My Heart of the Matter

Merry Christmas

December 26, 2022 No Comments

The birth of our Savior Jesus Christ is profoundly beautiful and filled with hope. As I reflect on this special blessing in my life, I thank God for knowing that nothing is impossible with Him. I am human and continue to fall short of His graces, but I have the full knowledge of understanding that I serve a God of forgiveness.

The First Nativity

St. Francis of Assisi was the first to introduce the Nativity scene into the world.

St. Francis had a special devotion to the Child Jesus. St. Francis was inspired after visiting the Holy Land and the humble stable, a Bethlehem cave. In the year 1223, with permission from Pope Honorius III on Christmas Eve, St. Francis set up a manger in the village of Grecio, Italy, with hay and two live animals. There St. Francis preached about “the Babe of Bethlehem.” St. Francis was so overcome by emotion that he could not say “Jesus.” So the first Nativity did not have Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, or wise men either, just an ox and an ass.

Silent Night

Joseph Mohr, a Catholic priest from Austria, wrote the lyrics to Silent Night. The choir director of St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria, Franz Xaver Gruber composed the melody. Silent Night was first performed on Christmas Eve in 1818 at St. Nicholas Church.

The Holy Family

The divine providence of God was in perfect order when He picked this family. Mary was visited by the Archangel Gabriel heralding the great news of the up coming birth of the Christ Child. Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, but when he discovered that she was with child (by the Holy Spirit) Joseph had second thoughts. After an angel appeared to him in a dream, he understood the importance of his role as the holy foster father of Jesus. He was called to protect his family from all harm. St. Joseph is mentioned in the Bible, but he was never quoted in the Word of God. He became the silent example of holiness. He listened to the messages sent from God through holy angels and departed to Egypt to save the Christ Child from the hands of King Herod.

The Flight to Egypt.

¹³When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.”

Because of Joseph’s obedience, Jesus’ life was spared from the hands of the evil King Herod. That’s what holy fathers do; they protect their children from all harm. Joseph serves as a role model on how to be a great father. The idea that he was a foster father to the Son of God gives us insight as to how deep the Lord wants fathers to exemplify Joseph’s fatherhood. Not only did he raise Jesus as his own, he handed down his trade as a carpenter to his Son. It is a common misconception that Jesus had brothers and sisters, but in the New Testament times close relatives were referred to as brothers and sisters. Mary was set aside to carry the Christ Child in her womb; this was her main purpose in life, and Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, was her only child.

St. Anne and St. Joachim

Mary was born to St. Anne and St. Joachim. St. Joachim was a wealthy man who benevolently gave to the work of God. He gave one-third to the Temple, one-third to the poor, and kept one-third for St. Anne and himself. They were judged harshly by their Jewish community because they were elderly and they could not bear children. They both fasted and prayed for a child. St. Joachim went to the desert and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights, while his wife fasted and prayed at the temple. An angel appeared to St. Anne first to announce that she would bear a child. St. Joachim experienced an angel apparition around the same time, telling him to go back home to his wife because she was with child. When Mary was three-years-old her life was consecrated in the temple.

Jesus’ Grandparents

As parents, St. Anne and St. Joachim made the ultimate sacrifice by consecrating Mary in the temple. They understood that Mary was a special gift from God. Their role as grandparents was to pray for the future of the Mother of God, their daughter Mary. St. Anne must have known that Mary would become the most famous woman in the world. Mothers have a God-given intuition for their children.

Mike and I have four grandchildren. Each one is different, and we have learned that we cannot treat them the same. We love them the same but our involvement as grandparents is to be available to help at any time. I will drop everything when it comes to the needs of our grandchildren. I want to teach our grandchildren to love the Lord and to be an example of serving God. All grandchildren are special because we as grandparents have a great opportunity to witness what we have experienced in life. We have grown from all of our past hurts and pains and can offer great wisdom. Every time that I have served as the taxi for our grandkids, I always have the radio on a religious station. None of them seem to mind.

God Bless You! And Merry Christmas!

My Heart of the Matter

Christmas At St. Norbert

December 19, 2022 No Comments

Saturday started off with me attempting to fix a problem with my iPhone. I do not know how, but apparently I put my phone on a private browsing mode. Going deep down the rabbit hole of settings, I pressed one button too many and I was doomed. My phone was stuck in a gigantic zoom font. Every time I tried to fix it, it got worse. Turning the phone on and off alerted the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, so three times they contacted me to make sure I had not been abducted. Mike could not fix it either, so I went to our daughter Sonja’s house. She wanted nothing to do with this. “Mom, I was in bed! I can’t fix this!” I was frantic because I could not answer calls or text messages; moreover, I was going to do some volunteer work at St. Norbert. But God always comes through for me; it turns out that Keaton, my tech genius, was in town. He came over and within 10 seconds made the font go back to normal. I paid him with two oversized muffins, wished him a Merry Christmas, and now I could go on with my day. I headed to Target for cat food, when I received a called from Sonja, “Mom, both dad and I are getting notification of where you are, please turn that off your phone! It’s following you, like you were abducted!” I do not fear a lot of things but my phone does scare me. These gigantic fonts traumatized me! But again, with a little prayer, I fixed it!

