Visit to Australia

We just got back from a 35 day trip to Australia. I'm so happy that I got to see Australia (in person), but even happier to be home. I'm a home person that's for sure. I'll post some of the pics. It's truly a beautiful country and worth seeing at least once in a lifetime. We had a wonderful host (our youngest son's friend), who drove us everywhere for a week and his lovely fiance made us feel at home and was very kind to us. Some of the highlights were Canberra (the capital) and the surrounding countryside. We got to visit a sheep farm and meet some very friendly people; saw a few mobs of kangaroo and learned about some of their destructive behaviors (at least on sheep farms); visited the coast including Wollongong (I love their names for places). This is a beautiful seaside town; In Kiama we stayed at a warm and friendly B&B out in the country -- lots of cattle and so green. Then we had our adventure in the blue Mountains in Katoomba -- rode on an extremely pitched rail ride up the mountain(kind of scary); took a sky bucket across the canyon-- beautiful site of the three sisters and canyons; walked all over the trails and saw lots of interesting plants and birds. I wanted to see other animals but no luck. After Katoomba and Kiama we braved the traffic in Sydney - one of the second most expensive cities in the entire world. Sydney is beautiful in its own way -- similar to any huge city like New York, or Hong Kong.
Our host finally deposited us at our ship and it was sad leaving him (now dubbed our Australian son); we spent three weeks on the ship cruising from island to island - some of them being Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, New Caledonia, Kauai, Oahu, Vancouver, Seattle, then took a plane trip home. I think I'm home for a long time now -- not stirring from my nest!

Go and sin no more

Why I am a Catholic

What brought me to the Catholic Church was Jesus! Jesus in the Holy Eucharist! Never was there a happier day for me, than when I discovered that He was truly present in the bread and in the wine. My soul was filled to overflowing with the thrill of this discovery. No other protestant sect could or ever assured me of this fact. Yes, there are many other beautiful truths about the Catholic faith; but, for me, if it weren't for the transubstantiation, I would still be a drifter in a sea of many divergent beliefs.

Palm Sunday

Today the priest ushered us into the sanctuary while we waved the ribbons of palm leaves and sang a joyous hymn. I wonder how Jesus felt. Did he feel jubilant? happy? Think for a moment how you would really feel if transported back in time to the city of Jerusalem, exactly at that moment, watching Jesus the Christ riding upon a donkey, the sun beaming down, the air is hot and stifling from the crowds surrounding him; the cacophony of discordant sounds, the jostling crowds, the smells assailing your nostrils; but, all of that pales in comparison to seeing Jesus the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Son of God - for just a glimpse of Him passing by. Oh, what I wouldn't give for that moment. Next Friday we celebrate the Lord's passion and contemplate the events surrounding his final day on earth - it involves betrayal, torture, execution, and of course, the resurrection.

Pope Francis

Dressed in simple white vestments, the 76-year-old pontiff delighted pilgrims by zipping through St. Peter's Square in an open-backed jeep for about half an hour before the ceremonial events began, waving and kissing babies handed up to him. At one point, he dismounted and went over to lay hands on a disabled man while Swiss Guards tried to keep the crowd behind barriers.
For posterity and so that I can come back here and read what he said on the day of his installation as Pope, these are his words said that day:
"Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment," the pope said. "Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world!"
He called on government leaders, and himself, to "protect all of God's people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important."
"To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope," he said, with majestic St. Peter's Basilica behind him. "It is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds."
"Let us never forget that authentic power is service and that the pope, too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination on the cross," Francis said. "He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete and faithful service which marked St. Joseph."
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/19/5276497/pope-francis-focuses-on-poor-and.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Pope of the people

I like this pope's style! Blessed are the poor in spirit and blessed are the merciful. Read these words of Pope Francis:
“Never forget this: the Lord never tires of forgiving us. Have you thought about the patience that God has with each of us?” These were the words that Pope Francis addressed to the nearly 200,000 people who had travelled from around Italy and from around the world in previous days to be able to live this first Angelus with the new Pope.

Pope Francis

Archbishop-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina. Our first Latin American, first Jesuit, and first Francis has been elected as our next pope. I am so happy to hear this! Give God the praise and glory.

