"Where love is, there is freedom..."

"Love exists only where there is freedom. To be forced to love is hell; to be free in love is heaven. Where love is, there is freedom.  Since the child is the flower of love, it is earth's sacrament of  freedom. As the cradles come back into the world, freedom will  come back. This freedom will consist not in throwing off restraint,  which is license, but in the increase of new centers of freedom. In  each child God whispers a new secret to the world; adds a new  dimension of immortality to creation; and makes the clinging  hearts of husband and wife feel a little freer, as they look into that  strange and mutual hope which has come to them from God."

+Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Three to Get Married

Fruit of praying St. Thomas' Prayer for Ordering a Life Wisely

So, I had this wonderful grace today. As I looked around seeing all that needs to be done, which usually overwhelms me, I realized something. Paradoxically, I think it's the fruit of praying St. Thomas Aquinas' prayer for ordering a life wisely. It's a paradox because my life feels very far from ordered right now. But God revealed to me that He loves me and is pouring out His grace on all of us right in the middle, and really through our messy life (in a physical and spiritual sense). When I looked around, suddenly all of this:

-legos built and unbuilt (not fun to step on)
-A pile of toy nerf guns confiscated yesterday on which I stubbed my toe really bad in the dark this morning (ouch!)
-dust (lots and lots of it)
-a hot wheels race car set at the bottom of the stairs (why there?)
-train set somewhere, or so I've heard
-dirty kleenex (I know! gross, it's not me)
-food on the floor (we don't have a dog, working on Chris in this matter)
-dirty (and also clean, unfolded) laundry taking over (literally overflowing)
-piles of papers with printed out prayers/articles I like
-prayer books
-piles of kids' school projects, homework, forms that need to be filled out
-childrens' books on the nightstands, on the floors, on the beds, on the counters, on the stairs (not fun to slip on), on the kitchen counters
-my books in all the same places as the childrens' books
-unsent Christmas cards that I didn't have an address for (I give up on this one)
-unsent school pictures (working on that one too!)
-dirty dishes
-coats, blankets, socks, shoes, mittens, etc...
-Christmas tree still up
-Nativity sets still out
-Superhero birthday decorations still hanging up
-Pink flower birthday decorations still hanging up
-wonderful school books laying around haphazardly in the living room that when used teach God's beauty in all parts of our life and studies
-a violin with music scattered around
-a very dusty piano that needs tuning
-unmade beds
-and much much more believe it or not

made me realize something beautiful. My messy life, and that of my family, is the evidence that there are 7 beautiful souls living in this house, learning to love God and each other, and that despite the fact that it feels and looks so "disordered", it is in fact ordered. Ordered to the love of God, the love He has for each one of us, and the love we have for Him.

Thank You Jesus! Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph for the Church Militant

 

O GLORIOUS St. Joseph, chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus, the chaste spouse of Mary ever Virgin and the head of the Holy Family, and then appointed by the Vicar of Christ to be the Heavenly patron and defender of the Church founded by Jesus, most confidently do I implore at this moment thy powerful aid for all the Church Militant on earth. Do thou shield with thy truly paternal love especially the Supreme Pontiff and all the bishops and priests who are in union with the Holy See of Peter. Be the defender of all who labor for souls amidst the trials and tribulations of this life, and cause all the peoples of the earth to submit themselves in a docile spirit to that Church which is the ark of salvation for all men.

Be pleased also, dear St. Joseph, to accept this dedication of myself which I now make unto thee. I dedicate myself wholly to thee, that thou mayest ever be my father, my patron and my guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me great purity of heart and a fervent devotion to the interior life. Grant that, following thine example, I may direct all my actions to the greater glory of God, in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary and in union with thee. Finally, pray for me that I may be a partaker in the peace and joy which were thine at the hour of thy holy death. Amen.

But what do you do when you are drowning?

