Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Feast of Sts. Jude & Simon




Today the Church celebrates the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude whose names occur together in the Canon of the Mass and are also celebrated on the same day. Possibly this is because they both preached the Gospel in Mesopotamia and Persia where it is said they had both been sent, but in actual fact we know nothing for certain about them beyond what is told us of their being called as Apostles in the New Testament. St. Jude is the author of a short Epistle which forms part of the New Testament.

However meagre in details is the history of these glorious apostles, we learn from their brief legend how amply they contributed to this great work of generating sons of God. Without any repose, and even to the shedding of their blood, they "edified the body of Christ"; and the grateful Church thus prays to our Lord today: "O God, through the work of the apostles you have spoken your Word of love, your Son, into our world's deafness. Open our ears to hear; open our hearts to heed; open our will to obey, that we may proclaim the good news with our lives."

St. Simon is represented in art with a saw, the instrument of his martyrdom. St. Jude's square points him out as an architect of the house of God. St. Paul called himself by this name; and St. Jude, by his Catholic Epistle, has also a special right to be reckoned among our Lord's principal workmen. But our apostle had another nobility, far surpassing all earthly titles: being nephew, by his father Cleophas or Alpheus, to St. Joseph, and legal cousin to the Man-God, Jude was one of those called by their compatriots the brethren of the carpenter's Son. We may gather from St. John's Gospel another precious detail concerning him. In the admirable discourse at the close of the last Supper, our Lord said: "He that loveth Me, shall be loved of My Father: and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him." Then Jude asked Him: "Lord, how is it, that Thou wilt manifest Thyself to us, and not to the world?" And he received from Jesus this reply: "If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My word. And the word which you have heard is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me."

The churches of St. Peter in Rome and Saint-Sernin at Toulouse dispute the honor of possessing the greater part of their holy remains.

(St Jude is my favorite saint, and was going to be Adeleine's name if she had boy parts. Maybe next time? I am excited about today. I have been anticipating it for a few weeks! During our family prayers this morning, we busted out the special feast day candle, red alter cloth and my fav...the incense. Other than having to stay home and wait for the plumber, today is a great day!!)

Father, you revealed yourself to us through the preaching of your apostles Simon and Jude. By their prayers, give your Church continued growth and increase the number of those who believe in you. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


Friday, October 17, 2008

We Miss Her











My sister is coming home for Thanksgiving!!!! When she left for college in August, I told the kids that they would see her in November. I knew that they really had no concept of how far away it was, but it has seemed like an eternity. There was a question for awhile about if she was really coming home, since flights were $$$ and she is coming home for Christmas 2 weeks later. She found out that she has to leave campus during thanksgiving, so she is coming home! The kids are so excited, so to help them countdown the days we made a paper chain and they can tear them off daily. It was a fun little project. The weekend plans include a family trip to the library, a few outdoor projects and family pictures after mass on sunday...wish us luck!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

We had a great day today. We did a little learning time and then headed to my favorite park to play. Abbie kinda embarassed me while there by telling all our weird family secrets to a sweet grandma with her granddaughter. She left shortly after that so I think I scared her. Oops! After that I tackled the 6-7 loads of laundry that needed to be folded. I dumped it all on the couch so that I had to fold it in order to sit. We then had a nice healthy dinner followed by a easy bedtime! Tomorrows agenda includes a trip to Target and more laundry!

Friday, October 10, 2008

The awesomest park ever.







Massive play equipment, lots of grass, swings, shaded picnic area and 3 minutes from my house = my perfect park!