Author: franciscanmom

Barb Szyszkiewicz is a wife, mom, Secular Franciscan and freelance writer and serves as Editor for CatholicMom.com. Mom to three young adults, she enjoys writing, cooking, and reading. Barb is a music minister at her parish. She is also an avid Notre Dame football and basketball fan. Barb blogs at FranciscanMom.com and shares her family’s favorite recipes with nutrition information for diabetics at www.Cook and Count.wordpress.com.

Just a Feeling: Prayers are Needed

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This morning before 7:00, our doorbell rang. Of course I thought the worst, and went scrambling for my robe and my glasses to go answer the door.

It was Adventure Boy, in a filthy T-shirt, sandals on the wrong feet, carrying a large wrestler toy and an even larger “Brother Bear” and wearing a safari hat and binoculars.

Obviously he was ready for just about anything that early in the morning!

However, we were not ready for anything at that hour. In fact, no one else was awake. I told him that it was too early to play and that he had to go back home. Then after I closed the door I thought maybe I should follow him and make sure he went home. So I found some shoes and headed back out the front door, only to find him coming down the path from the back of the house–he had tried to visit our backyard neighbors when I told him it was too early!

I escorted him down the driveway and began walking down the street with him, and then saw his grandmother standing in front of the house.

Very slowly, Adventure Boy walked home.

St. John Bosco, pray for him and for all the Adventure Boys of the world. And while you’re praying, pray for me and all the neighbors of Adventure Boys. We need to know what to do.

Scary

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That’s the word for the inside of my refrigerator today.

I finally traced the disgusting smell to the bag of fresh (well, not anymore) green beans. Guess there were some bad ones in there.

In the interest of making the whole thing smell a LOT better than it did, I emptied everything out. I got rid of a few things I could no longer identify. I wiped all the shelves and the yick off the bottom. Yick? It’s an industry term. 409 was my best friend today, that’s for sure.

Feeling ruthless, I pitched about 4 half-containers of icing, all sorts of outdated stuff that got shoved to the back and forgotten, and the contents of 5 containers. Then I rushed the trash bag past the horrified children who were holding their noses, and out the back door. It’s trash day tomorrow (how smart of me to clean the fridge today!)

Boy, there’s a lot of room in there now. And it’s organized! All the salad dressing is together in a basket; my 3 “frequent flier ingredients” are right on the top shelf of the door (bread machine yeast, big jar of garlic, and lemon juice); all the jelly is together and the ice-cream toppings are gathered in one spot, too.

I freely admit to dreading this chore, but it really only took me less than an hour to do, and it’s one of those jobs where you can really admire the results.

I wonder how long it will take to get it to its former rummaged, messy state? With 5 eaters in the house, I give it a week.

What We Heard

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Today, on the Feast of the Assumption.

Our priest’s homily was a reflection on the first line of the Magnificat: “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord.”

First he reminded us that the month of August is full of celebrations of spiritual giants. He told the story of Edith Stein (St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross) whose feast we observe August 9, and referenced the meaning the Magnificat held in the life of this saint.

Next, Father discussed the work of Kathleen Sullivan in abstinence education for teenagers. He observed that God showed His own reverence for the human body by assuming Mary’s earthly body into Heaven upon her death, and that it is our duty to also have reverence for the human body.

Finally, Father told the story of a young person approaching a wiser, older person and asking what he should do with his life. The advisor asked the young person: “What is it that you do that makes your being proclaim the greatness of the Lord, that makes you feel fully alive? THAT is what you should do with your life.”

If you’d like to hear my favorite arrangement of my favorite Gospel Canticle, visit this site and click on “Magnificat.” The composer is a Franciscan Friar from Holy Name Province. I learned this song back in high school when another Friar introduced Father Tamburello’s compositions to our choir. A few years ago I contacted Father to request permission to use his “Magnificat” at our Secular Franciscan meetings as part of Evening Prayer. He generously gave the permission and mailed me the sheet music to the song. It is a beautiful, simple arrangement of the Gospel canticle–but nothing elaborate is needed with lyrics like these. Enjoy it!

Image Credit: Dan Paulos

Planner Contest!

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Lorri is having a contest at The Mac & Cheese Chronicles! There are 2 prizes–2 different planners. Check it out! I’m such a calendar geek, I had to enter this contest.

One Came Back

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In the spirit of thankfulness for prayers answered, visit a new group blog that Christine M. has started! It’s called “One Came Back” in honor of the one leper out of ten who returned to thank Jesus after being cured of his disease.

If you have a prayer request or thanks to offer for prayers answered, visit “One Came Back!”

H/T to Esther for the Scripture stamp! “I am the handmaid of the Lord.” May we all have the gratitude of the one leper and the attitude of the Blessed Mother.

Things to be Thankful For

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Today is the feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Esther and Jean have done a wonderful job of discussing this fascinating modern saint.

One of my grandmothers had a special devotion to St. Maximilian Kolbe. In fact, I first heard of him from her. She had a nickname for everyone, it seemed–and she called him “Uncle Max.”

Today I am thankful for St. Maximilian, for his example of perseverance and unselfishness, and his urging that through imitating the love of Mary, we can come to a deeper love of God. Part of that love is recognizing that God has given us many gifts, and being thankful for them.

Today I am thankful that we are all home again, all together. This has been a weird weekend. My parents took Middle Sister and Little Brother to their house on Saturday so TheDad and I could attend a wedding on Sunday. Big Brother stayed home alone. Yesterday he and I drove “up north” to pick the kids up. When we got home, TheDad was waiting for us. It just feels good to be all together again.

