Corporal Works of Mercy

We have such a great group of home schoolers in San Antonio.  We joined a group for Catholic home schoolers (TORCH) this school year and have really enjoyed the efforts of the families to incorporate the liturgy, traditions, religion, and works of mercy into our everyday homeschooling.  I especially love to have my children around others who are of the same faith so they know that we are normal...I must say that we spent many years with our children wondering if we were the only ones or just a small group.  I love all of our homeschooling friends over the years but it nice to be around others who do not need our traditions explained to them all the time.

With all that said...today was one of those days when it all came together and we were able to meet our group at the San Antonio Food Bank.  One of our awesome moms (Sheila) set up this community service opportunity.

In the past, we have worked in small food banks in various towns.  The most we have ever been able to do is move a few cans around or serve a meal.  This is fine and work that needs to be done so we go and help out when we are able.  However, this experience was much more than our norm for several reasons...

A LOT of volunteers...We arrived to find our group alone numbered around 30 adults and children (all over 8 years old other than my two littlest ones who started out in the stroller but eventually were allowed to help) and then there were at least as many from other organizations who also came to assist for the day.  This did not even include the regular volunteers and employees.

VERY LARGE facility with a BIG mission...the building was the size of a warehouse with 30 bays that were used to deliver donations and send out distributions throughout South Texas (16 counties are served through this bank).  They serve over 58000 meals every week!

DONATIONS...no amount is too small or too big...nothing is refused.  The Food Bank receives donations of clothing, furniture, toys and other items as well as food for people and animals.  Any items not food related is distributed to one of 55 organizations associated with the Food Bank.  These donations come from individuals and corporations.  We were told that the facility can hold enough food to last their service area for two weeks.

ORGANIZATION...the Food Bank has regular volunteers and employees who keep the flow of products moving.  We arrived to help in the process.  We were told what to do all along the way.  And we had a small order of 150 produce bags to fill.  Yeah...that was considered a small order!  The produce bags included a head of cabbage, 2 grapefruits, 4 oranges, 4 onions, 4 squash, 2 tomatoes, and 2 peppers.  Our big group were able to complete the task in about an hour.  We were proud of our work...then one of the volunteers told us that every Thursday the group puts together 540 produce bags that weigh 20 pounds each.  They complete this order in about 3 hours!

COMMUNITY GARDENS...with all the donations that come into the Food Bank, it is still not enough to care of all the needs.  That is when the idea to produce their own produce came into action.  I am sure you have all heard of community gardens, but this one is almost 30 acres of garden that is producing year round.  We were able to see artichokes, spinach, cabbage, and more growing in the garden today.  Many of the crops had just been harvested and the ground was turned for the next planting.  This garden is run by volunteers from schools and the community, including several Master Gardeners.   The property is owned by the city of San Antonio and is leased to the Food Bank for $1 per year.  Along side this property is the land that produces crops for Pace picante sauce.  I believe some of this food is donated to the Food Bank as well.

SO MUCH MORE!!!...The Food Bank is also set up to help the community in other ways.  If there is a government agency to help the community, the Food Bank is a hub to obtain those services.  An individual can apply for Medicaid, Food Stamps, Housing, and WIC at their client services department.  The Food Bank offers catering services to help fund their projects.  They have a program to prepare meals for various organizations, including schools.  They provide skill training for the incarcerated through their Second Chances program.  They have a culinary school (16 week course) offered to anyone over 18-years old at no cost.  These are just a few of the programs discussed as we toured around the facility with Bill.  He did a great job making the tour interesting for all of us.  He even let us go into the deep freeze...only for 30 seconds, but that was long enough in below freezing room!

 We had a great time helping today and look forward to helping again.  I was happy to see that we were able to have this group effort in feeding the hungry (one of the corporal works of mercy).  We ended the day with a group yell:

Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope!

