Holding my three year old daughter on my hip, I was facing a friend, exchanging pleasantries, when two tiny hands gripped my chin and twisted my head around so that I was looking at her—my beloved child. “Pay attention to me,” she said. Lent invites us to turn our heads toward the One Who Loves and to pay attention. Rather like a friend who always has helpful advice, the church offers us three steps for turning our heads—or repenting. First we are to go into a desert (The church loves speaking metaphorically!) where we can see our lives in brighter, more searing, light. In silence, in solitude, we are to turn inward and examine our thoughts, feelings, actions. The heat of the desert forces us to notice what is weighing us down. What are we carrying through life that is not useful or humane—resentment? prejudices? fears? Whatever is no longer serving us or others well, we seek to let it go. Finally, with clearer vision, with less weighing on our minds and hearts, we yield to the loving hand twisting our heads to see eyes that love us, eyes that need our love. It is worthwhile to take these steps in order. In the silence of prayer, may you find the grace to see. In the discipline of fasting, may you find freedom to let go. May Lent enable you to give and to receive whatever alms are need in order that “we may all be One.”

Click here for the link to our Lenten flyer listing all of the liturgies and events coming up.

and there's a Raider connection! Click the title to go to the America Magazine website for the story.

A 40 Days for Life event has been planned for Nashville for 40 days this Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday. Open this item for the schedule of events including Masses, marches, prayer services, and stations.

It is time to register! Want to help with a short-term ministry that offers lots of fun and fellowship? Sign up to be a leader at our annual vacation bible school. ROAR 2019 is going to be a ferociously fun time! Click on this article to go to our parish VBS page and the link for registration.

The 2019 Bishop's Annual Appeal for Ministries is in progress. You'll find envelopes in the pews to use to make your pledge. Please help our diocesan ministries to bring Christ's love and mercy to the people of Middle Tennessee.

This year the Crown Affair auction is online, and it's now open and available. If you can't make it Saturday night, take a few minutes to see if something being offered might suit your fancy. Go to ckscrownaffair.com (open this news item for a live link) to see the auction and make a bid.

I feel I have been very fortunate in life. I was born into a family that wanted me and could afford another child. I grew up roaming in wild spaces and spent time in Pioneer Park where there were tennis courts, a pool, a skating rink in the winter. My neighborhood was safe, the schools I walked to were good.  There were also aspects of my life that could be considered less than fortunate. My family went around and around on the merry-go-round of alcoholism before ways to recover from this addictive disease were well known. I was a puny, shy child who was encouraged to be obedient, so I tended to be afraid of risks, to avoid conflicts. I had a very disillusioning experience at a relatively early age.  Now, as I enter my “golden years,” I am finding value and blessings in all of these experiences. Going through the pain of the less-than-happy events taught me things that I would not have learned otherwise - how to seek help, how to find the courage to change, how to forgive.  Our tradition, it seems to me, offers a blueprint for accepting the fortunate and less than fortunate aspects of life. The rosary leads us through joyful mysteries - those parts of life for which it is easy to be grateful. Then it leads us through sorrowful mysteries - which seem to occur in all human lives. The rosary ends by commending us to see the glorious mystery  of life: that grace can be found in all of life’s ups and downs. 

My brother, Jimmy, was a senior at the University of Notre Dame when our dad discovered that he was skydiving in his spare time. Generally a kind and considerate parent, Dad called Jimmy and asked what it was that he enjoyed so much about jumping out of airplanes. “It’s so quiet, Dad.” Our father sat very still for a moment (I assume imagining his son in free-fall), then said, “So is the library, son, so is the library.” Perhaps there is a genetic attraction to quiet for I too seek it out - not by skydiving, rather by turning off the radio in the car, walking at Radnor Lake or going on silent retreats. For me, silence helps me connect with a spiritual dimension within myself.  Wasn’t it John of the Cross who wrote, “Silence is God’s first language” - and Thomas Keating who added, “Everything else is a bad translation”? In the silence, I connect to a Mystery that dwells deep within me and all around me.  In the noisy world in which we live, I find it feels healthy and holy to quiet my self, to listen in silence. This practice is a means of kenosis - of emptying my small self to make room for an inpouring of grace, a means of connecting to a larger awareness of Self. May we all find ways to listen for God in silence - at the altitude of our choice.

Our annual Mardi Gras Party will take place on Saturday, March 2nd after the 4:30 Mass. Join us for a fun evening with a New Orleans flavor.

What's Your Next Step? Think About Your Own Story.

