Quotable Monday

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars"

- Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, author, poet (1854-1900)

Quotable Monday

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

-Psalm 19: 7-8

Entirely Domestic

About a month ago I had a realization that I really, really needed to start treating cleaning the house like I would at a job. My first job out of college was at a spotlessly clean Montessori school where mopping the floors and cleaning toilets were just part of the day there, and I never really minded. I decided I need to adopt a similar mindset about cleaning my house by making a cleaning schedule, but I only got as far as scheduling Monday's tasks, which were cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming half the house. So every Monday for the past month I've had a clean bathroom and vacuumed first floor, but that's about it. This post is probably more for my own personal benefit than anyone else's, but here I go, here is my brand new Get It Done! cleaning schedule:

Monday: Clean upstairs bathroom, Vacuum living and dining room, sweep kitchen and foyer.
--1st Monday of every month: scrub tub

Tuesday: Vacuum stairs and hallway, Dust downstairs, wipe down coffee tables, etc.
--2nd Tuesday: vacuum furniture

Wednesday: The kitchen wipe down: Sink, counters, dish drainer, stove, fridge, microwave (inside and out)
--3rd Wednesday: clean out inside of fridge

Thursday: Sweep and mop kitchen, foyer, and bathroom. Empty bathroom and laundry trash.
--4th Thursday: dust blinds and baseboards

Friday: Pick up bedrooms, change sheets
--1st Friday: organize closet clutter, sort kids clothes

Saturday: File papers,bills, bag recycling, clean kitchen trash can

That's it. (Not including daily tasks like washing dishes and my favorite cleaning method derived from a magazine somewhere, picking up with a laundry basket--one or two rooms at a time, put everything that's out of place and walk through the house putting them back where they belong)

Next up: figuring out how to schedule some structure in my spiritual life, because with two kids, waiting for some free time to pop up just doesn't cut in anymore. Actually, it probably never did.

Going to Latin Mass

I got to smell some incense on Sunday- we went to our first Latin Mass. I'd have to go several more times to begin to feel like I'm picking it up and to unpack my impressions, but here's what I noticed was different. I'd also like to know why these things are not done anymore...

• The prayers were stunning in their portrayal of God's holiness and the egregiousness of our sin (an English translation was provided) - definitely not of the 'Jesus is my best buddy' variety
• There was a line for confession during Mass. I think the priest stopped hearing confessions right before the Eucharist
• We received the Eucharist on the tongue while kneeling
• Almost all the women wore chapel veils
• No 'passing of the peace'
  
• Choir was men only
• Less music
• Less scripture read
  

Throughout the Mass, I couldn't help but think about how God is a mystery and the ways of heaven are mysterious. Maybe that was just me drawing a parallel between not being able to understand what the priest was saying, but it's still the dominant impression I have of the Latin Mass as I think back on it now. After going to this Mass, I'd like to know more about why the liturgy was changed. I can understand why making the switch from Latin to English seemed important, but the other changes? It felt appropriate to kneel for the Eucharist and the prayers were beautiful and true. It seems odd that people decided these things were no longer useful for Catholics. I know very little about liturgy, but I think I can see why people would cringe over some of the changes.

Quotable Monday

"I believe that appreciation is a holy thing, that when we look for what's best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we're doing what God does; so in appreciating our neighbor, we're participating in something truly sacred."

-Fred Rogers, 1928-2003, beloved star of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood