And so it begins.

Lent has started......

Sonshine's homework yesterday said to take a handful of M&Ms and make a graph out of how many you got of each color.

So, Yesterday morning at work I had to buy a bag of M&Ms from the vending machine...AND NOT OPEN THEM.....

This morning right after breakfast he and I sat at the table and sorted M&Ms. Then I gave some to each kid....put down the small handful that was left over....and quickly stuck the untouched half bag into Sonshine's lunchbox.


shew.....temptation avoided.




At lunch today as I sat next to Gator-boy he decided to share his lunch with me.....which was fine.....

till he stuck his HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE (yes, one of Subvet's famous cookies!!!) RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE and said "Here Momma, HERE!"...........

when he wouldn't take no for an answer I had to leave the room.



Methinks it's going to be a loooooong Lent.

38.5 days left to go, sigh.

So, how'd you do so far??

can't say it better, so I won't try.

For the record. I am giving up "sweets" for Lent...and drinking more (which means any, cuz any is more than none) water. This means, if you start talking about chocolate I WILL get cranky.



Mary Ellen, aka Nunly over at The Bad Habit has put up a wonderful post explaining the whys of Lenten sacrifice....read it and see if you don't think twice about these next few weeks before Easter.

go on and read it....


I double dare ya.

Egg Knocking Explained

Okay, I'm definitely going to have to adopt this tradition!! This sounds like a lot of fun!!


Apparently instead of hiding boiled/dyed eggs to find, everyone picks out one egg. Then they go around to each other and knock the eggs together. If your egg cracks you're out. The game keeps going until there is only one uncracked egg left and that person wins the prize. As my aunt says she almost always wins I'm going to have to get her to tell me all the secrets of the game before I play!! :-)

More Mardi Gras info

I have an aunt who lives in New Orleans. She was one of the Katrina refugees and is still working to rebuild her house. She has given me permission to post this email, which tells a different side of Mardi Gras...from one who's gone every year for a long time. I thought you would appreciate the extra input.


I was on your blog and thought you might find this interesting. Arthur Hardy has been printing a Mardi Gras guide for the past 33 years. His web site has some of what you find in his guide www.mardigrasguide.com Check it out! Contrary to what people see on TV, Carnival is a family event. Tourists are often the ones that think they can let it all hang loose! A big group of my friends and their kids meet pretty much at the same place every year to watch parades together. We all have fun (tossing the football around before parades, cooking, eating and catching up). It is a big party. Unfortunately crime sometimes makes its way to the parade route. As in any city you always have to be aware of your surroundings. There are cops at every intersection and also mounted patrols along the parade route. Kids and adults alike get to pet the horses and the cops who ride are great PR. It's amazing to watch my friends who have never been to a parade in Louisiana. It doesn't take long for them to get caught up in the excitement of not only seeing fabulous floats and flambeaux but also catching the throws. When I lived in Chicago and went to my first parade there it was a big let down. New Orleans will have a parade and festival for any occasion. St. Patrick's Day parades (to catch cabbage, carrots, potatos, and other Irish stew items) and St. Joseph's parades (to catch "good luck" fava beans) are next on the agenda. I have a festival calendar and there is not one weekend after Easter that there is not something free to attend. I just thought I would share my Mardi Gras experiences so you'd know what it is really like, first-hand. It really hurts when the media focuses on what is wrong with New Orleans and Louisiana when there are so many things that are right. One is that New Orleans is a strong, Catholic, family-oriented community whose "joie de vivre" shines! Claudia's parents who are now in their 80's joined us for some of the parades this year. They reminisced about traveling to New Orleans as a family every year starting when Claudia was in elementary school to watch Mardi Gras parades.....sitting in the car, eating fried chicken while eagerly waiting for parades to come.... Now that's the true Mardi Gras spirit. And we still fast, reflect, and honor the lenten season,...looking forward to Easter Sunday to celebrate the risen Lord. I might add that we even have another Easter family tradition here in south Louisiana. We don't hide eggs, but rather have a family egg-knocking contest. I love it here because it is so very different from the rest of the country.

