Ordination to the Priesthood

Several years ago, Joseph and I attended our first ordination because we knew the priest who was entering the priesthood. Joseph loves pageantry, and I love love. An ordination has both!

When I saw this video a few years back, I got teary when they panned over so many leaders of our church (at 2:35)—as I thought about how they have answered the call and completely devoted their lives to the service of God and his people. Attending an ordination evokes the same emotion for me as I watch all the priests file in to welcome their newest brother. The pageantry, the way it has been done so many times in so many different places since the Church's foundation, and of course the look of joy on the face of the newly ordained. It is truly like that of a newlywed.

We attended the ordination of the newest priest in our diocese, Fr. James Patrick Grebe, this past weekend. Joseph took a few photos. :)

Our diocese is in a unique position right now in that our bishop-elect has been announced but not ordained or installed yet. He has served as a priest until now (or tomorrow to be accurate). The Archbishop of Miami celebrated the mass and performed the ordination of our new priest.

Answering the call:

The candidate lays prostrate while the Litany of the Saints is chanted. I love, love, love a Litany of the Saints! This ancient prayer of the pilgrim church on earth calls upon the church glorified in heaven to unite in prayer to God for his mercy and salvation.

Laying on of hands by Archbishop Wenski:

And our bishop-elect. All the priests filed through and did the same.

Joseph just liked this photo:

This might be my favorite. First shot with his new vestments!

Fraternal kiss to welcome the newly ordained. They actually hugged, but whatever. Again, all the priests filed through and did the same.

Congratulations, Fr. Jimmy!

Something neat about these photos is that Fr. Grebe's assignment was announced at the Mass, and the priest seated just behind him is the pastor at the parish where he will serve.

Our new bishop is like crazy tall!

The first blessings. Being Archbishop has all kinds of perqs, like not waiting in the line of hundreds of people for a blessing. ;)

Like I said, it reminded me of the joy of a newlywed as he recessed out.

I almost forgot! I was asked by one of Fr. Jimmy's friends to make a rosary for the occasion. Based on what they shared, I came up with this:

Wood and stone beads with the papal cross and miraculous medal center. I added a St. Joseph and Divine Mercy medal. A neat thing about that - the family who requested this rosary have Our Lady of Guadalupe as their patron and the reverse side of the Divine Mercy medal has that image. I love it!

A little help for my friend

It seems that several of my friends have BIG things going on right now. One very special friend needs just a little help, so I have a big offer for you, like, my biggest ever! First, some background.

A few months ago when Colleen told me about this campaign, she was working with Kickstarter. I had never heard of this platform where artists reach out to their grassroots peeps for support in exchange for rewards. Colleen is a musician, so the types of rewards she is offering are:

$10 ==> Digital download of her new album before it's released

$30 ==> Signed hard copy of the CD plus a digital download of the new album before it's released

There are many, many more! I'll let her explain and share some of her music. Check out the couple of cuties in the video:

I could tell you about what an amazing artist Colleen is, but if you watched the video, you can see for yourself. You could also watch any of the videos on her Kickstarter page. Or you can click on over to  Colleen and her husband Tai's family mission site and see the video where she appeared on EWTN's Life on the Rock with Marian Grace.

What I thought I would share with you is a little more personal, some of the reasons why I love Colleen and her family so much.

Joseph works in a field that is ripe with big egos and often low on meaningful relationships. Over the years, there have been a few points of light, including one man who leads a monthly rosary downtown during the workday. When we lost our son Jude, this man sent a compassionate and very thoughtful note to comfort Joseph. I probably don't need to tell you how few men would write a note like that. It was the only one like it that Joseph received. The wise words from a loving and experienced father, Colleen's dad.

One Saturday about two years ago when shopping with Aniston, while I was pregnant with Jude, we ran into the religion teacher from the children's school. She would be one of the homeroom teachers the following year and Aniston was eager to chat. Aniston was talking away and was just about to share the news about her newest sibling when she looked at me for approval since, because it was a high risk pregnancy, we hadn't yet told anyone outside of our family. I was days away from my second trimester, so I nodded yes. The first person besides family who learned about our baby boy, Colleen's mom.

