Prayer Request

If I may, I'd like to ask any of the readers out there to please say a prayer for my dearest friend, Anne. Though we are far apart in years (she is 81), she has been my closest friend and confidant for over a decade. She has been suffering lately with heart problems, and has to make an appointment for an angiogram to see just what is going on.

Thank you!

I survived!

Yes, I made it through the blackest Friday of the year unscathed. It was not easy getting up at 3am to be to work at 4am, but I managed... and thanks to some green tea pills, I got a boost of energy with which to confront the onslaught of customers I knew awaited me.

I was stationed outside my little world in the Photo Lab to sell laptops in Lawn and Garden. I had no idea how this whole thing was going to work.. few of us did. To my relief, I found some of my good friends were stationed back there with me.. safety in numbers!

Since the store was open for 24 hours to avoid the massive rush of people at 5am which resulted in the death of a NYC employee last year, shoppers were able to line up in the store for their designated big sale item, and were given tickets to ensure them they would be getting said product. I had the distinct pleasure of cashing out laptops and various other items they had picked up in their many hours in the store waiting for the magical moment of the 5am sale time... I cashed for over an hour. Yea, good times.

Thankfully, I spent the rest of my shift in Lawn and Garden, directing customers and making sure no one escaped through our back doors.. with unpaid merchandise. It was fairly quiet back there.. especially in comparison to the insanity of the rest of the store. Since there were SO many associates scheduled to work from 4am to 1pm, I was not in danger of being pulled from my black Friday sanctuary.

The worst part for me was how cold and damp it was in that department, especially with the freight doors open. It ended up really messing up my lower back (I have sciatica)... and by the time I got home, I needed my Mom to bring my cane out to me so I could get out of my car. I still get shooting pains every now and then... but that should pass.

Thankfully, I survived yet another black Friday!

Turkey Day

Wishing all of you out there in Cyber-land a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving. Remember, as we over eat today, to take time to be thankful for the bounty of food we have, the family and friends in our lives... those with us around the table, and those in our hearts.

Head. Wall. Ouch.

So what have I been up to? Let's see. I've been working quite a bit, and yet still in debt. Still subbing twice a week... and working the retail Hell that is Walmart.

Today was a nice cross section of my life as a whole. I woke up rather sick, and missed morning Mass, so went to Mass at the other Latin Mass location at 1:30pm (an example of just not being able to get moving). Started typing my 20 page paper on the National Association of Colored Women, and had to walk away after one and three quarters pages because I just don't have the stamina to sit and pound out a paper like I used to. I was rejected for a date, and failed to secure a sub position for tomorrow (this being Thanksgiving week, I only have two days to try and get sub work).

So I'm a wee bit frustrated with the current state of affairs... Normally I would have the holiday to look forward to, but dinner doesn't start until 6pm, and I have to be UP at 3am to work a 4-1pm shift on the worst day of the year... Black Friday.

Oh yes. Good times.

Pray for Priests Kit

Pope Benedict XVI has designated this year as "the year of the priests". After all the reported abuses by the clergy, I think it is an excellent idea to commit more of our prayer time for the intentions of priests, as well as for more HOLY vocations. The scandals of the past years have hurt not only countless lay people, but also the clergy themselves. There are many many good men in the priesthood who now suffer from the constant attacks, jokes and criticisms by the popular culture because of the errors of others. I know many priests who have been verbally assaulted in public for wearing their Roman collars, and called all sorts of names... for something they never did.

I was made aware of this "prayer kit" from another blog that I follow. It contains a reminder to us to pray for priests, as well as a simple card you can send to your local priest/pastor telling him that he is in your prayers, and that you support him. Believe me.. now more than ever, they can use the encouragement!

The kit can be purchased at: Pray for a Priest -- Naturally though, you could come up with your own card or token of affection for that special spiritual Father in your life... this is but one option.

The "priest jokes" not only are hurtful to those of us who are Catholic.. but should be hurtful to those of us who are gay. These jokes are only a stone's throw away from gay bashing, which is indeed the undertone of such jokes about the "priest and the altar boy". A reminder to my gay readers out there: People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Discrimination, hate and cruelty should never be accepted... even if it's against a group with whom you do not agree.

*steps down from soap box*

All Soul's Day

Today is the feast of All Souls. A time to remember our friends and loved ones who have died. As we remember and pray for those who have gone before us, let us also be mindful of those departed who have no one left to pray for the repose of their souls. It is a great spiritual work of mercy to pray for the dead, especially those for whom no one remains to remember.

If possible, visit your local cemetery and pray for those buried there. There is a beautiful custom of volunteering to help clean up and preserve graves which have been neglected. True, the deceased soul no longer resides in the shell buried in those graves, but it is out of respect for life and the dignity of the person that we honor their memories, and the body which was once the temple of those souls.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in preace. Amen.