Welcome to our archived site of the work of CGS at All Saints Parish up to April of 2018!

Monday, September 19, 2016

When Stuff Makes You Sad

"Why are you crying?!" I asked a particularly distraught child one day, as she was finishing a Popsicle I had given her.

"(Cousin's name) is playing with my [insert favorite-toy-of-the-day here]!"

Okaaaay. Let's leave aside the fact that its' a beautiful day at the playground, all of us are healthy, we're snacking on yummy sugary treats, and we get to be with our cousins. God's in His Heaven, kiddo, and all is right with the world. But, for this little girl, all was not right with the world. She doesn't have a particular THING and it was making her miserable.

Now, as parents we all desire to give our children the best we can. We make sacrifices so that we can go on vacations with them. We put them in activities. We ensure that they have birthday and Christmas presents, and a maybe even a phone that won't embarrass them when they pull it out in front of their friends. And why not? We have good things. We love our children. So why wouldn't we want to give the ones we love good things?!

I remembered a recent visit with missionaries who had spent time among the poorest communities in other countries. They had a surprising observation: even though the people they were serving had nothing, they were happy. Actually, they were joy-filled.

Ironically, studies show that depression rates are actually higher in developed countries that in poor communities like the ones my friends serve in. St. Mother Teresa once famously said that we in the Western world suffered not from a poverty of things, but a poverty of love.

For that myopic moment in the park, my poor girl could only focus on what she didn't have. She was so worried about this thing that she didn't have room for joy.

Well, it opened up a blinding insight into my own heart: Where is the center of my attention? Is it on all that I have, or all that I lack? In that moment, I determined that we would all have to work much harder to ensure that our children are brought up with a healthy attitude toward the things that they possess, or else those things may end up possessing them.

So while my response to my distraught little girl was important, it was even more necessary that it echo in my own heart as well:

"God's in His Heaven, and all is right with the world. And for Heaven's sake: don't let stuff make you sad!"

Monday, September 12, 2016

Christ Our Life Conference

"Wait. You're bringing ALL of your kids?"

Well, it was tempting to find a sitter and attend the upcoming Christ Our Life conference (September 24th-25th at Wells Fargo Arena!) like a "date" with my husband, but we decided to splurge and bring all of the kiddos for a couple of reasons.

1) You never know what a little kid is going to remember. Today, for example, I was with my 5 year old alone in the van and she started telling me about the Trinity. "Three People, but only One God." I asked her more about it, then I asked her how she knew that. "Jesus," was her blunt reply. Of course, I thought, she's five. She doesn't know where she learns things, she just absorbs things. This is a huge reasons why we expose our little kids to so many people, places, ideals, and ideas: because it's the best and easiest time to form their character. It couldn't hurt for her to attend Mass at the COL conference with 7500+ people, with a magnificent choir of over 100, and a bunch of smiling happy Catholics who are talking constantly about Jesus.

2) It's important for our children to know that they aren't alone. Way back in the day when I was 14, I remember my first "large group" Catholic experiences. We were the minority in my town, and most of the Catholics in our parish looked to my teenage eyes like they were only there for roll call. The exposure to the "Universal Church"--the large body of fired-up believers--was a game changer for me. The Christ Our Life Conference is happening at Wells Fargo Arena, where my kids go to concerts, and Disney on Ice, and sporting events. To see the wider Church step into the light will help me as a parent when my kids think my husband and I are the only weird ones. Nope. The Body of Christ that you are part of isn't just our Domestic Church, kiddo. It is a big, big thing.

3) They still talk about the last one. Learning about Mary's Meals from Magnus McFarlane-Barrow and having their shirt signed by ImmaculĂ©e Ilibagiza, and singing with Steve Angrisano are still great memories that they talk about today. Even four years ago when 1.5 year old Lucy was fussing and I couldn't stay in and listen, it still turned into a fabulous experience.  I herded her into the Adoration Chapel (always set up on the floor level under the stands) and she knelt with me in the back. I closed my eyes for just a second and she ran, I mean, bolted, up to the front. As I tried to hurry and chase her, she stopped exactly under the tabernacle with Jesus exposed in the Monstrance above it. She knelt there in silence, POINTING up at Jesus for what felt like an eternity, but was probably 30 or 40 seconds. Then she turned to the adorers behind her, her chubby little finger still pointing at our Lord. "Jesus!" she said, then she turned forward again and exclaimed again, "Jesus!"

Even if the kiddos don't get it on the same level as the adults, I decided that it's okay. They're fresher from God than we are, anyway. They'll get what He wants them to get. My job is simply to let them come!

You can get your tickets after Masses this weekend or on the web at http://www.christourlifeiowa.com! You get a discount if you don't wait to get them at the door of Wells Fargo Arena!

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Under Your Breath

"What did you say?"

I made a rule many years ago that if my children mumbled something inaudible, especially if it seemed as though it was unkind, they would have to repeat it again until I could hear it properly.

"Nothing," is sometimes the reply I get.

But it's never nothing. I tell them that the words they say under their breath are still said aloud, and if that is the case, they must have meant for me to hear them. Usually neither they nor I am pleased with the words that I hear when they are repeated more audibly, but dealing with the ick of their actual lack of charity in this case is much better than letting it go or wondering if what they said is as bad as I thought. Words matter. In fact, each word we say aloud is one that will be held to account, even if we feel like no one is listening.

My mother told me a story many years ago about a penitent who took her sinful gossip to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The priest who heard her confession offered her a bizarre penance: "Take a feather pillow to peak of the hillside overlooking the city and shake out each of the feathers. Then return to me and I will give you one more thing to do." The woman complied, but she was quite bewildered when she returned to the priest.

"Good," he told her, "Now you have one last thing to do: I need you to go and gather the feathers back into the pillow." Shocked, the woman protested, "How can I possibly do that? The wind has taken them and they are scattered across the world by now."

"You are right," the wise priest replied. "Just so your own words, once they are out of your mouth. You can never gather them up again. They have gone out either to do good or the opposite. You can either spend your life seeking to undo the damage that your careless words continue to cause, or you can choose to reign in your tongue."

Our changing opinions of others may run through our minds constantly, but once we lend voice to them, it is impossible to know how far that one uncharitable moment's thoughts can reach. Our breath is a great gift of God, which is why our words, even those mumbled under our breath, must be counted and carefully chosen.