Thoughts from Mary in Poland

So I have been thinking a lot about this picture lately. It always was my very favorite picture of Johnny and me. Here I am teaching Johnny to walk. It is a job that many of us did for 20 years. Just like some babies take longer than others to learn to walk, some people take longer than others learning to ‘walk’ in life. In many ways I feel (as many of you –my family –might feel as well) that my place in Johnny’s life was to teach him to walk –not only physically, but even more so spiritually, emotionally, mentally.

Yet I see now looking back that in many ways it was really Johnny who taught me to walk, who taught all of us to walk. Pope John Paul II said, ‘It is in giving the gift of ourselves that we truly find ourselves.’ And Johnny called forth the gift of our hearts in many ways. He called forth gifts in us that no one else could. He taught us patience and mercy, love and gentleness and strength. I know that when I was with him I had to constantly be listening to the Holy Spirit for answers to my questions, ‘How do You want me to love him in this situation? Or in this situation? Do you want me to be quiet, to be strong, to be funny?’ Johnny’s heart was very open, yet there were many hidden places difficult to reach. He taught me many lessons about how delicate one has to be to reach another person’s soul.

In our relationships with people we are like surgeons. We can really help or really hurt people, and so we must be careful, yet strong in Love. Johnny taught me to love –to forget about myself and truly love him for the sake of himself. And he taught me deep lessons in trust as every night I would have to say to Jesus, “I cannot worry about him. He is Yours. Take him into Your arms. Please care for him.” I even prayed that prayer for the hours I waited for him to come home the very night he died. Johnny was an instrument Jesus used to teach me again and again that when we love someone, we must let them be free and we must place them in Jesus’ care in trust continually, daily. Love frees the beloved into the Heart of God.

I remember when I first heard that Johnny had died feeling an inability to argue with God over it. I hurt but at the same time thought, “How can I fight with You about this, Lord? How can I fight? He is Yours. It is only just that he is with You. We never ‘deserved’ to be with him, to have him on earth as our brother. He was always a gift of your mercy.”

Now that Johnny has died I see that he teaches me to walk in new ways. He is where I always yearned to be –in the arms of my Beloved. He finished his ‘race’ of life, and I am still struggling to somehow make it through mine. I find myself turning to him for help daily, and I see how my littlest brother who needed so much from me on earth is now doing so much for me in heaven. He now sees the face of God, and so he can understand all the mysteries of love and life and suffering that we cannot begin to fathom with our little minds. He is close to the light we all yearn for in our hearts. And so I see that in his death we do not have to let go of his hands, but simply switch positions. On earth we all loved him and tried to help him to walk. In heaven he is still holding our hands, but it is he who now can teach us to walk in the way of God’s Love.

Anyone else notice some differences in Joey?

I don't see Joey very often but I had heard about his new, very short haircut and scruffy face. I saw him the other day and he really seems to be looking different. I can't seem to put my finger on it, but the "new Joey" is definitely evolving. Anybody else notice a difference?

Pictures available of Thomas Michael Murphy

I can't post them on the blog, but here is the link:

http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=3O6X5D5D7M

The Christening is at St. Pius X in Granger this Sunday after the 12:15 p.m. Mass.

Was Johnny a closet Ohio State fan?

A couple days after the funeral, Fr. Kevin came over to our house and was drinking some beer with Margy and me in our living room. Fr. Kevin, being from the Detroit area, was exchanging barbs with Margy about Ohio State and Michigan. Appropriately, to open the beer, Margy grabbed an obnoxious bottle opener which plays the Marian High School fight song (which also happens to be the Ohio State fight song). This prompted even more witty repartee between my wife and our guest.

Then the conversation turned to Johnny. We were discussing some of the little signs that had occured after his death and the reports about people claiming to see him in dreams and visions. After someone briefly mentioned Johnny's sense of humor, Fr. Kevin let loose with another playful jab at Ohio State. Suddenly, from the dining room, the Ohio State fight song began to play on the bottle opener. The timing was eerie. We sat there with our jaws open and stared at each other. My hair stood on end. I went into the dining room to investigate. That bottle opener had never before played without being put to a bottle. As I shook it and tapped it on the table and fingered it, I could not get it to play again without touching it to a bottlecap.

