Tag: god

Posted in Family, Faith and Fitness

Mary’s Holy Saturday was just awful

Posted on by Lucretia Cahill

Lenten Reflections #39

I awoke this morning with a heartbreaking curiosity about what Mary must have felt the morning of Holy Saturday. There is no record of how Mary spent the day, but I would imagine it was agonizing, silent, exhausting, and empty.

We’ve all been in that void when we wonder why horrible things happen.

Like recently…why were there more school shootings? Why is there a continued war in Ukraine? Why is Putin so evil? Am I supposed to love him like I love my own children? Why are people fighting over land? Why can’t we share? Where is God in all of this when we need him the most? Agonizing moments like this make us feel abandoned by God.

So Holy Saturday, when the most faithful of disciples, Mary, the Holy Mother, who gave her life and all of her love to her son, on that Holy Saturday morning, was severed from the one she loved so dearly.

This enduring loss Mary felt reminded me of a eulogy I heard on “Thanks for Being Here,” a podcast by Kelly Corrigan. It was written by a father from Dublin who lost his young son.

He talked about what he thought was the impossible, the death of his son, how it came thick and fast. “I sought the intercession of the saints of the church triumphant, evoked all the choirs of angels for the grace of God’s healing, insisted on the impossible, asked for the undoable…”. He felt upended in a tempest, pulled under the surface of everything they knew and were.

Like Mary must have realized, this father said he knew the currents of their lives and their children’s lives would carry them apart. But with faith, they held on tight to each other, then surrendered, finding grace and mercy. “We’ll live it for them and ourselves, doing good, being kind, showing mercy, getting into mischief, finding fun…start the day with prayer, we love, you we miss you, we love you, we miss you…and one day, lead us to the garden where we will never be parted again.”

What I learned:

The despair felt from the loss of someone you cannot live without is strong and unrelenting. Yet the faith we muster serves as a tiny lifeboat in a sea of grief. Let us live like Mary, stand by the cross, knowing in our hearts, the ones we love who have departed first will be waiting on the other side of the tomb in a beautiful garden with arms wide open to receive us.

Here’s to Another Good Day and a Holy Saturday.

Thanks for joining me,

Lucretia

Posted in Family, Faith and Fitness

Kids Define Miracles

Posted on by Lucretia Cahill

Lenten Reflections #38

Today I read the story Rechenka’s Eggs by Patricia Polacco to my kindergarten and first grade classes. My own kids grew up reading Polacco’s family-centered stories, all intermingled with lovely cultural lessons. Rechenka’s Eggs tells a story about Easter eggs intricately painted in the Ukrainian/Eastern European style, a Babushka, and a wild goose. Carefully woven throughout is the message of miracles. Miracles that come when you need them the most, but there’s no reason to expect them.

After I read the story, the children’s hands went up immediately, and we went around the circle discussing what a miracle is to these little ones. With this profound, faith-filled insight, it is hard to believe they only have five or six years on our earth.

What is a miracle?

  • It is something that makes you really, really happy.
  • It is when the Jews crossed the sea and the sea parted.
  • It is when you get hit with a bow and arrow by accident, but you don’t get hurt.
  • It is something to be happy about.
  • It is when something happens and you don’t know who did it.
  • It is a thing that did what cannot exist.
  • It is when you don’t know what made something happen, and never thought it could.
  • A miracle is anytime you don’t even wish for something, it just happens.
  • A miracle is when something bad happens, and then something good happens.
  • A miracle is when you’re drawing something and you have no art, and then suddenly art appears!
  • Miracles are the things you are thankful for
  • A miracle is something you are scared to do, then you try it, and it works
  • A miracle is something beautiful
  • A miracle is when you are wanting to win something so much and then you do
  • A miracle is like good luck
  • Miracles are impossible for humans to imagine

Who can give me an example of a miracle?