This morning I was up earlier than normal and read a blog post about a facebook / pinterest meme that I had not seen yet.  Jennifer Fulwiler wrote an excellent blog post about how this meme proves that we are living in a culture of death.  She also referred to Mindy Goorchenko's also excellent post pointing out "flaws in the analogy."  I highly recommend reading both of these posts.

Maybe I should have stayed in bed, or maybe I should not have gone online and prayed instead because that facebook meme is really bothering me.  Jennifer and Mindy make very good points of which I am in wholehearted agreement.  But that meme really hits home, and I believe that is why it is so insidious.  Comparing the "birth of a baby to a horrible form of death" is so insidious because it is a twisting of a beautiful truth.  Getting married and having children is a death, but not a horrible form of death that brings destruction.  Getting married and having children is a death to self that brings about life.  And if you do not know about death that brings life, that brings redemption, you will drown.   

"It stuns the conscience," as Jennifer says.  It stuns my conscience because it just so happens that right now in my life, I feel like I am drowning.  Sometimes drowning just in dishes and laundry and little people needing me at every minute of the day, but also in a deeper way drowning in emotions, and hurts and trying to find healing.  Sometimes I go through times where I feel dry and parched, especially in prayer, and this can bring desolation.  Other times desolation comes because I feel overwhelmed, like I am drowning.  It is in these dark moments where I think how could we possibly handle another child or how could I possibly stay here and be  a wife to my husband and a mother to my children.  And my fight or flight instinct kicks in and I either run away for a period of time or fight my way to the surface just trying to get a breath.  Neither really works.  Only surrender does. 

The answer is not to stay out of the water.  The answer is not to put on a temporary life jacket.  The answer is not to take swimming lessons.  The real answer is to let go and surrender and let the grief, sadness, hurt, and yes, death, come.  Because there is new life that is better than anything we can imagine.  Do not be afraid, Christ will rescue you.  He will bring you to the surface.

UPDATE:  Elizabeth Foss has a fantastic post Overwhelmed by the Everyday that really helps!  Surrender to God, listen to Him, and say yes to Him!

 

Why Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have my vote.

I'll be the first to admit that when it was evident that Romney was going to win the Republican presidential nominee, I felt a bit hopeless for our country.  I had read many reports, watched the videos of his changing position on life issues, and just felt a general lack of trust for Romney.  That has changed and here's why. 

Romney's pick of Ryan started to soften my general unease about Romney, as it did with many pro-life people.  Although there have been bumps since that decision, and there will probably be more, I am no longer a Romney skeptic but a Romney supporter.  Perhaps I read too much Hotair or Drudge Report and not enough Shea, but I'd like to think my intellect and heart are more capable than that.  My instinct now is that Mitt Romney is a good man, and God has taught me to trust my instincts.  I don't think my instinct changed, I just think I was ignorant about the man Mitt Romney before this.  You know, I was against him before I was for him ;)  I guess time will tell, but regardless, my hope is in the Lord, not the man.

I got to know Mitt a little bit by listening to some of those who know him closest, particularly his wife.  Nothing like a wife to soften the hearts of people about her guy.  What became evident to me is that Mitt Romney, for all his failures on life issues in the past, is a man who celebrates family, and celebrates life.  To Mitt Romney, a baby is a cause for celebration, a cause to praise God, a beautiful testament to the love of our Creator, of God, our Father.  A baby is not viewed as a threat or a punishment, a baby is viewed as a dignified creation of God.  And he obviously has a talent for bringing prosperity out of adversity, and this is a grace from God that we need desperately in our country right now.

It is evident that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan both care and have a deep respect for women, from the way that they speak of the women in their lives, their moms, their wives, and the women who have worked with them.  Romney has shown his respect for women by action, from the women he has mentored to his deep respect for both working women and women who choose to stay home to care for their children at home.  I believe, perhaps wrongly, that his desire to help women may have been what prompted his grave error on life issues in the past.  Many of us were indoctrinated/lied to/tricked into believing that abortion is a women's rights issue.  The truth is that not only does abortion kill a human being, but it devastates a woman's heart, body, and mind as well.  Because this truth is being realized more and more around the world, people's hearts are changing about abortion, and I believe Mitt Romney is one of those people.

