tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1648231595160780032024-02-07T05:23:29.572-05:00Messenger of JoyThe journey of a hopeful Messenger of Joy . . .Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-72022447989996205422013-09-02T18:11:00.001-04:002013-09-02T18:11:07.305-04:00The Value of One Priest & Two Regular Joe's In The New Evangelization<br /><span style="color: #00007f; font-family: Lucida Console, Monaco, monospace;"><img align="left" border="0" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/865e5218280a4417a35333788b8a37fb_rnn3_1rno.png" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/865e5218280a4417a35333788b8a37fb_rnn3_1rno.png" style="border-width: 0px;" uid="935c5e96-ae4c-4389-b693-9095a1add813" wstxclass="Image" /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> All
life is intrinsically valuable, for no less of a reason than the simple
fact that every human person is made in the image and likeness of God.<span> </span>Every single human being is created <i>by</i> Love, <i>for</i> Love.<span> </span>Yet in some worldly circles, the life of a priest is considered to be one of little or no value.<span> </span>In these same circles, you may find many a misunderstanding about the call to the priesthood and the call to the celibate life.<span> </span>In
a society where contraception has come between men and women as a way
to usurp God’s authority as the Creator of life, and where many seek to
redefine marriage to be anti-life and anti-creation, the value of a man
who sees things a little differently and chooses to live a life of
self-sacrifice makes no sense to many.<span> </span>And for those priests who enter religious orders and take vows of poverty, forget it!<span> </span>No sex, no kids, no wife AND no money??<span> </span>It’s downright counter-cultural!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">So what is the true value of a priest?<span> </span>Well, let us begin with another question:<span> </span>What is the value of a soul?<span> </span>I am not speaking of the precise value of a priest’s soul, but of the value of a regular Joe’s soul.<span> </span>That
is not to say that one is more important than another, for all have
infinite value to our Creator, but let us ask instead, what significance
does the role of a priest possess if he can be the instrument God uses
to save just one or two souls in the course of his priesthood?<span> </span>And what importance do those laypeople souls possess if they follow their baptismal call to holiness and mission?<span> </span>How important are just one priest and two lay people in the New Evangelization?<span> </span>How important are <i>YOU</i> to the New Evangelization and cooperating with the Holy Spirit to bring the people in your life to Jesus?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">My own spiritual journey was not unlike many people I meet.<span> </span>Born
around the time of Vatican II, I find that many of my contemporaries
lived in homes where religion was present, but confused.<span> </span>Misinformation abounded, and many of us went on to ignore our faith in college.<span> </span>It
was not until after college, coming into our own as adults, that we
began to revisit the idea of faith, and for many of us, through
adversity or through the ups and downs of life itself, we found
ourselves drawn to God in a new way.<span> </span>As He always does,
God used these moments as opportunities for great conversion, and we
became what is often termed as ‘re-verts’ to the faith.<span> </span>My
reversion, return to the Church and setting of my heart on fire for God
was, (I am sure), the result of many prayers of long gone,
rosary-prayin’ grandmothers, faithful friends, and Holy-Spirit-driven
opportunities for grace.<span> </span>But there was one priest who was
the instrument God used to ‘close the deal’ and bring me back to a life
of grace and continuous conversion.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Father Peter O’Rourke was a fairly new priest when he showed up at my office looking for me to volunteer to play the organ.<span> </span>He was new in town and needed an organist for his new parish and had heard that I was a musician and could play.<span> </span>I wondered if he also heard I had not darkened the doorway of a Catholic Church in many years?<span> </span>But
after a nice lunch and chat about what brought him to my home town, I
relented, saying, “Father, I can help you out, but I can’t come <i>every</i> week.”<span> </span>The thought of giving up my Sunday sleep-in every weekend did not amuse me.<span> </span>Little
did I know at the time, that God was using this man in a powerful way,
and that Father O’Rourke was exactly the feisty kind of priest I needed
to get my sorry butt back into a pew and get to know Jesus in a way I
had not known Him before.<span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Over the next few months, I may have missed Mass a couple of times.<span> </span>But Father O’Rourke didn’t complain.<span> </span>He
just kept showing up at my office once in awhile for an impromptu
lunch, where we would discuss faith matters and business and I would
argue with him ‘til I was blue in the face.<span> </span>And I wanted to win.<span> </span>But every time we fought about this or that, I would research the issue online and buy books and grow ever more hungry for the <i>Truth</i>.<span> </span>To my great surprise, he was right every time.<span> </span>And
over the next few years, I began to see the genius of Catholicism, and
my soul was ignited with a desire for all the world to know what I had
learned.<span> </span>No more ‘<i>cafeteria Catholicism’</i> for me.<span> </span>I wanted it all, 110% Catholic.<span> </span>And this new direction was due, in large part, to the prayers and commitment of Father O’Rourke.<span> </span>This
is still true, more than a decade later, when this dear priest
continues to pray for me every day, and is still only a phone call away
when I need help on the journey.<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">A year or two into my reversion, Father O’Rourke asked if I would go to a Cursillo weekend, and the fire grew stronger.<span> </span>I could no longer deny it --- I <i>knew</i> I had to bring this information and the love of God and His Church to everyone I knew.<span> </span>It
seemed to me that people simply had a misunderstanding, and if I could
clear it up, they would be like me and rejoice in the knowledge of truth
that this incredible priest had brought to me in word, deed and the
sacraments.<span> </span>Of course it was not as easy as walking around
telling what I knew, and so I began, learning and sharing with family
and friends and then clients and colleagues and anyone who would listen.<span> </span>I did my best to pay attention to the Holy Spirit, and cooperate in quiet ways, not so quiet ways and in prayer.<span> </span>I read the gospels and tried to follow the example of Christ by authentically loving people, enemies included.<span> </span>I
can not tell you what is in the hearts and souls of anyone I meet on a
daily basis, but if I can be the instrument that cooperates with God to
pierce even a pin-hole of light into their darkness, then maybe that is
all God needs me for that day.<span> </span>If He wants more, I am trying to listen and ready to go and do whatever He tells me to do.<span> </span>It was God and Father O’Rourke who did that for me, and so anyone who gets anything good from me, has them to thank.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">There have been other heaven-sent priests in my life.<span> </span>And from each one, I have learned something new.<span> </span>By
way of example, I offer Father John Chmil, who in his peaceful,
contemplative witness, taught me the same, and he hardly had to even say
a word about it.<span> </span>His example was enough, as I learned
obedience and trust to a greater degree by watching the way he handled
adversity and trials.<span> </span>I wish I was as good as him, but I am working on it.<span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">I
could say the same of Father Chris Sahd, who I never had as a Pastor,
but only spoke to a few times regarding vocations when he was the
diocesan vocation director.<span> </span>There is a peace and love that emanates from him that is nothing less than Jesus Himself living within this dear priest.<span> </span>My current Pastor, Father Ed Michelini is yet another great example and companion on the journey.<span> </span>He
is a great teacher, and I see how he humbly teaches great truths of the
Catholic faith, but also stands up strongly when the faith and
religious liberty and the unborn are threatened.<span> </span>He is a tireless worker in the vineyard, and seems always to be bringing Christ to parishioners and strangers alike.<span> </span>All
these men have greatly increased the likelihood of my continuing on the
journey, as God uses them every day to make straight my path and yours.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">If you are 40+ years old, you may remember a shampoo commercial, I think it was from the 1970s.<span> </span>I
do not remember the brand, but it said something about telling your
friends how great the product was, and that if they would tell their
friends, and so on, and so on, and so on, then everyone would be better
for having this shampoo.<span> </span>And as they said it, the pictures
multiplied over the screen, so that it would seem the whole world could
be using this incredible new shampoo in a matter of a few
conversations.<span> </span>This is the result of what is known as <i>exponential growth</i>.<span> </span>Here is how it works.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">If
one priest, during the course of his priesthood, was able to cooperate
with the Holy Spirit and be the instrument for converting just two souls
during his lifetime—<i>just two</i>—And those two souls took heed of
their baptismal call to holiness and mission and cooperated with the
Holy Spirit to bring Jesus to just two souls, and those four souls
brought two souls each to Jesus and those 8 souls did the same, and so
on, and so on, and so on……..Then in just 30 steps—<i>thirty</i>—over a billion souls would be brought to Christ through the initiative of that one small priest. <span> </span><u>One billion, seventy-three million, seven hundred forty-one thousand, eight hundred twenty-three souls</u> could find their way to Jesus.<span> </span>Can you imagine?</span><br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>1</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>2</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>4</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span><span> </span>8</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>16</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>32</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>64</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>128</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>256</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>512</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>1,024</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>2,048</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>4,096</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>8,192</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>16,384</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>32,768</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span><span> </span>65,536</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>131,072</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>262,144</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>524,288</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>1,048,576</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>2,097,152</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>4,194,304</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>8,388,608</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>16,777,216</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>33,554,432</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>67,108,864</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>134,217,728</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span> </span>268,435,456</span><br />
<br />
<u><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">+ 536,870,912</span></u><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">1,073,741,823</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Father Cassian Yuhaus was a beautiful, holy priest.<span> </span>He lived a humble life at </span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">St Ann</span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">’s Passionist Monastery at the basilica in </span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Scranton</span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">.<span> </span>Who
would have known that this dear, brilliant, unassuming, frail man, with
an extraordinary love for the Church, had worked side by side with
Popes and religious all around the world just a short time ago?<span> </span>He
was friends with Pope John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II and he probably
knew Cardinal Ratzinger before he became Benedict XVI.<span> </span>He worked with religious orders worldwide and promoted the cause of Servant of God, Theodore Foley.<span> </span>He knew Padre Pio and Mother Teresa.<span> </span>And in his humility he knew <i>me,</i> a person nobody knows at the </span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Vatican</span><span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> or even the Chancery, a person who sits alone in the pew on Sunday.<span> </span>And
yet somehow God brought us together, and this humble saint of a priest
cared about me and gave me abundant spiritual direction in the last
years of his life.<span> </span>How blessed I was to know this dear man
who helped me on the journey and brought me ever closer to Jesus in his
words and in his final suffering.<span> </span>Little old me received
Jesus in many ways from this man, and now I bring what I have learned to
others, in word and deed, as best as I can.<span> </span>But I am just
one person—He gave this same help to nuns and priests and brothers
around the world who have a far greater impact than I could ever hope to
have.<span> </span>What was the value of this dear priest’s soul when
it was breathed into life by our Creator when he was just a tiny little
baby in his mother’s womb?<span> </span>Our Father knew the value. <span> </span>He created Father Cassian because He loved Him.<span> </span>And he knew the impact this one small life would have on the world.<span> </span>And
even though Father Cassian has been born into eternal life and met his
Beloved Creator face to face, his work for souls continues, and his
impact on this earthly plane will last forever in the exponential growth
of the seeds he has planted.<span> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">What is the value of a soul?<span> </span>It is infinite, immeasurable.<span> </span>Do you realize the value of your own soul?<span> </span>Of
the mission and plan God has for you to help Him in the mission to
bring all souls back to Him, so that not one should be lost?<span> </span>Can you be the instrument that God uses to inspire and save two souls?<span> </span>Maybe God has even more in mind for you.<span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #000099; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">You are beloved by God.<span> </span>You have a mission in the New Evangelization.<span> </span>Will
