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+

Jesús, Maestro Divino

Found this beautiful prayer on a holy card I received at a retreat this past spring.  Love the intimacy of this prayer:

Jesús, Maestro Divino,

que descendiste del cielo

para darnos gracia, en abundancia

auméntala dentro de nosotros y conviértala

en río que fluya hacia la vida eterna.

 

Te ofreciste a sufrir

la agonía de tu pasión y muerte; y

te entregas en la Eucaristía

como, alimento para todos.

Ayúdanos a comprender

la grandeza de tal ejemplo.

 

Haz que el fuego de tu amor queme

las impurezas de nuestra debilidad humana

y dadnos la fuerza para seguir tu invitación

a la perfección infinita del Padre.

 

Por Fé, dadnos firmeza,

Por Caridad, dadnos fervor,

Por Esperenza, confianza infalible.

 

Dadnos la fuerza de ser héroes en cada virtud

y la confianza de alcanzar la santidad

con la ayuda de María,

tu Madre y nuestra Madre. Amen.

 

+Siervo de Dios, Obispo Guglielmo Giaquinta

This Sweet Word

"This sweet Word jousted with His arms upon the wood of the most holy Cross, death fighting a tournament with life and life with death: so that by His death He destroyed our death, and to give us life He sacrificed the life of His body. So then with love He has drawn us to Him, and has overcome our malice with His benignity, in so much that every heart should be drawn to Him: since greater love one cannot show-and this He himself said-than to give one's life for one's friend. And if He commended the love which gives one's life for one's friend, what then shall we say of that most burning and perfect love which gave its life for its foe? For we through sin had become foes of God. Oh, sweet and loving Word, who with love hast found Thy flock once more, and with love hast given Thy life for them, and hast brought them back to Thy fold, restoring to them the Grace which they had lost!"

-St. Catherine of Siena, in her letter to Pope Gregory XI

How I got my kids to not complain about my loud music...

Told them that my good friend, our neighbor, and one of my son's dearest friend's mom is the DJ! 

She DJs here at our local University radio station from 9 - 11am every Wednesday.  And she likes similar music as me, plus expands my horizons too!  Pray for her, she is a great gal.  Her name is Jen.

So Wednesdays are my favorite.  We take a little break from school and go to Adoration, then for coffee and donuts and now loud cool music, with no complaining!

Smiles all around here!

Thank You Jesus!

A Handmaid Who Eagerly Watches

Lord, grant me the gift of pure attention to You, to become the handmaid who eagerly watches.

My head and heart are a big cloud full of doubt and discouragement. Why? The week started out well enough, normal craziness, but here I am again, back in the pit. Why? After trying to take a nap today, I decided to go back in my journal and this is what I found from a Silent Retreat a few years ago:

If you find yourself losing recollection, stop what you are doing and go back into recollection, ask Him to return you there. Are we interiorly aware of His Love for us at every moment?

What is it like to live life with a recollected heart? How can I have a receptive heart in the midst of the craziness?

• Well, first, do not be surprised if there is opposition to the silence required to enter recollection.
• Ask God for a recollected heart; ask Him to calm our hearts.
• Let God Love us first. If we start out trying to love Him first, we will not enter recollection. Love is the fact that He first loved us.

I know your heart, it is good, and I Love you.

He Loves me. We know we have found recollection when we it is all about Him, His beauty, His Love, His goodness. We encounter everything through the vision of the cross of Jesus Christ.

For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique,
Manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain.
Not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly,
Firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing,
And pervading all spirits, though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle.
For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion,
and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.

~Wisdom 7: 22-24

I highly recommend an Ignatian Silent Retreat at Broom Tree Retreat and Conference Center, nestled in the beautiful rolling hills of the Missouri River Valley in Eastern South Dakota.

+JMJ+

Coming Together with the Heart of the Church

Recently, news of Archbishop Patrick Zurek asking Fr. Frank Pavone to cease public ministry outside of the diocese of Amarillo due to financial concerns has been in the pro life and Catholic blogosphere. This post is not about Fr. Frank Pavone, but his situation is what finally gave me the courage to write it.

In speaking of this with a friend, she made a point about what happens to the priests who aren't well known who become accused?

We must not abandon our Spiritual Fathers. Yes, I do believe we must pray, always we must pray, and fast for our priests. But to put love into action requires a bit more. When a priest is accused, first, he deserves the presumption of innocence until a full investigation takes place. In this presumption of innocence, he deserves the public support of his diocese, and the Church at large. I do not mean blind support, but support with the Heart of the Church, with Mercy and Love as our foundation, always taking into account the great hurt that may have been committed against the victim.

