives would have gone through the same kind of process at one level or another and I imagined that now by this time, almost a year into the program, all the wives would be standing by their man – and not only standing by but supporting with joy, gratefulness and pride.

However, I was to learn that not all wives experience what I am experiencing…  early August a yearly, weekend retreat was held for the couples.  It wasn’t mandatory but we certainly were expected to attend.

Not all the wives were present and I know that some had valid reasons for not being there…. jobs, family, etc.  And some I know simply refused to be there.

What surprised me the most (and saddened me also), were the few wives that were there and made no effort to hide the fact that they wished they were anywhere else.  One looked downright angry and made no attempt to be friendly.  She had that look that said, “My husband made me come and if I’m going to be here, I’m going to make sure he’s as miserable as I am”.  I did my best to make her feel welcome but she just wasn’t going to be happy. The few times I did see her smile, it’s was more like her gritting her teeth!

Another lady was with a small group and although she didn’t say anything to me directly, she did tell her group that she didn’t support her husband at all in this journey and that she just wanted to leave.

I pondered about this for a while… my first thoughts were, “What is wrong with these women?  Don’t they know how blessed they are?”  One could easily point a finger and say, “How can this wife be so selfish?”

Then it occurred to me that these women were truly and deeply unhappy about their husbands’ calling.  For whatever reason.  It is not for me to question or to judge their life journey.  I’m sure they’ve had plenty of discussions about it and I’m sure both parties are well aware of how the other feels.  Then the question arises…  How can a husband go ahead with this when he knows how unhappy it makes his wife?  I understand the higher calling but I also understand the importance of the sacrament of marriage.  Is God happy to see this couple divided this way?

You know how people say, “You’ll know if this is the right thing to do.. the right decision to make… God will send you signs.”  Well I guess not all the signs he will send you will guide you in the direction YOU want to take.  I know from experience that He will often send messages/people/circumstances that are pointing you in the opposite direction.  And many times there is no doubt about it – He knows what is right for you and that’s rarely what YOU think is right for you.

Is it possible that these husbands are listening to the desires of their hearts and not God’s voice?  Could it not be possible that these wives are God’s instruments to lead the husbands down a different path?  I don’t know the answer to this but I do know that these ladies made absolutely no effort to hide their disapproval.  Not to mention the wives that didn’t show up.  This was a week-end that had been scheduled a year earlier… plenty of time to put it on your calendar and make it a priority…  again, I’m not judging but hearing from the husbands what their wives reasons were for not coming, their priorities were certainly not this diaconate retreat.

A lot of time, a lot of resources, a lot of preparation goes into the diaconate formation program.  Not to mention the financial expense on the diocese to prepare these men (and their families), for this special vocation.  Is it fair for these men to pursue?  Is it the right journey at this time in their lives?  Will it cause dissension and separation in their lives instead unity and closeness to God?

I know Deacon Tim is working on preparing an event (a few hours on a Saturday), for the wives only and hosted by an appropriate leader.  This may allow some wives to vent and express their feelings.  I think it is much needed and I can only hope that wives will attend.

For now, all we can do at this time is to continue to pray for all the men and women in the program.

Deacon’s Aspirant’s Wife 2nd edition

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I’m new to the “Quick Takes” thing & so I forgot about it…  Here I am writing it on Saturday as I wait for my connection in Philadelphia to take me home to Knoxville.  Speaking of Knoxville, that’s where my husband is waiting for me and I miss him terribly!

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I had a big adventure early this week with my grand daughter.  About 20 minutes after I put her down for her afternoon nap, she started screaming like a banshee!  I ran up the stairs as fast as my recently operated knee allowed me and found her shrieking and clenching her little fists…  she had pooped, taken off her diaper and had poop in both clenched fists.  Her little feet were laying on the poopy diaper and they too were covered in the stinky stuff.  This was operation clean up big time….

— 3 —

My daughter was having a well deserved nap (she had just birthed my newest grand daughter 2 days earlier), and was hoping to give her mommy brain some rest.  Wouldn’t you know it, just as I’m making my way to the guest bathroom with Cora and her poo mess, Aimée the newborn who was just laid down 30 minutes early by a zombie mom decides it’s time to scream and make her presence known.  I’m not one to panic but all I could think of is that my daughter is going to be awakened by both her children screaming all the while wondering, “Where da heck is my mother?”  I got Cora cleaned up in record breaking time & hobbled back down to scoop up little Aimée who just wanted to be held.  My daughter awoke about an hour later and never heard anything.  I could have kept the entire episode a secret and no one would have known!