Food Ministry

I arrived early to meet with Teresa to sort out new Christmas toys for the children of our parish. I have always known about the food service our parish offers to families in need, but I had never seen this ministry in action. The food ministry is organized and under the direction of Michelle. From young to old, this community worked for hours packing grocery bags for families. Volunteers, who were young adults ranging from elementary to high school, worked in unison to lovingly pack these groceries. First the dry and canned goods, and then a bag of fresh fruits and vegetables. Staged in another area were a group of young ladies selecting bread to add to groceries. The fruits and vegetables were fresh and looked delicious. Honestly, with the high cost of food, I know these families welcome this special blessing. St. Norbert provides this service every Saturday. The only requirement to receive groceries is to register with the church. St. Norbert keeps a log of all registered families and requires an ID to continue to receive groceries.

The Toys

I finally met up with Teresa and we asked a few of the boys to help us transport five oversized bins of toys to the ministry center for sorting. The boys took all the toys out of the bins because Teresa wanted to make sure that there were enough toys to give out at the Posada. The Posada is a traditional Mexican reenactment of the Holy Family searching for a place to lodge for Jesus’ birth. We prayed with the boys, then sent them back to the food ministry. While Teresa ran errands, I sorted the toys. We used six long tables to sort over 500 toys. There was a section for girls three through six years old, and another table for boys of the same age. We had separate tables for balls, stuff animals and a table for boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 13. It was a joy for me to participate in this ministry. Teresa is the head of Family Life and Formation. She does her job with all her heart and is very loved in this community.

Tamales

While I was sorting out the toys, a group of women was busy making tamales. Our family only makes tamales once a year because it is the most laborious task that requires most of the day. But these precious volunteers at St. Norbert had this tamale-making assembly line intact. They even took time to make me lunch with a fresh cup of coffee.

The money raised for the tamales, $25 a dozen, goes toward the Family Life and Formation office.

On Wednesday we will be making our tamales. My 13-year-old dishwasher is giving me a little heartache because it’s leaking, but I’m praying that’s a plumbing problem that can be fixed. Meanwhile I cannot use the dishwasher and our plumber is not available until Wednesday. Everybody’s schedule is overbooked! It really doesn’t matter because when we make tamales, we wash all the pots and pans by hand. This year we are only using 15 pounds of masa, and we will have plenty of help too. Jenny’s parents are coming just in time to join the crew and Russ’ mom will also be there to help. Please pray that I do not mess up the recipe like I’ve done in the past.

All For The Birth Of Christ

We must always keep in mind that we do all this to prepare our hearts for our Lord. We reflect on the birth of our Savior and the struggles that His Mother Mary went through, and how St. Joseph protected his family from harm. They are model parents. The role of the man is to protect his family, while the role of a mother is to nurture her children. We reflect on what the new year has in store for us and pray for a better world. I know I may sound like a contestant from the Miss America pageant, but we do need to improve our world. This starts with us individually. The only advice I can offer is to fall on your knees and ask God to come into your heart. The Lord waits for all of us. He does not care about the color of your skin or if you are steeped in mortal sin. He wants you to know that no matter what sin you have committed in the past, He will wipe it all away and give you a fresh start.

Dear Lord, I pray for all who are spiritually in prison. Clear their minds and deliver them from all mental illnesses. Hear the cries of those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol; fill them with Your love. Help them out of their misery, and grant them peace. Speak to them, touch their hearts and heal their pain. Grant them their Christmas miracles. Lord, I thank You for our Pastor, Father John Moneypenny, who shepherds his flock with great love. Amen.

My Heart of the Matter

Christmas In New York

December 12, 2022 No Comments

It’s been four years since our last visit to New York. I’ve come to the realization that unless you are traveling with immediate family, it’s best to limit the group to four. Of course there are many sound reasons not to travel with an entourage because taxis only hold four adults. I noticed on this trip that some of the taxi drivers did not like anyone invading their front seat. Another reason to travel with four is that it is easier to get reservations. But the main reason is that you do not have to worry about making sure everyone is happy with what is planned for the day.

