The Wicked Witch is Dead

That's me, under the house, buried - and only sometimes am I a wicked witch. In order to lift myself from the ground, I must first lift this house above me. To run, I must carry this house along with me, this house and everything in it. This house is filled up. It's filled with kids, my nine kids and the dozen or so neighbor kids who spend their afternoons loitering around my lot. It's filled with clothes and shoes and coats and leotards and soccer jerseys and boy scout uniforms. It's filled with the chore of feeding breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. The house's desk is filled with papers and books and correspondence and phone messages; it's filled with papers to be graded and notes to be written and a calendar to be planned. All this work - every, every, everyday. Everyday.

And where am I? Oh here I am. I am melting. The wicked witch is melting. I guess that is what it is taking for me. For the wicked witch in me to die, to melt away. Oh no, she's not gone yet, but she is slowly dying. My self pre-occupations, my petty attractions, distractions and attachments, my sloth, my lofty opinions and ideas. Yes, here under this house, a part of me is dying. I am dying and it hurts. Sometimes, it hurts a lot.

However, the wicked witch must die. She must go, for there is no room for her in this house. The more this witch is purged, the lighter the weight of the house. The witch cannot lift the house; she can only be buried and burdened by it. That is all the witch can see of the house; she can only see the burden that it brings to her, for her thoughts are only of herself. The more the witch is concerned with the weight, the heavier is the burden.

The witch begins to melt when the waters of truth and light, of beauty, love and forgiveness are poured out. The thing is, this water is only poured out from above. As Saint Paul tells us in the New Testament book of Colossians,

If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

And as the witch melts, the burdens lighten. Perhaps someday we can rejoice that the wicked witch is dead; she's finally dead. AMEN.

Peace,

Hope

The Beautiful Life

When I think of a saintly mother, I picture a sweetly smiling, perfectly patient, neatly dressed lady in a well kept house with cooperative children. The family's days surely flow seamlessly from work to play, from meals to bedtime with little complaint and lots of love. For this saintly mother, with her skilled parenting and virtuous demeanor, would cultivate peaceful surroundings, well behaved, smiling children, and a beautiful life. Shouldn't this be my goal too, this beautiful life?

Surely our primary goals involve loving God and bringing this love to our families, and teaching our children to know and serve God and others. If we do these things, won't we achieve this beautiful life we imagine? How can it be then, that in our pursuit of the beautiful life, we compromise our true goals, to know, love and serve God?

We begin to serve the image; we begin to strive for the beautiful life; we begin to insist our families and our homes appear beautiful and well ordered, at least on the outside. We define our selves by our parenting style, by our educational philosophy, by the way we eat or dress, by the choices we make for our children. We decide that we do things a certain way, that we know best, that this is God's will for us, and for everyone. The image is being served.

Can it be that God permits messes and disorder? Can it be that sometimes God calls us to compromise our worthy ideals? Could it be that God may call us to sacrifice some of our well intentioned good deeds, some of our vision of beauty, some of our well crafted ideology?

The answer is yes, and it is painful and confusing. However, it is best to keep in mind that this pain and confusion stems from our disordered service of the vision, our vision of the beautiful life we believe we were called to, the vision that we have put before doing God's will.

For doing God's will may actually lead us to places, to ideas and understandings we never could imagine. God's infiniteness clashes with our finiteness. We arrange our little worlds a certain way to make sense for us, but God calls us to grow.

For it is in the messes and disorder that we demonstrate our patience and virtue, it is with pain and sickness that we reveal love and forgiveness, it is when we encounter frustrations, disappointments, conflict and embarrassments that our true character is revealed. It is during the trials of life, when we fall on our knees, that we gain wisdom and grow. This is where we meet grace. Let us turn our attentions then, away from the beautiful vision, and fix our eyes on God, wherever that may lead.

Peace, Hope

Why Me?

One thing I hear regularly from others when commenting on the number of children I have is, "Oh, you must be so patient." My usual response is, "I'm working on it!" If they only knew how much I have to work on it. I am not a natually patient person. Sometimes I wonder why God would give eight children to an impatient, perfectionist, introvert like me, surely my children do not benefit from this bent I have. Wouldn't a gregarious, messy, fun, creative type provide better mothering to this brood? Daily I have to work to overcome my personality type, while pasting a smile to my face and confronting another mess, something broken, a child screaming and pounding down the steps, or a pile of kids jumping on me each time I sit down for some peace. I know loud, chaotic situations are a challenge to the average adult, but one would think dealing with childish noises and mishaps should come naturally to me.

