One Hundred Sandwiches

 Today I went to take pictures of a group of volunteers at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community. Before Covid, the group would volunteer to go to St. Francis, a homeless shelter, to the Soup Kitchen. Once Covid hit, they down sized to making sandwiches and taking the sandwiches to New Genesis, a homeless shelter for working people and other people in need. 

Volunteers make the sandwiches in their homes, pack the lunch bags with a sandwich, fruit, small bag of potato chips, and a breakfast bar. Once a month, on Monday, they meet to load up a car and drive to 1680 Sherman to deliver the sandwiches. I was surprised to learn about the many places the homeless can go for help and assistance. On the Internet sixteen places came up for Denver and it seems that the homeless number continues to increase!

Volunteers, led by organizer Becky Diaz, will continue doing the sandwiches until Covid is no longer a threat. The group has been doing the transporting of food to those needing help for many years and when I asked how long, Becky said, "forever!"

"He who oppresses the poor

shows contempt for their Maker,

but whoever is kind to the needy

honors God."

Proverbs 14:31

A Creche for Christmas

 At Christmas time, my favorite activity is putting up a Nativity scene. I would spend hours arranging and rearranging the figures as I thought about the birth of Christ. I used to collect the peaceful scene and have about 48 Nativities. I no longer put them all out and this year I used two of them...one from my youth and one of my favorites. The Peruvian ones are up all year in my kitchen hutch!

This year we were treated to a live Nativity at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community that turned out to be a successful and beautiful display. As I drove by the white horse, llamas, goats, sheep, baby pig, donkey a black cow, the costumed three kings, the shepherds and Mary, Joseph with a real live baby as Jesus, I got choked up with the reality of the scene and not my little figures I put up every year. I wanted to get closer and parked my car and walked over to the live scene. What a moving and touching Nativity with  with living, breathing people and animals! Christmas carols made the scene even more beautiful! 

The only thing missing was a camel!

"Between 4BC and 6BC

Christ may have been born.

In the year 2020 a

reenactment of His birth

still brings joy to our hearts!"

E. Moscoso

Christmas Day Mass On Saturday

 One day after Christmas, Saturday 26, 2020, something popped up on Facebook regarding the eight o'clock Christmas morning mass at the Cathedral of St. Frances of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I clicked on it and enjoyed listening to the beautiful choir and seeing the outstanding decorations of Poinsettia plants and evergreen trees with white lights. There must have been eight large trees and what looked like fifty red and white plants in gold pots. The wooden manager was simple yet elegant.

The Spanish-English mass began with Vamos Todos A Belen (Let's All Go To Bethlehem) and Archbishop Wester and Father Tim walked in both wearing masks. I found it strange that the Archbishop did not have a helper to take care of his Miter, Lectionary and staff. After blessing the altar with incense, the mass proceeded with the Gloria and the singing of the clear voices seemed to me as if angels were singing. The choir sounded very professional and the acoustics were excellent.

Fr. Tim read the gospel and said the homily about St. Francis of Assisi and the competition of Nativity displays in a small town in Italy. Every year, the Nativities increased in size as more figures were added to the scenes. He thought that the displays were becoming more entertainment than prayer. He arranged all the figures and statues around the Baby Jesus and his joy was so great he picked up the baby and danced around the church. The priest said, "From the moment Christ is born he brings love to all. Jesus came as the light of the world for all and the light would shine forth through his love. We are people of hope and love is a sign of hope. Our hope will be fulfilled when we finally see God!

During the consecration I noticed the biggest chalice I have ever seen. It looked about twelve inches tall! The two celebrants were the only ones to receive the host and I noticed that the choir was not given given communion. I was saddened when I realized mass was for the video watchers and that the church was empty. Joy to the World and Away in a Manger ended the mass. The Archbishop and the priest exited the church. I enjoyed the Christmas mass a day late, yet it also saddened me.

When will we be able to return to how masses used to be celebrated, shake hands or hug at the sign of peace, receive communion without masks and greet friends. No one knows for sure so I continue my devotion from my home watching mass virtually!

"They say a person needs just three things

to be truly happy in this world; someone to love,

something to do and something to hope for."

Tom Bodett

One Day Lost

 The 24th of December was busy with finding gifts on my porch, calling and receiving calls, getting ready to virtually attend midnight mass, zooming with my family and watching them open gifts. In my mind, and don't ask me why, I thought Friday would be a mad house with people returning gifts. My plan was to wait until Saturday to run errands.

This morning I woke up and turned on the news and noticed that the national news was on instead of the local news. Now that was weird. Maybe, I thought, because it is the day after Christmas the stations had gone to a weekend schedule. I never gave it another thought until I got on my computer and noticed that today was the 26th of December.  Where did the 25th go?

Either I am slowly losing my confused mind or God did not want me to dwell on my being alone for Christmas and erased Friday from my mine!

"You think you are losing your mind,

but do keep in mind as long as you may,

that the ability to go on thinking such a

thing means it's not all gone!"

Criss Jami

Creative Santas

Since the pandemic started, I found two surprise gifts at my front door from a secret friend. A few days ago, when I found another package with two books and a small box, I thought the package was left by the same person as the other two surprises. I was wrong! I found out that the gift on my stoop was left by somebody else!  Soon I began to see five other friends on Messenger saying they also had received books. By process of elimination we tried to solve the mystery. Before I figured it out, another gift of a doll and slippers was left hanging on my screen door. UPS and Amazon also left packages by my front door. I loved opening the door and finding a surprise!  Christmas morning I found two more presents at my front door!  Covid 19 had turned people into creative Santas!