Lenten Accountability Post on Sunday

Welcome to this years' first LAPS post! Here's where I tell how it's going so far.

Lenten Goals:
1) improve my health
a - exercise each morning I'm off work - Let's see. I missed one or two opportunities to do this...but otherwise am on track!
b - decrease sugared drinks (specifically, only have them at work...where sugar is a must) - Except for 1 Dr Pepper on my birthday, this is going very well! {Hey! it was my BIRTHDAY ya know!}

2) improve my marriage
a - no more play fighting - doing pretty good at this. I have smacked the man once or twice on the butt...but he deserved it!!
b - take over a household chore I do not usually do -- dusting and vacuuming - So far I have dusted and vacuumed both kids rooms and the hall and I'm just about to vacuum the living room. Once I finish picking up all those TOYS!

3) improve my serenity
a - play piano each morning house is empty - I missed 2 opportunities to do this as I got caught up on the computer...but I've taken advantage of all the others
b - pray short rosary with kids each night I'm off work - Well, we've gotten as far as the first very short prayer and then our regular bedtime prayer. I'll try adding the Apostoles Creed this week...

All in all I feel like I'm doing well. I never expected to be perfect in this observance, but each item that I do for God is pleasing in His eyes.

Also, while I did not put any limits on my blogging...the fact that I have added things which take time to accomplish automatically means that I will be on the computer less. So you may see me catching up on several days' worth of posts at once. I do try to always leave a comment or two but please know that I AM reading!

Now, how are YOU doing with your Lenten observations??

Another question.

Fr. Benedict Croell OP, another Dominican Friar has answered the question "Why is fish okay?" for me.


used to be that Fish was the cheapest food...not the case any more or in certain parts of the world...also the Lenten fast is only Ash Wed and Good Fri when it is obligatory...Fridays of Lent there is obligatory abstinence from meat

see Fr. Serpa's note on this page: http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=137581

Thanks Father.

Lent Information

Fr. Philip Powell, a Dominican friar currently studying in Rome, is a friend of mine. He has written a wonderful sermon about the meaning of "giving stuff up" for Lent. Please go and read it here. Let him know I sent you, and let me know what you think!

Ash Wednesday and Mardi Gras

I've been asked to explain these two celebrations. (scroll down for my Goal Post)

First off, neither of them are "Catholic traditions". Just like Lent they are Christian and come from Biblical origins. --Well, Ash Wednesday does anyway, Mardi Gras is a reaction to Ash Wednesday...but we'll get there later--

Protestant churches celebrate Ash Wednesday also, for example, all the Methodist churches I've been to as an adult had an Ash Wednesday service with the placing of ashes on the forehead in the shape of a cross.

To help understand Ash Wednesday I will take a couple quotes from this very good article that my Subvet found for me. (Thanks Hon!) This article was written by Fr. Saunders and I encourage you to go and read the whole thing for a more detailed history of Ash Wednesday.

Fr. Saunders is pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Potomac Falls and a professor of catechetics and theology at Notre Dame Graduate School in Alexandria.

Copyright ©2005 Arlington Catholic Herald. All rights reserved.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. Which is to say, it's the celebration that marks the beginning of our time of fasting and sacrifice known as Lent. As we move from "business as usual" into our time of remembering Jesus' sacrifice for us we also remember how we are undeserving of that sacrifice because of our sin.

The use of ashes originates in Old Testament times. Ashes symbolized mourning, mortality and penance. You can see them used in Book of Esther by Mordicai, also by Job, Daniel and the people of Nineveh (after Jonah finally showed up).

Since the Middle Ages at least, the Church has used ashes to mark the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, when we remember our mortality and mourn for our sins.