A truly Lenten activity that we could all feel good about in the end.  To participate in the corporal works of mercy is a long tradition of the faith.  Here are the ones we strive to teach our children:

• To feed the hungry;
• To give drink to the thirsty;
• To clothe the naked;
• To harbour the harbourless;
• To visit the sick;
• To ransom the captive;
• To bury the dead.

The San Antonio Food Bank covers these works without little left undone.  We were glad to be a small part of that today.

Selfless Service

We had the joy of hearing the All Male Glee Club...AKA...The Singing Cadets sing last night.  We were especially pleased because we were able to see two of our dearest friends perform with the group.  There are actually three siblings in the group together but one had the joy of leading music for a retreat (Aggie Awakening), so he was not able to perform at this concert.

For those of you who have never heard of The Singing Cadets or been to a concert...I say it should be on your must see events...they travel throughout the state and also across the nation and sometimes even internationally!

We traveled about 15 miles to see them but I would make a longer journey to see these young men sing.  In fact, my mom and older brother (Adrian) were able to travel to San Antonio to see the performance.  The group sings traditional hymns as well as Broadway hits and even throw in some modern songs and even some originals.

For our enjoyment, we heard the following songs:

• The Spirit of Aggieland (The opener at all of their concerts, of course!)
• Ave Maria
• Moses by Medema (Here is a link to the song writer's original performance)
• Swinging with the Saints (their rendition of the old time hymns...When the Saints Go Marching In and Swing Low combined)
• Les Misérables medley
• A Salute to the Armed Forces (always in their concerts)
• God Bless the USA 
• Frozen medley (along with dancing snowman!)
• Healer of My Heart (sung by the groups director...he always picks one solo for himself...very beautiful!)
• Go Lovely Rose
• Magical Kingdom in the Sky (an original performed by the Agginizers...a quartet within the group)
• You Keep Coming Back Like a Song (also sung by the Agginizers)
• San Antonio Rose (We were told they sing this song to teach others how to be a Texan!)
• We Ain't Got Dames (A favorite of the group remembering back to when A&M did not have a co-ed campus!)
• I'd Rather Be a Texas Aggie (A great song!)
• Hulabaloo (Aggie song that got the whole audience swaying!)
• The Lord Bless You and Keep You (Always the finale to the concert which includes former members in the audience invited to join the choir on stage.)

The children really enjoyed the concert and wanted to buy a CD from the group.  I did not think it was necessary but they insisted...and even after the two hour concert wanted
to listen to the CD on the way home!  We listened to it more today also.

How does this relate to my theme for Lent?  The director mentioned that the role of he Singing Cadets was to live a life of Selfless Service...and portray this to all they meet.  Not a bad way to live...I am glad to see that they do in fact live up to that code.  I know the young men I know surely do serve God throughout their community and beyond.

Youthful Heroes

Henry and I finished our set of saint dolls.  We enjoyed the process so much that we wanted to paint more.  I never knew this would be so calming.  It is really a cleansing experience to meditate on the lives of the saints and pray for the same virtues in my life.  God please hear my plea for grace to be a good wife and mom!

So...I found some wooden pegs that are about half the size of the ones we obtained for this project.  They make the perfect size for the youthful saints I want my children to learn about and aspire to live like.  There are a lot of bad "heroes" in today's world.  I would love for my children to learn to be more at peace and full of the grace that can be obtained from living a life with God.

Here are a few of the saints we found and a little about their lives:

St. Dymphna...Patron of those suffering for nervous and mental afflictions...her father became mentally unstable when his wife died.  He waned to replace his wife with his 15-year old daughter and when she refused he drew his sword and struck off her head.  Dymphna received the crown of martyrdom in defense of her purity about the year 620.




St Olivia of Palermo...in the 9th century, she was only 13 years old when Muslims raided her village.  They allowed her to live in a cave until they found out she was converting the Muslims to the true faith through miraculous cures.  She was tortured and martyred for the faith.