Who did we ask to read sacred scripture at Jude's funeral? Colleen's mom. When Aniston had a hard day at school in those early days after Jude's death, Colleen's mom was always there to offer a hug and beaming smile that I can picture right now. Mrs. McCarron allowed Aniston and her classmates to process a very personal tragedy in a faithful environment where they could learn the truth of human dignity in a safe and appropriate way under her loving care. One of the ways she guided them was to pray the rosary as a class. 

Last summer when Aniston attended the Catholic summer camp, Covecrest, she came home ignited! One of the camp leaders that in particular had delivered powerful words, Jimmy Mitchell, is Colleen's partner in Marian Grace.

It seems that everywhere I turned, I kept finding these connections to Colleen. Finally, the two of us met when she attended a baby shower that I hosted. Now we live within walking distance of each other and have formed our own friendship, building on the community that already existed through our shared relationships. I love to hear her sing when she opens our ladies monthly rosary night with her angelic voice. I can say without reservation that she is one of the most beautiful, authentic, and joyful people I have ever known. Her art speaks the truth and needs to be shared.

Tai, Colleen, and Benedict

Here's how we can partner together to help. I am offering a seriously steep discount in hopes that, if you take advantage of it, you will use some of the "savings" to help a sister out! This is totally honor system, so let's respect Our Lady. I know you will. The nitty gritty:

You've already donated to her Kickstarter campaign? Super! Thanks a bunch! Feel free to use coupon code ColleenNixon for 40% your entire order placed by Monday (5/21) at midnight in my online shop or my Etsy store.

You are totally on board and can't wait to contribute to this amazing artist who writes from a Christian heart? Awesome! Head on over to Kickstarter and pledge $10 (or more!) so you can get the new album via free digital download and then hop over to my shop and use coupon code ColleenNixon for 40% off your entire online purchase placed by Monday (5/20) at midnight. What a deal!

Don't need anything from my shop? I hope you'll still consider supporting Colleen in some way. 

On a tight budget? Prayers are always appreciated!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Linking up again with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {pretty, happy, funny, real}...

The last few months have been a good kind of busy, but it's been so long since I've hung out on facebook, twitter, or even my favorite blogs that I have spent the last couple days dipping my toes in the water, afraid to jump in. Then I logged into twitter and saw that familiar series of letters that makes me think of sweet pictures scattered across different blogs, and it made me smile—P,H,F,R!

{pretty}

Aniston has this little group of girls that have been her best friends since kindergarten. They have each changed over the years, made new friends, and developed very different interests, but they are still so cute and such sweet friends to each other. I believe that attending a small, Catholic school from kindergarten through 7th grade has helped them develop strong, healthy, and lasting relationships. One of the girls, Makenzie (who you might remember from a previous post where she and Aniston paged together during the legislative session), is missing from the photo because she left before we took this shot, but it was my favorite! 

younger days

{happy}

The kids made this sign for me with Joseph's help and they each picked out flowers to make up this colorful bouquet. It made me happy. When looking at the sign, I noticed that Miles uses arrows in his writing like I do ---> all the time!

Love ---> Miles

I love that!

The Pre-K class at our children's school has a tradition of hosting a Mother's Tea in May. It is, of course, ah-dorable! They ask the children to dress in their Sunday best. Check out Ander—doesn't he look sporty?!

{funny}

For years I have joked about the love that Joseph's family has for pork products. When his dad lived with us for several months while recovering from a stroke, he would go through a package of bacon every two days—just feeding himself breakfast! I generally don't care for pork; I don't even buy pork chops.

Wouldn't you know that Genevieve has inherited this love for pork despite my lack of cooking it. Every morning, and I mean every morning, this girl asks for sausage (sAUH-sej) for breakfast. When we went to Earth Fare recently, she was giddy about getting her face painted as "sausage." I nixed the idea and convinced her to go with her second love, being a pirate. That girl!

Just down the street from our house is this little water play area, and I love how Miles and Ander are all man against nature.

Ander showing the water who's boss

I will stop you, water!

{real}

In my state of being spread too thin lately, I got the family dressed for mass to witness our dear friend's son receive his First Holy Communion and then attend the party afterwards. At mass, Aniston first became alarmed when she didn't see the First Communicant. Then she realized that NONE of our friends were there. Yup, wrong mass. The kids had to chill at home for an hour until the actual mass where he received the sacrament was over and then they were able to party all afternoon. One thing that made me feel better though, another mom made the same mistake!

Be sure to visit the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter to see more PHFR posts.