WYD in a flash

Ok! So here is the long awaited WYD post! Ok, it’S not really long awaited it’s just …well… it just is….

This was the tiny delegation from the Archdiocese

What touched me the most when I was on this pilgrimage was something very small and for many it probably was insignificant. But there was a music video and I wish I could find it. This music video was portraying the different stages in a pregnancy, they showed the weekly development of a baby. Why did this mean so much to me?

Well you might of put two and two together, I’m pregnant! NOO! I’m not pregnant!

I am wonderfully made

Last night I had a hard time falling asleep, I was counting sheep, 1, 2, 3, I hear music, I wonder what song this is? I remember my grad, I had a blast. Remember the banquet? Yes I got wear a beautiful dress and feel like a princess. And my thoughts went on and on. (Mean while I could hear someone snore in the room beside mine)

I’ve been pretty busy so before last night I was able to sleep pretty well. You know when you have jam packed days and when it come to sleep you don’t even remember putting your head on your pillow, you’re asleep before you even know you’re asleep. Well that’s what’s been happening (other than last night).

I got to sleep in which was great, I woke up around 8:30, had a quick breakfast and morning prayer. I was sitting in the living room enjoying the view. The house is on a hill and there’s a river below. I could over look the river and see further in the trees. The pelican and ducks were just floating along minding their own business. Then all of a sudden I see two teenagers walking on the street which is quite normal. One was limping and the other one kept bending down. I was wondering what was happening and then he got sick rolls eyes this must of been the result of the grad.

Why can’t we be reasonable?  I mean drinking to the point of getting sick is not normal but for some people it’s a sense of comfort. It’s not the sickness that they want but it’s the high from drinking. It’s their way of letting go. It’s clearly not a healthy way but who am I to condemn when I have struggled with that myself.

This made me think of the psalm from the feast of Saint John the Baptist, I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.  It doesn’t matter what we do, we can’t hide from God. He knows the depths of our heart, he knows when we sit and when we stand, He is the one that knit us in our mother’s womb.

If we knew how much God loves us we wouldn’t be running off doing our own thing. In fact we would be busy doing God’s will that our will wouldn’t even matter. God made us and yet we’re ready to reject Him sometimes. Sin is what separates us from Him but thankfully we have repentance, we have mercy, we have forgiveness.

Don’t forget the ultimate sacrifice Jesus suffered for all of us to be here today.

My Catholic Living

 

My Promise

I’ve been thinking a lot about my to be godson. He isn’t born yet but I still feel a deep connection with him. He’s definitely a fighter!

Long story short my sister-in-law’s water broke in week 20 but thankfully she didn’t go in labour. Now, they are staying strong, fighting and celebrating that they made it to week 28! It’s not easy putting trust in God, knowing that we can’t do anything to change the situation other than pray and follow His will with an open heart.

Mathieu will be born a fighter, he will know the struggles of life but he will also learn that we are completely powerless. We need to acknowledge that God is on our side.

Mathieu,

You don’t know me yet but you will soon enough. I have heard so many things about you and I’m excited to meet you. 

Last Saturday’s challenge

As many of you know, I struggle with alcohol and I’m quite open about it. One drink leads to two and two leads to three and three leads to I don’t remember.

I haven’t had a drink for a few months now and it feels great. The people I live with have a drink everyone once in a while and sometimes I think maybe just this once.  But I know I can’t fall into that.

On Saturday I was asked by someone to go to the liquor store and buy a 12 pack of beer. It’s just buying beer right? It shouldn’t be that tough. On the drive there (which isn’t too far) I kept thinking Should I buy something for myself? How am I going to feel going in there? Why am I doing this? And as soon as I entered I saw everything, the wine, the beer and the liquor. It really brought me back to my old self but it made me think of who I am today. 

Mystery of the Visitation

On the feast of the visitation I went to mass and our Archbishop preached the homily. He talked about the age of Mary (between 8-16) and the age of Elizabeth (50’s or older). I always thought that this mystery of the visitation was so intimate. Me,being a woman, absolutely love children. Anyone whom I’ve encountered knows that.
Conception is so incredible! I mean with a simple act one can conceive a baby. Then this baby is in the mothers womb for a few months then BOOM

Good Good Father

I wanted to share a bit on how I welcomed the new year. As you know I was at a conference during that time of the year. We started the evening with mass and he church was packed full, I don’t think I ever seen a church that was so full. It was a beautiful bilingual mass.

