Three Tragedies

They say that tragedies come in threes...and in 'our' world this week we can vouch for that!

On Monday, we were in shock that an act of terrorism could occur within our nation.  The bombings at the Boston Marathon were a surprise and so hard to understand.  Those people were doing no one any harm...just watching a race...a sign of endurance...man versus self...the greatest test!

I have always found the challenge of a marathon intriguing.  Believe it or not...I even considered running a marathon in my day!  A lot would need to change for me to do something like that today...but you never know.  So, I always have an interest in the results at the end of a big race like the one in Boston.  Maybe it is a way to live that moment of crossing the finish line...the dream of finishing the big race!

The tragedy of losing three innocent bystanders and the injury of almost 200 people is outrageous!  We still do not know who the man was who performed this atrocious act.  However, I cannot imagine such anger and evil that would do these things!  I pray for the freedom of evil in this world knowing that only the might power of God can answer this prayer and knowing that the free will of humanity will not allow it to be!

Then last night we learn of the terrible explosion in West, Texas.  Once again many are injured and there are those who have died!  The only connection I can see is the human connection for those who mourn the loss of their loved ones.  To think that the ground shook for miles around and many thought it was an earthquake that hit central Texas.  It is hard to believe that a small town would need to go through such a difficult moment.  Living in a small town most of my life...I know the idea of every one knowing everyone and there is not a member of the community that is not affected by this tragedy!

And...now today...I returned home to find out that the tragedy hits a little closer to home.  We have lost an amazing woman who I have grown to love as if she were my own grandmother!...Miss Mary Jane...I can not imagine our little church family without you!  She was a true lady...a wonderfully dedicated wife, mother and grandmother.  She dedicated her life to caring for others at home and at our little church!  My biggest regret will always be that I did not have the opportunity to go by and see her at the hospital.  I am sure I will write a longer post about her in the days to come.

I look back at these three tragic events of the week...one at a national level...another at the state level...and finally at the local level...all of these events were personal in a different way but all makes me feel numb inside.  And yet the only real answer comes from the same source...God!

We must continue to rely on God in all circumstances.  God is in control.  He will lead us to the finish line...He will lead us home...He will be there during life's tragedies!  Praise be to God!

Three Priests and a Bishop

We had a wonderful message from Fr. Joseph this morning at Mass.  The Gospel message was from John 21:1-19 about the meeting of Jesus with Peter and the other Apostles after fishing.  The Apostles caught 153 fishes after the guidance from Jesus...so many that the nets were close to breaking!  Then the Apostles ate a meal with Jesus.  Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him THREE times!

Father told us that there were several details that had an important message deeper than at the surface level.

The number of fish (153) represents the number of nations known at the time of Jesus.  This was also the third recorded time Jesus appears to the Apostles.  At this meal, Jesus asks Peter three times if He is loved by Peter...this is thought to counter the three times Peter denied Jesus upon His arrest.

Father spoke of an interesting point about this thrice spoken affirmation...the first two times Peter is asked, Jesus uses the word love...agape...which is a higher level of love set aside for adoration.  Peter responses with the word love...philia...which is a term set aside for friendship.  When Jesus asks the third time He uses the term set aside for friendship.  This seems to reflect that Jesus accepts Peter at the level he can give.  The questions also seem to lead to Jesus passing on the role of the Good Shepherd to Peter in the response to this affirmation of faith.

The boys and I were happy to hear this message of faith.  We had gone to Mass as usual because it was their turn to altar serve.  However, today is the day the Bishop was set to baptize and confirm the students at St. Mary's.  So, we went home for a short period of rest and then headed back into town so the boys could serve again.  This time the boys were surrounded by other altar servers as well.

We arrived early to go over the roles each server would have for the Mass (We had done this earlier but just to review.)  The various duties were spread out among them all.  Sean had the job of carrying in the processional cross.  Henry and Edward would carry in the candles.