In our present Ash Wednesday liturgy [service] , we use ashes made from burned palm branches distributed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. The priest blesses the ashes and imposes them on the foreheads of the faithful, making the sign of the cross and saying, "Remember, man you are dust and to dust you shall return," or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel." As we begin this holy season of Lent in preparation for Easter, we must remember the significance of the ashes we have received: We mourn and do penance for our sins. We again convert our hearts to the Lord, who suffered, died and rose for our salvation. We renew the promises made at our baptism, when we died to an old life and rose to a new life with Christ. Finally, mindful that the kingdom of this world passes away, we strive to live the kingdom of God now and look forward to its fulfillment in heaven. In essence, we die to ourselves, and rise to a new life in Christ.

You know, the whole "ashes to ashes, dust to dust"...which, by the way is scripture. See Genesis 3:19.

Knowing that Lent was a time of solmness, remembrance, and fasting, folks started having a huge feast on the night before Lent began. Which would be the night before Ash Wednesday. The reason was two-fold. Back in the day meat was forbidden during ALL of Lent, not just on Fridays and this was before refrigeration/deep freezers folks. So here we are...Lent's around the corner and we won't be able to eat meat for 40 days........ what are we gonna do with all this food in our kitchen? PARTY!! Invite the neighbors and let's chow down. And since I'm giving up chocolate for Lent I think I'll bake a huge chocolate cake to eat too!!

I don't know if it originated in Louisana or if New Orleans is just the biggest group of partiers. But this pre-Lent celebration came to be known as "Mardi Gras" which literally translates to "Fat Tuesday". Meaning you got as "fat" as you could on the Tuesday before the fast would begin on Ash Wednesday.

I'm not positive but I believe a lot of the breast baring and kissing of strangers etc is an outgrowth of people getting their last kicks in before Lent too. Oh, and alcohol plays a big part in any Louisana party. Remember too that South La has a very large Creole population, whose origins are in the Carribean. They brought their native religion (voodoo etc) with them and incorporated it into the Christian celebrations of the "New World". (as did all native peoples worldwide when Christianity was introduced). Some of the "traditions" of Mardi Gras have been derived from this pagan influence.

Today it has blown out of all proportion and reason and has become a totally secular event. I actually think there are parties and such that continue even AFTER Ash Wednesday...completely missing the point of the original celebration. I do know that the parades start a couple weeks before Ash Wednesday and the drunkenness rivals any Spring Break. I've never been to N.O. for Mardi Gras and I never plan to go. But my family and friends who have gone came back with quite a few entertaining stories....to say the least.

If you have any questions or any corrections or additions to this please leave them in the comments. If there's something you don't believe or want to discuss go ahead and leave that in the comment too. But please remember to be respectful of me and of each other during the discussion!

Lent more or less explained....

Linda asked me about the whole giving things up for Lent idea.

First off, Lent is not a Catholic thing....it's a Christian thing, Protestants do it too!!

And yes, it's actually started in the Bible..more or less.

Quick overview. -- in hindsight, as I proofread this post...it wasn't exactly "quick" :-)

Palm Sunday Jesus rode the donkey into town in triumph. The palms we use represent the palms and clothing that were laid down on the street by the crowd for his donkey to walk on. This was the equivalent of a ticker tape parade. He was hailed as a hero. The story of Zacheeus climbing the tree to see Jesus cause he was too short to see over the crowd comes from this event. The point being that EVERYONE wanted to see this man, who had performed miracles and healings and taught in God's name.

This however, posed a problem for the religious leaders of the day. Because what this Jesus of Nazareth was teaching didn't jibe with what they focused on. Matter of fact, he was saying that those religious leaders had, in essence, missed the forest for the trees and weren't gonna be getting into Heaven unless they opened their eyes.

Religious leaders got ticked off.

They then started looking for ways to get Jesus to admit to breaking the religious laws of the time...which would give them a way to get rid of Him. So they got busy asking Him trick questions and working up the crowds.

