On Papa Ben and Other Things

I feel like I should say something profound in light of Papa Benedict's news yesterday.  

I don't have much.  I was a bit surprised by it but not devastatingly shocked like so many seem to be.  It's been hinted at before and being pope was never something he desired but rather accepted as God's will.  I know enough about him to know that he is a man of profound intellect and has a deep prayer life.  I trust that he is doing exactly what he believes the Holy Spirit wants at this time.  He accepted the election with grace and has worked tirelessly and faithfully in the position to which he was called.  He has fathered us with gentleness and I am grateful for the guidance and teaching he offered.  I almost feel like he is moving into a position of great grandfather or something and that's kind of a neat thing.  

I'm not mourning and I  don't feel devastated by this news.  Maybe I will.  I cried a bit when reading some of the articles and posts but not in grief.  It was more in awe of the profundity of the this moment.  It was in respect for the beauty of this great and humble man, sort of like crying at a beautiful song or a wedding.  I'm excited for what the Lord has in store for the Church.  It probably doesn't need to be said but please remember to pray and offer some of your Lenten fasts for the Church and the discernment of the cardinals in conclave.  What an opportunity we have in the Church to pray and fast in solidarity!  May Blessed John Paul II pray for us.

Thank you, Papa.

In the meantime, I think we may take this historic opportunity to do a little bit of a study on Pope Benedict, the cardinals, and the election process.  Click on over to Elizabeth's to see some of the beginning plans that I'm sure will be a great resource for our home learning in the next month.  She is on top of things over there!  Thank you, Elizabeth!

Today we are finishing up some valentines and will be having our traditional shrove Tuesday meal of pancakes and bacon.  Nothing says indulgence more than bacon.  I've never gotten too into the Mardi Gras thing but pancakes for dinner is a fun way to mark the transition into Lent.  Especially since we're going through on the whole gluten-free thing (gulp).  Have any of you tried this idea?  Supposedly you can make pancakes with just bananas and eggs?  If it works, I will definitely need to file that handy tidbit away.  There's a whole lot of recipes out there for pancakes that don't take wheat flour...who knew?  

What else?  Last night I got to share Luke's birth story at a birth class run by my friend.  It's always so fun to get to hang in a room with the sole purpose being to talk about birth and answer questions.  The couples there were great!  And I picked up a new doula client over the weekend so that was some more birthy excitement in my world.  

If I suck down some more coffee (poor poor Luke is the slowest teether ever and has been working on two molars for weeks which means we've got an up every two hour thing going at night), I may have the energy to take down the last of our berry garlands and wreaths and put up some of our Lent things...but perhaps that would be better suited to tomorrow.  We still need to figure out when we will get to Mass tomorrow to open our Lent.  Oh, and burying the alleluia...gotta do that, too!  (Yay for stream of consciousness posts that help you remember to actually do the things that you posted on before!)  

A blessed Fat Tuesday to you!
  


courtesy Catholic Memes
This one amused me way too much.

8 comments

  1. Quick comment before I eat my ice cream sundae...I make those pancakes all the time, except I add a splash of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Yummy and healthy!

    P.S. We are going gluten and sugar free here too - not necessarily for Lent, but we are starting tomorrow....

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    1. Wow, good for you, all hardcore like that! Cool, I'm excited to try the pancakes!

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  2. Hey! We generally are gluten/grain free so if you need any recipes or help, shoot me an email at any time! There are many alternatives and the health benefits have been major for us. As always, love your blog

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  3. We are pretty much gluten free here and I love it! We make those pancakes all the time . . . they are very yummy.

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    1. Awesome. I think once I have a good base of meals to choose from it should be okay. Just got to find that comfort zone! Good to know the pancakes can be an option!

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  4. I actually thought your thoughts on the abdication were pretty profound! Also, I'm so glad to learn that slow teething is a real thing. I'm pretty sure my 2-year-old has been working on the same molar for 6 months. I even suspect that it may have retracted at some point and he's starting over again (he won't let me look at it). Probably not scientifically possible, but this kid breaks all the rules, so maybe. No one warned me that teething is a never-ending process.

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    1. Oh, with some babies it IS! Every time Luke has a tooth coming in, you can see his poor gum bulging for weeks if not months. No fair. One of my God questions...why couldn't babies have been born with their teeth???

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