Blessed Imelda...This patroness of fervent first communion lived during the 1300s.  She had piety beyond her years and begged to receive the Eucharist at an early age but was refused her request.  When she was 11 years old, she was living with a group of nuns and once again asked to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.  One day after Mass, she was so focused on the Tabernacle that the nuns left her in prayer.  A nun went back to check on her and found a sacred host floating above Imelda's head.  She quickly called a priest who administered the sacrament to Imelda.  It is said that she was in such ecstasy from the experience that she died a happy death at that moment.

St. Dominic Savio...born in the 1840's, his only desire was not to commit a sin.  He was given the special grace to love the Lord without doubt and helped other boys to feel the same way.  Dominic is the patron saint of choir boys (He was said to have sung like an angel.) and of the falsely accused (once accused of being disobedient and did not tell on the ones who had committed the act.).  He died from an illness without fear and joy in his heart to meet the Lord.


St. Maria Goretti...a youth in the late 1800s...she remained true to her vow of purity even when a young boy from her village tried to compromise her vow.  He stabbed her to death...she lived for several hours after the attack but insisted on forgiving him of his sin.  She was very concerned for his soul and begged her family and others around her deathbed to help him to know the true faith so he could be with her in paradise.  She was only 11 years old at the time of her death.  Her attacker did convert and asked for forgiveness...he lived out his life at a monastery.

St Agatha..at a very young age she dedicated herself to the service of God.  She refused marriage and the suitor turned her in as a Christian.  She was sent to prison and forced to work in a brothel...when this did not cause her to change her mind, she was tortured.  She died in the year 251 and she is the protector against the outbreak of fire and the patroness of bellmakers (Both of these due to her assistance during the eruption of Mt Etna during her imprisonment.).

Sts. Jacinta and Francisco Marto...two of the children from Fatima who witnessed the Marian apparitions (in 1917).  The visions they received were later witnessed by thousands of people; however, the children struggled with those in authority questioning their resolve to tell of these visions.  This brother and sister pair died within a year of each other due to disease (foretold to them in their visions).  Their cousin Lucia lived for several years after their deaths (dying in 2005) and held many secret messages that have now all been revealed.

St Tarsicius...from the early Church history (third century), he was carrying the Eucharist to prisoners when he was attacked.  He refused to allow the Eucharist to be taken.  He is the patron saint of altar servers and first communicants.

There are many other youthful saints and I hope to make more of these dolls to share the youthful example of grace given to those of us at all ages of life.

SIDE NOTE:

While I was painting these youthful saints, Henry decided to paint hobbits and a dwarf from the Lord of the Rings.  He also painted the fifth doctor on the fly when he heard his uncle was coming to visit!  He is having a lot of fun.

Trust

I did something a little different this weekend...I did something for myself.

What does this have to do with trust?...you might ask.

Believe me...leaving my family for three day (actually ended up being four by the time you count in my regular day of volunteer work I did on Monday) to fend for themselves.

I had to give up my control of the household and TRUST that all would be OK.

This was HUGE for me...but I did it and the house did not fall apart.

So what did I do for three days?

I am now a certifiable (not certified as I need to actually have some case studies first) postpartum doula!  I have learned and shared my own experiences with others in a setting that allowed for growth.  I was with women of like minds who want to care for women during pregnancy, birth and postpartum to ensure the mother is cared for during her special time.

We were asked at the time, what it meant to us to be a doula.  For my own attempt, I felt called to write this post.  I include it in the realm of trust as there is so much more to being a doula than just allowing a woman to assist a mother after a birth.  There is a degree of trust that plays into the relationship that is formed between doula and mother-client.

As a postpartum doula, I will try to nurture the mother during one of the most special times of her life.  She must trust that I am not going to be intrusive or take over her role as mother.  She will need to walk the fine line of acknowledging my experience without feeling like she does not have any knowledge to share.  Incorporating the joy of the moment with the realization that she is vulnerable to this new role she is living.  I, in turn, need to be sensitive to her insecurities and guide her on her journey.