Today I am thankful for TheDad’s easy attitude that he displayed Sunday when I realized that I had the Tiniest Black Purse on Earth and that it wouldn’t fit my bare essentials: wallet, phone, keys, lipstick and asthma inhaler. “I have to run to Target,” I informed him as I zipped out the door. When I came home and said, “I’m back,” he called out, “It looks great” without even turning around to SEE the new purse.

Today I am thankful for kids who make me laugh. Last night in the car we had a lot of fun. Out of the clear blue sky we got announcements like, “I want a kazoo.” (that was Big Brother)

Today I am thankful for sunshine, the sound of birds and cicadas, clotheslines, and the BOGO sale at Payless. And for all the other gifts, big and small, that God has given today.

What Author’s Fiction Am I?

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Which Author’s Fiction are You?


Flannery O’Connor wrote your book. Not much escapes your notice.
Take this quiz!


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Go figure. I wrote my college senior thesis on Flannery O’Connor. Maybe I should get those books out and savor a re-read!
H/T to Esther, who is also Flannery O’Connor.

This was fun–and kind of true

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Your Birthdate: July 28

You have a Type A personality so big it makes other Type A’s shrink away in shame.
You never shy away from adversity – and you love to tackle impossible problems.
Failure is not an option for you, and more than a few people are put off by your ego.
You tend to be controlling, and you hate leaving anything up to chance.

Your strength: Your bold approach to life

Your weakness: You don’t accept help

Your power color: Bronze

Your power symbol: Pyramid

Your power month: October

Humility

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Frater has a not-to-be-missed post about Incarnation and Resurrection: We are a Christmas People. He backs up his theory with quotes and prayers from St. Clare of Assisi, whose feast we celebrate today.

And he’s right. We are a Christmas people. And that has nothing to do with buying presents.

I think it is a particularly Franciscan way of thinking. Yes, Easter is essential to our faith. You can’t get to Easter without going through Good Friday. But you also can’t get to Easter without Christmas. Without the Incarnation, there could be no Resurrection. Think about the foreshadowing that Simeon provided to the Blessed Mother at the Presentation of the Lord (Luke 2: 34-35). Sister Jane Kopas, OSF writes:

Thanks to Francis, human emotion and events in the life of Jesus took center stage. It was he who originated the idea of the Christmas crèche in the little town of Greccio. The human Jesus was so real to him that he wished to celebrate his humanity. The reality of the poor Jesus in the birth scene has touched the minds and hearts of his contemporaries and people for centuries since then. The deepest mirroring of the life of Jesus came late in his life….Two years before he died, his identification with the suffering of Jesus manifested itself physically. While he was caught up in prayer in a mountain retreat, he had a vision of a six-winged seraph that penetrated his very being and left him with the stigmata, the five wounds of Christ, in his feet, hands, and side. For the rest of his life he tried to hide these marks so as not to draw attention to himself.

So even in two of Francis’ more famous moments–the Greccio, and the Stigmata, he highlights the birth and death of Jesus.

Ultimately it is all about humility. And that’s also a particularly Franciscan thing. You don’t get much more humble than those early Friars and Sisters who gave up everything, kept nothing, in order to gain the treasure of Heaven. And you don’t get any more humble than Jesus, who was born in a stable and slept in a manger–and who grew up to lay down His very life as a sacrifice to His Father for OUR sins. From beginning to end, Jesus modeled the kind of humility that Franciscans strive to imitate.

Humility is countercultural. In our world, it is considered a bad thing to be humble, to put aside one’s own wants and even needs for the sake of someone (or Someone) else. Humility just doesn’t go along with the “I’m worth it” and “I deserve it” attitude that is encouraged today. Humility is hard. We want what we want, when we want it. But humility requires sacrifice.

Ultimately, the major feasts of our Church all celebrate humility, and the willingness to lay aside one’s own wants, needs and desires for the sake of something even greater. Jesus did it. The Blessed Mother did it. All the saints did it. Can we?

This, that, and the other thing

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First of all, I’d appreciate your prayers as this afternoon I’ll be having a medical test done. Nothing horrible, scary, icky or invasive, fortunately! Thanks….

And since a few of you have asked for a follow-up on the prayers for TheDad, things at his office seem to have settled down. He keeps work stuff pretty close to the vest, as he tries to leave it behind when he leaves the office, and also because (I think) he tells me things on a Need-to-Panic Basis. I have WCSS, you see….But anyway, he said that he won the battle with the vice-president, and he’s still employed.

My parents will be arriving sometime today. Mom will stay until Monday or so, when I take her back home. Dad will leave tomorrow. Mom’s going to watch the kids (make sure they don’t kill each other or burn down the house) while TheDad and I attend a wedding Sunday evening. A sunset wedding. On a New Jersey beach (faces east). At 6 PM (sunset at this time of year in this part of the country is more like 8 PM). But hey–it’s a beach wedding, so I don’t have to wear pantyhose! I expect to spend the next couple of days arguing with my mother about why she should be sleeping in a bed and let one of the kids have the couch, and trying to figure out if I have anything in the house that she will eat. I did remember to stock up on Nilla Wafers, Ovaltine, and Good Guy Milk (my dad’s term for 1% milk).

I thought I’d toss some links your way, since I’ve been seeing some Really Good Stuff out there!

Visit Debbie (AKA ukok) for her inspirational scripture/photo series.

Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle is having a contest! The prize is a copy of her book, The Heart of Motherhood. I own this book and am reading it now–definitely recommended.

The Catholic Dads have been busy lately. Go see what they’ve been up to. Lots of good food for thought.

Micki posts a different Holy Card from her collection every day.

The pastor at my younger kids’ school has a blog. Sometimes it’s in English, sometimes Tagalog. The English entries are well worth your time!

Enjoy!