When I returned to the living room, Fr. Kevin became serious and suggested that we pray.

We did. True story.

Kloska Family Trivia: Where does this picture hang?

This classic painting by seventeenth century Dutch master Pieter de Hooch hangs in a very important place for the Kloska family. First person with the correct answer wins an attaboy. So where does it hang?

Why Mary lives in Poland and works for God

Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Here is Mary on a retreat in the mountains shortly after she returned to Poland last month. What a setting! Click on the image to get a larger, clearer picture.

Catholic bishops do the blog thing...

Some Phillipino bishops are blogging. Check them out. I especially like Bishop Manguiran's cool blogger template.

http://medroso.blogspot.com
http://ovc.blogspot.com/
http://bpmanguiran.blogspot.com/

Suffering, stinky water and song....

By Lisa Marino

These are some thoughts provoked by Theresa's entry about bagels, Hodgkins and Ninevah...It is impossible for me to read such a beautiful testimony and not think of things I always think of because of my own spirituality and the line of work in which God has employed me...apologetics. This is a classic example of the problem of evil, a.k.a. "why bad things happen to good people", or even "why do bad things happen at all?" We Kloska's have had plenty to ponder along these lines in the last 4 weeks. Every one of our families is undergoing more than just grieving the loss of Johnny in his so unexpected death. This great and painful loss of Johnny has almost seemed to catapult many of us into several other seemingly big and small sufferings. Just this morning I was once again cleaning the stenchy water out of our basement. It seeps in between the crack down where the wall meets the floor and it is awfully difficult to reach since it is behind our wash machine. Even with the machine pulled out a bit it takes quite a bit of contortioning to completely clean. And even as I mop and wipe, I can see the water beginning to seep out again. And the smell.... it smells like hell. No, really. I'm not using profane language, I am actually describing the smell of this water... it is satan-like. Which brings me to my point.

satan, that measely, stupid, annoying little creature that tries so hard to scare us, frustrate us and break us is at it again. And he is using all the silly tactics he has used for ages: suffering. When I get a little perspective on the recent "Kloska plight", I actually LAUGH at the stupidity of satan thinking that he can suffer us into turning away from God. he thinks he can break our hope, our faith, our love, simply by throwing us some suffering. What the guy in the red underpants doesn't know, or fails to remember is this: every time he throws us suffering, we respond with supplication to God. We allow Jesus to transform this into an experience of His Holy Cross. Oh, Hail the Holy Cross, our only Hope!

Now, I'm not saying that Johnny's death, Theresa's Hodgkins, Bobby's vocal cord growths, Cheryl's aching body and sometimes hypertension, and all of the rest of our many different sufferings (even the Marino's hellish water in the basement) isn't enough to tempt us to depression and misery. Sure, these things in themselves present struggles large and small, but how have we reacted to them? With prayer! With renewed family relationships! With people reaching out in love and help and service to one another! How many times have we all prayed for someone else's big problem? Many! How many times have we called each other just to "check in"? Many! How many times have we put someone else ahead of our own needs, especially recently, because someone else needed our atttention more than we needed our own leisure? Many!

So back to the question of the problem of evil. Bad stuff happens as a result of sin. Our bodies endure disease because we live in a fallen world. Even our houses and plumbing don't work quite right because of fallen human nature and our lack of perfect understanding and wisdom, which was lost at the Fall. (The fall of man, not the season of autumn) We endure many consequences from Original Sin. In Original Sin we didn't love as we ought to have loved God - we didn't trust God as we should have. No, instead we tried to grasp at our own happiness (rather than trusting God would give us happiness as His Gift to us). And oh how I bet measely little satan laughed when he heard the consequences that we were in for as a result of this sin.

