#Givefor40 for Lent

#Givefor40

Lent is that time for us to be still, breathe and prayerfully contemplate Jesus’ giving His life for our sins, so that we might truly be in awe of the risen Christ on Easter.  We give up or give to others as a way to model Christ in our own lives and to remind us of Him daily.  All through Lent we look to the cross, knowing what is coming, discerning what His death means for us.  We look inside ourselves and ask, “Why did He die for me?”

Jesus died for all of us because of our Heavenly Father’s great love for each of us.  We take this time during Lent to remind ourselves of God’s Love for us and re-dedicate our lives to living the way Jesus modeled for us during His life.

Prayer, Sacrifice and Giving are the cornerstones of Lent.

How we live for Christ differs with each of us, as does how we observe Lent.  Lent should leave its mark on us just as Christ’s sacrifice and God’s love leaves it’s mark on us.  So as we choose our Lenten observances, we should be honest about what will lead us closer to the Risen Lord on Easter morning.

Last year Shelly and I here on Of Sound Mind and Spirit focused on giving to others for the 40 days of Lent rather than giving up the usual things.  And by giving of yourself during Lent, we were focused outward on showing God’s love to others. Anytime you give of yourself it involves sacrifice and prayer on your part.  In the spirit of encouraging others to sacrifice and put others first, we share our ways of giving during Lent using #Givefor40 on social media. (Please join in with the #Givefor40 hashtag this Lenten season.)

My children helped me create a list of 40 Ways to Give for 40 Days last year.  Helping create the list gave them ownership in it and got them excited about looking for ways to give during Lent.  One of the absolute easiest items on the list, “Share a Smile with Someone Everyday,” is their favorite.  Such a simple idea to give someone a smile, but you never know what that smile might mean for the other person at that moment.

How do you observe Lent as a family?  Does it change you as you prepare to meet the Risen Lord on Easter?  What is on your list of Lenten Observances as a family that might involve giving of yourself rather than giving up?

Lisa Jones

Our Priest is Moving On

Fr. John Rooney at St. Angela Merici

There have been three amazing Pastors in my life; priests whose homilies spoke to me in Mass, who challenged me to ponder and grow in my faith and relationship with Jesus, and who celebrated special Sacraments with me: Marriage, Baptism, and Anointing of the Sick.

One of these men is Fr. John Rooney, my current Pastor and the founding Pastor of St. Angela Merici Catholic Church. Although I only joined St. Angela’s 18 months ago when we moved from across town, I’ve known Fr. John for the past few years as Lisa’s and our mother’s Pastor.  Fr. John possess that spark which allows him to truly connect with people of all walks of life. His energy and passion spills over and warms your heart. His homily resonates in your soul, because long after you’ve forgotten the words, you remember the feeling.

Thursday morning Lisa sent me a Skype message.

“Fr. John is leaving St. Angela's”

Moments later, I opened my email to read his letter to the Parish informing us that he has been assigned to St. Mary’s Seminary as Director of Spiritual Formation starting July 1. 

When our mother heard about Fr. John’s reassignment, she wrote, “I will never, never, never forget the compassion and love he showed our family when my mother passed away and his personal attention to her and us at her funeral. He is truly a blessing. He will be fabulous as a Director of Spiritual Formation at the Seminary. But, he will be missed by all of us.”

This past Sunday, he spoke at the end of Mass, telling us personally of his new calling. He told us that being our Pastor had changed his heart and our influence on his priesthood will play a part in the formation of new priests. When he mentioned that as our founding Pastor, we can’t easily get rid of him, because his name is carved into the cornerstone, I thought, “No, your name is carved in our hearts.”

Emotions tugged my heart in two directions.  The immediate sense of sorrow for losing this amazing priest at our parish quickly dissolved into excitement that he will be involved in the formation of new priests and a radiant joy in knowing that our future priests will be spiritually directed by Fr. John. One day, five, ten, fifteen years from now, we will hear a homily that rings with Fr. John’s influence, and that expectation gives me hope for the future of our vocations and the development of strong priests.