On Holy Thursday, the Thursday after Palm Sunday, Jesus had his last meal with his friends, the Apostles. (Known as the Last Supper, it was here that Jesus gave the example for what is known as The Lord's Supper, The Eucharist or Communion...depending on the church)

Then Judas told the police which of the group of men traveling together (the Apostles) was actually Jesus and they arrested Him. Taking him to the Judge trying to get him convicted. the judge (Pontius Pilate) realized that Jesus really hadn't done anything wrong...but he also realized that he'd have a riot on his hands if he didn't do what the crowd wanted. He tried a couple of ways to appease them which the crowd rejected and finally allowed Jesus to be given a death sentence to be carried out on Good Friday (the day after Holy Thursday). (There was no process of appeals back then)

Death row at the time consisted of being whipped with a whip braided from several strands of leather...each with a piece of sharp stone tied at the end. (this is called a scourge). Being publically ridiculed in whatever way the police guards saw fit. (crown of thorns...purple cloth mocking the claim that He is "king of the Jews") Then being striped and made to carry a large wooden cross from the town to the place of execution. Through the streets so that everyone has a chance to spit on you as a convict sentenced to death.

Once you got to the place where the death penalty would be carried out you were executed. Convicts sentenced to the death penalty at that time were executed not by electric chair or firing squad...rather by crucifixion. Crucifixion is the act in which a convict has both wrists naied to a large crossbar...think long railroad tie--more or less...this is the same wooden stake that the convict has carried through town. (yes, wrists, not hands...hands wouldn't hold the weight of the body but placing the large iron nails in between the 2 longbones of the forearms and above the wrist bones creats a sturdy area that would keep the convicted person upright on the cross) The crossbar is then attached to the upright pole and the person's feet are nailed in place. This creates the cross on which the convict hangs until they are dead. Now death is a slow drawn out process. As the person tires the body will sag on the nails in the wrists....which makes it very difficult to breathe...then the person will push up with their legs to get a breath...(getting innumerable splinters in their neck, back and butt)...till they tire. Eventually they basically suffocate from being too exhausted to hold themselves up.

There was a law saying no one was to be hanging on the crosses during the sabboth (which is from sundown fri to sundown sat) So the guards would go and break the legs of anyone still alive as sundown approached.. this would speed up the death. However, when they got to Jesus he was already dead. (which they found out by stabbing him in the side with a spear...and "water and blood" flowed from the womb, ie His blood had already started clotting-- I'm guessing those still alive would scream when stabbed making it more effective than trying to take a pulse).

Before sundown on Friday Jesus "gave up the ghost" and died on the cross, alongside two other convicts also executed by means of the death penalty. His body was removed from the cross and placed in a tomb (if I remember right it was a borrowed tomb?? someone correct me if I'm wrong...--if I'm right the borrowed tomb reminds us of his birth in a borrowed food trough...). On Sunday (the 3rd day) ladies went to weep at his gravesite. But found the stone which had sealed the tomb moved and his body gone. The angel revealed that he had in fact risen from the dead and been resurrected into Heaven. (probably NOT in order to participate in a Heavenly Easter Egg Hunt...but who knows??)

OKAY. Now, back to Lent.

Here's the deal. Crucifixion as outlined above was THE form of execution for all sentenced to the death penalty. Jesus knew what was coming. More than likely He had witnessed other public executions. He knew God's plan. He knew that His life was to be sacrificed for all mankind, so that we might be saved, ie so that we'd have a way to get into Heaven too. He also had the power, as God, to not go through with it. Jesus made the decision to allow himself to be sacrificed in this brutal way.

Knowing what was next and knowing that the time was near Jesus went into the desert to FAST and PRAY for 40 DAYS. (did you catch that Linda??) This time in the desert was a time of preparation, of temptation (and resistance of temptation), and of total submission to God's plan. This time in the desert was also a form of teaching. Jesus used everything he did to teach us.

