About Me
December Notes
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
As they rejoice before you as at the harvest.
-Isaiah 9:2
Holidays
Mary Olivia Patiño, MTS
Christmas music playing early on the radio is a clear sign that the holidays are upon us, whether we are ready or not! So, let's open those boxes where shiny ornaments and endless strings of lights wait to bring cheer to our pine trees and into our homes.
For Reflection:
What Christmas holiday traditions do you cherish?
How are you preparing to celebrate the Holidays?
What spiritual 'harvest' do you rejoice in?
Moments of Grace:
***
Writing helps us 'explore' our spiritual wellspring. Be ready for the surprising memories that may surface, for the joy they bring or for the opportunity of healing.
Enter into the experience: write to remember, to create, or to leave a legacy.
Deda's Fine Baked Goods in Vancouver, Washington:
A Meditation on Gratitude
Fr. James Martin, S.J. offers a meditation on gratitude and on "savoring occasions."..which can be "antidotes for our increasingly rushed lives". (America Magazine online, November 24, 2018).
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2010/11/22/gratitude-and-spiritual-life
******
Author Geraldine Guadagno has several books. Here is one, below:
5 Steps to Facing Suffering by Geraldine Guadagno
*****
The Moss Rose Antique Shop by Glee Miller
A Spirituality of Daily Praise
Thanksgiving Day
by Mary Olivia
Patiño, MTS
Thanksgiving Day, a Holiday filled with traditions, is an occasion to share meals, enjoy relationships, and to give thanks.
What better way to live ‘gratitude’ than by sharing it with those around you? We are presented with a myriad of ways to do this. Around the country, we hear of people ‘Paying it Forward’ or doing “Random Acts of Kindness’. In many churches, volunteers work long hours preparing and delivering meals to the homebound. In San Antonio, Texas volunteers participate in special events such as the Jimenez Thanksgiving Dinner, a yearly event which is attended by hundreds of families. Volunteers cook hundreds of turkeys with side dishes and serve the meals to the young or elderly. These are just some of the traditions taking place before and on Thanksgiving Day.
Keeping a ‘Gratitude’ journal is a practice that can become another tradition. A ‘Gratitude’ journal is your own book: a unique setting to write your reflections on family, friends, events or holidays. Thanksgiving is a busy time, yet what better way to take a few moments to relax and reflect on your blessings? Jot down memories while they are still fresh.
· What delicious smells come from the kitchen, from oven or stove?
· What sounds or whose voices do you hear?
· Who is present? Who is not present? Why not?
· Who was present? How far did they travel?
· What are you feeling as you remember or reflect on the ‘goings-on’ of preparations and the actual Thanksgiving day?
· What are you feeling most grateful for?
· What are some other ideas for a ‘Gratitude’ journal?
Each person or family has treasured traditions. May this Thanksgiving Holiday be filled with blessings and gratitude, and new traditions.
*****
Sacred Scripture for Reflection
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart in the company and assembly of the just. Great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all their delights.
-Psalm 111: 1-2
More of my writing can be found in Moments of Grace: A Collection of Poetry Inspired by Faith. Find me on