In Which I Waste Time, Or Not

I know, I know. It's Lent and I shouldn't be wasting time. I should be napping. Or praying. Or both. You know, I heard that if you start your Rosary, and say a prayer to your Guardian Angel, asking him to finish it for you if you fall asleep, he will. I wonder if that's true? How cool would it be to be actually praying while sleeping?

In a homily I heard once, the priest said that before he goes to sleep, he is in the practice of offering up each heartbeat and each breath he takes while sleeping. I love it! It takes the idea of offering up every action to God to a whole new level.

So how is my Lent going? Actually, good. I haven't lost focus yet. Saturday I went to a Lenten Women's Retreat and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Mass without having to whisk a child out of church? I'll take it. Not only was I able to listen to the readings, and homily, I was able to really pray and prepare myself to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.

There are times when I feel I've gotten absolutely nothing out of Mass. Now, I know that the grace is there whether I feel it or not. Because God is not reliant on me. Thankfully. He takes my efforts and makes me whole.

I did read somewhere (I can't remember where, if you know, please tell me in the comments) that sometimes going to Mass with children is not about me. Maybe, just maybe, it is about my children too. How much more grace are these innocent souls able to receive, just by being in the presence of Jesus himself? This is a thought that has helped me get through daily Mass without loosing it. And sometimes I even am able to leave with a smile on my face.

I wonder if Jesus takes more notice when the kids are acting up more? Like, maybe they are trying to get his attention (and succeeding in getting everyone's attention). Because I've noticed (this past weekend as an exception) that the three year old's behavior has been much, much better since making it to daily Mass one extra day. Like that one extra half hour in Christ's presence is truly, truly making a difference.

And not just in them, me too. I've been more patient and more consistent. I'm learning how to bite my tongue. I feel like I'm making some small progress. Which is news, because it seems like, before, no matter how hard I tried, I never changed. But "I can do all thing through Christ who strengthens me."

That's the beauty of a blog. I can turn very random thoughts into a post about a few of the many beauties of Mass. So I guess I didn't waste much time after all.