Called For A Greater Purpose

A life-changing realization:

"There is something wonderfully sacred that happens when a girl chooses to look past being set aside to see God's call for her to be set apart." ~Lysa TerKeurst

This is a grace. The truth is, yes, I have been set aside, many times. All of us have, at one point or another in our lives, been set aside. And it hurts. But the greater Truth is that God, my Father (*my Father!!!) has called me through and beyond that hurt, wholly His beloved daughter, for a greater purpose. What I love about Lysa's words are this: Though I cannot change or control being set aside, I can acknowledge that it has happened and then choose (this is huge!) to look past this fact and see, know, and believe God's call *for* me to be set apart.  He has chosen me, and I belong wholly to Him.  Every moment of my life, past, present, and future has been redeemed by Jesus's life saving sacrifice and resurrection from the grave. All of me and every moment of my life belongs wholly to Jesus, and He has created me completely anew as God's beloved daughter.

Yes, I have been set aside. It hurts. And in that moment, I choose to turn to You, Jesus.  Help me to turn to You in every moment, for You have redeemed all.  I know and trust as I look to You that You have created me completely anew, set apart as a beloved daughter of God, Our Father. I praise You and thank You, Father. For I am wonderfully made and made new by Jesus. In Your Holy and Saving Name Jesus, I pray and I love You. Amen+

The Remember Me Project

What a great grace we have in the Body of Christ to pray for eachother, the Church Militant and the Church Suffering, and to ask the Church Triumphant to intercede for us.  We are never alone.  Jesus has promised us He is always with us.  He strengthens us in our weaknesses through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the gift of the Sacramental life of the Church.  Living in the power of Christ's resurrection, we trust in His providence, no matter our circumstances.  One of the most beautiful parts of being Catholic is the devotion to praying for our loved ones who have died before us, for our beloved souls still being purified in Purgatory.  We also can pray for the intercession of those saints who are already with God, including our Mother Mary, who cares for us her children.  She, and all the saints, always point us to Jesus and His Heart loving us every moment of our lives, encouraging us along the way.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.                      Hebrews 12:1  

Our Lord revealed to St. Gertrude, regarding our beloved souls being purified in Purgatory:

"I accept with highest pleasure what is offered to Me for the poor souls, for I long inexpressibly to have near Me those for whom I paid so great a price. By the prayers of thy loving soul, I am induced to free a prisoner from purgatory as often as thou dost move thy tongue to utter a word of prayer!"

It is a gift that we can intercede on behalf of our beloved souls!  Below watch the video about a wonderful project that helps us to remember, and pray for, our faithful departed.  Please consider supporting this project on kickstarter, by offering a pledge to get the project finished!  You can purchase a book through a specified pledge amount or look to purchase a book, once the project is funded and the books are printed.  Laura is a beautiful, faith-filled woman who has been inspired by the Holy Spirit to offer this prayerful book, "a family heirloom in remembrance of our faithful departed."  Watch the video below, and visit her kickstarter page to help get this project completed.

Prayer Request for Amelia

Please pray for Amelia and her family.  Amelia has been denied transplant (I think kidney transplant as her parents were meeting with nephrology department) by the transplant team at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia apparently because she is "mentally retarded".  This is heartbreaking.  Please pray for her doctors as well.  She has been diagnosed with Wolf Hirscchorn Syndrome.  You can read her story here.  This is unbelievable.  Thank you Daily Grace for posting it at your site.

UPDATE:  Here is the Lifenews article about this: 

Parents:  Mentally Disabled Daughter Denied Kidney Transplant

And I also put quotes around the term "mentally retarded" because that is the term that was used on Amelia's paperwork, according to the original heartbreaking post by her mom here.  Please continue to pray for Amelia, her family, and her doctors. 


Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
St. Philomena, pray for us.
St. Jude, pray for us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Sacred Sounds

AWESOME new blog, Sacred Sounds. Here's a little of what Daniel Beiter had to say in their first artist spotlight, on Mumford and Sons:

If they show one thing, it is that honest, inspired, and passionately played, beautiful music will always draw people in. These four men have arenas packed with humanists and Christians alike, singing together: "Awake, my soul. You were made to meet your maker."

It is music that sings of our need for grace and of the pain that comes in life. These are songs of the desire to break out of our little selves, out of our fear of death, out of our broken love, and they are sung as such. They are songs sung which profess our need for heaven. They are songs sung in the poetry of the grand English tradition of Shakespeare.

Wow. I am really looking forward to reading and listening to more at this blog. I love music. Can't think of a better way to say it. I just love music. Period. Go check out Sacred Sounds.