Mitt Romney never supported abortion because he believed that a baby was a punishment or because he believed a baby is a threat.  That is what our current President believes.  More children stand in the way of progress in Obama's mindset, a baby or a child is only to be celebrated if it is wanted and fits into a nice little agenda of making sure it does not stifle a woman's career or exhale too much carbon dioxide.  Yes, he does purport to care about the poor, and the life of a child born into poverty, but honestly, the solution is not to eliminate the child, the solution is to provide opportunity and love for that child.  Every child, EVERY child is a gift, no matter what circumstances into which they were born, and I believe with all my heart that Romney knows that too and will enact policies to strengthen families and protect the dignity of life.

So that is why I fully suppport the Romney/Ryan ticket.  I no longer feel hopeless about our country. I have never lost hope in God and His care for us, but after seeing all those children from the Romney and Ryan families run after the balloons at the end of the convention, I feel a little bit more spring in my step regarding the direction of our country.  Whatever happens, with or without Obama, with or without Romney, God has given each one of us special talents and my heart is full of gratitude for those gifts God gives us.  I believe Romney and Ryan are also both deeply thankful to God for His Grace.  And that is our true hope.

Scroll to about 43:10 in the video below to see the beautiful scene of all the children in the Ryan and Romney families coming out and playing with the balloons. It's priceless! Thank You God for these families! 




Our hope is in You Lord, we accept Your Divine Will. May we cooperate with Your Divine Will, by supporting and encouraging each other to celebrate the beautiful gift of life and families.  Amen.

Out of the mouths of babes

:) Today at lunch, when Michael was sharing his food with Luke:

Luke: "I think Michael is going to be a priest when he grows up."
Me: "Really, do you think so? Why?"
Luke: "Because he is always sharing."

So true! :) And Luke shares a lot too!

Lord, let them all be open to your will for their lives in whatever vocation you have planned for them! Amen.

Young women need justice, not drugs.

Right from the Heart of God

Recently, I was visiting my grandfather in the hospital.  He has been very sick, so I would also ask for your prayers for him.  He is on the road to recovery, but a difficult recovery at 83 years old.  It was a last minute trip down to Texas to help my grandma while grandpa was in the hospital.  He took a turn for the worst the day Michael (our baby) and I arrived in Texas.  Originally, I had planned to come and help out in between times when my dad and aunts and uncles would be there, but when things took a turn for the worst, everyone came back, including many cousins I had not seen in many years, to be with grandpa.  Although this reunion was not under the best of circumstances, it was so good to see everyone again and to be a part of something bigger than my own day to day world. 

Grandma and I spent a lot of time together, and it was so good to be able to just be with her.  I was blessed to be the one to bring her to the hospital every day and take her home again at night.  Please keep her in prayer too as all of this has taken its toll on her health as well.  My grandparents have been like second parents to me.  I lived with them my last three years of high school, and they have always been there for me.  It is such a blessing to have a close relationship with my grandma and grandpa and extended family.  During all the ups and downs of life, which I touched on in my last post, my extended family, and especially my grandparents have been a true gift from God.  He has loved me through their fidelity and care for their family.  Grandma and  Grandpa came when our first two children were born, and Grandma loved me by making sure I got enough rest and did not have to cook one single item (she is the best cook in the world!!!!), and Grandpa made sure I had enough hugs, and when our 2nd was born, read the same books over and over and over to our daughter.  As their health has started to decline, they haven't been able to come make the visit up here any more, but we still love to go home to visit them.  To me, my childhood home is wherever they are.  When I lived with them, they were in Tennessee, but now they are back in Texas, which is where I was born.

