Mother's, St. Augustine

 

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of my mom.  My sister said.... that her passing was even harder because we had lost our first love.  Since my mom's passing.... I've been on a journey to know God and my faith. 
My parish priest suggested... that my mom....after her passing.... had something to do in prompting me to start this journey.  God certainly calls us to Him in many different ways.  To those of you that have your mom still...cherish your times with her and respect her.  For those of you that don't have your mom...know that she's still with you. 

 

 

Our Catholic faith gives us many role models of great mother's.  There's no other greater mother than the Mother of God. Since my mom has passed away... I have clung to Our Lady and my relationship with her has flourished.   

Another role model is St. Gianna.  St. Gianna was diagnosed with cancer and was urged to abort her baby so she could receive treatments.  She refused to give up her baby.  A few days after giving birth...Gianna passed away.   

I can't forget about St. Monica.  Her son Augustine was always in her prayers.  He lived a life that was contradictory to a Christian.  Through her perseverance in praying...he found God and became a doctor of the Catholic Church!  We refer to him as St. Augustine.

Below is a you tube movie of his life and the role his mother (St. Monica) played in it.  It's a 2 part movie and it gets a thumbs up from me.

 

 

Another favorite mother of mine is Mother Angelica.  She's the foundress of the Eternal Word Television Network.  She has helped to bring many Catholics back to the faith.  She has helped to bring many from different denominations to Catholicism.  She has helped to bring atheists to Catholicism.

Lastly, the greatest gift I have ever received were my children.  I miscarried a child many years ago.  When my time here is over... I look forward to holding her in heaven.

Happy Mother's Day.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



What to Expect

 

 

 

 

Mysteries of Christ's life:

 

His birth

 

His ministry

 

His miracles

His forgiveness

 

His passion and suffering

 

His Resurrection

His love

Should we expect any less in our life?

 

Seek, and You Will Find

  

  One of the most common questions I hear, is why don't Catholics know their faith?  Why aren't they on fire for it? 
I can only speak for myself. 
For most of my life, I too wondered the same thing.   
I went to Catholic school from grades 2-8 during the late 60's and early 70's.
The teaching of catechises seemed to be in transition.  
  I didn't witness the love for God or for the Church from my lay teachers or even from the few nuns that taught there.  
The Church was going through changes. 
The secular world was on fire with materialism, feminism, the introduction of birth control, and legalized abortion.  
College education was on the rise. 
Education is great for learning to think outside of the box but it can also make someone less dependent on God. 
People believe that they are the master of their own lives.  You're able to purchase more things because of your education.
This era gave way to a "It's all about me" society. 
I believed only what I chose to believe because God wouldn't make up rules.  Catholics are out of touch and old school. 
It was all about my happiness. 
I was part of this new age.

 Poor human reason when it trusts in itself substitutes the strange absurdities for the highest divine concepts.
~St. John Chrysostom

An accumulation of events occurred in my life, since those days of elementary school. 
Through the grace of God, those events enabled me to seek Him and my faith.
The fire started to burn in me and I didn't even realize it.
    

Learning unsupported by grace may get into our ears;  it never reaches the heart.  But when God's grace touches our innermost minds to bring understanding, His word which has been received by the ear sinks deep into the heart.
~St. Isidore of Seville
 
I had taken it upon myself to learn about my Catholic faith. 
The Church that Christ gave us is deserving of this from me. 
I wanted to understand the core beliefs of His Church.

The Eucharist
The Papacy and Peter
Confession
Salvation
The Virgin Mary
The Communion of Saints
Sacred Tradition
Authority
Purgatory
Baptism
The Bible

After studying the above, I sensed an urgency to learn more.
Yes, I was on fire. 
 
"Ask and you will be given what you ask for.  Seek, and you shall find.  Knock and the door will be opened.  For everyone who asks, receives.  Anyone who seeks finds.  If only you will knock the door will open."
~Matthew 7:7-8

I keep the embers burning through scripture reading, the catechism, books, movies, the EWTN cable network, the Internet, blogging, reading up on the saints, and by seeking counsel from our priest. 
I love to hear and read about reversion and conversion stories. 
 I learn so much from them.
What would prompt a non Catholic to choose to be Catholic? 
What would draw an atheist to Catholicism? 
I try to talk about God more and more with my husband and daughters. 
I would like to be a part of their spiritual journey.

