Nonnie's Observations

Frigid iced display, glacial art created by Mother Nature's hand. more Cool Clicks more Weekly Top Shot #68

Sol, stealing the show, impatient for clouds to move so his solo shines!  view more heavenly wonders here more haikus at Haiku My Heart

Ready for duty! Standing at attention, set for shoveling snow. The red of my snow shovel caught  my eye when I first ventured out to capture images in the newly fallen snow.

Trees,  fully clad in winter's garb, showing off their beauty                                              through the reflective glass.                                        Sing praises to the unique Creator                                     for such loveliness accorded our world. more reflections here more Weekly Top Shots  

holy water font in St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church Holy water runs down and around lovely tiles offering blessings. St. Francis is my middle son and his wife's home parish. On certain holy days I attend Mass there.   

Cats , genus felis, slow, lazy and lethargic? Beware, they are not! picture other 'c' words here  

Yesterday's post was about our bishop's visit to Muncie.  I could not leave my former parish church without taking pictures of its grand and beautiful interior.  Voila! side altar with baptismal font in front  s Saint Lawrence for whom the church is named   before Mass, when people were getting settled  choir loft which holds the pipe organ The St. Lawrence school choir, who sang from here, was in beautiful voice yesterday. The explanation why we Catholics light prayer candles in church can be found here . close-up of the Sorrowful Mother Mary at the foot of the cross on which Jesus hung 

As I was going toward a granddaughter's home, I quickly snapped a picture of a familiar building.  My parents lived in the early 1950s just a block away from the brick building just behind the one in front.  In fact, that garage did not exist when we lived in an apartment on this street.  The all-brick building back then was the main (#1) fire station of our city.  Now it's an education center for trainees. For some reason, memories of the firemen (only men were firefighters back then) and their marvelous kinship with my younger brother and me were sparked that day.  Back then, it was the second fire station to which we'd lived so close.  Consequently, firemen were friends to us, and sometimes tutors.  Our family did not have a TV in our home till I was about thirteen.  So both in this station and the one prior to this one, my brother and I were allowed to come and watch shows with the firefighters on their down time.  My most beloved memory was of one of the men helpi

the bishop blessing the altar servers after Mass Bishop Doherty during his homily (sermon) the bishop's recession, after Mass the bishop during the Liturgy of the Eucharist St. Lawrence Church and rectory (where the pastor lives) It was at this church that the bishop celebrated the Mass. This week is Catholic Schools Week. Bishop Doherty visits the different churches of the diocesan schools.  Since there are two Catholic schools in Muncie.  They are St. Lawrence and St. Mary/Pope John Paul II.  St. Lawrence and St. Mary are elementary schools while Pope John Paul II is a middle school.  Bishop Doherty alternates visits each year. We are blessed to have 23 Catholic schools in our diocese. I felt the love and respect the congregation had for our bishop, the other priests and deacons.  I find it thrilling to be at Mass celebrated by the bishop of our diocese. Note: I was privileged to teach in both of our schools, first at St. Lawrence from 1967-1980 and St. Mary from 1986-2005.  The

"All that I am, and hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." ~Abraham Lincoln~ I chose this particular quote because recently I have been pondering my spiritual life.  That led to my remembering how my momma handed over her problems to God.  I did not see her openly praying. So I believe that she prayed the way Jesus instructed us, to pray quietly in secrecy.  I took only one photo of the three shown above, the topmost one.  When I was in my early teens, my momma bought a restaurant in which she had been the cook.  She is standing by her car (Pontiac, if I remember accurately) in the back parking lot of her restaurant.  The second image is my mom in early adulthood.  I never saw this photo until long after my mother had died.  The third image was taken by one of the workers on our town's water tower.  In the image, she is being hauled up to see the inside of the tower.  How courageous she must have been.  She was privileged to that ride because all the builders were patr

 When I discovered Recuerda Mi Corazon and other gifted spiritual  bloggers through Rebecca's 12 Days of Mary, I started  praying for a sign as to whether I am meant to write in that spiritual vein. Then I decided that my pondering (obsessing?) on this for more than a month then that must be the sign!  Next, I needed a title.  Easy, simple, right?  A resounding NO!  Hours and days have elapsed after reading the message "title not available" time and time again.   Suddenly this evening, a title POPPED into my head!  Surely the Spirit must have a sense of humor for such an appellation! Then I messaged a friend about it.  My subsequent thought was...oh, just do it, woman!  So here I am.   What does the title Faith in a Bottle mean to me?  I think of it this way- wouldn't it be simple and quick if faith were bottled?  Of course, it is not; it's a life-long journey.  But since I have been the serious one so much of my life, and knowing that God must have a sense of h

Have humans sat here? Not recently, I think. Perhaps a snow couple rested for a while, and the shadowy remnants of them remain. more Cool Clicks