Author: Maria Johnson

Catholic Weekend…unplugged

Capt. Jeff: Okay… I think I have us in a chat room. I still HATE this Skype 5 interface

Maria Johnson: what a goober. so this week, I watched the Avengers, loved it

Capt. Jeff: @Steve: Do you want to do some game show questions?

Steve Nelson: ours is not to reason why. ok, it is.

William Newton: I’m almost ready give me about 5-7 more mins.

Maria Johnson: there’s a lot about music…love it…something about beethoven and shakespeare…love Beethoven, think shakespeare’s a hack

Capt. Jeff: I need more time than that

Maria Johnson: and my favorite composer, vivaldi

Steve Nelson: I can do some Cinco de Mayo trivia – as long as we don’t talk about it beforehand.

Capt. Jeff: ok

Steve Nelson: easy stuff.

Capt. Jeff: What do you think about inviting Jimmy to be on?

Maria Johnson: may crowningings…that should elicit some memories from childhood…I wanna do that

Capt. Jeff: he’s online now

Steve Nelson: I don’t usually give it much thought.

Maria Johnson: I lik him

Maria Johnson: like…LIKE

Capt. Jeff: me too

Capt. Jeff: lik… ooh

Capt. Jeff: yuck

Maria Johnson: ew

Capt. Jeff: brb

William Newton: This chat appears to have become #scandalous in my absence.

Maria Johnson: <Like>

William Newton: Heh

Maria Johnson: I’m going to have that facebook thumbs up made into a stamp and put it on my students papers

Maria Johnson: i think, though, I may have to use it upside down

William Newton: I wish FB had a “Dislike” button.

William Newton: You could be all Caesar in the arena.

Maria Johnson: oooooh…..don’t pull off the toga look these days

Steve Nelson: et tu maria-te?

Maria Johnson: nice.

William Newton: I thought you guys had toga parties at the CNMC.

William Newton: This is very disappointing. Shattered illusions.

Steve Nelson: shhhhh….

Maria Johnson: no, we’re simple folks. we eat cheetohs

Steve Nelson: and oreos

Steve Nelson: and chips a’hoy

Maria Johnson: mmmmmm

Maria Johnson: [we do spike the punch, though]

Steve Nelson: and lots and lots of …. coffee

William Newton: I love Ian Maxfield’s podcast from last year when he was shocked by all the food you guys ate.

Steve Nelson: don’t be fooled. he packed it away just fine.

William Newton: Well he’s a tall guy as you guys mentioned afterwards; you had been expecting a smaller guy and were surprised when you picked him up, if I remember.

Maria Johnson: hilarious guy…I saw him with that tub of cheese puffs

William Newton: I love that he indulges my armchair interest in archeaology and paleontology when we correspond.

Steve Nelson: I thank him for introducing me to Boddington’s beer. Good stuff.

William Newton: A solid beverage.

Maria Johnson: yeah, not too many people today versed in the art of conversation on a multitude of topics

Steve Nelson: I are.

William Newton: Is you?

Steve Nelson: Want to know about scissortail flycatchers or the difference between ferric and ferous oxides?

Maria Johnson: sometimes I think it would fun to have bubbles over our heads in real life. or have a status bar above our heads to hashtag our conversations

Steve Nelson: or how the difference in ferrous and ferric oxides is exhibited in the lithology of fine grained sediments, aslo known as shales?

Maria Johnson: because, clearly, I’ve had too much caffeine this morning

William Newton: This reminds me of an episode of Arrested development where Lucille is angry b/c Lucille #2 has bought the company

Maria Johnson: it would replace the “I’m with stupid” t-shirts

Steve Nelson: Ok, I’m done being pedantic. I’ll resume my role as the dull one.

William Newton: She’s yelling and air-quoting while holding a martini and splashing everywhere and Jason Bateman says, “You know you need to stop quoting when you drink.”

Maria Johnson: well, that about wraps up Catholic Weekend…thanks for coming by, folks, the show never aired because it never got out of the chat

William Newton: Ha!

Steve Nelson: that would be funny – just have Jeff narrate the chat: And then Maria said,”…”

William Newton: I bet C-Span would air it.

Maria Johnson: I have half a mind to copy it and post it on my blog

Maria Johnson: this is your opportunity to say something about having only half a mind…GO!

William Newton: Are we allowed to talk about Joe Biden on SQPN?

Steve Nelson: <rim shot>

Maria Johnson: oh. my. does he have half a mind?

William Newton: That’s true, it might be out on loan.

Maria Johnson: that was…well…rhetorical

Steve Nelson: I think it’s just that the two sides of his brain excommunicate.

Maria Johnson: hahahaha. that’s…really funny

Capt. Jeff: …

William Newton: Sibelius is one of the speakers up the road for graduation this year. My undergrad alma mater comes through in the clutch for heresy yet again.

Steve Nelson: All statements by Steve do not necessarily represent the views of Steve.  Copyright 2012.

what’s a little mud among friends

I took this picture in the chapel, where I promised to bring several intentions this morning. It was dark and I lit the first candle.

I left the house in a giant rainstorm, and for the first hour here in the chapel, I could see the driving rain through the big picture window behind the altar. At  mid-morning the gray sky and some ominous black clouds dimmed the light inside, and muted the green of the trees outside.

As I was praying the sorrowful mysteries, I kept looking over the tree tops to see if the rain would stop so I could catch a glimpse of a rainbow. The rain continued to fall, and I found myself fingering the silver beads to a musical beat from the rain dripping off the eaves.

It was hypnotic and oddly comforting, like a heartbeat providing a steady soundtrack for my prayers. The rain eventually slowed down to a gentle shower, like it had spent itself in a passionate outburst. Having calmed down and recovered, it was getting down to the business of reviving all the parched trees and grass.

