Tag Archives: poor

Loved!

Loved!

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Today we celebrated Ash Wednesday at Presentation High School.  To non-Catholics, this must be the weirdest cult practice that one has ever experienced!  Being doused with ashes in the shape of a cross and being told to turn from sin and live the gospel.  The scriptures proclaimed at Mass today told us that we are forgiven and loved and invited to be our best selves!  These students certainly look happy, don’t they?

I’m so proud of my Catholic faith.  It has really emerged as a positive force in this troubled world.  Our Pope has taken great pains in living a simple life and rejecting the pomp and circumstances of Vatican City.  We are encouraged, during the season of Lent- the forty days and nights before Easter- to do something positive in our lives rather than give something up.

Be kind.  Serve the poor.  Love your neighbor.

When I was in high school I practiced all the Catholic rituals without understanding them.  These students are doing the same.  They have no idea how this gospel message will come to nest in their souls and take fruit in their lives.  God bless them!  They are beautiful young women with the whole world at their feet.

I pray that they go forth and make a difference.  That they love tenderly and serve with open hearts.  That they become women of God with lives that impact others in a positive way.

I feel so blessed to be able to witness their transformation to womanhood and support them as they look forward to all of life’s blessings.

Amen

Remember who loves you, baby!

Remember who loves you, baby!

Does this look familiar? 

No..  It’s not the collection for the pagan babies.  That was SO yesterday.  It’s been cleaned up and repackaged in a more politically savvy wrapper.  It’s Operation Rice Bowl.

The premise is the same…

Have a simple meal or pass up the venti nonfat vanilla soy decaf latte and deposit the money you save into this little box.   Write a check at the end of Lent to Catholic Relief Services. This organization supports programs all over the world in an effort to alleviate hunger and poverty.  orb.crs.org

And while we’re on the subject..

What happened to all those pagan babies we saved in elementary school?  You know.. the ones we gave up our milk money for?  The ones we were told we could purchase for $5, have baptized, fed and housed and saved from the fires of hell, in order to fulfill our Lenten obligation of almsgiving?

The topic of pagan babies stimulated some interesting posts on Facebook:

Remember naming your pagan baby?  That was the fun part!

We nominated, voted, and named it after our teacher.. always.

Since the girls donated 5-1, it was usually always a girl.

The term “pagan baby” sounds so horrific!  We thought it was so normal in Catholic grade school in the 50’s and 60’s!

I used to give them all my birthday money!

How innocent were we?  What other things did our parents tell us that we bought hook line and sinker?  “Clean your plates because the children are starving in Biafra.” Where is Biafra anyway?  And how will we get my uneaten peas to them? 

If only we could have Googled that to see if they were telling us the truth.

Regardless of how they dished up the message (pun intended), the proof is in the pudding.   If you are reading this blog you probably have more peas on your plate than 925 million people.  There’s also a good chance that you stopped at Starbuck’s this morning and that you will enjoy a satisfying and nourishing dinner tonight.

I’m just sayin’…