you be a planter of seeds and allow God to someday show you how the
seeds developed over time, and the importance of your participation?<span> </span>Or will you let the garden go and let it turn to weeds?<span> </span>Your soul was made for a purpose—to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.<span> </span>You are made to know Him, to love him, and to serve Him in this world, so you will be happy with Him forever in heaven.<span> </span>Let us strive together to be two regular Joe's who do our part for the Kingdom, so that one day we will hear, <i>Well done, my good and faithful servant!</i></span>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-38897308373517612702013-03-18T21:03:00.004-04:002013-03-18T21:03:40.834-04:00Viva Il Papa!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We have a Pope!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Habemus Papam!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> I don’t know about you, but these words fill my heart with joy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this pope in particular—WOW!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks be to God!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am already deeply in love with this dear Papa of ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so are a lot of people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> What makes this man so special?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is it about him that fills me with glee and hope and excitement for the future of the Church?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, I have loved our previous popes, and knew them to be our Vicars of Christ on earth, but this dear man seems different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it just me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or does this man, in his uncommon humility and service, exemplify the Jesus we know in the gospels?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our hearts respond to him, because he is already bringing Jesus to us in his powerful example, with barely a word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it is not that other popes have not also done this, but there is just something different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you feel it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> I was soooo happy that Pope Francis was not one of the ‘Vegas picks,’ so to speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watching TV—even EWTN—made the conclave seem like the ‘sausage making’ they talked about last year in Congress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hated to watch it, and often turned down the sound, waiting for the smoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pundits, and even some of the priests, made the conclave seem like politics and factions and decisions based on the notions of men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Barely a scintilla of what I heard actually mentioned the Holy Spirit being responsible for the choice and directing the hearts of the cardinals to pick the man that heaven itself had in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing a cardinal (who was unknown to most of the world), walk out on to the balcony, made me feel that this decision came from the hearts of men in tune with the Holy Spirit, and not voting with their own agendas in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">THEN</i>, when he made that deep bow, asking the blessing of God by the prayers of the people, and all fell silent, I could not help but pray and cry in thanksgiving for this humble, beautiful Shepherd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My friends, we are BLESSED.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Once Pope Francis left the balcony, I watched ABC news and EWTN simultaneously, waiting to learn more about our new Holy Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But having my weekly prayer group meeting that night with 3 of my dearest friends, I decided that I would bake a cake to celebrate the occasion instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I could not help but sing and pray, I ran around the house doing just that, while assembling the ingredients, and decorating the cake with, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Habemus Papam!</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thrilled when my friends showed up, and everyone had the same idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our simple weekly prayer group turned into a spontaneous celebration, with lasagna, pear gorgonzola salad, crusty bread, éclairs, chocolate covered strawberries, wine, champagne and Pope cake!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All this for the love of just 4 ‘Jesus, Mary and Pope-lovin’ girls!’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love bein’Catholic! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Something is changing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Spirit is moving dramatically in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several of us felt a strong urge to pray for the conclave during the hour before the white smoke appeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no doubt that there were many around the world who heard this same call.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not the average passing thought of, “I should pray for’ this or that, but a strong urge to pray deeply, right then and there, for the conclave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is interesting to note, that there were cardinals who said before the conclave, that these are ‘dangerous times.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if I have learned anything in my life, especially by studying and praying the Gospels, the best attribute to have during dangerous times is not brute strength, but quite the opposite---authentic humility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus had it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary had it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mother Teresa had it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And their lives in Christ changed the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> Pope Francis is the chosen Shepherd for this time in history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is alter Christus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no doubt that his life in Jesus, through Mary, will bring great grace and blessing to the Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us make it our commitment to pray more than ever for this dear pope of ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Viva il Papa!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/">www.SentByTheSpirit.com</a> </div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-87780029309493722272013-02-03T18:01:00.003-05:002013-02-03T18:01:26.793-05:00Are YOU Ready?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Anything worth doing, is worth doing well</span></i><span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">, or so the saying goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Therefore, if we are going to try to make something of our Lenten observance, we should consider now, what will bring us closer to our Beloved Savior, and not leave to chance, what a well thought-out plan can do to help us make the best of this most beautiful, penitential time of the Church.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">If we are going to commit ourselves to getting the most out of Lent, then we must first recall what is the purpose of this period of Lent, and how might we fulfill this purpose in a way that is unique to the needs of our individual souls, as well as to the world at large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scripturally speaking, prayer, fasting and almsgiving are an ideal means for obtaining closer union with our Creator, and they make a great place to start in our consideration of how we might rejuvenate our prayer life, enlivening or strengthening our faith and the practice thereof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Let’s begin with prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How can we pray more?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it merely a matter of time for you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Has setting aside daily time solely for God been lacking in your life lately?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider scheduling God into your life, by getting up earlier, staying up later or giving up something that takes time away from Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you endeavor to keep this daily appointment with God, you may well find that this habit of conversing with Him becomes one you will never give up, even long after Lent is over.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">How can we enrich our souls by praying differently?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you someone who has set prayers to recite?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe your prayer is more about you talking at God and never letting Him get a word in edgewise? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would some time in silence benefit your relationship with the Lord, giving Him the chance to minister to your soul and bring you peace?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spending time in silence in front of the Blessed Sacrament is always a good idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or maybe you are someone who would benefit from praying some of the Liturgy of the Hours or adding more of the ‘hours’ to your prayer life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Office of Readings is a great way to read scripture every day, and to also read a page or two from the writings of the Fathers of our Church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t have the books to do this, you can find the prayers online <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/Prayers.html" target="_blank">here</a></i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe you are so busy, that the best you can do some days is to make your work a prayer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Endeavor to live every moment of your life in the presence of God, by keeping Him on your mind as you work and offering your work and daily chores to Him for all of His (and your) intentions.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">What about spiritual practices like going to confession and attending daily Mass?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Receiving the Eucharist is food for the soul, and what better time to feed your hungry soul with a little more ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">soul food</i>,’than in the days leading up to the commemoration of the ultimate sacrifice of our beloved Jesus, when he literally gave His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity for our salvation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And speaking of the ultimate sacrifice, how about attending the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stations of the Cross</i> at your parish?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe find a companion book or booklet on the stations, and spend time meditating on the Way of the Cross and what each step means to your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are looking for some inspiration for your meditations, you can find Blessed Anna Catherine Emmerich’s ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ</i>,’free online <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/Writings_of_the_Saints.html" target="_blank">here</a></i></b>. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Fasting is another great tool for tuning up your prayer life and growing closer to the Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Church asks us to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but you might be surprised to see what happens in your spiritual life, when you add another day, here and there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Giving up the daily comfort of so much food, actually draws your heart and mind to thoughts of God, and He always blesses this small sacrifice in ways far beyond what we give.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Fasting could also be fasting for the duration of Lent on just one thing that you really like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many people fast from eating sweets or drinking coffee, things like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you could also fast from doing something you like, for instance, giving up TV or computer games or Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ever time you think of doing the thing you’ve given up or you miss doing it, your mind is immediately directed to Jesus, the reason for your sacrifice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may seem small, but every glance toward heaven is a step closer to the ultimate Lover of our souls.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Fasting also gives us extra time for something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we give up something that takes too much of our time and is not good for moving us closer to God, we can replace that thing with something that brings us greater understanding, such as reading scripture and spiritual books, listening to uplifting podcasts or CDs on faith issues, spending time in adoration or whatever helps you, as a unique child of God, to bring you in to closer union with Father, Son and holy Spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Finally, we consider almsgiving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people consider almsgiving as a matter of giving freely to support the poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there is more to it than that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps you can consider the works of mercy and give to the poor in other ways you have never thought of trying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those in prison or in hospital are just a few of the things you can do to bring Jesus to the most vulnerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Giving money is one thing, but giving of yourself is entirely different, and we should be doing it every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe someone in your own family is living in a poverty of spirit that could really benefit from your presence, easing their lonliness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe you have an idea for reaching out to people in your local nursing home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe this Lent will be the time when we offer ourselves to the One who offered Himself, by giving of ourselves in greater and more meaningful ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="48025038">When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?</a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="48025039">When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’</a> <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’</span></i><span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>MATTHEW 25:37-40<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Let’s make this the best Lent of our lives and be truly ready to welcome our Risen Lord when Easter comes and we can at last proclaim, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He is risen!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is risen indeed.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/">www.SentByTheSpirit.com</a> Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-50314064254318284622013-01-15T18:48:00.002-05:002013-01-15T18:48:57.141-05:00Angels Among Us<div>
