The past weekend was very busy.
Friday evening I saw "The Day after Tomorrow". It was good.
Saturday started with a Mass at a nearby Church. Then some running around that included such things as buying gifts, getting a hair cut, and fixing my LMC pin. Then spent the night with a friend.
Sunday I went to be with her as she made permanent private vows with her confessor. Then on to a reception. In the evening we went to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception where I was in the offertory procession representing the LMCs. A friend of mine was there who I took home. There my car battery died. It was jump started.
Monday was Mass, a stop for a bagel and soda with friends, and then a half of a day waiting for my electrical system to be checked and to buy and install a new battery. My old one saw me through 100,000 miles so I guess it did its job well enough.
Tuesday I was not feeling well. I guess I had overdone on the weekend and I had not taken my medicines as needed. Also my back was in agony. I took 2 Aleves and felt a lot better. Also went again to the same movie. What I liked about it was the amount of hope!
Val
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Again it has been quite a while since my last post. I have had good news in the past several weeks. I was able to be present for one of my fellow LMC's renewal of vows. Her parish priest was delegated to take care of the function. Also one of my friends will be making profession on Pentecost. I am looking forward to being there.
More good news. Today Pope John Paul II will be canonizing 6 new Saints. One of them is Blessed Gianna and another is the founder Don Orione (sp?). Anyway when I went to Rome for the beatification of the Spanish Martyrs I stayed at a "retreat" house from his congregation.
Today has been busy and will continue to be busy.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
More good news. Today Pope John Paul II will be canonizing 6 new Saints. One of them is Blessed Gianna and another is the founder Don Orione (sp?). Anyway when I went to Rome for the beatification of the Spanish Martyrs I stayed at a "retreat" house from his congregation.
Today has been busy and will continue to be busy.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Friday, April 23, 2004
It has been a long time since I have blogged. Easter has come and gone and the Schola sang for the 2nd Sunday of Easter. On Easter it was 40 years since the first time I visited a Catholic Church. It was April 11, 1964 and that year it was "Low Sunday" and was the Open House at what was Holy Family Catholic Church in Margarita, Canal Zone.
Tomorrow I visit my spiritual director and I feel that I haven't sufficiently considered the things that I was to pray about this month.
One of my co-workers is getting ready to go to India and he asked me what he could bring back with him. My first thought was Sister Nirmala.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Tomorrow I visit my spiritual director and I feel that I haven't sufficiently considered the things that I was to pray about this month.
One of my co-workers is getting ready to go to India and he asked me what he could bring back with him. My first thought was Sister Nirmala.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Friday, March 26, 2004
It seems that one of my daily "Spiritual Exercises" these days is checking on the latest news of Father Groeschel. For a long time I have considered him one of my mentors. His injuries when he was crossing the street also remind me of how vulnerable we all are. As vehicle drivers we have to remember that as soon as we are out of our car we become pedestrians. I have seen folks in parking garages that zip around forgetting that they just were or are just about to become the very pedestrians whose lives are endangered by folks like them. I was nearly creamed by one of these drivers several years ago and that makes me very careful these days.
Today one of my coworkers for many years is leaving the project to become an independant businessman. We will miss Young Kim very much. He is a peson with a very good work ethic. Wish I were more like him.
Yesterday I attended the "Mad Hatter" dance and had plenty of fun. I have to be very careful ... Jim Wass is sneaky and called a LEFT touch a quarter ... yech! Tricky Guy!
Need to get back to work.
Today one of my coworkers for many years is leaving the project to become an independant businessman. We will miss Young Kim very much. He is a peson with a very good work ethic. Wish I were more like him.
Yesterday I attended the "Mad Hatter" dance and had plenty of fun. I have to be very careful ... Jim Wass is sneaky and called a LEFT touch a quarter ... yech! Tricky Guy!
Need to get back to work.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Another busy day!
This morning I prayed Office of Readings and Morning Prayer and spent time meditating on the readings of today. I always enjoy the image of the stream flowing from the temple that becomes a mighty river. To me the image is that of grace flowing from the wounded side of Christ.
And then I had to take Candy for her Spring clip. When she comes back tomorrow she will be quite the "foxy" lady. She will look like she had lost 10 or 15 pounds (perhaps she will - she is very shaggy right now). She did not want to go up the stairs from the basement. She loves the basement but her hips have quite a bit of arthritis. But she loves to ride in the car ... it is almost as if she were sitting on the passenger side and saying "Now you go in that direction!"
Today the status meeting ran until 12:30 so I was unable to attend Noon Mass at St. Dominic's. I ate lunch at my desk and perused a House Plan book. I think that in a sense I am a frustrated architect. I like to look at plans and see how they would work with my lifestyle. I look for a washer drier near the master bedroom, a pantry near the kitchen, and a room that would make a good prayer room/chapel. I also look for things that I think are stupid planning. Does the person have to go through the living room/dining room when entering the house with groceries? I can remember several major catastrophes when I was growing up where something that stains badly would fall through a tear in a bag and splatter all over the floor. Fortunately we did not use carpet much in the Canal Zone. But up here? Yech!!