During that time, it was so moving to see Grandma sitting by my Grandpa's side holding his hand and caring for him.  They will be married 64 years this month.  It was a gift to witness this after going to the women's conference the weekend before and hearing Father talk about the desire of children to be caught up in the love that created them in the first place, ultimately God's Love.  Watching and being a part of Grandma sitting by Grandpa's side in the hospital was a true gift from God, filling the hole in my heart.  The moment I saw them together, I knew that their love and faithfulness to each other comes right from the Heart of God and reaches out into the darkness of the world, bringing light and hope where it is desperately needed.  As we all have experienced in our own lives, Grandma and Grandpa have had their ups and downs in their married life, but through it all have remained faithful to their vows.  This is what a true sacramental marriage is, a husband and wife coming together and remaining together in the Love of God.  The children that come from their marriage are a both a natural and supernatural manifestation of the love that brings them together, eternal souls created to be light and love in the world.

After being away from the Church for a very long time, Grandpa came back into the Catholic Church about 15 years ago, and Grandma with him.  This was about the same time I converted to Catholicism.  God is good.  As grandpa was in the ICU and not really responsive, I held his hand with his rosary beads intertwined and prayed with him.  He moved his fingers over the beads while we prayed, just the way he does when he prays the rosary, which he had done every day since his return to the Church.  With grandma, we prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet too.  Even though he had not been responding by talking, I stroked his hair and whispered in his ear, "I love you"  and he said back, "I love you too."  These were the first words he had spoken in days.  My aunt and I looked at eachother in shock and joy, and she also told him she loved him and he told her back that he loved her too.  When I had to say good bye to Grandpa several days later, I whispered to him again, "I love you."  He moved his mouth and tried so hard to get the words out, and finally, whispered, with much effort, "I love you." 

I did not know if it would be the last time to see him here on this earth, but he is now responding and was just moved to a rehabilitation center in the last few days.  Please pray for him, for my grandma, and for all of our family.  Pray for our family that God's love will penetrate our hearts, heal the hurts and sustain us all.



 

Must Read: A Heart on Fire: Catholic Witness and the Next America

Archbishop Charles Chaput's newly released Heart on Fire:  Catholic Witness and the Next America is a must read!  I highly recommend reading this, regardless of your beliefs.  It is a fantastic perspective on what is happening in our American public square right now.

The best part is that it is available electronically for just 99 cents!  Find it here or here.  Download it and read it!  It is only 19 pages long.

A Fire that Cannot be Contained

My heart is on fire for Jesus Christ, and as my husband said the other day, when you are on fire for Jesus, it cannot be contained.   And, so, I am on my way, with Christ before me, in me, and for me. 

Please pray for a special intention related to my sister Laura.... I am working up the courage to write about it, and if God wants me to write here about it, I will.  It is pressing, and yet, has been a part of me for almost my entire life.  Please ask God to give me clarity on what I need to do to move forward to help my sister in the way He is calling.

Shawn McDonald, Clarity:

Standing on the battle line
I fight for my mind aching to be free
This war that I face as I long to embrace
and be with my King.

And this fire in my soul, desire to be whole

Is deep within my bones

And I long to be near as I cast away my fear

Running to Your throne.

I need clarity and truth to be

And peace to make me whole

I want freedom to come and hate to be done
And love to guide my soul.

Purchase the song Clarity at iTunes here.

Enter into Life

I'll be honest with you.  Things are falling apart over here.  Big time.  And after staying up all night with my sick baby, it may not be the best time to make a big decision, or it may be the best time to make this decision.  In the early hours of the morning when I could do nothing but take care of Michael and think without a screen in front of my face, I spent some time pondering about how I spend my time during the day.  In some ways, it seems as though I'm really living out my vocation, but in reality, I am avoiding it every chance I get with needless distractions and a desire to "fit in".  But the problem is that I will never fit in anywhere but the Heart of God.  As St. Augustine says, "Our hearts are restless O Lord, until they rest in You."  He is out there in each one of you and I have had the privilege of meeting some wonderful people online.  For that I am so thankful and trust that God put certain people in my life for a reason.