BUT, what satan didn't count on was that the remedy for sin was precisely in the consequences! BECAUSE of these sufferings and THROUGH these sufferings we learn to love God and others as we should. We learn to trust God as we should.... all we need to do is to hand over those sufferings to God and let Him transform them into a share of His Son's Redemptive Cross.

So, weird as it may sound, this morning I made a point to sing my Alleluias and every praise song I could think of while I cleaned the stinky water in the basement. I prayed for the plumbers and city water guys who can't seem to find the problem. I prayed through the intercession of all the plumbers in purgatory. I really, from my heart, thanked God for the suffering ... and I thanked Him for the cold he sent me which plugged my nose so I couldn't smell the stink quite as much. (Sometimes God uses satan's own "ammo" against him, to help us.)

And I bet with every verse I sang a shriveled up fallen angel somewhere was writhing in disgust. Tee Hee... It just makes me laugh all the more.

Free Movies this June at Notre Dame

This almost seems too good to be true, but Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center will be hosting a free summer film festival June 7-11 this year. Here is the rundown of films being shown in the best movie theater I have ever seen. No, seriously, you've got to check out this theater! Park at BK's and Margy's house if they charge for parking. (Once again I remind NaZdrowiens to click on the headline for more info.)

BROWNING CINEMA SUMMER FILM FESTIVAL
A WEEK OF FREE FILMS IN INDIANA'S ONLY THX-CERTIFIED CINEMA
Titanic Tuesday, June 7 at 6:30 and 10 pm
Pirates of the Caribbean Wednesday, June 8 at 6:30 and 10 pm
The Matrix Thursday, June 9 at 6:30 and 10 pm
Independence Day Friday, June 10 at 6:30 and 10 pm
Singin' in the Rain Saturday, June 11 at 3 pm (A P.A.C. CLASSIC 100 FILM)
Raiders of the Lost Ark Saturday, June 11 at 9 pm (SPECIAL OUTDOOR SCREENING ON THE DEBARTOLO QUAD)

A big prayer request

Pictured are Joan (Margy's sister) and Dave Magnacca with Maria. This picture was taken quite some time ago and Maria is much older now. (Strangely however, Joan and Dave have not aged a bit.) Maria is having surgery this morning to remove her tonsils and adenoids. She will have to be admitted over night as there is an elevated risk with this operations for children with Downs Syndrome. Please everyone, keep her and her parents in your prayers today.

Happy Birthday Nathan Swick!

Hope you have a great birthday!

Harper Collins announces major book deal!

It first gained notice as a simple poem hanging on the Thomas refrigerator for Theresa's birthday. Then, it created a buzz in the blogger community by being published and analyzed on "Na Zdrowie!", the widely read Kloska Family web log (click on 5/14/05 archive in column on the right). Today in New York City, Harper Collins announced that it has picked up the rights to making it into a full length book.

Based loosely on the poem that acheived instant literary acclaim, noted author Brian Hargrove has agreed to transform it into a full length book by ghostwriting under the pseudonym of Moose, the famous dog actor. The author of the original poem remains a mystery as do the terms deal agreed to by Harper Collins and that author. Look for it to appear in fine bookstores later this summer.

Cousin Thom makes Forbes Magazine

Congratulations Thom! Those of us who knew you as a young boy who would take apart and repair radios are not surprised by this.

Note that the cordless presenter, both by its shape and by its placement relative to Thom's face, looks like nothing more than a fancy electric razor. Wouldn't that be nice feature - you could give yourself a fabulous trim before each presentation!

(Click on the headline above to see the magazine article. By the way, always check the headlines to see if they are links - many are.)

Thomas Murphy born safe and sound

I know he was over eight pounds and he was literally born yesteray (so don't try to take advantage of him). I know Cheryl is coming home today and that labor and delivery weren't so great, but all is well now. Joe Harmon delivered. No pictures yet, but things are good. More later I'm sure.

This makes grandchild number 38 for Mom and Dad I think.

Trinity Sunday

A classic symbol of the Holy Trinity