The Four Fingered Pianist

Next time you think you face insurmountable odds...remember this girl.

Holy Week 101

Holy Week is the holiest week of the year, why? Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and concludes with our celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter. This week takes special precedence in our lives as Catholic Christians because within this week we remember and celebrate all that Jesus did for our salvation. There is no other week in the year like it!

Holy Week kicks off on Palm Sunday with our recollection of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem for the celebration of the Passover. As we continue through the week we come to the Triduum (or “three days”), Holy Thursday, Good Friday & Holy Saturday. On these three days we actually celebrate only one liturgy. We begin on Holy Thursday with the celebration of the gift Jesus gives us in the Eucharist, we remember his last supper with the disciples. Good Friday is the only day in the entire year that no Catholic church anywhere celebrates Mass, why? Because on Good Friday we take special time and energy to recollect Jesus’ Passion (his suffering) & his death. We do this at a communion service where we receive Host consecrated on Holy Thursday and take special time to venerate (respect) the cross. Triduum concludes on Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil. This Mass is typically the longest Mass of the year but is also one of the most beautiful. During this Mass we light the Paschal Candle, which represents Christ’s light in the world and spread that light throughout the congregation. There are more readings than usual during this Mass because we take special time to remember our entire story of salvation from the Creation in Genesis to Jesus’ Resurrection in the Gospels! The Easter Vigil culminates with the initiation of the RCIA candidates who have been preparing during the whole year to be become Catholic, tonight it happens! Holy Week comes to an end with our celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter, the holiest day of our year! On Easter we rejoice because Christ has conquered death and redeemed our relationship with God the Father!

So, this Holy Week I encourage you to take the time to truly experience the richest week of our church year and to remember all that Christ has done for us and for you!

Give that Angel a RAISE!

Yesterday was a day of miracles for my family.

1st: Dan was in a bad car accident yesterday. He rear-ended a Durango on Ironwood on his way home from work. He thinks we was probably going about 50mph when he hit her. Apparently she was creeping (or a malfunction with her brake lights) and he didn't notice in time. His car is totaled....bumper was off, hood hanging on by a thread, windshield shattered. The car did it's job and protected him. Apparently, when the EMT's arrived they went to his car expecting him to still be trapped inside but he had been able to get out the passenger door. The Durango crossed into oncoming traffic to the other side of the road and miraculously did not get hit by any other cars head on. Dan was taken to the hospital with chest pain and wrist pain. The chest pain is from his seat belt (he's got bad bruises) so thankfully no cracked sternum. He has a bone contusion in his wrist but not a break...he has to wear a splint for about a week. The other driver was also taken to the hospital for a bump on the head but nothing major. The EMT's said they were surprised no one was hurt worse and that Dan's car hadn't rolled when he hit the steep enbankment on the side of the road. The doctor said Dan's still alive because he was wearing his seatbelt and hadn't disabled his airbags..otherwise he would have been through the windshield. So that's God's miracle numero uno!

2nd: My mom woke up this morning at 4am smelling smoke. She walked the house but didn't see anything..when she got to my sisters room and she heard a little voice tell her to look up. The paint on her walls was bubbling. She got everyone and all the animals out of the house and called 911. It was an electrical fire in the attic above my 16 year old sisters room that had been burning for 2 hours (it burn't completely through 2 rafters). The firemen said another hour and the fire would have been uncontrollable and the house would have been lost completly. One of the firemen said my mom had a good nose..which she told him she normally can't smell anything. (especially since my sisters room is on the other side of the house.) Then another fireman asked if the smoke detectors went off, my mom told them they hadn't. He then said, I don't know how you knew because it was all contained in the attic and you couldn't have smelled a thing. They then said when the smoke would have come down it just would have made my sister stay asleep and she probably would have died by the time anyone else became aware of the smoke and fire. God's miracle numero dos!

So, thank you Lord for your protection. I am incredibly grateful not to be grieving the loss of my husband or sister!

Miracles do happen, we just have the eyes and the heart to see them! And especially we have to be ready to listen to that little voice inside us when it tells us to do something; that is God's Angel watching out for you! And the one that watches my family deserves a raise!

