SIGNS, Trying to Put the Puzzle Together

“If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart.”

I woke up to the melody of this verse this morning, and it has been on replay in my head since. I cannot tell you why. After some aimless meandering around the house, some banging of pots and baby cuddling, I hunkered down for prayer and scripture reading. It is not like me to do other things before I pray, yet it seemed as though I was avoiding it. Since the aforementioned verse awakened me earlier than usual, I had extra time this morning. So I decided I would read today’s scripture with my prayers.

This was today’s verse:

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.’

‘When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.” (Luke 11:23-25).

This verse has been a theme for me lately. Between this and our priest last Sunday gave a homily saying, “It doesn't say blessed are those are trying to be pure of heart, blessed are those who want to be pure of heart! It says, blessed of those who are pure of heart for they shall enter the kingdom of God.” The only conclusion I can come to is that “Someone” is screaming at the top of “One’s” lungs for me to get to confession and make a “clean home.”

This whole morning has been in slow motion for me. Alexander did not want to go to preschool this morning. He wanted to build train tracks. So I asked Andrew, who would be working at home this morning, if Alex could stay an extra half hour. I left and took the baby to daycare. As I was coming out of the daycare Alexander and Andrew were entering the school. He played for ten minutes and then decided it was time to go. Okay son, if ten minutes of private playtime with Dad is all you needed, we are happy to oblige.

On the way to work, I heard on the car radio that a military transport, C-130, collided with a coast guard helicopter over the Atlantic last night. (Note: I totally got this one wrong. It was off the coast of California.) I freaked out, because that is the plane my sister flies and she is on her way back from Iraq. So I frantically called my parents asking if they had heard from her. Yes, they had. Her plane is broken down in England. Thankfully it was not my sister’s plane, but it was someone’s family, so I prayed for their souls. It so easy to be unsympathetic toward other’s tragedies until they hit home. Love ya’, Sis. Come home safe.

Everything has been out of order today. It seems as though things are out of order to call these signs to my attention. But, I am still not seeing the big picture.

Encouraging Reconciliation and Prayers for the Troops

"In preparing to receive Christ, our Paschal Lamb, Saint Paul commands, 'Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth' (1 Corinthians 5:8). How much more important is it that we eradicate sin from our lives than to eliminate leaven from our homes?" --Graced and Gifted, Kimberly Hahn

This week at my Mom's Group Bible Study, we mostly discussed how to get organized and decluttered. But the sacramental section of this study was about making frequent confession a habit for the whole family. The homemaker should not only make the home clean, but help to make the souls within the home clean. The Church asks us to confess at least once a year, but she points out that if you likened confession to the washing of one's body, if you only washed once a year, there would be definite consequences to the health of the body.

 This passage also made me think about evils that enter our home in the form of main stream culture i.e., programs on television, and cultural practices such as Halloween. I have to make a real effort to make our home a spiritually safe place. A place where we can learn to grow in the Lord, support and foster each others faith and gain fortitude and courage against evil. It is not that we will not suffer attacks. But, our home should be like a fortress armed with all the weapons to do battle. Does that sound crazy? Maybe, with our modern sensibilities I should say it like this: You don't go to play tennis without sneakers, tennis balls and a tennis racket. Likewise, you cannot set out to achieve salvation without the tools and training to do so. You cannot achieve salvation with bad leaven. 

 Prayers for the Troops

My sister serves in the Air Force. She wrote an email to our family saying that she will be deployed a little longer and the morale for her troop is low. She asks for our prayers. I found the following prayer on a site for U.S. Catholic Bishops. Please pray this prayer for them.

 Lord God, Almighty Father,
creator of mankind and author of peace,
as we are ever mindful of the cost paid for the liberty we possess,
we ask you to bless the members of our armed forces.
Give them courage, hope and strength.
May they ever experience your firm support, gentle love and compassionate healing.
Be their power and protector, leading them from darkness to light.
To you be all glory, honor and praise, now and forever.
[and bring them home safely. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.] Amen.