Not being to travel to California to see my family, it would have been a very quiet Christmas for me but my wonderful friends helped make it interesting and fun.

I thank God for the gift of thoughtful and good friends! 

"Christmas is doing 

something extra 

for someone."

Charles M. Schulz

Celebrating Alone

 Covid 19 has made my Christmas different than in past years. All the items are in place and all that is missing are people! My Nativity is up, a small tree stands in the corner of the room, I have gifts to open, and Christmas Carols are playing in the background. I have received calls from friends wishing me a  Merry Christmas and I have called a few friends with the same thoughts! I am ready to begin the celebration of Baby Jesus' birth.

I open a box and find 12 mandarin oranges. I wash one, peel it and it is so sweet and juicy; I eat another one. I am so happy with my gift I text my daughter to thank her for her thoughtful and healthy gift! Package number two is well packed and taped it takes me awhile to get the wrapping off. I use scissors, muscle and finally the wrapping loses the battle. Now I can see what I have been sent. Seven individual size packages of cashews; a jar of Gaucho Tano Chimichurri that I can use as a dip for bread, potatoes, vegetables, cooked meat or fish and salad dressing. I am looking forward to trying this Argentine Italian Cowboy sauce; seasoning that has everything but the bagel blend. There is a note that this is my granddaughter's favorite seasoning blend; I find an assorted snack can with honey roasted peanuts, chili lemon corn sticks, honey mustard pretzels, and corn chips with flax seed. There is a note written on the lid "May not be the best for your diet but it looks tasty!"

I gather the wrapping and toss it into trash. The remainder of paper with my name and address I will shred. As I started to shred,  I saw my granddaughter's face looking up at me. Now I remember my daughter texting me and telling me that their Christmas card was on the package. I dug through the trash and salvaged what I could of the card and taped it. If one looks closely, the damaged card can be seen!

Netflix has been paid for me for a year and during the pandemic watching movies and documentaries has kept me sane!  Even though I am not with my family, I am still enjoying Christmas. Later tonight we will Zoom and I will be with them virtually. The ending of Christmas Eve will be my attending, on my laptop, midnight mass. Tomorrow I will try some of the goodies I received!

"It is Christmas every time you let

God love others through you.

Yes, it is Christmas every time you smile

at your brother and offer him your hand."

Mother Teresa

We zoomed from around 8:45 until the audio went out and then we switched and Facetimed until ten as I watched them open gifts and listened to their chatter. Made me feel as if I was with them.

A Picture Full of Memories

 December of 1956 my father took this picture before we attended midnight mass. I hated to have my picture taken and that is clearly shown in the photograph. I was eighteen years old, my brother was nineteen and my little brother was ten years old. He seems to be the only one happy to have his picture taken! I must have been wearing heels because my brother is taller than I am though I look taller in the picture! I remember the color of Mom's olive green dress and my dark tan dress with ivory colored stripes.

Every year, our Christmas mass was celebrated at midnight and it was always packed. I remember having to arrive at the church at least half an hour before the mass would begin. As I look at the picture memories float around in my head. How my mother loved flowers on the wall, in vases filled with colorful plastic flowers, oil cloth table cloth with either fruit or flowers and floral curtains. The star on top of the Christmas tree is one that I still use whenever I put up a tree. After mass my mother would prepare a large breakfast: Pork chops, eggs, fried potatoes, homemade tortillas, beans and green chili. Breakfast would end around four in the morning and then we would open our gifts. In those days it was just one gift per person! I cannot remember what I got but I am guessing clothes. We would go to bed around six and get up around eleven. 

We would get ready to visit my aunt Maria and her husband Casimiro. They lived across town from us and I enjoyed eating the blue corn cheese enchiladas that she prepared and she would give us a couple of jars of peaches that she had canned. Dad and Casimiro enjoyed drinking alcoholic drinks!  I don't know if it was beer, wine or whiskey but my Dad would get high! I do remember that my cousin Mary was not very friendly and she and an adopted cousin, Rosie, would exclude me from their conversations! Before my grandmother had a stroke my aunt Kika, Rosie and my grandmother would also join us at Tia Maria's house. 

"You may not think

you have a good memory,

but

you remember what's

important to you."

Rick Warren

May Our Hearts Be Comforted

 Today was another virtual funeral mass. This time it was for a friend who I would see at the Young At Heart gatherings. I remember that he was always teasing, joking and smiling. He and his wife became friends though I did not see them very often. I was saddened when I heard that he had passed away. Mass was this morning, December 14, 2020 at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community at 11:30 a.m.

His daughter gave a Eulogy that was filled with tender, sad and happy memories. He died at ninety-one years and had lived a full and interesting life. A wooden box held his ashes, one candle flickered beside it, and his picture showed his popular smile! The music and reading chosen by the family touched my heart at the beautiful words. 

Kindness to a father will never be forgotten, from Sirach 3:12-14 made me think of my father and the second reading from Timothy 4:6-8; Time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well, and I have won the race.  I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness  awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance seemed to fit him well.

The Deacon read the Gospel about he who believes in me shall never die, blessed are they who mourn, blessed are the peace makers, etc. ending with rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven. Fr. Adam gave a wonderful homily regarding Dick's kindness, his joy and a life well lived. He he mentioned the legacy Dick had left behind with his family, his friends and anyone he met. "What will be your legacy," he asked. "What will be said about our lives when we are gone?" Made me delve into my own life!

Hearing the words that Dick had gone ahead and would be waiting on the other side for his loved ones was comforting. Also knowing that God's love is so much more that our love on earth made me feel better about dying. 

