Give What You Have

As it has been with all of our children, it's safe to say that my family is in a "transition period." It simply takes us time to adjust to having a new little one in the house.

My wife wasn't feeling very well so I ventured to take my four older boys to Mass. Now, my wife's parents were there so I wasn't left to manage the boys alone, however, it is usually a challenge nonetheless.

All in all, I'd say that the boys behaved pretty well. My two year old was a bit wiggly, but he made it through without my having to excuse the both of us. I did find it difficult to focus, though. At times when I would have wanted to offer my intentions, I found myself offering my son some sort of distraction so he'd stay quiet. The distraction would usually consist if a question like, "where's the cross?" or "can you point to the altar?" I try to draw his attention to the beauty of the church or the mass in genneral. Sometimes it works; sometimes, not so much.

Anyway, I often leave mass with the feeling that I didn't really participate because of all the attention I have to devote to my son. That's changing. I am reminded of the widow who gave a little, but gave from her want and it was counted to her as a great gift-- as opposed to those who give much, but give from their abundance.

I suppose my offering at Mass is just that. I give what I have: my distracted self. That's enough because anything I lack, He provides.

What Can't You Do With an iPhone?

Last summer I broke down and bought an iPhone. No doubt, it is a fun tool to have, but it can be a real time sucker. When the ads claim, "there's an app for that," they're telling the truth. In fact, I'm writing this post from my phone. All the pictures in this post are from my phone.

Recently, I purchased two applications that I know I'll get plenty of use from. The first is the Catholic Missal ($4.99).

This app not only has the liturgical calendar built into it, but it has the daily mass readings with audio. The other day, my boys and I listened to the readings while I drove them to school.

The second app I really enjoy is the Divine Office ($9.99).





This app contains the entire liturgy of the hours with audio as well. When I would try to do morning prayer from book of Christian Prayer, I'd usually skip the hymns for obvious reasons. But I can now read along and pray the office antiphonally. Another cool feature is that you can see who else is praying along with you using the app:






A third app I have yet to really try out was just released by the Logos bible software company and I just loaded it today (Free). This app contains an incredible library of not only different bible translations, but different scripture study tools as well.






So, while being connected can be, and often is, a stumbling block, having these tools at your fingertips can also be a blessing. My challenge is to be sure to avail myself to Our Lord through prayer and scripture study each day with the same diligence that I check the conversations on Twitter and update my Facebook status.

In this age if information, we must be sure to take time to slow down and hear the "still small voice" even if we are using technology to do so. After all, in the 1600's, a book was considered a technological advance.

Pray for me!

For Unto Us...

I've been off the blogging grid for a while due to just being plain ol' busy. In the meantime, we welcomed our newest son:
Bohdan Isaiah Cox. Bohdan was born 11/11/09 and weighed in at 6lb 12oz and 19.25".