Oh well, getting ready to head for Square Dance Class for the Belair Square Cats. I do angeling there and love it. If you have to exercise you might as well have fun doing it!
I am listening to taped conference by Tessa Bielecki (sp?) on Spousal Prayer. I believe the title is "A Passion for God" but I could be wrong ... look up "spousal prayer" on Google with advanced search using the phrase and you will find it. It is well worth ordering, especiialy if you like St. Teresa of Avila or St. John of the Cross.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
This morning I prayed Office of Readings and Morning Prayer and spent time meditating on the readings of today. I always enjoy the image of the stream flowing from the temple that becomes a mighty river. To me the image is that of grace flowing from the wounded side of Christ.
And then I had to take Candy for her Spring clip. When she comes back tomorrow she will be quite the "foxy" lady. She will look like she had lost 10 or 15 pounds (perhaps she will - she is very shaggy right now). She did not want to go up the stairs from the basement. She loves the basement but her hips have quite a bit of arthritis. But she loves to ride in the car ... it is almost as if she were sitting on the passenger side and saying "Now you go in that direction!"
Today the status meeting ran until 12:30 so I was unable to attend Noon Mass at St. Dominic's. I ate lunch at my desk and perused a House Plan book. I think that in a sense I am a frustrated architect. I like to look at plans and see how they would work with my lifestyle. I look for a washer drier near the master bedroom, a pantry near the kitchen, and a room that would make a good prayer room/chapel. I also look for things that I think are stupid planning. Does the person have to go through the living room/dining room when entering the house with groceries? I can remember several major catastrophes when I was growing up where something that stains badly would fall through a tear in a bag and splatter all over the floor. Fortunately we did not use carpet much in the Canal Zone. But up here? Yech!!
Oh well, getting ready to head for Square Dance Class for the Belair Square Cats. I do angeling there and love it. If you have to exercise you might as well have fun doing it!
I am listening to taped conference by Tessa Bielecki (sp?) on Spousal Prayer. I believe the title is "A Passion for God" but I could be wrong ... look up "spousal prayer" on Google with advanced search using the phrase and you will find it. It is well worth ordering, especiialy if you like St. Teresa of Avila or St. John of the Cross.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Monday, March 22, 2004
This past weekend was very busy. I did get around to Evening Prayer but NP was a bust. I got back home from the WASCA festival at about 12:30 PM ... and did not wake up again until 9:00 AM. I ran over to the Church and joined the group for fellowship after the communion service which I missed ... Deacon Dick is extremely fast. Afterwards I went to breakfast with Adrian. If it is pretty this coming Saturday we will head out to Downs Park for a walk and "picnic". Then I went home for a short while before going to be lector at St. Joseph's followed by heading out to WASCA again. This time I stayed for what is known as Diehard Mainstream. This is almost continual dancing for almost a full hour. Lot's of fun. Yesterday I slept almost to noon before getting up and preparing to go to Washington to sing at a Gregorian Chant Mass at St. Anselm's Abbey at 4:00. Some of the schola members sat around and just chatted for a while afterwards.
On the way home I decided to go to see "The Passion of the Christ" again. This time I went with a more prayerful attitude. Right before seeing it I reached into the pocket of my jacket and found my finger rosary. So during the whole movie I prayed "My Spouse, my Beloved" on the Hail Marys. It hit me much more strongly ... This is how much my Spouse loves us ... he allowed all of this to happen to Him out of love for us. On the Our Fathers I was not as consistent. Frequently I just kissed the Cross. "Father, forgive them they know not what they do." How often I mess up on the little things!
When I was leaving the theater I must have looked very preoccupied. Anyway one of the Mall security officers asked if I was OK. I shared that I had just seen the Passion. He said "At least you survived it!". He shared that someone had a heart attack watching it last week. I don't know the outcome but do warn people that this movie needs to be seen with care as to suitability for the individual. I just hope that if the person did die that he/she died with repentance and love for Our Lord.
This morning I woke up late. But at work the first thing I did was create the CD with all the data for all the states. And arranged for one of my next tasks. This is being done during lunch time and I have to quit now so I can grab something to eat at my desk.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
"Love makes the lover like unto the Beloved."
On the way home I decided to go to see "The Passion of the Christ" again. This time I went with a more prayerful attitude. Right before seeing it I reached into the pocket of my jacket and found my finger rosary. So during the whole movie I prayed "My Spouse, my Beloved" on the Hail Marys. It hit me much more strongly ... This is how much my Spouse loves us ... he allowed all of this to happen to Him out of love for us. On the Our Fathers I was not as consistent. Frequently I just kissed the Cross. "Father, forgive them they know not what they do." How often I mess up on the little things!