In the much prayer I have done over this something comes to mind. God loves my children, yes, but he also loves me. This mothering thing, it is not supposed to be easy. My vocation is designed to lead me to Christ. God uses all these challenges to lead me to holiness and virtue, and instead of fighting it or thwarting his plan, I must cooperate. Perhaps an impatient, perfectionist, introvert is just the person to have a large family, perhaps it is the only way for me to be molded and changed into a saint. God loves me, yes he does.

Ora et Labora

Ora et Labora, Latin for pray and work, is the motto of the Benedictine order, founded by Saint Benedict, whose feast day we recall today. Pray and work, there are two ways to consider this powerful phrase. One view is to make your prayer manifest in your work, the other is to consecrate your work with prayer.

Prayer becomes manifest in work when, through prayer, the Spirit leads you to specific tasks. Perhaps you will feel God's call to perform certain works of charity, helping a needy neighbor or bringing a meal to a family. Maybe your prayer will lead you to new ways to serve your husband or help one of your children. Prayer can enlighten you to many productive activities that enable you to serve your family and community in new or better ways. We must always be attentive to God's tug on our conscience to perform works of love and mercy.

We consecrate our work with prayer when we offer up even the most insignificant, repetitive or aggravating work to our Lord. God calls mothers to many such tasks, the jobs few may see or appreciate. But, if our work is done in a spirit of service, humility, and love, and offered to our Lord as a physical act of prayer, our work is transformed to the supernatural, and we are transformed as well.

Peace, Hope

A Modern Day Noah

Our family went on an outing to a movie theatre last weekend. It's something that's not usually worth doing, but given the heat outside and the exhaustion of my sons who had just returned from camping, it seemed like a fun option. My husband checked out the movie reviews on the Conference of Catholic Bishop's site and we settled on Evan Almighty.

I wasn't sure what to expect as, without television, I remain pretty ignorant of new movie releases. Evan Almighty, though, got me really thinking about how God works in the lives of his people. Strangely (must be hormones) I even got a little misty eyed thinking about it. The movie is about a somewhat self-obsessed and materialistic, but nice enough guy, "Evan," and his wife and three sons. The family moves to Virginia to be near Washington, DC, as Evan is a newly elected Senator. Then quite by surprise, God starts intervening in Evan's life and he undergoes a metamorphosis into a very different person -- a person very much resembling the Biblical, Noah.

Just like Noah, God calls Evan to build an ark. God causes Evan's beard and hair to grow long and white, and clothes him in Noah-like robes. Evan is to build an ark in his modern day, upscale suburban neighborhood. For a person obsessed with his image, this was an unwelcome and uncharacteristic change for Evan.

The movie had some important lessons. One lesson was that God is in control of all things. Another lesson was that he uses failed humans to do his work on earth. A third lesson was that God loves us and everything we are called to is ultimately for goodness. Forth, it is evident in the movie that doing God's will is not easy, but can challenge all of our preconceived notions about what we think is best. Last, the movie shows that to follow God we must swim against the tide, and though our culture may mock us or merely misunderstand us, God's will surpasses all the transient and insignificant things the world has to offer.

I don't really think God is going to call any of us to physically build an ark in our neighborhoods, or transform our appearance into an Old Testament hero, but he does have plan for each of us. God may not appear before us, but we can still hear his voice. God's plan for us is one born of love, the eternal love our Creator has for his creatures. What God calls us to is obedience, this obedience may not always be easy, but the blessings we receive in this life and the next, surpasses the weight of any earthly burden. Pray for discernment, humility and courage, as you carry out the work of God.

Peace, Hope

The Best Prayer

A few years ago my family and I went to Mass and toured around the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. We like to take religious field trips on occasion, and we always have a very uplifting experience. On our visit we ran into a nun, who stopped us to say hello to the children. She was so sweet and loving and just exuded faith and charity. She asked the children if they knew what the very best prayer was, and they guessed the Our Father, the Glory Be, the Rosary, and to each she said, "that's a good one, but there's one even better." After much guessing, she finally shared that the very best prayer is to simply say, "I love you, Jesus." My kids love to say the "best prayer" and I love to hear them say it. "I love you, Jesus" always works.

