We are in the first week of Lent.

Confessing Your Sins

Sins are a part of my everyday life, so for me confession is essential. Going to confession at least every five to six weeks has been part of my regimen, but during Lent, I go more frequently because I want to remain pure. Sure, attending daily Mass absolves me of all my venial sins, but sometimes my thoughts take a dark turn. Honestly if my mind did not run with so many thoughts, I would have a free pass into heaven.

My Pew

You should be in the spirit when entering into church, right? Well, for the most part I am, until I see someone sitting in my pew. I realize that we don’t have assigned seating at Mass, but for those who attend every Sunday, we have a routine.  Nothing is more irritating than when someone sits in my pew. It’s usually the same woman with her nine-year-old-looking son. Is there something wrong with me having this bad attitude? Yes and no: yes, because I am taken out of the spirit; and no, because I can’t kneel when they are already sitting there, plus the boy is always playing games on his phone.

My Parking Spot

I could move to another pew, but that won’t work either. Mike has the habit of letting me out of the car in front of the church, and then he parks in his usual spot. He, too, believes that he has an assigned parking spot; so by the time he comes into church, he knows exactly where to find me.

Offering It Up To God

This Lent I am going to offer up these small annoyances to the Lord. I will no longer allow myself to get out of the spirit when someone sits in the pew where I normally sit.

The Sacrament of Penance

I can only share from the perspective of a Catholic as to why we need to confess our sins. The following information is from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

During COVID I had back-to-back confessions. It was announced that one of our regular priests was being transferred to another parish. We had confessions but, because of COVID, they were done in the open area of the church using room dividers.

It was very important for me to thank the priest who was leaving (I’ll refer to him as Priest B). I had been to confession the day prior with Priest A. So I decided to go to confession again, but my intention was to bid the outgoing priest a thank you.

This was the only way to thank Priest B because we were all keeping our distance. Both Priest A and Priest B were there that morning. As I carefully observed the room dividers being placed for confession, I thought I saw  Priest B go behind one of the dividers. Quickly rushing from the back of the church, I was waiting in line for confession. Remember, I was there to express my gratitude and to wish him well in his new assignment, not to confess my sins.

The Same Sin

When it was my turn for confession, I said the usual prayer: Bless me, father, for I have sinned. My last confession was yesterday. I could not see who was behind the divider, but when the priest spoke it was not Priest B but Priest A. “You confessed these sins yesterday.” he said. Realizing the debacle, I quickly responded, “I know, I can’t get past them.” There in the confessional, before a priest I lied!

I never got to say goodbye to Priest B, but I did go to Mass the following day and this little white lie was removed from my soul because I received communion.

The Pew Report

According to the 2025 Pew Research Center survey of Catholics in the U.S., only 23% said they go to confession at least once a year, 30% go less often, and 47% say they never go.

Our parish does not fall in the Pew Report because we always have a long line for confessions. Tonight February 23rd there will be several priest hearing confessions, more than 100 persons will participate in this Holy Sacrament.

Finding Freedom

Speaking for myself, there is nothing more beautiful than being absolved of my sins. My soul is purified and my mind is cleared. I am once again in the fellowship of Christ. So if you are Catholic, confess your sins. There is nothing hidden from the Lord, He already knows how we have failed. The Enemy, on the other hand, holds you captive to your sins, reminding you daily that you are not worthy. I am here to share with you that the God of our universe is patiently waiting for you to return to Him.

This Lent is for us to re-examine ourselves. We need to look deep within our spirits and  purge all the dusty clouds so that we can see the Son.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, forgive me for all my transgressions. Purify our souls and open the deep wounds of our past sins to free us of them. May we enter this Lent with the knowledge of Your forgiving heart. For those who have avoided confessing their sins, Lord soften their hearts and free them. Amen.

Happy Saint  Valentine’s Day!

How many of us can remember getting our hearts broken? Honestly this happened to me only once. Never as a young girl did a boy break my heart.  I learned a lesson about experiencing a broken heart in the third grade.  I was alone in my pain because I was surrounded by too many brothers and sisters, and our mother was too busy to hear my sad little story. If I kept this in my memory bank, it was for a life-learning reason. I am grateful to God for all my childhood memories because they have  molded me into who I have become today. Through the good and bad, Jesus will always be my Valentine.

Love Story

My love story with Mike is that of two people who God brought together forever. We are truly one; I see what he sees and we love each other unconditionally. That will never change. We are examples to our family of how to overcome any situations that the world throws our way. We are both hot heads and many times do not agree on matters, but this makes our marriage exciting and if I’m in the wrong, I apologized.

Attending Mass

Attending Mass every Sunday has brought Mike and me to a better understanding of how we appreciate and welcome God in our lives. We have both learned to place God first in our marriage of 54 years. So it is never too late to grow closer to God.  Slowly  I’m coming to the realization that my opinion does not hold any weight in comparison to what God has in store for me.

I always look to God for all my misgivings in life and continually pray for His guidance. I want to become the woman that God created me to be, but only through His special graces can I say, “Thank You for loving me, Lord.”

Flowers

Flowers bring me great joy. Mike knows that my favorites are roses, so we have 43 rose bushes in our yard (I counted them). Aside from roses, our home is always filled with flowers; Mike makes sure of that. Almost every week I get fresh flowers: last week it was tulips and this week, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I received carnations and roses. I shared my flowers with the Blessed Mother Mary, making sure she, too, gets the honor of love.