I will work to educate the new mother, as well as those who will continue to support her, as the need arises.  This means I will be available to assess her situation and refer her to outside sources as needed.  This would include other professional caregivers that I have gathered as resources for her care of self and baby.  This means she will need to trust me in as she learns this new role.  At a time when she might be vulnerable, she will have to ask for help.  She will need to trust that I am keeping her situation confidential.  She will also need to trust that I have the professional resources to help her.

She must also trust that I seek only to ensure that she has all the tools necessary to be successful and confident in her role as mother.  I have no desire to take over her role or make all her decisions for her.  As we were told in our class, "We are working ourselves out of job!"  We leave after our time with the new mother and child (and family), trusting that we have given the mother-client the trust in herself to be the best mother she can be.

As for the instruction, I just enjoyed being with these women who have strength through their experiences.  I was joyful in learning from the variety of experience shared.  And, I felt blessed to know that I could share from my own experiences.  Most of all, I feel confident that I can share my knowledge with other women in their mothering journey.

A big thank you to all the women in the class who trusted the group enough to share their personal stories.  Also, I was so thankful to Jesse for making her way to Texas from Oregon to share her expansive knowledge with us.  She also did an amazing job of facilitating the workshop so we felt safe in our sharing with others.  I look forward to working with all these women in the future!

This trust can carry over to other realms as well.  Specifically to my recent blog theme, I know that there are many times when it would be nice to have an experienced mentor in my faith journey.  I liken the role of a doula to the duties of a spiritual director.  It seems funny that I have worked to fulfill both of these roles through certification.  Although it will not always be the case, I can see these two roles intertwining.  Building the trust of clients in both situations is important as it builds a relationship upon trust to share without judgment.  The idea also is to guide not advise in both situations.  Ultimately, the decision of the client is theirs...we are only there to assist.  The client must trust that we are benevolent in our assistance.

Obedience

We are taught from an early age to obey our parents.  With children ranging from 2 to 22 years old in my house, I see the stages of this at all levels.  And let us not forget the adults!

"Honor thy father and thy mother..." (Exodus 20:12a)


It is such an important commandment that a promise is attached to it...

"...so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." (Exodus 20:12b)

Of course this is about the parents but it also goes a step further if we realize that the importance of this commandment is to honor authority.  The idea of being obedient is the first step in this authority. This obedience begins at a young age and we learn from our parents.  This continues into adulthood as we expand that obedience to those in charge of various situations in our lives.  Ultimately, the obedience relates to the obedience we have in our morality, which should lead us to obedience to God.

We have recently had to deal with disobedience that caused destruction to our home.  I won't name names, but it was very frustrating experience because the child made matters worse by not want to take responsibility for the results.  This has become a growing concern in our home and quite frustrating.

This reminds me to go back to my blog post on patience!  I know things happen and there will be rebellious behavior and disobedience, but to not take responsibility is not an option...if you know you have done something wrong (and even if you do not think it is wrong) at least stand up and face the consequences.

I always like to use the story of the two sons who are asked to be obedient found in the Gospel of Matthew 21:23-32.  The first son is asked to do the task and refuses but then does the work anyway.  When the second son is asked to do a task, he agrees to be obedient and then does not follow through with the task.

As an adult, this often happens when caring for a parent.  In fact, this just happened to me.  My mother called and asked if I could help her put up a new light fixture.  It was not a complicated job and she knew I had done it before in my house.  I told her that I would try to do the job but I could not get to her house in the near future.  I really was putting her off because I knew that she had sons who could do the task who also came to her house weekly.  Why couldn't they do the job?

However, after I got off the phone, I could really sense the need to do this task for her.  She had asked me...why was I not being obedient?  So, I gathered up the children and we made a day trip to see my mom and help her with her light.  I was so glad I did this and she was so thankful as well.  The best part was being able to go see her and talk with her...so different than talking on the phone.  I realize that sometimes it is not the task at hand so much as being present.