Hymns like Make Me A Channel of You Peace, Ave Maria, On Eagle's Wings, Make Me A Sanctuary were beautifully sung throughout the mass. The whole ceremony was intimate and full of love. The final blessing with holy water ended the mass. Below I have put some pictures I virtually took of the mass. 

Pictures I took at the YAH functions show Dick's smile. I wish I had known him better because his life seemed to be filled with lots of activities topped by his love for his family!

DICK MALLORY

MAY HE REST IN PEACE

IN THE ARMS OF OUR LORD.

Mystery Angel of Mercy

 It has been freezing cold lately and there has been some snow. I got out and shoveled the driveway and walks, preparing to go out the next morning. In the morning, my driveway and walks were covered with snow again. Later in the morning I decided I had better go and do some more shoveling. I got all bundled up and opened the front door. My driveway was clear of snow. Some kind soul had cleaned the snow away and I thought it might have been the neighbor across the street. He always clears my walks and the neighbor's sidewalks with his snow blower. But then I noticed that neighbors on either side of me still had their areas full of snow. It was just my area that had been cleared. That made me wonder if it had been someone other than the neighbor across the street.  I think he would have done my neighbor's walks also, yet there was not enough snow to use the blower so it had taken muscle to clear the area of snow!

Whether or not it was the neighbor from across the street, I am grateful that someone took pity on me and cleaned my walks. May God repay the kind soul.

        

When it snows and I open my front door I see the driveway covered in snow. While I am debating if I should go out to shovel I will hear the snow blower and give thanks to God for my kind neighbor.  This time it was different because the snow had been removed and I never heard a thing! 

Lots of snow galore

from the street to my door.

An Angel of Mercy comes at night

to make my world turn out all right.

Snow is cleared all away,

Making me very happy today!

E. Moscoso

How Is It Possible To Lose a Facemask

 My favorite face mask with llamas has disappeared. I wore it one day and after shopping I took it off and hung it from the radio button in my car. A few days later I got into the car, expecting to find it, but it was not there. I retraced my actions and thought if I did not hang it on the button, what could I have done with it?

Searched jacket pockets, pants pockets, door knobs, on top of every dresser or tables, drawers and the trunk of my car. I slid my car seats back as far as they would go in case it had gotten underneath the seats. The mask was gone. I prayed to St. Anthony, patron saint of lost items, but to no avail. I have not been able to find my mask.

The only conclusion I can come up with is that it was on the sink counter top where I would have placed it to wash and maybe it fell into the trash basket. The trash had been emptied and the trash truck has taken my trash away so if that is what happened I will never see my mask again. I am saddened that my comfortable mask disappeared with out a clue! It is all right because I have five other colorful masks, though I feel bad that my favorite mask is now gone.

Hard to Believe

 

Visiting the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico I have always been amazed at the multitude of people that visit on her Feast Day of December 12. People are body to body in the church, in the plaza, and it is almost frightening to be moved around by the surge of crowds. I have been lucky to have visited the Shrine three different times and when I couldn't be there in person, I watched the festivities on television. 

Last night I began the evening at ten o'clock with Archbishop Jose H. Gomez celebrating a mass in Her honor. EWTN was the only station I could find celebrating her feast day. I still cannot get used to seeing a lone priest with a few attendants, singers and readers with no congregation seated in the church. A mariachi group, wearing masks and social distancing were in the background. In the foreground a large picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a smaller picture of San Juan Diego were framed with many roses. Archbishop looked small in the large church and the singer of the mariachi group came down to stand in front of the picture of Our Lady to sing Las Mañanitas.

I frantically searched for a station that would carry the celebration from Mexico City. I hit the jack pot with Univision, Channel 50 and the program was just beginning with Sherlyn, a Mexican actress and singer. She held her small son as she sang all he did was to try and grab the microphone! Other singers were: Victor Garcia, Maria Victoria, (87 year old actress and singer), Pablo Montano and another male singer sang a duet, Guadalupe Pineda and her daughter Marina sang a song she wrote especially to Our Lady, Jose Luis Duval, Carlos Rivera, and Lucero sang love songs facing the picture of Our Lady.  A mariachi group dressed in white, sang Las Mañanitas to Our Lady of Guadalupe. This song is a traditional song for birthdays in Mexico.

A view of the outside plaza filled me sadness. The whole area was devoid of people because of the Coronavirus. So different of when I was there in the past. The buildings were lit  up with Christmas lights but the silence was deafening! 

Mass began with about twenty priests, all wearing masks, and  Cardinal Carlos Aguiar celebrated the mass. He said, "Let's allow the Virgin to visit us in our homes." His remark came after a decision to close the basilica to millions of devotees was announced. The Pope granted indulgences to those who watched from home!  There must have been tons of people disappointed to not be able to visit the basilica this year. It was hard to believe that a virus could disrupt so many traditions!

"We are certain that as long as you

are recognized as Queen Mother,

Mexico and America will be safe."

Pope Pius XII

Zooming Into Serra

On December 2, 2020, I wanted to hear Fr. Greg, a favorite priest of mine, who would be talking about the Serra Club. The only way to see and hear him would be through Zoom. A virtual way for many to participate from their homes. I decided to join the Zoom presentation and after getting a password and identification number for the group, I was ready to join. As I clicked on to Zoom I saw bewildered faces trying to adjust their devices for the upcoming meeting and I had to laugh as I saw the unsmiling, serious and noncommittal faces on my screen. In the background I could hear Fr. Greg saying, "Why so serious, smile!" Zoom does no favors to try to make people look good! Zoom is not the best way to communicate because people spoke over each other, sometimes the voices sounded garbled, and Father's image was not focused and looked kind of faded. The good thing was that his voice came out loud and clear.