<span style="color: #070777; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Umbrage; font-size: 24px;"><img align="right" alt="" height="292" src="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/images/596188_ztd9otlvjt3cvobgzray7hakpcvobl.medium_rut9.png" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px;" width="271" /></span> I have a great love for my guardian angel. Too many people forget they even have a guardian angel after they leave their childhood behind. But from the day of our conception, God has given us this great gift. This is the story of my most recent and wonderful encounter with my dear angel.<br /><br /> On the day after Christmas, we had a huge snowstorm here in NE Pennsylvania. I could not avoid driving, as my father slipped on ice when the storm began, and broke his leg, needing some help and a ride home from the hospital.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #070777; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> The ride to his home, 5 miles away from the hospital, was treacherous. I was driving his car, with him in the passenger seat, and the roads literally had not been plowed. It was dark, and all I could do was follow the tracks ahead of me. It was a long, slow, white-knuckle ride, with 6+ inches of snow on the road. All I could do was follow the tracks of the last vehicle to travel this way. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #070777; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> By the time we arrived and got him settled into his house so I could go back home, there were another 2 inches on the car. I again cleaned the snow off, and as I backed out of the driveway, I said a prayer and asked my guardian angel to keep the car on the road. I had not gone far, when from out of nowhere, I noticed a vehicle in front of me, just far enough away that I could not identify it. This was odd, because I saw no vehicles pass me when I backed out on to the road. It had seemed completely deserted.<br /><br /> The snow was perfectly even on my side of the road, but it did not seem like snow, as it was seemingly pristine and smooth to the ground, with the 8+ inches on the other side of the road still very visible with deep tire tracks. It was snowing like crazy, so this did not make sense. At first, I thought this vehicle must have been a plow, since I was the first one on this perfectly white road, but the path was much wider than a plow. And the vehicle did not look like a plow, with yellow flashing lights on the top and brake lights on the back. All it had was two spotlights on the back, (no brake lights or flashers), one higher and the other lower, guiding me home. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #070777; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> Finally, it dawned on me---How is it that I was driving on this white road with a vehicle in front of me that left no tracks? A plow usually leaves a mess behind it, better than the snow in front of it, yes, but a mess, nonetheless. It was if I was the only one on the road! And what kind of a vehicle has no brake lights? I have never seen a plow with no yellow flashing lights.....So when I got close to my house, I tried to get a better look, thinking I would see better in town with the street lights illuminating the path. When we rounded a bend in the road, coming close to the part of town with lights, I lost sight of the vehicle for about 2 seconds. When I got back on the straightaway, the vehicle was gone--It had completely vanished! I looked right and left and checked all of the parking lots it could have pulled into. But I only lost sight of it for 2 seconds! It could not have travelled fast enough to lose me in that storm.....it simply disappeared when I no longer needed it. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #070777; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"> Thanks be to God and my Guardian Angel!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #070777; font-family: Georgia;"><a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/">www.SentByTheSpirit.com</a> </span></div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-65464534308328578552012-12-30T20:08:00.001-05:002012-12-30T20:08:53.959-05:00Time For A Resolution!<br /><img align="left" alt="" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/6fa6b6c31bcd7c8230991cfd7c49a701_nomp.png" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/6fa6b6c31bcd7c8230991cfd7c49a701_nomp.png" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 0px;" uid="9c86cd58-f50d-478e-97d4-8c1588963916" wstxclass="Image" /><br /><br /><span style="color: #007f00; font-family: SouciSans; font-size: 22px;"><strong><span style="font-family: Veggieburger;"> Are you looking for a <u>Meaningful Resolution </u>to start the new year?<br /><br /><span style="color: #0000bf;">Are you tired of the same old resolutions to lose weight and exercise more?<br /></span><br /><span style="color: #7f007f;"><span style="color: #bf00bf;">Well look no further! Here are some ideas to help you </span></span></span><span style="color: #0000bf; font-family: Veggieburger; font-size: 28px;"><span style="font-size: 28px;"><span style="font-size: 28px;"><em><u>exercise</u></em> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Veggieburger;"><span style="color: #7f007f;"><span style="color: #bf00bf;">your faith by resolving to <span style="color: blue; font-size: 28px;"><em><u>walk</u></em> </span>with God!</span></span></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #7f0000;"><span style="color: #0000bf;"><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Resolve to spend time in silence with Jesus, every day.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Turn off the TV and spend less time on the cell phone/computer/Internet. You can’t listen to God if you are too busy listening to other things! Don’t be afraid of the quiet.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Get to know Blessed Mother better. Make a <b><i></i><i><a href="http://www.myconsecration.org/" target="_blank">33-Day Preparation for Consecration</a></i></b> with her, relate to her every day in some kind of profound way, read books about her, contemplate her words in the Gospels.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Pray the <a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/Rosary.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Rosary</i></b> </a>often and meditate on the mysteries of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Thank God the Father, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, each day, for all that you can think of that each has done for you or those you love. Develop an attitude of </span></span></span><span style="color: #0000bf;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">gratitude.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Resolve to accept little hurts, insults and misunderstandings without an argument or answer back to the one who has hurt you. Instead, resolve to love that person all the more, and offer your acceptance of these little crosses to Mary to give to her Son and to help you become humble, like her.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Resolve to forgive every day, and ask Jesus to forgive those same people who have hurt you.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Fast on something every day and offer it for the conversion of sinners everywhere. You can fast on a specific treat you like, or an activity you like, for example, turning off the TV for the day, skipping a meal, turning off the computer games, etc.</span></span><span style="color: #0000bf;"><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Pray <strong><em><a href="http://gertrude.99k.org/" target="_blank">St Gertrude’s prayer</a> </em></strong>and/or the <i><b><a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/Rosary.html" target="_blank">Chaplet of Divine Mercy</a> </b></i>or make some other offering for the Holy Souls in purgatory.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Try to go to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for some time every week.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Try to help someone every day.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Add some or all of the<b> </b><a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/Prayers.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Liturgy of the Hours</i></b> </a>to your prayer life. Resolve to pray daily morning prayer, or vespers or the office of readings, etc.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Try to pray all throughout the day, by keeping Jesus involved in every aspect of your day.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">P</span><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 16px;">ray</span> simple prayers all throughout the day, every time you think about it. You can pray a <em>Hail Mary</em>, a <em>Glory Be</em> or a short prayer like, </span><i><strong><span style="font-size: 16px;">“Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.”</span></strong></i><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Make an <a href="http://www.rcdom.org.uk/documents/EXAMEN.pdf" target="_blank"><em><strong>examination of conscience</strong></em> </a>each night before bed, and try resolve, with the help of God’s grace, to do better the next day.</span><br /><br /><img alt="" height="74" mainsrc="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" src="http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/7/2/6/2726497/images/1f25c5b3650cec48869ad4d700d5582d.jpg" style="height: 50px; width: 35px;" uid="01ed64ad-95c9-4695-ab14-8a08bfc893e9" width="104" wstxclass="Image" /><span style="font-size: 16px;">Resolve to be Jesus in this world, to everyone you meet. Pray that people will not see you, but will see JESUS in you</span>.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/">www.SentByTheSpirit.com</a></div>
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Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-81330632630255708972012-12-07T23:43:00.000-05:002012-12-07T23:43:13.874-05:00Mary: The Surest and Shortest Way To Jesus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFJKlfo0pjpvWePNLmTYnhI3mn9I70xusaFVg4u7-i4jJTOehPIDpIwqR10cKCaR7Dd-8grIE54Vytb6sTPGMr-ohUYkWba4dq3lBr4utbKcXxtCLA0pXzpy5_SDjYATFuROIh5Zju4iY/s1600/Immaculate+Conception+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFJKlfo0pjpvWePNLmTYnhI3mn9I70xusaFVg4u7-i4jJTOehPIDpIwqR10cKCaR7Dd-8grIE54Vytb6sTPGMr-ohUYkWba4dq3lBr4utbKcXxtCLA0pXzpy5_SDjYATFuROIh5Zju4iY/s1600/Immaculate+Conception+2.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Seven or eight
years ago, I made it my New Year’s resolution to stop trying to lose
weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided that dieting was a
ridiculous resolution, and I never kept it, so why not make this year more
meaningful, spiritually speaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So instead,
I resolved to get to know Blessed Mother better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It remains one of the best decisions I ever
made in my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When I embarked
on this journey of building a relationship with Blessed Mother, I admit I had
the all-too-common view of our dear Mother, seeing her as many do, just another
person in the bible, and wondering why we ‘worshipped’ her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had listened to too many Protestant friends
over the years, telling me that we did, and I thought, well, maybe they were
right and knew something that I did not know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>P.S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-- WE DO NOT WORSHIP
MARY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">We love Mary and we honor her because God
chose her as someone special.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He chose
her to bear His Son, and Jesus, our Savior and King of the Universe, permitted
Himself to be a virtual prisoner of her womb for 9 months before entering the
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He chose her to be the one person
whom He would completely depend on for warmth, food, drink, clothing,
education, shelter and human love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
gave Himself to Mary, and if we are to imitate Him, then we must do the same,
giving ourselves to this humble, pure Mother of God and Mother of us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">That being said, I glibly said to Blessed
Mother, while driving to court one day in early January, something like
this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I have no idea who you are or why
you are important, but I am loving this Catholic Church of ours, and since she
says you are important and we should love you, I have to try to understand
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please help me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, help me she did!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">A few weeks later, I resolved to try a
33-Day Preparation for Consecration via St. Louis de Monfort that I had read
about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(You can get free copies of it
online – <a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/Additional_Resources.html" target="_blank">click <strong><em>HERE</em></strong> for more details</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I only did it because I trusted the Church
enough to know, that if there were popes saying this was the surest way to
Jesus, then I had to at least open my mind to trying it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">The first time I did it, I only lasted a
week or so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not understand what I
was reading, and some of what I was reading could not yet break through to my
cold, stony heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as an
intellectual, I made the decision to try again a few months later, this time
making it a little further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
finally, on my 3<sup>rd</sup> try, I made it from beginning to end, with my
consecration date being the Assumption of Mary, August 15<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yippee!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">As I was doing it in those early days of my
relationship with Blessed Mother, much of it was an exercise in faith, trusting
but not understanding, permitting the graces to flow, but not believing whole
heartedly that they would.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course
that did not stop her from showering grace upon grace on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not know it then, (although I trusted