Yesterday, I read a post at Vultus Christi, where Father Kirby wrote a letter to a novice Oblate (married with children) about how she, as a wife and mother, can enter into the their charism of Adoration and Reparation.  Here is how Father Kirby began his letter:

My dear daughter in Christ,


Praying at Home
Recently, you asked me how you, as wife and mother, with children to look after from morning 'til night seven days a week, can enter into our monastery's charism of adoration and reparation. It will be many years, I think, before you will have the freedom to spend any significant amount of time in adoration before the Tabernacle, or before the Most Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance.


Your Divine Office
Your duty now, and the expression of your love for God, is to be fully present to your family. Your "Divine Office" is to cook, and clean, and change dirty diapers, and run errands, and keep the littlest ones amused, and find time to listen to the older children, and to bandage cuts, and look after bruises, and welcome guests -- and every now and then -- to steal a moment or two alone with your husband. Is this incompatible with your desire as an Oblate of our monastery to offer yourself to Our Lord in adoration, in reparation, and in supplication for the holiness of priests?

... Read more here.

This letter makes me weep in both joy and sadness.  I know God is calling me to enter fully into the life He has given me, and I trust that the relationships which God wants me to nurture are right here around me in my own living room, those with my husband and my children.  God has blessed me with a few really close friends and many acquaintances to encourage me and hopefully in some small ways I can encourage them as well.

This morning in my email inbox was an article from Matthew Warner at Fallible Blogma, "What's Your Idle?"  Well, my idle has been checking email, checking in on social media, reading blogs, writing blog posts and reading political news.  My husband is very generous in giving me the time I need to go to weekly Adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, to attend daily Mass at least once or twice a week, and to go out with friends just for some down time.  But it is the daily idle time that has me falling apart.  And, like Matthew, I am going to change what I do with that idle time.  Here is a 40 second prayer that Father Kirby included in his letter to his daughter in Christ:

A 40 Second Prayer
Here is a prayer that I wrote for this purpose. It takes exactly 40 seconds to say. Over time, it can be memorized. Use it to mark the beginning of your hour of adoration and reparation and, then, go about your business, trusting that Our Lord has heard your prayer and received it into His Heart.

Lord Jesus Christ, although I cannot, during this hour, approach Thee physically in the Sacrament of Thy Love, I would approach Thee by desire and by faith.

Transport me, I beseech Thee, by the lifting up of my mind and heart, to that tabernacle in the world where Thou art, at this hour, most forsaken, utterly forgotten, and without human company.

Let the radiance of Thy Eucharistic Face so penetrate my soul that by offering Thee adoration and reparation, even as I am busy doing ordinary things in an ordinary way, I may obtain from Thy Sacred Heart the return of at least one priest to the Tabernacle where Thou waitest for him today. Amen.

I offer all of this to Your Sacred Heart, my Lord and my Love, through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my Mother.

Meet Bella Santorum

H/T Michelle Malkin

Hopefulness, Eagerness, Kindliness, and Gentleness

Many years ago, much earlier in my faith journey, I was praying at the Chapel at our local Newman Center. I asked God to show me how to live my life for Him, how to be a good wife and a good mother.  I was struggling with a lack of peace, with a lack of hope, and with a great deal of anger.  So often, I have doubts about my ability to be a good wife and mother, and back then I felt so alone with these doubts and with my own sin.  It seemed like everyone else around me had it so together, but I have since learned that many people, if not all, have these types of doubts.  I have also learned that all of us are fighting some type of battle, and that it is in our weakness that we find the strength of Christ, if only we turn to Him in our troubles.  And I am learning to love others the way God does, both in their weaknesses and in their strengths.