Peace, Hope

Children in Church

We always go to Mass. We find somewhere to go when we travel, and it is never in question whether to attend when we're home. A person in our family has to be pretty sick to be exempted. Cultivating this attitude has brought many blessings to us. One, we have great friends at Church. Two, we never argue with the children about going. Three, our family worships together, and God has bestowed many graces for our obedience, and the children have learned where our faith falls in our priorities, it is number #1. Also, note, we always take our children to Mass, from the Sunday when our first-born was three days old, to now attending with eight kids, aged 14 down to 18 months. I write this to encourage others to do the same, so what follows are some suggestions to make your Sundays work more smoothly.

1. Start the evening before. Make sure everyone gets a good dinner, a warm bath, hair-washed, nails clipped, a cozy story and an early bedtime. Also, make sure that Sunday clothes and shoes are clean and ready to go.

2. Get up with plenty of time to get ready. The first thing I do is lay things out for a simple breakfast. Also, I pack what we need to go: sippy cups, small religious books, baby sling, offering, and anything I need for someone I may see. Then I get my shower before everyone else arises.

3. After the kids are up, they know the routine, quick breakfast and straight upstairs to brush teeth, wash faces, comb hair and get dressed. They have designated Church clothes, so they know exactly what to where. They must get dressed to the shoes before they can do anything else. During this time, we usually have dad or a big kid minding the kitchen, making sure the little children get fed and the dishes get done. I am directing everyone to their task of getting ready, while dressing the babies. Lastly, I have a few minutes to quickly get dressed.

4. Before we leave I make sure each child gets a sip of water and visits the bathroom. If I lived farther away, I would do this after arriving and before taking our seats. Unless there is an emergency, we do not allow the children to take trips to the bathroom during Mass.

5. Another rule: find your place and stay seated, no musical chairs. It helps not to let "problem siblings" to sit near to each other. Also, keep little ones on your lap. They learn to be content in firm and loving arms, especially when given some hugs, tender kisses and whispers.

6. We don't take our kitchen and playroom with us. The only exception may be a sippy or a little picture Bible for our littles. It is a distraction to have toys, books, papers, crayons, food, etc.. for kids to drop, shuffle about, fight over and eventually become bored with anyway. It is a good discipline for kids to learn to sit still for this limited amount of time. They definitely can do it.

7. Sit near the front. Although it is tempting to hide in the back for a quick exit, it usually invites trouble for us. One, that's where all the kids with the toys and food are, so my kids are naturally curious and distracted by that scene. Also, the children cannot see what's going on. When we sit near the front they learn so much of the liturgy of the Mass and actually listen to the homily and scripture readings.

8. If we must step out with a little one, baby or toddler, they are not rewarded with a nursery or "cry room" experience. They don't get toys or get to toddle about with friends. They are held in my arms in the back of the Church. I may pace about, rock back and forth, or sit and nurse a fussy baby, but they don't get to play.

9. Lastly, praise and reward. Tell your kids how great they were! Maybe they were super polite to an elderly person, or kind to a younger sibling, or very attentive and reverent. Whatever it was find something to let them know you noticed them trying to be good. Then pull out the Sunday treats! We are pretty health food conscious during the week, which makes the donuts and coffee cake we enjoy on Sunday extra special. We also reserve Sunday as a day of rest and family recreation, so the kids always look forward to spending the day together, especially with their daddy.

Pray Through Your Days

Sometimes I feel inadequate when I picture the perfect Catholic family in prayer. Perhaps the same image comes to your mind.....the image of children and parents quietly, piously, kneeling with rosaries in hand, sincerely meditating on the mysteries, and getting through at least a few decades with little disruption. Of course, this family is able to do the family rosary at a regular time each day, like clockwork. Now, please know that I have nothing, nothing against families who are able to do this, and I certainly love the rosary as a prayer, but around here the rosary is better meditated upon in the car on long trips. Somehow settling everyone down in the hustle bustle of life confounds me.

Still, we pray. We pray a lot. Learning to pray with your children through the day, through each transition of the day, is learning to make prayer for you and your children an integral part of life. We pray when we get up, when we eat, sometimes when we're finished eating too, when we start school, finish school, leave on an outing and return, when we go out to play or the kids are running out the door somewhere, when we pass a church, when we hear a siren, when we're going to bed. We pray. Sometimes the prayers feel rushed, sometimes it's a quick Glory Be, sometimes the prayers are longer and of our own words. The point is to pray, and to make the act of praying a natural and frequent part of the day.

