Material Discontent

We* have had our vacuum since we received it as a wedding present. In other words, our vacuum is almost six years old. For quite some time, every time we use it we have gotten a strong dusty smell, even when the bag was just changed. This combined with knowing that with two children, the floor should be vacuumed or at spot-vacuumed at least every other day and increased knowledge of dust mites and allergens in the carpet has made me want a new vacuum.

I would read blog posts by people with a Dyson and think, "Wow. I would really like a Dyson. It is so powerful." Then I would visit people who had a Roomba and think, " This would be great to have. I would easily be able to vacuum every single day." Or I would have to get out the vacuum just to vacuum up a patch of dirt or food and think, "What I really need is a hand vac. It is just ridiculous to lug out this big thing just to vacuum up a small area of the carpet."

It was with great shock that I realized that I desired not one but THREE new vacuums. That was a bit extreme, especially when the vacuum I had was still functioning. How could this happen? How could I be so materialistic? I could give the excuse that "I want all" like St. Therese said, but I don't think that is a valid excuse for me. Rather, I think it is a consequence of living in a rich country where lots of people buy what they want when they want it regardless of their financial situation. We see the nice things that people have and want them too, not knowing whether they can afford them or whether those things just drove them deeper into debt.

For Christmas I was given a Roomba. However, ideally, I still would like both a Dyson and a hand vacuum. Having one object of my desire unfortunately did not quench my desire for the others. Even though these are only wants and not all-consuming desires, it disturbs me that I feel this way. However, I don't know how to rid myself of this greed (or is it envy? or merely covetousness?). Whatever it is, it seems to be a spiritual ill and I suppose I need to pray more for contentment. Lucky me: Lent begins tomorrow! It seems to be the perfect time to try to become less attached to worldly things.

*I say "we" because my husband vacuums just as much as I do, and more if I am pregnant.

Internal Struggles at Mass

I am a firm believer in parents teaching their children about the Mass. This includes taking their children to Mass with them as a family, teaching them how to behave (and removing them if necessary), and trying to explain what is happening on the altar as Mass progresses.

That being said, today my will screamed against it. I didn't mind taking Reeda to the vestibule. I didn't mind walking around carrying her for most of the service. I didn't mind that by the time she was content there weren't any seats left. I found a large stack of bricks which were an extension of the wall and sat down on them. Here is what I did mind: before I knew what happened Reeda had pulled the fire alarm. I tried to turn it off, but no luck. I was mortified. The vestibule was packed with people and they were all staring at me.

As the alarm continued to go off and the usher couldn't find the key to silence it, I struggled not to cry. All of a sudden, I was overcome with the desire to go to Mass all by myself. I wanted to concentrate on it without a child's interruption. I wanted to be able to open my prayerbook and read a communion prayer in peace. But my intellect was able to triumph over my will. I knew that I was doing exactly what I ought to be: training, teaching and exposing my children to the most beautiful prayer on earth.

A Post Worth Reading

Flannery wrote a beautiful post about supernatural virtues, grace and God's goodness. Here is an excerpt:

The happiest moment of my life was the moment when I realized that "good" is said of God, not because He happened to take that side of the opposition but could conceivably have taken the side of "evil," but because He is Good in the deepest and truest sense of the word, and it is not possible for Him to be evil: and that if it were possible, "good" would not really be good.

Something is Working

We normally go to a local monastery for Sunday Mass, but lately one thing or another has come up and we have gone to one of the local parishes. All of the parishes were built in the "church in the round" style, which I don't particularly care for. However, this style seems especially good for us because we can sit in the front or next-to-front row, but don't have to walk down the main aisle in front of everyone in case there is a noisy child.

I have been trying to get Happy Boy to pay attention to the Consecration by pointing out Our Lord's presence to him, but I didn't know if it was working. The a couple of weeks ago I saw him lift up his cup at dinner and say, "Aaaaameeen." A few days later he said while holding a piece of bread, "This is my body - take and eat this all up." Needless to say, this made my husband and I very happy. The icing on the cake, however, came this Sunday. As the priest elevated the consecrated host, Happy Boy pointed and said, "Jesus!"

Although I am not anti-Traditional Latin Mass, something makes me think that in this case the English Mass is better. I just can't see my three year old saying, "Hoc est enim corpus meum."

Confession

Recently I have seen several articles about an increase in the rate of people going to confession. I was very glad that someone is finally acknowledging it.

For years people have complained, "Before Vatican II the lines of people going to confession were very long, but now no one ever goes." This statement always drives me crazy because it hasn't been my experience at all.

The city in which I live has three parishes. No matter which one I go to I always wait in line at least 45 minutes. That is, unless I arrive 20 minutes before the scheduled time and then I only have to wait 25 minutes. During Lent, my husband and I were able to get someone to watch Happy Boy so we could go together for once instead of on different days. We got there right at the start of the scheduled time and there were already more than 20 people in line. We knew from experience that we wouldn't be able to get in to the confessional there so we went to a different church. There were already more than 20 people in line ahead of us even though we got there more than twenty minutes early. By the time it began there were at least 15 people behind us as well.

I know it is a good thing that there are such long lines for confession, but I wish that the priests had enough time to schedule more. I also wish that the anti-Vatican Two-ers would open their eyes and see how many of the faithful take advantage of this wonderful sacrament.

Laetare Sunday

Lent is half over. For some reason, I can't help thinking of Lent being over when the baby comes, instead of on Easter Sunday. I guess when the time comes, I will just have to tell myself that childbirth good to endure during a penitential season and that I will have a mini-Easter when the baby comes. I am sure that the sleepless nights that come with the baby will be an appropriate Lenten trial. I doubt Our Lord slept much on the night of Holy Thursday.