He explained that the Serra Club, named after Junipero Serra, a Franciscan Friar from California, was a group of lay persons helping to promote vocations to religious life. St. Serra is known for starting missions in California and following in the footsteps of St. Francis. The Serra group originated with retired lay men who were interested in supporting those in religious life. Women were allowed to join the Serra's in 1989. The Serra's pray for vocations and try to promote good priests. Fr. Greg mentioned that if children just hear about the negative things in the newspapers and television about priests, there will be no interest in the priesthood.  

Fr. Greg continued by saying, that after hearing about "bad" priests that it is up to parents to speak of the many good priests. Vocations begin in a family.  "There are many good apples that cannot be ruined by a few bad ones."  It is important to gather with people you like as you form a Serra group. It becomes a social gathering where much good can be done. Zoom is not the best way to have a meeting but it is the best available at this moment with the pandemic raging around us!

Things that can be done for the religious in your community: Write them a note letting them know you appreciate them, that you enjoyed their homily, that you like what has been done at the church, thank them for sanitizing the church, bake them cookies, etc. Show them that they are appreciated. One thing  that hit home for me was that I do not send written notes of thanks. I send my comments via e-mail or Facebook and Father mentioned that one could be a taker and not a giver if notes of thanks aren't written and sent!  Of course that gave me a good Catholic guilty feeling! My thanks are usually sent by phone, text or Facebook. Fr. did say there is nothing like a handwritten note!

One member asked Fr. to speak on Advent. Paraphrasing: Advent is a time of waiting very much as what we are doing during this pandemic. We wait with anticipation for a vaccine and during advent we wait for the birth of Christ. Bake Christmas cookies, decorate your house, put up your tree and be ready to wait for the coming of Christ. Jesus is the greatest experience of grace. Christ is born in our lives and when we see Him in others we are accepting His grace. Prepare to build a better relationship with others. Do good things without expecting something back. Demonstrate your love by reaching out to others, especially your priests, they need to know they are loved also! 

A question regarding fetus or aborted baby stem cells being used for the Covid 19 vaccine should cause us worry and whether we should have the vaccine was interesting.  Fr. said he was not ready to answer whether it was right or wrong.  He did say that at least something good was coming from the aborted fetuses.

Fr. spoke of  watching over his parents and suggested that a seminarian should have to be a care taker for the elderly for at least a year. He has found out much in taking care of his parents and it has helped him be a better priest. His parting words were that he would try to celebrate a Christmas mass for everyone but he would let us know. I sure hope he does. This priest touches my heart when he gives a homily. 

There were twenty-two persons on Zoom but I only saw one at a time, not a screen of all the participants. The meeting ended with once again bewildered looks, eyes looking for keys to push to get out of Zoom, no one smiling, looking very serious and then I signed off! 

I now know more about what the Serra Club is all about and also how to get into Zoom! It was good seeing Fr. Greg, even if it was on a screen!

"On a screen via Zoom, 

we are all in a different room,

 yet we all appear as one,

a disaster or maybe fun!"

E. Moscoso

On His Way To Heaven

 December 1, 2020, was the day for the funeral for an acquaintance of mine. I can't say that he was a friend because I did not know him well and before Covid 19 I would only see him at dinners or lunches at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community.  Only fifty persons could be at the church for the funeral because of Covid 19 and those who attended were relatives and some friends. I watched the mass on my laptop.

The screen, before the mass began, had a picture of a beautiful bouquet of white flowers and I could hear the cantor singing hymns. The Deacon read the Eulogy about the fun loving, energetic, helpful and hard worker who had died on November 19, 2020. He was a man who enjoyed life and was always willing to help. I felt bad for his wife and son who now would have to continue life without a husband and father.

Amazing Grace was sung as the casket, wrapped in a tan cloth (Pall) with quarter moons and a crucifix centered on top was rolled to the front of the altar. The reading was one of my favorites from Ecclesiastes:

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens, a time to be born, and a time to die; etc. God has made everything appropriate to His time and we will know each season when God feels it is the right time. The Responsorial Hymn I like is The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. The homily was given by the priest and some of the phrases I liked were: He who believes in me shall never die. Do not let your hearts be troubled. No one comes to the Father except through me. God gives us time, yet we do not know the length of our days. Use your time to the best of your ability. We will meet those who have gone ahead when death is destroyed.

"Nick suffered on his last days, shared God's suffering and is destined to be with God. We pray for Nick's departed soul that it is hastened into heaven and for family and friends to be consoled in their grief" said the priest.  Hymns picked by the family; Holy Mother, Ave Maria, Taste and See the Goodness of the Lord. The priest and the deacon then blessed the covered casket with incense while praying, "Open the gates of heaven to welcome our brother." The ending hymn was On Eagle's Wings.

I knew Nick belonged to a group at the church called Caring Hearts and that he would go out to visit homebound people. One man who was visited told me, "I enjoyed his visit and we talked about fishing." I realized that Nick was a kind-hearted soul willing to help others in any way he could.

The funeral concluded at Olinger Crown Cemetery and due to Covid 19, there was no reception.

Nick Sedillo

Oct 20,1940 - Nov 19, 2020

Rest In Peace

English Is My Second Language

 I grew up listening to my parents, grandmother, and aunts speaking Spanish and their English was very limited. My father spoke English with an accent, yet I do not remember having any problems when I entered kindergarten. I do know that if I wasn't sure on how to pronounce a word I would find a substitute word. To this day "physician" is difficult for me to say so I use the word "doctor." In the 5th grade I was to speak on Columbus and his three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. My report was fine except that I pronounced ships like chips. The whole class laughed and I left the room in tears. I practiced the ch and sh words until I pronunce them correctly, but I noticed that my father continued to say share for chair. There are still words I do not say correctly in English. 

