I guess I was a week ahead of myself!  This morning, when I read over the readings for Mass for my meditation, I had the ribbon of the little missal I use in the 31st Week of Ordinary Time. 
 
The readings spoke of counting worldly things as loss for the sake of Christ, and of the lost sheep (out of one-hundred).  When I got up to read at Mass, therefore, and started seeing words like sword, armor, and shield, I was a bit taken aback.  That hadn’t been in the reading I had prepared! 
 
Regretful that I had meditated on the readings for next Thursday by mistake, I really had no choice but to continue reading, unprepared.  Despite the mix-up, the words of the epistle and psalm delighted my heart.  I always love these concrete, tangible images and references to God as our Rock, fortress, and defense. 
 
These are especially appropriate now.  At this time of trial, it kind of feels like we are in a battle!
 
The psalm tends to arose joyful assurance in my heart, that He truly is: “my rock…, my mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer, my shield, in whom I trust,” who “deliver[s His] servant from the evil sword.”
 
The reading this morning was a wonderful reminder that we really are in God’s army, relying upon his protection and grace. 
 
I’m grateful, in a way, for my little mistake this morning.  Through it I received more inspiration for the day than I would have otherwise…and I need all the help I can get!

We’ve been hearing a lot about numbers lately: numbers of COVID cases, numbers of early voters, numbers of inches of snow falling around the area (yuck)…One source estimates that, each winter a septillion snowflakes fall in our country!

Numbers are kind of a big deal.
 
None of us are immune to the effect of numbers on our daily lives.  Personally, I know that the rising number of Coronavirus cases in our county have made things a bit more serious around my workplace of late. 
 
This October, as we near elections, the minds of many have turned to some key issues, as well as numbers involved with them. 
 
One key issue people are considering is our economy.  It’s estimated that over 20 million people lost their jobs early in the pandemic, and many of them have not found employment again since.  Most of us working in the field of long-term care, though faced with many challenges, at least have not had to deal with this terrible situation.  What an awful hardship it must be to be unemployed in today’s world!
 
Beyond loss of jobs, about 210,000 people actually died in our country this year, related to COVID-19; that’s not too far shy of a quarter of a million!  No wonder effectively combating this virus is forefront in many people’s minds as they think about heading to the polls or mailing in their ballots in the near future.
 
Although this year’s numbers aren’t yet available, another set of numbers I can’t help but think of is the numbers of unborn babies killed annually by abortion.  Estimating from recent years' figures, it wouldn’t be farfetched to guess that the number would be somewhere around 800,000 in the United States.  That’s roughly triple the number of Americans whose lives ended in relationship to this “pandemic.”
 
Some might argue against this comparison, stating that the Coronavirus is an infectious disease, while abortion is a “medical procedure.”  Nonetheless, both of these leading causes of death sadly take the life of vulnerable human persons. 
 
Furthermore, those killed by abortion never have a chance to "live."  They never get to enjoy life and have the many experiences the rest of us have been blessed with.  I am not trying to downplay the seriousness of the virus plaguing our world, but just trying to share a little perspective on a greater evil that has been plaguing our society for many years already. 
 
There are so many vitally important issues to consider in our world today, but those whose right to life is not safeguarded don’t even have access to any of the other goods we’re promoting (such as education, economic stability, or healthcare, etc.).

Regardless of where you stand on any of these sets of numbers, these issues, I hope you will join me in praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit on our country in dealing with current situations. 

Wouldn't it be great if we could have millions of Americans joined in prayer?

As I sat in chapel yesterday morning, reading over the scripture readings for Mass, one phrase especially struck me: "...he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world..."

This passage from Ephesians (1:1-10) explains how God our Father chose us in Christ to be holy and without blemish.  This whole reading is worth pondering, but that would be a topic for another article.

I'd like to go back to the titular phrase of this post: "Before the foundation of the world."

Isn't that amazing to think about?  According to a quick Google search, our planet is about four and a half billion years old!  That's nine zeros (well, actually 8, with the five in place of one of them)!  Can you imagine how long that is? 