Befriending the Stranger

Our lives are moulded and fashioned
by all the graces we have received or refused;
by all the gestures of love as well as the acts of hatred
or indifference;
by our successes as well as our failures.
Absolutely everything is engraved in our being.
So the experience of being loved by God
does not change our lives completely,
yet something is changed
when we realize that God loves us just as we are,
not as we would like to be
nor as our parents or society would have liked us to be.
God loves us today
with our gifts, our qualities, as well as our failures and our fragility.
If we have the impression people are disappointed in us
because we do not live up to their expectations;
if there seems to be a gap
between the way in which others perceive us
and who we really are,
between what we like to think we can do
and what we actually can do,
we need to discover God is never disappointed in us.
God knows us;
God knows our abilities and disabilities;
God knows we are a mixture of light and darkness.
Others may be disappointed
because they have an ideal image of Him,
but not God, who knows me today just as I am.
God does not live in the past or the future
but in the "now" of the present moment.
God sees me in my present reality
as I am in each present moment.

-Jean Vanier, Befriending the Stranger
(reposted from Abbey Roads blog)

'The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven!'

Repost from Abbey Roads: A fifteen-year-old Milanese youth, deeply devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.

Carlo died at the age of fifteen due to leukemia, although it was only diagnosed days before he died. In this he reminds me of Blessed Pier Giorgio, who died of polio, although no one knew he was so seriously ill. Like Pier Giorgio, Carlo had overflowing crowds of mourners at his funeral. I think his story is very important for youth and young men especially - who need solid examples of authentic Catholic spirituality. I believe Carlo's witness demonstrates that holiness is indeed attainable in our anti-Christian, hedonistic culture. A maxim from Carlo states: "You must want it (holiness) with all your heart, and if this desire has not arisen in your heart, you must ask for it with insistence from the Lord." His example affirms for me that fidelity to the duties of one's state in life is the ordinary means to sanctity.


'The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven!'

"He is remembered by those who knew him for the enthusiasm with which he conveyed to others his love for God and the neighbor. At seven he did his First Communion and since then, every day, he has never missed the daily appointment with the Holy Mass, the Eucharistic Adoration and the Holy Rosary. The focus of Carlo’s spirituality was the daily encounter with the Lord in the Eucharist: he said It 'was Jesus truly present in the world, as at the time of the Apostles the disciples could see him in flesh and bones walking on the streets of Jerusalem'. Carlo often repeated: 'The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven!' This is the summary of his spirituality and the core of his whole existence spent in friendship with God.

"Carlo was very fond of the Virgin of Pompeii, where he came dozens of times, accompanied by his parents, and where each time he renewed his act of consecration to Mary. He used to say: 'The Madonna is the only woman of my life!', and he never missed 'the most loving appointment of the day', which was for him the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

"Some days before Carlo was led to the hospital, when no one suspected that he had leukemia which in a few days brought him to the grave, he told his parents: 'I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer to the Lord, for the Pope and the Church, for not to do Purgatory and go straight into Heaven'. The heroism with which he dealt with his illness and death convinced many people that really there was something special in him. When the doctor who followed him asked him if he suffered a lot, Carlo replied: 'There are people who suffer much more than me'.

"A continuous pilgrimage held a wake for his body. His funeral was attended by a crowd so immense that many were forced to remain outside the Church. The continuing testimonies, letters, stories, which still today arrive at the postulator of the Cause of Beatification, Dr. Francesca Consolini, appointed by the Curia of Milan, tell of an extraordinary young boy, blessed by grace, so much that the Archdiocese of Milan thought to propose him as a model for the young and to start the process in view of the introduction of the Cause of Beatification which, as you know, may begin 5 years after death. It results, in fact, that so many are those who ask the intercession and the aid of Carlo.

"From the testimonies collected a few days after his death, one discovers that Carlo was completely dedicated to the welfare of the people he met. He helped everyone: non-Community immigrants, beggars, disabled persons, elderly people, children. He was worried about his friends whose parents were divorcing and invited them to his house to support them; in the classroom he always took the defences of those who had more difficulty to integrate. On more than one occasion he defended the disabled that were taken around by frivolous boys.

"With great courage he defended the Christian values, even if this sometimes caused him misunderstandings. His professor of religion at the high school recalls that in a discussion in the classroom Carlo was the only one to oppose abortion.

