Another Advent Filled With An Evil Virus Lurking

 This should be a joyous time of waiting and preparing. I love Advent and the Christmas season.  But unfortunately, members of my family and my extended family have fallen ill with the Delta variant of Covid. The virus that just won't give up its grip. It mutates and it finds new hosts. An evil virus for sure. It has caused such calamity and suffering and loss. And it's not done with us yet, I'm sorry to say. That's not my opinion but those who study viruses. 

All I can do to help is to make homemade soup. At least that gives me a purpose, so I make soup and deliver it and feel like I'm useful. And give some nutritional edge to loved ones who are sick. Tomorrow I will make "Jewish Penicillin" (Chicken Soup). Oh and of course I pray and ask others to pray. Without prayer, I could not live. I try to distract myself by reading historical novels, which I find entertaining. So I cook and I read and I pray and talk to friends.

This was a difficult week because I had workmen in my house. The worse kind of torture for me, having to deal with people in and out of the house, doing work, making noise, upsetting my peace. I have no right to complain about that but I will. My son says, I have a lot of nerve, I should be grateful I can afford to do repairs and renovations. Sure. 

So I hope Christmas will be OK and everyone will get well, so we can celebrate as a family. I can only pray it will.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas! 

NJA

Surviving the Move and Re-Learning Evangelization

 As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have moved, to be closer to my grandchildren. Moving is hard when you have a lot of stuff, many religious books, children's books etc. I've been busy unpacking but also I've found time for gardening, I'm blessed to have a rock garden in the front of my house, so I am planting in between the rocks. So many rocks and even boulders in Connecticut, I never knew that til I moved here!

Now I live close to my granddaughters and I can help when needed. I like my new Church and have already joined a Women's Enrichment Group. We are reading, "The Contagious Catholic-The Art of Practical Evangelization" by Marcel Lejeune. Not sure where it will lead, but I'm sure by the end of the book, we will all have some new ideas on how we can help evangelize.  

Come Holy Spirit Come! Being open and receptive to the power of the Holy Spirit is the only way to begin evangelization, stay with it, and bear fruit that will last. We can do nothing on our own, but with God's help, miracles can happen! Receptivity, positivity and the Holy Spirit and all will be well.

NJA

Moving Is Hard But Sometimes It Has To Be Done

 I'm very busy, too busy to write. We are moving...leaving Long Island after almost 18 years. It's a beautiful island but we're moving to be closer to our granddaughters. Granddaughters tug at your heart and it's important to be close to them. 

I have a lot of stuff. I hate moving. It's the worst. And I have a lot of books. I love the written word and its hard for me to part with my books, especially my religious books. I have given some away, and its only because it's for a good cause. Otherwise I couldn't part with them. But I am sending some books to Africa, I've been doing that for awhile. 

But most of my library will travel with me. All my Carmelite books and all the other ones too.

I love to garden and I will have a place to garden, to grow roses and plant wildflowers for butterflies and bees. 

I wouldn't be going, if I couldn't bring Jesus with me. But Jesus will come along. As He always does in my life. 

And of course, I will be near a Catholic Church, as I couldn't live without Eucharist or Bible Study and luckily they have Scripture Study there. 

So God is good. And I pray that this will be a good move for us. 

Nancy

Be A Light!

 I love quotes...I often use quotes for journaling. I vacationed recently in Mattituck, NY .....the North Fork of Long Island. Once potato farms, it is now filled with vineyards which produce award-winning wines. I love wineries, as vineyards are so orderly, useful and pleasant in the warmth of summer. 

I like this quote.....It is useful for journaling...

"You Are The Light of the World"

"Ask yourselves: 'Do I believe these words of Jesus in the gospel? Jesus is calling you the light of the world. He is asking you to let your light shine before others. I know that in your hearts you want to say: 'Here I am Lord. Here I am. I come to do you will.' But only if you are one with Jesus can you share his light and be a light for the world."  St. John Paul II

People Quick To Ask, "Where Was God?" In Aftermath of Building Collapse in Florida

 One of the rabbi's who spoke on TV, following the catastrophic collapse of the residential condo building in Florida, said people were asking him, "Why did God allow this to happen?" Of course he was quite upset as many congregants and even lifelong friends were in that building. Faith ministers and chaplains from all faiths are helping relatives and friends of those who were in the ill-fated building, to cope with the unimaginable. 

