Anniversary, Annunciation, Waiting, New Birth, New Book

Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Gemma and our anniversary of reception into the Catholic Church 17 years ago. So many blessings! Deo gratias!!!

It's been the best Lent ever. On the Feast of the Annunciation, we were all in prayer awaiting the birth of Max and Laura's baby girl. After a long labor (starting on 24th evening), Laura delivered a beautiful baby girl in the wee hours of March 26th morning. All is well. Praise God! 

The new parents are home, getting adjusted to life with a newborn. We can't wait to make a trip to DC to snuggle this little one and take care of Max and Laura. It just so happens that this baby's birth coincided with an email from my editor--she sent me proofs of Shunya Means Zero. And I was able to dedicate it to both my grandkids before it went to the printer. Deo gratias! It's coming out this summer.  I can't wait to share it with my two little grandbabies, when they're not mouthing everything. I didn't give them Ten Easter Eggs...next year is a perfect time! And just you know folks, the Easter season lasts for 50 days so it's not too late if you want to buy a copy. 

Now for the reward to going through some shameless self-promotion. I'm attaching a few pictures for you to enjoy! I'm over the moon--to have two little grandbabies so close in age feels like an answer to my own prayers about having twins. Now all that God has to do is arrange for a job for Max down here in Charleston so we can all be together :)

The beginning of labor--March 24th. Max and Laura take a walk to speed things up. All the pain and struggle is worth it once they get to hold their precious little baby. They went for a short walk the day after the baby was born!

 
Laura's mother and sister were able to come for Easter--they sent these beautiful pictures. To gaze and gaze upon your baby is the closest thing that comes to Adoration of our Lord. 

We can't wait until our DC family can come to the wilds of SC. 

Happy Easter, all!!! He is Risen!!! Alleluia!!!

Faith, Friendship, and Finding Flannery

Happy St. Patrick's Day! What a joy for me to spend these past couple of weeks with three pilgrims from the North who wanted to see the place where Flannery O'Connor penned her unforgettable short stories, wrote letters, tended her peacocks, and lived a life she didn't dream of, but lived it to the fullest.

 
I'm still not caught up on the Catholic conference online, but decided to watch Roxane's presentation on Seasons in a Writer's Life, given I've entered a new chapter in my own life (I'm again on babytime :) When I learned that she had a book about Finding Flannery, I had to know who else was so affected by her life and stories to make a literary pilgrimage like we did for our 25th wedding anniversary (Michael and I had made a pilgrimage to Savannah and Milledgeville, the places Flannery spent the first and last thirteen years of her life respectively).

Reading FF as one who's already familiar with her life and stories brought back memories. It was the feeling of finding instant friends. You too?!!! The three writers--Christina Brajkovich, Karen Anne Mahoney, and Roxane B. Salonen--met through a Catholic writing group and planned this trip. Each woman was in a different stage in her life, yet they each felt a connection. As a transplant to the South, I knew they were in for a shock, because we have a different sensibility here (when we moved here 15 years ago, I knew immediately I was home). I'm surprised they didn't come across any "bless your heart" comments :)

I have to admit that in the opening chapters, the need to overexplain the connection to Flannery was annoying. It was obvious. But I realized that for a person who didn't know Flannery's life or stories, it was a wonderful introduction. That it would pique the reader's interest and also give some context. I remember not knowing anything about Flannery until a critique partner compared one of my stories--Driving Lessons--to hers. Btw, it won first prize in a writing contest, but I've never been able to find a publisher for it. My story is tame compared to anything Flannery wrote! Her stories disturbed me, probably because she was holding up a mirror to myself with her unlikeable characters. But I digress...

I loved the cover art as well as the interior. The three writers each chose a bird to represent themselves as they reflected on their journey and Flannery. It took them ten years to write this book and in that decade they experienced many changes in their own lives. I really appreciated how honest they were sharing their own joys and sorrows throughout this period, and their ability to see the grace of God in all things, which is what Flannery is so good at conveying. They felt her guidance from heaven. She might not be a canonized saint yet...but those of us who know and love her, we pray for her intercession, even as we pray for the repose of her soul. Why do people make a pilgrimage? Read this unusual travel memoir and you will understand. I highly recommend this book for those who know and love Flannery and those who have yet to know her life and work.

I'm so delighted to have this book--many thanks to Enroute for providing a review copy--and looking forward to meeting Roxane in Chicago at the Catholic Writing Conference! That last picture is of me in Flannery :)   

On EWTN's Journey Home Program

It has been busy with the online Catholic Writing Conference (where I offered a workshop on Writing for Hire) and barbershop guest program; I'm still playing catch up, but imagine my joy when I learned that my conversation with JonMark Grodi taped last July would air on EWTN's Journey Home program on Monday, Feb. 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation. Matt Swaim said, "And it’s particularly poignant to me that because of some scheduling your episode got moved to the feast of the Presentation. I don’t plan these things intentionally! But how fascinating that your episode will be airing on the feast of Simeon letting Mary know that a sword would pierce her soul… given the power of the Pieta in your story, it’s hard for me to not make the connection!" God's timing is indeed perfect. Here it is: Journey Home - Vijaya Bodach - Former Methodist and Agnostic. 

