Confirmation and "A World Unbound by Time"

Usually, I imagine eternity as time never ending. I imagine it like an infinite number, like this one. This means when I think about heaven I think of a place where time goes on and on and on. Interminable. It sounds so dull.

This Pentecost, our younger son was confirmed in the Catholic Church. During the liturgy I had this powerful, visceral sense of eternity. I felt it all the way to my bones. It was not the kind of eternity I usually imagine, but the kind of eternity I have come to understand, a world unbound by time.

Confession Is Scary: NOT!

I wish friends who are not Catholic or friends and family who left the Church years ago could have been with me tonight at my parish. I wish I could have taken photographs of what I saw, but because it was evening, my cell phone camera would not cooperate. Instead, my words will have to suffice.

My parish hosted a Lenten Penance Service, on this the Tuesday of Holy Week. Five priests, all affiliated with the parish, attended, along with maybe 200 or 300  people of every possible walk of life. The vast majority of folks were under 30, with middle aged people and elderly folks sprinkled in. Our sons were the only teenagers I saw there. We all sang, we listened to the Gospel reading about the Prodigal Son, we listened to an Examination of Conscience, and then all said the Act of Contrition together. Then, one by one, we each went to Confession. The whole process took my family more than two hours and I have never felt so uplifted by this sacrament, nor so well-prepared for Easter.

Priests Who Listen: Why My Parish Is Wonderful

I grew up in the Catholic Church and I never really left. But I know far, far more people who are former Catholics than who are practicing Catholics, people who have left the Church in disgust, disappointment and disenchantment for a wide range of reasons.

Our pastor, Fr. Tom Odorizzo, C.O, who leads a group of Oratorian priests,  is offering an opportunity to anyone who wants to talk with him about their problems and struggles with the Catholic Church. He is calling it an "Open Invitation to Dialogue." How great is this?

On the Feast of the Holy Family, What Does a Holy Family Look Like?

My family went to the 5 p.m. Mass last night so our older son could participate in a 12-hour music making marathon at a friend's house. His friends do this at least once a year and come out with a couple of songs. It's a good thing we went to that Mass because since this morning I have been laid low by what I would delicately call a "nasty stomach bug." Believe me, that is a euphemism.

Yesterday's homilist, pastor Fr. Tom Odorizzi, C.O.,  told us that families striving for holiness support one another, love one another and look out for one another. And he added that growing up in a family of four children, his family, unfortunately, didn't always reflect that ideal. Neither did my family growing up. Neither always does the family my husband and I are raising. But from my perch here in the master bedroom, between trips to the bathroom, sips of diet ginger ale and copious amounts of sleep, I have realized that right now, my family is a blessing to me that  reflects those ideals of love and charity.