After mass we had a banquet with a really fancy meal. I didn’t know which fork or spoon to use because there were like 4 of each! Note to self always start on the outside and go toward the inside with the utensils. After the meal we had a speeches and a video to present where the next conference will be held. The next one is in VANCOUVER!!! I don’t know if I’ll be able to attend but it’s still pretty cool.

Then the party started!

Flight Encounter

Which flyer are you?

I have a hard time starting conversations with random strangers but for some reason when I’m in an airport I tend to talk to just anyone. When I was on the back from the conferrence we had two flights: one from Montréal to Toronto and the second one to Winnipeg.

The first flight was delayed an hour or so but we weren’t in a rush. The flight to Toronto just before us was cancelled so the plane we were getting on was packed! There’s a new thing at the airport that all checked bags cost extra so I had just bought two small carry ons but because was so full they announced that anyone could check in bags for free. Not wanting to carry my bags at the next stop I volunteered. It was nice not needing to carry things around.

Candles!!!

Fire! Anyone who knows me well know that I really like playing with fire, both figuratively and literally.

Our life is like a candle, sometimes candles burn really well and other times candles spill over and make a mess. We have to know that for a candle to burn well we have to leave it be and trust that it will do what it needs to do. Just like God we have to trust that God will provide the wax for us to live the life He has planned for us.

This morning when I got into the office the first thing I did was say hello to my coworkers then I lit a candle. This isn’t just any candle, it’s my I really need to concentrate candle. The smell is comforting but I’m not too sure why. It brings me back to when I lived at home and my mom wanted  to get rid of candles so she would burn them all day. When I got back from school we could smell these candles. My first instinct was to play with the burning candles, getting the wax on my fingers, making a mess and eventually blow it out (usually by accident). 

Names

We all have a name but our name doesn’t really belong to us. What a crazy thought. My name is Céline but I shouldn’t let my names define who I am. But I thought of something kinda cool the other while chatting with someone. OK this might be far fetched but just keep on reading. Ok so when we indicate something important such as God we put a capital letter. If we talk about the Church we put a capital letter. If we talk about the Eucharist we put a capital letter. All these things have a capital letter because they indicate the presence of God.

Now here comes the crazy part. All our names start with a capital letter. Does this indicate the presence of God in my life? I would like to think so. Even the so called atheists’ name starts with a capital letter. And I truly believe that God is working in their lives too.

I hope this makes a bit of sense and maybe it’s far fetched but I find it comforting.

And on a side note, growing up I didn’t really like my name because I thought it was too french. Not many people could pronounce it or they would always make the Céline Dion joke. For those of you who don’t know Céline Dion is a Canadian singer who was quite popular but now her popularity is going down. I hear some sort of Céline Dion joke maybe once or twice a week so I got used to it.

Now I like my name because not only was it given to me by my parents but it is also a way to express my culture and my love for God. The name Céline in Latin is ‘caelum’ meaning sky or heaven. When I first meet people I often talk both of these. It’s a great conversation starter but sometimes it also get me in trouble but I won’t get into this today.

Be happy with the name you have! But at the same time don’t be afraid to have nicknames because that makes life much more interesting and fun. We need a balance of both.

-My Catholic Living

 

 

 

Babies!

This past weekend I was really lucky because I got to babysit a new born. This boy is not even 2 weeks old and yet he’s already in a foster home, a good foster home. His foster mom is such a holy person and an inspiration to me. I met her through daily mass. I try to go to daily mass on a regular bases and I know that she does the same so eventually we got to know each other. This is how I got to know that she is now fostering 2 boys and they are bother under 2 years old. This must be such a crazy household!!!

On Sunday I was really lucky because she asked me if I could babysit her baby while she went to mass and I agreed whole-heartedly. Maybe this is a sign for my vocation maybe it isn’t but when I was holding this baby I kept on thinking about the blindness and carelessness this child has. He completely relies on someone else to take care of him. A great reminder that we have to completely rely on God to take care of us.