We can do better than this

Today after Mass there was a Youth Ministry showcase. They served refreshments and had some displays set up showing some of the fun activities they have participated in, etc., trying to get kids to join up for the Fall. My kids aren't old enough for this group - it's a middle school through high school group - but we went back just to enjoy the refreshments. One thing they had displayed on the table was a T-shirt that they had made up for the kids last year. It had the name of our parish on the front with a small cross and then on the back it had this quote:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" ~ Ghandi

What do you think of that? All of the wonderful saints the Catholic church has produced over the centuries -hundreds! maybe thousands! - and all of the many great things they have said, and we quote Ghandi. Seriously??? I mean, I know he was a great guy, he was wonderful, and had wonderful things to say and lived a very holy life, but let's face it; not only was he not Catholic, he wasn't even Christian!!!

So I pulled aside the Youth Ministry Coordinator to ask him about it. He kind of laughed and agreed it was crazy. He said they will probably change the shirts next year. But here's what happened: he gave the kids the assignment of finding a great quote for the shirts. The deadline was coming up and no one had even done any research. Finally it got to where they had to choose something and someone had a flyer from Catholic Relief Services and the Ghandi quote was in that. So they decided to use it. Now, obviously, my next question, of course, is what the heck is Catholic Relief Services using a Ghandi quote for when they have the zillions of great saints and saint sayings to quote from also???? What is going on with that?

So I think I am going to write CRS a letter. And I plan to send along some quotes from actual Catholic saints that they might want to consider using instead. I'll pass them along to the youth too. Anyone have any favorites they'd like to share? Or anything particularly appropriate if the message is about changing the world? I just can't get over it. All this rich history of wonderful Catholic teachers and theologians, mystics, martyrs...and they have to go and quote Ghandi. That is just unbelievable.

Moving Forward

I drove past THE house today - the house where our friends died. There were workers outside painting it and it appeared a crew was inside too. That makes sense. The house was rented, so the owners probably need to move on. I'm sure they want to erase the cute little yellow house that was splashed all over headlines. They are painting it a mossy green. It doesn't look nearly as cute, but I get it. I'm sure that the owners need the income. They can't just let it sit vacant. It all made complete sense to me that they would need to move forward. Life goes on.

Life goes on. Suddenly it dawned on me that I really need to too. I realized that moving on is also part of God's plan. What an amazing design He has made. We cannot dwell in the past - in sadness and despair. He has made it so that we must move forward. This time of year is the perfect season to illustrate it. Spring, the season of new life. Leaves are budding on trees, flowers are blooming. I thought about death and I thought how God does not want us to dwell on our losses. Yes, people die, some too soon, but every day new babies are born too. This whole world was created for us and everything in it moves us forward and gives us hope. So I am going to drop this melancholy tone and get on to other things. Thank you all for bearing with me during this crazy time. Your prayers have helped immensely, more than you will ever know.

No idea what to say...

It's been a long time since I've written. I am still shook up, to be honest, about the events of the last few weeks. I'm still shaken that such a nice family could come to such a tragic end. I can't say my faith is shaken, because it remains strong, but I don't really feel the same anymore. I don't feel the happy-go-lucky freedom of writing down and recording my every inane thought.

I will tell you that today at the pre-school they had a tree planting ceremony for my son's friend and his little sister, who also attended a pre-school program there. It was really nice. All of the kids came out and the school director lead us in some prayers and then the children sang a little song. Henry was very apprehensive during most of the talking; he was hiding behind me and didn't want to be with is classmates, but during the singing he was real animated, singing and dancing. The family was there - the children's grandparents. It was hard to watch the grandma crying during the ceremony. Afterwards, I went over to give her my condolences and I ended up breaking down crying and hugging this woman I've never met before. She said she liked Henry's dancing. My heart broke as all I could imagine is that she must be thinking that her grandson will never have a chance to dance and sing around a tree again.

Here's a story for you. Whenever I ask my kids what they did at school this day, and they say "nothing," then I always tease them that they must have just stood still the whole day then. Henry, who really likes to be a wise guy, almost always answers the question,"What did you do at school today?" by just saying "we stood very still until it was time to go home," just to be a Mr. Smarty-pants. So today I asked him, "What did you guys do after I left this morning?" and he started in with the usual, "Nothing, we stood very still," and I started to laugh. But he wasn't finished with his answer today. Today his whole answer was, "Nothing, we stood still. We always just stand still. Until someone dies. Then we plant a tree." I had no idea what to say. That's how I spend most days now - with no idea what to say.

(P.S. Please take a moment to listen to the song playing on my blog. This is the song that is getting me through this tragedy. I think you will like it.)

A wake up call:

(Go to the sidebar and pause music to be able to hear the video)