Our Little Ones

From today's Gospel (Matt. 18: 1-5, 10, 12-14), one of my favorites right now:

"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven...[W]hoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me...In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost."

In honor of a Feast Day not observed this year...

My birthday, August 9, is the feast day of Edith Stein, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, my Confirmation saint. This year her feast falls on a Sunday so it is not mentioned on any of my Catholic calendars. She was a Jewish convert, a philosopher & professor- a phenomenologist like Pope JPII & the foundational thinker who contributed to his own philosophy/theology of the "feminine genius," and a cloistered Carmelite nun who was martyred at Auschwitz as a result of the Nazi purging of Catholic monasteries in Denmark after the Dutch bishops spoke out against the Third Reich in no uncertain terms.

Some quotes of hers:

I always think of queen Esther who was chosen from among her own people to intercede before the king for her people. I am a little Esther poor and impotent, but the king who has chosen me is infinitely great and merciful. And this is a great consolation. (Letter 131)

One cannot desire freedom from the cross when one is especially chosen for the cross. (Letter 146)

Faith in the secret history of souls ought to fortify us when what we see externally (in ourselves and in others) takes away our courage. (Letter 148)

The whole work of education should be sustained by love which ought to be manifested in every correction, and it should certainly not be replaced by fear. The most efficacious educational means, then, is not the instruction, but the living example; without this all words are useless. (Woman. 11)

Is the extra-domestic professional activity of woman contrary to the order of nature and grace? I think not. All the powers of man are also present in the nature of woman: even if in different measure and in different proportion- this is proof that she too can use them in activities that correspond to her. These powers are limited when professional activity begins to hinder domestic life, namely the good of the family, composed of parents and children, in which one receives life and education. (Woman. 93)

72 Hrs. in Quarantine...Tough Way for a Boy to End a Summer

We're not really quarantined, although we do have the flu. Swine flu that is. Middle son had it last week with worse symptoms than oldest son who has it this week. Middle son was confirmed with it only on Mon.- the testing takes several days b/c it is sent off to one of only a few places in the country performing the testing. Since my husband is active duty Air Force and we get medical care at our base through the DoD (Department of Defense), my son's mucas sample was actually sent on for confirmation as H1N1/swine flu after initially determining it was Type A flu. According to a friend in a similar situation, civilian doctors are not all sending positive Type A flu specimans on for the further confirmation b/c 1) the few centers doing the testing are so back-logged; 2) symptoms are proving to be mild; and 3) patients just have to wait it out, whatever type of flu it is. Oldest son is fine now, after some fever the first 24 hrs., but quite unhappy about being advised to stay home for a few days and having to postpone his first piano lesson and miss our local ConQuest team's kick-off bowling night, considering he feels so well now.

This is just funny to me to be on the front side of the expected wave of this flu as children return to school and pass it around to each other. Thanks be to God, for us it has been a mild flu bug and I suspect will prove to be the same for other relatively healthy people. The reactions we have been getting are interesting and what makes it feel funny. Music teacher at school said the boys would be "famous" once the word got out; my sister who is a nurse said "gross;" and my office wanted me to stay home for a few days so as not to expose everyone.

Anyway, it has made for an interesting and trying end to our summer. My boys head back to school in 1 week and we are all ready for the schedule, challenge, and friends, not to mention the sacramental life. My husband has been doing "Daddy Daycare" at home 3 days a week while I work my PT schedule and needs to knock out some reading, what he was supposed to have been doing while on this flex/elective schedule. He has done a great job and, after the initial adjustment, they've had fun going on field trips to the movies, our city's Children's Museum, the library, parks, the pool, and hopefully still to come- Sea World.