J.C. ?

Both Judas and Peter Betrayed Jesus and both grieved over what they had done -- why did Judas choose to kill himself as a result of his betrayal while Peter became the leader of the Church?

(Matthew 27:1-5)

Was Jesus A Big Brother?

On Tuesdays I go to this great Bible study led by Kevin Saunders at Love of Christ Lutheran Church. Now before you get to wondering what is your Catholic youth minister doing at a Lutheran church....Kevin's classes are ecumenical(that means open to all faiths) and he teaches at a number of churches (even Catholic ones and is even Catholic himself); it just so happens that Love of Christ is the closest and best time for me to go.....


Recently we've been studying the Gospel of Matthew and while each of the classes is eye-opening something really stood out to me.


In Matthew 12:46-50 and 13:55-56 there is mention of Jesus' brothers and sisters. This point has been a question for Catholics throughout the ages.


How can we, who believe that Mary is ever-virgin, understand that Jesus had brothers and sisters? Doesn't that directly contradict Mary's virginity? Here's what Kevin had to say:


In 3 different traditions there are 3 different/possible understandings of Jesus' siblings.

• Catholic - Within the middle eastern cultures and languages there is no term for cousins. So cousins are called, referred to, and looked at as brothers and sisters. So Jesus "siblings" could be cousins
• Orthodox - (such as the Greek & Russian) Joseph was most likely an older man when he married Mary and had had a wife who had died and Jesus' siblings are then his step brothers and sisters.
• Others - Without the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity Jesus could have brothers and sisters.

The point that Kevin made is that not one of these positions regardless of which one you take affects who Jesus is.. the virgin-born son of Mary (see Matthew 1:25) or what his message is. So it is ever important to maintain focused on the reason for Jesus coming to earth and to not allow ourselves to get caught up in analyzing two little verses that don't change who Jesus is!

I think that we can allow ourselves to do that too often. Too often are we caught up in the little and mundane details and rules so much so that we lose sight of Jesus. We need to keep his love and his message at the forefront and look at everything else through that lens.

P.S. Check out John 19:26-27. If you want to take this sibling argument on... On the cross Jesus gives the care of his mother(Mary) to his disciple(John) who is not a blood relation. This is significant because if Jesus had any blood related siblings they would have been responsible for caring for Mary after his death. Food for Thought.

Be Reconciled

"We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."

2 Corinthians 5: 20

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first of forty days of Lent. What does this day mean? It is certainly more than just a day for people to go around looking funny with a black smudge on their forehead.

Ash Wednesday is a call, a beacon to all peoples of all nations to "Be Reconciled to God." This day is a stepping stone in our journey of faith. None of us are perfect. None of us have this whole Christianity thing "down pat." We're working at it, learning at it, growing in it.

In early Judaism (as well as many other faiths) the symbol of ashes was a symbol of death and dying. The dead were cremated and the place where cremation and burial took place was often covered in ashes from the funeral pyres. Within faith traditions then, when someone placed ashes on their forehead it was a symbol of their death to old ways and when they washed clean it was a symbol of their resurrection to new ways. Ashes remain the same symbol for us today in 2008. We wear our ashes as a symbol of death and dying. We are constantly dying to ourselves and our world to grow deeper in our faith in Christ.

On Ash Wednesday we begin an intense period of this death to self as we prepare for the joy of Easter. See, even though we don't wear ashes everyday of Lent, symbolically they remain with us. We continue in the spirit of prayer and fasting for all of Lent; dying to our old ways of selfishness, greed, impurity, disbelief and becoming reconciled to the God who created us to be beautiful creatures of His light.

Then, as we celebrate Easter Sunday we are washed clean! Our ashes are removed and we resurrect with Christ into a New Life! Where our lives our changed and we each become a new creation, deeper in love with the Savior who died for us on the cross.

So this Ash Wednesday & Lenten season remember the ashes and what they call you to do and be.

"We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."

For Patty

Look! We made a cross!

Here's a bigger picture of the group from retreat!