Laughter

 "A day without laughter is a day wasted."  Charlie Chaplin

Aren't pictures of people laughing the best?!  I can't help but smile when I see them. 

       

Have a good laugh today! 

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." - Charlie Chaplin

7 Quick Takes First Week of Lent

Each week of Lent I'll post my 7 quick takes!
If you're behind the times (Jenny Hess) let me fill you in that "7 Quick Takes" is just a list of 7 thoughts /happenings/what-have-yous.


1. Our priests are awesome!  Most of you know I've been spoiled by great priests since I've been hanging around S.O.L.T. for the past 10 years.  But lately I feel especially blessed.  Every homily has been amazing and on top of that they are so good to us, their flock, in many ways.  From Theology of the Body classes, to individual spiritual direction, to just hanging out... they are Christ to us and they are great at it!

and... Welcome Fr. Scott Giuliani!  Like a trooper Fr. Scott pulled into the driveway at 4:55pm and 5 minutes later was saying the 5 o'clock Mass for us.  We are so blessed to have a third priest to serve the people here and even more blessed that it's Fr. Scott!  YAY!

2. Art is a release for me.  Despite not having free time to draw or paint since... oh well... since college I suppose, I still find little things that art related to be such a release.  Art is still part of my 'down time' and I will always enjoy it as a hobby in one way or another.  No, I haven't painted anything, I'm speaking very loosely about art right now; including reused plastic coke bottles made into lanterns, my Mardi Gras costume, homemade stationery, and random photos taken on my phone as "Art". haha

3. LAST WEEKEND.  We drove to Orange Walk (northern Belize) for the Boys Soccer National Championship.  It was a crazy 40 hour trip which started with the church van breaking down 20 miles from the game we were missing and ended sitting in the emergency room with 2 of our boys after a crazy CRAZY fight broke out on the field in the last 5 minutes of the game on Saturday morning.  Mt Carmel took 3rd place and don't worry, the boys are both fine!  The best part of the trip was the amazing generosity shown to us by our Vice Principal and her in-laws.  They housed us, fed us, and drove us around the entire trip!  The most shocking part of the trip was waiting at the emergency room.  Both of our boys just needed to make sure they didn't have a concussion and x-rays to make sure they didn't have any broken bones, it took a while to see the doctor because he was busy attending to a man who had just been admitted with his hand chopped off by a machete!  Yes, this is as shocking here as it would be in the States (ok maybe slightly less shocking here) and I'm sure my mother is freaking out, but don't worry, Mom, we make a point to always stay away from crazy people with machetes :)

4. Chapel time in the morning.  Best part of Lent so far!  We are fortunately to live right next door to Jesus.  For Lent I've made a point to hit the adoration chapel to start each day.  It's been surprisingly easier than I thought!  I don't dread getting ready a little earlier, I actually look forward to it... and my days have been notable more peace-filled because of it!

<--- Jesus is my closest neighbor


5. Letters.  I haven't received mail in quite some time and Tuesday I happened to receive 5 letters!  (Thus proving my theory that despite what the mailman says, the mail IS NOT delivered to Benque from Belize City everyday!)  So thanks Mama, Jenny (and Anna), Sr. Claire, Emily, and Jonathan!

6. Tabs on my blog.  This may sound simple, but to a once-computer-illiterate girl it's a pretty big achievement to figure all these things out.

7. The stupid dog.  Yes, my roommates are DETERMINED to get a dog.  Despite my very reasonable argument that in due time it's going to start rotting from the inside out like all the other dogs in Benque they just HAVE to have a dog because "He's just sooooo cute, Betsy!"  If I had a picture of the dogs on the streets here I would post it and all of you would look away in disgust and vow to never again read my blog.  But it's hard to take a picture of something you walk a block out of the way just to avoid seeing, yes, I'm talking about "pink dog" and "tumor dog".... anyway, last night this dog (they named him Frank but I refuse to name him) supposedly followed them home.  He stayed on the balcony upstairs all night which made me realize they definitely fed him; no wonder he followed you!  The good news is when I caught a glimpse of him this morning I realized he's WAY to clean (and neutered) to be a stray, so hopefully his owners will come looking for him or he'll go home on his own!