During Lent we, as Christians follow Jesus' example and spend 40 days (from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday...not counting Sundays) giving some sacrifice to God in recognition of the sacrifice of His life that Jesus gave to us. We use this sacrifice as a way to honor Jesus and as a way to bring ourselves closer to God. It's not just a "giving something up". It can be a sacrifice of time...ie, adding something to your daily routine. But whatever you do should remind you that it is only by the grace of God and the sacrifice of His only son that we are given eternal life in Heaven. Catholics (and some but not all Protestants) not only sacrifice during Lent, they also -- in keeping with Jesus' example-- fast. This is why the "no meat on fridays during Lent" thing. It's actually a bit more complicated than just abstaining from meat, there's also a no snacking rule as well as a rule that there is to be only 1 regular meal with 2 smaller meals. ie a fast.

But the POINT of it is to remember Jesus' time in the desert, fighting temptation and preparing to die for you while you're following his example in fasting and sacrificing.


If you have any questions or any corrections or additions to this please leave them in the comments. If there's something you don't believe or want to discuss go ahead and leave that in the comment too. But please remember to be respectful of me and of each other during the discussion!

Lent

Ash Wednesday begins Lent. Lent is a time to sacrifice in order to bring yourself closer to God. A time to reflect on the Sacrifice that our Savior gave for us. So that we might be saved from sin and death to eternal life with the Father. There are many ways to come closer to God. Many things that can be given up in sacrifice. Here are mine. Even those that wouldn't be a sacrifice for you are a sacrifice for me. But I'm not good with follow through. Great with intentions...bad with follow through. That "road to hell" thing gets me every time. So I am going to put up a post each Saturday keeping myself accountable. If you want to let us know what YOU'RE doing for Lent and how well you stuck to your good intentions each week, feel free to join in. After all, we experience Lent as a community of believers...not solely as individuals.

Lenten Goals:
1) improve my health
a - exercise each morning I'm off work
b - decrease sugared drinks (specifically, only have them at work...where sugar is a must)

2) improve my marriage
a - no more play fighting
c - take over a household chore I do not usually do -- dusting and vacuuming

3) improve my serenity
a - play piano each morning house is empty
b - pray short rosary with kids each night I'm off work


So begins my walk toward Easter.

Oh, yeah....GOALS!!

1) finish the wall hanging. bwahaha. not quite yet. I've gotten the Western Hemisphere done and am working my way over Antartica and her penguins...then I'll finish with EuroAsia and Austraila and the oceans in the East...quilt around the border and THEN I will be done...
5 yard gain. Second Down

2) hem the curtains with hubby nope. I'm not sure exactly why we haven't gotten to this yet. But there'll be time soon.

3) restring the yoyo bears....AGAIN. The thread held...it was the knots that came out. nope. frankly, it's not very high on my "want to" list...maybe later

4) work some more on the Thesaurus Thursday glossary heehee, by the time work is done tonight I plan to have done some of this goal...hint to successful goal setting...always have 1 that you can complete in a pinch right before you post about the goals so that you have SOMETHING done!!

:-)

next week??

1) finish the wall hanging
2) hem the curtains
this is sounding familiar....
3) cut the fabric for my sister's quilt
4) Thesaurus Thursday glossary
5) finalize my Lent plans

I have several things floating around in my head to do and to not do for Lent. I'm afraid of taking on ALL of them...yet they each have a specific purpose towards a goal I'm wanting to achieve. Some of them I've already started with moderate success. Others are waiting till after Mardi Gras!! I'll let you know how it ends up on Wed.

I also am going to start Lenten Accountability Posts on Saturday (LAPS) . Similar to these goal posts...but specific to my list of to dos and to not dos for Lent. It will probably bore you to tears, but will help to keep me on track. The number one reason I have been able to get so many goals finished so far this year is because I post them each week and then have to tell the world ("God and everybody") when I DON'T do them. It feels icky. I don't like feeling icky...so I make more of a point to get the silly things done. (we won't discuss this week.) Feel free to join in with your own LAPS if you want. I'd do a Mr Linky thing, but frankly he and I aren't getting along right now so just let us know in the comments if you plan to LAPS too.