  • Happy tears
  • It’s like having something that is plain, but then it is perfectly polished
  • When the candles lasted for more nights for Hannukah
  • There was a boy on the Titanic when it crashed, and only women could be saved, and the boy jumped into the sea and he survived, that’s the miracle.
  • We had a treehouse, and it was rebuilt after being destroyed.
  • It is Jesus changing the wine and bread
  • I don’t know if this will happen, but I think it will…it will be a miracle when I grow up and I am big and strong.
  • A miracle is like when Martin Luther King changed white people fighting with brown people
  • “Can I do way back then miracles? Then, when Jesus rose, it was a miracle.”
  • Going to heaven is kinda like that – a miracle
  • When you invite Jesus into your heart and you get to go to Heaven…but heaven isn’t the only place you go when you die, there’s a really hot place, but I forgot the name of it.
  • The den full of lions story, when Daniel got out – that’s a miracle
  • In snow-white, the queen was about to get shot by an arrow and didn’t get hit, that’s a miracle
  • When Jesus died on the cross, and the guys who helped him (disciples) found out he didn’t die
  • Last supper when Jesus said one will betray me, and then one did
  • When baby Jesus was born
  • When I came alive, it was a miracle
  • A miracle is something that a human can’t do, but Jesus can
  • A miracle is when people who couldn’t walk and then they could
  • Or that time when they ran out of wine and Jesus asked some boys to get buckets of water, and he changed it into wine.
  • When something bad turns into something amazing
  • The time in the Bible when there was no food and one kid had a lunchbox, and Jesus kept it filled with the bread and fish

Who has had a miracle happen to them?

  • A miracle is like if you walk out your front door and there is a pile of clovers, and right on top, above all of them, is a four-leaf clover
  • I always wanted my lovey, Pinky, to have a rattler inside her, and I woke up one day, and she did.
  • It’s a miracle my grandma is turning 90 and she doesn’t need a wheelchair, just a stroller (walker)
  • A miracle happened when I thought my pet catfish had died, and then I found out it didn’t
  • I almost got hit by a car when I was two, and my aunt pushed me out of the way, and we both survived; that was a miracle.
  • It was a miracle when I saw a great white sturgeon, the biggest fish in the world, and then it laid its eggs in front of me
  • It was a miracle cause I didn’t know I was going to Great Wolf Lodge, and then we went
  • It’s a miracle when something impossible you can’t do and then you can. One time, I didn’t think I could lift a really heavy weight, and then I did.
  • If you have a pet dog and you release it, and it comes back
  • It was a miracle when I was sick, I didn’t think I’d feel better, and two days after I did.
  • Once my aunt couldn’t remember anything, and then she could, that was a miracle
  • There was a man in the Bible who thought he was going to die, and then he didn’t die, he had so much faith in God that he was swept up in a cloud. That story makes me laugh every time! Imagine a man being swept up by a cloud!

What I learned:

Miracles surround us every day – the sun rising and setting, stones skipping, hummingbirds stopping by for a sip, addictions squelched, children being born, diseases cured, monarch butterflies migrating, stars shining, waves crashing. All miracles.

One of the blessings of miracles is the faith they provide and the hope they restore. That is what happened; each child in class candidly shared their thoughts and filled my heart with love and hope, and courage to believe in miracles.

Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as if nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

Posted in Family, Faith and Fitness

Holy Week Reflections

Posted on by Lucretia Cahill

LENTEN REFLECTIONS #34

As Holy Week begins, I’m reminded of how things have changed over the years. Growing up, Holy Week was a quiet time.

PREP:

Typically, we would have Thursday and Friday off from school and prep the menu for Easter Sunday, including ham, mashed potatoes, red chili (instead of gravy), and the other usual Thanksgiving/Easter suspects. Also, Mom’s pineapple salad made with cream cheese, Cool Whip, and crushed pineapple and topped with shiny maraschino cherries was a Dad-favorite. Aunt Eugenia’s finely chopped salad always made the list too – she was the aunt who rode motorcycles, brought her bird “Bonita” to visit, and played the accordion for Sunday mass. I’ve been told I have the same sharp-slanted nose as her.

