It has been entirely too long since I made a post, so this one's going to be a little bit long.



I have been going through some pretty disappointing and difficult times lately, and many times I have been driven nearly to despair. Every night, I pray hard to try and help me through these times, and somehow, the Lord keeps me going, no matter how bad things get. In these tough economic times, I know many of us are going through similar problems. I know there are many other people out there who are far worse off than I am, and have many more problems than I do. Many of us are struggling to keep our family together, and work overtime to make ends meet. It's not an easy task for anyone. But, as an elderly priest once told me, God does not give us what we can handle, He helps us handle what we are given. As you may already know, the loss of my grandmother last October hit me hard. First, it was the first death of someone in my life who was really close to me. All my family members have actually been in very good health, and my grandmother was one of the very best friends I had in my life. I can't say enough about all the wonderful things she did for me, all the support and care she gave me. I'm sure all of you are going through some tough time right now, so call upon the Lord to help you through it.


I know this post sounds awfully familiar to previous posts, but that's not what I was really trying for!




God Bless,

John

I am having a really hard time keeping up with this blog and everything else in life, as is apparent by the date of my last post.

I have been going to the morning Mass at my parish every day since the beginning of Lent. It's not always easy to get up at 5:30AM, and have to drive up to Mass. In the winter, this usually involves at least 5 minutes of scraping my windows before I can leave, and then sit in the freezing car on the way. Nearly everyone I have told has told me that they think I'm absolutely crazy. Well, so do I! It takes some serious determination to get up every morning and hurry out the door, but it's totally worth it. The graces I receive from going to Mass, and the peace I feel for the entire day afterwards are worth all of that, and even more. I encourage you to try to attend a Mass at least a few times a week. Most parishes offer a Mass that usually ends by 7-7:30AM so that commuters can stop in on their way to work. It's a wonderful way to get your busy day off to a good, holy start.



God Bless you all!



John