When I was leaving the theater I must have looked very preoccupied. Anyway one of the Mall security officers asked if I was OK. I shared that I had just seen the Passion. He said "At least you survived it!". He shared that someone had a heart attack watching it last week. I don't know the outcome but do warn people that this movie needs to be seen with care as to suitability for the individual. I just hope that if the person did die that he/she died with repentance and love for Our Lord.
This morning I woke up late. But at work the first thing I did was create the CD with all the data for all the states. And arranged for one of my next tasks. This is being done during lunch time and I have to quit now so I can grab something to eat at my desk.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
"Love makes the lover like unto the Beloved."
Friday, March 19, 2004
Happy St. Joseph Feastday!
Talk about the strong, silent type! He was one.
Woke up at 3:45 am. Some "cross" prayer. Basically I preached myself a sermon in Spanish about Christ and His love for us. I aimed the sermon at jovenes. It really moved me to tears. I am much more emotional when I pray in Spanish. I wonder if hearing what the Holy Spirit moves me to say can count as listening?
So far today OR, Med, MP, Mass, DP. I only hope I get to EP and NP.
Tonight I am attending the evening session of the WASCA Square Dance and Round Dance Festival. This year I am not going to be staying at the Hotel but will go home and come back to it tomorrow. I really cannot afford the extra money, such as having "Aunt Kathleen" board and groom Candy and a hotel rate of about 99 a night. This time I will only be paying the fee.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Talk about the strong, silent type! He was one.
Woke up at 3:45 am. Some "cross" prayer. Basically I preached myself a sermon in Spanish about Christ and His love for us. I aimed the sermon at jovenes. It really moved me to tears. I am much more emotional when I pray in Spanish. I wonder if hearing what the Holy Spirit moves me to say can count as listening?
So far today OR, Med, MP, Mass, DP. I only hope I get to EP and NP.
Tonight I am attending the evening session of the WASCA Square Dance and Round Dance Festival. This year I am not going to be staying at the Hotel but will go home and come back to it tomorrow. I really cannot afford the extra money, such as having "Aunt Kathleen" board and groom Candy and a hotel rate of about 99 a night. This time I will only be paying the fee.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
I am finding work with Oracle Reports both fun and frustrating. Considering that I have had no education on the subject and basically just going in and doing maintenance on other peoples code you can perhaps understand the frustration part.
Earlier today Mass and MP.
"I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." Today Father Newman gave a talk on the Law basically pointing out that there were two parts to the Law - the Ten Commandments and the Ceremonial laws (my terms not his). Jesus is the fulfillment - he is the sacrifice.
Well, in a few minutes Ruth will get here and we will drive to St. Anselm's Abbey for Schola practice for Laetare Sunday. My voice is still not back to normal. It catches and I can't get a note out and then mysteriously I can sing the next one. It feels really wierd.
This is going to be a very full weekend. Tomorrow night there will be the beginning of the WASCA square dancing festival. I am going to try to attend all three nights but am going to have to ignore the days due to work. So this morning I began by trying to begin my laundry. It will take a lot of cleaning to get my outfits ready since I use them during the week - I wear the prarie skirt length skirts.
Today I shared http://praiseofglory.com with the USACV eGroup. I think the site has a lot to offer for those with contemplative leanings. I advised them to check out the info in the section on the Song of Songs. This is a book of the Bile that is highly recommended to us consecrated virgins living in the world for spiritual reading. There is so much written about it but Gerard has mentioned several books that I have not yet tried.
Still waiting for Ruth ...
Will stop now. Knowing how things work I will no sooner start to pray Evening Prayer and she will walk in and I will have to interrupt my prayer.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Earlier today Mass and MP.
"I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." Today Father Newman gave a talk on the Law basically pointing out that there were two parts to the Law - the Ten Commandments and the Ceremonial laws (my terms not his). Jesus is the fulfillment - he is the sacrifice.
Well, in a few minutes Ruth will get here and we will drive to St. Anselm's Abbey for Schola practice for Laetare Sunday. My voice is still not back to normal. It catches and I can't get a note out and then mysteriously I can sing the next one. It feels really wierd.
This is going to be a very full weekend. Tomorrow night there will be the beginning of the WASCA square dancing festival. I am going to try to attend all three nights but am going to have to ignore the days due to work. So this morning I began by trying to begin my laundry. It will take a lot of cleaning to get my outfits ready since I use them during the week - I wear the prarie skirt length skirts.
Today I shared http://praiseofglory.com with the USACV eGroup. I think the site has a lot to offer for those with contemplative leanings. I advised them to check out the info in the section on the Song of Songs. This is a book of the Bile that is highly recommended to us consecrated virgins living in the world for spiritual reading. There is so much written about it but Gerard has mentioned several books that I have not yet tried.
Still waiting for Ruth ...
Will stop now. Knowing how things work I will no sooner start to pray Evening Prayer and she will walk in and I will have to interrupt my prayer.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Monday, March 15, 2004
Just finished with my weekly update of MS Project ... first draft ... tomorrow I will tighten it up. Then will do some more documentation prior to implementation of several tasks.