Don't stumble upon the vision of the perfect family rosary, just start offering up your moments to God, and share them with your children.

Peace, Hope

Renew Your Mind

In the book of Romans we read that we should not be "conformed to this world." [Romans 12:2] We also know from Scripture that we are to consecrate ourselves in truth. [John 17:17] Understanding how this translates to how we live our lives can be transforming. Many would believe that these Scriptures merely call us to avoid sin, but I think that, as the passage in Romans says, we are to totally "renew our minds." It is extremely difficult to live among our friends, neighbors, even our extended family and other Catholics, and not be influenced by worldly ideas and practices. It can be even more difficult to constantly find ourselves swimming against the tide as we live out our lives striving towards holiness.

I think we receive the graces to lead holy lives by filling our minds with those things that are Godly and true. If we are immersing ourselves in prayer, spiritual reading, and partaking in the sacraments, our spirits and minds will be disposed to holy thoughts, wisdom and understanding. If, however, we are filling our minds with junk women's magazines, romance novels, and television, our minds will not be as easily influenced by Godly things. We will be constantly fighting the worldly zeitgeist that sways our thinking.

The truth is that a worldly way of thinking, leads to a worldly way of acting. Maybe it does not lead to apparent or outright sin, as we think of sinful acts, but filling our minds with worldliness brings confusion and an incongruity between what we desire, which is hopefully joy, peace, and holiness, and what we have the courage to live. If we allow our minds and spirits to be weak, through lack of prayer or worldly distraction, we tend to take our cues from the people around us, not from the leading of the Spirit.

So then, dear sisters, I extol you....."Do not conform yourself to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2

Peace, Hope

Hand in Hand to Heaven

I was teasing one of my sons the other day, saying, "You belong to me; you're mine." As I grabbed him and hugged him. Of course, he pulled away laughing, then collapsed into a hug, all while asserting his absolute independence from me. "No," I told him, "I helped make you; you belong to me; you're my baby; you are MINE." Nope, not anymore, my young teen reminded me. "Okay, then, how about this one?" I said, scooping up my baby, my one year old, "This one is definitely still mine, she belongs to me!" Nope, not her either, my son says, "You're just her steward."

"You're just her steward." My son was so right. Although I like to think of these kids as mine, and in a sense they are, of course; but no, not really, they're not mine. They belong to God, and I am their steward. Putting my relationship with my children in this perspective really puts a different emphasis on my parenting job. These children are not mine to mold into my own little images of what I think a good person or a good Catholic is. Sure, I must lead them and teach them and provide a good example to them. I must care for their bodies, nurture their souls, and help to enlighten their minds. I have authority over them and even the mandate to guide them, but it is not as a person superior to them, it is as a sister in Christ.

When I first contemplated that my primary relationship with my children and my husband was not as parent or wife, it was as their sister in Christ, I was struck. For one, I felt a freedom in understanding that these children had full integrity as persons, just as much as anyone else, and they had an entirely unique vocation and relationship with God that was separate from me. Knowing this relieved the burden of feeling that it is all up to me. God loves each of them and has a plan for them, in a way which I cannot even really comprehend.

Second, as their sister in Christ who is a little farther down the road, it is my job to guide these children and love them, but it is more as an equal, for we are all equal in Christ. Understanding this equality with them has helped me appreciate each individual as a friend and see our parent/child relationship as one primarily rooted in the virtues of charity and friendship.

In a book on meditations, In Conversation With God, Francis Fernandez, referencing R. Garigou-Lagrange, writes:

Piety towards others leads us to judge them always with kindness, which walks hand in hand with a filial affection for God our common Father.

So, in a sense, our children are the ones God has called us to walk hand in hand with, as brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing the road on the journey to sainthood. We parents are just the ones holding the map -- at least for a time.

Peace, Hope

New Perspective on Laundry

When I start feeling down about various household tasks before me, I imagine having to do the same task in a developing country. What would my laundry situation be like if I lived in a hut in Asia? I imagine I would be the laughing stock of the neighborhood carting our 2-3 daily loads of laundry down to the river. I guess with the ease of merely pushing buttons to do the laundry, we gain LOTS of laundry.