"He had a great view of all persons and was concerned about how many wasted the talents that God had given them. On more than one occasion he affirmed: 'All are born with their own originality, but many die as photocopies'.

"This intense spirituality did not prevent him from having a normal life, common to that of his peers." - source: http://miraculousrosary.blogspot.com/2011/11/carlo-acutis-teenage-candidate-for.html and http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/

Should we spank our children?

This article is from canterbury tales blog -- I thought it was worth reposting:
Summa theologiae, Supplementum Supplementi q. 54

Article. 1 Whether spanking children is lawful.

Objection 1. It seems that spanking children is not lawful because the Apostle states, “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Col 3:21) and again, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4). Now physical injury is a provocation. Hence spanking children is not lawful.

Objection 2. Besides, the Psalmist sings, “thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” (Ps 23:4). Now striking a child with the rod is not comforting. Hence, it is not lawful to spank a child.

Objection 3. Furthermore, God prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land because he angrily struck the rock of salvation with a rod (cf. Num 20:11). By this signification we learn that the rod denotes the species of anger that forfeits the divine promises on account of malice. Hence, it is not lawful to use the rod on children about which Christ spoke: “For to such belongs the kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 19:14) for in these words Christ speaks of a promise.

On the contrary, It is written: “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him” (Prov 12:24) and again, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him” (Prov 22:15). Now the dutiful parent disciplines his child and drives away folly. Therefore, it is lawful to spank a child with the rod.

I answer that, striking a child may be accomplished in two ways. A parent may spank a child in wrath so as to injure the child, or a parent may spank a child in a spirit of charity and patience so as to fulfill the words: “he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Consequently, spankings administered in charity are virtuous and meritorious.

Reply to the First Objection. Here the Apostle speaks of wrathful provocation whereby the child is wounded. Now the correction of vice in a child is not a wound, but a cure. Hence, the Apostle does not denounce corporeal punishments.

Reply to the Second Objection. The rod comforts the Psalmist spiritually. As stated above, the removal of vice is comforting. Hence, corporeal punishment that seeks to mitigate vice is licit since it leads to spiritual comfort.

Reply to the Third Objection. Moses forfeited his right to the Promise Land by angrily bearing the rod of the Lord. Previously, the Lord also said to Moses: “And you shall take in your hand this rod, with which you shall do the signs” (Ex 4:17). Now rods can be used in two ways. Relatively speaking, rods are neutral in that they can be used for a good or a bad purpose. The rod of discipline, simply speaking, drives away folly, as stated above, and for this reason the Lord says, “with which you shall do the signs.” Hence the term “rod” need not denote wrathful indignation on the part of the one who bears the rod.

My Guardian Angel

oy vey iz mir; This is what I imagine my guardian angel saying when I do/say/think dumb things!

Be kind....

St. Catherine of Siena

25 March 1347 at Siena, Tuscany, Italy
Youngest child in a large family. At the age of seven she had a vision in which Jesus appeared with Peter, Paul, and John; Jesus blessed her, and she consecrated herself to Him. Her parents wanted her to marry, but she became a Dominican tertiary. Mystic. Stigmatist. Received a vision in which she was in a mystical marriage with Christ, and the Infant Christ presented her with a wedding ring. Counselor to Pope Gregory XI and Pope Urban VI. Canonized July 1461 by Pope Pius II.
She died 29 April 1380 of a mysterious and painful illness that came on without notice, and was never properly diagnosed.
Proclaimed Doctor of the Church on 4 October 1970.
From Abbey Roads: "Perhaps if any one of us aspires to be like Catherine, we should first pray for the grace to imitate her penance, her solitude in the cell of self-knowledge, imitating her prayer, which lifted her soul in heroic charity - intense love of God and neighbor.. - then those of us who dare, may try to reform the Church. Remember, perfection lies in union with God through charity... In a way, all I'm saying is that if we think ourselves to be so perfect, the measure we should use is Catherine's charity - love of God and neighbor, as well as her forgetfulness of self - rather than her militancy."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ice cream habit

Really??? Is this really news? It seems incredible to me that my morning newspaper included a half page write up on the excessive ice cream consumption of the Prime Minister's household. Oh, and he loves pistachio! They really ripped him up over it. While reading this article, I kept thinking -- is this for real? Why are they writing in such a vitriolic manner over this issue? Then I started wondering how much our own president spends on ice cream and how much does he eat?? Oh, never mind - I have better things to think about.