That day, He answered my prayer as I opened the hymnal to this song:




In this song, God gave me a way to look to Him at each moment of the day, with hopefulness and joy at the break of the day, with eagerness and faith at the noon of the day, with kindliness and grace at the eve of the day, and with gentleness and calm at the end of the day.  With the gift of looking to Him as He is, He gives us bliss, strength, love, and peace.  Now, I will be the first to admit that I forget this often, probably more often that not.  But He reminded me today, as I heard this song again earlier this evening (as Be Thou My Vision) while sitting in the living room with my husband after dinner, that the peace we have is His, and I am so grateful for His peace in our hearts. 

Lord of All Hopefulness

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares could destroy,
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
Be there at our labours, and give us, we pray,
Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.



Note:  edited for clarity.

Exactly what needed to be said

For the first time in a long time, I am engaged in politics again, mainly because of Rick Santorum's surge in the polls.  I am not necessarily a Newt supporter, but I do like him better than I used to many years ago.  I like Santorum better.  But what Newt said at the debate Saturday night was exactly right, especially with regards to "secular bigotry":

“I just want to raise a point about the news media bias,” Gingrich said after a rhetorical skirmish about gay marriage. “You don’t hear the opposite question asked.

“Should the Catholic Church be forced to close its adoption services in Massachusetts because it won’t accept gay couples, which is exactly what the state has done? Should the Catholic Church be driven out of providing charitable services in the District of Columbia because it won’t give in to secular bigotry? Should the Catholic Church find itself discriminated against by the Obama administration on key delivery of services because of the bias and the bigotry of the administration?”

“The bigotry question goes both ways,” Gingrich added. “And there’s a lot more anti-Christian bigotry today than there is concerning the other side. And none of it gets covered by the news media."

H/T Vincenzo for text and video

Happy Birthday James Fulton

Thanks to Joe (oops I mean Joseph :) ) at Defend us in Battle for posting Mystery of Prayer. He links to 61 minutes, a must read by Bonnie Engstrom, that gives us much needed hope about the power of intercessory prayer. Please go read her post!! It is amazing.

All praise and glory to God! Thank You for the trust and hope of all who seek You and for all the Angels and Saints You give us to pray for us.


And while you're at it, go check out Joseph's post as a new contributing blogger at Virtuospla.net, an awesome new Catholic blog!

Studiositas versus Curiositas

I read an excellent post over at Catholic Spiritual Direction called "Is curiosity bad? I seem to have an appetite for information about all things...." Father Bartunek writes:

Learning involves all the good things that you describe above. We cannot love what we do not know. Studying God’s creation can help us know God better, just as studying the works of an artist can help know an artist better, and by knowing God better we can love him better – which is the purpose of our existence. Our intelligence is meant for this, in fact. That’s why the Christian spiritual tradition catalogues studiositas as a virtue – the virtue of study, of applying our minds to studying and learning, so that we can grow in knowledge and understanding of the world, ourselves, and God.

and

But like every power of the human soul, this capacity to learn can be de-formed. Instead of applying ourselves to develop the virtue of study, we can fall into the vice of curiositas, or curiosity. In the Christian spiritual tradition, this word, like studiositas, has a technical meaning. The vice of curiosity refers to the superficial gathering of information, the thirst to imbibe the latest headline or rumor just because it’s new. Curiosity stops where learning begins. It’s like the butterfly that flits from flower to flower without gathering any nectar, whereas the bee will settle into a flower and drink up, taking time to gather all that the flower has to offer.

Ever since jumping into the online world (back in 2006 when I was on bed rest with our 3rd), I have had to fight the battle of spending too much time online. Before that, I viewed the computer as a tool I used at work, but spending time at a computer screen was never something I wanted to do with my free time. I checked email periodically and that was about it.