If you and I perhaps live to be 80, which seems to be about the average life expectency nowadays, our planet's foundations would have been laid 56,250,000 lifetime's ago! 

Holy macro!

God has had us in mind for a long time!  He's had a long time to figure things out.  Actually, that's not quite right, I think He's had a plan all along.  So when things aren't going well, when things look dark, I can find consolation in this.  I can remind myself of this; He has a loving plan for our good.

I am reminded of a scripture verse which articulates this message well.  It was etched in my memory by a youth group trip a number of yeaers back: "For I know well the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for your woe, plans to give you a future full of hope."  We went around the group (probably on the bus), inserting the name of each person into the passage, ending with an enthusiastic "Jeremiah Twenty NINE Eleven!"

It is beautiful and touching to realize that God's loving plan for my life preceeded the very foundation of the world. 

Today, now, as we honor St. Margaret Mary (known for the revelations of the Sacred Heart), I gratefully recall the words of Psalm 33: "the plans of his heart [stand] from age to age."

If I were to articulate the sentiments on my heart this morning in one word, it would be “gratitude.” 
 
It has been a very busy week, and I’ve been so tired.  Two nights of not sleeping well didn’t help matters. 

Wednesday evening, we had been given a fruit-flavored powder product, along with a variety of other items, by some friends of ours.  It was supposed to be an energy booster and vitamin supplement.  We were looking over all of these donations at the supper table, and I decided to try one of them out.  I enjoyed it, not knowing that this product had as much caffeine as a cup of coffee (which I never drink). 
 
Anyway, this morning, I finally had a chance to sleep in, and it felt WONDERFUL!!  Just having a chance to “breathe,” catch up on rest, and have time to take care of things felt so good.  At Mass, gratitude for the blessings of the day filled my heart. 
 
After Mass, we were talking briefly about the details of our Sisters coming to the U.S.  I brought out Prairie Praise, the history of our community written by our Sister Patricia.  It was fitting, today, that I noticed her poem on the back page: Psalm of Thanksgiving.
 
After this discussion, I still had a little time before I was due at the reception desk, time enough to catch up on another small item that has been on my “to do list” for some time already. 
 
I had been looking through the Lazy Susan over at the convent a few weeks ago, and noticed a box of vanilla pudding.  It was opened, but we don’t remember what it had been used for (unless it was 'imitation eggnog' at Christmastime).  I noticed the “best used by” date was October of 2020, so I figured I’d might as well mix it up sometime so we could use it before it got too old.
 
Today, when I finally got around to doing so, I faced a little problem.  Since the package was opened, I didn’t know how much mix was still left (and thus, how much milk to add).  I guessed there was about 2/3 of a pack left, and went from there. 
 
Previously, we had received some packages of “dry milk mixture” from the food bank.  Lucky me; I inherited it.  It is quite different, and very sweet.  I thought this pudding situation was the perfect opportunity to use some of it up!  I found a plastic container and mixed about two cups of water and milk powder mix with the pudding and cocoa powder, stirring it vigorously for a couple of minutes.  I stuck it in the fridge, hoping to enjoy some with the other Sisters in a couple of hours at lunchtime.
 
At lunch, however, when I pulled it out, it was not set, but instead resembled a dietary supplement drink like Boost.  We decided to stick it in the freezer until later in the meal in hope that it would be more like a milkshake.  Actually, not much happened in that short of time, but Sr. Elaine and I both drank some anyway.  It was okay...I guess.  Sr. Rebecca, who does not care for milkshakes, declined my offer of a glass of it.
 
We had some laughs over the whole ordeal, but decided that this concoction would not be something I would try again. 
 
I asked Sr. Elaine (referring to an express she sometimes uses), “I bet you won’t say ‘play it again, Sam’ about this one, will you?”

In keeping with this morning's sentiments of gratitude, I am thankful that it was only a little over two cups, rather than two quarts, that we have to use up!