It was embarrassing to speak Spanish because I spoke Spanglish and if I spoke with someone who was fluent in Spanish, they would correct me. When I worked at Motor Vehicle, I was given most of the Spanish speaking people and somehow I was able to overcome my fear of speaking Spanish. No matter where I worked, I was called to interpret for foreigners. Once I was asked to translate for a Russian family and what a joke that was! At Legal Aid I went to court a few times to interpret for those that could not speak English and I found it to be nerve racking because I had to bring the legal words to my level and understanding and that was not easy. I also would be called to speak with the Spanish speaking clients. My position at the Archdiocese of Denver, my supervisor was from Spain and the majority of people that came to the office were Spanish speaking. There I learned more Spanish, lost my fear of speaking the language and knew I could hold my own.

Traveling to Spain, Mexico, Peru and Guatemala, I  could communicate with the people. My travels in those countries was more rewarding because I could talk with the people. I was complimented on how well I spoke Spanish and was told it sounded as if I was from a Latin country. That made me feel proud.  I felt fortunate that I knew two languages, Spanish and English. Volunteering in Mexico also improved my Spanish. Once I retired, I began to lose the ease of speaking in Spanish. Language has to be used daily or it can be forgotten.

When a Peruvian friend asked me to type some of his writings, I agreed. I struggled copying his writing but managed to get his work done. Words he used, I had never heard and had no idea what they meant.  The hard part of writing in Spanish are the accent, question/exclamation and quotation marks. When he asked if I would translate his writing into English I thought it would be an easy thing to do. It isn't. I had a dictionary next to me where I looked up what the Spanish word meant and then I would replace it with the English word. I can tell I am getting better at translating and enjoy doing it more. Words like acosa (harassments), sueles (usually), destierro (banished), vaiven (swaying), fenecidos, (died or ending), repasas (review) and many, many more words I had to look up because I had never heard them.

A Mexican friend of mine told me that I could speak Spanish at around 90% and write it at about 50%. Who knows, but after all the translating, I may have moved those percentages up a little bit more! 

"Todos nuestro sueños se pueden

hacer realidad si tenemos el

coraje de perseguir los."

Walt Disney

("All our dreams can come true

if we have the courage to 

pursue them.")

Who Is Diego Maradona?

About three weeks ago a huge headline came up on my lap top about some fellow named Diego Maradona who had passed away in Argentina. Who in the heck could this fellow be, I wondered, to get so much publicity. He seemed to be a national super star though I had never heard of him. Today as I flipped through the Netflix choices I saw Maradona in Mexico and decided to watch it to find out why he was popular.

The video began with Diego Maradona going to Culiacan, Mexico, a hot spot for drug cartels. He was going to coach a losing team by the name of Dorados de Sinaloa. The team was at the bottom of the league and he thought with his knowledge of soccer he could get them to the finals and for a chance to move to a higher league.

I expected to see a trim man, after all he had been a soccer player winning championships in Argentina and Italy. Some of his shots were amazing and is rated as one of the top players, above Messi and Pele! Imagine my surprise when a short, chubby, homely, bowed legged, limping man appeared on the screen. He has arthritis in both of his knees and has problems walking but there is nothing wrong with his foul mouth as expletives are constantly coming out! He is a joker and kids around with everyone. The players see him as a father figure as he dances, sings, hugs and kisses the players. He also advices them on how to be better persons. 

I noticed that a serious face came on when he watched the plays on the field and there was no joking around. Someone commented: "You can control everything, but not Diego." A few times he was kicked off the field for objecting to a referee's call. At a final game, which they lost to San Luis Potosi the stands screamed, "Maradona sucks dick!" I thought that was a bit much yet he did get the team to the top of the charts yet never won the championship! 

His background, after being a super star, was sad because he began using cocaine and could no longer play. The video showed that he no longer used drugs and that he was clean.

He died on November 27, 2020 of a heart attack at 60 years of age in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A multitude of people from Argentina and other countries paid tribute to the beloved soccer player and he laid in state for three days for people to come to say their good-byes.

Surprising how I seem to enjoy watching soccer legends though I am not really a soccer fan. When I met my husband to be, he and his brothers were all soccer players. My son and then my grandson followed as soccer players! When my son stopped playing he continued in the field by coaching.  I have sat on the sidelines for lots of years, cheering for whatever team my family played on! I have learned that coaching is very important that can lead players to success! Diego Maradona certainly did that! 

When Maradona's name came up on the deceased list on the Sunday Morning show I had a good  feeling that I now recognized his picture and name! 

"My mother thinks I am the best.

And I was raised to always

believe what my mother tells me."

Diego Maradona

Thanksgiving For One

Plans to travel to California for Thanksgiving were canceled because the Coronavirus pandemic  continued to grow. I watched the Macy's parade, as I usually do every year, though it wasn't the same with the empty areas where spectators would gather.

In the past, I would either be with my family or friends on Thanksgiving Day. I could have let the day go by like any other day, yet I felt a traditional meal would be more appropriate even if I was by myself. I already had some of the fixings; mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and turkey gravy. I purchased a small turkey breast and around one o'clock I placed two large turkey slices in the oven to heat up, opened the can of cranberry sauce, heated up the turkey gravy, opened the small can of peas, and prepared a small package of mashed potatoes. I made some guacamole for my salad and was ready to eat around two o'clock. A friend had given me a cute turkey made out of nuts and leaves and I placed it   near my plate for my center piece. I got a wine glass and poured some Perrier. Now the setting looked more  

   festive and I was ready to eat. Before sitting down to eat, I put on some Jazz on station KUVO. I 

 thought about my family in California and knew that at 3:00 p.m. we were going to Zoom and I would 

see them. It would be the closest thing to being with them on Thanksgiving!

After my meal, I began washing the dishes and suddenly I remembered that I had not said a prayer of thanks before eating or after eating. I remembered as a child we would always say, "Gracias a Dios por esta  comida." I could not believe that I had not prayed before eating and felt guilty because there are so many things in my life that I am thankful for. As I did the dishes I gave my thanks for my meal and apologized that I had forgotten to say Grace before eating! Now I know that sometimes getting engrossed in certain things may take priority and important things, like prayer, take a back seat. 

I had scheduled the Zoom meeting at three o'clock and the Californians were right on time. The problem was that I had to open the meeting to let them in. Guess what? I could not get into the program because every password I tried would not work. We fooled with different methods by using their identification or me changing the password. After two and a half hours we were able to get in and had a lovely time catching up on what we had been doing. It was nice seeing them while we talked.

Thanksgiving this year was different, yet it was special because I did something entirely different than any other year.

"When asked if my cup

is half-full or half-empty

my only response is that

I am thankful I have a cup!"

Sam Lefkowitz

A Sad November

 It seems that the older I get, there are more deaths of people I know. Sometime in early November I heard that Rosie had passed away. She was a German lady I met at Young At HeartGroup at Spirit of Christ Catholic Community and when I fell and broke my ankle she would visit me in rehab. She would show up and we would have some lively chats! She did use a lot of cuss words and I found that funny because usually, in my generation, we don't use "bad" words. One time she sat and watched how the therapist showed me how to  get in an out of the tub. We laughed as I struggled to do such an easy function. On another day she arrived when I was baking cookies to prove I could be in a kitchen while in my wheel chair.  I had to laugh when she said, "They want you to bake cookies so that the workers can enjoy them!" She may have been right. A few years ago I attended a German festival and enjoyed eating traditional food she recommended. Soon after, I heard she was placed in an assisted living facility and I lost track of her. Her death came as a big surprise and I felt saddened that she was now gone. I was surprised when I found a picture of Cece and Rosie together!

Cecilia, I heard at mass one Sunday that she had passed away. I met her on a trip to the Marian Shrines in Europe. She and her roommate reminded me of my stereotype idea of what nuns should look like. I nicknamed them The Nuns.They got a kick that I thought they were nuns because they were married with children! I remember that when there was music at one of our Young At Heart dinners Cece and I would team up to dance. I lead and she was an excellent follower! I had not seen her for a long time and one day when I saw here I asked, "Hey, are you still dancing?"  She shook her head and remarked that those days were over and done. After that she stopped coming to our gatherings and now she is gone.

A few days ago, I heard that another Young At Heart member had passed away with Covid. I would see Nick at different functions and he seemed like such a nice man. He always seemed to want to help and he would go visit those people that were homebound. At the YAH dinners he and his wife were friendly and he seemed to be surrounded by different friends. I heard he had COPD and tested positive for Covid. He was on a ventilator to help him breathe and when he was taken off the machine, I thought he was doing better Then the news came that he was back on the ventilator and his kidneys stopped functioning and he died on November 19, 2020. His obituary mentioned that he loved to garden, fish, boating, camping and traveling. It just goes to show that we only know a small slice of a person's life!

I heard that an acquaintance had lost her 60 year old son who had pancreatic cancer. I called her because I know the pain of losing a son and she told me she had lost her daughter four years ago. She did say she still had one living child but that does not take away the agony of losing our children. She continues taking care of her husband who she said sometimes doesn't know certain things and other times he is lucid. She has a good attitude and we laughed how when I see her, I never remember her name. I can always use the age card that my memory fails me when it comes to names!  I am glad we commiserated on how difficult it is to lose a child. I let her know I would pray for her.

"Even the best of friends

cannot attend 

each other's funeral."

Kehlog Albran

Covid 19 and Thanksgiving

 I wonder how long a virus can live on a spray of perfume? Today as I walked through Costco, I suddenly got a whiff of sweet perfume. I have no idea who walked past me but the smell lingered on and it seemed as if it was inside my face mask. After moving through a few rows the smell finally disappeared. Could the virus hitch a ride on the fumes of perfume? Or could the ingredients in perfume kill the virus? Some perfumes have alcohol (vodka) and some have lye, so I am hoping that the virus wafting over to me had already been killed by the woman's perfume. If not, I may come down with Covid, but at least I will know how I got it. The mystery of not knowing how or where people get ill, for me, will be solved!

Shopping at Costco, if people did not have masks on, I would have thought everything was normal and like it used to be before Covid. Many persons were circling around the turkey area, some had two or three Costco huge pies in their carts, and a few were buying containers of gravy or mashed potatoes. I stayed away from those crowded areas and wondered if anybody cooked anymore. I picked up a couple of items and was out of the store in less than half an hour. The return line was long with about thirteen people waiting to return something they decided they no longer wanted or the item was defective.  People were coming out of the liquor area with boxes of wine or other alcoholic drinks and I figured they were going to party for Thanksgiving and I hoped that they would stay healthy.

For me, this holiday will be different this year. I will join my California family on Zoom or Face Time as they prepare their dinner. Watching the Macy's parade will take up my morning and then I will have my Thanksgiving Day dinner of sliced turkey breast, canned cranberries, packaged mashed potatoes and gravy, canned peas, guacamole, and for dessert a Keto ice cream bar! There will not be any cooking in my house but I am looking forward to virtually spending time with my family! 