Hope everyone is having a great start to Lent!  <3

"Love. This is the center and the meaning of life. It's not extra. It's not icing. It's IT."

 Happy St. Valentine's Day to all!

Without love I am a noisy gong,  without love I am nothing! 

A couple of Sundays ago 1Corinthians13 in Mass. This has always been one my favorite passages in Scripture. I've heard a few homilies on it, usually at weddings, but that Sunday Fr. Mark did such an excellent job some of our Seniors from the school were actually jotting down notes on their hands! Luckily, I had my iPhone (thanks to the generous and lovely Beth Gehring) and was able to record it. It's in 3 short parts totally 15 minutes, make the time to listen to it, you won't regret it.




 13 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body [a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 [b]bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 
11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I [d]became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Lent. Let's Do This!

Jesus replied: "The greatest commandment is this, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  

Matthew 22:37

How blessed we are that the Church in her wisdom has given us a time every year to focus on this command!  A period of 40 days is set aside to refocus and reprioritize our life according to this command.  And not only that, we’re given specific guidelines to help us follow this commandment thereby uniting ourselves more deeply to Christ. 

I get excited for Lent each year, but I realize I may be one of the few.  I think if more people understood what it’s all about then more people would be excited with me!  Lent is here, sure there’s suffering and sacrifice (not what excites me!) but more importantly there’s opportunity to change, there’s a challenge to grow, to get back on track with where I want to be and who I want to be...  it's a call to better myself.  This is our training season every year.  It's tough, of course, but you have a great trainer who will personally help you improve your skills, endurance, and mindset if you are willing to show up and put in the time and effort.  You want to be a saint?  Well here’s 40 days to jump start your journey, and if you feel you’re in the middle of your path to sainthood, well then here’s some fuel to pour on your fire!

Now most of the time I hear “What are you giving up for Lent?” as the first and only question among Catholics.  Sacrifice or “giving up” something is only part of what we’re asked to do in Lent.  In total there are 3 parts:

1. Fasting/Sacrifice

2. Prayer

3. Almsgiving 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvsOFWxbyRM

SACRIFICE
We sacrifice during Lent in order to fulfill the part of that commandment that says “whole body” and to unite ourselves to Christ in His sufferings and ultimate sacrifice of His life for us.  You can give up coke, sweets, coffee, or pizza, as most people do.  This way of fasting is good because we use our will to suppress our more shallow desires and appetites in order to make room for our deeper desires to come to the surface.  It’s a way to prioritize our desires.  Consider giving up something that will allow your deeper desires to come to the surface.  Maybe give up something that will give you more time in your day, or make your life quieter, thus allowing you to focus on deeper more important things rather than the distractions that normally distract us.  Here are some ideas:

Don’t listen to the radio in the car.

Listen to classical or Christian music instead of secular music.

Don’t watch T.V. during the week.

Don’t watch T.V. 2 or 3 days a week.

Don’t shop for yourself for all of Lent (this is harder than it sounds, but not buying those earrings, or purse, or dress is tough… but it’s really fun to buy an Easter outfit at the end!)

Give up facebook

Only check facebook once a day

Remove the facebook app from your phone
Don't go out to eat.
Only go out to eat once a week.

Lent is long enough to form a habit, so what positive habit would you like to pick up in the next 40 days?  

PRAYER

This is how you grow closer to God.  Prayer is communicating with God.  So, find a way to increase your communication with God.  Here are some practical ideas:

Arrive 10 minutes early to Mass to help quiet your mind and prepare for Mass

Pray the Rosary everyday

Pray a decade of the Rosary everyday

Pray the 33 day preparation for consecration to Mary http://totalconsecration.ageofmary.com/preparation-01.html

Go to Mass 1 or 2 weekdays each week

Make a holy hour, or if you already do, make an additional holy hour each week 

Get up early so you can spend 10-15 minutes in prayer or meditation before you start your day

Examine your conscience each night before bed

Meditate on the Mass reading for each day http://usccb.org

Read books about the lives of Saints

What prayer habit would you like to pick up in the next 40 days?  