I pray to God so that I know Him more, so I can love Him more.

Occupy your minds with good thoughts, or the enemy will find the bad ones.  Unoccupied they cannot be.
~St. Thomas More

God loves us so much that He gave us His Church for guidance, so He could always be with us.  He didn't leave us to fend for ourselves.










 

 





Our Choice Is All That The Unborn Have

There has been over 50,000,000 abortions over the past 40 years in the United States alone. 
This staggering number makes up a 6TH  of our current population today.  How many of our daughters, sisters and their children are not here today because of the right to choose?  What's really the war on women?  Women making them selves the priority or countless numbers of daughters, sisters and their children that will never have the right to life?  1/3 of my children's generation have been aborted.  Our choice is all these unborn lives have.  Choose life.   


A country that kills children is a country without hope.
~Pope John Paul II

You can't let a little bit of abortion...just like you can't let a little bit of murder.
~Nellie Gray

Injustice somewhere is an injustice everywhere.
~Martin Luthur King
 

 

 

 

Pray for the unborn and for the right to life.

 

 



Putting Off The Journey?

  

As we live in this world do we become more leathery?  Do our hearts become hardened to God?  How does it happen that it's been 30 years since our last confession?  How long has it been since our last mass?  Has it become easy to put God on the back burner?  How does this happen?  We're all hardened to God in some way.  We all have a reason why we've put off the journey to Him.  How does one change his heart to make it new?  It's something I'll ponder today. 

The virtuous soul that is alone and without a master, is like a lone burning coal; it will grow colder rather than hotter.
~St. John of the Cross



 

I Reflect

 

I reflect on God's love as this Christmas season comes to an end. I think about Christ's time here on earth from His birth to His passion.  I think about how His Father sent Him here to be sacrificed for us.  How do you repay someone who chose to die for you?  Just as St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Saint of Auschwitz, did for his prison mate: you repay Him with love and by seeing God in everyone.

"God does not require of us the martyrdom of the body, He requires only the martyrdom of the heart and the will."
~St. John Vianney
     
We know how fully Christ loves us.  He didn't ascend into heaven with the purpose of leaving us. He gave us His Holy Church and the Holy Eucharist.  History shows us that The Bible didn't come off of a local printing press.  There was an authoritative Church that Jesus left us before the New Testament was ever written to determine what books would be in the New Testament.  That authoritative Church was the Catholic Church.
Delving into the Early Church Fathers I realized that Christ's Church really was Catholic and the Catholic Mass then was quite similar to today's. The Early Church Fathers were the Christian leaders who took charge of the Church following the death of the 12 apostles.

"I would not believe in the Gospels were it not for the authority for the Catholic Church."
~St. Augustine

 God did not leave us to fend for ourselves and interpret the bible as we please.  It's all so awesome.  It's all about His love for us.  How can I not want to know this God?  It was all part of His plan.

"The more we love God, the more we will want to love Him."
~St. Joaquina

As Catholics, we have been given great treasures.  He has given us tools through His Church in tradition, scripture, prayer, and His sacraments.  Let us move forward and get to know God.  Let us learn our faith and learn why our Church stands for what She does. This is our responsibility!  God can't steer a parked car.  We must take the initiative to seek Him.
 Individualism and materialism have played a big part of my life.  I'm not nearly perfect with my relationship with God but I know He's the answer.  He's the way.
With the grace of God, I found my life to be unfruitful and unfulfilled.  He was always calling.  I resisted.  After many years, I finally picked up the receiver.  It's the same for all of us.  He's always calling.  It's up to us to decide when we'll answer His call.  It's never too late.

"To love God you need three hearts in one--a heart of fire for Him, a heart of flesh for your neighbor, and a heart of bronze for yourself."
~St. Benedict Joseph Labre

 When the suffering I shall endure in this life becomes to much for me to bear, I know where to go for hope, strength, and love.  God help my unbelief is a powerful, short prayer I've said through out the years when I've been a doubting Thomas.