Waiting for my friend Ruth, so that we can go off together to practice for Laetare Sunday. The two of us are doing the verse of the Gradual. If you ever get a chance come listen to the Friends of St. Anselm's Abbey schola in Washington, DC. We are not very big but we work on what we do. Usually the group sings at a Novus Ordo Latin Mass every 3rd Sunday of the month.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Waiting for my friend Ruth, so that we can go off together to practice for Laetare Sunday. The two of us are doing the verse of the Gradual. If you ever get a chance come listen to the Friends of St. Anselm's Abbey schola in Washington, DC. We are not very big but we work on what we do. Usually the group sings at a Novus Ordo Latin Mass every 3rd Sunday of the month.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
A weekend of rest. Rest? Well anyway very little work. "Read" several books on tape and relaxed. Went to communion service on Saturday and Mass and Adoration Sunday afternoon. Spent a lot of time looking for Oracle books on Oracle Reports. There was nothing I felt was good enough to purchase.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Friday, March 12, 2004
Kind of late today. Getting ready to go home. Today I have had fun - NOT! I tried twice to install Oracle Reports on my computer. Finally it worked. Then I used WinCVS to bring the production code where I could use it. It does not compile?! So now I need to learn more about Oracle Reports. I already know the line of code that needs changing ... but why doesn't production code compile? AHHHH the mysteries of Oracle.
I hope I have a chance to make up a few more hours before close of business Monday ... the end of the pay period. I am in the hole and do not need to go much deeper in the hole since I need to be able to go on Retreat this summer.
I hope I have a chance to make up a few more hours before close of business Monday ... the end of the pay period. I am in the hole and do not need to go much deeper in the hole since I need to be able to go on Retreat this summer.
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Just a few words. Yesterday I was home ill. Temp went up to 101.7 ... for me that is very high since normal hovers around 97.0 . But I dragged myself over to the mission last night ... sat in the very back to stay away from folks ... didn't want to pass the cold to folks. Thank God I didn't do a bunch of sneezing or coughing while there. Didn't feel much like praying yesterday. It was all I could do to hug what I call my bed crucifix.
Today I am back at work. Hasta luego!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Today I am back at work. Hasta luego!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
OR, Med, MP, Mass
At the status meeting I started with sneezing, etc. I thought I was allergic to something in the conference room. But after Mass I began to have a fever ... so I went home. Slept til 6:30 and then went to take Sue to the Tri-parish mission. Her engine is gone.
Now I am just briefly blogging because I do not want to lose a day. Bye 'til tomorrow.
At the status meeting I started with sneezing, etc. I thought I was allergic to something in the conference room. But after Mass I began to have a fever ... so I went home. Slept til 6:30 and then went to take Sue to the Tri-parish mission. Her engine is gone.
Now I am just briefly blogging because I do not want to lose a day. Bye 'til tomorrow.
Monday, March 08, 2004
Yesterday was something else again.
Early AM I called Sylvia and Sue about going to the LMC meeting. Sylvia was feeling well ... Please pray that she stays well. And Sue volunteered to drive. The meeting was held around noon. The meeting was very lively with much discussion of "The Passion of the Christ". I am certainly going to see it again ... I missed some of the symbolism.
So after dropping Sylvia off Sue and I were on the way north on DC 295 (the Kenilworth Expressway). Sue's car overheated at just about the right spot to move off to the side. There are not very many spots with shoulder and we were at just about a perfect spot.
The car was towed up to Capital Toyota (near Landover Hills) and Sue's daughter came and picked us up. So all in all the trip was around 11 1/2 hours. I laid down for a few minutes and it turned out that I woke up in the middle of the night.
Had another "Pink Sister" dream last night. It was really a combination Pink Sister and college dorm type of dream. Really weird! What I noticed was how much "stuff" I had. I think it means "SIMPLIFY!".
So far today OR -- yesterday was Med, Mass, DP, and EP.
Early AM I called Sylvia and Sue about going to the LMC meeting. Sylvia was feeling well ... Please pray that she stays well. And Sue volunteered to drive. The meeting was held around noon. The meeting was very lively with much discussion of "The Passion of the Christ". I am certainly going to see it again ... I missed some of the symbolism.
So after dropping Sylvia off Sue and I were on the way north on DC 295 (the Kenilworth Expressway). Sue's car overheated at just about the right spot to move off to the side. There are not very many spots with shoulder and we were at just about a perfect spot.
The car was towed up to Capital Toyota (near Landover Hills) and Sue's daughter came and picked us up. So all in all the trip was around 11 1/2 hours. I laid down for a few minutes and it turned out that I woke up in the middle of the night.
Had another "Pink Sister" dream last night. It was really a combination Pink Sister and college dorm type of dream. Really weird! What I noticed was how much "stuff" I had. I think it means "SIMPLIFY!".