ALMSGIVING

This is how we love our neighbor as ourselves.  There are so many ways.  I tend to place priority on those God has put closest to me.  Consider how you can serve those in your own house, extended family, neighborhood, and community. 

Give SOMETHING to every homeless person you see, you can have snacks ready in the car to give away if you’d prefer not to give money)

Volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter

Stop by and say hello to your neighbor when you see them instead of always ‘being in a rush’

Visit your elderly relatives

Make friends or “adopt” someone at a nursing home

Make dinner for your wife and family once a week

Do your chores BEFORE your parents have to tell you to

Have a “game night” with your kids once a week

Plan family picnics or outings for Sundays

Send care packages to people serving in the military

Write letters of appreciation to your friends and family

Call your mom, dad, brother, sister, or grandparents that you don’t talk to frequently

Be trained as a Eucharistic Minister and bring the Eucharist to the sick and homebound.

Invite a coworker over for dinner or out to eat.

Let your children’s teacher, the bank teller, the grocery store cashier, or the doctor’s receptionist know when they’re doing a good job.  It's shocking how seldom they hear positive feedback!   
Have a garage sell and give the profits to your local charity.

What positive way of helping others would you like to make a habit in the next 40 days?  

_________________________________________________________________________________
Remember it's about the SPIRIT of the law.  If you forget your sacrifice or skip your prayer time, it's not the end of the world, resolve to continue doing it, even if you fail here and there (or all the time!).  A practical way to help is to write down what you decide to do, keep it in a place where you'll see it often, if you don't want to put it on your door or bathroom mirror, than how about in your wallet, the visor in your car, or as a bookmark.  The more you see it the easier it will be to remember it and DO IT.  Encourage yourself, play pump up music, or look up encouraging quotes or Scripture.  This is training, remember, you're need encouragement!

Ash Wednesday and Fridays in Lent.  Ok, here's the deal, people.  The Church gives us these guidelines (to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and to abstain from meat on all Fridays in Lent).  IT'S REALLY NOT THAT TOUGH.  I'm sorry to tell you like it is, but, seriously, have you added up how many days the Church asks this of us?  8 DAYS TOTAL.  8 days our of 365!  Surely you can make it 6 days without meat and 2 days with 1 regular meal and 2 small meals that together make the size of a regular meal.  Let's remember, this is supposed to be a sacrifice, we do this on Fridays to remember what Christ sacrificed for us, which was a whole lot more than meat, or a couple of meals.  What the Church gives us is the minimum, if you'd like to do more try only bread and water on Fridays, you'll make it, it won't be fun, but remember, it's not supposed to be, you're in training, you're uniting yourself to Christ, and what He did for us wasn't "fun".  Meatless Fridays are a big opportunity for people to embrace the spirit of the law, or skimp by with the letter of the law.  If you're looking forward to that delicious seafood dinner on Friday night you've missed the point.  Save your lobster dinner for Sunday, eat peanut butter and jelly, tuna casserole, or something else that is not as good as what you eat every other day of the week.
So write down what you're doing, don't get discouraged or give up when you forget or fail, go by the spirit of the law, and lastly, celebrate Sundays!  I used to be of the mindset that it was like cheating to celebrate Sundays in Lent, like you're not hardcore enough if you break your fast on Sundays.  Then someone explained to me that Lent is 40 days NOT INCLUDING Sundays for a reason.  The Church could've very easily went 40 days straight without breaking for Sunday, but it decide to do that.  Every Sunday is a mini Easter, that's why why we don't fast on Sunday, because we're celebrating a little mini Resurrection.  Like every Friday we remember Christ's death, every Sunday we remember His resurrection.    

Happy and holy Lent to all! 