"See that Thanksgiving celebrations are

restricted as much as possible so as to

prevent another flare-up."

Message in Omaha World Herald, Nov. 28, 1918

Amber Alert

When my phone began making the loud and horrible sound letting me know that a child was missing, I glanced at the phone and realized it was not for a child missing, but a Covid warning! I don't recall the entire message just something about This region is at severe risk from the deadly COVID and the warning to STAY HOME. A frightening alarm since I thought the majority of people did obey the Governor's mandate to stay at home, wear a mask, and social distance. Was this something new? My imagination pictured an overturned truck with jillions of viruses scrambling out of the overturned truck and headed to the towns and suburbs!

Dear God.

Only You know why we are faced with this virus,

 a pandemic with so many sick and some dying.

I pray that soon we will be able 

to face life without a mask, to be able to hug,

to not look at others with fear,

to hear a cough and not want to run away 

and to be rid of this deathly bug.

Until then, thank you for

keeping me, my family and friends safe. 

 I pray that soon this will be in our past,

that Covid finally is dead and gone,

and we awaken to a new dawn.

We will now have a life that will last

and we can smile for all we have endured 

with the whole wide world finally cured!

Amen

Erlinda Moscoso 2020

Talents

"Believe in yourself.

You are braver than you think,

more talented than you know,

capable of more than you can imagine."

Roy T. Bennett

On Saturday evening mass the Gospel was from Matthew 25:14-30. It was about the man who was going away for a long time and entrusted three workers, each according to his ability, with talents. One worker received 5 talents, another received 2 talents and the last man got 1 talent. I have heard this gospel many times and Saturday I finally understood it. It wasn't so much about talent of special gifts like musicians, athletes, singers, actors, creative people, etc. but more of faith. During the homily the priest mentioned that a talent equaled a whole year's salary.  I looked up the word talent on the Internet and read that today it would be worth around $400,000 dollars!

The first man doubled the talent, the second also doubled his talent but the third man buried his because he was afraid to lose it and wanted to return the whole thing to his master.  The story is not so much about money, but about stewardship, responsibility and being prepared. When Jesus returns, we will need to return our talent and which one will we be? What have we done with our talent? Will we act like the first, second or the third man when we confront Jesus?

When we are baptized we are given grace and this can never be taken away from us. God has invited us and will we RSVP? We need to invest our talents and not waste them.   We must humbly look at our lives and do the best we can with the talents we have. True joy will be found in our response of being faithful in what we do and we will be rewarded by entering heaven.

The priest gave the example of the woman who takes care of her family, cooks, cleans, is honest, cheerful, and uses her talents in the best way she can by maximizing her humble talents. Doing the best that we can is my understanding because I have never considered a woman's every day work as a talent.

I had a better understanding of the talent parable but was curious about how another priest might explain the same Gospel. I listened to a priest from Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles and paraphrasing what he said: The parable was told to his disciples because He was going away and was entrusting the talents to them until He returned. Those that increased their talents would share in the Master's joy and be given great responsibility. The man who buried his treasure out of fear of losing it all did not make the Master happy. Everyone who increases his talent will be given more. The ones who do not increase their talent, everything will be taken away. They cannot share in their Master's joy. He sees them as partners because he trusts them, appreciates them, and they are given more responsibility.

Our valuable talent is our gift of faith. We continue what He began and the gift of faith needs to be invested by our actions and how we live our lives. Invest the faith we have been given. Help the needy, visit the ill, feed the poor, work for justice, and love our neighbors are some of the things to strengthen our faith. How did we use the faith we were given at Baptism? Faith is too valuable to hide or as the parable states it is too valuable to bury. What will we show Jesus when He returns? 

Even though I do not have artistic talents like my brother and daughter, I cannot cook like some of my friends, I have no knitting or crocheting talent, I am not a gardener with beautiful plants so I wonder what my talent is. I have no idea what I will present to God when he returns. It seems that in my life I have done more burying than investing. I need to look at my life and see how I can begin to invest my talents. Once I find out what they are, and I multiply them, then God will say, come share My joy in heaven.

On the internet I found 108 ideas that can be talents.  Even though I never thought the things I love to do are talents, they were on the list so I will accept ten that I might have: Writing, travel planning, photography, slide creations, humor, reading, typing, ability to make friends, volunteering and dancing. I will have to figure out how to invest those talents and maybe that will help me enter heaven when Jesus returns and asks what I did with my talents! 

"When I stand before God at the end of my life,

I would hope that I not have a single talent left.

Then I can say, 'I used everything you gave me.' "

Erma Bombeck

A Bit Of Happiness During Covid

"It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things 

if you make your mind firmly that you will."

L.M. Montgomery

Grocery shopping is something I never knew would give me happiness and when there isn't much going on in my life, a bit of happiness enters my heart as I buy what I need. The other thing that gives me happiness is receiving an e-mail notice from Amazon letting me know that my package has arrived. DELIVERED, Your Amazon Purchase has been delivered. I open my front door and there is a box with a large arrow on its side! It's like Christmas, and even though I know what the gift is, it is always fun to open the box and see if what I ordered passes the test!

Lately the e-mail wants me to mark a box letting them know regarding the service. There are five boxes I can mark: Cares for other, Delivered with care, Above and beyond, Followed instructions, Respect of property and On time. I follow the instruction and let Amazon know the package was delivered with care! There is also a picture of the box on my porch. I can see how this protects the driver.  

