What I'm thinking...

It's a most unusual afternoon here at my house. My wonderful , devoted, long-suffering husband has taken all the children ~ nine of our own, and four borrowed ~ to a football game. After the game, they'll go over to a family gathering, so it'll be a long afternoon outing for the whole gang. And here I am, alone, in the quiet of our home.

Ah, blessed peace.

Of course, the house is a mess. No, I mean a MESS. My plea to my husband was that I really would like the time to clean up the disarray and catch up on the mountain of laundry before Sunday's rest. But, I have to admit, having the house to myself to leisurely clean and cook and change over laundry is the dearest rest I could possibly ask for.

===sigh===

The blessed quiet...

Except for I do have Enya's newest cd playing. It's called And Winter Came and it is absolutely beautiful. What we've come to expect from Enya, but better, because this one is a Christmas album! She has recorded a hauntingly beautiful version of O Come O Come Emmanuel in Latin, for instance, that is our new standard for Advent. And among other new music, she sings a song called Journey of the Angels. The words go like this:

Somewhere in a winter night
the angels begin their flight

dark skies with miles to go

no footsteps to be lost in snow.

They fly to You

Oh, new-born King,

They fly to You

Oh angels sing.

One is sorrow,

One is peace,

One will come

To give You sleep.

One is comfort,

One is grief,

One will take

The tears You weep.

New star

In a midnight sky,

In heaven all the angels fly.

Soft wings so true

And all things they will give to You.

Somewhere in a winter night

The angels begin their flight

Tonight all sing.

Oh angels,

A new-born King.

Tonight all sing,

Oh, angels,

A new-born King.

Aren't the words lovely? We highly recommend this album. If you're an Enya fan, especially, it's a must-have!

So, anyway, here I am. Beautiful music playing, the snow falling outside. I've got a fire in the woodstove and turkey soup starting on the stove. I'm getting set to go down-cellar and look for our Advent wreath. By the time the children come home, I'd like to have the Autumn decorations down and the Advent Wreath up and ready for tomorrow.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the first day of the new Church year! How are you preparing?

Besides getting our Advent Wreath started, we like to start the new Liturgical Year by making resolutions, much like most people do on January 1st. Unlike our New Years' promises, which tend to be of a saecular nature, like resolving to lose weight or keep the cellar clean, our Liturgical Year promises are of a purely spiritual nature. We've already decided on a family resolution, regarding the number of rosaries we plan to say in the year, and how we're going to record our intentions from the rosaries for spiritual bouquets. But, each of us makes individual resolutions, too.

I've been thinking I'd like to take the year to concentrate on one of the three Divine Virtues. I'd like to investigate all the avenues leading to and from either Faith, Hope, or Charity, and by learning, find how best to grow in this virtue. I haven't been able to decide which one I want to do yet, though I've pretty much eliminated Hope for the time being. Being generally sanguine in nature, I haven't had a whole lot of problem with the virtue of Hope, though I know that I probably underestimate its implications in the other virtues.

I expect that I can benefit greatly from a study on Charity, as that's traditionally one most of us (women, especially) struggle with. And of the virtues, St. Paul tells us "...the greatest of these is charity..." Concentrating on Charity would also work beautifully with Advent preparations. But, then, I can't help but think that Faith is the foundation of all the virtues, and would be wonderful to meditate on....

Decisions, decisions. And I've only got a few hours to come up with something!

And a million things yet to do...

So, I'm off

to make an Advent Wreath,

and cut some onions for my turkey soup

and change over a load of laundry

while I think about it some more...

I hope everyone is having a blessed and peaceful day!

Post Script: Hurray for the Olathe Pirates, the home town team of our dear friends at St. Joseph's parish! I just got a text from my husband, from the stands ~ amid a cheering crowd, to be sure. The Pirates just won the AA Football State Championship, 22-21! Wahoo! What a game that must have been! I know I'll be hearing about it from all sides as soon as the troops return this afternoon. &:o) I can't wait to hear how dear, tiny Olathe, Colorado will be celebrating this week!