I couldn’t wait to go outside later and see how lush and refreshed everything would be. It’s like the earth is renewed and we’re given a new playground to begin again.

Yes, Margaret, I played in the mud, too.

slackery, writing, and new journals

I have no excuse for not updating here, especially since you have no doubt busted me wasting time on Facebook or Twitter. Somehow, though, 140 characters seems easier to accomplish than a blog post, at least in these past months of an insanely distracting and busy time at work. It doesn’t help when I remember that I have three blog posts sitting in draft mode, two of which have been rendered obsolete.

But it’s all good…or as they say, it all comes out in the wash. So maybe I’m back for a spell — maybe I’ll just hit-and-run post and continue wih a pronounced period of slackery.

Actually, I suspect things are going to be much improved now, and we’ll leave it at that.

I have been doing a lot of writing, just not here. I filled up my last journal a little sooner than I thought, and took a little outing in search of a new model.

Some people obsess over manuals and blue books and whatever else they use to buy new cars — I spend endless hours caressing journals in bookstores. I know, it’s a little weird.

Anyway, I finally settled on one from the monastery…. I used a plain black Picadilly lined journal for too many years to count (the …um…black one in the picture). Lately, though, I’ve found that size, while convenient for slipping into my bag, a bit tiresome on my hand. Yes, this is the part where I sound all old and stuff and whine about arthritis, wah wah wah. So I went a little bit larger, and unlined, so I don’t feel all cramped about writing small, either (dare I mention my aging eyes? no? good idea).

Here’s a little comparison, with the old journal on top of the new:

But the best part is that it is filled with pages and pages of cream-colored thick paper screaming to have me fill it up with stuff:

Heaven.

And if that isn’t enough, every so often it has a little inspirational quote on the bottom. Usually, I think it’s a cheesy distraction in a journal, but this one is full of saints’ ponderings, so who am I to pooh-pooh St. Teresa of Avila, who happens to have today’s entry:

pretty shiny prettiness

Doesn’t this look like a stained glass window? I love stained glass windows. I love silliness, too.

If Jesus was going to have some fun with me and lob big and little graces at me from heaven, I think they would look like this…beautifully clear, colorful water balloons that plop on my head, and when they explode, splatter all around me. So you see, if I were you, I wouldn’t scoot away from me. No. I’d suggest you stand right beside me so you’d get soaked, too.

St. Teresa and lint in my pocket

I usually carry a rosary in my pocket, especially when I’m at work. It’s not a good luck charm, don’t think that. I just happen to be devoted to this beautiful prayer, and sometimes I’ll start a rosary and get interrupted and will return to it later.

It means I have rosaries scattered all over the place. In my car. In my briefcase. In random pockets. Hanging on my computer screen. On the bulletin board in the kitchen. On a plaque my sister gave me. In my purse (um, I don’t use a purse very often). Several on my desk. Too much? You get the picture.

The rosary pictured is my go-to rosary…it’s short and the beads are spaced just right. It also survives a run through the washing machine quite well, lol. Who knew I was a connoisseur of rosaries? Makes me laugh a little, but it’s true. It fits my hand just right so it’s usually in the console of my car and accompanies me to work.

It also makes for mad dashes to the laundry basket when I forget to put it back in the console at the end of the day. That happened to me yesterday. I went to reach for the rosary in the afternoon and came up with lint. I had once again misplaced the rosary. Luckily, I had my handy dandy Steelers rosary hanging from the rearview (odd, you might ask? it doesn’t get much use, but daily smiles when I see it).

Anyway, the missing rosary led me on a wild goose chase through dirty clothes, stacks of papers, and finally, a little basket full of flash drives, holy cards, and paper clips. Oh, and a medal of St. Teresa of Avila that I have had for a couple of years and kept taking out and tossing back into the little basket. I think she finally had enough of me claiming her as my patron saint and not giving her any attention.

Sorry about that, dear Terry. I hope you like where I moved you.

 

Review: The Catholics Next Door: Adventures in Imperfect Living

Long-time fans of Greg and Jennifer Willits, familiar with the Willits’ raw honesty on the Rosary Army Podcast, their fun and faithful antics on That Catholic Show, and recently, their misadventures in Mass Confusion, will find The Catholics Next Door: Adventures in Imperfect Living a delightful and entertaining book.

Reading their anecdotes is like showing up at their back door in search of a cup of coffee in the kitchen with Jennifer, or a beer on the porch with Greg. It’s friendly. Engaging. Fun.

Honest.

They don’t claim to be perfect…and if you’ve heard them on their Sirius/XM talk show during the week, you’ll know they are sometimes a mess, but that’s what makes them real…and really lovable.

Greg and Jennifer, or how I like to refer to them, Jennifer and Greg, are just regular folks trying to live their lives faithfully. They truly are the family next door…or in my case, sitting in the pew next to me.

They are the folks you worship with and share a handshake with during the Sign of Peace. They’re the ones who wave you into the exit line in the parking lot, or baby-sit your kids, or make taco dinners to celebrate family and friends.

In short, they’re regular people, just like you and me.

So why should you pick up a copy of their book and read it?

Because they’re regular people like you and me.

Sometimes we just need to hear that whatever is going on in our lives is not weird or out of kilter with the rest of the world. Reading about their adventures in imperfect living makes me feel encouraged in my own faith journey, which is full of my own imperfections.

It’s not a guide or a manual; it’s a visit with the Catholic family next door, and no visit is complete without a little catechesis being lived out in the daily grind, a little self-deprecating humor when things go wrong, and a huge dose of love for Jesus Christ, His Mother,  and the Holy Church…all thrown in together with a lot of love.