But God can't be blamed for everything. Yes, we live in a fallen world and yes there is evil in this world but God gets blamed for so much. I often find myself defending God.

As it turns out, according to a news article, God isn't to blame. People are to blame. People who didn't take warnings from engineers seriously. Engineers according to a New York Times article, which came out this morning wrote in 2018 that the building had serious structural problems with corrosion, crumbling concrete and cracking which needed to be addressed in a "timely manner." So why weren't the recommendations acted upon immediately or people warned so they could have acted accordingly?

All human error, misunderstanding, lack of knowledge of the severity of the problem? As one engineer being interviewed said, "It was like a perfect storm." There is probably more than one reason the building came crashing down in a pancake fashion, which made it more difficult to survive the collapse. 

And so friends and family of the missing, wait and pray. Very heart-breaking, no one should have to go through such pain and agony. And to think it could have been avoided........that's even worse. 

NJA

All Those Aliens Will Have To Be Baptized!

 Stories of UFO's or Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP's) like the government prefers to call them are everywhere in the news these days.  It became mainstream news (and out of the fringes) when navy pilots began talking, years ago, about encounters with UFO's that can defy gravity and move through space, our atmosphere and water at speeds that would kill humans.....Some of these UFO's can be explained but some cannot. And now the government shortly will release a report which will basically say, some phenomena is not explainable. They just don't know what they are. But some navy pilots report that they are flying close to navy jets, in restricted U.S. airspace. So even some congressmen are saying, we should know what they are. That makes sense. 

I've listened to these navy pilots talk (on 60 Minutes) about chasing UFO's at high speeds and they've also shown up on radar and on cockpit cameras.  So what are we as Christian believers suppose to think about all this? It fascinates me. 

Many Vatican astronomers and scientists will say, the probability is we are likely not alone in the Universe. Statistically it's beginning to look like there might be many other planets orbiting stars that have some life form on them. We will have to see what the interstellar satellites find, they're going into deeper and deeper space.  

If we are not alone, though our planet is probably the most beautiful of God's creation, (there is so much symmetry, order, diversity and beauty on our planet, solar system and in our Milky Way Galaxy) that God took a special interest in us. We are greatly favored! Yes, I do believe that. 

But if there are other intelligent life forms out there and if they are smart and more advanced and have figured out how to travel though space without conventional propulsion then if they ever stop darting around the skies and land (now that would be the biggest news story ever) and say, "Hi, we'd like to introduce ourselves." Well then what? Of course that could open up dialogue and the opportunity for evangelization and the offering of baptism, looking at it from a Christian perspective.

So who knows, maybe in our lifetimes or perhaps in the next generation we will find extraterrestrial life, or they'll find us and just maybe we'll find they too worship and believe in God and maybe they will need some catechizing.

Fun to think about all this..

NJA

The Epidemic of Violence And Other Signs of Decay in Society

 We've all become numb to the rising violence in our country. It's so sad what has happened. It seems everyday now you read about a stabbing, or mass shooting somewhere in the country. No where seems to be immune. More Americans now are stating that violent crime is a very big problem in our country. More than Covid, since those deaths and hospitalizations are falling, thank God. It is no surprise that people view violence as a big problem. If you watch the news, it's filled with stories of death and injury from violence.  Gun sales are also rising because people don't feel safe anymore and want to protect themselves.  Perhaps they are right. 

So it seems the commandment ...."Thou shall not kill," is not taken seriously by some....as crazy as that seems. 

Then there is 'Thou shall not steal," another commandment which is ignored by many. In San Francisco, California some chain stores had to close because people were blatantly walking out with merchandise, in full view of others. Stealing and not caring if they are caught, since the penalty was not severe and so stores can't make money and they are closing. So when honest people try to go shopping, the stores they frequented are closed, too much shoplifting is the cause. 

And so the list goes on......The world I grew up in, though not perfect of course, was a lot more sensible, kinder and wholesome than what the world is becoming. And it doesn't seem to be getting much better. 

People of good faith,  keep praying, we keep hoping, we keep wondering if things will improve and yet if God's laws are ignored as well as civil laws and some people in addition, just don't care about civility or decency, where will it all go? To hell in a handbasket?

What is God thinking about this mess? A fallen world? Fallen natures? 

Looks like I need a little sunshine...all this rain, is making me too negative!

NJA