Monday, March 16, 2015

Ramona Quimby and the Sacrament of Reconciliation (with pics of Paul's big day!)

These days I'm reading the Ramona books out loud to Paul and Cecilia.  One chapter a night before bed.  She's like a girl Calvin, have you ever noticed?  I'm finding the books WAY more entertaining as an adult with kids than I did as a kid reading them to myself, that's for sure.

Anyway, there's this one chapter where Ramona's parents get in an argument over something silly because they are tired and she's freaking out because this is clearly going to lead to their entire lives falling apart and how COULD HER MOTHER DARE thwap her very own husband on the hiney with a spatula as she marched out of the kitchen????  (As someone who regularly thwaps her own husband with a spatula on a regular basis, this particular detail had me rolling).  The next morning we find everything patched up between the mister and the missus and Ramona and her sister shocked and furious that their parents aren't perfect and that they make mistakes.

My very first thought while reading that scene was "aw, poor things have never heard about going to confession..." Because if they had, if their parents went to confession, the kids would know that parents make mistakes, you know?  They would already know that as a matter of fact.  And love them still and understand better when they falter. The pedestal wouldn't have to come crumbling down in such an Earth-shattering fashion.

Anyway, I'm talking too much about Ramona Quimby. I'll stop (although I could go on!  Oh.  Yes.  I could.).  I just opened with that so I could tell you how grateful I am, yet again, for the Church in her wisdom giving us these tools that are so spiritually powerful but are also super practical and useful.  The sacrament of Reconciliation, aside from removing what blocks us from receiving God's graces fully, reminds us and each other that we are all imperfect, all sinners, and all need Jesus.  Full stop.  It takes us out of the driver's seat of our weaknesses.  AND it gives us the habit of apologizing when we've done something wrong.  Ramona's parents didn't say they were sorry to the girls during that scene. They just told them they were silly for freaking out. That's weird to me. 

Hah!  I totally said I would stop talking about that book.  Oops.

Okay!  So!  Confession!  On Saturday, Paul received the sacrament for the very first time.  It was great.  The whole weekend was wonderful, full of ups and downs and a lot of beauty and grace. 

Here he is with his group waiting in the back pews near the confessional doors.  He has on a black shirt and a white stole and his tiny little peanut head is almost not visible in this photo.  But that's okay.  I'll always remember.

Meanwhile, the other family members were saying confession as well.  Or rather, waiting to go to confession.  With babies.  And shenanigans.

And antics. (perhaps these two are a little too comfortable at our parish church.... Cecilia does not now, nor has she ever, sucked her thumb, btw.  She's just nuts.)

Chombat leads his faithful followers in a rousing game of follow the leader

Do not sit on your haunches, young ladies....

Because he will escape!




And here he is, coming out from receiving the sacrament!














And a little gift to remind him that he is a branch on Jesus' vine.  He is absolutely in love with that little plant.
Less than seven weeks until he receives the Eucharist for the first time.  I'm getting a little teary eyed just thinking about it.  Will you say a little prayer for our sweet boy?  It's a big, important year for him.

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13 comments :

  1. Praying for him! What a beautiful day! And how did that baby boy get to be so big and so fast?

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  2. I'll be praying for him. Our daughter Teresa has 1st communion on 4-26. Watching them receive sacraments is such a blessing!

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  3. Congratulations to Paul! How very exciting! Jackson will receive his First Eucharist on May 9. I am going to weep, I know I am. We will pray for Paul.

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  4. P.S. I loved Ramona! I had her hair (actually still do, with this new haircut) and the first words I heard after climbing on the school bus as a kindergartener were, "Hey! She looks like Ramona Quimby!" from Rhett Chiliberti (we lived in the Italian part of Philadelphia, so all the Italian kids were on our route). Also I felt like Beezus to my little sister's Ramona...she was SO ANNOYING! Good times.

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  5. Confession is beautiful. :) Congrats to Paul!

    The Starving Inspired

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  6. Eamon receives 1st communion this year too - we got ourselves a matching set :) Congrats to Paul, he is sooooo sweet.

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  7. Praying for Paul! Pray for my Laura, she is doing all the same stuff this year! Just bought the veil yesterday. :-) Also... love love love Ramona! Named one of my daughters after her. (Well... a middle name anyway. First name would just be too much awesome for a girl to handle.) Also- there is a really neat St. Raymond Nonnatus that a Ramona can, and should, be named after:

    http://asksistermarymartha.blogspot.com/2008/02/ground-cover.html

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  8. After Easter, First Communion Sunday at our church is my favorite Sunday of the year! Even when I don't have a child in the class. Love, love, love it! Also love Ramona. Another favorite series for mine along those lines was Junie B. Jones. I could barely read those books out loud because I would be laughing so hard.

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  9. I need to re-read the Ramona books, I remember exactly the one you're talking about! I loved watching my niece and her classmates take first Communion - the faces faces they made with the wine were hilarious!
    Prayers for Paul and all of you!

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  10. Congrats to your sweet boy! This Sunday is First Communion Sunday at our church, and you could put money down on me getting all teary–even though I won't have a first communicant for a good three or four years. I just love the sacraments!

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  11. Such sweet pictures! That baby is getting so big! Prayers for Paul, you got it. :)

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  12. My oldest son is about a year younger than Paul, so I find myself taking note of these Paul posts. He looks adorable with that plant.

    If you're still doing com-box questions, what are some times of homeschooling/parenting where you didn't realize things were hard and going to get better, until they did? You said something once about how Paul as a seven-year-old was easier than him as a six-year-old....not that I'm clinging to this hope that more cooperative times are ahead of us....nope, just disinterested curiosity over here. Nothing to see people, move it along. :)

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  13. Prayers! So excited for him!

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