Image Credit:

Association of Catholic Women Bloggers

It is interesting that right before this is when I really started to experience an exponential growth in my faith and formation in the Catholic Church. I began researching the teachings of the Church through reading books, attending prayer groups, Bible studies, anywhere I could go to learn more about Christ and His Church. It is a wonderful thing to be so in love with Christ and want to know more about Him! And I still have that desire and am so thankful that God has given it to me.

But like with all desires, our unchecked human appetites can become vices (I type this as I eat chocolate chips since we have no other chocolate in the house....hmmm). Another good point that Fr. Bartunek makes in his post is the following:

On the other hand, it [knowledge] also can keep us distracted. In this case, the thirst to have new experiences and develop new areas of expertise is inordinate, out of proportion to our mission in life. The enjoyment of acquiring new knowledge, which is legitimate in itself, becomes so all-consuming that the duties of one’s state in life are neglected.

This is exactly what my struggle is right now with intellectual curiosity, it too often becomes inordinate and then I neglect the duties of my state in life. What seems to be a good thing becomes a vice. I need God's grace to keep this desire within His will. Pray for me.

Interestingly enough, right now as I am typing this, my daughter brought the mail in, and in it is a book I just ordered, No Greater Love, by Mother Teresa. It isn't supposed to be a used book, but thumbing through it, I noticed several sentences were underlined. Here is a sentence that was underlined:

Words that do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.

So not only do I need to watch the amount of time I spend online, but also discern what I am reading online. Thank you Mother Teresa!

I'm excited now to go start reading this book! After I get the laundry put away and dinner started, of course ;)

Pray for us, Blessed Mother Teresa!

Do go read all of Father Bartunek's post at Catholic Spiritual Direction. And go check out Association of Catholic Women Bloggers at:

He Knows What He is About

I have not posted on politics in awhile, mainly because I haven't been following it much, but I read something Ed Morissey said this morning that makes a lot of sense regarding the fiscal mess our country is in:

There is a lot of anger at the moment in the US over the embarrassment of the downgrade, as well as shock. I’m most amused by the shock, to tell the truth. S&P didn’t say anything yesterday that was not common knowledge and common sense. If you had to rate a potential investment that had an income of, say, $22,000 a year but had costs of $37,000 per year, a standing debt of $143,000, and contracted future debt that exceeded $1 million, would you give that investment a gold-plated AAA rating and buy their bonds at the lowest interest rate possible, or at all? Of course not, but that’s exactly the fiscal situation of the US, at a 100,000,000:1 scale.

The anger is mainly misdirected. The media wants to blame the Tea Party, but the Tea Party wants to solve the actual problem — overspending and overcommitment to entitlement programs. The Tea Party wants to blame the Obama administration, and it deserves some blame for refusing to address the real structural problems of the US fiscal condition. But that fiscal structure far predates Barack Obama, both as President and as human being, and Congresses and White Houses of both parties have done little to address the real problems in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

Why? Because as soon as people try to do so, demagogues accuse them of wanting to push Grandma over a cliff. Voters respond by punishing the reformers and rewarding the demagogues. If we collectively want to blame someone, we collectively should be looking in a mirror.

So where do we go from here? I do not know, I'm just a woman trying to be a loving wife, mother, and friend, knowing that I am a daughter of God. We try as a family to be responsible with our finances and to give our first fruits to God. While I do not know the solution (besides more responsibility in our own lives as well as that of our government), I do know that the only true answer is to trust God and follow His ways, He knows what He is about.

A Story of Hope

This morning I read a great post over at Creative Minority Report about one couple's struggle with conceiving and their decision to go to Gianna Catholic Healthcare Center for Women. The writer Mary talks about how when you prepare for marriage the priest asks you if you are open to having children, but what about the burden of not being able to get pregnant? She does not talk about miscarriage, but the loss of a child by miscarriage and multiple miscarriages is devastating as well. Here is an excerpt, you will want to read the whole post over at CMR:

But they never ask if you are you prepared for when the children don't come. It can be a frustrating and devastating process full of anxiety, doubt, and heartbreak. It is also not something you fail at once like your 7th grade Social Studies test, it's something that 12 times a year you know you failed. After a year or maybe two, you start to really wonder if something is wrong with you. You see your friends having babies and they tell you you’re next. Or you see a show on television where the character is having a baby and you have to switch channels. Or because you look at the second bedroom in your place that you named the nursery when you moved in and now call the office.

