Feast Day of St. Luke

The sky above St. Mark's this morning, October 18

Today, October 18, is the Feast Day of St. Luke the Evangelist. When the students all gathered for morning prayer in the gym, they learned that St. Luke traveled with St. Paul as they spread the Good News of Jesus. 

It didn't take John and I long to settle on the name Luke for our son. I had always liked the name and when I mentioned it to John, he liked it too. It seemed to fit. I also liked that Luke is the patron saint of physicians.

At Mass, Father Gifford told us that the poor and the role of women are two themes in Luke's gospel. Father Gifford also said that he didn't think that it was a coincidence that Pope Francis chose this year as the Year of Mercy when the liturgical cycle features the Gospel of St. Luke so prominently. Another name for Luke's gospel is the Gospel of Mercy. It makes sense that Luke, the physician, would highlight the healing power of God's mercy.

St. Luke at St. Mark's Church

We are happy that Luke has confirmed that his name is a good match for him by choosing it for his Confirmation name.

Confirmation Preparation & the Story of the Clay Balls

Terry Mischler preparing St. Mark's students for Confirmation.

Luke along with his 8th grade classmates are preparing for their Confirmation next spring. Do you remember your Confirmation prep? I don't remember much about mine, so it's been good to be a part of Luke's preparation. When we first met a few weeks back, Msgr. Brownsey used a fun analogy to help explain Confirmation. He said we are like a glass of milk and at baptism, the gifts of the Holy Spirit (chocolate!) are poured into us. Well you know how the chocolate and the milk can separate? Confirmation is like a spoon, stirring up the chocolate, reactivating it. so to speak. Reactivating the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Tonight we met again, the 8th graders first, then all of us for a potluck and a session together. Msgr. Brownsey brought some Bradley Newman students with him and three of them gave amazing testimonials about their faith and the important role it plays in their lives. At St. Mark's we are so blessed to be close to Bradley and have the wonderful relationship with the Newman Center.

Next our junior high religion teacher and DRE Mrs. Terry Mischler spoke about the sacraments and how they use simple, basic things, like water and bread and oil. These things both point to something beyond themselves and also contain it. Mrs. Mischler told the story below which beautifully illustrates how appearances are not the most important thing.

A man was exploring caves by the seashore, In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of  hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.

They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.

He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone! Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.

Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. 

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them. I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with each of you. Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.

An October Day Made For Cross Country

On their own, this is how our boys from St. Mark's prepared for the sectional cross country meet today: with a team prayer.

They warmed up on the green-for-October grass.

They waited for their Lady Marksmen teammate Ellen, so they could cheer her on.

Look at her go!

They listened to Coach Stephens.

And to the IESA official.

A few pensive moments before the race.

On your mark, get set, GO!

And they're off!

Away they go!

Here come Brady and Alex!

Luke and Will.

Luis.

Spectators line the course.

Including some of ours.

Almost done.

 Feels good to finish.

Luke said, "Cross country was sometimes fun and sometimes not fun." Kind of like life. Great season, boys and Ellen!

2016 Rolan Johnson Christmas Ornament

One of the big blessings in the Carroll Family is living down the street from the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Conception. We are especially aware of this blessing on October 4, the Feast Day of their patron, St. Francis of Assisi. Above Luke is with Sr. Mary Louise. 

We visited the Sisters this evening and got to check out the beautiful 2016 Rolan Johnson ornament, which is now available for sale at the convent and select stores (see bottom of post).

Entitled, "May You Know His Peace," this ornament is inspired by Mr. Johnson's 1990 Christmas card. For many years, Rolan Johnson created beautiful, handmade Christmas cards that were famous throughout central Illinois. In 1994, he gave the Sisters exclusive permission to use his prints to create ornaments. Proceeds from the ornaments go to benefit the Sisters retirement fund.

Besides seeing the ornament, we also listened to an excellent presentation on the Peace Prayer, often referred to as the Prayer of St. Francis, by Joyce Heiple.

Joyce talked about learning to be still during part of each day, a challenge in this hectic, busy life.

A prayer Joyce often makes is, "Lord, teach me to love." When God asks us to love, we shouldn't 

ignore him.

Sister Betty Jean has given us delicious baked goods. Luke said he could tell they were made with love.

Before the presentation, we visited with our good friends, the Sisters. Above Luke is with Sister Paula, the current president of the order. They are in front of a poster of Pope Francis, who took his name in honor of St. Francis.

Sister Diane will be giving the next presentation on November 1 at 7 pm. She has recruited a couple of helpers (Luke and his mom). They will be doing something having to do with the theme of the presentation, All Saints.

 You can purchase the 4"x 3", two-sided ornament in a 24kt. gold-plated brass frame for $34 at the convent at 2408 W. Heading or the following locations: Bronze Frog-Junction City, Carlson Jewelry, Ltd.-Peoria Heights, Hometown Community Banks, Jones Bros. Jewelers-N. Grand Prairie Dr., Kay's Hallmark-Washington & Metro Center, Lagron-Miller, Skin Dimensions at Soderstrom Dermatology Center, Spalding Pastoral Center, The Dwelling Place Book Store-Normal

They make excellent Christmas gifts!

Luke and his Dad at the Library

Here are Luke and his dad, John, at the Bradley Library, one of their frequent hangouts. For the past eight years, they have visited the library a few times each week.

John works with Luke on his academics, mainly math and science. Sometimes they visit Khan Academy, the online learning resource.

All John's extra work with Luke is a big reason why Luke does well in school. These sessions have helped Luke to form good study habits and be proactive about getting his homework done. They have also helped him see how a positive attitude makes hard work more productive and enjoyable.

Don't know what is about to go on here--some kind of stress-reduction?-- but I'm sure it's all in good fun!