Having just received word that my father had had a stroke, I called my husband and asked him to book me a flight to Florida. Within a short amount of time, I had handed off work assignments and made arrangements for my children. As I was leaving the office, a co-worker stopped me, saying “I’ll be praying for you.” I gave her a half smile, thanked her and drove home to pack my suitcase. But something had  happened. The anxiety that had been building up in me began to drained away; a sense of peace took its place. On the way to the airport, on the flight; I felt a uncharacteristic calmness carrying me towards my father’s hospital bed. His stroke affected the right side of his body, but doctors assured us that in time, with therapy, he would partially recover. “I recommend Mr. Dawson stay in our rehabilitation facility for about a week before having therapists come to your home to continue his treatment,” the lead doctor said to Mom and me. Dad had been itching to get out of the hospital since the day I arrived. It was a hard sell but we convinced him to go to the rehab center, promising that we would visit him first thing in the morning to see how he was doing. As we pulled into the parking lot that morning, Dad was sitting on a bench with his suitcase next to him. “He’s apparently checked himself out,” my mother said flatly. I was to fly home that afternoon. All I could think to say to my mom was, “I’ll be praying for you.” She gave me a half-smile.  

What's Your Next Step? Consider the human and divine faces of the Church.

Celebrate Calm workshops, Christ the King Parish Hall - Tuesday, Feb. 12th 7-9pm, or Wednesday, Feb. 13th 8-10am. No entrance fee - no reservation required. Kids listen the first time. No defiance, no disrespect, no yelling. No whining, no tantrum, no fighting. Get kids off screens without drama. Stress free mornings, homework time, bedtime. Might sound like the Cleavers from Leave it to Beaver, but Kirk and Casey Martin say they can help you make it happen at your house. Open this news item for more information

Special guest pianist Daniel Goldstein (Argentina) joins our own Father Dexter Brewer and Maestro Stefan Petrescu in a concert for violin and piano. They'll explore music from Argentinian composers offering a musical view of sound and time. Open this news item for more details. Join us at 10 am in the Church on Sunday, February 17th.

Having just received word that my father had had a stroke, I called my husband and asked him to book me a flight to Florida. Within a short amount of time, I had handed off work assignments and made arrangements for my children. As I was leaving the office, a co-worker stopped me, saying “I’ll be praying for you.” I gave her a half smile, thanked her and drove home to pack my suitcase. But something had  happened. The anxiety that had been building up in me began to drained away; a sense of peace took its place. On the way to the airport, on the flight; I felt a uncharacteristic calmness carrying me towards my father’s hospital bed. His stroke affected the right side of his body, but doctors assured us that in time, with therapy, he would partially recover. “I recommend Mr. Dawson stay in our rehabilitation facility for about a week before having therapists come to your home to continue his treatment,” the lead doctor said to Mom and me. Dad had been itching to get out of the hospital since the day I arrived. It was a hard sell but we convinced him to go to the rehab center, promising that we would visit him first thing in the morning to see how he was doing. As we pulled into the parking lot that morning, Dad was sitting on a bench with his suitcase next to him. “He’s apparently checked himself out,” my mother said flatly. I was to fly home that afternoon. All I could think to say to my mom was, “I’ll be praying for you.” She gave me a half-smile.  

What's your next step? Pay attention to your breathing.

My father was a young man when nationalism infected the people of Germany. At age eighteen, he volunteered for the military. My siblings and I always assumed that the large, knotty scars on the side of his body were from the war, but our dad said very little about World War II. Having met many veterans at Room in the Inn who are dealing with addiction issues, I have sometimes wondered if my father’s alcoholism was in any way affected by his experiences on the European front.  One thing my siblings and I did know about Dad - when he was age twenty, he was in the Battle of the Bulge. Years later, my sister, eyeing his ample stomach, would tease Dad about winning the Battle of the Bulge in the war, but loosing it on the home front. Dad did admit that, after that bloody battle, he never wanted to be that cold or that hungry ever again. So our home was always set on a very comfortable temperature, our refrigerator was always well stocked. In fact, we used to tease Dad when he made breakfast for us.  As he tossed the last breakfast pancake into our dog’s dish, he would ask us children what we wanted for lunch. Each Sunday, as we pray “for peace, again and again for peace,” I think of my father. I wonder what his life, what my life, might have been like if he had not witnessed the violence of war.  And I pray, again and again, for peace. 

What's Your Next Step? Think About the Nicene Creed.

This week we celebrate Christ the King School and all the Catholic schools in our nation. Please enjoy a special coffee and donuts between the Sunday Masses. Students and school families will be involved in all liturgies. include a faith rally, NCEA Distinguished Graduate Award, and the annual 8th Grade vs. Faculty/Coach basketball game. All are welcome at our events, so please join in the fun! The faith rally on Monday afternoon in the gym will launch our new social justice project on the environment. We are fortunate to have John Angotti (www.johnangotti.com) as a guest musician and several guest speakers on caring for God’s creation. Our Distinguished Graduate, Mr. Paul Davis '77, will be honored at our school Mass on Tuesday at 8:15 with a reception for guests afterward.