Winter Wonderland

Well, it's been snowing. And snowing. And snowing some more. This is the most snow we've seen since we moved here almost 13 years ago. The "old-timers" here say that it used to be this way every winter. 

My husband and I have been shoveling now off roofs - the barn, the house, the chapel.  In some ways all that shoveling makes me think I'm getting too old for this type of physical labor, but on the other hand, it feels good to get that tired...sort of! As long as there's Motrin, I guess.

Anyway, about all I have energy for at this point, as far as putting a post on this blog goes, is to post some photos! I am doing this from my phone, as my computer is being temperamental, so captions will be added some other time.

Sunrise

The entrance to our house

The chapel - front

The back door/emergency exit of
the chapel. My husband kept the
door clear as he scraped snow off the roof,
but I started to worry about flooding into the
chapel once all that snow starts to melt.

...so I started moving the snow. It will take some
time, but we don't expect the spring thaw to happen
for a few months yet!

Starting the New Year

As a combination Christmas and birthday give, I bought for myself the full set of The Liturgical Year (15 volumes) by Dom Proper Gueranger. What a treasure trove of wisdom and instruction! I have read through much of his commentary on the feasts following Christmas, and am finding my investment quite worthwhile already.

For today’s feast of the Circumcision, Dom Gueranger makes note of the epistle, which is from the letter to Titus:

Dearly beloved: The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us, in order that, rejecting ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live temperately and justly and piously in this world; looking for the blessed hope and glorious coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and cleanse for Himself an acceptable people, pursuing good works. These things speak and exhort, in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Titus 2:11-14)

Here is Gueranger’s expounds on this passage, giving a New Year’s message to us!

These counsels of our great Apostle, who warns the faithful of the obligation they are under of making a good use of the present life, are most appropriate to the first day of January, which is now the beginning of the new civil year. Let us, therefore, renounce all worldly desires; let us live soberly, justly, and piously, and permit nothing to distract us from the expectation of that blessedness, which is our hope. The great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Who shows Himself to us in these days of His mercy in order to instruct us, will come to us in a second manner in order to give us our reward. The beginning of a new year tells us plainly enough that this Last Day is fast approaching; let us cleanse ourselves from all iniquity, and become a people acceptable to our Redeemer, a people doing good works.

I thought that was a very good thought for the first day of the 2017.

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.