Do we make ourselves present to God?  Do we take the step closer to Him to enrich our relationship?
I go back to my destructive child...it was not even the fact that he broke the garage door...very expensive fix...but it was the fact that our relationship is broken...he took away from our trust by his disobedient choice to not be responsible.

I must be merciful as he will hopefully turn his decision around and accept his responsibility.   I hope I am ready to be patient with him and do this...I feel that I must as I know that God has done this for me.

Service

This Lent it seems that my desire to find focus is found in various themes.  Today I felt a strong desire to understand service to others.  Did you know the Bible has over 70 verses that relate to a servant's heart?  Check out the link by clicking the words!  My favorite verses are:

"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:3-5)

and my all time favorite:

"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)

So maybe it was fitting that our home school group arranged for us to visit a police station for a tour today.  What better example of providing service, even at the risk of their own lives!  We braved the cold weather (Who are we to complain since it was only a short stint of freezing temperatures and no snow or ice?!) and headed to the station.

We were met by a female officer who has been on the force for almost 20 years.  Officer Beverly looked gruff but she was ready to meet with the children and share her tales.  No question was too absurd as she remained patient with children from 2-18 years old (along with the moms and one dad...thank you Michael for joining us!).  I said later that she did such a great job because she was able to keep it interesting for the older children without getting the younger ones to scared!  She talked about her belt of tools that included taser, pepper spray, ASP baton, flashlight and glock pistol.  She shared stories of being out on patrol and using her tools.  Thankfully, she has never had to use her gun on patrol and has never been shot.  The boys especially enjoyed seeing the demonstration of the taser gun (no one was hurt in this demonstration!).  She also took us on a tour of the police department, which included her patrol vehicle, the booking area, the holding cells and the various offices.

Later in the day, Michael took the children on a different service oriented experience.  I talk about our wonderful library all the time.  These ladies at our library also provide us service without fault each week (well every day!) and we might take for granted all they do for us.  We cannot imagine showing up the library and not having them there for our needs.  They go out of their way to make our experience the best it can be.  They provide us books, of course.  However, they also go to great lengths to provide an atmosphere ripe for learning and enjoyment.  Our library brings us special programs on a regular basis.  We know that if we need to find something to past the time, the library is just a short way away and we are never disappointed!

On this particular visit, the library provided bird houses for the families to paint.  Each month we are given a family book to read and activities related to the book are provided throughout the month.  This month the book was The Year of the Book.   A great read introduced to us by our library!  Zaira and the boys really enjoyed painting their birdhouse together.  Our youth librarian stayed late to ensure everyone had what they needed for this project.  She gave up her own time to make this happen!  She always has a smile on her face and eager to help the children in any way.  We will go back tot he library tomorrow and she will be there again to read to the pre-schoolers and teach them about the letters of the alphabet.  We love our librarians and so thankful for them all!

As I look back on the day, I realize that we are all given opportunity to have a servant's heart.  Do we take the time to find that way that God has placed in our path?

Right now Henry and I are working on creating our saint dolls.  This is a perfect example of being a servant.  I am so thankful that our new friend Jenny has organized this project.  We are able to provide 48 saints to each family participating.  What a wonderful service to others!  We are giving our time and talent to create these dolls.  We will be sharing with all the families (from across the country!) and this will be a gift that will shared with others as well.  I know that our dolls will be used to teach and share about the saints for a long time to come.  Most of all, our little ones will be able to play with these dolls and learn through play.

Believe it or not (I hardly can myself!)...I have completed my little saints today!  I am so excited to have them all in a row together.  I just need to put a clear coat on them to be ready to share with others.  Henry is close behind me and will have his done tomorrow!  We were so motivated by the experience that we created two more dolls for our collection...a Sacred Heart of Jesus and an Immaculate Heart of Mary!  We hope to add others to the collection as well...we need to order more dolls.