HT Marc Barnes at Virtuospla.net via Fr. Erik Richtsteig at Orthometer

In Case You Missed It....

Archbishop Chaput: "Renewal begins not in vilifying others...."

H/T- or as she says, "veil tip" :) Diane at te Deum laudamus!

From Salt and Light TV, Archbishop's homily at the Knights of Columbus convention opening Mass in Denver, Colorado:

The dynamic in Family of Moses is not so different from the dynamic in the family of today’s Church. God has chosen to lead his people. Miriam and Aaron, the sister and brother of Moses, resent his taking a Cushite wife. But the disputed marriage is merely a pretext for the siblings. What they really resent is Moses’ elevation above themselves, his special relationship with God. Moses if very much a flawed human being. By this point in scripture he may be “meek,” but he is not without sin. Nonetheless he is chosen by God. Therefore, Miriam’s and Aaron’s criticism – which flows out of their own rebellious pride – is really a criticism of God himself. Miriam, as the instigator, is struck with leprosy, but at least there is a kind of negative dignity to her own willfulness. Aaron is almost worse: a portrait of male spinelessness. This is the man who went along with the Golden Calf. Now he goes along with Miriam, and when Miriam is punished, he becomes obsequious with Moses.

Something similar can be said about conflicts in the modern church. Bishops, priests, and deacons are too often weak and sinful. They need to be held to high standards. Some deserve to be chastised. The clergy’s leadership in the Church should always be marked by humility and service, and never by a sense of entitlement. But men and women didn’t found the Church, they don’t own her; and they have no license to reinvent her. The Church belongs to Jesus Christ, and the different roles with the Christian community – clergy, laity, and religious life – have equal dignity but different purposes. Sin and failure, including by the clergy, need to be named. But when people deride their bishops and priests out of pride and resentment or some perverse desire for they perceive as “power,” they undermine the Church herself, and they set themselves against the God whose vessel she is. And that, as Scripture suggests, leads in a painful direction.

All real reform in the Church requires two things. Today’s Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 51 – gives us the first thing. We find it in the lines “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow;” and “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” Renewal begins not in vilifying others, but in examining ourselves honestly, repenting of our sins and changing ourselves. This applies to every baptized person, from the Pope to the average man or woman earning a wage. We are all sinners. We are all in need of repentance and God’s mercy. When we really understand that, we can speak to each other with both honesty and love, and restoring the mission of the Church can begin.

Today’s Gospel gives us the second thing needed for any lasting reform: faith. Not faith as theology, or faith as a collection of doctrines and practices; but faith as a single-minded confidence in God; faith as the humility – and in a sense, the imprudence, the passion, the recklessness – to give ourselves entirely to Jesus Christ. That kind of faith changes people. That kind of faith shifts the world on its axis, because nothing can stand against it. As long as Peter keeps his eyes and his heart fixed on Jesus Christ, he can do the impossible – he can walk on the water. The moment he gives in to doubt and fear, he begins to sink. So it is with our personal faith, and so it is with life and the health of the Church.

In light of our Gospel reading, it’s fitting that our Mass today commemorates the French priests and saint from the 19th century, Peter Eymand. Eymand was a friend of Sts. Peter Chanel and Jean-Mare Vianney, and the founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. He was an intriguing man. The great French sculptor, Auguste Rodin, once entered Eymand’s congregation as a lay brother, having given up art after the death of his sister. Eymand served as Rodin’s spiritual spiritual counsellor, and eventually sent him back to his work in the world as a sculptor, because he believed that Rodin glorified God more truly through the beauty of his art. The focus of Eymand’s life was an intense love of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. He was tireless in preaching a deep devotion to the Eucharist as a key to re-igniting the vocation of Christians in the world. The Church honours him as “the Apostle of the Eucharist,” and his most famous line is worth remembering. When he decided to leave the diocesan clergy to become a religious priest, his sisters begged him to wait and reflect just a little longer before he acted – even just one more day. He answered, “God calls me now. Tomorrow will be too late.” God is calling each of us here today – clergy, lay, and religious – to love him with all our hearts and to renew the life of his Church. God is calling us now. Tomorrow will be too late. So let’s pray for each other, and support each other – and begin.

Women of Mystery Women of Hope

Women of Mystery Women of Hope:



H/T Fr. Andrew

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.

Give Me Jesus

While reading A Minute Captured by Jenny, I was so blessed to hear such beautiful and peaceful music. So glad to have found her blog, go check it out! Here is one of the songs I heard while there (not the same version though, but I like this one too). Have a blessed Sunday.