— 4 —

I love coming to Ottawa.  My daughter & her family live in a storybook community.  My grand daughters will go to the same schools their dad did.  The walk to their elementary school takes all but 3 minutes.  There is only one very quiet street to cross to get there.  There are kiddy parks everywhere!  People pick up their dog’s poop!  I think they also pick up other people’s dog poop!  Bikers are polite and yell, “Excuse me” when they’re coming up behind you.  Almost like the old “Stepford Wives” series…

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My daughter is a news junkie – so I’m up to date on everything that’s going on in the world.  However, American news reported in Canada make Americans look bad.  Seriously.  Our election process is ridiculed and with reason.  Canadian electoral campaigns last 3 months…  but then again when I’m home and I see how Canadian news are reported, they look bad too.   News is news.  It is neither good or bad.. just depends on what side you’re on.

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There are crooks everywhere… even in my daughter’s storybook neighborhood.  A fellow shows up one afternoon wearing what looked like official clothing…  Polo  shirt & baseball cap with official company logo and he held an official looking clipboard.  When I opened the door he was very cordial then spewed his speech.  It went something like this, “Blah, blah, blah.. as per a provincial eco friendly program we’re replacing all rented hot water heaters free of charge – I just need to get the serial number off of yours.. would you like me to take my shoes off?”  Excuse me?  I asked him for credentials and he replied, “Um, I lost my photo ID but I have this badge they gave me while I was in training.”.  Needless to say, I sent him away.

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Have I mentioned that I’m sitting in the Philadelphia terminal waiting for my connection to Knoxville… I’m so missing my husband and my humdrum life back home!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Deacon’s Aspirant’s Wife 1st Edition

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I became a “natural” Grandma” for the 2nd time this week!  I say natural because I’m a grandmother to 6 beautiful children through my husband.  Earlier this week my daughter & her husband blessed us with a second grand daughter.  Aimée Marie Renée Orser was born Tuesday, August 21st at 6:51 am, weighed in at 7.5 lbs & measures 20.07 inches.  Mom & daughter are doing very well, dad Jeff is also recuperating nicely & Gramma Christine is ecstatic!  And thanks to FaceTime & Google Hang-Out, Poppy Scott who stayed behind in Tennessee, was able to meet her as soon as she arrived home!

— 2 —

While still on the same subject, Aimée’s older sister Cora (my first natural grand-daughter), was very excited to welcome Aimée to her family.  She has no problems sharing Mommy or Daddy with her little sister but gets real cranky when Gramma tends to the little one.  I’m her “peep” & she’s not quite ready to share me!  Maybe she knows Gramma’s only around for a couple of weeks every 2 months & she doesn’t want to let Aimée in on those good times.  Not yet.

— 3 —

Speaking of grand-children (notice the one-tract mind here?), I’m so proud of my daughter & her husband!  Cora’s full name includes the name of both her grand-mothers…  I only learned of this a few days before Cora was born in April last year… Cora Lise Christine.  If that wasn’t cool enough, Aimée is named after my mother (who passed away in 2005).  It is also the name of my mother’s father (spelled Aimé). However, Karyne & Jeff didn’t leave anyone out.  ”Marie” is Jeff’s grandmother’s name & Renée is Jeff’s grandfather’s name (spelled René).  Talk about keeping everyone happy!

— 4 —

Just before I left Tennessee to fly to Ottawa for the birth of Aimée, my husband decided (at the very last moment possible), to attend CNMC in Dallas at the end of the month.  We’ve both attended in the past & have made some really nice connections that he would have loved to catch up with.  Although ready to be hit on the side of the head with the high cost of the airline ticket for this last minute booking, he wasn’t able to get a room. Anywhere!  Must be a sign that he needs to stay home to catch up on all his reading for his diaconate formation class in a few weeks.

— 5 —

Did I mention that my husband is starting his second year in the diaconate formation in our diocese of Knoxville?  It’s been quite a year so far & we have both grown so much in our faith!  Speaking of faith, I miss praying the breviary with him every morning & evening.  Yes, I could do it on my own (and I should), but doing it with my husband makes praying so much more special.  What’s that cheesy saying?  Couples that pray together, stay together …  Sounds corny but you know what?  I truly believe in it.  Our marriage is strong but praying together brings about an intimacy that is so different…  really put in perspective that God is central to our relationship.  All couples should try it.

