Random Thoughts

Heard on the Church steps...

"Wow, that Mass was only 40 minutes!" said the young mother of two, one at her side, the other in her arms.

"Ya!" said the husband. "That's pretty amazing."

"We'll need to come back here more often." she exclaimed!

Sadness washed over me as I shook my head. While I could understand that for this couple with two kids an hour can seem extremely long,they seemed to be missing the very point of being there. It's being in the presence of God himself that make this time of the week very special. Whyis it so hard to take that time to reflect on the goodness of God and His blessings? Can an extra twenty minutes actually make your day any better while twenty more minutes before the Creator can change you in ways you least expect.

I understand it's hard with two kids. But God placed you in a position to make a difference in their lives and to help form their spiritual lives...even at this young age!

I'm also frustrated with our pastor who seems to be put out by having to celebrate the Mass. It's really strange to observe because if you get him one-on-one he's very personable and willing to carry on with a discussion instead of appearing to be distracted and wanting to move on with his
duties. But before the congregation celebrating Mass is seems soooo disinterested. It distracts me. Keep me in your prayers.

Adoration Reflections...

As I read through my breviary during adoration I reviewed the story of the Saint of the day. I continued to review the upcoming days of the week. I noticed for instance the St. James died in the year 62. St. James was the bishop of Jerusalem in the early days of the Church. I thought, "Gee, he died before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70!" Then I thought I'd started at the beginning of the year and look through to find St. Peter. (Clearly didn't have his feast day memorized.) I found St. Thomas and learned that he ministered in India. No known year of death
had been recorded. As I read on it became abundantly clear that some saints had been influenced by saints of their day. The Church honors all of them. Being a visual learner I thought it would be interesting to see a timeline of all the saints, see where their lives overlapped and note the events
of the period, imagining how it influenced their faith and spirituality. Then it dawned on me that there have been thousands of people that have dedicated their lives to Christ and the Church and come & gone, all for the love of Jesus. And that these thousands were only the ones recorded. How many millions lived lives that honored God, reflected their love for Jesus and the many they have influenced?

Dunkin Donut watering hole...

Anyone that knows me knows that I visit the Dunkin Donuts store on Saturday mornings after Adoration. As I sat there last weekend enjoying their coffee with cream and 2 Splenda and a plain bagel, toasted with butter, I was observing the behavior of a little boy across the aisle. He waited quietly and patiently for his parents to get through the line and bring the goodies to the table. His first donut hole was the one covered in white powdered sugar. The second one glazed. By the third one he was becoming more active. By the time I left he was running from his table to the exit and back several times a minute. Clearly, the sugar had kicked in...

What is the name of the dark chocolate donut with chocolate frosting on it?

Heard in the confession line...

"Which confessional is our pastor in?" I thought,

"Should it matter?"