From our family to yours...

A Christmas Wish
by Michelle Martin

Like the ocean breeze
That spreads a whispering calm
May peace and harmony
Surround you this holiday season

Like the ocean current
That gives purposeful direction
May our hearts be moved
Toward goodwill and understanding

Like the ocean waters
That sustain life
May the waters of baptism
Lead us to life everlasting

Like the sandy shores
That sparkle in the midday sun
Let us proclaim the grains of truth
About His only begotten Son

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!


Love,
Dan, Michelle, Danielle, Joseph, Mary

Mother Angelica

Mother Angelica's story is a testament to God's love and omnipotence. Born Rita Antoinette Rizzo on April 20, 1923, her childhood was marred by poverty, unhappiness, abuse, and painful physical ailments. The young Rita Rizzo overcame many adversities and experienced spiritual conversion in early adulthood. Her sheer will and determination is proof of her unwavering faithfulness in our Lord Jesus. On August 14, 1944, the future Mother Angelica entered religious life as a nun, and later established Our Lady of the Angels Monastery on May 20, 1962. Among her many accomplishments, perhaps the founding of Eternal Word Television Network, EWTN, was one of the greatest. Now in its 27th year, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world bringing the gospel to more than 85 million households in 110 countries through worldwide short-wave radio station, direct broadcast satellite service, satellite delivered radio network, and Internet site, http://www.ewtn.com/.

I tune in to EWTN Catholic radio or television programming every chance I can. Call it spiritual food -- a constant source of hope and inspiration. The other day, I happened to catch the remainder of "Mother Angelica Live Classics" where she shared her views on faith. A listener had called the show asking for spiritual guidance because certain events in his life caused him to turn away from Christianity. He had simply lost his faith. Her response to this caller inspired me to share her words on my blog. In Mother Angelica's words:

"Faith is at its best in darkness. Faith is most pure when I exercise it in darkness. Faith is that vehicle through which I go straight to God. It allows me to see him in every incident and every occasion, and every moment of my life. It allows me to see beyond the curtain that is between myself and Him in this present moment. It allows me to see Jesus in my neighbor. It allows me to take the risks I need to take to spread the Good News. It allows me to forgive my enemy. It allows me to keep going when all seems lost. It allows me to say "I love you" when I feel no love at all. Faith is more than an intellectual ascent to truth. That total abandon and dedication to God as Father as Lord, as Redeemer, as Sanctifier."

A lesson in Life Engineering

Joseph and Mary love playing with Lego blocks. They can entertain themselves for hours building Lego structures such as forts, bridges, houses, planes, trains, and automobiles. And so it was on this night, after dinner, that Mary took to her Lego blocks and started building. One by one, she fit the pieces together while happily singing a song. Much to her dismay, however, her Lego construction proved to be architecturally unstable. Try as she might, her work of art simply collapsed onto the table, creating an unpleasant sound. Alas, she breathed a sigh of disappointment and cried, "It's no use." Just then, pearls of wisdom came in the form of her big brother. In a reassuring tone, Joseph said, "Don't worry, Mary. You just have to rebuild and rebuild until it doesn't fall anymore." He stopped what he was doing to help her, and together they built this masterpiece. Using their fingers to represent people and cars, they quilted a story about those who dare traverse this extraordinary bridge.

"Rebuild and rebuild until it doesn't fall anymore."

"What masterful words," I thought to myself. Especially in light of today's economic and political climate, combined with natural disasters and moral dilemmas facing this generation, I heed the words spoken by my son, Joseph. And someday, when he's all grown up and is faced with life's many challenges, I pray God will grant him the strength, the courage, and the resolve to rebuild and rebuild until it doesn't fall anymore.

What's your parenting style?