Thank You God for giving us Jesus at every Mass. Thank You Jesus for dwelling within us. Make our hearts like to Thine. In Your Holy Name, Amen.

St. Joseph, Pray for us

Beautiful prayers for our beloved priests from Fr. Mark at Vultus Christi. Thank you Fr. Mark.

On this Solemnity of Saint Joseph, I thought I might share again some of the prayers to Saint Joseph that I wrote several years ago and often pray. Together with Saint John in whose company he appeared at Knock on August 21, 1879, Saint Joseph is a powerful advocate and spiritual father for priests. He is also the friend and protector of family life, of exiles, and of immigrants. Saint Joseph is invoked for housing, for work, and in every material necessity.

PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH FOR PRIESTS

O glorious Saint Joseph,who, on the word of the angel speaking to you in the night, put fear aside to take your Virgin Bride into your home, show yourself today the advocate and protector of priests. Protector of the Infant Christ, defend them against every attack of the enemy, preserve them from the dangers that surround them on every side. Remember Herod's threats against the Child, the anguish of the flight into Egypt by night, and the hardships of your exile. Stand by the accused; stretch out your hand to those who have fallen; comfort the fearful; forsake not the weak; and visit the lonely. Let all priests know that in you God has given them a model of faith in the night, obedience in adversity, chastity in tenderness, and hope in uncertainty. You are the terror of demons and the healer of those wounded in spiritual combat. Come to the defence of every priest in need; overcome evil with good. Where there are curses, put blessings, where harm has been done, do good. Let there be joy for the priests of the Church, and peace for all under your gracious protection. Amen.

A PRIEST’S PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH

Saint Joseph, I take you this day as my advocate and defender, my counselor and my friend. Open your heart to me as you opened your home to the Virgin Motherin her hour of need. Protect my holy priesthood as you protected the life of the Infant Christ threatened by cruel Herod. In darkness bring me light; in weakness, strength, and in fear the peace that passes understanding. For the sake of the tender love that bound you to the Virgin Mary and the Infant Christ, be for me, Saint Joseph, a constant intercessor and a shield against every danger of body, mind, and soul so that, in spite of my weaknesses and sins, my priesthood may bring glory to Christ and serve to increase the beauty of holiness in his bride the Church. Amen.

PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH FOR A PARTICULAR PRIEST

Saint Joseph, I present to you this day Father N., priest of Jesus Christ, and beg you to be to him advocate and defender, counselor and friend. Open your heart to him as you opened your home to the Virgin Mother in her hour of need. Protect his holy priesthood as you protected the life of the Infant Christ threatened by cruel Herod. In darkness bring him light; in weakness, strength, and in fear the peace that passes understanding. For the sake of the tender love that bound you to the Virgin Mary and the Infant Christ, be for him, Saint Joseph, a constant intercessor and a shield against every danger of body, mind, and soul so that, in spite of his weaknesses and sins, his priesthood may bring glory to Christ and serve to increase the beauty of holiness in his bride the Church. Amen.

At His Feet

"The Anointing" by Stephen St. Claire

Melanie at Homestead Bread posted this at her blog as her inspiration for 2011. I have often felt like this in prayer the past year, but this image brought to my heart how His hand is always on me as well.

Beautiful Story

This is a beautiful heartwarming story.



H/T Allahpundit at HotAir

Thank You Daily Grace!

Oh my, I read this post this morning at feminine-genius that touched my heart on so many levels. Writing about military family homecomings in the video below, she talked about mothers as the bridge to fatherhood. If you read nothing else today, please go read Genevieve's post.




As I read this, it occurred to me how Mary is truly our Mother showing us the way to our Loving Father in Heaven. What a gift Jesus has given us in Mary and what a gift she gives us in showing us the way to Her Son and to Our Father. Here are a few quotes, but please go read the entire post. Thank you Genevieve! Thank you Daily Grace for posting it on your blog!

This is the job of the mother -- to keep dad alive and predominant in the
hearts and minds of the children, no matter how much it hurts sometimes. She
tells stories, revisits memories, explains who he is, and most importantly,
provides constant reminders of his passionate love for his children. This
happens at the breakfast table, in the car, while pushing the swings, while
singing lullabies, amidst putting away groceries and when tucking the children
in at night.

And-

Mothers are extraordinarily resiliant and can keep the home fires burning, but
she cannot replace the father. What she can do is be an effective bridge to
fatherhood, and she does that best if she knows how important, how
irreplacable he really is.

H/T Daily Grace