We have recourse to our Mother Mary, who will not abandon us or any of her children who flee to her for protection. If guilt is found, we must follow Mary as our guide and still must not abandon our Spiritual Fathers. We all desperately need the Mercy of Christ. Forgiveness is a necessity for healing, even for, especially for, the victim. Justice cannot be served without repentance and forgiveness. Believe me, this is something that I have lived and know.

This past Sunday, we heard about forgiveness in the Gospel. We cannot control the response of other people, but we can our own. It is my prayer that we will come together and support our priests in a public way, with the presumption of innocence to begin, and with mercy and forgiveness always, both for the priest and the accuser. If we come together in loving support and become stronger when this happens, maybe, just maybe, some of the nonsensical false accusations will cease. If not, then those who make false accusations are only accomplishing what they mean to do and that is to tear us apart. Our mercy must also extend to those who are making false accusations; however, mercy does not mean standing by and letting a great wrong persist just to keep from offending people who are hurting. It does no good to real victims of crimes to let a false accusation stand.

For more information about falsely accused priests, visit Fr. Gordon MacRae's blog These Stone Walls. He had a wonderful post a few months ago, If Night Befalls Your Father, You Don't Discard Him. You Just Don't!

Also at Fr. MacRae's blog is commentary, including an article about priests who have been found guilty and who have been "discarded." Let us not abandon our priests ever. This does not mean condoning or accepting horrible crimes. This means living with the reality of Christ's call to repentance in our own lives, and to forgive as we have been forgiven. God's mercy is greater than all of this.

St. John Vianney, pray for us! St. Joseph, terror of demons, pray for us! St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle! Our Lady of Good Help, pray for us! Christ, have Mercy on us!

UPDATE: Read Fr. MacRae's latest post: SNAP Judgements Part II: Ground Zero of the Catholic Scandal.

God Bless the Last Ones

Because when they go looking for something beautiful, they go looking from the inside out. For my sister Laura:

St. Gertrude the Great - Herald of Divine Love

+JMJ+

*Cross posted at Community of Catholic Bloggers*

A few weeks ago, I could not sleep, even though Michael was sleeping peacefully next to me. My mind and my heart were restless, so I got out of bed to pray and poured out my heart to God. Michael then began to cry so I went to him to care for him. It was then that God gave me peace and this became my prayer:

Lord, thank You for the amazing privilege of being a mother to this baby so beautiful.

As he rests in me, let me rest in You. I rest in You.

Right now, being his mother is the only thing I feel I can do with confidence. No words are necessary, only touch and love and nourishment.

As I grow in confidence in this ability alone, teach me to trust in You the way he trusts in me so that I will know Your Love and care for me and so will he.

As You teach me Lord, heal my heart, my body, and my soul.

Let me grow in confidence so that when words are necessary, I will use your words and actions and not my own.

In this way, You are teaching me to be Your daughter, to be a wife, to be a mother, to be a sister, to be a friend.

Mary and Joseph, I ask for your parental intercession in all this.

In Your Holy Name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.

The very next morning, a dear friend gave me the book St Gertrude - Herald of Divine Love (TAN Books). Wow! Here are some passages from the book that particularly spoke to me (italics mine):

"St. Gertrude was the herald of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus." Thank You Lord for bringing St. Gertrude to me during June, the month of devotion to Your Sacred Heart and at this time and state in my life. Thank you St. Gertrude for coming to me.

"Gertrude's heart sought God alone, and found Him everywhere." O, Lord Jesus, You are everywhere and always with us. Thank You for Your Mercy and Love!

On St. Gertrude's unlimited confidence: "The Holy Fathers have always taught that the measure of our hope and confidence is the measure of the graces which we receive from heaven. They have realized that, through our unreserved confidence, God is most honored and glorified. Nothing will be denied to an unlimited confidence.... St. Gertrude understood that confidence is the key which opens the treasures of the infinite Mercy of God." Thank You Lord for answering my prayer and teaching me to trust in You and to grow in confidence in the Mercy and Love of Your Sacred Heart.

