I don't know how y'all celebrated the start of the new year (in the Gregorian calendar) but mine was fun/funny. Since mom had to go to work (and I had to get up at 4 in the morning to take her to work), we didn't plan anything. Instead, I spent the last two hours of 2012 chatting with one of my closest friends on Google Hangout. At midnight we toasted with tea and then watched my mom go nuts with bell ringing. lol. It was a lot funnier than it sounds and we spent the first half hour of the year laughing. :D
For the first time ever, I made it to Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. You read that right -- first time ever. Every year since my reversion, I'd either been sick or I didn't have a ride to Mass (and the weather was too horrid to walk to the nearest parish). And, okay, I didn't make it through the entire Mass (anxiety has not been kind to me today and I blame my stomach for that) but I stuck it out for as long as it could. The fact that I went to a Spanish Mass by myself was big for me. I usually don't like doing things outside my comfort level by myself (again, stems back to bad memories that trigger anxiety) so I'm pretty proud of myself for trying. I would have made it through the entire thing if my stomach hadn't decided to start giving me the "pay attention to me now or face your doom" symptoms I get sometimes. I tried to ignore them, which only aggravated the anxiety and, well, you can guess the rest. I cried as I left but I was so happy for the first half hour-ish that I was there. I made it through the homily (which was fantastic; kudos to Fr. Quintero for focusing on the importance of mothers, the Mother of God, and how wonderful God is for giving us all His mother and our own earthly mothers) which is a small victory in my book. This was also my first time attending Mass since before Advent, which tells you how bad my stomach has been lately. Still, like I said, small victory and a baby step to once again attending Mass as often as possible. :D
Oh, and if you've noticed, the winner of the patron saint poll was Mary, Undoer of Knots. I thought it was appropriate, considering that it is her day. :D I was first introduced to her by Clare (who is one of my personal heroes; this gal is fantastic) of Come Further Up but school and other things came up so nada. I have been wanting to learn more about her (as well as pray her unfailing novena) for quite some time and now I have a good excuse to. :)
For those of you who don't know about Mary, Undoer of Knots, here's a good description I found at the blog Praying for Grace: "The title is inspired by Saint Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyon and martyred in 202), who made a comparison between Eve and Mary, saying: "Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid it." From the meditation, an unknown artist painted a much-venerated painting which hangs in St. Peter church in Perlach, Germany. The knots that Mary undoes are all of the problems that we take to her -- worries for our children, trials in our marriages, our struggles with the world. It is a beautiful visual to imagine Our Holy Mother untying the knots in which we become tangled in our daily lives." I'm going to start a novena today (and do it once a month) so if you have any requests, let me know!
Anyway, I want to relax for the rest of the day (to see if the anxiety goes down a bit) so that is it for now. I hope y'all had a great time ringing in the new year and that this year is so much better than the last. :D
As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D
No comments:
Post a Comment