HOLY THURSDAY

On Holy Thursday, as we loaded up the station wagon and headed to St. Anne’s, Dad would remind us that mass “would be a long one”. Typically, he would do the readings as a lector, and Mom would play the organ. I had a choice to either turn pages for Mom or try to sit still with my sisters for the two hours of feet washing and the Last Supper. Up the stairs, I climbed to the choir loft for my bird’s eye view.

GOOD FRIDAY

Under the cloudy Good Friday skies, we would attend services at 3:00 pm sharp every year. I still remember the cold, empty altar and solemn sentiment inside St. Anne’s Church. Mom reminded us, “This is the one day we don’t need to genuflect, and we don’t call it a mass. It’s a service.” She went on to explain why, and I said, “Ohhhh,” knowing I really wasn’t paying attention.

But back then, I knew I could ask her anything, anytime I needed to – that time of life when you think your parents are going to live forever and moments stand still like lighthouses shining bright.

HOLY SATURDAY, we buckled in for another “long one,” and I loved that mass. One Easter weekend, after Holy Saturday Mass, we visited my oldest sister at New Mexico State University. That was the year I gave up soda for Lent – even though we never had soda in the house except for Dad’s RC Cola. I remember going out for pizza right after mass and getting the coldest, most delicious Shirley Temple ever. It was served in one of those big red plastic cups with a fat straw. One of my favorite Holy Saturdays on record.

What I learned:

Over the years, my view of Lent became less soda and more sacrifice. In college, a friend of mine and I vowed to say a Rosary together every day. During the long drive to San Diego for spring break, we prayed, after going out with friends we prayed, and even before watching Shamoo jump through hoops, we prayed the Rosary. Yup. I was wild and crazy then, too.

Today, unless kids attend a school starting with the word “Saint,” it’s likely they will be in school during Holy Week. Even Good Friday. Because times are different. Holy Week just seemed holier back then. Calendars are filled with games, practices, and activities, with church fitting into the gaps. Like anything else, age readjusts the lens on what matters.

Lent is about sacrifice and love – giving the homeless water, really listening to a friend, praying for peace in our world, and realizing we all truly need each other.

Here’s to Another Good Day!

Thanks for joining me,

Lucretia

Posted in Family, Faith and Fitness

8 Quotes about Renewal and Springtime

Posted on by Lucretia Cahill

Lenten Reflections #28

Some days, I just need to read words from the wise. Today was one of them. So, I compiled a few to share with you. A reminder that although worry hangs over us like a pall, knowing that tomorrow will bring us renewed life is the power we need to move forward.

  1. “Through your deepest wound, Light enters.” – Rumi
  2. “There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself.” — Pope Francis
  3. “There is a cleansing from winter darkness the moment we sink our fingers into spring’s fresh earth.” — Toni Sorenson
  4. “There is in us an instinct for newness, for renewal, for a liberation of creative power. We seek to awaken in ourselves a force which really changes our lives from within. And yet the same instinct tells us that this change is a recovery of that which is deepest, most original, most personal in ourselves. To be born again is not to become somebody else, but to become ourselves.” — Thomas Merton
  5. “One’s doing well if age improves even slightly one’s capacity to hold on to that vital truism: ‘This too shall pass.’” – Alain de Botton
  6. “Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I’ll rise.” – Maya Angelou
  7. “I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.” – Jack London
  8. “In the study of the Way, each day something is dropped. Less and less do you have to force things, until finally, you arrive at the place of non-action, where nothing is forced, and nothing remains undone.” – Lao Tzu

What I learned:

Words are transformative.

Here’s to Another Good Day.

Thanks for joining me,

Lucretia

Posted in Family, Faith and Fitness

Finding Faith through Stories

Posted on by Lucretia Cahill

40 Lenten Reflections – #24

Years ago, on any given weekend, our 14-year-old son was typically riding bikes, exploring the woods, and climbing trees with a friend. One Saturday, he came home from the trails and told us a tree fell on him. Thankfully, his friend was able to lift it off as it was a small, older pine tree. He wore his bike helmet, so luckily, he only had a few scratches on his face and legs. On Monday at school, a classmate asked about the mark on his face. So, our son shared his story.

“So, do you have a video of it?” a boy asked.

“No video,” our son replied.