I don't have to schlep the laundry of ten down to a river, just from the hamper to the washing machine, about three feet. I still complain. I have even been known to cry about it. We do have a lot of laundry, but crying about it is a bit dramatic, I know. I can just see God looking down at my spoiled little self and just shaking his head. At the same time, somewhere there is a courageous Laotian woman kneeling on the muddy shore rinsing out the family clothes. I will not complain. Thank you, God, for nice clothes to put on the healthy bodies of my beautiful children, and the simple means of keeping everyone looking clean and neat. Now, back to the laundry room.

Peace, Hope

To Be A Saint

I have a little daughter who is presenting herself as quite a challenge lately. I suspect she will continue to be a challenge as her basic mode of being is to challenge me! A friend who has taught pre-school for thirty years described my daughter as the most independent child she has ever met! Needless to say, sometimes said child and I have "moments." I have developed a mantra that helps get through these trying times with her, and with any of my challenge presenting children. It goes, "I want her to be a saint, I want her to be a saint, I want her to be a saint," said as many times in succession as necessary. First of all, this mantra is a good replacement for other, sometimes anger generated thoughts and words that are decidedly less "holy." It also allows me to see beyond the present moment. Repeating the phrase, I want her to be a saint, allows me to clearly see my outstanding goal in all of the muck in front of me.

The Gospel of Matthew states, "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?" What will it profit my daughter for me to stubbornly insist on winning our present battle, to angrily discipline, or to act impatiently? I may "win" the battle, but loose her heart. My goal is her heart, her soul, lead to Jesus, brought to sainthood, for eternal joy in heaven. I want her to be a saint; I want my every word and every touch to help lead my children to sainthood, not to be a hindrance. I want to be a saint, I want to be as Christ to my children. God, help me!

Peace, Hope

The Thing vs. My Thing

As soon as you truly abandon yourself in the Lord, you will know how to be content with whatever happens. You will not lose your peace if your undertakings do not turn out the way you hoped, even if you have put everything into them, and used all the means necessary. For they will have turned out the way God wants them to. Saint Escriva', Furrow, 860

When I first read the above passage I knew it had been written for me. I need to write it out poster sized and hang it on my kitchen wall! I am a recovering control freak, and despite all my best laid plans, schedules and ideas, and despite the fact that I KNOW how each day should go, somehow.......... Well, I couldn't understand it! How come my carefully, prayerfully planned days are filled with a) some kid being a crank and not cooperating (there's always someone!); b) some kind of crises; or c) some sort of happy, but necessary distraction? Why does this seem to happen, daily even? How am I going to get anything done? Especially when even the most mundane sorts of tasks cry for my attention!?

It has taken me a while, but I am working on adjusting my expectations and my attitude. My schedule and my plans are one thing, a good and necessary part of my life, but it's not the thing, it's only my thing.

The thing is what is in front of me right now. See, my thing might be a plan to get my phone calls made during a certain time of the day or to get the baby down for a nap, but the thing may be to change a really bad diaper or to comfort a neighbor who shows up at the door. My thing may be to work on the laundry because it desperately needs attention, but the thing may be to spend a little extra time with my six year old who's feeling a little picked on and left out. My thing may be to get in a little time on the computer or make a phone call, but the thing may be to give my husband some attention and conversation. I am working on it, working on embracing the thing, the thing that God has given me to attend to at any given time, and choosing to do His work, my distraction, with joy.

Peace, Hope

The Work of God

My six year old asked me last night what I liked best about being a Mom. Hmm, that gave me some pause. I told him that I liked it that my job was so important. He asked why, and I told him because part of my job was to help lead our family to heaven.

At times when I am cleaning up the proverbial "spilled milk" AGAIN, it doesn't feel like my job has such supernatural consequences. However, Saint Escriva' says that love leads us to insert God into everything, which otherwise would be insipid without him. A pious person whose piety is not superficial strives to fulfil his duty: sincere devotion leads to work, to the willing fulfilment of the duties of each day - even when this is hard; there is an intimate union between this interior supernatural reality and the external manifestation of human activity.