We recently had a change in priests so Father Roland wanted to be assured that everything was ready.  He was concerned about making everything right for the Bishop and those receiving the sacraments.  Maybe he seemed a little rough but he had in his mind how it should all work.  Things were changed...some parts taken out and others left.  Even furniture was rearranged.  Good thing we arrived early to review the details!

Then the Master of Ceremonies arrived and wanted to know all the details again!  He just wanted to make sure everything was right for the Bishop and those receiving the sacraments!  Sweet Gillian was getting a little stressed by this point...after all, she just wanted to make sure everything was right for the Bishop and those receiving the sacraments.   Watching from a distance...I just said a little prayer that all of those involved would be calm and enjoy the moment.  Everything would be wonderful and those who needed to remember this night would only remember that they were receiving Jesus into their lives!

Mass began and the same readings that we had in the morning were heard again by our family.  I always love to hear what the Bishop will say to tie in the message to the sacraments.  I have never been disappointed and tonight was no different.  He spoke about the renewal and rebirth of those who have faith in Jesus.  Looking back at the Gospel reading...he told us that when he thought about counting those fish...it must have been slimy and messy but it was important...that if they went to so much trouble that day must have counted for something important to remember!  Just as today (and everyday) we must take the time to make it count as we walk in faith.

Just as the Apostles were going about their business (fishing), those of us who have received Jesus in baptism, will go about our business but we will be changed.  We cannot go back to our old lives...we are renewed...given rebirth in Christ...and we will need to live our lives filled with faith.

And it was at this time that the Bishop called the two forward to receive the gift of Baptism.  It was a beautiful moment to see them enter into the Baptismal promises, which revealed glowing smiles on their faces!  Then the group to be confirmed stood and the laying of the hands took place by the Bishop, Father Paul and Father Roland.  I always love that moment as the room seems to be transformed by the Spirit.  The joy of the moment cannot help but take me back to my own confirmation...a very powerful moment.  Later I spoke to several of the confirmands and they all said the same thing...I am so happy!  That is the Spirit!  I am so glad we could be there for that moment.  Just as the Bishop said...this day counted...May they never forget that moment!


Everything was wonderful and there was such a rich feeling of the Spirit that filled the little campus chapel.  We now have two new sisters in Christ through Baptism and many confirmed in the faith.  We then were able to enjoy a wonderful meal...potluck style...with the  Bishop.  Everything was just as it was supposed to be.

Changing priests can be stressful at times.  Transition...change...it is challenging for the best of people. Father Roland and Father Paul have completely different personalities...they grew up in different cultural settings.  I cannot help but compare these two priests to our own priest (Father Joseph), as well as the Bishop.  Three priests and a Bishop...one from Ireland, one from northern United States, one from India and one from East Texas.  They each bring something different to their role of leadership, and yet in the end, they all bring us the same wonderful gift of the sacraments.

What people do not remember is that when Father Paul arrived, there was a transition period also.  We had to learn Father Paul's ways and we learned to love his quirks.  We will feel the same about Father Roland soon, and we will forget about this time of change.  God has given us a special gift to have priests who are dedicated to teaching us the faith.  Praise God for what we learned from Father Paul and what we will learn from Father Roland.  God is good....all the time!  All the time...God is good!

SIDE NOTE:  The Knights of Columbus were at Mass tonight in their full regalia.  Zaira had fallen asleep just before Mass began and woke up just at the time of the Baptism.  One of the Knights was standing right beside us with saber in hand.  I am not sure what she thought about this but she would not let him out of her sight the rest of the evening!

Bees and Butterflies!!

The boys and I presented information about honey bees today at the local university.  We had so much fun sharing what we know with about 200 children (K-1).  There were actually about 600 children and about 100 adults in the large coliseum throughout the day.  We had schools from across the region!

These groups were sent to four stations by rotating shifts in the morning and then again in the afternoon. Our station covered bees and butterflies.