Mother Teresa and Maximilian Kolbe are perfect examples of a servant's heart.  Mother Teresa gave all her to the poor and dying of India.  She was willing to care for the "untouchables" in a society that wanted to ignore their existence.  She gathered support and formed a new order of nuns who would also dedicate their lives to this service.  Mother Teresa truly cared for the least of this world.  Maximilian Kolbe had a desire to spread the truth in a world of corruption.  He was willing to risk his life for this truth.  He, in fact, gave up his life and was entered into the worst of prisons under Nazi care...Auschwitz concentration camp.  He then gave up his life to save a man from death.  He gave the ultimate gift of service to save the life of another.  How is this possible to give so much for others?  What gave these saints and others the courage to serve others?  What must we look for in order to have a servant's heart?  We must ask for the grace from God!  We are nothing without HIM!
I also wish to have a servant's heart....to give of myself for others.  Creating in me that desire and the ability to give of myself daily...for family...friends...strangers.  Amen!

For one day, I wanted to be standing before God and hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:23)

Sacrifice

Many devotionals of Lent discuss the idea of sacrifice.

I know that this is important as Jesus sacrificed all for us on Good Friday.  He showed that the benefit far out reached any pain or suffering that the sacrifice caused when he was resurrected on Easter Sunday!

The same is true of our own sacrifices.  Part of a true sacrifice is not desiring any thin in return and not being prideful in the action.

Today, I placed myself in the shoes of Jesus.  I have sacrificed my time in the effort to help women in difficult crisis pregnancies.  I give one day from my "weekend" to counsel with women who are struggling.  I enjoy this time talking with the women and assisting them in any way I can.

However, sometimes...no matter how much sacrifice...I am not in control (This goes back to that patience and trust in God's plan.)  It is the decision of the woman to choose.  It is hard to see a woman choose to end a pregnancy.  There is a feeling of sadness...regret...wondering if I did all that I could to assist her.

I suppose Jesus feels this way when He has given everything and we avoid his grace.  He is also saddened.  He has to watch us sin and turn away from that sacrifice.

It hurts...I will not forget the face...the hardened heart to my words of encouragement to choose life.

I only have the words..."the situation is taken care of" running through my mind.

I can only beg God to wipe the memory from my mind...tell me what to do for the next time...regroup and be ready for the next time.  AND...most of all pray that the woman finds healing.  I know that she is numbed of this pain at this time.  I pray that she will have someone to turn to when she is in need.

Then I felt a desire to go out in the cold and place myself before the clinic that she probably went to for "help."  I prayed at the Planned Parenthood for two hours...begging God in prayer to turn the women away.  Asking all around to "be silent no more."  I actually began humming a song that was not familiar to me as I prayed and felt a calm over me...then the words came to me that I do not recall fully now that I am home.  But the idea was to save us from the harm of abortion and our sins of all kinds.  I felt the theme of sacrifice of ourselves in order to profess the truth of abortion...to be silent no more when babies and women are hurting.  We must find a way to help them and help them turn away.  I guess it was just meant for that moment because when my time at prayer was complete, I could not remember the words.

May God bless those who are hurting that they may find healing.  May God bless all those who stand in prayer before the abortion clinics so they do not mind the sacrifice, regardless if it comes in the form of bad weather, personal affliction, illness, etc.

As I continue to work on my saint dolls, I cannot forget that Mother Teresa was always prepared to hear God's message.  She was willing to sacrifice...to share love...to be patient.  I pray that I can learn from her example.

Today I finally tried to paint a face...but not on my Mother Teresa dolls.  I created a Immaculate Heart of Mary doll (as I had an extra peg doll).  I think she turned out nice.  Henry is going to match this with a Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Now I am convinced I can finish this project soon.  So exciting to see the transformation of the little wooden pegs into saints!