Wednesday, September 1, 2010

September Begins

I begin this month with an update on the personal life.

Our soldier is on his way home from Afghanistan! He has been granted a leave and so (we hope) will be here around September 5.

We are planning a big celebration at the brother's place (which is appropriate - it is his son and he has the big place) and then, I suspect, will not see our soldier much for the rest of his leave. Afterall, he is 21 and has people to see and beer to drink.

I am just so happy to know he is on his way back, even for a little visit.

We have the Parish Festival coming up at St Joseph's - it is the 40th Anniversary. I will be working in the military support ministry booth and my other nephew, the baby, will be helping (that is, if he gets permission from his parents). He is now at a Military-style day school and LOVING it. He is just responding so beautifully to the discipline and the standards of behavior. It is amazing to see the man he is going to be. I have always felt so sad for him. I know that, if he had been given the type of stability he craved as a child, he would have been an Eagle Scout and a super student and all that stuff; instead, he just sort of faded into the background and tried to stay safe through all the chaos of his life.

BUT now, he is on the way to a good life and looks fabulous and is so very happy. I am proud of him.

I am speaking up in Stockton on September 11, which is more than just a day of mourning for me. It is a day of celebration of the life of Father Mychal Judge, the first casualty of the FDNY on September 11. Father Mychal was killed by debris as he knelt to give the Annointing of the Sick to a fallen firefighter at the base of the Towers. He was a priest, a first responder and a sober member of AA for 25 years. Father Mychal is, I am sure, in heaven now praying for all of us to meet him there some day.

At The Hive, I have been basically just posting about various Catholic Doctrine and Dogma lately because our resident anti-Catholic has revealed his own heresies as he tries to refute the teachings of Holy Mother Church. He recently stated to my Sissy Lee Ann that 'Jesus is a part of God'.

We got to point out to him that not only is that false, even the Baptists to which he claims to belong do not believe that Jesus is less than fully Human and fully Divine.

So he is a heretic among heretics...though I always hesititate to use that term when talking about our seperated brethren. I know it is technically correct, and I should not be afraid of it but I know how words can carry historical connotations that really do wound people.

Perhaps we need to reclaim words.

Anyway, I am working day shift now and I guess I am doing ok. The first month is done and I got a 'good for you' letter to go in my file. I miss my homegroup but I am so grateful for my sponsor and her husband. They are letting me stay with them three days out of the week.

That helps because I lost money when I went to day shift - no more differential.

Well, I miss my family and I miss my friends and I wish I could win the lotto. But Jesus in the Eucharist is everywhere and where ever I go I find the Catholic Church.

And there, I find my salvation.

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