We gave our usual presentation that emphasizes the importance bees for pollination, the types of bees found in a hive, and the life cycle of a bee.  We always end with the chance for the group to look for the queen bee in our observation hive.  Not only do they observe the queen in action, but also view the workings of a bee hive.  Today it was rainy so the bees were a little difficult.  The queen remained hidden...surrounded by the worker bees.  However, a few of the groups were persistent in their hunt for the queen and found her!  Great job!

There was also a station about the life cycle of a tree (set up like a time machine...very cool!).  Another station was set up like a game to learn about the parts of a tree (heart wood and cambium, bark, roots...lateral and tap, branches and crown).  The children had to pretend to be a tree that was being attacked by the dreaded beetles.  I thought it was so cute because teh bark (children surrounding the heartwood) had to bark at the beetle to scare it away!  They also dressed up one of the adults to show the different parts of the tree.  The last station was about the needs of a tree...the children made bracelets to show the various needs (yellow-sunlight, brown-soil, green-nutrients, blue-water, clear-air).

We thought we would only be set up for the morning but ended up staying all day!  The younger boys and Zaira enjoyed the stations.  They also wore themselves out running up and down ...and around the coliseum!

We will not be able to go back tomorrow but maybe on Friday.  It is so great to share our love of bees with others!

While we were inside...the weather turned cold!  Henry had to get a picture of the pond that had a nice fog due to the drastic change in temperature!

Jalapeno Tree!

The boys treated us girls to a dinner after a wonderful Sunday Mass!

I love Divine Mercy Sunday!  It is such a fitting way to end the octave (eight days) of Easter!  And also some of my favorite readings falls on this Sunday.

The first reading from Acts 5:12-16...the story of Peter healing the lame by the touch of his shadow...truly a gift from God to witness to those in view!

Also, a reading from the Gospel of John 20:19-31...the story of doubting Thomas.  It gives me hope to know that those who do not see yet believe are blessed with special graces.  That's us!!!!  WOO-HOO...I need all the graces and blessings I can get!

Then we met at The Jalapeno Tree for a nice meal and lots of fun conversations.  We were seated in the party room, which was awesome because...we felt like we were having a great time just as if we were at a party!

The boys thought the sign on the wall was funny..."Free enchiladas tomorrow!"

We also had so much food leftover AFTER having our fill...we will have good leftovers tomorrow!  So I guess the sign was right!  LOL!

The boys had been given a gift card at Christmas by our dear church friends Larry and Doris.  I am not sure how we held on to it for so long...but I think we have found our new favorite restaurant!

AND...

It looks like we might have a new house guest in the near future...more on that later!

Intro to Birding Revisited

I think we struggle with bird watching because it is so hard for our boys to sit still for long periods of time.  So, whenever we hear about a birding event that introduces the experience to others...we cannot help but get to the event!

Today was no different!  We headed out to Caddo Mounds to learn about birds...we learned so much about birds but also enjoyed other topics along the way!

Dr. Brent (the boys dubbed him Dr. Bird!) was an enthusiastic teacher who carried his love of birdin on to us.  Sean could hardly leave his side most of the day and even then it was to tell me about something Dr. Brent told him!



The day started out with the basics of ID techniques.

Field Markings such as:

• Head
• Wingbars
• Color of Legs
• Wing/Tail Shape
• Eye Color
• Bill Shape

Also:

• Habitat
• Silhouettes
• Flight Patterns
• Wing Positions
• Body Size

Brent also told us that the most important items to help with ID were a good pair of binoculars and a good field guide.  I hope to get these items in the near future for our avid bird watcher!

We took a little break to prepare for the real fun of the morning...our nature bird walk!


I was amazed at how Brent was able to hear birds and know the type of bird...especially when I had not even heard a sound!  He also showed us how phish for birds.

