Radical Times/Radical Measures

These are radical times at my house. Our home organization and fluidity of life has been overturned by the construction going on in our bathrooms and basement. There hasn't been a single aspect of our lives that hasn't been touched by this process, physically, spiritually and emotionally. Moreover, the fact that the men who have been doing this job were apparently under qualified for the task at hand has made this ordinarily painful process turn into an excruciating nightmare. For instance, it wasn't enough for these men to begin jobs in the bathrooms and basement, leaving them undone and my inner home a wreck. I came home from a short shopping trip yesterday to find my outside front door steps demolished and abandoned!! There was no phone call asking if they could begin such a job and no one even knocked on the door to make sure they had the right house! Had I been informed of their intentions I would surely have stopped them because we were planning to fire them that day anyway.

Yes, these are radical times! Radical times require radical measures. First of all I thanked the Lord that we are a moderately healthy and happy family and that we do have food and a place to sleep. Were it not for the fact that I had attended Mass that morning I can't begin to say what I might have done. On a practical level, we have fired this contractor, but on a spiritual level this experience has taught us more than ever how much we need our faith and the Catholic Church.

I've been virtually unable to plan our next school year. Thankfully I have Seton Home School curriculum to turn to. I've ordered it, though we aren't enrolling. This awesome Catholic curriculum will give us a year of structured education without my having to plan anything. By deciding to pursue this avenue I truly feel as though I've been embraced by Holy Mother Church in providing for my kids their educational and spiritual needs. Amen!!

Next, we are working on turning a small closet type room into a prayer room. With so many people in our house none of us have had any place to go, shut the door, and speak with the Lord. These are radical times and we need radical means to arm ourselves for spiritual attack. I'm looking forward to making this into a beautiful, inviting place each family member will take comfort in.

We are also rekindling our use of sacramentals we have taken for granted. Our scapulars are about our shoulders and I have holy water bottles ready for filling the next time I go to church.

Some who read this might be wondering how our home demolition/construction might have anything to do with a deeper relationship with Christ and the multitude of spiritual aids the Church offers. My answer to this might be that evil and shortcomings in others always make me consider the evil and shortcomings in myself. I dread to think what I might have said and done if I had come home to my wrecked house to find my wrecked steps without the person of Christ abiding in me through the Eucharist to give me a peace. I need Christ because I am a weak person. I don't have answers to radical times in our society or in my home or in myself other than to seak the radical means and graces available to me as a Catholic in the Church established by Christ.