We traveled with our dear friends Larry and Helen. Usually we are comfortable for at least three days; after that Larry and I bump heads. So for this trip we designated two different days: a Larry day and a Lynda day. We never need to worry about Helen and Mike because they are always in a huddle, deciding where we are going to have our next meal and how we will get there. We always eat way too much in this city, but The Big Apple offers redeeming qualities; we can walk for miles to burn off the excess calories.

One more piece of travel advice: travel while you can. Both Mike and I are in our seventies. This city is meant for foot traffic; anything else is a challenge.

Shopping

It was cold and windy on our first day of shopping. Larry and Helen had no gloves or scarves because they both protest wearing gloves or hats. I, on the other hand, was layered up.

New York has always been known for its shopping but, for some reason, none of us got into the shopping mode. We started at Nordstrom, but honestly the merchandise and pricing were not up to our standards (well, mine anyway. I only purchase sale items.) From there we went to Bloomingdale’s, but experienced the same thing. We were not impressed.

On the way to Bloomingdale’s we noticed a T.J. Maxx Store directly in front of the men’s Nordstrom. My heart quickly skipped a beat because neither Mike, Larry nor Helen are fans of T.J. Maxx.

Dining

Eating at Katz’s Deli was one of the highlights of the trip. We were all pretty hungry. I asked if anyone wanted to split a sandwich, but to no avail. I wanted to try the potato salad and latkes. By the time our pastrami sandwiches arrived with French fries, I felt like a glutton. I could feel the food coma settling in. Mike kept reminding me that it was my fault because I wanted to try everything in the potato family. Larry loves it when I get in trouble; instead of feeling bad for me, he laughs. This makes him happy!

Best place to eat was Palma, located in the West Village

We tried a new place for lunch in the West Village. Palma is a beautiful restaurant, which came highly recommended by Larry’s sister, Maria. From the moment we exited the Uber, I loved the area. Helen always knows which direction to turn, so she led us into a beautiful winter wonderland. While Helen and I were taking in all the beauty, the men were grumbling about the choice. After a glass of Chianti they were all in. The food, from the appetizers to the main course, was beyond delicious. Helen’s order was the best, and she graciously shared it with all of us.

The Musical

After the traumatic experience of the last play we attended (The Book of Mormon) and walked out on, I wanted to play it safe. The Music Man was an agreeable choice, and it was great! Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster were in sync with the audience and entertained us with much love. I would love for all of our grandchildren to experience this safe, family-friendly musical.

From there we walked to our dinner at Del Frisco’s. The food was great but it was our waiter, Chad who made the eating adventure special. We were all hyped up about how we loved the play when Chad shared that he, too, was in several musicals. It had been years since his last appearance on Broadway but then he announced,”I need to go back to my first love.” I told him that I would pray for him. (I have a very long list of people I pray for.) I looked at Larry and asked, “Do I still need to pray for you? I could add Chad in your place.” Again, Mike and Larry jumped all over that remark. Larry suggested, “Why don’t you take your cat Prudie off the list instead?” As you may know by now, Prudie is hanging on to maybe one last Christmas. So I said “NO!” I got into trouble again. And again Larry thought it was hilarious! I agreed to keep Larry on and to add Chad to the lists as well.

The Mass

I had to meet my Holy Day of Obligation, so my plan was to go to the 8:00 a.m. Mass; but they all agreed that it was too early. So on Saturday after the big lunch in the West Village, we all went to our rooms to rest. I could not wait until the 5:30 Mass. Larry and Helen were staying across Central Park, but the hotel where we were staying was about four blocks from the church. I quietly told Mike I was leaving for Mass. It took 15 minutes to get to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. As I walked into the crowded church the center section was roped off with an attendant guarding the post. He asked me, “Do you have a seat, are you meeting someone? If you don’t, you need to go to the side.” Something came over me when I looked him straight in the eyes and said, “Yes.” I walked halfway down and saw a pew where just two young men were sitting , “Are you saving this seat for someone?” “Yes, our father is joining us.” “Oh well, there is room for me too.” I quickly slipped past them. Did I lie to the security guard at church? Not really, because I was meeting Jesus there.

The commanding sound of the organ brought us all to our feet. Then I received a text from Mike, telling me that he was there; but by this time it was impossible for us to sit together. I saw Mike as he went up for communion, and it made my heart glad.

Helen and me in front of the Nativity, photo by Larry

To be part of this glorious experience was truly my favorite part of the trip. Mike waited for me outside the cathedral. He wanted me to meet his new friends. These two adorable sisters were visiting from out of state; both were widowed and took an instant liking to Mike. Everyone loves Mike!

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You that we were able to travel once again to New York. I pray for this beautiful state, that Your blessings would fall on its people. I thank You for good, healthy friendships and that wherever You send us that we will be a blessing! Lord, I pray that You grant Chad favor and open doors for him on Broadway. Amen.