So far today OR -- yesterday was Med, Mass, DP, and EP.
Sunday, March 07, 2004
Well today is LMC day! In this area - actually close to 50 miles away - we have a meeting of the Lay Missionaries of Charity. It is becoming more and more evident that there is a bit of a problem with the rule of life. When I joined the LMCs there were temporary vows followed by vows for life. Now with annual renewal that can be a problem. What if the person is too sick to come to the meeting at the date of the annual renewal? And about the 9 monthly meetings during the year? What about our sick and suffering members? Should they be forced to come to those meetings? What to do?
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Saturday, March 06, 2004
Med, OR, MP, Mass, DP
Went over to the church and prepared for Mass by praying the office and made thanksgiving for Mass by also praying the office. I cried (silently of course) during the Mass ... as I somehow felt strongly about the life cut short by illness but also knowing that it had been a life well-lived.
Later I went over to Laurel to pick up the book I had ordered. Then I went to Columbia Mall. I have joined in the Build a Bear craze. My stuffed animal is "Sandy" a golden retriever. She has a cowboy hat and red bows ... a red shirt and blue denim skirt and "blue denim" sandals. She also has a St. Patrick's Day outfit.
Got to quit for now. Have to go back out in a few minutes.
Went over to the church and prepared for Mass by praying the office and made thanksgiving for Mass by also praying the office. I cried (silently of course) during the Mass ... as I somehow felt strongly about the life cut short by illness but also knowing that it had been a life well-lived.
Later I went over to Laurel to pick up the book I had ordered. Then I went to Columbia Mall. I have joined in the Build a Bear craze. My stuffed animal is "Sandy" a golden retriever. She has a cowboy hat and red bows ... a red shirt and blue denim skirt and "blue denim" sandals. She also has a St. Patrick's Day outfit.
Got to quit for now. Have to go back out in a few minutes.
Here it is another morning ... woke up late.
Today instead of the Saturday Communion Service at 9:00 am there will be a Funeral Mass at 10:00 am. I miss the sense of community that the Communion Service has. I wonder who we lost now? Things have been rather rough in the last few months. But one thing ... a Funeral makes us realize that we are not here forever. Are we ready to meet the Lord? Since Funeral Masses have their own readings I will take time to meditate on today' Lenten reading.
My companion cat "MagnifiCAT" is staring at me. She probably wants something and is trying to send me messages that I am too dense or too lazy to understand. I truly love the old girl. This spring she is 14 years old and for her age she is doing remarkably well. She finally curled up and is taking a nap. Her only fault is that she hates the youngest cat. He is extremely large and is very intimidating to her. He weighs in at a little over 20 pounds but based on his shape he is not too fat. His name is Shadow and he does follow me around. To give Maggie (aka MagnifiCAT) some peace he is excluded from the bedroom where miss Maggie is the chief bratty cat.
My computer is set up in the bedroom so that I am encouraged to check eMail etcetera. Out of sight, out of mind. It is 8:00 am now and I now need to take some prayer time before the Mass. Hasta luego!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Today instead of the Saturday Communion Service at 9:00 am there will be a Funeral Mass at 10:00 am. I miss the sense of community that the Communion Service has. I wonder who we lost now? Things have been rather rough in the last few months. But one thing ... a Funeral makes us realize that we are not here forever. Are we ready to meet the Lord? Since Funeral Masses have their own readings I will take time to meditate on today' Lenten reading.
My companion cat "MagnifiCAT" is staring at me. She probably wants something and is trying to send me messages that I am too dense or too lazy to understand. I truly love the old girl. This spring she is 14 years old and for her age she is doing remarkably well. She finally curled up and is taking a nap. Her only fault is that she hates the youngest cat. He is extremely large and is very intimidating to her. He weighs in at a little over 20 pounds but based on his shape he is not too fat. His name is Shadow and he does follow me around. To give Maggie (aka MagnifiCAT) some peace he is excluded from the bedroom where miss Maggie is the chief bratty cat.
My computer is set up in the bedroom so that I am encouraged to check eMail etcetera. Out of sight, out of mind. It is 8:00 am now and I now need to take some prayer time before the Mass. Hasta luego!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Friday, March 05, 2004
Happiness is a completed test plan and test. Especially with information being given to me in dribs and drabs. Don't have time yet for praying the office so I will skip MP.
I took my extremely shy Dancey Dog (Candy) out for a walk this morning. Didn't want to go back home. The odor had that wonderful after-a-rain freshness. The breeze in the trees was great and I heard the sound of an owl in the distance. Didn't see the little young black tomcat this morning. He usually comes to greet me although he is shy of Candy. He is black with a few white hairs on the front of his chest and a white "nappy". I think he is around a year old.