A friend captured this on her TV (I was at barbershop practice) and it has been a joy to watch this again. I loved how beautifully JonMark is able to express the essence of what I was trying to say. He's a wonderful host, putting me at ease. I urge you all--speak or write the story of what God has done in your life. As Rick Warren says in his book, The Purpose Driven Life, "God wants to use you." With Lent just around the corner, perhaps you'd like to pick it up. I've given away multiple copies of this wonderful book. 

Our grandson was baptized on the Feast of St. Paul Miki and Companions (Japanese martyrs) in the baptismal gown that my mother had sewn for us. Given how much Christians are persecuted, I often wonder whether our children and their children will be called to make the ultimate sacrifice for the faith. We live and die in Christ. But will we have courage? I pray for it. 

The material is silk damask and it looks like it could be from the leftover material from my grandfather's priestly vestments. I was the last person in my family to be baptized in this garment until now. My sister brought it when she came to visit me when Dagny was two months old. Poor Max cried because he didn't fit into it. I draped it over him for a picture. I will keep it for a while--until Max and Laura's little one is baptized.

We were atheists then, so it was just a pretty garment to dress Dagny in. We didn't even pretend to baptize her--there's a story about St. Genesius, how he was converted while in a play mocking Christian baptism. The Holy Spirit came upon him and he refused to renounce even when threatened with death. He's the patron saint of actors, of people who work in theatre and movies. Anyway, I have to speak about another movie, Nefarious, that shows the value of baptism, of belonging to Christ. I wrote a review here: Vijaya Bodach: Strawberries and the Sacred Heart. Praise God for not letting us remain in sin, for giving us the grace to repent, to turn to Him. On this Feast of St. Valentine, may we remember to always be guided by Love and Truth Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The Best Birthday Ever -- DC Wedding Edition

I feel so very blessed and praise God for all He is doing in our lives. Over Christmas holidays, Max and Laura announced they had a date for their Nuptial Mass--Jan. 17th--and it so happens this is the anniversary of their first date at Butterworths! It's also the Feast of St. Anthony the Great of the Desert! We kept praying to God that Ian and Dagny's baby will arrive early enough for me to witness Max and Laura's wedding and our prayers were answered. I had a full week I could spend taking care of the new parents and I had dear friends whom I approached to take care of my baby girl while we were gone, and they did. I asked for a daily dose of the little one :)

On our drive, we finished listening to Ida Elisabeth by Sigrid Undset--loved the slow pace, the interiority, the excellent character development, the digressions. Very similar themes as Kristin Lavransdatter about family, fidelity, the consequences of sin, and of course, redemption. We started The Plague Journal by Michael O'Brien and finished listening at home. Prophetic. We've listened to his other books--The Sabbatical; The Lighthouse. Wonderful writer. But I digress!

We had a delicious dinner at Karravaan | Silk Road Inspired Restaurant. It made me think of Daniel Nayeri's The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams. Beautiful book! I will be helping build my kids' libraries--especially with the best children's books!

Loved visiting the botanical gardens, especially the tropical and orchid gardens. It's astonishing to see the variety of exquisite flowers.

Laura joined us for lunch at Rasika. She went back to work while we visited the National Gallery of Art. So inspiring. I especially loved the paintings depicting Madonna and Child, our Lord Jesus and John the Baptist as infants, the Adoration of the Magi. Why yes, I have baby fever!  

Andrea del Verrocchio, c 1465 

Fall of Man (note the cat) Henrick Goltzius, c 1616

Jacopino del Conte, c 1535

We fully enjoyed our time in DC. It was so lovely to visit with Laura's parents and sister before the big day. Max came over with his tux Saturday morning. We walked over to Eastern Market, got some delicious food, and then got ready for Mass at St. Joseph's. I love St. Joseph and I know this greatest and humblest of saints is watching over Max and Laura. I am so proud of them for arranging everything for a small and intimate wedding, and so grateful for their faithful friends who're walking with them, as they begin their new vocation. 

The organist and cantor sang a beautiful Missa de Angelis. The readings were all focused on the nature of love and God's love for us, from the Song of Songs to the Gospel of John. We pray that Max and Laura will always abide in His Love. I love how Max looks at Laura, with tender love and care. Laura was a radiant bride and so happy! But I sensed an even greater joy the following day when we all met at Butterworths.

We went to Sunday Mass at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land and I just loved that the Gospel reading was about the Wedding at Cana! My heart is so full. 

We stopped for the evening in NC and just in time to avoid a winter storm in DC. What grace to wake up in the morning and see the frost on the ground and the geese swimming in the pond. Michael had a celebratory cigar when we came home. We have so much to celebrate and be thankful to God for--new life, new marriage, renewal. May God bless Max and Laura with a long and happy married life. May they bear much good fruit. And may they help each other get to heaven! Heaven!