20 New Little Angels

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
          When 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.

Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
They were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

"Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"This is heaven." declared a small boy. "We're spending Christmas at God's house."

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
Those children all flew into the arms of their King.

And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
One small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad.."

Then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.

Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"

"May this country be delivered from the hands of fools."
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"

Then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"Come now my children, let me show you around."

Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And  I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

St. Matthias' response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School

Monday, December 17, 2012

St. Matthias' response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School

We are deeply saddened by the events in Connecticut, as are we all. Such a tragedy makes no sense and I'm sure that we all just want to hug our children and keep them closer to us to try to keep them safe.

At St. Matthias, our upmost concern is your children's safety, especially when they are in our care. This morning at 11am, our Pastor, Fr. Craig, Preschool Director, Mary Ornellas and myself will be meeting with a law enforcement official (and Preschool parent) to review our safety procedures and develop a plan to make improvements to our facilities (if needed) so that we can protect your children to the best of our abilities.

Let us remember to keep the families of those affected in our prayers. Let this tragedy draw us closer to God and help us remember to cherish our children every single minute they are in our care. Our children will no doubt have questions about these events, in my opinion it is best to answer their questions, not with every single detail, but in a general way. Education and awareness help keep us all safe. If you would like to talk more about this for yourself or your child, please contact me or Fr. Craig and we would be happy to help or guide you to a service or organization that can best meet your needs.

Make the following prayer part of your daily routine for these next few days and weeks. We are all saddened, but our Lord God hears our prayers and sees our tears and is there for us.

Prayers for Mourners

O Lord, whose ways are beyond understanding,

listen to the prayers of your faithful people:

that those weighed down by grief

at the loss of their children

may find reassurance in your infinite goodness.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

*Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers

Purple, Purple, Pink, Purple

Purple, Purple, Pink, Purple. That little mantra, if you will, helps me to remember the order of the colors of our Advent Wreath. On the first, second and fourth weeks we light purple candles, on the third week, a pink candle. Growing up, I never understood why we switched from purple to pink in the middle and back again. Why wasn't the pink candle the last? Or first? Later, I grew to accept that that is just the way it is.

Yesterday, I met with a family about the sacrament of Confirmation and the season of Advent came into our conversation. I mentioned my mantra, purple, purple, pink, purple and got asked the question, "Why is there a pink candle, and what do the colors mean?" I didn't have a good answer at the time. So today, I googled it. Here's a great blog post to explain:

http://livinghopeomaha.wordpress.com/about-living-hope/bible-stud/the-meaning-of-the-advent-wreath/