Hasta luego,
Val
I took my extremely shy Dancey Dog (Candy) out for a walk this morning. Didn't want to go back home. The odor had that wonderful after-a-rain freshness. The breeze in the trees was great and I heard the sound of an owl in the distance. Didn't see the little young black tomcat this morning. He usually comes to greet me although he is shy of Candy. He is black with a few white hairs on the front of his chest and a white "nappy". I think he is around a year old.
Hasta luego,
Val
Just briefly ... sent "Accountability eMail" to Carolyn ... I did accomplish the refrigerator clean out.
Had interesting dream last night. I was dressed in my pale blue with white stripes uniform from my old Tai Chi school and encountered others in the area with same. About that time I woke up. What's the deal? Is my body telling me that it is time to return to Tai Chi? I am getting flabby.
I overslept this morning so prayer time will have to be at Noon. Bye for now!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Had interesting dream last night. I was dressed in my pale blue with white stripes uniform from my old Tai Chi school and encountered others in the area with same. About that time I woke up. What's the deal? Is my body telling me that it is time to return to Tai Chi? I am getting flabby.
I overslept this morning so prayer time will have to be at Noon. Bye for now!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Thursday, March 04, 2004
What a day! The joys of programming ... and the joys of completeing testing of the addition or correction of 5 error codes. Changing the codes was a nothing ... the testing was difficult. Oh for the good old days of fixed length records on the mainframe. Sending data in an ascii file is a royal pain. Loaded a new text editor that lets you know where you are in the record.
Heading for exercise! Val
Heading for exercise! Val
Mass and DP
Just got back from St. Dominic's. Pray with perseverance! I love the story of Esther ... especially her bravery in approaching the king in order to save her people. Her name will be remembered always. As a Lay Missionary of Charity there is a prayer I pray frequently. There is more to it but the hardest part is as follows:
O Jesus, by the wound of your Sacred side give me the grace of Perseverance in your holy service, in this Society and a martyr's death.
Mother Teresa said that she would give martyr's to the Church and she has. I hope that I would be brave if the situation would arise that would bring about martyrdom.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Just got back from St. Dominic's. Pray with perseverance! I love the story of Esther ... especially her bravery in approaching the king in order to save her people. Her name will be remembered always. As a Lay Missionary of Charity there is a prayer I pray frequently. There is more to it but the hardest part is as follows:
O Jesus, by the wound of your Sacred side give me the grace of Perseverance in your holy service, in this Society and a martyr's death.
Mother Teresa said that she would give martyr's to the Church and she has. I hope that I would be brave if the situation would arise that would bring about martyrdom.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Working
My job is getting somewhat biblical. We have a feature called lockout that is keeping me from testing. At least I know that the feature works. I get error messages based on that. The biblical text: "Let your left hand not know what your right hand is doing." (or something to that effect). So I sent out an eMail letting folks know I was going to unlock my test state if I didn't get a response by 10:15 AM. I am frustrated
Back to the "grindy crunch".
My job is getting somewhat biblical. We have a feature called lockout that is keeping me from testing. At least I know that the feature works. I get error messages based on that. The biblical text: "Let your left hand not know what your right hand is doing." (or something to that effect). So I sent out an eMail letting folks know I was going to unlock my test state if I didn't get a response by 10:15 AM. I am frustrated
Back to the "grindy crunch".
OR, Med, MP
Now an explanation of the abbreviations above: I am doing this as an accountability issue. Sometimes I get lazy and so I want to know if I have prayed various parts of the Liturgy of the Hours, etc.
This morning's Office of Readings has a 2nd reading dealing with being a shepherd. One point was that we are all to be shepherds and that we are not to look on anyone as lost or beyond hope. While I was reading the image came to me from a painting I had seen one time. It portrays Jesus as a shepherd who is leaning down a steep mountain side rescuing a sheep.
In my meditation on the readings from the Mass what I get is "pray". Somewhere I read "You do not receive because you do not ask."
And once again during Morning Prayer I came across one of my favorite psalm texts. Consecrated persons especially take note:
My heart is ready, O God,
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.
Awake, my soul,
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.
Going to work ...
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Now an explanation of the abbreviations above: I am doing this as an accountability issue. Sometimes I get lazy and so I want to know if I have prayed various parts of the Liturgy of the Hours, etc.
This morning's Office of Readings has a 2nd reading dealing with being a shepherd. One point was that we are all to be shepherds and that we are not to look on anyone as lost or beyond hope. While I was reading the image came to me from a painting I had seen one time. It portrays Jesus as a shepherd who is leaning down a steep mountain side rescuing a sheep.
In my meditation on the readings from the Mass what I get is "pray". Somewhere I read "You do not receive because you do not ask."
And once again during Morning Prayer I came across one of my favorite psalm texts. Consecrated persons especially take note:
My heart is ready, O God,
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.
Awake, my soul,
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.
Going to work ...
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
EP and NP
This evening my friend Ruth and I rode over to St. Anselm's Abbey. Here we are in the First Week of Lent and are practicing for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday). Gregorian Chant is alive and well in Washington, D.C. The Friends of St. Anselm's Abbey have been active for many years and currenty are sponsoring a Mass on the third Sunday of each month.