During this time, when masks are required, Covid seems to be increasing each day, and more people I know have the virus, those little things bring me some happiness! In a few days I will receive another package and then I will begin looking to see what else I can order.  What fun!

"Happiness is a function

of accepting what is."

Werner Erhard

Our New President

 Because of the anxiety that the television news was causing me, I decided not to listen to the news.  Around November 2, 2020, a friend called me and told me she thought Biden would win.  I told her I had no idea who would win and did not want to speculate. On November 4, my friend called me and said, "Chances look good that Biden will win." I told her I did not want to hear anything about the election or how the polls were progressing. "When he wins, if he does win, then we can talk about it again!" 

 Friday, three days after the election, neither Biden or Trump had won. On my computer I would see the same number of electoral votes...Biden 253 and Trump 213. Saturday morning, my friend texted me with the message,  "Woohoo, Biden won!" I turned on my television, and sure enough; Biden had won when Pennsylvania counted all their votes!

Now that the election was over and Biden had won, I thought I might begin listening to the news again. I turned on my television and joined the rest of the happy people; cheering, crying and happy that we had a new president. Suddenly, I too was in tears. I tried to analyze why my tears had sprung out automatically and wondered: was it seeing praises coming from around the world? Was it a release of the anxiety I felt during the process? Was it fear of what might happen next? Shock? Relief? What ever it was that brought the tears, I did feel happy that we now had a president who seemed to be level headed, compassionate, and with lots of past experience. I did wonder how and why Trump had so many followers. Was there something they knew that I didn't? 

A few of the reasons that Trump did not sit well with me were his comments that he could go into a New York street, point a gun at someone and kill them and get away with it or his making motions like a person with a disability. Seeing him saying and doing those things turned me off. At that point, I had no idea whether or not he would make a good president. Though, I did  wonder what kind of a person would say and do such  things. Since then, there have been many other things that he has said or done, about thirty or more, that have bothered me, making me wonder how he had become the president of the United States.

"To survive in peace and harmony,

united and strong, we must have

one people, one nation, and one flag."

Pauline Hanson

Now that Biden was the new president-elect, there would be two phases; one person leaving and another entering the white house. Then I wondered, would we then return to a normal life? I  know it will not be easy but I have faith that things will get better and there won't be such a division between Americans; or I hope everyone can reconcile their differences. When I thought I could relax and put my anxiety away, the news was that Trump would not concede and that he was filing lawsuits in different states. I remembered reading an article about him, before he got into office, that his father had told him, and I am paraphrasing: "No matter what you do, get a good lawyer and whether you are right or wrong, sue." And that is what I fear he is doing!

I read articles that informed me that the process would proceed and we will have a new president in January, 2021, yet I have some doubt that the process might not go as planned! These are different times than how it used to be when I was growing up. I hope that both parties can reconcile and become united in a fair, kind, loving and generous people; that is the only way we can unify our country!

"If we even forget we are one nation

under God, then we will be a

nation gone under."

Ronald Reagan

Virtual All Soul's Mass

Every year for All Soul's Day, I take a candle and place it among the many other remembrance candles brought in by Spirit of Christ Catholic Community parishioners. This year, because of the Pandemic I did not attend the mass. Instead, I placed my son's picture, a candle and an orange paper flower on top of my printer and turned on my laptop to virtually attend the nine o'clock mass.

Part of the mass is when the names of all the deceased, since the last All Soul's Mass, are read. This year I knew seven of the persons who had passed away. One was the husband of a book club member, two were friends from our gambling outings to Blackhawk, one was a past soccer parent, two were husband and wife I knew from Young At Heart, one was the wife of a dear friend and one was the only male book club member. I am noticing that the older I get, the more people I recognize from those lists!

The music for the mass was touching and uplifting. I give thanks to God that there is now the capability of attending mass while being home and I can watch mass from on my laptop. 

"I will rise when he calls my name,

No more sorrow,

No more pain,

I will rise on eagle's wings

before my God."

Hymn

No Matter What It Takes

 For the past four weeks I have been glued to the series of Outlander. A few days ago the Netflix showing of the show ended after three seasons. Netflix would no longer feature the show.  I googled the information to find out how the show actually ends. To my surprise I found out that there were quite a few more episodes but they were only showing on Starz. In order to get to Starz I had to sign up for Hulu and they charge a monthly fee. As I sat looking at the screen and trying to decide whether the end of Outlander was important enough to pay extra, a blurb came up letting me know that I could try out Hulu for a month free. Maybe I could see my show through Hulu. Once I was signed up for Hulu another blurb came up letting me know I could have Starz for a week and it made me wonder if that was enough time to watch the rest of Outlander. If not, then the monthly fee for Starz was around $9.00 and I figured I could pay the fee to see all of the episodes. After all, I do not pay for Netflix because the fee is usually paid by my family in California because they know I enjoy watching movies!

I have been binging to try to see all the episodes before next Tuesday when the free time ends. Today I saw the final episode of the love story of two people. It was amazing that the characters never aged, other that having a bit of grey in their hair. From Scotland to the Colonies the horrific and dramatic scenes kept my interest. It ends with the two main characters, Jamie Frasier and Claire, his wife, naked in bed in a loving embrace and thinking that they now will have the Revolutionary War in their future! I suppose Diana Gabaldon, the author, can continue the saga!

Each episode was filled with so much action on land and at sea that after the show was over, I could not find another movie to watch. Every show I thought I wanted to see I found to be dull and boring without the exciting scenes I had become accustomed to in Outlander!

"'Ye werena the first lass

I kissed', he said softy,

'but I swear you'll be the last.'"

Jamie Fraser (Outlander)