something would come of it), but those first feeble steps toward her took me
many miles closer to her Son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s
just the way she is, always bringing us to her Son, always pointing us in the
right direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since then, I have made
the consecration prep an annual gift to myself, and even added some other days here
and there for extra graces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am in the
middle of another 33-day prep for consecration that will end on January 1<sup>st</sup>,
the feast of Mary, Mother of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can
hardly wait!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">Fast forward to the beginning of this
year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After giving myself to Mary over
and over again in the years which followed, I found myself ready to give myself
entirely to her Son by entering a Dominican monastery to become a nun on April
29<sup>th</sup> .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so sure, after a
few years of discernment, that this was where I was called to be, that is until
everything fell apart on March 19<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">As God would have it, I had begun another
33-day consecration to end on March 25<sup>th</sup>, the feast of the
Annunciation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was longing to enjoy
that day as another consecration, just 4 weeks prior to entering the monastery
and making my own <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fiat</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But alas, my entrance into the religious life
was not meant to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">I did make my consecration on March 25<sup>th</sup>,
and feeling absolutely rejected by God, just days before, I was like a child in
the arms of Mary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave her everything,
because I could not bear to face Him after such rejection and the confusion and
sorrow which followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wrote my own
consecration prayer, and even my own ‘psalm’ of longing and mourning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, I know He did not reject me, but it sure
felt like He did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I was not ready to
come to grips with that, as I wondered what I would do, having given up so
much, my business included, to give everything to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not know it then, but I was being
emptied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was being purified.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">In the months that followed, I prayed the
Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) and meditated on the mysteries of the
Rosary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I prayed the Psalms and
prayers of the office, I felt that if my mouth could say the words, then my
soul would eventually catch up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since I
felt I had nothing left to give God, I gave Blessed Mother every suffering,
crying to her to mend this tear in the fabric of my soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that is exactly what she did as I
meditated with her on the mysteries of her Son, through the Holy Rosary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t let anyone tell you this is just
repetitive prayer—THIS IS A GIFT FROM GOD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And this gift brought me to peace and understanding and complete
healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">Through suffering and the help and
intercession of Blessed Mother, I was not only made whole again, but she
brought me closer to her Son, taught me to trust and surrender, and she made me
to know on a much, much deeper level, that God’s way is perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His plan is perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have learned that I need not worry about
tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Mother will not let me
stray from the path too far, before pulling me back and scooting me closer to
the Throne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loves me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she loves you, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give her everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She will magnify it and give it to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the end of your earthly life, come to
heaven with empty hands because you have given it everything to Mary, and she
will give you all of her merits and all of the love in her heart in return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a great deal, really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Show up to heaven with my meager
offerings?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or show up to heaven with all
that Mary gave?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me, it’s a no-brainer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;">Totus Tuus</span></i><span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;"> – Bl. John Paul II</span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16pt;"><a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/">www.SentByTheSpirit.com</a> </span></div>
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Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-16172157589363102822012-11-20T08:36:00.001-05:002012-11-20T15:20:06.256-05:00An Open Letter: To Everyone I Know Who Does Not Yet Know Jesus<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbK4QD_USkMI98S9WwsYTapSGD_ul2jW4zikmjWZodeNDgywsWNw8yiLa57ga9nIkKQpvwT4lKwt3buvRRohglFmI7w8LeZjEk_sy3Hr7QRDml33-cOmQVsNVW185TCM73X7evkJxXVuc/s1600/Jesus+knocking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbK4QD_USkMI98S9WwsYTapSGD_ul2jW4zikmjWZodeNDgywsWNw8yiLa57ga9nIkKQpvwT4lKwt3buvRRohglFmI7w8LeZjEk_sy3Hr7QRDml33-cOmQVsNVW185TCM73X7evkJxXVuc/s1600/Jesus+knocking.jpg" /></a></div>
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<st1:date day="20" month="11" year="2012"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: navy;"></span></i></st1:date> </div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>First of all, let me say, I love you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love you all from the bottom of my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can not even begin to express what great love I have for you, because in my life, I have learned not just to love by my own will, but through you, I have learned to love you through the eyes of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And let me tell you something---As much as I love you, He loves you waaaaaayyyyy more than either of us has the capacity to imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so this leads me to the reason for this letter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Over the past few years, you know what it has meant to me to give my life to God to become a nun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That has not happened, and I accept that as God’s will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But let me tell you, He has used everyone of you and every bit of this journey to bring me closer to Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I still want to give everything I am and everything I have for Him, which is why I want to give Him you, in whatever way I can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to bring you to Him in whatever way you and He will permit me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Truth be told, YOU have brought me to Him many, MANY times, when you probably are not even aware of how many times your love, your prayers, your kindness and goodness shown to me have brought me, along with you, right to the center of His Sacred Heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is why I want to tell you a few things, common sense things that you probably already know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But sometimes it is good for us to hear them over and over again, at different ages and stages in our lives, as we perceive them differently after experiencing life and walking this journey toward heaven.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first thing I want to remind you, is that Jesus is a known man in history, both written history and oral from the time He walked the earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not just made up out of thin air in the past few centuries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I believe by faith that He is both fully human and fully divine, let us not forget the fact that some things require absolutely no faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Jesus was and remains a human being recorded in the written history of the world.</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His life and death were recorded as fact, regardless of whether someone wants to believe that He was resurrected or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The second thing that is important to remember, is that the first followers of Jesus were so convinced of the reality of His life, death <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and </i>resurrection, that literally <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">thousands </i>died in His name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This continues to this day, even though almost 2,000 years have past since He was crucified, died, buried and rose again in three days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But let’s not jump ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let us ask the question first, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>would thousands of people willingly give up their lives in the days and weeks and months and years that followed Jesus’ death if he was just any old ‘good person’ or ‘good teacher?’</u></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Who do <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you </i></b>say He is?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know you believe in God, but <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>who do you believe Jesus to be?</u></i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A good teacher</i></b>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A good man</i></b>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A prophet</i></b>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, think about it for a minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your answer to the question of ‘who is Jesus’ is that you believe He is a good man who existed in history, then <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">you</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">simply must believe that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior and Lover of your soul.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why</i> must you believe this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>if He is not all that, then He is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">LIAR</i></u></b>.<u><o:p></o:p></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you understand what I am saying?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>You can not be a good man, a good prophet, nor a good teacher, if you spend your entire adult life actively deceiving the Masses into believing you are the Messiah.</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So He must be one of two things:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><em><strong><u>Either He is who He said He is, or He is a liar</u></strong></em>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you put it like that, there can be only one answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>He can not be a good teacher, a good prophet, or a good person unless He is also the promised Savior that He presents Himself to be</u></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good teacher, a good prophet and a good person could not be considered good if they spent their lives trying to make people believe they were somebody they weren’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At best, such a person would be considered mentally ill, and at worst, a liar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So if you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, then <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>what must you do with that belief</u></b>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>You must follow Him and do what He says</u>.</i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scripture is filled with His instructions for a good life lived in love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you know where to follow Him and what to do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love God with all your heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love your neighbor as yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Love your enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">LOVE</i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There are many ways to get to know Him and develop a new, deeper relationship with Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I could suggest something, begin by getting back to Mass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Learn what is (really) happening in the Mass, and you will never be bored again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of heaven is there!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Listen to the readings (there are more scriptures read in the Mass than any other church I know), listen to the homily and don’t let it stop there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart and tell you what to think, what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>God loves you more than anyone on the planet loves you</u></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you begin by offering just a few minutes of every day to Him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He won’t intrude---Are you listening?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>He WON’T intrude.</u></i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>If you ignore Him, He will let you</u>.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He waits to give you everything, but He will not force it on you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If you give Him your heart, even a few moments of silence directed toward him every day, your life will change forever and you will honor him by your act of love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">If you don’t have enough desire to do this, then <u>ASK HIM FOR THE DESIRE</u> </i></b>to spend time with Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ask HIM to increase your love for Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask HIM to wake up your soul to a new understanding of Him</i></b> so that you long for Him and for Mass and for more, More, MORE!