“Well then…it didn’t happen.” The boy said flatly.

They debated back and forth, and finally, our son, a professional selective listener, confirmed, “Yes, it did happen.” He then moved on, ignoring further hassle.

At bedtime, he told me this story, and we sat and picked it apart like old layers of paint peeling off a wall, trying to find the original color.

What happened to imagination and faith?

The boy’s need for documentation was testimony that technology negotiates our day with swipes, texts, and posts. We click pictures of our meals and memories, shorten words, and deliver messages as fast as our thumbs can go. Conversations dwindle with our busy lives, as does the age-old craft of storytelling. This is exactly what our son was doing.

As young children, there’s an unwavering faith in stories.

Maurice Sendak takes us to a wild rumpus and faithfully floats us home with Max as he arrives home to his warm dinner.

Faith in friendship is palpable when Charlotte sits in her web and says: “You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”
― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

Faith requires vulnerability. Stripping the need for that which is tangible.

In “Yes, Virginia There is a Santa Claus” Francis Church interprets faith in his editorial in The New York Sun in 1897: “You tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart.” When Mr. Church referred to “the skepticism of a skeptical age” in the story, he was speaking to grown-ups and the dwindling of religious faith among middle-class Americans in the 19th century. Faith in faith.

Now, that doubt cloaks children, too.

What I learned:

We make an emotional investment with every story we tell. Some may believe that if a tree falls on a boy in a forest, it’s true, but doubters will question and want video proof. The vital action is to tell the story, be the raconteur, and propel your listeners on a journey of faith.

Lenten Challenge: Keep story-telling alive!

Here’s to Another Good Day!

Thanks for joining me on my storytelling journey and having faith in me,

Lucretia

Posted in Family, Faith and Fitness

One word to stop using…

Posted on by Lucretia Cahill

40 Reflections – #5:  40 days of raw recollections during the Lenten Season

Ever wake up, glance at the clock, and say, “I SHOULD have gotten up earlier” only to follow it up with “I SHOULD have gone to the gym, prepped dinner, called my parents, run with the dogs, played with the kids, or checked the pockets for that pen before I tossed everything in the wash?”

The “S” word is verifiably toxic, yet to avert our gaze away from what our lives would look like if we accomplished all of the SHOULDS is nearly impossible. Haven’t you marveled at the early birds who amble into work chatting about their early morning run, seamless commute, or the dinner menu they prepared for the month?

Let’s ditch the SHOULD have narrative with three easy tips:

  1. BE YOURSELF:  Change the lens through which you see yourself, and celebrate who you are and where you are today.
  2. ACCEPT AND ALLOW:  Your reality may be vacant of the plans you slated for yourself years ago, but by clutching onto the people we love, our SHOULD HAVE world dissipates. Some say, “Let go, Let God” It’s worth a shot.
  3. SET YOUR INTENTIONS: Our deepest hopes are shaped by our intentions. Step out of the noise, serve others, find your passion, and share it!

What I learned:

When our minds harp on these unaccomplished actions, we sadly allow the present moment to circle the drain. All of the should haves coupled with regret keep popping up. I run low on forgiveness – mostly towards myself and allowing the “Did Not Do” list to ruin my day. I have heard that forgiveness is our work on earth. So let’s start with ourselves and those around us. Celebrate the now and keep moving forward.

DIG DEEP:  On your next run or walk, bring a friend, and you do the listening.

Please Pray for the Pope…he’s improving.

Thank you for joining me,

Lucretia

Posted in Family, Faith and Fitness

40 Days – Journeying together

Posted on by Lucretia Cahill

Lenten Reflections #1

Nine years ago, I decided to ditch giving up chocolate or coffee during Lent and instead, track my 40 days right here. Since then, I’ve shared little snippets of life – the messy, funny, daunting, and unpredictable moments I experience or observe. My hope is that anyone who reads this will connect and learn something on the journey because people’s stories spark emotion, and emotion sparks memory, and if you’re like me, my memory needs as much spark as it can get.

As I begin Lent each year, I am inspired by the words of Pope Francis, who, as of today, is in stable condition and will be put back on a ventilator tonight after spending the day in his armchair.