Noticing the Faceless

The highway I take for my daily commute is under construction, expanding from two to four lanes on each side.  Every morning I pass a couple hundred faceless construction workers in their bright neon yellow jackets. No matter how hot or cold the weather, they are actively working, with shovels or equipment, making progress slowly day by day. I look forward to the day when the task is finished and the lanes are open and constant traffic is relieved.

Often I get the urge to smile, wave, or find some gesture to say thank you, but I don’t. Instead I pray for them each morning.  For them to be protected from the heat or cold or from the exhaust of the traffic crawling or speeding past depending on the time of day. I pray they take pride in their work, and have a way to know that many of the drivers appreciate the work they've done.

There are great many faceless workers in our lives. Too often we don't make eye contact; we may not even notice they are there. Perhaps we simply smile and say good morning at the ones we see daily even if we do not know their names. Take a moment today and this week to notice and pray for those people who work and serve to better our community.

First Reconciliation

My Birdie celebrated the sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time recently.  Being a good mom, I started writing a blog post about how to prepare a child for First Reconciliation, how to discuss reconciliation in way for a child to understand the healing nature of the sacrament and why it is important to develop a good habit of going to reconciliation regularly.

But, in the middle of typing all my thoughts, it occurred to me to just ask my child her thoughts of making the sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time.

She DID have a big smile.  Sometimes we adults over think, analyze and worry about things.  Maybe we should learn about the healing nature of Reconciliation from the big smiles of the kids receiving absolution for the first time.

Lisa Jones

Moms' Night Out Movie

All Moms Deserve a Night Out!  There, I said it!  As a mom, I know we all get to the breaking point where we want to pull out our hair and leave our little ones to scrounge for food at the neighbors house at least once (or twice, or ...)  That's all of us, right?  Or is that just me?  Anyway...

While at the CNMC last fall in Boston, Shelly and I had the opportunity to view the trailer, interviews and clips for a new movie coming out this May in time for Mother's Day. Moms' Night Out is a "true to life family comedy that celebrates the beautiful mess called parenting."  Can I just say that I LOVE the term "beautiful mess" paired with parenting.  A great description ...

Here is the official synopsis -

All Allyson and her friends want is a peaceful, grown-up evening of dinner and conversation . . . a long-needed moms’ night out. But in order to enjoy high heels, adult conversation and food not served in a bag, they need their husbands to watch the kids for three hours—what could go wrong? MOMS’ NIGHT OUT is an endearing true-to-life family comedy that celebrates the beautiful mess called parenting.
AFFIRM Films/Provident Films

Here is the trailer...

Let's just say, that I laughed at that first scene with the kids "helping" in the kitchen.  We've all had one of those moments where our sweet darlings make an absolute mess in the middle of trying to do something good for us.   

Even though I'm not caught up in the midst of having three little people underfoot all day anymore cause they go to school (can I get a Woo Hoo!) I still have days of chaos and feeling under appreciated that leave me drained as a mom. So a confession - the moment in the trailer where the husband tells the mom that her job as a mom is important leaves me a little misty.  All moms need that affirmation from time to time.  Parenting is an important job.  

Much to my chagrin, I haven't actually seen the entire movie yet but it looks like a good one from the other clips and interviews we saw at the CNMC.  The directors, The Erwin Brothers, said in an interview they tried to make a movie to honor their wives and family in a humorous way... to celebrate parenthood and the family in a fun way.  

Yes, in this comedy, the husbands will bungle handling the kids, the women will get themselves in a crazy predicament, and it will all be right and wrong at the same time.   That's half the fun.    A hint, there is a great scene involving faith and loving yourself featuring Trace Adkins as "Bones."  Funny, inspirational and feel good all at the same time. 

The idea and humor of the movie really connects with me.  I mean, how often do we get a comedy that allows us to laugh at ourselves for our mom craziness, and yet celebrates all that is beautiful and difficult about parenting and families?  

It releases to theaters on May 9th.  Who wants to go see it with me??

Lisa Jones