Back Into The Swing

Happy Fall Ladies!  Our last post (or more accurately my last post) was in the Spring and now we find ourselves getting ready for cooler weather, pumpkins, and the holiday season.  To say that a lot has happened since April would be a massive understatement.  Babies have been born, pregnancies have been announced, and God has continued to Bless us all!  In MYC news, we grew in membership and filled our summer with group play dates, MNOs (Moms' Night Out), and engaging discussions during our meetings.  A big thanks to Julie Gavin for leading a discussion about "The 5 Love Languages," to Maureen O'Connell for creating, organizing, and distributing our "Feed the Hungry" MYC cookbook, and to the entire group for contributing to discussions about "Homegrown Faith for Little Ones," "Balancing Our Lives and Our Selves," and "Submission to and Reliance Upon God's Will."

"Jesus has chosen to show me the only way which leads to the divine furnace of love:

it is the way of childlike self surrender, the way of a child who sleeps,

afraid of nothing in his father's arms."

St. Therese of Lisieux

The latter of these discussions was part of our September meeting just yesterday and proved to be one of our most engaging talks to date.  We shared examples from our own lives in which God's Will for us turned out to be better than any plans we could have imagined on our own.  Going along with God's plans; however, wasn't always easy and many also shared the challenges that go with submission to God. As I reflected more on our talk last evening, another example of the difficulties and fruits of discerning and submitting to God's Will came to mind -- the formation of this ministry!  I remember just 3 years ago sitting in the Cry Room during Mass with two then-toddlers and thinking, "Why doesn't OLL have a Mom's Group?  Why won't anyone just start a group already?"  I prayed about it for a few months and began to hear God's Will.  As is often the case, I wasn't thrilled with what I was hearing.  "Me?  You want ME to start a group?  Don't you know I'm super-busy with these two little ones, God?  Surely there is a "less busy" mom out there who can head this up."  But no, God was calling me.  And, like Marybeth said in our meeting yesterday, sometimes if we don't take up God's offer, someone else will.  I'm surely glad I decided to go with God's plan on this one!

The first meeting of MYC was in October of 2011.  I expected to have a few moms show up and wondered where we would do from there.  What would they be like?  What would they want from a group like ours?  Why hadn't they started a group?  Surely they weren't as busy as I.  Then I met them... and quickly realized that I wasn't the busiest mom on the block!  I also started to realize that we are all busy - in our own ways and with our own lives.  But we all prayed for and needed a forum in which to grow as mothers, wives, and women of God. These 3 moms (and you know who you are) each helped mold MYC into the substantive, enriching, and encouraging ministry that we are today.  And all of you who have joined over the past two years bring life and love to our group. I guess what I'm trying to say here is "Happy Anniversary MYC" and "THANK YOU" members!

-- Maria File

Grace Before Meals

"In my experience, nothing creates a better environment for a

great conversation than time shared in the kitchen." - Fr. Leo

March's MYC meeting included a presentation on a recent mission held at Our Lady of Lourdes.  Angela Augustine led a discussion about Fr. Leo Patalinghug's Grace Before Meals, a program designed to bring families closer to each other, and to God, through the making and sharing of meals.  Angela outlined the underpinnings of Fr. Leo's three presentations - The Call to Sainthood, Mary's Role in Our Faith, and The Importance of Prayer.  On the first night of the mission, Fr. Leo reminded us all that while our idea of what a saint is, does, or looks like might be radically different than how we view ourselves, we are all nonetheless called to sainthood in a very real way.  He encouraged us all to be proud and open about our Catholic faith, especially in a time when it is so misunderstood and misinterpretted by others.  Not only should we know what we believe, but we should embrace and reveal it to others in public settings.  Fr. Leo pointed out that this could be as simple as making the Sign of the Cross when out to dinner with our families, rather than simply saying the Blessing without doing so, or even worse, omitting the Blessing alltogether! 

The second evening of the Grace Before Meals mission revolved around a discussion of Mary as our Spiritual Mother, Intercessor, and Mediatrix. Perhaps nothing is more misunderstood about Catholicism (both by Catholics and non-Catholics alike) than this particular aspect of our Faith. Fr. Leo employed the analogy that having a strong and vibrant relationship with Jesus's mother allows us access to the Son in ways only a Mother may provide.  Praying the Rosary is like "looking through Jesus's baby album and scrapbooks;" we are led through His miracles, victories, struggles and ultimate Redemption in a very real way!

The final night of the mission dealt with the importance of Prayer.  Using a culinary anacroynm, Fr. Leo shared the power of the PB&J - Patience, Balance, and Joy.  Our prayer time should be focused and regular, and bring with it the joy of knowing Christ. Fr. Leo reminded us of the benefits of the Sacraments of Reconcilliation and the Eucharist in providing us with the ongoing grace needed to deepen our prayer life and relationship with God.  Many thanks to Angela for sharing this information with the group!  To learn more about Fr. Leo and Grace Before Meals, visit http://gracebeforemeals.com/.

- Maria File