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Start today….just open the door to Him, invite Him in and take a step out in faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even baby steps overwhelm and move the heart of a Father who sees His beloved child stumble and walk toward Him for the first time in a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have a Daddy Who loves you more than any other you have ever known.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">run</i> to your arms, if only you will let Him in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Our life on this planet is just a blip on the radar screen of eternity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are mere visitors on this planet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is our chance to get to know God and love God so that we can have eternity with Him in heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The evil one (satan) has deceived people into believing the devil does not exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The evil one has deceived people into believing there is no hell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>if you believe in Jesus, then you must believe what He said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a hell, and the path to it is wide and there are many who enter it</u></i></b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the path to heaven is narrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it is your time to end your life on this earth, believe it or not, your own soul will not choose heaven if it has not given it’s life to God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will not be comfortable to be in His Presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is OUR CHOICE to live the way we live each day, whether good, bad or indifferent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t let indifference to God now lead you to fear His Presence in the life to come.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">God is pure love and mercy and no one who reaches out to Him will be turned away if they die in His friendship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You never know when your last day will be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could breathe your last breath after reading this letter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only God knows the days you have left, and He longs for you to find your way to Him before it is too late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come back to Him, with all your heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not enough to say you are saved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every step you make is either a journey toward Him or a journey away from Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no standing still in the spiritual life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are standing still, then you are moving away from Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You must move forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can not save yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Accept this and make a decision for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He longs to be a part of your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He longs to be a part of your family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He longs to help you make decisions and inspire you to every good thing He has planned for your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">let Him in, more and more each day.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Have you ever seen the picture of Jesus knocking on the door?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no doorknob on His side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If He is to come in, it will only be because you answered the call and invited Him in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come to Mass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Receive him in the Eucharist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give Him your days, hours and minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give him your love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Give Him your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: navy; font-size: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Will you answer the door?</span></i></div>
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<br />Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-13152622458179399602012-11-10T10:23:00.002-05:002012-11-10T10:23:53.207-05:00Consoling Our Beloved<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjI4uf8cH7SpZDkKmS0RX1Z_MLd0BYCurdeefWF8MlRdHRtIirvVr8M1-MpkJpB5naPMvsi3YEJaP16vcS3-2w3wXRh4YH6EvcmHOhDN58KK20vhRLhRNDOzbj_dav1Z5hfZ0LpAhOWxOI/s1600/Jesus+in+the+Garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjI4uf8cH7SpZDkKmS0RX1Z_MLd0BYCurdeefWF8MlRdHRtIirvVr8M1-MpkJpB5naPMvsi3YEJaP16vcS3-2w3wXRh4YH6EvcmHOhDN58KK20vhRLhRNDOzbj_dav1Z5hfZ0LpAhOWxOI/s1600/Jesus+in+the+Garden.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I would like to
share with you, an idea for meditation on the Sorrowful mysteries of our Lord,
Jesus Christ.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I try to pray the
rosary every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, the prayers
are like a mantra, supporting and intensifying the mysteries that are brought
to mind, bringing peace, inspiration and answers, praise, thanksgiving and
petitions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes, I have to admit,
that it has been hard for me to pray the Sorrowful mysteries, as there have
been times in my life when I have chosen other mysteries that I felt more
fitting to my situation, for example, praying the Joyful mysteries when I am
struggling, looking for inspiration on how to say <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">yes</i> to the Lord and to surrender and accept everything He permits
to happen in my life the way Mary did at the Annunciation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those were times when I was just too sad to
add insult to injury by adding the Lord’s Passion to my plate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I was wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is in the Lord’s Passion where we find
comfort and understanding and all things good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And so now I try dutifully to pray His Passion, at least on Tuesdays and
Fridays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">About a month ago,
I was preparing to pray on a Friday, and I drifted into my old thinking for a
minute, wondering if I was up to the intensity of pondering the agony, the
scourging, the thorns and the Cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
then I thought, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">if our Beloved can endure
it, I can at least think about it for a few minutes</i>, pondering the mystery
of it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I did not want to simply
think about it, pondering what it meant for me in my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was feeling selfish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the thought came to me of how there is
no time in eternity, that all of time as we know it, is always present before
the Father, whether past, present or future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The nativity, the crucifixion, the resurrection and the future are
always a part of the mind of our all knowing God and Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It made me imagine that I could console Jesus
on every step of His Passion today, even in in 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could meditate on what I would say to Him
if I was there with Him, what I would do and how I would feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe that this type of meditation truly
does console the heart of Jesus, whether in retrospect as a meditation giving
Him glory, or even in real time as He suffered, since He knew all of us when He
gave His life for us, and knew how we would receive Him in our lives, in our
time on Earth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">You may try this
and find yourself standing away from Christ, looking at Him and praying your
words of thanksgiving or sorrow or repentance to Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or you may do whatever comes naturally to your
own personality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But for me, I imagined
what I would say to Him if I saw Him suffering in the Garden, and I said these
words in my heart and in my soul as the Hail Mary’s were spoken by my lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I caressed His holy and tortured face, I ran
my fingers through His hair and I told Him I was sorry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told Him I wished he did not have to do
this for me, and that I would do anything for Him, whatever He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When I saw Him
about to be scourged, all I could say is, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’m
so sorry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forgive me</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I begged Him to hold my glance so that I
could offer words of Love as He Himself was tortured by hatred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tried to endure the emotion of seeing such
a horrific offense being perpetrated against the One Who is my Beloved, so that
I could stay with Him for every painful stripe He received.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">After He was
crowned with thorns and taunted as some counterfeit king, I could only fall to
my knees and kiss His feet and hands, reminding Him, that to me and many
generations to follow, He is true King, the King of our hearts and the King of
the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know the Truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Long live Christ the King!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When I later saw
Him, the heavy cross dropped onto His back, I could only mouth the words, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I LOVE YOU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am here.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When He fell, I
could see the wounds on His shoulder and His knees, as the weight of the cross
pushed Him heavy into the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
looked Him in the eye and kissed the wound on His shoulder, saying, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You are loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish this didn’t have to happen</i>,
staying with Him for His journey to </span><st1:place><span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Golgotha</span></st1:place><span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Finally, when He was
nailed to the Cross, I met His eyes with tears in my own, and I stood with
Mary, John and Magdalene, comforting the human Jesus the best that I could, with
my presence and my understanding of Who He IS, all the while knowing that this
fully Divine Son of the Living God already knew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #28287a; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What does a
meditation like this do for God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
believe it did comfort Him in the Garden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What does a meditation like this do for us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It brings us even closer in union to the
Lover of our Souls, as we express our deepest feelings for Him, aided by our
blessed Mother of the Holy Rosary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-48845514935402907172012-09-01T12:31:00.002-04:002012-09-01T12:31:56.944-04:00Beauty Ever Ancient, Ever New<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQ-suFnhr35xqSKcDTc0SETUXmEXis0vc-oX8pHLdZ12JbA51Ii1vh3s_lwz_Bbud8ddraGPSz1jgAsqeHA6Xw5U4F96BV99OZYCfvClXqywZtVHB6u2nyMlo_VQ2BdMY3nLFqhAGAtM/s1600/St+Augustine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQ-suFnhr35xqSKcDTc0SETUXmEXis0vc-oX8pHLdZ12JbA51Ii1vh3s_lwz_Bbud8ddraGPSz1jgAsqeHA6Xw5U4F96BV99OZYCfvClXqywZtVHB6u2nyMlo_VQ2BdMY3nLFqhAGAtM/s200/St+Augustine.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;"></span></i></span> </div><div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace</span></i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">. ~ </span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">St. Augustine</span></span> </div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Does it get any better than this?<span> </span>I believe these words of St. Augustine resonate with many of us, as so many of us have had a spirit-filled conversion or <i>re-version</i> to the faith after a time of being spiritually lukewarm or outright cold and distant from God.<span> </span>When we return to Him, we are blessed to bask in the knowledge that we have been given the immense gift of His great love and mercy for us.<span> </span>And even though we had the gift all along, we are inspired to see how our Beloved waited patiently for us to finally come to Him, ready to open it.<span> </span></span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></i></span></div><div style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace</span></i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">.<span> </span></span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Such passion!<span> </span>This is authentic closeness—not sentimental, superficial or manufactured, but <i>deep,</i> <i>profound</i> <i>closeness</i> to Father, Son, Holy Spirit and all of heaven.<span> </span>It is pure gift, and it is available to everyone with a heart for God.<span> </span>But this closeness is often like a dance with the Divine Lover of our Souls.<span> </span>Sometimes He permits us to <i>feel</i> very close to Him and our passions rise as we long to do everything we can for Him, bringing souls to Him, loving as He loves, giving as He gives.<span> </span>Yet other times, He is closer than ever, while He does not permit us to <i>feel</i> His presence.<span> </span>He gives us a <i>desert experience</i>.<span> </span>And it is in these experiences where the rubber meets the road, where our faith muscles are stretched and aching.<span> </span>It is these times where we must be vigilant, remembering that His strength is made perfect in our weakness.<span> </span>And when we grow in holiness over the seasons of our lives, God willing, we will grow to love these desert experiences, embracing them, and dare I say, loving them and thanking our Beloved for them.<span> </span>We will thank Him, because we will know that His will is perfect, and his plan is far greater than any plan we could manage to create for ourselves.<span> </span>And someday, we will see how our surrender, cooperation, faithfulness and love brought us to where He was calling us to be—smack dab in the center of His Heart.</span></span></div><div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Once we have received a taste of the goodness of the Lord, our souls hunger and thirst for more.<span> </span>We want always to live on the mountain with the Lord and bask in His love.<span> </span>But there are great spiritual benefits to the periods of desolation we experience.<span> </span>If we put ourselves on a steady diet of self-pity or distraction during them, we will make only baby steps or even backward steps on the spiritual journey.<span> </span>But if we thank Him, trusting and surrendering, He will help us to empty ourselves of all of the things that get in between us and a face-to-face relationship with the One Who loves us.</span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you.</span></i></span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #150c6f;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">How often can we refer to these words again and again, seeing that we have separated ourselves from God by not embracing His plan for us.<span> </span>How often will we be on the outside, plunging into the things He has created, all the while ignoring the Creator?<span> </span>This is the story of our lives.<span> </span>Conversion is a continuing experience, not just a one time affair.<span> </span>We will not arrive at the summit of perfection in holiness during this lifetime, but that does not stop us from trying.<span> </span></span></span></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-83359061036440821592012-07-23T13:07:00.000-04:002012-07-23T13:07:02.612-04:00Who is Evangelizing YOU?<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 20px;"><span style="color: #6c09ab; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">It has been said, that if you are not evangelizing the culture, </span></span><span style="font-size: 20px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 20px;"><span style="color: #6c09ab; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 20px;">then you are letting the culture evangelize <i>YOU!</i></span></span><br />
