Gospel Reading

In an excerpt from yesterday's gospel reading of Luke 24:13-35, two of Jesus' disciples invited him to stay with them and "...while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight."

A thought for reflection from Fr. Phillips' homily that followed the gospel reading is that "Jesus can walk through walls but not through hearts that are closed to him."

In our daily lives it's often difficult to focus on spiritual things due to other demands. But the more we let our spiritual life get pushed aside, the easier it becomes to ignore it altogether. Before long, serving ourselves becomes more important than serving God, sometimes with disastrous results in this life!

Let's always keep our hearts open to the Lord in praise, adoration, thanksgiving, and petition....It's simply a matter of the will.

Almsgiving

            In addition to praying and fasting, Lent is a time of almsgiving. Local parishes may offer special programs for charitable works during the Lenten season. One such program is Catholic Relief Service's Operation Rice Bowl, which started in a Pennsylvania diocese in 1975. Funds are presently used to battle hunger and poverty around the world as well as within the United States.
http://orb.crs.org/about/

             In my parish, the pastor sent parishioners an email requesting the donation of spare change to support the parochial school's sister school in the Holy Land. There's a friendly competition between grades to see who collects the most coins...

             Here are pictures of Easter-themed Giftigami Boxes. Kids can make and decorate their own box, collect coins, and donate to charity, perfect during Lent! For instructions, please visit http://www.estherlocascio.com

St. Patrick's Cathedral

I meant to post this on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, but it just didn't work out! Chuck and I traveled to New York City with the high school band students and chaperones over spring break, and we stopped by this spectacular cathedral in our spare time.  It's the largest Gothic-style Catholic cathedral in the United States. One of many tall buildings along Fifth Avenue, it's hard to get a feel of how massive it is until you walk inside. 

This was my first visit to the largest city in the US, and we look forward to coming back, especially to spend more time at St. Patrick's Cathedral! Here are some websites with more information:  

http://www.archny.org/about-us/st-patricks-cathedral/ and 

http://www.saintpatrickscathedral.org/

Middle Grade and Young Adult Books

Publishers of juvenile literature categorize books by age of readers. Middle grade books are aimed at ages 8 to 12 and young adult (YA) books, at ages over 12. However, some YA books are written for ages 14 to 21, and a new category for ages 10 to 14 is now available.

The main characters of the "challenged" YA books in my previous blog are 16-years-old, but readers as young as eleven have posted reviews. Examples for ttyl: http://teenspace.cincinnatilibrary.org/books/reviews.asp?book=96.
http://www.multcolib.org/kids/reviews.html



Here's a useful review with discussion questions by Focus on the Family:
http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/protecting_your_family/book-reviews/t/ttyl.aspx

When Books Offend

     According to the American Library Association (ALA), there are three main reasons for attempting to remove books from libraries or school curriculums. These reasons, aimed “to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information” are sex, foul language, and unsuitable content. http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/aboutbannedbooks/index.cfm. Few attempts lead to actual book bans; most remain simply “challenges” as a result of First Amendment rights.

     Fortunately for concerned parents, students, and educators, there’s an ALA list of Frequently Challenged Books. Topping the list for 2009 is a series of Young Adult books by Lauren Myracle: ttyl, ttfn, l8r, and g8r. What did parents not like about these books (approx. 48% of total challenges)? Drugs, nudity, offensive language, and explicit sex. In fact, challengers deemed the series “unsuited for any age group”.

     Lauren Myracle, a Christian mom and best-selling author, claims to reflect real tween/teen life in her books. In this article, she discusses what she sees as “issues surrounding censorship”: http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=1290#m10366.

     While some would argue that our kids are going to be exposed to “difficult ideas and information” anyway, that doesn’t justify glamorizing and promoting it. It’s one thing to write a book that communicates this message: “Hey, kids, there’s some stuff going on out there that you need to be aware of and guard yourself / your mind against.” It’s another thing altogether to write a book that says: “Hey, kids, here’s some really interesting, taboo stuff that nobody talks about, that’s nothing unusual, and that’s perfectly normal.”

     We, as Christian parents, have been entrusted with raising and caring for our children so that they will become true followers of Christ. Speaking out about books that we believe would lead our children astray with impure thoughts, words, and deeds is one way we can help each other.

     For books you find offensive and would like to challenge, simply fill out ALA’s Online Challenge Reporting Form:

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/challengereporting/onlinechallengeform/index.cfm.

     This form can also be used to challenge other offensive works, such as magazines, film, photos, and exhibits.

A New Year

Happy New Year 2011!  My debut novel will be approaching its first anniversary next month, and there's so much to look forward to in the days ahead. I'm most excited about starting Ebram's Story: Book 2! At last night's meeting of the Third Monday group, I was asked about its status. I have an outline of the story but delayed writing while juggling book signings and other demands on my time.

After much thought, I've decided the third book will be fantasy fiction influenced by a special book I recently read.

While home over the Christmas break, my seminarian son gave me a copy of The Wonder of Guadalupe, by Francis Johnston. This book drew me closer to the Blessed Virgin Mary and motivated me to list the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City as one of the places I'd most like to visit in my lifetime.

The Twelfth Day of Christmas!

Three years ago we started building our very own outdoor nativity set to display for the Christmas season.  In 2008, we constructed Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus. In 2009 we added the angels, and just last year we made two sheep.

After today, we'll be taking down the Christmas tree and putting away all the holiday decorations, including the manger scene.  We look forward to adding the magi at the end of the year...