Not Another Damn "Fool" Meme!

Rick Lugari has tagged me for yet another meme - this one started by The Holy Fool.

Well, here goes:

This coming Sunday, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Christ the King. The Church will begin a new Liturgical year, beginning with the joyous season of Advent in anticipation of Christmas.

This is a wonderful opportunity for Catholics to reflect on how they've lived their Faith this past year, and how they'd like to live it in the coming Liturgical year.

So, Here's the meme. In honor of the Blessed Trinity, we:

1. Write three things that we're grateful to God for in this past liturgical year.

1. I am thankful that, despite the stress of a big move and a very busy year at work, my family is happy and healthy.

2. I am thankful that the Lord has led our family to the city of Norwalk, Ohio (where we will finally move next month). This move will allow (a) Sarah to stay home with the kids, (b) me to work from home, (c) us to be near extended family, including young cousins for the kids to grow up with, (d) our children to have an opportunity to go to Catholic schools, and (e) our family an opportunity to take a leap of faith and thereby grow in our trust of the Lord. As a corollary, I am thankful for the help we received from the youth of St. Paul's Parish and St. Mary's Parish when we moved our furniture to Norwalk a couple of weeks ago.

3. I am thankful for the extended Church community I have been blessed with getting to know over the past year via the blogosphere. It's weird to refer to people I've never met as "friends", but that is indeed what they are.

2. Write three ways in which we hope to improve our relationship with God in this coming liturgical year.

1. I hope to spend more time with Jesus via adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. St. Paul's Parish in Norwalk has perpetual adoration, and I plan to sign up for at least an hour per week.

2. I plan to attend Daily Mass with my children, give or take a day here and there. Working from home and being within walking distance of 2 Catholic parishes will make this a possibility.

3. I plan to savor each and every moment He gives me with my children - even the late night feedings and changings that will come when baby # 3 arrives in March. I hope that every time I look lovingly at my children it will remind me of the Father's love for the Son and His profound love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, He sent His only begotten to die for us.

3. Pass this on to three other bloggers.

1. Paul at Thoughts of a Regular Guy
2. Boethius at Fumare
3. and to initiate a new guy on the block, Fidei Defensor at College Catholic

CLARIFICATION:
I do not want the title of this post to leave the impression that The Holy Fool is a "Damn Fool" - because that he certainly is NOT. He is the best kind of fool: a fool for Christ.

I sincerely hope The Holy Fool doesn't feel disparaged in any way by the title.