I went through five years of this. So many tears and advice. Of course, IVF was not an option. Where do you turn? On my birthday last year, I got the monthly reminder that we failed. Again. As I laid on my bed crying, my husband decided to make a call. He called Gianna, The Catholic Healthcare Center for Women. My brother Matthew had told us about them.....

Read the rest here.

St. Gianna, pray for us!

A Pearl of Great Price - Pay it Forward Tuesday

Pay it Forward is hosted by Holly at A Life-Size Catholic Blog. Thanks Holly!

One of my favorite priest bloggers (or rather, a priest who happens to blog), Fr. Andrew, has a great post from his homily this past Sunday at his website Catholic-Vision in which he challenges us to live the wisdom of Scripture:

The wisdom of Scripture says to sell everything for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Like a great pearl there is no price too great. Like treasure in the field we must sell all to acquire that field. The wisdom of the world says to hold something back for yourselves and don’t trust the Kingdom of Heaven to provide for you—which is the wisdom of our enemy, the master of this world, Satan.

He reminds us of the 43rd Anniversary of Humanae Vitae and the consequences of choices our culture has made regarding the use of artificial contraception. His post is not about what is right and what is wrong, but about our trust in God. Fr. Andrew speaks to us with love and with challenge, as a good father does. Thanks Fr. Andrew! Read his post here.

A Mother's Heart

My heart is full after reading Raising a Vocation by Anne over at Imprisoned in My Bones and her oldest son's discerning a call to the priesthood. He has a blog about his experiences at St. Francis de Sales Seminary Camp, a high school camp for high school boys discerning the priesthood. I am so amazed at how beautifully God works in people's lives!

What an amazing privilege, honor and blessing to have a son called by God to become a priest or to have a daughter called by God to become a nun. It would be wonderful for any or all of our children to have such a beautiful vocation as this! This is my prayer, but I often find myself doubting my ability as a mother to help guide their hearts. This is why I was so happy to see Anne's post, which encouraged me that God has placed this desire on my heart for a reason. Whatever His plans are for our children, we must encourage them in their walk and help them learn to listen to God.

One of the things we tell our children is how important it is to listen to God in their hearts, to listen to Christ's call and to go where He wants them to go, wherever that may be. Listening with the ear of their hearts may be in simple every day ways now, but will hopefully guide their hearts to Him more and more as they grow in age and wisdom. Living our lives in an authentically Catholic way is the best way to form them in this way. When I begin to neglect living an authentically Catholic life, I begin to fall away and it is harder to be the mother God has called me to be.

I am so thankful for Our Holy Church, Blessed Mother and St. Joseph to guide us as parents, so that we will grow in His Love and continue to nurture the faith growing in our children. God speaks to us in many ways, through receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist, at Holy Mass or during Adoration, at Confession, during prayer, through everyday experiences, and through people. May we always know and receive the graces He desires to give us, and turn back to Him when we fail to receive Him and His Love.

Lord, let me see You, hear You, receive You, and love You everywhere and always! If it be Your Will, let any or all of our sons hear and respond with an enthusiastic yes to Your call to be a priest. If it be Your Will, let any or all of our daughters hear and respond with an enthusiastic yes to Your call to be a nun. If it be Your Will that they live a married vocation, let them respond with an enthusiastic yes and bless their future spouse. Teach them all to listen to You and Your specific call for them. Help us as parents to guide them to do Your will and let them live their lives here on earth so that they will be with You forever in Heaven. In Your Holy Name, Amen.