</div><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;"><br />
Pope Paul VI, in his apostolic exhortation known as <a href="wstxpagelink:5b63f97f-20a4-426d-9483-196977e1793d" target="_blank"><i>Evangelii Nuntiandi</i></a><i>,</i> (‘to proclaim the gospel’), said that it was his duty as the successor of Peter, to confirm the brethren.<span> </span>He wished in this exhortation, to encourage us in our “mission as evangelizers, in order that, in this time of uncertainty and confusion, they may accomplish the task with ever increasing love, zeal and joy.”<span> </span>(December 8, 1975)</span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;"> Scripture gives us a succinct description of the manner of evangelizing:</span></div><br />
<div style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #d41919; font-size: 14px;"><em>Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.</em> (1 Peter 3:15-16)</span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;"> What is scripture telling us here?<span> </span>This passage is telling us five basic things with regard to evangelization.</span></div><br />
<ol start="1" style="list-style-type: decimal;"><li><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">Be prepared to speak when called upon. <i>Always be prepared to give an answer</i>.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">Know what you are talking about.<span> </span><i>Give the reason for the hope that you have</i>.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">Be gentle and respectful.<span> </span><i>Do this with gentleness and respect</i>.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">Keep a clear conscience (reconciled to God).<span> </span><i>Keep(ing) a clear a conscience</i>.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">When people reject you for the Truth you have made known to them, do not retort in anger and injustice, but remain in love so there can be no fault with you.<span> </span><i>Those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their behavior</i>.</span></li>
</ol><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">The kingdom of God and salvation are available to every human being as a gift of grace and mercy.<span> </span>For the Church, it is a question not only of preaching the Gospel from the pulpit, but also of </span><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">“<i>affecting, through the power of the Gospel, mankind’s criteria of judgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration, and models of life which are in stark contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation.</i>” (Evangelii Nuntiando No. 19)</span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">The Church itself is an evangelizer.<span> </span>We, as the baptized Christian people who make up the Catholic Church, are called to this work of evangelization of the whole world—<i>All of us</i>.<span> </span>In order to do so, we must begin by being evangelized ourselves.</span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">Never let a question that comes to your mind go unanswered, especially if you are leaning away from what you know the Church teaches.<span> </span>Pray for an answer, read to find an answer, ask a good priest to find an answer.<span> </span>But never let your mind wander to what you <i>think</i> it might be, and never let someone who is not well-formed in their own conscience and understanding of the faith, scripture and Church teaching, give you the answer, without confirming that answer through orthodox sources.<span> </span>You might be surprised at how much sense the Church makes, when you read and understand the true theology behind hot topic questions like abortion and gay marriage, instead of allowing yourself to be formed by the culture.<span> </span>Give the Church a chance to explain.<span> </span><span style="color: #d41919;"><i>“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”</i><span> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">JOHN 8:31-32<span> </span></span></span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">There are many resources on the web, and many have wide and varied views of the Truth.<span> </span>But by definition, there can be only ONE TRUTH.<span> </span>Two versions of the same truth, if they do not line up perfectly, mean either one is right and one is wrong, or both are wrong.<span> </span>They can not both be right.<span> </span>We will attempt on this website, to only publish resources and articles which are based on sound Catholic doctrine and authority.<span> </span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">Read your bible.<span> </span>And make sure it is a good Catholic Bible and not missing any books.<span> </span>The <i>Ignatius Catholic Bible</i> (RSV – Revised Standard Version) and the <i>Navarre Bible</i> are widely seen as some of the best translations.<span> </span>Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church—WOW—Another incredibly beautiful document that might surprise you.<span> </span>And read spiritual classics like <i>The Diary of St. Faustina</i>, or St. Therese’ <i>The Story of A Soul</i>, and St. Francis of De Sales’ <i>Introduction to the Devout Life, </i>or <i>The Joy of Full Surrender</i> by Fr. Jean Paul de Caussade.<span> </span>Our Church is rich with the goodness of its saints.<span> </span>And YOU are one them!<span> </span>Find your niche and open your world to a radical conversion and profound change of heart.</span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">Once you begin knowing your faith better, (and we <i>ALL</i> need to know our faith better—We could not learn it all in TEN lifetimes), you will begin to look more deeply at your own life.<span> </span>You will ask and permit the Holy Spirit to illuminate for you, the places in your own life which require attention, and you will work to conform your will to the will of God and the virtues of Christ.<span> </span>This is important for you as well as for the Kingdom of God.<span> </span>As Pope Paul VI says in his exhortation, <i>“Above all, the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness.”</i><span> </span>Your witness and the way you live in your community is more powerful than you think.<span> </span></span></div><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">When speaking of a small group of Christians living within a community, Pope Paul VI said that these people radiate in a simple and unaffected way, <br />
</span><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;"></span></div><br />
<blockquote indent="indent" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;"><i>“their faith in values that go beyond current values, and their hope in something that is not seen and that one would not dare to imagine.<span> </span>Through the wordless witness these Christians stir up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live:<span> </span>Why are they like this?<span> </span>Why do they live in this way?<span> </span>What or who is it that inspires them?<span> </span>Why are they in our midst?<span> </span>Such a witness is already a silent proclamation of the Good News and a very powerful and effective one.<span> </span>Here we have an initial act of evangelization.”</i><span> </span><i>(Evangelii Nuntiando No. 21)</i></span></div></blockquote><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">But this witness is only the beginning.<span> </span>It is not enough if it is not explained and justified, as Peter said in the scripture quoted above.<span> </span>The believer who has come to be evangelized himself must then go on to evangelize others.<span> </span><i><br />
</i></span></div><br />
<blockquote indent="indent" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"> <div style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;"><i>“Here lies the truth, the touchstone of evangelization:<span> </span>it is unthinkable that a person should accept the Word and give himself to the kingdom without becoming a person who bears witness to it and proclaims it in his turn.” (Evangelii Nuntiando No. 24)</i></span></div></blockquote><br />
<div align="left" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;">This website is devoted to those who are dedicated to their own formation, and making themselves ready and committed to evangelizing others.<span> </span><span style="color: #d41919;"><i>“Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent.”</i><span> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">ACTS 18:9</span></span></span></div><div align="left" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="color: #2f22ad; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: #d41919;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">reprinted from <em><strong><a href="http://sentbythespirit.com/">SentByTheSpirit.com</a></strong></em><br />
</span></span></span></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-62078877985350902962012-07-20T20:06:00.000-04:002012-07-20T20:06:30.120-04:00Sent By the Spirit.com<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubxOmZhr6pCQ5iwEP3Yt-CSNS3V5Eq2mmD4569LVmoV9-uh2I0OOCnKwHig4yXHmoGSaJEWylsrCiKXfUM3Z08WuMIIyibvkFCwGoSpPGGKXyrR2AdpQhXoYZarU_CJQOcN2_0alp38ey/s1600/imagesCA4CLXTT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgubxOmZhr6pCQ5iwEP3Yt-CSNS3V5Eq2mmD4569LVmoV9-uh2I0OOCnKwHig4yXHmoGSaJEWylsrCiKXfUM3Z08WuMIIyibvkFCwGoSpPGGKXyrR2AdpQhXoYZarU_CJQOcN2_0alp38ey/s1600/imagesCA4CLXTT.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Just want to share with you a little of my latest venture. I am no web designer, but with a little time on my hands, I started a new website, devoted to the new evangelism and the Catholic Evangelist! So far, I have about 10 people committed to making regular contributions, so visit often to see new content as the site grows! We have just launched ourselves with the first article today!<br />
<br />
I pray this venture will be used by the Holy Spirit as a tool to bring many people back to God. It will take some time to get it known and off the ground, so please share it with everyone you know! And if you have any ideas or if you feel called to participate as a contributor, drop me a line and let know!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sentbythespirit.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">www.SentByTheSpirit.com</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-10183504115153834052012-06-21T21:44:00.000-04:002012-06-21T21:44:17.298-04:00Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBSawCH6kMiALmhMVR7BXZ_uhAKY1C3ax8E9Vq-4epkPe7qLlg1FDryL2xZtxjQ2tkgCRH4zHgePdoGVys06fLYhO16RONkJOZURkfmypqalyScUitCgTvINEqYjlyT0g3ZRvuLe4hNI5/s1600/freedom+religion+rockwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBSawCH6kMiALmhMVR7BXZ_uhAKY1C3ax8E9Vq-4epkPe7qLlg1FDryL2xZtxjQ2tkgCRH4zHgePdoGVys06fLYhO16RONkJOZURkfmypqalyScUitCgTvINEqYjlyT0g3ZRvuLe4hNI5/s400/freedom+religion+rockwell.jpg" width="348" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">O God our Creator,</div><div style="text-align: center;">Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,<br />
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,<br />
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel<br />
to every corner of society.</div><div style="text-align: center;">We ask you to bless us<br />
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.<br />
Give us the strength of mind and heart<br />
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;<br />
give us courage in making our voices heard<br />
on behalf of the rights of your Church<br />
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,<br />
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters<br />
gathered in your Church<br />
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,<br />
so that, with every trial withstood<br />
and every danger overcome—<br />
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,<br />
and all who come after us—<br />
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,<br />
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."</div><div style="text-align: center;">We ask this through Christ our Lord.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Amen.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><em><a href="http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/fortnight-freedom-prayer-resources.cfm" target="_blank">~from UCCSB website</a></em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2q0meC5nWRF6vdyYApLgaVXzc4NAQ8ou6GlNBGdLBib9wbo1hLQ0xgOdPafm8rzEzsVxc8hbHHYq3r-FiFWL23XWPZlUKLpPT7UwnqYbFNq4FQfUq628os88wSJk0jxhP0yWE7dTDa3A2/s1600/fortnight+for+freedom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2q0meC5nWRF6vdyYApLgaVXzc4NAQ8ou6GlNBGdLBib9wbo1hLQ0xgOdPafm8rzEzsVxc8hbHHYq3r-FiFWL23XWPZlUKLpPT7UwnqYbFNq4FQfUq628os88wSJk0jxhP0yWE7dTDa3A2/s320/fortnight+for+freedom.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-47354966326517051452012-06-20T21:39:00.000-04:002012-06-20T21:39:13.603-04:00Jerusalem My Destiny!<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/iPQI6Yupt48?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">I have fixed my eyes on your hills, </span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jerusalem, my Destiny!</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Though I cannot see the end for me,</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">I cannot turn away.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">We have set our hearts for the way;</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">this journey is our destiny.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Let no one walk alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The journey makes us one.</span></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Other spirits, lesser gods,<br />
have courted me with lies.<br />
