![\"Easter](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSCN3625-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" "\\"Easter")
<\/a>Gabriel plays with the Easter decorations<\/p><\/div>\n
As adults, time can really slip away from us. Without semesters to gauge the passage of time all we have is the weather – hot and hotter – or maybe our commute – the somewhat-peaceful-commute and the angst-filled-UT-is-in-session commute.<\/p>\n
Time passes, life passes, and without celebrating holidays and other important days, the days can seem strung together unceasingly and without note. Luckily as Catholic Christians – we are always celebrating and we\u2019re always in a season.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Dolan of New York, in my opinion one of the most intelligent, witty, humorous, leaders of the church, recently got on twitter,<\/a> and one of his early tweets was that \u00a0\u201cSt Therese of Lisieux reminds us that doing the ordinary things of life extraordinarily well, for the glory of God, is the path to sanctity.\u201d Why not decorate our living space with seasonal reminders of the life of the Church, where we celebrate the gift of life given to and for us?<\/p>\n Keep hunting all Easter season<\/p><\/div>\n Advent and Christmas are easy liturgical seasons to celebrate and prepare for in our homes. Even Lent and Easter are fairly simple to work in. A year or two ago we purchased a Lenten Cross with candles to light for every week of Lent from Regina Mater school<\/a> here in Austin. I chose to \u201cupgrade\u201d and also get the Easter season set. Having the set has been great – especially for Easter! Like Christmas – it is easy to anticipate the celebration of Easter – maybe easier since there are no presents to buy and making a sacrifice! But like Christmas, it\u2019s also tempting to celebrate for a day or two and then go back to normal. Having a prayer and candle for every week is a reminder that Easter is a multi-week celebration not a one day deal. As added reminders we also leave some of our Cadbury Easter eggs in their hiding spots to remind us of the season.<\/p>\n With Lent and Easter now finished, we have a chance to be imaginative and celebrate ordinary time…extraordinarily! Maybe you can incorporate your favorite crosses or religious images with members of family for Mother\u2019s Day, Father\u2019s Day, and the Fourth of July. An American flag with a crucifix is another great way to celebrate Independence Day and Memorial day – reminding us that Jesus is the perfect model of what it takes to give life up for others and save them from the ultimate peril.<\/p>\n The Ultimate Sacrifice<\/p><\/div>\n Keep a wildflower (or even weed-flower) bouquet around as a reminder of God\u2019s creation and its survival – even in our hot summers! Be sure and find your baptism day and put it on the calendar to celebrate as a special \u201cbirth\u201d day!<\/p>\n One of my other favorite tweets by Cardinal Dolan is that \u201cReligion at its best does not impose. It proposes. And calls us to greatness.\u201d This is an ideal to live up to – to have our lives propose to the world a new, counter-cultural way to find love, happiness, and peace from the source of all that is good. Our homes can also incorporate this call – proposing our faith to our guests and reminding us that in all things and all time, God is here and working in us.<\/p>\n Now to find some cool tongues-of-fire decor for Pentecost next year….<\/p>\n How do you keep the seasons celebrated in your home?<\/p>\n As a tribute to my mother-in-law\u2019s dedication to keeping the home peaceful and in season for her family-here\u2019s video with two renditions of Mary\u2019s Magnificat – which is in today\u2019s Gospel<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Hidden](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/DSCN3990-195x300.jpg?resize=195%2C300\" "\\"Hidden")
<\/a>![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/download-225x300.jpg?resize=225%2C300\" "\\"The")
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