Here is the list of the birds we discovered throughout the day (An asterisk signifies that we only heard the bird but did not site it.):

• Yellow-throated Vireo
• Mockingbird
• Scissor-tail Flycatcher
• Turkey Vulture
• Broadwing Hawk
• Cedar Waxwing
• White-eyed Vireo
• Black Vulture
• Northern Perulla 
• Ruby Crowned Kinglet
• Great Blue Heron
• Tufted Titmouse *
• Red-bellied Woodpecker *
• Carolina Wren *
• Northern Cardinal
• Red-headed Woodpecker *
• Lark Sparrow

American Crow
Blue Gray Gnatcatcher
Cara Cara (rare bird for our area...coming up into North Texas)

There might have been more birds mentioned but Brendan, Zaira and I took a more leisurely approach to our nature walk.  We tried to keep up but nature can be very distracting at times!

Along the way we also had Ms. Ruth and her daughter (adult), Pam, with us.  Pam was very kind and shared her knowledge of edible plants.  I enjoyed hearing about these plants...the birds...AND the museum director who was telling about the history of the park!  It made my head want to explode from all the information!

We are so thankful for Ms. Ruth for sharing this event with our group and for the fact that all the other plans for the day were canceled so we could attend!  We had an amazing time with all the other birders and with the museum director of the Mounds!

Henry also took a lot of nature pictures that were not related to birds.  I especially liked the butterfly pictures but he also took flower pictures.  I have posted some of these on my Facebook page.

Touring of the Caddo Mounds was an additional adventure of the day.  We were only able to stay for a short time with the promise to return in the near future.  Mr. Anthony did a great job of keeping the information about the history interesting and simple.  We walked along the path to the mounds as Anthony shared information.  Learning about the way of life for the Caddo made me appreciate the modern day conveniences bu

t also appreciate their life style.

We look forward to making the full tour soon!

Two Men and a Lady

I have not had a lot of time to reflect on the week as I like.  That is why I am thankful for this blog...it gives me a way to think about the day and how grateful I am for the gifts and even the trials that come my way along with my family.  I do not mind sharing because I like to think that it is my way of showing how AMAZING God is in my life and how He can be in your life also. 

I have had to spend a lot of time at funerals the past few weeks. As I posted...we have lost quite a few of our fellow parishioners recently.  I thought it was interesting that as I hugged the recent widow of one of those lost, she said: "I knew it was coming but it was still so unexpected!"  Funny how those words can apply to any of us.  We all know that death will come to us...yet it always comes so unexpected!  Will we be ready for that day?  We need to be...yet we do not know when it will come.  How can we prepare for that fateful day when we meet Jesus in judgment?  

Faith...Hope...and Charity.  I once was told (after hearing the reading from 1 Corinthians 13)...the reason Charity is the greatest gift is because it remains into eternity.  Faith is the gift that we receive to remind us that we need to believe in God even when we can not sense Him.  Hope is the gift given to us to help us remember that we must trust in God's promise for eternity in paradise.  These two gifts will not be needed once we have arrived in Heaven...we will know without doubt as we stand before God that He is present and He has kept His promise.  Only love will remain will remain...a gift freely given by God to us and we return that love!  

Now in the last few days we have had to say good-bye to some dear people in our lives...so I entitled this post two men and a lady because I wanted them to honor them with a special post.  

On Monday, we had to send Michael back to the airport for his trip back to work overseas (hoping it is his last trip!).  It was so hard to let him go again...the boys were in a panic... we even decided to take off an extra week from school because I knew we would get little done with book work this week.  

Maybe Michael does not know how much he is loved...after all ... all he hears is the frustration of a crazy woman over the phone!  So, I just want him to know that we get crazy and frustrated because we love him so much...we do not want to see him go!  He makes life fun and funny and we want him to be close to home all the time.  So Michael...God bless your time away and may He bring you home quickly and safely!  Your family needs you and cannot imagine life without you!