So as I prayed for him, I found his Lenten message focused on journeying together tender and true:

“Journeying together means consolidating the unity grounded in our common dignity as children of God (cf. Gal 3:26- 28). It means walking side-by-side, without shoving or stepping on others, without envy or hypocrisy, without letting anyone be left behind or excluded. Let us all walk in the same direction, tending towards the same goal, attentive to one another in love and patience. This Lent, God is asking us to examine whether in our lives, in our families, in the places where we work and spend our time, we are capable of walking together with others, listening to them, resisting the temptation to become self-absorbed and to think only of our own needs.”

Let’s start this journey and focus on what brings us joy, what drives us crazy, and what brings tears to our eyes. Personally, some days I feel like I’m the only one whose back hurts every time I stand up or am the lone mom whose nest is empty, and I just want to bring them all back and hear the laughter or yelling or random singing in the shower. I know I’m not alone, and neither are you.

So, here we go. Forty days, full speed ahead!

Thanks for being here with me,

Lucretia

Posted in Family, Faith and Fitness

The doorbell rang…

Posted on by Lucretia Cahill

#36 Lenten Reflections

Growing up in the 1970s, we were taught to take cover if the doorbell rang when mom and dad weren’t home. We all had hiding spots (mine was under the pine dining room table behind the leaves that hung over like big basset hound ears).

There was one exception when all of us – including Mom and Dad played along. If someone over 65 knocked on the door all dressed up in the middle of a dry, 90-degree NM summer day wearing uncomfortable shoes, we knew they were selling encyclopedias or religion. Mom made it clear WE HAD BOTH and did not need to answer the door, so the whole family scurried as if we were prepping for a surprise party. 

I was reminded about this about ten years ago when Dexter said, “Mama, why are there a bunch of “grandparenty” people parked outside?”

Since Justin and I trained our kids to also hide from anyone at the door when they were younger (pre-Ring Doorbells) one of our boys whisper-yelled, “Here comes an old man to our door! Hide!!” I walked to the door with ease. Luckily the dogs were outside or their incessant barking and jumping would have scared their souls enough to make them sprint away in their church shoes. I confidently said, “Stay put, I’ve got this.”  

Earlier that morning, I read Fr. Barron’s “Holy Saturday – Grain of Wheat” essay to the kids who pretended they were listening as they bustled around saying, “Yup, we heard it at church last Sunday.” It’s a great lesson about how a seed will only grow once it falls to the ground and breaks open. He says, “To understand what all this means, we should go back to the grain of wheat that falls to the earth. A seed’s life is inside, yes, but it’s a life that grows by being given away and mixing with the soil around it. It has to crack open, be destroyed.”

My interpretation:

So we have to break open, die a little, and fall a lot to truly reap the juicy fruit of life.

What the heck, I thought, I’ll talk to these people, they are just trying to spread some seeds around. I pulled down the screen to our storm door and greeted our visitors. One of the women commented on what a clever door it was – I agreed — as it has been perfect for visiting with other people and “spreading the word” — not only about God, but about the weeds in our front yard, or our windows that should be replaced for a small fortune. At the time, she noted that yesterday was Good Friday, and I said, “Yes, and today is Holy Saturday.”

“Oh, you sound like someone who really knows about Jesus.”

I didn’t want to truly show off and announce Easter was the following day, so I proudly said, “Yes Ma’am”. She was very kind, but I was on a schedule…I mean I hadn’t even worked out yet, and we still needed to color eggs…which should be part of the whole wheat lesson – lose the gluten and boil some eggs! The important Holy Week items that are too often placed on the back burner!

I did follow up with:

“I was just reading some of Father Barron’s writing.”

“Oh, then this information I’m giving you will just be a refresher for you.” She said kindly.

So I opened the door.  And in a smooth, methodical sweep of her hand, she slipped me “the information” through the crevice of the door.  I would have opened the door even more, but it seemed as if the amount of space I allowed was what she was used to…just a crack…enough to fit the 8 x 8 flier through, let a little light in, and share a moment.

