Jackie Chan and How Lucky We Are

I watched a really interesting documentary about Jackie Chan's family. As the film states at the end, it's like watching the last 100 years of China's history. It turns out that Jackie has 2 brothers and 2 sisters that he was unaware of. His father had to abandon his two sons (the oldest is seven at the time) and escape the Japanese. Then he has to escape the communist government under Mao, so that he is unable to find or retrieve his two sons. He meets Jackie's mother, who had to abandon her two girls (18 and 12) to escape. They marry and have Jackie. At the age of 8, Jackie apprentices himself to a theater school for ten years. In the meantime, his dad and mom have followed his employer to Australia leaving Jackie in the school.

The documentary covers the rape of Nanking(sp?), and all of the other terribly sad things that have happened in China. Under Mao's Cultural Revolution, one of the older brothers has "a big mouth" and is sent to the country to be re-educated. The older brother is "square" and doesn't talk much, so he has no problems during this time. Many years later, the dad is able to locate the brothers and reunite with them. Jackie has never met them. He has met the sisters, so they were able to reunite with their mother.

Watching this made me so grateful that I was born in a country where no one has to abandon their small children and emigrate to save their lives. We are so blessed to live in the United States. We have so many rights and privileges that other countries only dream of or envy. We are blessed to be a generous country in that we try to help other countries when troubles befall them.

I think that the only thing that really endangers our freedom is abortion. I worry that God will eventually let us collapse so that we will deal with this scourge. In the meantime, I can be even more grateful that God continues to bless our country.

Okay, I'm going to try and blog daily again

My wonderful niece-in-law, has once again inspired me to try blogging. Here's a link to her blog http://narrativeheiress.blogspot.com/ I don't know how to get you to the particular post, but it is for 9/10/13. Anyway, if she can blog with twin infants and a toddler, then I can blog with just myself. I stopped blogging because I didn't feel that I had anything to say, but now I remember that I started blogging to learn how to write. Funny how I tricked myself into stopping a healthy activity!

I had pretty much given up all of the healthy activities that I had started: walking, daily mass, blogging, meetings. I had replaced these with TV. Yesterday when I was talking to my sponsor, she pointed out that I can't get going on my own, I have to have my higher power's (whom I choose to call God) help. So I asked God to help me, and I am writing in my blog and recognizing all the things I have given up. So with God's help, I'm going to try and get back in the saddle again.

Divine Office 1, Acedia 0

I've really been enjoying my life lately. The steady rhythm of Divine Office, mass, rosary, walking, visiting with my walking partner over coffee, meetings, talking with the women I sponsor, and calling my own sponsors leaves me contented and peaceful. Things that I had been struggling with for the last two years- dental hygiene, bathing, getting up before noon, were almost immediately corrected once I started praying the Office. I feel so grateful to God.

I think I can say with confidence that my problems were symptoms of  acedia. The Oxford Concise Dictionary of the Christian Church^[2] defines acedia (or accidie) as "a state of restlessness and inability either to work or to pray". Kathleen Norris quotes St. Teresa of Avila as saying that the cure for this malady is, "Psalmody, psalmody, psalmody." In other words, she recommends praying the Divine Office. 

New Schedule is Bearing Fruit

I haven't been blogging for a while, because I have been tired so my mind hasn't come up with anything to write. I was even too tired to try just writing for 15 minutes.

Why was I so tired, you ask? Well, I have been getting up at 7AM, which is 4-5 hours earlier than I had been getting up. This means that I have been going to bed at least 3 hours earlier than my normal time. I made the decision to change my schedule so that I can return to daily mass. Yesterday and today, I awoke feeling rested, so I'm grateful that it's easier.

I've really been enjoying daily mass (even when I was tired, I was glad that I was there!). After mass is over, I'm sticking around long enough to pray my rosary, and pray the Divine Office. Then I go home to make breakfast.

On Wednesday, my friend, Esther, and I started walking/sitting at the mall. We walk/sit for 20 minutes, which means that I sit when I'm too breathless/tired to go on. Once I catch my breath, we get up and walk again. Per a friend's advice, we are taking off two days a week, so that our body can heal the muscles and grown more muscle tissue. We'll be walking 3 days and then 2 days, with a day of rest after each stint. We walked Wednesday, and took Thursday off (thanks be to God! I was so tired!). Then we walked again this morning. We'll walk tomorrow and then take Sunday off. I'm really enjoying the time with my friend, and the exercise. I'm glad that we've started it.

I've also continued with ordering my home. I didn't do anything yesterday, and probably won't do much until I'm in a little bit better shape with the walking, but I'm so happy that I've been doing it. It's so nice to go into an orderly kitchen. My mom kept trying to convince me of this when I was a kid, but now, 50 years, later, I'm finally convinced! Sorry, Mom, and thank you for the lessons, which must have been a pain in the neck for you!!!

Audrey Stevenson, Margaret Leo, Brendon Kelly, Pray for Us

I just read some lovely articles about three extraordinary children who lived saintly lives in the midst of terrible sufferings. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2013/07/27/too-much-earthly-dross-heres-your-palate-cleanser/

I was very inspired by these articles. I have some minor pain and fatigue from FM/CFS, and I've gained a lot of weight. I have spent a lot of time regretting that I can't go walking or do other things that I used to do. With God's help and grace, I'm going to start offering things up again. There's so many things to pray for, but I think that I'll stick to my consecration to the BVM and offer it up for her intentions. That will be enough.

Still enjoying my Divine Office. Plan on getting up at 7 starting tomorrow, so that I can go to daily mass. (That will give me some stuff to offer up right away! Ha!) Audrey Stevenson, Margaret Leo, Brendan Kelly, pray for me to be faithful to daily mass and office, and to start living the little way! In Jesus' Name, Amen.

I Love the Liturgy of the Hours/Divine Office!

Well, it's been almost two weeks since I posted. I had gone so long without anything I wanted to say, blogging for exercise rather than ideas, that I decided not to blog again until I really wanted to say something. Having been to an oblate retreat at Holy Angels Convent, I am ready to blog again.

I was very apprehensive about the retreat. I worried about my ability to negotiate the large building because of my FM/CFS, about whether or not I would LIKE it, my ability to make the 3.5 hour drive, etc. I was just a bundle of fears. When I arrived, I was provided with a wheel chair, and someone pushed me to my room. I then went to chapel, and sat visiting with God. I felt so relaxed and at home. My old novice mistress remembered me! and the last surviving junior sister of my group remembered me, too! I got lots of ideas out of the presentations, including the need to journal (as I am doing now), and the need to take little opportunities to order my life by ordering my environment. I'm very much looking forward to the October retreat!

As soon as I arrived home, I went to Amazon and ordered the breviary (?) that the nuns use for the Liturgy of the Hours. It arrived yesterday, and I fumbled through the Ordo. At first I didn't think I could do it, but as the day progressed I found that I can do it, and stopped worrying that I wasn't doing what the nuns do. I'll straighten everything out once I receive the Ordo from the Oblate Directress. In the meantime, I am finding a great deal of peace in praying the Office. In fact, it's time to pray, so I'm closing this entry.

Nervous About the Retreat

What do I write about today? I'm a little down for some reason. I think I'm nervous about my upcoming retreat at Holy Angels (my old convent). I'm afraid that I'll be overwhelmed physically. But right now I'm realizing that I can go home anytime I want to. I don't have to have anyone's approval. I may also find that, using a wheelchair like I use my little kitchen stool, I can do it without any problems. Wouldn't that be nice???

That's pretty much everything going on with me.