What a day it has been – I am giving myself permission to relax – sort of. My sister lives in London and my husband is driving through the western part of the State, with our 18 yr old son, where the roads are in danger of flooding out in the mountains. We are under a tornado watch and about 25 miles north of us a tornado has been reported on the local radio station. It’s traveling at 25 miles an hour through the county. May it keep going that way – North!
My double sink in the kitchen is plugged – has been for two days despite regular doses of drain “debloggers”. The hot water tank died for a few hours because of another blown fuse – the wiring in this house makes me very, very nervous! So this morning, after calling my dad to check on the status of my sister and her family, which I am happy to report are fine, alive and well, I had to send my 19 yr old son to the store to buy dish pans. Two – one for washing and one for rinsing, the plan being to set them up on the counter, just to the right of my useless sinks. While he was gone, I mopped up the floor from the constant leak that spews oodles of dollars worth of hot water each time you re-connect the hot water. Not knowing the hot water was cold – I had reconnected it with the idea of maybe, possibly, hopefully washing in one sink… After mopping the floor – now squeaky clean, I set all three kettles on the stove to boil.
Ordinarily by this time – I would be red in the face from frustration and grumbling up a storm to match the weather – but instead I was feeling very grateful. Grateful that my sister is alive, grateful that my capital had not just been attacked by terrorists and grateful that I had mundane chores to do. I was also immensely sorrowful for the wives and mothers in England who would soon be getting a call that one of theirs had been in one of those trains…
Tonight when we pray our Rosary we will continue to pray for my husband’s safety as he continues his drive home. And we will certainly be praying for the families who have lost loved ones or are now crowding hospitals to care for their injured family members. Now, I better go; the kitchen door just blew open.
(Cartoon by Anna - age 11) Read more!

This is the Body of Christ...

On the odd occasion that I feel that I cannot receive, perhaps I was too distracted by the little ones, or by my worries, to feel that I have properly prepared myself for the receiving of our Saviour. Or perhaps – I was late with my breakfast and feel that I have not properly kept the fast. Whatever the reason – I try to think about spiritual communion when this happens. In some Missals there will be a prayer for Spiritual Communion, and I try to read it if there is one available.

However, whether such a prayer was available or not, I sit there quietly in my pew, and in between reminding the children to say their prayers of thanksgiving following the receiving of our Lord, I glance around the church and let my eyes fall on my neighbours who have just received. I look carefully, and I think about the fact that each of them has just received Jesus. He is now as present to them, as if we are all on the Mount listening to Jesus’ sermon, and as such through them – I feel as though He is now present to me. Each and every one of these fellow worshipers has received the Precious Body of Christ and I am surrounded by them… and as such, I am surrounded by the Body of Christ. Read more!