Noelle "La iglesia"

One word and we found connection.  Our 2019 Christmas season is filled with joy in our service to those most in need.  Yesterday, a new Vincentian*,  named Noelle,  and I went to visit a family in need of food and diapers.  They were Spanish speaking and so our ability to communicate was primary through smiles. However, a little boy named Daniel, curious to see who is mother and aunt were speaking to,  came to the front door. Up to that point we were trying to determine if mother and auntie would like to pray together using such words as Jesus, prayer, God.  We asked Daniel if he spoke english which he did.   We used the name of Jesus and they said we have no Jesus, thinking we were asking for the name of one of the family members. However, Daniel was wearing a cross so we thought, hmm, they must be Christians. We  asked Daniel if they believed in Jesus and his mother said "no Jesus,"  and Daniel looked at his mother trying to explain that we wanted to pray. After much confusion, Noelle said her one Spanish word la iglesia, ahh, YES, Si, we had connection. Daniel led us all in Spanish, "Padre nuestro que estas en los cielos...."  Noelle and I returned to our car with great joy that in her two words La iglesia we had connected, prayed and received the JOY of a family who welcomed us.

*Vincentian is a title we use for a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.  We are a global organization that serves the poor in our local neighborhoods, offering food, clothing and rental assistance. I have been a member since 1989. Noelle and her husband have just joined our mission here at St. Catherine's church in Burlingame, CA and we are fast friends and quite possibly I have met angels in disguise.

Curating Cozy

It is not hard for me to curate cozy as I add cinnamon to my coffee this morning and taste autumn’s main spice. While not yet here, the mornings are cooler and it invites me to close my shades and feel the warm cup of coffee, wrap myself in my fluffy robe and experience cozy.  Our little cottage invokes intimacy, simplicity and ultimately creativity. Out comes my fabrics and sewing machine for creating quilts. What will inspire curating your cozy?

Allison, the good shepherd

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Reflecting today on my time away from work I fondly recall a story my niece Allison shared.  Allison is planning to become a veterinarian and worked last summer and this summer with Dr. Mike, a big animal vet. Each day when she returns from her internship under Dr. Mike,  she shares tales of her days' care of the animals. All of her stories fascinate and delight all of us.   One such story invoked a beautiful scene to me of the Good Shepherd. Allison told us she had worked with a little lamb. The small lamb had broken its leg and Allison and Dr. Mike had to care for it.  They were able to sedate and put a splint on the little lamb. Allison, is a strong young woman with a huge heart, I saw her and this story as a  metaphor in many ways for the strength of our Good Shepherd. In her sharing, I sensed her gentleness, her care, her affection for this small injured lamb.

   As she finish her story, and as  Holy validation, it occurred to me she was wearing her college shirt ​.....Shepherd. That is one lucky lamb and we are lucky to know our Shepherd so well. 

Peace through Music

The blessing of a broken pinkie finger

Over the Christmas break I was playing basketball with Joe, JP and the boys and as Zachary and I were in the thick of defense I somehow went for the ball and broke my little pinkie finger. Well actually, I thought I had only jammed it and that the pain would subside, however, when it didn't and my finger swelled overnight, Joe took me to urgent care confirming a broken finger. Enough about that as my real blessing is that the broken finger slowed me down. We chose to have a quiet new year's eve and day. In the slowing down of my life, I had time for prayer, reflection, quiet and peace. I realized how much I was missing in just being beside restful waters, as Psalm 23 describes.  In this time of resting, in order to heal, I am finding blessings far beyond what I could have imagined.

Curating Cozy

A new year has begun. My sister Bridget sent a text to inspire us to be healthy. I proceeded to make french toast using fresh eggs, adding vanilla and soaking my french bread in the egg batter before frying them in butter. With our  Christmas tree and lights still up, I lit candles on my table and sat with hot coffee and savored every bit of these delicious homemade french toasts. The warm lighting in our little home made me reflect on what I would like to experience in this new year and my inspiration came quickly to curate cozy.  Cozy can mean so many things, however, for me it conjures warmth, simplicity, romance, good food, health, peace and quiet.  I am also beginning a home based 10 day retreat based on a book my mother posthumously gave me for Christmas:  The Song of the Seed, A Monastic Way of Tending the Soul, by Macrina Wiederkehr.  In the first session two themes are shared: 1. Quieting the Soul and 2. Letting God's word romance you.  Perhaps curating cozy is God's way of nurturing me.  I will be quiet and abide for today in this feeling of cozy. Mom, thank you for the book and your presence within while I enjoyed every bite of the french toast.