Bits and Bobs - Week of April 5

I decided I am going to make a weekly post of random things that captured my attention in one way or another throughout each week.  This will be a true random mishmash of stuff, things I find humorous, poignant, touching, mind-numbing, religious, mundane, all sorts of things, and in no particular order.

• We are doing the Divine Mercy Novena this week.  Something we read tonight just really struck me. Tonight's prayer was for heretics and schismatics.  There was a part that said something along the lines of when they tore apart my heart, my church.  Yes, we the Church, we are the heart of Christ.  I guess I knew that, but it just really hit me for some reason.  Also the part about not looking at their wrongs, but looking at them and realizing they also belong in the compassionate heart of Christ.  Food for thought.

• This week, Easter Mass was just amazing.  I've been grumpy and out of sorts more often than not lately.  I am typically a pretty positive person and usually can easily find the good in almost any situation or person.  I am a bit of a Pollyanna and always try to see something positive in everything.  I have been more like the Grinch as of late.  Lent has been extremely challenging and I really have felt chewed up, dried up and spit out.  I have been parched and I had no idea how much the joy of Easter would be so profound as it has been for me this year.  We typically attend Latin Mass, but the girls were singing in the children's choir at the 10:30 NO Mass (English for those who don't know).  In Latin Mass, we do not talk (except for prayers at the end) and we don't respond verbally and there is a lot of quiet and it is very contemplative.  I am an easily distracted person, so this is good for me.  It helps me keep focus.  In a louder, busy (especially for a major Holy Day) Mass, it is easy for me to get side tracked by any number of things, and as horrible as it is, I have to really fight sometimes to not get annoyed (not so much with others, as with myself).  This year, there was a Vietnamese gentleman sitting behind me.  When we started singing the first hymn, he started singing, super loud and slightly off key.  And you know what?  It was AWESOME!  I was so blessed to be standing in front of him and I thanked God right then and there.  I needed that.  It was dry, there was no Alleluia in Lent and now, finally we could say   sing Alleluia and he was doing it so loudly and joyfully.  It just struck me over and over again during Mass, the beauty of all of us coming together to celebrate on that blessed Holy Day of Easter.  

• We came out to van after being out and about one evening this week and there was a paper stuck under the rear windshield wiper. It was starting to sprinkle and we were hurrying to van and we both got grumbly about someone sticking some trash under there for us to have to take care of.  I walked up and grabbed it.  It was this:
  
  I wish I had been able to find who left it so I could give him or her a great hug.  This really brought a smile to each of our faces and it really touched me.
  
• Great food!  The week was full of tasty dishes.  Granted, I am currently on round two of steroids, so I have an unhealthy obsession with food right now.  My favorites were an Italian tuna sandwich with capers and lemon along side of some of my mom's recipe cucumber salad.  The second meal is a tasty new york strip steak, fresh sliced tomatoes and roasted cabbage.  Yumm-O!