Wardrobe mishap

I saw this posted on facebook and thought it was funny -- not that I was laughing at the Pope; far from it. I love the Pope and deeply respect his office, but don't you think God has a sense of humor? I really think Pope Benedict thought it was funny too.

The Pope resigns

repost from Abbey Roads:
"When someone we know and love dies, we wish we had him near, that we might listen more attentively to his every word. We are fortunate to be able to savor this time with Benedict while he is still our Holy Father, to take to heart his every word as Vicar of Christ. I think it is a special grace for us. More important than discussions of legal procedures and candidates to replace him. Truth be told, with Benedict XVI still alive, I cannot imagine a suitable successor - I can't even desire one."

Be the Light of the World

and Jesus said, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God. Mark 10:14

St. Terese of Lisieux

"If you are willing to bear serenely the trial of being displeasing to yourself, then you will be for Jesus a pleasant place of shelter."

Suicides in Military

I am so troubled when I read about people committing suicide. A recent article caught my attention, "Military suicides increasing. More soldiers committed suicide in 2012 than were killed in battle for entire year". How infinitely sad; how tragic; why did these people think that destroying themselves was their only option? Did anyone in their lives notice that they needed help? What does this say about our culture - the society we live in that a human being can walk among us so filled with despair and anxiety that no one notices? Perhaps they do notice but choose not to intervene or "interfere" with the one who is lost? It makes me want to cry, to sob out loud, to rend my clothing, and pour ashes on my head when I hear of these poor lost ones who choose to end it all.
Maybe we let them go because we have lost the capacity to care; we have lots of excuses to turn our eyes away from the despairing one -- "I'm too busy", "Let someone else deal with it", I have too much going on right now"....
This morning before the dawn arrived, I lay in bed thinking of these poor lost souls and wondering what God would want me to do, and then something that Mother Teresa of Calcutta said came to my mind, "Serve Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor". If only there were someone in each of their lives who told them how precious they are in God's eyes and that giving in to despair was something that they should not do and that God will give them the strength and the graces they need to carry on each day...perhaps then they would have been willing to pick up their cross and carry it.
"Just allow people to see Jesus in you
to see how you pray
to see how you lead a pure life
to see how you deal with your family
to see how much peace there is in your family
Then you can look straight into their eyes and say
"This is the way". You speak from life, you speak from experience."
Mother Teresa

The Altar Server

St. Theresa Catholic Church, Sugarland, Texas

This is my happy dance!

New Clairvaux Monks in Vineyard

We visited this monastery, the Abbey of New Clairvaux, in Vina, California - just north of Chico.

When did Christ first shed His blood for us?

I read this very interesting article by Father Steve Grunow regarding the circumcision of Christ, part of which is below. I never thought about this very important event in Christ's life and so found this teaching fascinating. Imagine a jeweled reliquary holding the foreskin of Christ! Unfortunately, it was stolen by a priest in 1983 -- why would he steal it and what did he do with it? Anyway, read the following for more enlightenment:
"Pius Parsch notes that the Circumcision of the Lord is remembered by the Church as the first sacrifice of blood that flows in redemption. There is scandal in this statement as well. We live in a culture that feigns that it can have love without sacrifice, and narrows its vision of love to accommodate this prejudice. It is in the cramped confines of this narrow vision that the risk of true love is diminished, as well as its power to redeem. The Incarnation is essentially an act of love, and though we try to convince ourselves otherwise, there is no real love in this world without a sacrifice of some sort. The Circumcision of Christ is the foreshadowing of the greater sacrifice that will inevitably come. The greater the love, the greater the potential for suffering — and the love of God in Christ is the greatest love of all."

Father Steve Grunow is the Assistant Director of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

Oh, Holy Mary, dwelling place of God

Refrain

O holy dwelling place of God.

O holy temple of the Word.

O Holy Mary, holy mother of God.

Verse 1

O radiant star of heaven , illuminating the night;

Reflection of the Son, our source of life and light.