So, we ask ourselves, what is the will of God for my life? If you have children the answer is simple. We do the work that God has placed before us each moment, each day. Think about it, as we mothers feed and clean up the kitchen, lovingly planning healthy meals and with humility, scrubbing the pots and pans and sweeping up the floor; as we launder the same clothes over and over; as we comfort and care for fevers, skinned knees and bumped heads; as we confront little fibs and disobedience; as we teach the phonograms to our 5 year old and geometric theorems to our 13 year old; as we patiently forgive our children and husbands for perceived injuries and wrongs; as we teach our children to pray; we ARE doing the will of God. Even more, we are fulfilling our Christian mandate to perform the spiritual and corporal acts of mercy. This work before us will bring us and our children to holiness and to heaven, as long as we do these tasks mindful of the supernatural reality we believe in as Christians. We must see our work as our call to holiness, and remain open to allowing God to impose Himself upon each act and every word of our day.

Peace, Hope

Pray Always

Does the Bible really say this? Pray ALWAYS? How is it that a busy mom of eight should always be praying? Let me say, that those times when I focus on being in a constant state of prayer my life just goes more smoothly, and I and my children are happier. Peace begins to reign in our hearts and our home. But how to do this? Perhaps we should broaden our idea of what prayer is. Of course, when we are going though the days changing diapers, teaching, handling sibling squabbles and serving lunch we cannot be quietly and piously on our knees, with eyes closed and hands folded. If we did, we would not be fulfilling God's will for our lives and vocations. Although, there is a time for quiet and solitary prayer, our prayer can be much greater.

Saint John Chrysostom said that it is possible to "offer fervent prayer even while walking in public, shopping or cooking." We can do this by cultivating a spirit of being constantly open to God. This would cause us to be always be in a state of expectantly listening and searching for God, of linking our hearts and minds in communion with God. Sometimes our prayer focuses too much on us, what we want, what we need. No wonder our prayer runs out of steam! Instead, consciously offer every thought, word and action to God, taking every thought captive to Christ.

Peace, Hope

Whatever is Lovely

In the book of Philippians it says, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is honorable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things."

This is one of my favorite passages from the Holy Scripture and has very practical applications. Think about it, it is when I am not following this standard of thinking that I get in trouble! Unfortunately, I can recall on many occasions standing over a mountain of laundry or a filthy kitchen and feeling resentful. Instead of stopping there and confessing my bad attitude and redirecting my thoughts; regrettably, I have found myself deluged with thoughts of envy (for those with less laundry and fewer dishes), resentment towards my children (so ungrateful for all the work I do each day) or anger towards my husband (who is not in helping me do my job). All of these thoughts lead to feeling worse and acting less loving to the people I love.

Instead, I must consciously push aside the unlovely thoughts and focus on the truth of the many blessing I have, the noble qualities in my husband, the rightness of cultivating joy, the purity in my children, the lovely opportunities I have as I nurture our family life at home, the honorable vocation of motherhood, the excellent friendships our family enjoys, and the praiseworthiness of our Lord! God bless us as we turn our thoughts towards Him and dwell upon lovely things.

Peace, Hope

God Bless You

There are so many rich traditions in the Catholic faith that may be incorporated to increase spirituality among family members. One of my favorites is the use of holy water. I have not always been Catholic and did not grow up with any knowledge of the sacramentals of the Church. I am so grateful for them, however, as sacramentals provide for simple avenues of prayer and grace.

The waters of baptism are powerful. If one believes baptism to be an act of obedience, then it only makes sense to meditate upon the meaning and importance of our own baptisms frequently. Baptism consecrates us to Christ and makes us part of the body of believers. Baptism also calls us to live as children of God, fulfilling his will and spreading light and truth. How easy it is to forget this!

Our family acknowledges our own baptisms, our call to Christ, each day. On the wall beside our front door is a small holy water font. We have a very busy family life and there are many comings and goings all day long among various children. I have found it to be significant to take a moment before a child leaves the house, to dip my finger in the holy water, mark their foreheads with a cross, and say, "God bless you." Among all the other instructions and admonishments I give them upon their departures, this five second ritual has brought much beauty and blessing to us.

This simple gesture is a reminder in our busy lives that we have a purpose beyond whatever fun or work is at hand; we have a mission in Christ. We are children of God seeking his direction and protection as we move out in the world. As I bless each child, whether they are off to soccer practice, Boy Scouts, babysitting, or roller-blading, I have a small moment to pray over them and to look them in the eye and tell them I love them. When we learn to see the use of gestures and symbols as forms of prayer, how much richer our spirituality becomes.

Peace, Hope