My Catholic Roots are showing -

The Retreat

July 19, 2021 17 Comments

Fr. Leonard Mary, Bro. John, Norma, and me

My plans for a trip to EWTN in Irondale, Alabama were set. My sister Norma and I would make a pilgrimage and spend time visiting the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament to pray. On the morning of our departure both of our flights were canceled. I spent several hours sorting this out but now Norma would be flying solo and meeting me in Birmingham. Through the grace of God we made it only to find more obstacles waiting for us at the car rental. We had reserved a mid-sized vehicle, but due to COVID we ended up in the biggest Infinity SUV. It took two hours to sort all this out. Finally we arrived at our “Bates” hotel only to discover that someone was already in our room “very creepy”. By the time we settled into another room it was 3:30 am.

The Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament

This 600-acre complex is in the small community of Hanceville, Alabama. Both my sister and I were out of the spirit and suffering fatigue. We were driving this huge SUV and complaining most of the way. When we arrived I noticed my phone had no charge; we forgot to bring a charger. We had about 20 minutes to shop in the gift store. All was going according to plan when suddenly a lady stepped up to the register. She was making five different transactions, paying separately while teaching her daughter to make change! I looked at Norma and rolled my eyes as far back as I could, saying to myself, “Lady, we are going to be late for the service because you want to teach your daughter math!” We had to leave all of our purchases on the counter and run to make the Mass. We knew that Father Leonard Mary was officiating. It was during his homily that I realized that this message was meant for Norma. Father Leonard spoke of the Beatitudes, so I gently nudged Norma when I felt it was approtriate. I never expected her response; she nudged me back!

After Mass we made our purchases and went back into the shrine for Adoration. The presence of God was so powerful it almost felt tangible. Though it’s was frowned upon to take pictures, we sneakily took a few photographs. At the back door was a slim man praying the Rosary. He was also the watchman, making sure no overzealous tourist got out of hand. I told Norma to take a picture of the Blessed Mother, but Norma got out of the pew and walked up to the statue. Her bold behavior brought the watchman out of his seat. Norma looked at him and said, “Am I in trouble?” The man gently said no but asked us not to take any more pictures. We waited for Confessions and by the time we had finished it was close to 5 pm. I never understand GPS maps, so this time the hour- and a-half drive took us through green rolling hills. We passed through miles of mansions, big beautiful homes with sprawling yards. I have been to Birmingham several times, but I never expected these views. These homes were stunning!

The Retreat

The following morning we had a quiet Retreat. The message was about living prayer, being constantly in prayer. This is a process of self- abandonment, the mystical marriage. Our will is conformed to the will of God. We follow God’s will by taking steps of faith until we reach the point of trusting God. Fr. Leonard used St. Francis as an example: St. Francis was prayerful, patient, and was filled with the love of God. His desires were pure. His will was conformed to God; he wanted things to be very simple. The Retreat was so much deeper than I could ever express.

We had invited our sister Jo, but she was preoccupied with her business and said that she would meet us for dinner instead. Though the retreat was not meant to expose our flaws, I felt as if I had been gently shaken to make me realize what the love of God is all about. I realized the sacrifice our sister Jo made driving more than five hours each way to be with us. We had a wonderful dinner and after breakfast Jo was headed back home.

Since this was a Retreat, we spent several hours praying for the needs of others. When the Lord showed me someone’s face, I’d text that person to tell him that I was praying for him. It was a powerful experience to sit in the chapel with the exposition of the Holy Eucharist. We did the same thing on Friday; we attended Mass and stayed for Adoration.

COVID

I don’t know how I caught this virus, but I suspect that it was while waiting for the storm to pass because we sat for two hours on the tarmac. The flight attendant kept cutting off the air conditioner, leaving us to breathe stagnant air. I missed my connecting flight. I needed to attend my cousin Sandy’s funeral. At that time the only symptom I had was a dry throat, which I wake up with every morning. At the funeral I hugged and kissed everyone.

Later that day I had to take my grandson to his basketball game, I isolated myself from everyone in the crowd. I noticed that I coughed a few times but didn’t think anything of it until it was dinner time. Something was off because I had no appetite. The next morning I tested positive for COVID. It did not take long for the virus to do a number on me. I thought the pain was too much! Every day something became worse; every day something new was added to is already diabolical virus. I felt as if I had layers and layers of fever and back pain for which I never got any relief. This continued for nine days. On the tenth day the Devil sucker punched me in the gut. I could not hold anything down and then the cough. I forgot to mention that Mike, too, also tested positive for COVID. Since Mike was vaccinated his case was mild.

The Caregiver

I understand why God allowed Mike to get COVID. He was my caregiver, but when things got rough he struggled. My cough was so loud that I sounded like my neighbor’s dog barking at an intruder. This was always followed by tremors or out-of -control shaking. The coughing and gasping for air freaked Mike out. Dr. Rudkin, one of my son’s friends, stopped by to drop off a pulse oximeter to check my oxygen level. He said that if it dropped below 90 I needed to go to the emergency room. From one night to another, when my oxygen dropped from 93 to 83, I knew I was in trouble.

My primary doctor was helping me through virtual visits and by prescribing medications, but the Devil wanted more of me. He had me in a head lock, and when I could no longer pray, I cried.

The Battle

I was in a battle for my health; this was a personal, spiritual conflict and I knew what I was up against. You see our battle is not against flesh and blood but against rulers, powers and principalities. I needed an army to fight this supernatural war, and they geared up and ran into the battlefield to bring Satan and his minions down. This is what God’s army does when a general is down. Thank God for my faithful army.