Refrain

Verse 2

O blest beyond all others, of ev’ry land and race,

Possessing in your soul the fullness of God’s grace.

Refrain

Verse 3

From heav’n the angel Gabriel annouced the ancient plan

And humbly you accepted to bear the God made man.

Refrain

Verse 4

With joy beyond all measure you cared for God’s own Son

And pondered in your heart the new age now begun.

Refrain

Verse 5

Exquisite was your sorrow, unequaled was the loss

You suffered when your son was raised upon the cross.

Refrain

Verse 6

All praise and adoration we sing now to your Son

Who reigns in highest heaven and has the vic’try won.

Refrain

Joshua after his nap

The Madonna of the Dry Tree

Petrus Christus, Madonna of the Dry Tree, c. 1465
Oil on oak (5 3/4" x 4 7/8")
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
There are so many interesting aspects to this tiny painting, symbolism abounds. The Tree of Knowledge, withered and dry after Adam and Eve ate of its fruit, comes to life through the Virgin. The Virgin, herself the miraculous product of the barren Anne, in turn gives birth via the Immaculate Conception. The dry tree presages the crown of thorns, representing Christ’s sacrifice for man’s redemption. Another fascinating element of this painting are the 15 golden ‘A’s that hang from the thorns of the tree. These represent Ave Maria, the Hail Mary prayer of the rosary. Ave is the reverse of Eva, or Eve—a reminder that Eve’s fall is redeemed through Mary, the new Eve, who is not only the mother of Christ but the intercessor for all mankind.

Mary’s cloak is wonderfully depicted in all details of folds, showing the technical skill of painting of Petrus Christus. The folds also give a lively impression to an otherwise fixed image that was also rare in pictures of the Virgin of those times. The baby Jesus enhances the liveliness further since he seems to struggle out of Mary’s arms, wanting to go into the world on his own. Jesus is oblivious of the seriousness of the theme. Here too, Petrus Christus somewhat evolved tradition since he painted the Virgin holding Jesus in her right arm, with her left hand gently playing or holding Jesus’s toes. The face of the Virgin is dignified, aware of the mystery of her conception and of the importance of her son and unafraid. This is not a subdued Mary lost in sorrows, but a triumphant and confident mother who sees the dangers and the cruel menace but who chooses to ignore the fate because of her motherly love.
link: http://venetianred.net/2010/06/28/petrus-christus-the-madonna-of-the-dry-tree/;
http://www.theartofpainting.be/AOM-Virgin_of_the_dry_Tree.htm

The Dragon Sickness

This short video is a commentary by Fr. Barron: This story describes concupiscence -- which is an errant form of desire to gather wealth. Tolkien describes in his story, "The Hobbit", how one can be consumed with gross materialism and become obsessed with wealth for its own sake; and even if we cannot use it (the stuff), we cling to it, hoarding it, gloating over it and defending it with our life.
After watching this video, I couldn't help but think it so adequately describes the society in which we live. Fr. Barron goes on to say that even though we are drawn into desiring "things" and become infected with the Dragon sickness, God gives us grace to overcome it and if we listen to His voice we will discover that by giving away the things that we so deeply covet, that in the process we are then healed.
Perhaps we are committing a sin by giving so much stuff to our children and are complicit in the sin that follows -- The Dragon Sickness that infects our children. Let us take a step back, and rethink this whole thing with Christmas presents -- what is it all for anyway???
Let us redirect our children's hearts and minds to God and help them remember that we are celebrating the birth of Christ our Savior who came to save us from sin, and from the Dragon Sickness.

Lorica of Saint Patrick

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and near,
Alone or in a multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation

St. Patrick (ca. 377)

The Senseless violence in Newtown, Conn

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Craftiness

Isn't this the cutest bag? It's made from a bag of chicken feed by "Real Southern Living blog": Here is the link: http://www.realsouthernliving.blogspot.com/2012/04/reusablerecycled-animal-feed-bag-tote.html

The Immaculata

The Immaculate Conception is a Holy Day of Obligation - I am a convert to the Catholic Church and did not understand this concept at all until I heard a priest talk about how the vessel that brought God into the world had to be clean and pure, without blemish - in fact, immaculate. After hearing it explained in those terms, the light went on and I finally understood.
How could one think otherwise? Of course, Jesus, the Son of the Living God, in fact, God Himself Incarnate, could only come to this world in a sinless womb. A human being immaculately conceived. His way was prepared from the dawn of time itself. Thank you, dear Jesus, for loving us so much and coming to this earth, dying for our sins, that we might live forever with you.