My friend, Shirin, recently posted a blog about the notion of parental control over the externals in our children’s lives. Shirin’s blog also referenced another blog whose author wrote about her ruminations on that very topic, and she concluded that “We can't control our children's hearts by controlling anything. We can talk about what's right and wrong and we can pray for them to understand. Then we have to live a life that demonstrates that we believe what we're saying. (We are) not responsible for who they choose to become. (We can) help them grow up with the knowledge that they have the ability to choose well.” This, of course, led me to ponder my views on parenting and evaluate my parenting style. To what extent do I try to control externals as an attempt to shape my children’s lives? Am I doing enough to help them grow in faith, character, and inner strength? After some instrospection, I submitted the following comments on Shirin’s blog: As parents, we have an enormous responsibility of caring for our children and ensuring that they are raised with certain values, and that they grow to love God. Our children have been entrusted to us, and we have a God-given right and obligation to act in their best interest…Occasionally, we are bound by our love and parental duty to take certain actions in order to discipline our children and to keep them on the straight and narrow. Ultimately, we are compelled to exert some form of control over their attitudes and decision-making. We have been granted incredible power to influence the minds and hearts of our children, but we must wield that power with great caution, maturity, compassion, responsibility, and most importantly, on the basis of unconditional love and centeredness in Christ.

I further commented that God is definitely always in control…He uses us as instruments of his love, peace, and mercy. With regards to parenting, it is through His divine grace and mercy that we have the wisdom and the wherewithal to teach our children valuable lessons that He would want them to learn; even if it means “controlling” (and I use this term very loosely) certain aspects of their lives. And because our children lack the life experience to possess such wisdom, we are called upon to be their beacon. But anyone who has children knows that we learn as much from them as they do from us. That’s because God uses them as instruments too!

Parenthood, I opine, is one of the most challenging jobs to have. More than just a job, it is a noble calling of service and selflessness. Parenthood is an infinite series of teachable moments and character-building opportunities for both parents and children. Due to our foibles, we continue to make mistakes. And at the end of the day, we wonder if our actions were too much, too soon, too little, too late. But beyond the quagmire of self-doubt, there are myriad moments of jubilation and affirmation of our parenting successes. And when faced with a difficult situation, I ask myself, “What would my parents have done?” Afterall, they’ve set the bar for me on parenting. The challenges I face today dwarf in comparison to the obstacles they have had to surmount as parents to 7 children and grandparents to 10! Might I add, too, that they’ll be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary next year. Now that’s fortitude!

Poke'...what???

Pokemon, that’s what! (Pronounced with a long vowel e). These somewhat-adorable, sometimes-menacing, creatures have descended upon our home and taken up residence in the imagination of an 8-year old boy; while I find myself immersed in Pokemon 101.

This is what I've learned so far: They come with strange and curious names like Charizard, Beedrill, Meowth, Butterfree, to name just a few. Each Pokemon comes with its own special abilities to battle other Pokemon using strategic moves such as bone-rush, megadrain, jigadrain, flame-thrower, and leechlife, to name just a few. There are different types of Pokemon: fire, grass, water, earth, rock, electric, normal, and so on. Each type possesses attributes that are unique to that particular type. Most, but not all, Pokemon can evolve into other, more powerful, Pokemon. For instance, Treecko evolves into Grovyle, who then evolves into Sceptile. Torchic evolves into Combusken, who then evolves into Blaziken. As powerful as they may be, Pokemon are not without their weakness. For example, a grass-type Pokemon’s weakness is a fire-type Pokemon. A fire-type Pokemon’s weakness is a water-type Pokemon. Do you see the logic here?

Some might argue that the game of Pokemon promotes fighting and destruction; but as I see it, Pokemon is really no worse than some of the classic fairy tales that children worldwide have heard for generations. How many of us have regaled our children with tales of a fire-breathing dragon and a sword-wielding prince determined to rescue his sleeping beauty. Or the infamous big, bad wolf with a penchant for adorable pigs and a little girl wearing a red riding hood. Then there’s the evil stepmother-turned-witch offering poison apples to an unsuspecting maiden. And last, but not least, a downtrodden boy named Jack who reaps enormous rewards by stealing treasured possessions of another -- a bag of gold coins, a hen that lays golden eggs, and a magical singing harp. What values do these fairy tales espouse?

Ultimately, this is less about Pokemon than it is about giving importance to something that is important to your child; even if it doesn’t loom large in our adult world. It’s about giving him the time of day to listen to his hopes and fears; or, his latest Pokemon adventure. Yes, I think Pokemon can stick around a little longer, but that’s entirely up to an 8-year old boy.