Battle Against Evil. ¹⁰Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

To be continued…

My Heart of the Matter

I have COVID

July 9, 2021 252 Comments

I am currently in the hospital recovering from COVID. Please do not call or text, I’m too weak to answer. Pray for me and please don’t contact my family either, they do not have answers. Pray for Mike he also has COVID but is at home recovering. My Blog will be up as soon as I’m feeling better: God Bless you.

Funny Stuff

My Dog life

June 25, 2021 1 Comment

Some of our dogs, Sonja’s dog Raymond, Reisa, and Mikos’s Big Mel

Dogs are mentioned in the Bible over 40 times, but most of the stories involving man’s best friend are unfavorable, being derogatory and depicting dogs in a bad light. This story is about the dogs in my life.

Childhood Dogs

Blackie, a short black Heinz 57 variety, was the first childhood dog that I remember; he was run over by a vehicle driven by a gas repair man. We put Blackie in an old shoe box, had a funeral, and buried him in a shallow grave. Blackie never rested in peace because we were curious kids who morbidly checked on the dead dog by digging around him with sticks.

Albino, an all white mutt was our next dog, Bino for short. Bino lived a wonderful life until a neighbor shot him. Our yard had fences on both sides but not in front, Bino ran the neighborhood freely. Bino fell in love with a designer dog down the street and was consummating their union when he was shot. This was no shotgun wedding; the bullet was meant for Bino’s death. I was in the front yard along with other neighborhood kids when a redneck woman with a huge shotgun shot my dog. The bullet went right though Bino’s hip. My mother called the police but nothing ever came of this. Suing was not an option; we just dealt with it. Our mother took Bino to the vet where he under went surgery. We never took Bino for a follow up visit and for the rest of his life he hopped on three legs.

Dogs In The 1960’s

All of our childhood dogs were outside pets; they rarely got shots or flea treatments, and for sure were never spayed or neutered. Our dogs ate scraps from the table and only if the dog food was on sale did they get canned food. These dogs never experienced teeth cleaning and their real coats were there only clothing. We gave our dogs real bones and they really buried them in the back yard.

Our Newly Wed Dogs

When Mike and I were newlyweds, I got two useless dogs, Ella and Oso. They were ridiculous and we had to get rid of them due to a no-pets clause in our rental agreement. Oso was given to a hippie that worked with us. Oso resented this betrayal, and when I would ran into him, the dog would completely ignore me.

Solo

Solo, the cocker spaniel, was a sweet pet, who suffered abandonment issues. Solo was a big crybaby, who howled a lot. I took him to a specialist (dog trainer) in an attempt to correct this annoying behavior. “Put coins in an empty can and throw it out the window when he starts crying,” said the trainer, but nothing worked.

As Solo got older he started developing a body odor so bad that no one could be around him. When a tile man was installing new flooring in the kitchen, Solo hung out by the kitchen door. The man asked me to please put the dog in the garage so he could finish the job. The odor so bad that Solo had to be put on a special diet to control the stench. Solo was a flea bag too, and though he had regular treatments, the fleas loved him.

Towards the end of his life, Solo went blind and deaf, which posed an even greater problem, landing him in the pool. I would hear my son Mikos yell out from his room “Solo fell in the pool!” That was my signal to run from wherever I was to rescue the deaf and blind dog from drowning. With all the accidental falls in the pool, Solo developed chronic ear infections and he was finally laid to rest by Deanna, our babysitter.

Reisa Ciriza

Reisa Ciriza, was our golden retriever, her entire life ambition was to chase balls and swim. She was the nicest of all the dogs. Once I was so sad and upset about something that I let Reisa into the house and she licked up my tears; it was as if God used the dog to bring me peace. Reisa died at the hands of my nieces Leah and Maggie, who kept throwing the tennis ball to her until she could no longer take it.

Big Mel

Big Mel was given to us by a neighbor and was a huge golden that suffered from narcissism. He intentionally knocked over small children, and had been through three families. We were his last chance because he was going to be put down due to his bad behavior. We took him in, Big Mel was a Houdini and would always escape on trash day to knock over the neighbor’s trash bins. We could not handle him either, and shipped him to Santa Barbara with Mikos. They were inseparable, Mel finally experienced true love. While Mikos attended classes, Big Mel entertained himself at the beach, and everyone in the community knew him, including the police. Mikos remembers when a police car drove up with Big Mel in the back seat; the officer opened the door and Big Mel jumped out . Big Mel used his nose to let himself into the house. We were all there the day he went to dog heaven. My son took Big Mel’s collar and buried it at Ledbetter Beach in Santa Barbara.

Shadrach Angelico Ciriza

Our last dog was Shadrach Angelico Ciriza. He suffered from ADD,ADHD and was just crazy. He chewed the dining table, the kitchen door, and several backyard hoses. He got ahold of the telephone repairman’s equipment and destroyed it. Shadrach loved to run the streets. Once he escaped, broke into my neighbor’s house and ate their dinner. He was a great swimmer and summer was his season. Swimming daily, he and I did laps together and he would always beat me. When he got on in years, he could no longer get out of the pool without help. My beautiful Shadrach suffered from a debilitating back problem. His last day was spent under the St. Francis water fountain in our backyard. St. Francis called him peacefully home.

Mike and I decided to be dog free because we travel and did not want to be burdened with dog care. We now have two grand dogs that visit every time their families come. Paco spends his time barking at airplanes, lizards and anything that makes the slightest sound. Rosie, is a sweet mild mannered golden that thinks she is a small lap dog. Unlike her ancestors, she hates the pool.

“As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool to his folly.” Proverbs 26:11

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