Celebrating Love

I cannot recall how many years we have celebrated Valentine’s Day by going to dinner with our friends; this year we celebrated a day earlier. So on St.Valentine’s Day we had dinner with Russ, Sonja and the boys. The drive to dinner was hilarious because their 16-year-old son Lucas decided to drive. He had three backseat drivers, all with advice on how to drive!

The following is a story of my first heartbreak.

The Valentine Card

She carefully sorted her Valentine cards, setting aside the one for her teacher. Just one card read “Will you be my Valentine?” This card made her little heart patter with excitement. She was smitten by Joe, the smartest kid in her third-grade class. He was perfect in her eyes, and even his crowded front teeth made her smile.

No one in her family of eight knew that she would one day marry Joe. How could they understand?  Her four- year-old sister was too young to grasp these things and her brothers, all three of them, would tease her to the point of tears. Her two older sisters thought of her as a mere child. The only person she could trust was her best friend Anita. Anita was petite in size, she was kind and sweet, and only she knew how this little girl loved Joe.

The Big Day

It was Valentine’s Day, the day she would know for certain if her true love would reciprocate. The bus ride to school seemed to take forever, and all she could think about was the cards she and Joe  would exchange. Her unspoken love was about to reach a new zenith, and it was a lot for an eight-year-old to bear.

When she entered her classroom she quietly took her seat toward the back of the room. They sat in alphabetical order, and, as always, her seat was  among the last ones. She wished her last name started with a “P” like Joe’s instead of a “U”. All day long, lunch, two  recesses she waited for the card.

The art project that day was to make a holder for all the Valentine cards; she cut and pasted, and the end product was perfect for holding that one card from Joe.

The Broken Heart

Fifteen minutes before dismissal, the teacher announced that it was time to exchange cards.  The girl’s eyes widened with excitement and she pulled out her brown bag with the Valentines. You could hear the giggles as all the children took turns in handing out their cards. It was Joe’s turn, and as he came toward this little girl, she put her head down. This was it, she thought to herself; now I will know how much he loves me.

The bell rang, it was time to go home. She held that one card tightly in her hand and opened it. The card had a picture of a kitten holding a heart which read “You are sweet, Valentine.” What! No! No! This was not happening! She looked over at Anita.  Anita was smiling, almost to the point of gloating. The same card, that she set aside for Joe was in the petite hands of Anita! Joe loved Anita, not this little girl. She wanted so badly to cry that it hurt, but she remained strong. The bus ride home was torture, and sitting next to Anita added to her heartbreak.

Yes, this is my first memory of Valentine’s Day. I have no idea whatever became of Joe, but I do remember that he broke my heart that day.

St. Valentine

St. Valentine of Rome is the patron saint of love, young people, happy marriages, beekeepers and epilepsy.  St. Valentine was put in prison by the Emperor Claudius II for marrying couples and professing his faith in Jesus. While he was in prison he healed a jailer’s daughter of blindness. On the day of his execution he left the girl a card signed “Your Valentine.” This is the reason we exchange Valentine cards.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, Bring all married couples into union with You. Lord, for those who are contemplating a separation or divorce, heal their broken hearts and reconcile their differences. Amen.

“With age comes wisdom.”

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde coined this phrase, “With age comes wisdom.” The writings of this famous author first appeared in the late 19th century. This gifted writer flirted with Catholicism his entire life, and his works depicted his journey to finally finding God by becoming Catholic. While on his death bed, he summoned a Catholic priest who not only gave him his last rites but upon his request asked to be received into the Catholic Church.

Thank God that some of us have in our latter years grown in the wisdom of God.

My Wisdom

Believe me when I tell you that I am still in the process of shedding things of the world that disrupt my walk with God. Social Media is a means to get us worked up about irrelevant issues that bring us to a level of judging others. There is nothing more irksome than getting caught up in this dark entrapment. I, for one, am attempting to rid my mind of this deterrent. As a result of the mindless scrolling, I have come to the realization that this is keeping me from time spent in prayer.

Prayer

Prayer is a central part of my life and the guilt and grief that I beat myself up about when wasting so much time on Social Media is slowly coming to an end. Praying has lead me into another realm of wisdom. I no longer get all worked up about the problems of the world, especially what our country is currently enduring. Through the wisdom of God, new spiritual portals of faith have opened up for me at a deeper level.  For example, many times when praying for a person or a major concern the Lord will give me a vision of the situation. With the vision, I can go deeper into prayer.

Peace

Yes, I still get all worked up about many things, but I quickly come to my senses. It is  almost as if the Lord is telling me, “Snap out of it!” Then something indescribable happens: peace comes over me like a warm blanket from heaven covering my cold thoughts of this world. I can attest to the many times God has kindly reminded me of some uncharitable act, for which I either apologize or repent. Undoubtedly I am a sinner, but I can imagine the pearly gates ahead of me and I want nothing more than to please God.

Growing With Wisdom

As you  get older, wisdom should come naturally; but for some it does not. The simple reason for this: you fail to ask God for wisdom. Instead you seek direction from outside worldly sources that lead to idolatry. We can only serve one God, but when confusion rears its ugly shadow it casts doubt and plays dirty mind games.

I know a lot of well-meaning people who, because they lack godly wisdom, make foolish choices. What I cannot understand is that wisdom is there for the asking, yet many lack the knowledge or are unaware of how God wants us all to live full, wholesome lives.

King Solomon

Earlier this week the reading at Mass was about how God bestowed wisdom on Solomon. This wisdom was supernatural: so when God gave it to him, He entrusted Solomon with a gift.