Someday I am hoping to be able to publish a book on the internet (or on paper) with music for the Liturgy of the Hours. Please pray.
Just a few minutes ago I checked my eMail and found that I had received an eMail from The Rosary Shop. In it they included a link to their page on kneelers. I have a kneeler but it is extremely rickety. It is very old and needs a lot of work. So I will probably buy one for my prayer room. They look very good.
Need to get to bed ... morning comes very quickly. Good Night!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
This evening my friend Ruth and I rode over to St. Anselm's Abbey. Here we are in the First Week of Lent and are practicing for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday). Gregorian Chant is alive and well in Washington, D.C. The Friends of St. Anselm's Abbey have been active for many years and currenty are sponsoring a Mass on the third Sunday of each month.
Someday I am hoping to be able to publish a book on the internet (or on paper) with music for the Liturgy of the Hours. Please pray.
Just a few minutes ago I checked my eMail and found that I had received an eMail from The Rosary Shop. In it they included a link to their page on kneelers. I have a kneeler but it is extremely rickety. It is very old and needs a lot of work. So I will probably buy one for my prayer room. They look very good.
Need to get to bed ... morning comes very quickly. Good Night!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
OR, Med, MP, Mass, DP
During meditation this morning I was thinking of St. Katherine Drexel. She was on a trip out West when she saw the condition of the Native Americans and her heart was moved to respond. Mother Teresa saw needs and responded to them. What do I do when I see a need? How do I respond? It doesn't have to be big things. I see someone whose arms are full and I open the door for him or her.
I like the book of Jonah. Poor Jonah goes "kicking and screaming" on his journey to Nineveh. (Note: He did go ... ) He did not expect the people to respond but they did. It is a great story! Many times I too go kicking and screaming. If I could only be so quick to repent.
Back to work.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
During meditation this morning I was thinking of St. Katherine Drexel. She was on a trip out West when she saw the condition of the Native Americans and her heart was moved to respond. Mother Teresa saw needs and responded to them. What do I do when I see a need? How do I respond? It doesn't have to be big things. I see someone whose arms are full and I open the door for him or her.
I like the book of Jonah. Poor Jonah goes "kicking and screaming" on his journey to Nineveh. (Note: He did go ... ) He did not expect the people to respond but they did. It is a great story! Many times I too go kicking and screaming. If I could only be so quick to repent.
Back to work.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Mass, DP, EP and later NP
Washington gets more congested every day. Since I worked through Mass time I decided to leave early today and go to the National Shrine for Mass. Got there a bit late. Tomorrow I will make up the work time.
I "angeled" at a square dance class this evening. Because of the house work yesterday I am very sore today. I am so tired I fell asleep sitting in an uncomfortable chair praying Night Prayer. So this is going to be very short. Good night!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Washington gets more congested every day. Since I worked through Mass time I decided to leave early today and go to the National Shrine for Mass. Got there a bit late. Tomorrow I will make up the work time.
I "angeled" at a square dance class this evening. Because of the house work yesterday I am very sore today. I am so tired I fell asleep sitting in an uncomfortable chair praying Night Prayer. So this is going to be very short. Good night!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
OR, Med, MP
This morning's Office of Readings (the giving of the Our Father was the Gospel today) had a reflection on the Our Father by St. Cyprian in which he said: "God willed that many things should be said by the prophets his servants, and listened to by his people. How much greater are the things spoken by the Son." Today would be a good day to sing the Our Father in the Liturgy, both at the Mass and in the Office. It would also be a good day to take the prayer and reflect on it a word or phrase at a time. Magnificat also has a meditation from St. Peter Chrysologus. He says among other things, "May our hearts perceive God as our Father!" Personally I find that having a copy of Magnificat is a great aid to meditation.
Also this morning I was thinking about how stubborn Pharoah was in letting the Israelites go. Now stubborn is something I truly understand. How many times I don't want to hear or try new things! I am at an age where I have to continually stretch or be stretched in order to keep on working. These days I am concentrating on what it takes to build a website ... I am pretty much a beginner in this area. Databases I understand, websites with graphics ... a bit more difficult.
Today I had to work through the Noon Mass so I am having a brief late lunch and am writing. I hope to get to Mass later this afternoon at the Shrine.
One of these days I would like to share with you all one of the most beautiful areas of the world... Panama. I am a 2nd Generation Canal Zone Brat actually born in Panama City and lived in just about every townsite in the Canal Zone. One of my greatest joys was going to El Valle de Anton in the mountains of Panama. Bellisima!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
This morning's Office of Readings (the giving of the Our Father was the Gospel today) had a reflection on the Our Father by St. Cyprian in which he said: "God willed that many things should be said by the prophets his servants, and listened to by his people. How much greater are the things spoken by the Son." Today would be a good day to sing the Our Father in the Liturgy, both at the Mass and in the Office. It would also be a good day to take the prayer and reflect on it a word or phrase at a time. Magnificat also has a meditation from St. Peter Chrysologus. He says among other things, "May our hearts perceive God as our Father!" Personally I find that having a copy of Magnificat is a great aid to meditation.