— 6 —

Ever since we’ve dedicated our home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus a few years ago, we’ve stopped eating meat on Fridays.  I guess we’re going to have grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.  Wish it wasn’t so hot & humid – nothing beats grilled cheese sandwiches accompanied by cream of tomato soup – but it’s just too darned hot for soup.

— 7 —

I made an awesome, accidental discovery this week.  I have to write in French quite a bit, especially now that I have to write about Aimée.  Accents (on a Mac) were such a pain in the butt… until I discovered (truly by accident), that if you hold down the key of the letter you want accentuated, the options just come up & you select the number of the accent needed.  Voila!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future.  

Jeremiah 29:11

Life is so easy when you follow God’s plan for you.  Jeremiah tells us so.  This bible verse makes me reflect with awe & wonder!  For instance, He’s always known that Scott would some day become an aspirant Deacon – but Scott only found out last year.  What else does He have in store for us at this particular moment that Scott & I are not even aware of?  This week-end, once again Scott & I saw our Father’s puzzle pieces come together perfectly.

About 6 months ago, on our way home from Mass on Sundays, we started to bring Communion to a fellow at the Brookewood Nursing Center in Decatur.  We’ve since grown to love this guy.  Besides being an amputee, Robert suffers from kidney problems & bears a colostomy bag.  However, he has a very good attitude and his love for God and his faith is simply amazing!  Like many folks in our country’s nursing homes, he receives very few visitors & makes up for his loneliness by devouring all the books about our Catholic faith that I bring him.  Robert aspires to join the Franciscan Brothers of San Damiano in New York.  It’s all he talks about!

Earlier this summer we brought him to Mass at our Church.  Robert hadn’t been able to come to Mass in several years.  You just had to see him.  He was beside himself with joy!  We introduced him to all of our friends – he saw more people in an hour than he had in a year! We were hoping to pick him up regularly and have him become part of our beautiful community.

Sadly, this wasn’t meant to be.  As we loaded him in our car, he had a medical mishap that was totally unavoidable due to the way we had to move his body to get him in & out of the vehicle.  We realized that without proper transportation, we would no longer be able to bring him to Mass.  Although broken hearted, Robert totally understood the situation.  We discussed this with him & told him we’d see if there was any way we could occasionally arrange for transportation.  He was sad but remained optimistic (that’s just how he is!).

This past Sunday as we were leaving him, he asked if we had looked into finding transportation.  We hadn’t and although we agreed to look into it, we didn’t feel very optimistic.  Scott suggested we all continue to pray and ask God to help us find a solution.  There was no denying that this poor man believed we could help him – I know that ultimately his trust was in our Holy Father but his only means to any solution was through us.  For a moment I felt “weighed down” by the confidence Robert had in us.  Then, almost immediately I felt like Jesus was telling me, “Christine, you CAN help!”

As we were walking out, we were already asking each other what we could do.  We realized that something had to be done for Robert and for the many others that we know that cannot make it to Mass because of the necessity of specialized transportation.  We agreed that we’d look around & see if we could find anything affordable that we could buy & use for this purpose.

Later that day Scott showed me a van he had found online  I had sticker shock!  Almost $36,000.00 for a used unit.  New ones were over $60,000.00!  We wanted to help but did we need to deplete our savings to do that?  I had no doubt that God would certainly bless this gesture but a small part of me was scared to death!  We had worked hard to accumulate these small savings.  Scott was pretty much convinced that if we wanted a reliable unit that was going to last, that didn’t need constant repair and that was attractive, then we’d need to dig deep – and to trust that God would not let us down…

“Be not afraid”… Jean Paul II’s favorite quote (and my favorite hymn)…

Scott & I went out on a limb like this a few years ago.  We met a group of young musicians that were traveling around the country.  Their music was mostly about God’s love, abstinence & how to keep the faith.  We had the pleasure of opening our home to them between gigs.  In a very short amount of time we got to know them & love them.  Within a few days, after careful consideration & prayer, we helped them out in a big way.  I won’t go into details but we felt like God had addressed us directly by putting this group in our life.  We know that what we did changed their lives & certainly helped their career but it is doesn’t compare to how our lives were blessed by this gesture.