“Have a Blessed Easter,” I said, and off they went to our neighbor’s home across the street.  We all watched as they also slipped the flier through the 2-inch space allowed through our neighbor’s door. 

“Who was it?”  The kids asked, “What did they give you?”

“They gave us information about their beliefs and why they pray.”

“Well, who do they pray to?” The sun shone through the open front door. “Their Jesus”.

“Okay, when do we color eggs?”

That was it. Our Evangelic moment for the day. 

A beautiful day to spread little grains of wheat and watch them grow. Yet another reminder that we are more alike than different.

Thanks for joining me,

❤️Lucretia

Posted in Family, Faith and Fitness

Faith with a capital F

Posted on by Lucretia Cahill

#9 Lenten Reflections

Faith in people

My son Dexter’s life is like a slow, melodic, country music song. He drives a Dodge Dakota, sees big swaths of land as a palette for bike trails and a humble home, kneels at church, loves long country roads, small towns, family, fixin’ things, and wiping his hands on his jeans to perfect the patina. The one gem in his soul that shines the brightest is his faith. Capital F- Faith. Faith that the sun will rise even if it’s overcast and gloomy, and papers are due and midterms are overruling his trail-building time. He has Faith in God and country, and even in today’s world of division and rupture, he has the most remarkable Faith in people. 

Which leads me here…

Last night he sent us a picture of his broken bike rack and said it had been hit by a truck. “I know who did it. I was in the bike center and some friends saw the truck and the guy.” 

Of course, I reacted instead of slowly sipping his story word by word.

“Well, let’s just order the part, don’t make anyone mad and just wait until there is clear evidence of who did it.” As I was writing this profound and bossy text, he sent us a link to the part he needed. Click, click, and click. “I’ll order now”. I texted back. 

The phone rang and as I picked up Dexter said, “Please don’t order that part. The reason I told you about my bike rack is because it is something relevant that is happening right now and I like to keep you updated on my life. I know how to handle this.” 

“Wait – what?” I said, trying to sound cool, as my son just went full “adult” on me. I rebounded knowing how darn blessed I am that my kids even care to tell us anything. 

I swear, in college, I remember distinctly saying out loud, “The less my parents know, the less they worry.” So, man, I knew something rare was happening. I was like a child on Christmas morning – a big box waiting by the tree and when I ripped it open it was filled with honesty and faith. 

“Okay,” I said treading lightly in an attempt to not ruin the moment and jeopardize my chance of him sharing the next “relevant” thing happening in his life. 

“Just be careful – remember, it’s just stuff.” I reminded him, leaving my hand in the pot just enough to give it one more stir.

“He has a mullet and a truck, Mama, I think we have a lot more in common than you think. He’s probably a nice guy. I just know what I would do, and maybe he can help me buy the part I need. I know it was 100% an accident.”

After about ten minutes had passed, Dexter called and said he met the guy, they actually went to the same high school. He said the guy felt really bad and paid him for the damage.

This kid has an unscathed faith in people. He sees a mountain and rides right over it, doesn’t skirt around it to find the easiest route. Conquers it, gets to the other side, and coasts to the next.

What I learned:

Trust your kid’s judgment. Have faith in people, and realize as Dexter said, “We’re probably more alike than you think”. Of course, we are. We are all broken and stunned, scared and guilty, chosen and welcome. But no matter what, we are not alone.

As one of my favorite country songs says, “I believe most people are good”. Thanks for restoring my Faith in people, Dexter.

Here are some of the lyrics by Luke Bryan:

I believe kids oughta stay kids

As long as they can

Turn off the screen, go climb a tree

Get dirt on their hands

I believe we gotta forgive and make amends

‘Cause nobody gets a second chance

To make new old friends

I believe in working hard for what you’ve got

Even if it don’t add up to a hell of a lot

I believe most people are good

And most Mama’s oughta qualify for sainthood

I believe most Friday nights

Look better under neon or stadium lights

I believe you love who you love

Ain’t nothing you should ever be ashamed of

I believe this world ain’t half as bad as it looks

I believe most people are good