Here among you I have found<br />
a truth that bids me rise. <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Refrain)</span><br />
<br />
See, I leave the past behind;<br />
a new land calls to me.<br />
Here among you now I find<br />
a glimpse of what might be. <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Refrain)</span><br />
<br />
In my thirst, you let me drink<br />
the waters of your life,<br />
Here among you I have met,<br />
the Savior, Jesus Christ. <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Refrain)</span><br />
<br />
All the worlds I have not seen<br />
you open to my view.<br />
Here among you I have found<br />
a vision bright and new. <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Refrain)</span><br />
<br />
To the tombs I went to mourn<br />
the hope I thought was gone,<br />
Here among you I awoke<br />
to unexpected dawn. <span style="font-weight: bold;">(Refrain)</span><br />
<br />
Composer: Rory Cooney</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-20227006447777800202012-05-26T19:15:00.000-04:002012-05-26T19:15:17.952-04:00Spouse of the Holy Spirit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDygSs7x93dhiiaAngMdag4N7FBgIy1NLbN6ZNHnK4cp9gWU3zfLFvEPk6Mc4Uf5UurxbLHhzEzxTcUd1f251t8Wl-auahLW7vcwBBq-21jGH_-ZDY-3pnW_wpoCS-uzZlnBuF15sKCdlU/s1600/Mary+Mediatrix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDygSs7x93dhiiaAngMdag4N7FBgIy1NLbN6ZNHnK4cp9gWU3zfLFvEPk6Mc4Uf5UurxbLHhzEzxTcUd1f251t8Wl-auahLW7vcwBBq-21jGH_-ZDY-3pnW_wpoCS-uzZlnBuF15sKCdlU/s1600/Mary+Mediatrix.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">"It was with Mary and in Mary and of Mary that the Holy Spirit produced His Masterpiece ...God Made Man... For this reason the more He finds Mary His dear and inseparable Spouse in a soul, the more powerful and effective He becomes in producing Jesus Christ in that soul...and that soul in Jesus Christ.... Mary was never led by her own will but always by the Will of God, who made Himself master of her to such an extent that He became her very Spirit.... Our Mother told St. Mechtilde: <em>'At the words of the Rosary...Hail Mary full of grace...I am aware that the Holy Spirit has showered so many graces upon me that I am able to give these graces in abundance to those who ask for them through me as Mediatrix.'</em>”<br />
<br />
~ St. Louis de Montfort</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTr9nycU7l8hbUa3NGdGxjg0zCe9kXfytWSzB3EdRFpAKCojbdb4YPKY8ud5QJ4pKOsf6ifV0pkZ0AhhiC9-W3eYG0RRxK4DoXsFRiUDyGUEGSMcpVYZvkSorQyMh6lcDOYgr4LDZYesEl/s1600/St+Louis+de+Monfort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTr9nycU7l8hbUa3NGdGxjg0zCe9kXfytWSzB3EdRFpAKCojbdb4YPKY8ud5QJ4pKOsf6ifV0pkZ0AhhiC9-W3eYG0RRxK4DoXsFRiUDyGUEGSMcpVYZvkSorQyMh6lcDOYgr4LDZYesEl/s1600/St+Louis+de+Monfort.jpg" /></a></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-46733302663210922162012-05-01T15:08:00.000-04:002012-05-01T15:08:23.996-04:00St. Maximilian Kolbe<em><span style="font-size: large;">A single act of love makes the soul return to life. </span></em><em><span style="font-size: large;">Let us often make use of this means.</span></em><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMt5z4o5XVPu5iBPNaeXuzrZXO8QVxLxllk2ueJPkrIklcshi2Lc3AWZAm7fRiPxtxy2iOEcIzdKtQV-ZwjUBQjEgl7XhQh3mGwtFsk-K6-ZLvJ5_6IsktbViZ5R-rgUVugzd_vq_MSdD/s1600/Kolbe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWMt5z4o5XVPu5iBPNaeXuzrZXO8QVxLxllk2ueJPkrIklcshi2Lc3AWZAm7fRiPxtxy2iOEcIzdKtQV-ZwjUBQjEgl7XhQh3mGwtFsk-K6-ZLvJ5_6IsktbViZ5R-rgUVugzd_vq_MSdD/s1600/Kolbe.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> January 1894 – 14 August 1941</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">St Maximilian Kolbe, <em>pray for us.</em></span></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-69573206438180893012012-04-24T19:47:00.000-04:002012-04-24T19:47:56.684-04:00Beautiful<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What an absolutely incredible child! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I do not think I know anyone whose faith can compare to that of this precious saint.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/5LFPTwVMUVE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-56696054711513446352012-04-02T21:24:00.000-04:002012-04-02T21:24:54.106-04:00Nothing left to do<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGNbbk_gV8dRb_8shUTHIhcMNnGLtjreve94pMxPixvYEjxDFdBCstNTyUJpW2r5WX-hxcFrW8Cx6sp8-d8S4-hjQyIHX-hB4QUwh79XN9V8Irq4IaRgDHODpPcALRxqrzUlVPB8CNWBk/s1600/end+of+the+road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQGNbbk_gV8dRb_8shUTHIhcMNnGLtjreve94pMxPixvYEjxDFdBCstNTyUJpW2r5WX-hxcFrW8Cx6sp8-d8S4-hjQyIHX-hB4QUwh79XN9V8Irq4IaRgDHODpPcALRxqrzUlVPB8CNWBk/s1600/end+of+the+road.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Well, it looks like I may have come to the end of the road. It may literally take an act of Congress to help me to become a nun at this point, and since God could make these obstacles of mine disappear with far less than that, and He has chosen not to, then I really must come to grips with the fact that maybe He was never calling me in the first place.<br />
<br />
It has been a rough day. I am completely devastated by the finality of it all, after so many years of longing for Him in this way. And even though I am <em>convinced</em> that HE put this longing in my heart, His silence and inaction speak louder than words, and it is simply too late for me to enter on April 29th. Absent a generous donor willing to take on my school loan, there is nothing left to do and nothing left to give. I have given everything I can think of, and done everything I can think of, and He simply does not want me, at least not for this. <br />
<br />
Soooo….I don’t know that I will be writing here for awhile. This has been a long journey and I think it’s time to rest awhile.<br />
<br />
Peace be with you during this Holy Week.Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-77579078110490838252012-03-20T20:51:00.000-04:002012-03-20T20:51:55.014-04:0010 steps backward . . .I thought yesterday was going to bring the final piece of the puzzle, the final thing i needed to fulfill my dream and enter the monastery on April 29th. I thought it was going to be one of the best days ever. It was not. Without going into detail, I find myself back at square one. I am stunned and feel like a deer caught in headlights. <em>pray for me . . . please </em><br />
<br />
<em>fiat.</em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvy0DimZXQ90q7tIAzY9VXwg9Y2VQdVN8sxVwSQddqVroWnhtvSTl54eYsO0BP-d7IJbmmic7qkqN2ZxzSXb9l5NHpKphWDcOq1-4eTf8UHUnwxjY8xcE2_f7c3RkANhIgnI_9J3yeZhk/s1600/deed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidvy0DimZXQ90q7tIAzY9VXwg9Y2VQdVN8sxVwSQddqVroWnhtvSTl54eYsO0BP-d7IJbmmic7qkqN2ZxzSXb9l5NHpKphWDcOq1-4eTf8UHUnwxjY8xcE2_f7c3RkANhIgnI_9J3yeZhk/s200/deed.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-17649709485492968052012-03-20T13:11:00.000-04:002012-03-20T13:11:00.657-04:00Letter to the Editor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html" target="_blank"><img aea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgor3KOzbUv23gSZQb4MmdKc4uaFFrNLTCQSS5F-Mas_NEnav0D19OifGQ7bt1ZjBxh341kHquau-oWtfSa_yeEWeiTLAufwm1jSwFGG0M3nNUmJgoO8yI9h-sgMFQg0yaFr3IG24FouWpo/s1600/constitution.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I recently became so disturbed by opinions I was reading in a local newspaper, that I felt there was a fire in my belly to respond. I am very busy right now, and so I prayed that someone else would respond to the ridiculousness that was being perpetuated by people who are unconcerned by our loss of freedom of religion. No one did, and I just could not continue to let this thinking go unanswered. Sooooo.......If you are interested, here is a link to the letter I wrote to the editor of a local newspaper regarding the <em>HHS Mandate</em> and our loss of religious freedoms guaranteed by the <a href="http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights_transcript.html" target="_blank">U.S. Constitution</a>:<br />
<br />
<em>Please Click Here:</em><br />
<a href="http://letter%20to%20the%20editor%20regarding%20the%20hhs%20mandate/" target="_blank">Letter to the Editor Regarding the HHS Mandate</a>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-66491125837407541742012-03-09T12:45:00.000-05:002012-03-09T12:45:32.525-05:00Children of God<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOf52EN0hpYzKC3ajbOsddpaST0-RUPfGS8y4eKUqbTRjZ89hYzM4ABo-whvW8jJ0HmNY6k3WbhgKqYJKDWWUxbGKrOzQJRVfVkFvhSNudzprdUT6prdu97LfqCzY8SYsaAOb6poUeaks1/s1600/child+of+God+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOf52EN0hpYzKC3ajbOsddpaST0-RUPfGS8y4eKUqbTRjZ89hYzM4ABo-whvW8jJ0HmNY6k3WbhgKqYJKDWWUxbGKrOzQJRVfVkFvhSNudzprdUT6prdu97LfqCzY8SYsaAOb6poUeaks1/s1600/child+of+God+3.jpg" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>It has been awhile since I wrote much on this blog. It is not that there has been nothing to tell, but that I can hardly put into words how blessed I am feeling and how generous is our God. No, I have not yet sold my house, and my entrance date is a mere 50 days away. But I have found myself more and more unconcerned with the actual date of entry, as I am at peace, and intent on doing the will of God, whatever that is, whenever it is, and wherever it may lead. Oh, please don’t get me wrong, I am confident I will be entering the <em>Caterina Benincasa Dominican Monastery</em>, but only God knows today, when that will be. My hope is in <strong><em>Him</em></strong> and not in my realtor. <br />
<br />
There have been some beautiful gifts given to me by our Beloved in these days leading up to my giving myself entirely to Him as a religious, the greatest of which is the sson-to-be miraculous resolution of my Mom’s tremors.<br />
<br />
If you have read my blog before, you know that I began praying through the intercession of Bl. Pope John Paul the Great, that my mom would be healed, since the beginning of Lent, last year. Well, on February 13th, the 47th wedding anniversary of my Mom and Dad, we received an incredible gift. <br />
<br />
My mom had a long awaited appointment with a highly sought after tremor specialist at Geisinger Hospital, in Danville, Pennsylvania. The first miracle was that he actually spent TWO HOURS going over every inch of her, testing her nerves and muscles, and when he was finished, he said to my mother, <em>“You don’t have Parkinson’s Disease. You don’t have essential tremors.”</em><br />
<br />
<strong>WHAT?!?</strong> After all these years of suffering mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically, she does not have what the other doctors said she had?? <br />
<br />
I do not know what the technical diagnoses is, but basically he proved to her that a muscle in her arm is reacting with a cranial nerve to send bad messages to her brain, by having her hold her head down, chin to chest, and to the left. The tremors stopped. He said that he can inject botox into her arm muscle in a certain place and it will cure the tremors! <strong>THANK YOU, JESUS!</strong> Thank you Blessed Mother and thank you Bl. John Paul the Great for your intercession. This is a gift not only to her, but to our whole family, her friends, and especially to me, who felt bad leaving her to enter the monastery, knowing she would be suffering at home, without her daughter. I know she would have my brothers and dad, but as her only daughter, I knew she will be missing me tremendously when I no longer live 5 minutes away from her. <em>Thanks be to God for this glorious gift!</em><br />
<br />
God has also responded to another interior desire of mine. It seems I have had some bad dental work, and the result has been to have re-treatments of a bunch of root canals with an endodontist and the necessity for crowns. I was devastated to learn this, as I had no choice but to charge the costs of dental work to a credit card, to the tune of more than $6,000, another obstacle requiring removal before entering the monastery. Well, last week, during my last appointment with the endodontist, he accidentally pulled off one of my crowns. Since he limits his practice solely to root canals, he would not put the crown back on. I was in a bit of a state of shock by this, as I walked out with my tooth in a baggie, wondering how I just spent so much money and would now have to spend a few hundred more to get the crown back on with my regular dentist. But just then, the thought occurred to me that <u>God has always brought good out of bad situations when I let Him</u>, so I tried not to fret. I went home and made an appointment for the next morning with my regular dentist.<br />
<br />
Dr. Debra Lopatofsky is a highly skilled dentist and a dear, kind person. I was fully prepared to pay to put the ruined crown back on to my tooth, but she would have none of it. She wanted to do all kinds of work to my mouth to stabilize it before I enter the monastery, but I told her I simply can not do it. As much as I want to save my teeth and have things in order before I go, I have no money and need to sell my house and use what is left to pay my school loans. She said, <em>“Let me do this for you.”</em> And she did. For free. On a Saturday, her day off. And what’s more, along with prepping the one tooth for a new crown, she prepped another for a crown, so it will not fall out of my head. Then she saw two fillings she did not like and re-did those. If you are keeping track, that is two crown preps, two temporary crowns, two fillings and she ordered two permanent crowns. THEN, she began looking at these two crumbled teeth I have from previous bad root canals. She wanted to extract the roots. I did not want to do that until I could afford a bridge, a HUGE EXPENSE, and she asked if she could do that too. <strong>Can you believe the generosity and kindness of this dear child of God??</strong> So she extracted the roots, and I will meet her again on Saturday, so she can prep those anchor teeth for a bridge and then put on a temporary bridge while the permanent one is ordered. This is such an amazing gift from God to me! I was worried about entering the religious life with my mouth still in such a sorry state, but I just figured vanity was no more, and I would end up with cheap ol’ dentures eventually. I was bummed about it because I <em>LIKE</em> my teeth, but I left it to God. Can you imagine the great financial cost this would be to me if I had to pay? I could never afford it. And here is this kind dentist, doing this out of the kindness of her heart, at her expense, and giving up her time. I am overwhelmed by the benevolence of God and of her. She is a beautiful, loving instrument in His hands. <em>Please pray for her. Lord, please shower Debra with your grace and blessings and grant her great healing.</em><br />
<br />