"Once when St. Gertrude was troubled with temptations, she implored the Divine assistance. Our Lord, in His exceeding Mercy, spoke thus to her: 'Anyone suffering from human temptations, who flees to My protection with firm confidence, belongs to those of whom I can say: 'One is My dove, My chosen one out of thousands, who has pierced My Heart with one glance of her eyes.' And this confidence wounds My Heart so deeply that were I unable to relieve such a soul, it would cause My Heart a sadness which all the joys of heaven could not assuage... The confidence that I truly have the power, the wisdom and the goodness to aid a soul faithfully in all her miseries, is the arrow which pierces My Heart, and does such violence to My Love that I can never abandon her.' " O Lord Jesus! I love you and I thank You with all my heart for Your faithfulness, Your sacrifice, Your Mercy and Your Love! I trust in Your Sacred Heart and thank You for giving me the desire for confidence. Let my confidence grow in You and Your Sacred Heart. Lord, let my trust that You will not abandon me grow. St. Gertrude, pray for us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Once when reflecting on her unworthiness: "Instantly she placed all her hope in God's goodness by saying: 'What will it avail me to hesitate? Even if a thousand years were given me, I could nevertheless not prepare myself fittingly. I will therefore go to meet Him with confidence and humility, and when my Lord sees me from afar, He will send in advance a garment wherein I may be fittingly clad to be presented to Him." O Lord, let me always approach Your Love in the Holy Eucharist with confidence and humility. And if I commit mortal sin, may I immediately seek Your forgiveness in Confession that I may not miss Your tender Love in this Holy Sacrament. Let Your Mercy be on us O Lord, as we place our trust in You. In Your Holy Name I pray, Amen.

~~~

The Tenth prayer of St. Gertrude's Devout Affectations on the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ:

O Jesus, true and fruitful Vine, remember now the lavish, the excessive profusion wherewith Thou didst shed Thy Precious Blood, when on the Cross Thou didst tread the winepress alone, and wast crushed as a cluster of ripe grapes; when Thou didst give us water and Blood from Thy pierced Side, so that not one drop remained in Thy Heart. Then wast Thou hung up as a bundle of myrrh, and Thy tender Flesh grew pale, and Thy moisture was all dried up within Thee, and the marrow of Thy bones consumed. By this Thy most bitter Passion, and by the shedding of Thy Most Precious Blood, I beseech Thee, O most Loving Jesus, wash my soul at the hour of my death with the water which flowed from Thy Sacred Side, and adorn it with comeliness in the Precious Blood of Thy sweetest Heart, and render it acceptable in Thy sight in the fragrant odor of Thy Divine Love. Amen.

We have a baby boy!!

Hi, just a quick update!

Michael Aidan was born Friday afternoon May 6th. He was 7 lb 8.5 oz and 19.5 inches. We came home yesterday from the hospital! What a wonderful Mother's Day gift!

Will try to post pictures soon. Thank you SO SO much for all your prayers!!!!

Priceless Moment

Tonight while I was snuggling in bed with our 2 year old daughter, my husband was leaving to go to Adoration. She sat up in bed and called out "Daddy, will you pray for me?"

He said to her, "Yes, I will pray really hard for you honey."

And she turned to me and said, "Mom, that means he really really loves me."

Fatima for Today by Fr. Andrew Apostoli

Just started reading a great book, Fatima for Today by Fr. Andrew Apostoli. The message from Fatima is so relevant to what is happening today. I am only just beginning this book but have already recieved many graces just in the first several chapters. Fr. Apostoli does an excellent job of describing historical events leading up to the apparitions of Our Lady to Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta and putting it all into perspective for a message of hope for what we are facing in our world today. I am thankful that God led me to reading this book because it is helping me to trust in Him and in Our Lady's guidance during these troubled times. One of the ways that God prepared Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta was to send an angel ahead of time to teach them how to pray. The first time the Angel of Peace appeared, they were taught The Pardon Prayer:

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope
and I love You! I ask pardon of You
for those who do not believe, do not
adore, do not hope and do not love You.

The children were taught to trust in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and to pray for a renewal of faith, hope and charity in the world, which is needed just as urgently now as it was in 1917. The second time the angel appeared, the children were asked to pray the Pardon Prayer even more frequently and to offer sacrifices. The Angel of Peace told the children:

Make of everything you can a
sacrifice, and offer it to God as an
act of reparation for the sins by
which He is offended, and in
supplication for the conversion of
sinners. You will thus draw down
peace upon your country. I am its
Angel Guardian, the Angel of
Portugal. Above all, accept and bear
with submission, the suffering
which the Lord will send you.

The third time the Angel of Peace appeared, He taught them a prayer to pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament:

Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly,
and I offer You the most precious
Body,Blood, Soul and Divinity of
Jesus Christ, present in all the
tabernacles of the world, in
reparation for the outrages,
sacrileges and indifference with
which He Himself is offended. And
through the infinite merits of His
most Sacred Heart, and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of
You the conversion of poor sinners.

Fr. Apostoli reveals in great detail the meaning ofeach visit and has helped me to learn how to apply the angel's instructions to the children at Fatima in my own daily life. Fr. Apostoli says:

"Through the angel's three visits, the children were instructed in the ways of prayer; the importance of reparation, intercession and suffering; and the beauty and power of the Eucharist. Over the course of the next six months, the children put into practice all the angel had taught them. They were then ready to receive the first visit of their Blessed Mother."

I am so thankful that God has provided Fr. Apostoli's wise words in this book to help us as Catholics today find hope and solace in Our Lady and her messages to the children at Fatima. Read this book, you will be so thankful!! Another benefit of this book is to learn more about the fascinating history of Portugal and the Catholic Church's role in their history. Thank you Fr. Apostoli.

A Small Sign of Hope

Thank You God for this small sign of hope in a world so distraught and torn by violence and hatred. Thank You God for the Muslims in Egypt that stood by their Coptic Christian brethren by attending Christmas Eve Mass. Thank You for giving Yourself to us in this broken world in Holy Mass. In Your Holy Name, Amen.

From Yasmine El-Rashidi at ahramonline:

Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.

From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.

“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.

Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular Muslim televangelist and preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.

“This is not about us and them,” said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly Street. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”

The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7th. Coptic Christmas Eve services were last Thursday, January 6th.

H/T Patrick Archbold at Creative Minority Report

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.

A Beauty Veiled

Yesterday, I posted a video of early life development that was amazing. And it is. But after Women's Holy Hour last night, I realized that there is no video, no ultrasound, no genetic biology explanation that can even come close to describing the beauty and mystery of God's creation. And certainly my own words cannot do this.

The sad part about it all is that the beauty and dignity of life is under attack in such a diabolical way right now in our world that it seems necessary to prove that life exists from the moment of conception. And I am so thankful for all the ultrasounds out there that have saved a child and his or her mother's life. I am also very thankful for the work at LiveAction.org to show people the truth about abortion and abortion providers. I am thankful for scientists who have uncovered genetic biology and can prove life begins at conception.

But most of all, and most importantly, I am thankful to You God, for giving us life, for the mystery of Your creation, a beautiful mystery that I know by faith. I pray for all of us who at times require proof of Your Majesty, Your Almighty Power. I pray for all of us who miss the beauty of keeping Your Mystery veiled. Have Mercy on us.

Thank You for the Mercy of being in Your Presence in the Blessed Sacrament, for veiling Yourself as the Eucharist so that we may dare to enter Your gaze as sinful as we are. In Your Holy Name I pray. Amen.

Psalm 139

Lord, You have probed me, You know me:
You know when I sit and stand;
You understand my thoughts from afar.
My travels and my rest You mark;
with all my ways You are familiar.

Even before a word is on my tongue,
Lord, You know it all.
Behind and before You encircle me
and rest Your Hand upon me.
Such knowledge is beyond me,
far too lofty for me to reach.

Where can I hide from Your Spirit?
From Your Presence, where can I flee?
If I ascend to the heavens, You are there.
If I lie down in Sheol, You are there too.
If I fly with the wings of dawn
and alight beyond the sea,
Even there Your Hand will guide me,
Your Right Hand hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light"
Darkness is not dark for You,
and night shines as the day.
Darkness and light are but one.

You formed my inmost being;
You knit me in my mother's womb.
I praise You, so wonderfully You made me.
wonderful are Your works!
My very self You knew;
my bones were not hidden from You,
When I was being made in secret,
fashioned as in the depths of the earth.

Your Eyes foresaw my actions;
in Your book all are written down;
my days were shaped, before one came to be.

How precious to me are Your designs, O God;
how vast the sum of them!
Were I to count, they would outnumber the sands;
to finish, I would need eternity.
If only You would destroy the wicked, O God,
and the bloodthirsty would depart from me!
Deceitfully they invoke Your Name;
Your foes swear faithless oaths.
Do I not hate, Lord, those who hate You?
Those who rise against You, do I not loathe?
