One thing Catholics know how to do well is RITUAL!  Light the candle . . . burn the incense . . . dim the lights . . . center oneself . . . focus on prayer . . . I LOVE IT!   I walk into the sanctuary sometimes and just stop and breathe in the scent of the room and declare to myself . . . oh, I love being Catholic!

As you know, being Catholic is more than signs and ritual . . . it embodies Christ’s call to go out to the world and be his hands and feet.  One of my personal rituals has been turning the calendar.  Now, the past two years I have not honored this ritual, and it is something that I need to honor once again.  Oh, I would spend so much time choosing the calendar that we would use for the year – and interestingly enough, I have found that the themes I have chosen have indicated a maturity in myself.  When our children were little, I chose fun calendars . . . then switched to country folk art.  In my 40’s the themes were more about me – herbs, coffee, wine, psalms.  My 2015 and 2016 calendars have been the St. William Parish calendar.  As my mom lay dying, I just could not bring myself to purchase a calendar.  I did not want to face filling up those little squares without her.

Once the perfect calendar was chosen, I would carve out time to fill in the new calendar ~ often with a candle lit and a fresh cup of coffee or a nice Pinot in hand.  The first thing I would fill in is all the family birthdates, dates of death, Baptism, anniversary dates and as I wrote each name, I would think of them and smile as I wrote the age they would be turning.  Then I would tackle the events for each month – school – church – work – personal.  As I looked back upon the year, I would marvel on how we accomplished everything!  As I looked upon the nice clean squares waiting to be filled I would wonder what excitement would await us in this new year and I would look forward to those summer months when a few squares would be gloriously BLANK and think – oh – I am going to lay in the sun with a good book on that day!

I have saved most of the calendars over the past 31 years of married life.  It is fun to get them out sometimes for they mark the changes in our lives. Those little squares tell a story of how we choose to live.  For God tells us through scripture “where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also.”  I think the same hold true of the yearly calendar, for our yearly calendar certainly reflects a pattern of lives dedicated to God.

In this Year of Mercy, let us all try to fill our calendar with moments of sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and imprisoned, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked and giving drink to the thirsty.  Let us remember every day to be the hands and feet of Christ.

Shalom,

Tina

Catholic Family

Hello again!  I am glad to be back after a very busy week of activities at both the Parish and Kennedy.

I was so proud to see so many parishioners and friends from the Warren area parishes attend the Michael James Mette Concert on August 30.  I was blessed to spend much of the day with this beautiful Catholic family.  I am a person who notices details and I want to share with you some of the things that I noticed about this family that to me exemplifies what it means to be a Catholic family.

Celebrating the Holy Mass:  Flanked by their parents, the six Mette children honored the Sabbath by being full, active participants of the liturgy.  Along with their parents, they prayed, sang, listened, responded and honored God with their reverent posture.  It was beautiful to see every single one of them (well, with the exception of the baby) fully participate in liturgy.  It made me hunger to see this in every Catholic family.  Imagine how much more joyful our worship time together would be if EVERY person had the courage to be active, full participants in the liturgy!

Christian Parenting:  Michael and Michelle have a very patient and loving parenting manner.  I wish I possessed those skills when my Josh and Katie were little.  I feel like I became a better parent as more children came along and looking back I realize that the difference was not that I somehow got smarter . . .no . . . the difference was that I started going back to religious education!  I can say without a doubt that attending adult faith formation sessions brought me to a closer relationship with Christ which made me a happier person which in turn made me a better parent!  I can see this in Michael and Michelle!  They have such love and respect for each child and in turn their children have great respect for them.  They work as a family unit.  Over the years, this is something for which I long.  Brian and I have lived a life of divide and conquer; each of us doing our own thing and splitting up to make sure the children all got to where they needed to be.  Even in celebrating Liturgy . . . we very rarely have the joy of sitting together.  Parents with children still at home . . .the best piece of advice that I can offer you is to work as a family.  A family that plays together and prays together, stays together!  Please pray for my family!

