Lord, That I May See

Happy Thanksgiving!  Advent is almost here, as we know.  I have some Advent reading suggestions here for (yesterday's) Five Favorites.  I am cheating a little because 2 of them are books I would like to have, not books I have actually read.  1. Reed of God, by Caryll Houselander This is a beautiful, haunting book that focuses on Mary and her quiet, restful role in the Christmas story.  I return to it every Advent. 2. Searching for and Maintaining Peace, by Jacques Philippe Not strictly an Advent book, but I think peace can be very elusive in this season particularly, no matter how much we desire it.  This book is absolutely relatable and so compelling with deep, wise insights from Fr Philippe.   Each paragraph is a goldmine. There is something new to discover every time I open it.  3. The Joy of Advent: Daily Reflections from Pope Francis I haven't read this, but I would love to spend Advent with the Po...

One of the best and most challenging parts of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd' s approach to education, is the way in which it invites, and almost demands, one to make a radical change in pace.  The pace is so very calm and slow (despite the way that that word is mostly used as a negative one)!  Every aspect of the work is this way -- both the child and the adult slow their pace in the  prepared space , the "activities" are slow and prayerful, the "curriculum" is slow-paced, the words spoken are slow and sparse, the movements are slow and deliberate.  "Slow and careful," we say again and again to the children.  To ourselves. When I took the Catechesis formation classes in 2012-2013, something that many people questioned was the "inefficient" way in which the course was provided.  Why, if this is such a great thing, isn't it more streamlined and mass-produced?  Why don't you have video recordings showing how to do this?  Why is...

I have taken a rather longer than expected blogging hiatus.  We have been busy with school, two different soccer schedules, Atrium beginning, Turtle's choir practices, a final late summer beach vacation, a 10 year Homecoming for our college graduating class, fall parties and birthdays and feasts . . . whew.    Things are starting to slow down a little bit (temporarily!) and I want to blog again.  I write in my head often, I just get disappointed that I cannot find the time to sit and type the thoughts out before they slip away into the past. I won't give this blog up, despite the fact that it is largely unread and neglected, because I like always having a place I can record and reflect, a place that requires a bit more polish than a handwritten journal, of which I have many, being one to want to record the years as they pass. As I looked this afternoon over the pictures I have taken this fall, I am grateful for many of the memories we have made, the crazy days tha...

but maybe you could make it a little easier sometimes . . .if You're serious about that, Turtle is at youth choir practice.  We have about 35 minutes left to wait before she is finished.  There is 40-Hour Adoration going on in the church and I haven't been able to visit yet.  The 3 younger kids have been fed and watered and prepped on genuflecting with two knees.  Everyone is agreeable.  Let's go in, shall we? We slither into the back pew, bumping around with our umbrellas and sweaters.  Each child has a pocket full of change for the votive candle offering. Someone, in a stage whisper: "Let's go light our candles, Mom!" Me:  "You can.  Nooo, not up the aisle, people are praying.  Go around the back." Pitter patter of little feet around the back of the church. . . er, actually clomp, clomp is more like it. Many coins clank.  Three votives lit. Sparky: "Wanna do annnuther one!" Me: "Just one." Sparky:  "Nuuu...