Divine Mercy Sunday

In today's Magnificat the following words really struck me:

"In the risen Christ, wounded and glorified, we see all our hopes realized.  In him all the wounds of our hearts, minds, and bodies are transformed into holiness.  The sorrow and pain of our lives are made the source of our sanctification and joy."

"The sorrow and pain of our lives are made the source of our sanctification and joy."

Do you know how you can know something all your life and then you read the words and suddenly the reality and truth of the statement hits you in the face?  That's what happened to me with this sentence.

May the immensity of the Lord's mercy be upon us today and may it's reality be seared upon our minds.

MORE SNOW!!!

Believe it or not, We have a snow advisory tonight until 4:00 am!!!  We are expected to get between 3 and 6 more inches of snow!!  I'm not kidding!  We have already had more snow this winter than any winter on record in Michigan.  I drove to pick up my daughter at a friend's house, once again scared of running off the road since the edge could really not be distinguished in all the snow.  Everyone is home safe and sound now, thankfully.  SURELY, it will end soon.  Could it snow in April too?  It's happened.  But we will just appreciate Spring all the more!!

Easter Images...special times

I made a rosary for Zach, a beautiful Irish rosary.  He picked the beads, crucifix, and centerpiece.  Here he is after the vigil in our church with his sponsor.  Below we have Easter egg dyeing.  I love to dye eggs.

He is Risen!!!!

Above we see the "Easter Bunny" assuming a casual pose on Easter morning.

And, much more importantly, here is my daughter and her boyfriend who came into the Catholic Church last night at the Easter Vigil.  Glory to God!  It was not done because of pressure or even encouragement from daughter, but rather from his own search for the truth.  In spite of some opposition from his own family, he courageously went forward to embrace the truth and receive the Bread of Life.  God is good.     

Happy Easter, everyone.  He is risen, indeed!!!

My grandfather painted these paintings after he retired.  I remember his palette and tubes of oil paints in his attic.  I remember watching him paint, fascinated.  He was a violinist and a conductor as well as a teacher.  But when he retired he really enjoyed his oil painting.   Because he left many  paintings behind, my brother, my sister, and I were each able to have some.

The top two pictures were of the house my grandfather designed and had built.  It was my father's family home.  He lived all his childhood there and my grandmother lived there until she died.  I love having these paintings in my family room.

I am politically conservative... I think

I know that, based on my comments or lack thereof, that the readers of this blog are not real interested in politics. Or else you just don't feel like commenting on political matters. But... I just have to put in my two cents about Geraldine Ferraro's comments about Barak Obama.

She said “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman of any color, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.”

Was this a racist comment?!! I'd say!!! My jaw dropped. I disagree with Barak Obama on nearly everything. But I still think he is intelligent (if misguided) articulate, personable, and very likable. He is a formidable presidential candidate and that would be true no matter what color he was. How could Ferraro say that??? In my opinion, it's so obviously not true that it certainly does raise the question of racism. Barak Obama is in the position he is IN SPITE of being black, not because of it. And he is all the more impressive to have achieved what he has because (dare I say it?) there is indeed still racism in this country, although it is no longer respectable to be so openly. Tell that to Ms. Ferrarro.

It disturbs me that I have heard conservatives suggest that she was not really out of line in saying what she did. Makes me wonder if I'm in the right party. But I could never be part of a party that so flagrantly disregards the sanctity of human life as do the democrats.

Silent snowy Retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemane

I had a wonderful retreat this weekend at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky.  My oldest daughter Anne goes with me every year.  The silence is so refreshing.  Getting there though was something of a nightmare.  We had to drive through the entire state of Ohio during their huge snow storm.  The roads were terrible.  But the snowy abbey was so peaceful for the rest of the weekend.

Above was the view from my room.

                                                                                             sweet little angel.... The snow was shifting in the                                                                                     wind like sand.                        




We did manage one hike through the snow....

Snow Day!!!!!!!!!!!

Snow Day!!!     Woohoooooo!!

Finally, we can just look at this beautiful snow out the window and not risk our lives trying to maneuver through it.  I woke up from a nightmare about trying to drive to school in this weather.  What a relief to wake up to learn that ALL the schools are closed.  Woohooooo.

Jim's heading out to earn some money shoveling driveways.

I will post some pictures later.  Blue sky, brilliant snow. According to Jim, snow is the most reflective surface on Earth.  I believe it.  I heard on the news last night that this is the most snow Michigan has had over the course of a winter since the 1800s.

More snow!!!

I apologize for obsessing about the weather.  I seem to only be writing about the weather.

But tonight we have a traveler's advisory, and 5 to 7 inches of snow predicted!!!!  It should end around 5:00 am.  If we get it all I can't imagine our not having a snow day.  If I have another scary drive to school tomorrow you can bet I'll be ranting about it tomorrow night.

So tired tonight.  I'm just vegging, watching election returns.... Hope I can write some more interesting posts soon. 

In like a lion....

As they say, (I'll repeat it for those of you who don't live in cold climates)  March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.  

Well, here we are in the beginning of March and the lion is still here (no surprise.)  Tonight we have freezing rain, warnings of black ice on the roads, and an inch of snow predicted before morning.  Tomorrow night-- three to six inches more of snow.  The lion is still roaring, but not for much longer......