With fierce hatred I hate them,
enemies I count as my own.

Probe me, God, know my heart;
try me, know my concerns.
See if my way is crooked,
then lead me in the ancient paths.

Amazing Video of Early Life Development

Wow, this is amazing!



HT Creative Minority Report and LiveAction


Update: If you have trouble viewing the video, you can watch it at liveaction.org

A Love Story

A Page is Turned by Bebo Norman

A page is turned by the wind to a boy in curly grin
With a world to conquer at the age of ten
But as history unfolds and the storybook is told
He finds salvation but not at the hands of man

And the God of second chance
Picked him up and
He let him dance
Through a world that is not kind
And all this time, preparing him the one
To hold him up when he comes undone
Beneath the storm, beneath the sun
And now a man, here you stand
Your day has come

A page is turned in this world to reveal a little girl
With a heart that's bigger, as it is unfurled
By the language in her soul, that's teaching her to grow
With a careful cover of Love that will not fail

And the God of second chance
Picked her up and
He let her dance
Through a world that isn't kind
And all this time, preparing her the one
To hold her up when she comes undone
Beneath the storm, beneath the sun
And grown up tall, here you are
Your day has come

Beneath the air of autumn, she took him by his hand
And warm within the ardor, she took his heart instead
And high upon the mountain, he asked her for her hand
Just for her hand

A page is turned in this life, he's making her his wife
And there is no secret to the source of this much life
When the grace that falls like rain is washing them again
Just a chance to somehow rise above this land
Where the God of second chance
Will pick them up and he'll let them dance
Through a world that is not kind
And all this time, they're sharing with the One
That holds them up when they come undone
Beneath the storm, beneath the sun
And once again, here you stand
And once again, here you stand
Your day has come


This song always reminds me of the time several summers ago when we had just finished taking NFP classes (after over 9 years of marriage!) and went to a Theology of the Body seminar by Christopher West. Although we believed that we were following Church teaching for marriage before this, we realized through both the NFP class and Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body teaching that we really were not formed well in what the Church actually teaches and why.

I admit I was quite rebellious when we first were married back in 1998 (not really that long ago) about the Church's teaching on artificial contraception. And my husband went along with my rebelliousness. Sound a bit like Adam and Eve? I remember sitting in our Pre-Cana weekend with my arms folded and heart hardened to the Church's teaching on natural family planning.

After having our first child, I learned that birth control pills can actually be abortifacient and so we quit practicing artificial contraception. But it was not until nearly 6 years later, and 2 more children that we decided to go ahead and take Natural Family Planning courses and attend the Theology of the Body seminar. It was there that we learned the why behind the Church's teaching and where the scales were lifted to the beauty of sexuality within our marriage and God's plan for our family.

It was also at this time that God placed this song by Bebo Norman on my heart. It will always be a special song to both me and my husband. God lets us dance through this world that is not kind, but it is the careful cover of His Love that teaches us and guides us to Truth and beauty. And we found beauty in conceiving another child not long after that summer, our fourth, Sophia (Greek for wisdom). In a sacramental marriage, there is no secret to the source of this much life, where the grace that falls like rain, washes us again. It is God and His plan for us. And now we are expecting our fifth child next spring. Even though it is trying at times, and we fail often, God picks us back up and teaches us with every step where He wants us to go. And He holds us up when we come undone.

Thank You God for the chance again to somehow rise above this land and welcome another beautiful life to our family. Thank You for the gift of Confession and for giving us Your Sacred Heart in the Holy Eucharist. Let us never profane Your gift to us for temporal pleasure. In Your Holy Name I pray, Amen.

Laundry Grace

Well, one good thing about being really behind on laundry is that I actually had to sit down for an extended period of time to fold. Taking this opportunity to watch EWTN, I caught an episode of Mother Angelica Live Classics. The episode this morning was about the healing that takes place from the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Paraphrasing her, the Father welcomes us home as the prodigal son, Jesus carries us on His shoulders to Our Father as the Good Shepherd and He places us back into the fold. How simple and yet so profound.

Mother Angelica also said, paraphrasing again, in good times, we enjoy our faith, in bad times, we exercise our faith. During this time of Lent, let us exercise our faith when faced with temptation in a more intentional way as we prepare to enjoy our faith in the celebration of His resurrection!

Welcome to my blog. I hope that it is a source of grace, humor and inspiration mixed in with the messiness of everyday life. Thanks for visiting!