Rabbit and sweetpea

There's just something about this rabbit that I love.
artist: C.C.Barton

Occupy your minds with good thoughts.....

Occupy your minds with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with bad ones. Unoccupied, they cannot be.

-- St Thomas More

Blessed Redemptus of the Cross

Tomas Rodriguez da Cunha, military officer,discalced Carmelite lay brother, in 1615, taking the name Redemptus of the Cross, with Blessed Denis of the Nativity, he travelled as a missionary to the king of Achin. He and his party were ambushed and martyred by Muslims in 1638. He was first tortured; when he refused to denounce his faith, he was shot full of arrows, and then his throat was slit.
Prayer:
O God, Who in Thy wondrous providence, led the blesseds Denis and Redemptus through the perils of the sea to the palm of martyrdom, grant, through their intercession, that in the midst of earthly vicissitudes and worldly desires we may remain steadfast even unto death in the confession of Thy name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Genocide in Rawanda

I just watched an interview of Immaculee, a Rowandan survivor of the 1994 genocide, where she tells her story of not only surviving a terrible massacre but how she turned to her Catholic faith and overcame the anger and hatred she felt for the ones responsible for the death of her people.
She spoke of praying the sorrowful mysteries and the chaplet of mercy from the time she awoke to the time she fell asleep each day -- for 91 days! She spoke of how our blessed mother healed her heart from the bitterness and anger and instead filled her with God's love and His joy.
She said we are to approach God as if we were beggars imploring Him for our needs. If we do not have the sincerity within to pray, then we are to ask Him for this as well. Please God -- help me to pray with sincerity and with great devotion.

Presentation of Mary at the Temple

The commemoration of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple is on 21st November. It has been kept at least from the 7thC. in the Orthodox tradition. Emperor Justinian built a splendid church dedicated to Mary in the Temple area in Jerusalem. It was dedicated on November 21, 543 but was destroyed by the Persians within a century. Many of the early church Fathers such as St. Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople and St. John Damascene, his contemporary, preached magnificent homilies on this feast referring to Mary as that special plant or flower which was being nurtured for better things. "She was planted in the House of God, nourished by the Holy Spirit and kept her body and soul spotless to receive God in her bosom. He Who is all-holy rests among the holy."
In the Byzantine Church this feast is considered one of the twelve great feasts of the liturgical year, called the Dodecaorton. By the 9thC. it is celebrated in the monasteries of southern Italy which had been influenced by the traditions of the Byzantine churches, and by the 14thC. it had spread to England. However it was not until 1472 that Pope Sixtus IV extended its celebration to the Western church.

I am with you until the end....

In Honor of my Dad

Isn't this a sweet picture of my Daddy? He was trying to wear his mother's shoes.
This is the day my Dad died two years ago -- it truly broke my heart when I received the phone call that he was gone. It felt like something was severed inside and I was consumed with overwhelming grief. All I could do is wail and pound the bed with my fists. The sorrow was drowning me and I couldn't even breath after a short while. I cried and cried laying on my bedroom floor until my dear husband came up and wrapped his arms around me and calmed me down.
Most people don't want to experience this kind of sorrow because it hurts so much; and they really don't want to remember it over and over again. Well, I consider it a gift -- this grief, this pain, this sorrow. I am glad I can cry and my heart feels like it's going to burst from the agony and pain. I want to remember it. I want to remember how much I loved him and how much he will be missed.

Pray, Hope, and don't worry.....

"Pray, hope, and don't worry."
-Padre Pio

AUDREY

I LOVE this little one - she has an amazing spirit; fortunately, I get to watch her two days a week. Getting to know Audrey and sharing in her life is one of the many blessings that the Lord has provided. Thank you dear God for this precious little girl, the wonderful time I get to spend with her, and the cherished memories that are made.

Joshua's spirit

This child of my child brings me so much joy and inexplicable happiness!! Thank you dear Lord for not forgetting me in my old age.....