Celebrating Meals:  The Mette children were so joyous no matter what the meal.  I was so worried that I did not prepare a hot meal for lunch (planned picnic food but alas, it rained) but when the children saw the lunch buffet, they were so appreciative.  No one was permitted to eat until all were in their seat so they could pray as a family.  They each ate everything on their plate and they cleaned up after themselves.  They asked permission before taking sweets!  THEY HAD CONVERSATION during meal!  It was so beautiful to witness.  My friends, no matter how difficult, reclaim your family meal time around your dining room table.  Put electronics aside, shut off the tv and talk with each other.  Help each other do the dishes afterward, pray together!

The Concert:  I have not been to a rock concert in years and I have never had the privilege of attending a Christian concert.  I forgot how loud it would be.  The lights and video to me was amazing and as a guitarist, I was all about watching Michael play his different guitars!  The music and video was so inspirational.  I loved the video about creation . . . it was very thought provoking for me.  Oh, and when the children came to join Michael “on stage” . . . they are each so talented and joyous.  Then Michael and Michelle stood next to each other as Michelle gave a moving witness of their struggles to hold on to each other in difficult times.  For those struggling with marriage, may God be with you.  May you feel the strength of the spirit through your difficult times.

Be a strong Catholic family and produce strong Catholic youth so that they may grow to become a strong Catholic family and the circle of life honoring God and neighbor may continue to thrive.

Shalom,

Tina

Seashore

My husband’s family takes a yearly vacation on the shores of Lake Erie.  The week is spent fishing, playing games, and playing on the seashore.  Family members come and go throughout the week, but there are normally a few days when most of the McCue clan gathers for what I fondly call wonderful, organized chaos.

I find great peace by the water.  The sound of the waves meeting the shore; the smell in the air; the way the sand feels under my feet; the incredible view of the sun rising over the water . . .these physical, tangible earthly experiences remind me of the awesome power of our God.  I love doing yoga on the beach as the sun rises and having my morning coffee with a good book in hand while the sound of the water and birds play a symphony to sooth my weary soul.  And then the house starts to awaken and the air is filled for the rest of the day with laughter and constant chatter until dusk when we tend to walk the beach again as the sun sets over the bay then play games or work on a puzzle as the house quiets back down and I am lulled to sleep by the sound of the water meeting the shore.

Last summer a dear friend of mine loaned me the book “Jesus” by Fr. James Martin, S.J., the same Fr. Martin who wrote “This Our Exile” which I spoke about in my blog last week.  Fr. Martin shares with the reader his spiritual journey as he embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.  I have secretly (well, now it’s not a secret) always wanted to travel to the Holy Land, so the more I read “Jesus” that longing pierced my heart in such a way that I actually could not finish reading the book!  No surprise, but it was the moment he started to talk about walking along the Sea of Galilee that got me.  I remember closing the book and crying . . . the longing to walk that same shore was too intense for me.  I took out a notebook and jotted down the people with whom I would want to share this pilgrimage.  One of those people was my mom!

We have been hearing quite a bit these past few weeks of Jesus getting into the boat to seek rest from the crowd.  Hearing these stories has been making me think that perhaps it is time for me to pick up where I left off and continue my pilgrimage to the Holy Land through the eyes of Fr. Martin.  I have been thinking quite a bit lately of salvation and what it means to have eternal life.  My mother’s journey to heaven has shed new light for me on St. Paul’s call to the Ephesians to “put away the old self of your former way of life” and “ be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.”  She has made the journey to the Holy Land, the new and eternal Jerusalem without me.  The peace on my mother’s face as she left this earth to join God will be forever engrained in my mind, for she literally put away her old self and put on the new self as she left this world.

So, as I pack for the lake, I am going to bring “Jesus” with me so that I can be reminded as I walk the shores of Lake Erie that Jesus can just as easily be found in the footprints left in the sands of Northeast Ohio.  I don’t need to travel to the Holy Land, I just need to remember his promise and believe!

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Shalom,

Tina