A Short Lenten Reflection by Sr. Anne Marie Walsh, S.O.L.T.   Well worth the read!   http://networkedblogs.com/IfPFL

Rodney Guerra

I'd like to thank all of you for praying for our student, Rodney Guerra who died on Sunday.  Rodney drown while swimming in the river Sunday afternoon.  He was in 10th grade at our school.



There were two heart wrenching moments at the funeral and burial.  One was the sobbing and wailing of his mother.  I hear the worst loss is that of a parent losing their child.  At this point in my life I don't know what it feels like to be a mother and I can't even imagine what parents go through when their child dies, especially in a tragic accident when he's only 15.


The other moment was at the end of Mass.  They chose to sing our school song as the recessional and the words of the song have never been so powerful as they were at that moment.  Seeing his friends carrying the casket out with tears streaming down their faces is something I hope never to forget.  This was a sad and yet somehow empowering moment, in the midst of this tragedy I could see the fruit of our school in the lives of the students.  The students, especially his close friends, are grieving, as they should be, but... they are not lost... the know the Truth, they have faith, and they are stronger than I ever noticed before.

Here are the lyrics to our school song:

Our Lady of Mt Carmel School Song

The time has come to join our hands.  To hold our hearts and lift them high.  To walk the path that leads us to heaven.  To win the victory of our lives. 

The battlefield is harsh and real swear and tears have watered the field.  Our spirit grows towards the light of heaven, we’ll fight beneath our lady’s shield. 

A crusader am I with Mt Carmel pride, I’ll hold on to the cross and my flag.  We will seek the truth and we’ll walk in the light, with our mother our lives will go on. 

Every battle we fight against the evil one, the light of Jesus will be on our side.  We will run the race, holding hands real tight and a victory we will have on high. 

Every step we take, we take with God.  Every race we run we run with God and victory we will have on high. 

I don't know that I've ever been more proud to say I teach about Mt Carmel High School, more proud of my students and the amazing adults they are becoming.  Our students are blessed to attend a school like Mt Carmel and our faculty and staff are blessed to work at Mt Carmel.  I'm so happy we can pray in school, not only that we CAN pray, but that we DO pray.  Monday morning the whole school met to pray a Rosary together.  Classes continued like normal, except for Rodney's class of about 30 boys, they prayed more together, wrote letters to his family, made sandwiches for the wake that night, and went to visit his parents at their house.  The school counselor was is available to them, of course and the chapel on campus was open and the students were permitted to go in for some quiet time whenever they needed to throughout the day.  I was the teacher assigned to be in the chapel for most of the day and as I watched them come in, put their head down, cry and pray and grieve and then go back to class after half an hour or so, I realized what an amazing place this is.  What a beautiful thing it is that the students can grieve, what have we lost by allowing them this "distraction" from their class time that day?  They lost one day of school, and what did they gain?  SO MUCH.  I thank God for the gift of prayer in school, I thank God for the gift of educators who have their priorities straight, I thank God for a school where these students feel safe, helped, protected, and comforted.  As the school song says "Every step we take, we take with God.  Every race we run we run with God and the victory we sill have on high." 

Please continue to remember Rodney, his friends, and his family in your prayers.  Thank you so much, and God bless you. 

Zachary Butz

Zach Butz is one of our volunteer teachers this year.  He writes really well and fortunately for the world, he shares his thoughts and his writing skills in a blog!  Here's his latest, an article about being a volunteer teacher serving at this mission.

http://zachbutz.tumblr.com       Enjoy!

Find Yourself

“Man Cannot Fully Find Himself, Except Through A Sincere Gift Of Himself.” -John Paul II

"Only in God do we find both our individuality and our unity." -Anthony Esolen

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you." John 15:11-14

"It is in giving of ourselves that we receive" -St. Francis of Assisi

     I know it's been quite some time since I've posted.  Things have been quite busy around here, but I have about 10 blog posts rolling around in my head just waiting for the opportunity to be written!  So, I will attempt to condense my thoughts (those that know me understand how difficult this is for me!) so that I will be able to post more often.  For today, enjoy these awesome quotes and this 2 minute homily from one of our wonderful priests here!