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.

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!!!!

Moving from Sorrow into Joy through His Divine Mercy

There is a difficulty in moving from the penance of Lent and sorrow of Holy Week into the joy of Easter and our Lord's Resurrection. Our Holy Church provides such a blessing as we celebrate Easter Day as one continuous day during the Easter Octave. This year, it is giving me time to move my devotion for the Cross of Christ into the joy of His Resurrected Life. I am not making promises about getting there though within this week..... maybe by Pentecost?

This particular Easter I find that life is particularly messy and it has been a real struggle moving from the sorrow (and joy) of the cross to the pure joy of the resurrection. We are now within weeks (if not days) of delivering our new baby! As exciting as this may be, it also carries with it a lot of burden. As much as I am trying to focus on the joy that cometh, in reality, I also am having a hard time with mixed emotions of the pregnancy ending and wanting this pregnancy to be done!! New life is such a beautiful gift and I am so grateful for God's gift to us and to me to be able to carry His creation within, but I am also so tired and ready to be able to move a bit more normally again (God willing).

I also have some fear about labor and delivery, and trusting in God's Mercy is really the only way to get through this time. I am so thankful for the prayers of the Divine Mercy novena, carrying through from Good Friday and through the Easter Octave. I keep trying to think about that moment just after our other babies were born, where words are hard to describe the joy at holding and seeing God's creation for our family for the first time. That is the joy that cometh, new life, and the beauty of God's Love shown in one little soul. A small foretaste of the Joy of being in His Presence forever, perhaps?

Eternal God, in whom Mercy is endless, and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us, and increase Your Mercy in us, that in difficult moments, we might not despair, nor become despondent, but with great confidence, submit ourselves to Your Holy Will, which is Love and Mercy Itself.

I turned 40 on Monday, and my husband and children will tell you that I have not been very pleasant to live with for the past several weeks (maybe even longer??, oh, we won't go there). I'll say it again, life is just messy, and even more so when I begin to contemplate the labor pangs going on in the world right now as well. Trusting in the Mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ and in His Resurrection is the only way to make it out of this present darkness.

In my own heart, the darkness threatens daily, and I must look up, away from myself, and to His Resurrection and His Mercy to know His Love and Strength. It is so hard not to be consumed by the information around us and by our own daily anxieties, but Hope in Him is our anchor. He brings us joy now, here in this world He has created for us. Even though there are trials and struggles He has bled and died to give us new life in Him. Let us turn our hearts to the joy that cometh and to the joy that He gives now.

+JMJ+

Hide me within Your wounds, Lord Jesus. Let me never forget Your Sacrifice, but allow me to know Your Joy and Your Resurrection too. Pour forth your Divine Mercy, in the water and blood gushing forth from Your Heart, into my body and soul, so that I may truly know Your Resurrected Life within. Lord, I open myself completely to You. In Your Divine Mercy, cast out my fear. I trust in You. I trust in You. I trust in You! In Your Holy Name, Amen.

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

A Mother's Love

One of my favorite books is the original Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I also like each of the Little Women films as well. One of the most moving scenes in the 1994 film version of Little Women is when Marmee March returns home from tending to her husband wounded in the Civil War to care for her dying daughter, Beth. Every time I watch this scene it brings tears to my eyes. After doing all that they thought was possible, the doctor says that there is nothing left to be done but call for the mother. When Marmee returns home, she runs to her daughter and says "Marmee's here" and begins immediately to care for her daughter as only a mother can. Miraculously, Beth survives because of her mother's loving touch and care for her. Although Beth is weakened by this illness and years later eventually dies, her mother's love carries her through the suffering she endures.

While watching this movie again recently, a realization came that this is just what our Mother Mary does for us when we are on the brink of death, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. When we call on her, she comes in immediately and knows exactly what is necessary to bring us to life in Christ again, even if we are on the brink of death. Let Mary care for you only as a Mother can and show you the way to the Father's Love.

Scroll to about 2:45 to get to the scene where Marmee returns to care for Beth:

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

Our Lady and the Chilean Miners

Our Lady and the Chilean Miners posted by Suzanne at Lear, Kent, Fool:

Today on Facebook, the group Stories for the Homeschool Heart posted the following about the significant dates concerning the trapped miners in Chile:

The miners were trapped on August 5 — Feast day of Our Lady of the Snows. They were found alive on August 22 — Feast of the Queenship of Mary. The rescue began right after midnight on October 13 — Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. There were 33 miners –the number of years that Jesus lived.

I also happened to notice a news story earlier today that said that a couple of the chief miners credit their safety to an unusual sighting of a white butterfly down in the mine. Because they stopped to look at it they didn’t drive into rockfalls triggered by the first cave-in. The butterfly is a traditional Christian symbol of the resurrection. In Spanish, butterfly is “mariposa,” derived from “la Santa Maria posa” meaning “the Virgin Mary alights/rests.”

I don’t know about you, but that all gives me chills!

It gives me chills too!!