Now...we also found out that the most amazing...Godly...couple who came into our lives two years ago...Fr. Paul and Mrs. Key...were going to be moved back to their home base just north of us about two hours.  We were heartbroken but I saw it coming many weeks ago and had warned the children that we might see some changes.  I can tell you that I wish my hunch was wrong but they are such a blessing to the campus ministry that I am not surprised that they are needed to start a new group.  

Father Paul has given some profound and thought provoking homilies over the weeks he has been at the chapel.  I have learned so much and I love how he can bring the Gospel message to the college students with ease...then save a little extra tidbit for the young ones...as well as lifting it up for the more experienced adults.  His message is always clear and shows that the real message is Jesus Christ.  He is humble and kind to all and gives us all the time needed to guide us.  

Mrs. Key is a true lady and such a joy to be with at the chapel.  She is a Godsend to all those who enter into the chapel.  She is always trying to find ways to include everyone at the chapel activities.  She is a prayer warrior that can be counted on to offer up her time lifting up our worries and cares to the Lord!  I cannot imagine a sweeter lady with such humility and goodness.  

The joy of these three...oh how we will miss!....however, it is such a blessing to know that we can be with them.  Michael will return home...Fr Paul and Mrs Key are not that far away.   God is good!  He will help us find a way to adjust.  May God bless them in their journeys so we can continue to be them!

The Loss of Another Good Man

We spent the majority of the day (yesterday) with the family of James Joseph Shannon.  His funeral was yesterday and we wanted to be there to let the family know that we supported them in their sorrow.

We met the Shannons two years ago when they began attending church with us at our little country church in the woods.  We fell in love with James and Shirley Shannon because they were just the loveliest couple that shared their love of each other with everyone they met.  They also had a love for their Irish heritage which we enjoyed sharing with them.

This couple had been married for 60 years and had eight children (5 boys and 3 girls) as well as many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Their children would often come to visit them and attend church with them, so we got to know a lot of the family.  And the Shannons were so kind that they became psuedo-grandparents to our children.

However, all of this was only on Sundays and I regret to say we did not take the time to grow deeper in our knowledge of James before his passing last Thursday (Holy Thursday).  If we had, we might have had opportunity to hear him tell stories of his many years of adventure in the Navy, with NASA, and just funny stories of raising a big family!

That is what we heard yesterday for the first time!  Oh...how I regret not getting to know him more!

I thought the obituary for this faithful man showed how important his belief in God was his greatest legacy to his family.  They spoke of how much God blessed James throughout his life.

God blessed James at birth with a loving family...a dad and mom, along with three sisters.

God blessed James with the love of his life...Shirley!

God blessed James with a large family of his own.

God blessed James with a wonderful career...as an engineer with the Navy and NASA (In 1961, James joined Manned Space Program (which became NASA) and began an adventure to put a man on the moon. It was such an exciting and challenging job that he often said he would have done it for free.)

God blessed James with grandchildren and great-grandchildren!

God blessed James with many opportunities for family gatherings.

God blessed James with wonderful friends.

God blessed James with the knowledge of right and wrong and the fortitude to live by his convictions.

God blessed James with wonderful caregivers.

God blessed James with a strong faith.

And God blessed ALL of US by letting us keep him for so long!  This was addressed to his family but I think it can be extended to his church family as well.  He will be missed and we will not forget his amazing smile and caring personality!  He will be an inspiration for us for many years to come!

The priest who presided over his funeral spoke of the meaning of his name...James Joseph...builder and increaser...James Joseph Shannon definitely lived up to his name...he built more than material goods and increased more than monetary means while he lived on this earth.  He built a legacy of increased love and joy where ever he went.  May God's perpetual light shine upon him!

We also enjoyed our time with the family after the funeral.  I loved sitting with little Maggie who shared a song she wrote for her Grampa at the funeral.  She was so sweet and we left her with a message that her Grampa would not be forgotten in our little part of the world!