Author: Maria Johnson

getting ready for the new missal around here!

I love what Archbishop Wilton Gregory has to say here. Not only does he give a good and concise rationale for the new translation, but he stresses the point that we’re all in this together as a community…he even shares a little about his own experience.

We’ve been moving toward the change in our archdiocese and our parish for a while, with bulletins and “heads up” kinds of write ups in the weekly bulletin, and instruction during the Mass. We’ve also been working on incorporating the new language in several of the sung parts…that’s already getting smoother and will probably be fine by the time the rest of the changes begin in just two weeks (though I’m still not a fan of the music we’re using for the Gloria).

I’m actually looking forward to the implementation; how about you? It’s like enough talk already — let’s do it!

Maybe you’re gonna be cool about it and just read along on the 27th. Maybe you don’t really care about all the why’s and the history leading up to this. Maybe you’re just, like, the kind of person that happily goes along with the flow, no stress. Cool.

If, however, you’re a nerd like me, then you might like to see some of the resources that are available.

The Archdiocese of Atlanta has a bunch of resources.

The USCCB has a neat little chart that actually shows us the differences side by side.

Pat Gohn’s column, A Word in Season, at Patheos.com has a great series that breaks it down into easy to manage pieces that starts with The Translation: A Renewed Understanding of Love. Then see Part I and Part II, and the recent It’s Not a New Mass, It’s a New Translation. Episode 114 of Among Women discusses the new Missal.

Catholic Weekend 95 continues the conversation with Pat, who encourages us to be easy on ourselves and approach it with patience.

And if you have kids, you might like to see what’s going on at Catholic Icing so you can print out your own version of the new Missal for kids!

“The heavens declare the glory of God”

I saw this on Facebook and wanted to pass it along for folks that didn’t see it. It’s amazing, and what I really like is the woman’s wonder at the end. I know the feeling. Although I’ve never seen a murmuration (the name for a flock of birds), I’ve encountered some amazing things on and in the ocean. I’ve seen dolphins (porpoises) up close alongside the boat in the Florida Keys and in the North Pacific off the coast of Alaska. I’ve seen whales, sharks, and sea lions in the wild. And once, I swam with a school of barracuda — 30 feet under water. It’s scary and wonderful at the same time.

thank you veterans

Freedom, as they say, isn’t free. It has a price far greater than a budget tally on a politician’s agenda and more than the rhetoric of a demonstrator.

It is personal.

And it is paid in the lonely tears of a wife whose husband spends more time eating MREs in the field than her meatloaf at the kitchen table.

In the child experiencing her first steps without her mommy to catch her.

The little leaguer practicing catch alone against a wall.

The youth who grows taller than his dad while he is gone.

The parent whose first and last waking thought is a prayer for safety.

Think about that when you thank a veteran today.

 

 

 

All that we behold is full of blessings. ~William Wordsworth

Today marks Day 30 of my Grateful Tweet exercise. The idea behind this Twitter campaign, and the subsequent use of the hashtag, #gratefultweet, is simple. Before launching into a day of social media filled with posts ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous, the first tweet of the day should be in thanksgiving. [read more about it]

I know of the importance of gratitude, particularly when it’s difficult to be grateful. I’d say its importance increases with the level of difficulty we’re encountering.

St. Paul tells us to “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Sure, St. Paul, easy for you to say, you’re a Saint! As for me, I’m definitely not a Saint, and I sometimes feel like every day is an insurmountable failure at achieving even marginal saintliness. Instead of being disheartened, I decided to treat this challenge as a spiritual exercise.

I figured, if I could make it for 30 days and establish a habit of gratefulness in the morning, at least I will have started my day with a strong moment of praise. Too often I treat my prayer life like a to-do list — Angelus: check; Rosary: check; Scripture: check. The grateful tweet was just another check.

And then, it wasn’t.

I started to really notice the things for which I am grateful; my husband, my children, my friends — the many gifts God has given me that bring me joy. If that had been all, it would have been a successful experiment.

But of course, there’s more. In every instance when I have invited God into my life, it was a springboard for more. You see, this month when I’ve had the inclination to tweet a complaint or a negative comment, I’ve sometimes remembered to look for any redeeming element in the thing causing me grief. I usually found something that made me grateful.

Look, I’m no saint, and the last place I thought I’d find some spiritual growth is Twitter, yet here I am, extolling the value of gratitude, 140 characters at a time.

Give it a try. What are you grateful for?

joy and affection

Who knew that’s what’s still blooming in my back yard? I looked up the meaning of pink roses, and everybody with the ability to post to the internet has an opinion. I’m sticking with the first meaning I found, which happens to be joy and affection.

Gratitude seems to be popular, too, and given the #gratefultweet campaign taking off on Twitter, I’ll keep that definition as well.

And of course, the rose often symbolizes the Blessed Virgin Mary. What’s not love about that bounty of roses blooming in my yard?