Today I am joining the girls in the 11 day diet. It's based pretty much on the same principles as the Wendy Chant plan where you mix things up in order to keep the body guessing. The Wendy Chant plan worked great, and I'm pretty sure this one will too. The advantage is that I know that 3 other people are doing this with me. But we don't check in with each other and we don't talk about it. As Anna put it, "you have the camaraderie without having to talk about it." Okay, that one has me scratching my head. I like checking in and talking about it, but the rest don't so we shall see how this works out.
Hmmmm, something funky has happened to my bloglist. Like, it's gone. Anyway, Carla from Country Road Primitives made us a gorgous new winter logo for our website. She is a sweetie! Check it out: MoeggenborgSugarBush.com I know it's not winter yet, but the picture is so beautiful I couldn't wait.
By the way, isn't it weird how the day after Halloween, Walmart always starts playing Christmas music? I guess there isn't a lot of Thanksgiving music available. Now the cynical among us will complain about commercialism, but in this day of "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas, it's nice to hear the carols. I'm not driven to buy. I just love the Christmas season so this makes it longer. Also, the bins for our military are also at every door. Let's not forget them this year - and not just at Christmas.
Today I will be making several batches of candles. I had an order for a batch of tarts - all different scents - none of which I had already made up. That's okay, though, I like to have a least one set of everything ready to go so this will make me get up to speed. I got my grubby cake mold the other day and I just love it!!! I made made a "cake" in "Pumpkin Crunch Cake" and I just love it.I am finally feeling back to normal so I am going to go out for a walk in a few. As Nina pointed out, "I knew you were off track. You weren't posting." Isn't that always the way?
Word of the Day
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
(All Souls)
Reading 1
Wis 3:1-9
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the LORD shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
Reading II
Rom 6:3-9
Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
Gospel
Jn 6:37-40
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”
Thoughts from the cornfield:
Today I posted all of the readings because they are readings that families often pick for the funeral Masses of their loved ones. Today is All Soul's Day - a day we remember those who have gone before us. Yesterday was All Saints' Day - a day that we celebrate our oneness in the Communion of Saints. Normally, November 1 is a Holy Day of Obligation with a special Mass. Because of the way the date fell this year, there was none. Today I used music that I would have used for All Saint's day and it worked so well. We started with a refrain from Bernadette Farrell's Litany of Saints. "Saints of God in glory, be with us, rejoice with us, sing praise with us, and pray for us now." This refrain is used throughout the Mass with groupings of Saints in between the refrains. Included in the litany, after the traditional saints of the church, I begin singing the names of the people who have passed away in our parish during the preceeding year.
As I sing the names of our deceased parishioners, the eye is drawn to the list of their names hanging in the sanctuary. For me it is a very moving liturgy because I have played the funeral music for almost every name on that list. My thoughts go back to their vigil services where the families told stories about them and remembered the little funny things that we, as humans, do throughout our lives. And then I think of the line from Wisdom - In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble. Our lives on this earth are like those sparks - bright while they shine but ever so fleeting. It's good to know that beyond the spark there is a loving God who welcomes us to his kingdom.
God bless our troops!
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