Monica, Augustine, and Ambrose

This week, the Church celebrated two feast days, which are intimately linked with the patron saint of our parish, Saint Ambrose:  Saint Monica and Saint Augustine.

Saint Monica was the epitome of the patient wife and mother.  She also bore witness to the power of prayer.  Though it took many years, her husband finally converted to Christianity about a year before he died.  Monica’s prayers for her son, Augustine, eventually led to his conversion and baptism as well.

Saint Augustine went on to lead a momentous life as chronicled in his autobiography, Confessions.  His book was the first of its kind, in that it detailed his spiritual development.  It inspired future generations of saints to write similar books, such as Saint Therese of Lisieux’s Story of a Soul.  Augustine became a Catholic, a priest, and a bishop in quick succession, and today is recognized as a Doctor of the Church.

Saint Ambrose featured in both Monica and Augustine’s life quite prominently.  He was Monica’s spiritual director, and he was a key figure in Augustine’s conversion to Catholicism.  I think it is safe to say that without Ambrose, there would be no Saint Augustine.

Let us all strive to be patient, like Monica, repentant like Augustine, and fervent like Ambrose in our day-to-day lives.

Spread Too Thin

I have mentioned before on this blog that I have a talent for being able to remember and recite lines from movies at length.  This week, a particular line from Bilbo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring is coming to mind.  (The line also features in the book, if I recall correctly.)  Bilbo tells Gandalf, the wise old wizard, that he feels “thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

It is important to know what one’s limits are.  It is equally important to set boundaries so those limits are not exceeded.  Otherwise, one can experience irritability, burnout, and/or exhaustion.  It may seem like this is an especially “grown up” or American problem, what with our culture of “work-aholism”, but it can affect kids just as much.

If kids are involved in a lot of extracurricular activities, going back to school can be tough, because now, they have to juggle being in classes most of the day, homework, and all of the fun things they want to be involved in after school.  Kids can burn out just like adults can, but they don’t necessarily have the same coping mechanisms that adults do.  Therefore, it is the adult’s responsibility to set boundaries and limits for their children.

Keep this in mind as kids finish their first week back at school.

Assumptions

Today, the Universal Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Paragraph 974 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) gives us a brief summary statement regarding this:

“The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son’s Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.”

CCC paragraph 966, which the previous quote summarizes, refers to the “Dormition” of Mary, which is the name the Byzantine Liturgy, or Eastern Rite, uses for the Assumption.  The idea behind the “Dormition” of Mary, is that she “fell asleep” (i.e., she died) and then was taken up into heaven.  However, given our long separation from the actual event, it is impossible for us to know whether Mary actually died first, or if she was taken up into heaven in the same manner as Elijah was in 2 Kings 2:11.

So, why do we call today’s feast The Assumption?

Today, the word assumption has come to refer to the human tendency to believe something to be true or an event to have happened, regardless of whether it is actually true or has actually happened.  One is often warned not to assume anything.  When we use the term Assumption to describe today’s feast (again, note the difference between the word with a capital A and the word with a lowercase A), we are implying another, perhaps older definition of the act of assuming.  Through Mary’s Assumption, God took her to Himself in heaven, setting her apart, not only as the mother of Jesus, but as our mother as well.  In heaven, Mary is ideally placed to intercede for us to Jesus, her son.

As Catholics, we do not worship Mary, but we do pray for her intercession, as we might invoke any other saint’s intercession for a specific need.  But with Mary, we are especially blessed, because she hears all our needs and is able to take them directly to her son, Jesus, who is God.

So, today, we honor Mary, our mother, and her special position in heaven.  Don’t forget that today is a Holy Day of Obligation.  If you haven’t been to Mass yet, join us at 6:30 pm.

Back to... Routine?

Routine can be a wonderful thing.  It establishes consistency.  It can make life predictable in a reassuring way.  But routine can also become monotonous and boring.

The first day of school is rapidly approaching.  Students at Cosgriff, as well as students attending Salt Lake City and Granite School District schools, will return in just a little less than two weeks!  Teachers come back to school next week.  Parents may be sighing in relief that their children will have a more structured day once again.  On the other hand, they may be feeling the stress of trying to prepare for a new school year in the little time that is left to them.  Kids are probably dreading the end of summer vacation.

Some measure of routine is good for everyone.  An established routine can make an otherwise chaotic environment calmer.  One does need to be careful not to get into a rut, however, relying so much on routine to structure one’s days and weeks that when something disrupts routine, it throws off the entire situation.  In order to avoid this, one could change a small part of the routine, or add something new to it.

Think about this in terms of your spiritual life as well.  Have you fallen out of routine over the summer with Mass attendance?  Now is the time to get back into the routine.  Have you gotten into a rut with your prayer life, saying the same prayers over, and over, and over again?  Try adding a new one.  The parish Facebook page posts a “Prayer of the Week” you could try incorporating each week.  Or you could try starting a new devotion.  The Catholic Church dedicateseach month of the year to a different devotion.

What routines can you establish to strengthen your prayer and add consistency to your life?

Change - It's Not Easy!

Nobody really likes change.  It upsets routine.  It makes us uncomfortable.  Luckily, as we grow up we develop coping mechanisms to help us through big changes in our lives. 

For several years, I worked with students who had autism.  Many people with autism struggle with change.  The slightest variation in schedule could throw off an entire day.  This is because, once one thing changes, their routine is off.  It becomes unpredictable.  They don’t know what to expect, and if they don’t have the skills to cope with that, it can lead to meltdowns or other behaviors that their caregivers would deem undesirable.  In these cases, it is important for teachers or caregivers to realize that it isn’t the student’s fault.  He or she is experiencing a BIG emotion, and they are dealing with it the way they know how.

Over time, all of us learn that feelings, no matter what they are, are valid.  We shouldn’t have to justify our feelings, but we do need to take responsibility for how we act on our feelings.  This is a learned skill for anybody, not just people who may be neuro-divergent.

Right now is a time of change for our parish community.  We have been in something of a state of flux for almost a year now, and it has not been easy.  We do need to realize, however, that this change in pastor is not only disrupting for us, but also for the incoming priest.  I would argue it is more disrupting for him.  We only need to meet one new person.  He has to meet an entire community of people.  As such, it is important for us to be understanding and patient, even though that might be difficult for us.

Join us after the 8:30 and 11:00 Masses on August 11th for a welcome reception, and introduce yourself to Father, and until then, keep him in your prayers!