Raices y Ramas

“He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands.”—St. Benedict of Nursia When I read this quote today, I chuckled a little bit, because it’s become a relatively new habit of mine to pray a Rosary while washing the dishes after dinner.   And because I remembered an entry in my “man-journal” from years ago that dealt with the same subject matter, but on a personal level.   I started my journal back in 2001 to help me cope with Tom’s passing and my thoughts of my own mortality.   I wanted to have something my kids (and hopefully, grandkids) could read years later to get a sense of what their Dad’s inner struggles were, as benign as they are.   My journal morphed into my blogs, and occasionally, I’ll incorporate earlier entries into them.   Here’s my entry, copied and pasted, of a random Sunday:   Sunday, June 06, 2004   It’s funny, the things you think about when you’re doing things you really don’t want to do.   In my case...

  It was 20 years ago today when my "little" brother Tom died on January 5, 2001.   Even though we knew he was terminally ill, I didn't really expect he would be taken from us so early, or suddenly.   I take comfort in the fact that Tom faced his life, his death, and his reunion with our Creator with faith, courage, and a sense of humor.   But, on rare occasions, he also faced loneliness and despair.   I want to use this 20 th anniversary to remember a few of the special memories we shared.      Tom was really accident-prone.   A lot of my earliest memories of Tom involve his hospital or doctor visits.   There were numerous times that Tom would run into the house crying out for Mom, bleeding from either tripping over or running into something!   I couldn’t say the exact number of stitches he had to endure before his 10th birthday, but as we got older, we would joke about it! He was hitting bullets with a hammer in the garage on...

  January 3 is the feast day of St. Genevieve.   Anyone who really knows me knows of my devotion and reliance on the Saints of the Church to help me through life’s experiences.   Today’s feast day reminds me to pray for my Aunt Genevieve and to remember her influence in my life.   What better way to honor her than to compare her to her namesake!   Most Saints are depicted in special ways through art, or “Icons”.   The use of symbols lets us know the special traits of each saint.   The symbols associated with Saint Genevieve are: A loaf of bread —because she was generous to those in need.   I could tell countless stories of the times Aunt Jenny showed her generosity to others! A coin suspended around her neck —symbolizing her consecration to God.   Aunt Jenny’s devotion to God and His Church was second to none! A candle —which it is said she used as she walked to church at night and which stayed lit despite the devil’s persistent attem...