Now let me tell you about another great gift I received last week. Silly as it may seem, and definitely nothing I ever intended to act upon, I had always wanted a little statue of Mother Teresa. I did not tell anyone this. It is silly, really, but I love her spirituality, and I have learned much from her example. Well, out of the blue last week, I received a package in the mail from an elderly man whom I have never met. He lives in Hawaii, and I helped him with some legal issues via telephone and letters. He loves to write good ol’ fashioned letters and I love to receive them! Well, he has been kind enough to make regular donations to the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations on my behalf, little bits here and there, shaking down his friends for money, and sending it in every so often as it has added up over the years to a nice sum. Anyway, there was no letter in the box, and when I opened it, I found a lovely statue of Mother Teresa! A few days later I received a letter from him (Bill), and he said the statue had been <em>peering out at him</em> for quite awhile now, when he passed by the bookstore, and he decided to buy it for me. He asked the sales girl if someone going into a monastery could have such things, and was told, ‘sometimes they can, sometimes they can not.’ So he said if I could not keep it, could I give it to someone who would enjoy it. Wow. <em>Please pray for this dear man. St Lucy, please intercede for Bill and his eyesight.</em><br />
<br />
I feel like I am living in an almost constant state of wonder and amazement these days, as I watch the Lord work in so many tangible ways for my benefit, showing me His great love for me, by showing me how He loves me through His own children. The Holy Spirit is inspiring people in so many loving and peaceful ways. It is a blessing and a gift to know God loves us even when we do not feel His presence on a given day. But what a joy it is to feel His love when He is showering us with consolation! I must remember this when the arid days of the desert return . . . <br />
<br />
Oh, another dear person in my life, Ursula, who asked my Mom if we could all go shopping so she could help buy things I need for the monastery….white shirts, a coat, shoes…..stuff like that. <em>Dear Father, please shower your blessings and grace on Ursula and her family.</em> Another gift, and another dear child of God helping me in more ways than they could ever imagine.…….. and always, more for me to marvel at as each day passes. Oh, boy, did I mention the prayer group that collects change each week and shared it with me to help my vocation? <em>Bless them Father......</em><br />
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50 days……but who’s counting? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDp53lxWG5BgWI7swqqGwMH7JKDjUwIdJtEjMnZ1TBdg3j7pIVGtqCAPjiIa6qdIkp71-jsxtlXJw27TKbByFQraroXIAbDKuNF35GamYE8ERid8sTWQgW32Muq_WDmn9ztm52xaYeUK_/s1600/child+of+God.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieDp53lxWG5BgWI7swqqGwMH7JKDjUwIdJtEjMnZ1TBdg3j7pIVGtqCAPjiIa6qdIkp71-jsxtlXJw27TKbByFQraroXIAbDKuNF35GamYE8ERid8sTWQgW32Muq_WDmn9ztm52xaYeUK_/s1600/child+of+God.jpg" yda="true" /></a></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-55735265427127515612012-02-25T13:49:00.000-05:002012-02-25T13:49:54.715-05:00Religious LibertyWe are blessed to live in this time. So many people need our prayers and our witness to Truth. We must not be afraid to stand for what we believe and what we KNOW in our hearts. We must not be afraid to stand for <strong><em>Who</em></strong> we know in our hearts......the <em>Ancient of Days</em>.....the Great <strong>I AM</strong>.....<strong>Father, Son </strong>and <strong>Holy Spirit.</strong><br />
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Here is an incredible homily on religious liberty . . .<br />
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</div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-76015619632161256632012-02-16T12:20:00.000-05:002012-02-16T12:20:42.863-05:00Celebrating 800 Years of Dominican Life!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Celebrating the Beauty of Faith!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Py-cH2PlBmo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-60718120099386368152012-01-31T19:21:00.000-05:002012-01-31T19:21:58.092-05:00Didn't expect that . . .<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSogUfnJ26Niv2BsKjF3Th5rhe5vetwv_c13ciIxEXI67t-XFshvF16bpzeVKEqkOJVAodHfMg27jJlF8KbOz9aYjx630CzStihuq90mJQoJKZru9oE0uhyD9OoFN5qdm8yB4EWXicLpYO/s1600/law.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSogUfnJ26Niv2BsKjF3Th5rhe5vetwv_c13ciIxEXI67t-XFshvF16bpzeVKEqkOJVAodHfMg27jJlF8KbOz9aYjx630CzStihuq90mJQoJKZru9oE0uhyD9OoFN5qdm8yB4EWXicLpYO/s1600/law.jpg" /></a></div>I resigned my Washington State bar membership today. The yearly fee was due tomorrow, and I just could not see paying for another year, when I have not used my license to practice in Washington since 1999. I have kept it up, because it is not an easy thing to obtain, and I knew if I let it go, it would take a lot to get it back, maybe even re-taking the bar exam. I thought, maybe I might move back out there, I mean, ya just never know. But today I could not rationalize the fee, knowing that I AM going to be a Dominican nun soon, right? I will never use it again, so what is the loss? <br />
<br />
<em>But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss</em><em> because of Christ.</em><em> </em><em>More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ </em><em>and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ,</em><em> the righteousness from God, depending on faith . . . </em>Phil 3:7-9<br />
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Yet still, I found myself filled with a rush of emotion and tears as I clicked the last click of the computer to confirm my decision. <em>Are you sure you want to resign? You will no longer be permitted to practice law in the State of Washington. Once you click 'yes,' you will be logged out of the system and unable to return.</em> <br />
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Yes. I am sure. Click! And then cry. I am either a damn fool or this will be an amazing story to tell someday, the way I have given up every tiny little thing, one by one, without even one logical, rational reason to believe that any of this will work out....except for the grace of God and my half of a mustard seed of faith that He is the one who has put this desire to serve Him in my heart. If not, I am foolish and delusional at best. But if it is as I believe, then heaven and earth will move to bring me to the monastery. <br />
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Still, there are so many things that have to happen, including yet another deadline I was not even considering until today. Soooo many things to do in sooooo little time.....And no offers to buy my house yet. <br />
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Novena number 3 to St. Joseph starts tomorrow. Lord, have mercy.Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-53233301884248498562012-01-31T11:20:00.003-05:002012-05-02T09:55:08.630-04:00Prayer for Priests<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeZA2Do2A3NvDqPANXxCc3BK74aOfu_AV5LkB6zm4v6dTz8c8cPyCSDwzP5-EAgqA_KKmSVaflPLVaQuTgCU51HYDj2z8UVi44JAQgb2vPplOs62far6AvP1wSufmm9q_j7PDYsCu4NuE/s1600/priest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeZA2Do2A3NvDqPANXxCc3BK74aOfu_AV5LkB6zm4v6dTz8c8cPyCSDwzP5-EAgqA_KKmSVaflPLVaQuTgCU51HYDj2z8UVi44JAQgb2vPplOs62far6AvP1wSufmm9q_j7PDYsCu4NuE/s1600/priest.jpg" /></a></div>It is so important that we pray for our priests, especially as we see the Church increasingly under attack by the secular world.<br />
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This is a prayer I composed a year or two ago for the priests in my life. I am always adding names as I meet new people or hear of specific intentions.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><em>Please protect these men from the wickedness and snares of the evil one. Strengthen them to give everything they are and everything they have for Your people, whom they are called to serve. May they speak only Truth, and be worthy examples of Christ on earth, preaching the Gospel at all times, proclaiming it loudly when necessary, and never fearing the consequences for doing so. Give them courage, Keep them safe, and fill their hearts with Your authentic love and joy. Help them always and everywhere to be Your humble and obedient servants, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.</em></blockquote><br />
<div>Fr. Peter O'Rourke, Fr. Joe Fleury, Fr. Mark Swope, Fr. Mike McCormick, Fr. John Chmil, Fr. Ed Michelini, Fr. Alphones Perikala, Fr. John Kita, Fr. Greg Kelly, Fr. Martin Boylan, Fr. Greg Villaescusa, Fr. Ed Scott, Fr. Jim Nash, Fr. Killian Loch, Fr. Joe Hornick, Fr. Joe Manarchuck, Fr. Jacek Bialkowski, Fr. Vince Langan, Fr. Andrew Hzdovik, Fr. Chris Sahd, Fr. Chris Washington, Fr. Joseph Kane, Fr. Cassian Yuhaus, Fr. Thomas Petro, Fr. John McHale, Fr. Phil Sladicka, Fr. Ed Buckheit, Fr. David Betts, Fr. John Grimm, Fr. Jim Rafferty, Msgr John Esseff, Msgr. Neil Van Loon </div><br />
The Dominican friars of St. Joseph Province<br />
<br />
Deacon Joe Roinick, Deacon Bill Graham, Deacon Leo Lynn<br />
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Bishop Joseph Bambera, Bishop Joseph Martino, Bishop John Dougherty, Bishop James Timlin<br />
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Archbishop Charles Chaput, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archbishop Joseph Rigali, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo<br />
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Pope Benedict XVI<br />
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<div> <em>from St. Faustina's Diary:</em> </div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><em>O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church .... give us holy priests. You Yourself maintain them in holiness. O Divine and Great High Priest, may the power of Your mercy accompany them everywhere and protect them from the devil's traps and snares, which are continually being set for the souls of priests. May the power of Your mercy, O Lord, shatter and bring to naught all that might tarnish the sanctity of priests, for You can do all things.</em> </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnh2pvb5byoS0GzMM4PyKNUO6Hzyt262AAf72yYKaSSHL0M5yFLXVYml2x4GGLwWIvZ60q0zpJmFG11dBulWL_SN1SDdmBUfFQaQhl6j1KUMn2eBclRlyTFj0q_QinWYpMy3ZwnB78zP51/s1600/St+Faustina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnh2pvb5byoS0GzMM4PyKNUO6Hzyt262AAf72yYKaSSHL0M5yFLXVYml2x4GGLwWIvZ60q0zpJmFG11dBulWL_SN1SDdmBUfFQaQhl6j1KUMn2eBclRlyTFj0q_QinWYpMy3ZwnB78zP51/s1600/St+Faustina.jpg" /></a></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-164823159516078003.post-20448206222939223972012-01-23T10:53:00.001-05:002012-01-23T12:01:42.871-05:00A Gift<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNe6D4I93ypFGMjp92uMUwTNAde137pgbKNUdoS1nazM2vPIR9i-aYvakVAl5sPo2Cy15Eum1RXQzNCWtXBlzRVT8wMR5FBfV2O90LZQbRSxyxmglfERcMBFxFJpzyxo5iLc2rt4ozu3q/s1600/gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200px" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNe6D4I93ypFGMjp92uMUwTNAde137pgbKNUdoS1nazM2vPIR9i-aYvakVAl5sPo2Cy15Eum1RXQzNCWtXBlzRVT8wMR5FBfV2O90LZQbRSxyxmglfERcMBFxFJpzyxo5iLc2rt4ozu3q/s200/gift.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div><br />
This day is a gift. Actually, <em>every</em> day is a gift. But some days are just easier than others, aren’t they?<br />
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Of course, a difficult day does not make it any less of a gift from our Creator. And certainly the saints who have gone before us saw great benefit from suffering when it is offered up to God and united with the suffering of our Beloved on the Cross. But some days, there is felt such great union with our Jesus, that is hard to be anything but extremely thankful. Today is just that kind of day for me.<br />
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Often I am amazed at what God tolerates. <em>Forty years I endured that generation. I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray and they do not know my ways.”</em> (Psalm 95). God and I both know He has tolerated <em>plenty</em> from me for at least 40 years. But I am trying, and God willing, I am growing closer to Him every day…..loving Him deeper and better and more authentically, every day……<br />
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Today I have a great sense of God’s closeness, even though I have not given Him as much attention this weekend as I could have---<em>should</em> have. I regret this, as I had much time to pray and contemplate and read this weekend, after my house was clean and ready for showing. I had no other work to do, while the snow came down outside, keeping things quiet inside, and yet I left Him mostly alone. Sometimes, He withdraws the feeling of His closeness to help us to grow in our faith, but He is always right there, like a Father who is running beside the child who is riding a bike without training wheels for the first time. And as exhilarating as it can be to take off, seemingly on your own, often it ends with a fall, with Father there to catch you and pick you up. I am grateful for these days when I feel Him so close, that I can simply rest, knowing He has got everything under control. I barely even have to <em>pedal</em>…..just keep resting in His Love and His Presence. It is so easy to surrender everything to Him on these days…..easy to give it all to Him without a fear or worry in the world. I relish these days. I know they can not last forever, but God, in His Wisdom, knows when I need Him, and He has been very generous with His gifts these past weeks. <em>Thank You, Father.</em><br />
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It seems like things are coming to a natural end with my life<em> in the world</em>, so to speak. Even though I continue to be no closer to selling my house and resolving my school loans, the <em>‘for sale’</em> sign in my yard has all but stopped my phone from ringing with new clients. I am fresh out of money to pay my bills and the mounting bills from unexpected car, plumbing and dental problems are growing by the day. Still I have peace. God has always preserved me, and I fully expect that all of my needs will be met during this time of waiting, somehow, some way. I am telling anyone who asks, that I am moving to Delaware, because even though there is no forward motion, I know this could change in an instant—It could change <em>today!---</em>and I will be on my way to finally realizing my vocation to the religious life. I fully expect a miracle. I have no reason for this hope….no reason for this faith….no reason for this peace---except for the pure gift from God. None if it makes sense, <em>unless it comes from Him.</em> <br />
<br />
I remember it was not that many years ago, that I would be crying and stressed if business was quiet for a few weeks, afraid of not meeting my obligations. It has never been this quiet, this long. But even as I am rapidly running out of time and resources, I am happy.<br />
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97 days and counting . . .<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDycxfE4fa39hSx-_V1T5aeyL0Et9Wmk515ETKZG6rUFKpXjBhaLUxO78SmTd4FD72jmvt9TpFYu3ohWhUCC5hHXEoAIW3QWoWuNbXWIheM8bdwNpOvfam7eMlozrUz8Qd5EM8TV1S75IC/s1600/holy+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDycxfE4fa39hSx-_V1T5aeyL0Et9Wmk515ETKZG6rUFKpXjBhaLUxO78SmTd4FD72jmvt9TpFYu3ohWhUCC5hHXEoAIW3QWoWuNbXWIheM8bdwNpOvfam7eMlozrUz8Qd5EM8TV1S75IC/s1600/holy+family.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">St. Joseph, <em>pray for us.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blessed Mother, <em>pray for us.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Christ, <em>have mercy on us. </em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>Christinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09458704334823225646noreply@blogger.com0