Also this morning I was thinking about how stubborn Pharoah was in letting the Israelites go. Now stubborn is something I truly understand. How many times I don't want to hear or try new things! I am at an age where I have to continually stretch or be stretched in order to keep on working. These days I am concentrating on what it takes to build a website ... I am pretty much a beginner in this area. Databases I understand, websites with graphics ... a bit more difficult.
Today I had to work through the Noon Mass so I am having a brief late lunch and am writing. I hope to get to Mass later this afternoon at the Shrine.
One of these days I would like to share with you all one of the most beautiful areas of the world... Panama. I am a 2nd Generation Canal Zone Brat actually born in Panama City and lived in just about every townsite in the Canal Zone. One of my greatest joys was going to El Valle de Anton in the mountains of Panama. Bellisima!
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Monday, March 01, 2004
What a weekend! Carolyn and I went to a 10:15 PM showing of "The Passion of the Christ" on Friday. Like many other people the reaction was that of speechlessness when the movie finished. So what kind of reactions did we have? My reaction is that I have got to have this movie on DVD. Then it can join "The Day Christ Died" and "A Doctor at Calvary" as part of my Lenten "Reading". And her reaction was that she would not be able to preach on it for a long while.
Saturday I had my first session with a new spiritual director. The thing I am to concentrate on for a while is listening to the Lord. My main prayer practices are focused on the Liturgy. I pray the Liturgy of the Hours and my morning meditation is generally on the readings for the day. Carolyn came along to spend some time at the place. After direction we went for a walk around the place. I love ponds with falls.
That evening I went square dancing in Bowie. Square dancing is exercise that I can enjoy and Hal Barnes is a very good caller with very interesting choreography. While there Virgil Forbes birthday was announced. And we retrieved our Banner and Virgil's blue hat.
Then yesterday I kind of "chilled out" all morning and went to Mass at St. Mary's in Annapolis in the evening. There was a guest Gospel Choir there last night. They were quite good ... again the message came. Listen!!
Today it was back to the grindy crunch. I have three tasks involving the same piece of software ... and I want to take care all three tasks at the same time ... and implement them all together. This evening I did a lot of housework. I emptied out the refrigerator and cleaned all but the vegetable bin. Took the garbage out and cleaned a lot of storage containers. So on Friday I can claim a minor victory in the Good Housekeeping Accountability Session. (I am a GP - Great Procrastinator!)
Today - OR, Med and listening (I hope), MP, DP, Mass, EP, NP
What hit me from the 1st Rdg. was "Cherish no grudge ..." How many times I have done just that! In the Gospel Reading what struck me was the reflection of what I call Blessed Mother Teresa's 5 finger sermon. She would point to each of her fingers and say "You - did - it - to - me." Either by commission or omission we did it to Christ. I remember sitting with a group of Lay Missionaries of Charity in the Anacostia section of Washington and listening to Sr. Nirmala (Mother's successor) talking on the subject.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
Saturday I had my first session with a new spiritual director. The thing I am to concentrate on for a while is listening to the Lord. My main prayer practices are focused on the Liturgy. I pray the Liturgy of the Hours and my morning meditation is generally on the readings for the day. Carolyn came along to spend some time at the place. After direction we went for a walk around the place. I love ponds with falls.
That evening I went square dancing in Bowie. Square dancing is exercise that I can enjoy and Hal Barnes is a very good caller with very interesting choreography. While there Virgil Forbes birthday was announced. And we retrieved our Banner and Virgil's blue hat.
Then yesterday I kind of "chilled out" all morning and went to Mass at St. Mary's in Annapolis in the evening. There was a guest Gospel Choir there last night. They were quite good ... again the message came. Listen!!
Today it was back to the grindy crunch. I have three tasks involving the same piece of software ... and I want to take care all three tasks at the same time ... and implement them all together. This evening I did a lot of housework. I emptied out the refrigerator and cleaned all but the vegetable bin. Took the garbage out and cleaned a lot of storage containers. So on Friday I can claim a minor victory in the Good Housekeeping Accountability Session. (I am a GP - Great Procrastinator!)
Today - OR, Med and listening (I hope), MP, DP, Mass, EP, NP
What hit me from the 1st Rdg. was "Cherish no grudge ..." How many times I have done just that! In the Gospel Reading what struck me was the reflection of what I call Blessed Mother Teresa's 5 finger sermon. She would point to each of her fingers and say "You - did - it - to - me." Either by commission or omission we did it to Christ. I remember sitting with a group of Lay Missionaries of Charity in the Anacostia section of Washington and listening to Sr. Nirmala (Mother's successor) talking on the subject.
In the Heart of my Spouse,
Val
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