Autumn 2014

Greetings from Cricket and Jerry!

We have trips to tell about but they have been amidst our selling our home of nearly 25 years in the Atlanta area! We are relocating and not yet sure where our base of operations will be; "taking nothing for the journey" is such a challenge! We will be announcing our new location(s) soon!









We were blessed to give a retreat to the prayer teams for the Archdiocese of Atlanta's Annual Eucharistic Congress this summer.

 Cricket has given a number of talks, highlighted by her Releasing Our Trials to God presentation for the Secular Franciscan fraternity in Chicago.
This was held at Mayslake Retreat center, which was the former Peabody mansion, and then a Franciscan Friary for many years.

We put together a combination of Cricket's book on this with some of Jerry's music and released it with an audio book read by Cricket. We intend to do more of this in years to come. Watch for announcements!

Jerry then flew to give a concert and help with the Memorial at the ARG in Black Mountain, NC. Meanwhile Cricket visited with our daughter Talia who sings professionally in the Chicago and NY areas.

Jerry gave a talk on Balance in a crazy busy world at St. Meinrad Archabbey and School of Theology this summer.

Jerry has also been completing his dissertation for a Doctorate in Ministry which involves best practices for teaching Catechetics. This project will be published and be included in a workshop we are developing for parish and Catholic school teachers!

God Bless you and yours, jerry and cricket

Easter 2014!

Spring is creeping in as a winter with plenty of muscle is moving out. We were blessed to serve St. Mark's parish in Clarkesville Ga with a Lenten Mission that had been requested after we provided a day of reflection for the parish council and staff during Advent. It was a wonderful time in the mountains of North Ga with great themes. Jerry played a responsorial and reflection song at the weekend masses, and Cricket spoke of each night's focus.

Sunday night began with a wonderful Lenten supper at the home of our hosts, Bill and Ann Cassano. What a joy they were to get to know. The stories and humor were even more 'over the top' when the Pastor, Fr. Jose Luis, came to spend Monday afternoon! One of the ministers told me that evening driving in the cold and rainy March weather was not preferred by many parishioners, but the turnout was twice what he expected. Cricket spoke on the application of God's Lenten and Easter graces in our daily lives on Sunday night. She followed on Monday evening with her wonderful "making the Mass more meaningful" talk that is often requested. Jerry brought music and did an interactive part during the talk on 'boundaries in the land of overwhelm'.

Tuesday night concluded the Mission with a parish Penance service after a short presentation on carrying our crosses with Christ.

Jerry plays hymns and church songs quietly on the classical guitar as people come back into the sanctuary after their confession, and it is a often a rare time of contemplation and prayer for people late into the evening. As is always the case, we were more blessed than anyone we served. Bless the Lord o my soul! And may this Easter be all God wants it to be for all of us!

Spring 2014!

Someone once said that "spring is life with the windows open": and after the winter most of us have experienced this year, it may be more welcome than ever! Such a day it was as we served St. Mary, Help of Christians Parish and the Secular Franciscan fraternity there for their Lenten Retreat again this year.

The theme requested had to do with "Discovering the Joy of the Cross", and doing so in the way St. Francis of Assisi did.

Here is a lesson Cricket felt was given to her in prayer after Mass when she asked a question we all ask at times: "How, Lord, can we learn to love what is painful and difficult for us? "   

Cricket felt this reply was given, and helped form the study she led the group through along with Scriptures, quotes from the Saints, and quiet time of reflection:
 

   Your daily offerings, your dying to self, your choices to follow My will in place of your own, all have the power of transformation within. Learn to love the transformation that takes place in your soul. Learn to love the depth and sincerity of love that makes your heart like Mine. Learn to love the gift that reaches out to those who cause your crosses --- because, not only is your own dying to self allowing you to be transformed, it also plants, waters, and nourishes  the seeds of new life in those who hurt you.

    How much I long to heal the broken, hurting, and hate-filled hearts. But know that your acts of selfless love, patient endurance, and joy-filled faith in Me, all make a difference in the soul that is far from My love.

    Learn to love Me for them. Learn to use your moments of dying to self for their resurrection.

    All will be well. I cannot but love and will for good. Trust Me with your crosses and teach others, too, to love them.

May God bless you and yours this Spring!

 

 

A New Year newsletter from Cricket!

“But the fruit of the Sprit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”   Gal.5:22-23

As we begin a new year with a focus on Evangelization, I offer some thoughts that came to me while I was praying in the sanctuary of our church today.

I was noticing the candle that remains lit above the tabernacle.  It is always lit, always reminding us that Christ is truly present – right there – in the consecrated hosts held within.  I was reflecting on how much we should be like that continuously – burning – candle always giving off the light of Christ’s love and patience, kindness, gentleness, peace and joy.

“Easier said than done,” you might be thinking, because we go through life having to face situations that are not always lovely, peaceful, joyful or kind.  But that is perhaps when evangelization is most powerful.   Whatever we are going through, Christ gives us reason – and equipping -- to still live by these words Paul used in describing “the fruit of the Spirit.”    

We are not loving, peaceful or joyful because our circumstances and relationships are such.  We are loving, peaceful and joyful because of who Christ is.  And the more we acknowledge Christ’s authority, power, and pure love   -----  the more we dwell on that, rejoice in that, and live our lives very present to Christ’s presence within us, the more effective we will be in our call to evangelization.  When people can see the “fruit of the Spirit” truly present in us, especially in times of adversity, they are awakened and renewed to the love Christ is asking us to show them.

 We will still feel sorrow at times.  We will still “weep with those who weep” and experience our own cause for weeping.  But an interior peace that passes understanding is possible and attainable.  Christ still ‘reigns in our hearts’ and for that we always have reason to rejoice! 

So, like the faithful who have gone before us as shining examples of evangelization, let others see in us that we, too:

Rejoice always, giving thanks in all circumstances.  (1 Thess. 5:16, 18)

              Rejoice as we forbear trials with kindness.  (Phil. 4:4-5)

              Rejoice even as we are sorrowful.  (2 Cor. 6:10)

When we rejoice, it puts our focus on what God is doing more than the ever-present doubts and fears of this world.  Rejoicing in Our Lord may, in fact, be one of our most effective means of evangelization.   And it may also be an effective way to keep our hearts aflame with Christ’s presence, like the candle above the tabernacle that I was reflecting upon today.

Blessing in Christ,

Cricket Aull, OFS

                            

Epiphany 2014

 

 

This is the view from our the home of our good friend and Secular Franciscan Marie's window. It is the first snow of the season and Jerry is up here in the mountains writing and recording a new project. In 2014, Cricket will be writing some new material that will be accompanied by jerry's music. There are some other new things planned for this year which you will see on this site as the year progresses.

 

 

 

A group of prayer supporters for our ministry hosted a retreat in the home of Michelle Heekin, and here her son Christopher is giving jerry some pointers on the guitar. Even in his 'jammies', Christopher played that guitar for a good hour! The evening was mostly some beautiful teaching from Cricket on her book Penance. 

 

This is our newest grandchild (#8) Santiago. Jerry got the duty to watch him while our daughter and her husband listened to speaker Jeff Cavins at our parish Advent by Candlelight celebration.

May God Bless you and yours this year, and we hope to see you on the road!