What Kind of Lent Has It Been?

Title adapted from the  Season one finales of:
Sports Night
The West Wing
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Well, it hasn't been exactly the Lent I planned to have.
I didn't pray the Stations of the Cross as much as I meant to. But then again, the only way
I really like praying the Stations is in Church.
I didn't really miss the things I gave up, and, call me crazy, but I like to miss, to crave, the things I give up. I like to feel that I'm actually making some kind of a sacrifice,
although no sacrifice of mine could come close to Our Lord's sacrifice.
But then again, maybe what He wanted me to "give up" this year was the feeling that I was
making a sacrifice.
And, while I'm taking stock:
1: Have I prayed more this Lent than during Ordinary Time?
Yes.
2: Will I continue to pray as much as I did during Lent?
Yes
3: Have I drawn closer to Jesus during this Lent?
I think so.
4:
Will I stay this close to Him?
I pray that I will come closer.
So, all in all, what kind of Lent has this been?
A blessed one, as Lent should always be.

Baby Joseph Comes Home

Click here.
The article by Fr. Frank says it all, but I'm going to add my two cents worth.
(if we're talking a penny a word!).
Thank God!

Passover Customs and Memories

This post is reprinted, slightly edited, from one of my old blogs.

Passover began last night. I remember Passover Seders in Baba's apartment. (She and Grandpa lived right in our building, so I saw them every day) As the only child, I was the one who had to ask the Four Questions every year. But I was also the one who was SURE to get the afikoman present every year. The afikoman is the piece of matzoh eaten at the end of the Seder. In larger families, one of the children "steals" the afikoman, but where there is only one child, the adults hide the afikoman, and the child hunts for it at the appropriate time. In my family, it was hidden. Oh, the fun I had hunting for it! I recently read that some families have yet another tradition: The afikoman is hidden early in the day, or perhaps the evening before, by the father. The kid who finds it first hides it somewhere else, and so on. No matter what the family's afikoman tradition may be, the father (or whoever is leading the Seder) has to promise the child who has the afikoman a present (child's choice, and oh did I love that!) in order to get it back. And I remember the songs, Dayenu and Adir Hu. I found several versions of Adir Hu online awhile ago, different melodies, but none of them the one I grew up with.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at Sunday Snippets.
Thanks once again to RAnn for hosting!

Semper Gaudete!: Lovely Meditations on the Stations of The Cross

Semper Gaudete!: An Obscene Word (Post is safe to read)

Semper Gaudete!: I Loved Going to the Dentist

Semper Gaudete!: Beautiful Video From Chile

Semper Gaudete!: Books Read in the Past Week

Books Read in the Past Week

"The Trouble With Toby"
by Molly Cone
(children's fiction)

"Ramona the Pest"
"Ramona the Brave"
"Ramona And Her Father"
by Beverly Cleary
(children's fiction)

"Girl In The Mirror"
by Cousin Carrie
(teen fiction, Amish)

"grace notes"
"love, annie"
"just jazz"
"storm rising"
by Dandi Daley Mackall
{Faithgirlz! Blog On series}
(children's fiction, Christian [Protestant])

Special sneak peek: Next week's list will be shorter. I will be
reading one of my favorite novels, one I like to linger over.
Hint: It's by Rumer Godden.

Beautiful Video From Chile

In Chile, abortion is ILLEGAL. Let's pray that someday this will be true of ALL nations.

I Loved Going to the Dentist

Yep! When I was a kid, my friends and I loved going to the dentist. His office was right on my block, so I went at least once a week, sometimes by myself, sometimes with one or more of my friends. Either way, I always had a great time there.
You see, Dr. Kopel (that was his name, but after all these years I'm not sure I'm spelling it right) had a storeroom full, and I mean FULL, of comic books, including many that the corner candy store didn't carry, and he didn't care how much
time his young friends spent reading them.
So I really enjoyed going to the dentist... except when I had to go to the dentist!