"Be not afraid to tell Jesus that you love Him; even though it be without feeling, this is the way to oblige Him to help you, and carry you like a little child to feeble to walk."
~St. Therese of Lisieux

As I journey towards my next life, I thank God for His Love.
Because of His love, I have been given hope.  It was all part of His plan.

"As it is, these remain: faith, hope and love, the three of them; and the greatest of them is love."
~1 Corinthians 13:13



 



      



Humbled

 

 

 

Today while waiting in line at the store... I started to chat with a women holding a newborn infant.  The beautiful baby was only 14 days old.  As the conversation progressed... she mentioned to me that she was a foster mother to this child.  In fact... it was her first foster child.  In the beginning... the baby did go through withdrawals but he seemed to get through them OK with the help of medication.   In a casual way....this foster mother said that the baby and her were just enjoying time together until his mother finds her way.  I couldn't help but to thank this women for taking this child in and loving him while his mother worked things out.  What a selfless act of love for another human being.   No sooner than waving good bye to her (within seconds)... I was behind a woman walking slowly that apparently had cancer.  I went to my car where I had a rosary.  I wanted to give it to her and let her know that I'd pray for her.   By the time I grabbed the rosary...I couldn't find her anymore.  Once again... God humbles me and reminds me to be grateful for what I have.  So many people are struggling out there.  So many.    

Putting The Focus On Christmas

I heard about the tradition of  'The White Envelope' on Catholic Radio today.  It's a great way for people of God to put the focus on Christmas.  I'll start this tradition this Christmas.  Do you have a special tradition of giving you'd like to share?

 

The White Envelope by Nancy Gavin

Editor’s Note: This is a true story that is provided to us by the family of the author. Even though Nancy passed away two years after her article first appeared in Woman’s Day Magazine in 1982, her family continues to keep alive the tradition of the white envelope. This article has also inspired.

It’s just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree at this time of the year for the past 10 years or so. It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it. You know, the overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma, the gifts given in desperation because you couldn’t think of anything else.
Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner city church. The kids were mostly black. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.
As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without head gear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler’s ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously couldn’t afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn’t acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, “I wish just one of them could have won,” he said. “They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them.”
Mike loved kids – all kids. He understood kids in competitive situations, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That’s when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner city church.
On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition – one year sending a group of mentally challenged youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas – on and on… The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. Still, the story doesn’t end there. You see, we lost Mike several years ago due to cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. Yet Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further, with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation, watching as their fathers take down their envelopes. Mike’s spirit, like the spirit of Christmas, will always be with us.



 

 

What next?  President Obama has been re elected for another 4 years and I've been wondering what next for the Catholic Church?

Catholic Leaders Threaten Obama With 100% Chance of Civil Disobedience

11/15/12

Via GatewayPundit: Catholic.org:

Martin Luther King’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” (April 16, 1963) is one of our nation’s elegant testimonies to the political implications of our Declaration of Independence:
“One may want to ask: ‘How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?’ The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all.’”
Indeed, there may be more theological letters written from the confines of jail cells in the near future, as the Catholic bishops quickly approach the end of a one-year deadline given to them by the Obama administration to obey the HHS mandate or face the consequences. Not a single bishop has signaled any other intention than to embrace the consequences with the joy of serving Christ.
Was Archbishop Chaput predicting the future in the interview when he concluded, “This has been the story of the martyrs through the centuries”? We know it has crossed his mind: At Chester Springs, he said, but only half-jokingly, “I don’t want to go to jail.”

If the election affirms the Obama administration’s HHS mandate, there is a 100 percent chance that there will be civil disobedience in the Catholic Church, led by its bishops. Whether jail will follow is anyone’s guess.

 

 

 

 



Something To Ponder

 

 

I saw this on a bumper sticker today.  I thought I'd share it with you.

 

I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born.

  ~Ronald Reagan, quoted in New York Times, 22 September 1980

 

 

 

 



It's Not Time To Retreat

Waking up yesterday I felt sluggish...bewildered and defeated.  The nation's path has been chosen by the majority of this country.  I feel this path is based on individualism.  Regardless of last night's election results...the attacks on our Church and Christianity are not going away.  In fact they will only worsen.  We as Catholics have an important decision to make.   Do we take the side of secularism or do we take the side of Christ and struggle for the Lord with courage?  Our labors will not be in vain.  Through out the Church's history...many have tried to bring the Church down.  They have never succeeded.  It's not time to retreat.  We need to stay involved...pray for our nation but most of all be the light in a culture that is in the danger of forgetting God.

Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite happy about "the thorn," and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong--the less I have, the more I depend on him.
2 Corinthians 12:10
 

 

 

 



My Best Days Are A Head Of Me

I'm a Catholic.  It's as much a part of me as I am a woman, mother, wife, daughter, sibling, friend, American with Polish ethnicity.  It is who I am.  I never could think of myself any other way.  Yes..there was an extended time in my life where I strayed away from the Church but I always considered myself a Catholic.  As I grew older... I felt the need... not to just consider myself a Catholic but I wanted to understand Catholicism.  Through out my life I've heard so much negativity about the Church.  I wanted to understand Her from it's beginning and this led me to snoop around to as early as the first century and learn about The Early Church Fathers.  The pieces of the puzzle finally started to fit together.  I've been inspired to persevere and to learn through the teaching of tradition, scripture, Catholic TV, Catholic Radio, movies, books, the saints and conversion stories.  I love conversion and reversion stories. They're about people that take it upon themselves to learn the truth.  Ultimately this leads them to Catholicism compared to those that don't take the time to learn about this rich, beautiful and ancient faith but are sure to have an opinion on it.  One of my favorite conversion stories is about a former Pentecostal Minister named Alex Jones and how he found his way to the Catholic Church. It would take a bold move for him to convert to Catholicism and he'd have a lot to lose. He could not resist his quest for truth though and the Church is now blessed to have him as a member, Evangelist and Deacon.  Below are videos of his conversion story... he describes ...through his reading of The Early Church Fathers how Catholic the early Church was.  The conversion story of Alex Jones is comprised of 5 videos so you can watch all or parts of his story at your convenience.  
As for me...this life of mine will not get any easier the older I get but seeking the truth will ensure my best days are a head of me.                                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are times when I need clarity.   During those times...I'll sit in an empty church.  In the still and tranquil quiet....I feel His presence and my load seems lighter.

Thomas Merton Prayer

  Feel free to to cut and paste and pray it yourself!

Thomas Merton's Prayer

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

- Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude"


Thomas Merton was one of the most influential Catholic authors of the 20th century. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, in Kentucky, Merton was an acclaimed Catholic spiritual writer, poet, author and social activist. Merton wrote over 60 books, scores of essays and reviews, and is the ongoing subject of many biographies. Merton was also a proponent of inter-religious dialogue, engaging in spiritual dialogues with the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh and D. T. Suzuki. His life and career were suddenly cut short at age 53, when he was electrocuted stepping out of his bath.

July 4th, 2012

Dear God,

Thank you for our armed forces and for those that have sacrificed or have given up their lives for our freedom.  We pray for our government leaders that they may uphold our religious freedoms....for these religious freedoms that we hold dear....
were the driving force in establishing this great nation of ours.
God bless the United States of America....a country of greatness.

Amen

Are we on Gods side?

Tomorrow starts the Fortnight Of Increased Prayer To Protect Our Religious Liberty from June 21 - July 4, 2012....called for by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

During this period ...we pray for the gift and safety of our religious liberty as Americans.

Pray that the Lord will heal our country and give us another President like this one...

Why I Love Religion

A response to the video "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus". The purpose of this video is to do a response from a Catholic perspective, in a spirit of love, but also with a spirit of passion to defend our Mother the Church. The things that are said are not meant to offend, but we do have to be direct about what we believe and what we stand for.

~Spirit Juice Studios

A Little Catholic Humor

Calling All Saints

Don't be concerned about how many letters you have after your name.  Strive for only two letters at the beginning of your name.  They are St.

~Mother Angelica

This world is a saint making machine.  This is how God designed it.  It's the only way to make sense of all the vanity...futility...pain and all of the senseless suffering in this world.  It's to forge God's children to become saints.  The crisis today in the Church is not politics...economics or national interest.  It is the crisis of the lack of saints.  If Christ is the sacrament of God and the Church is the sacrament of Christ...the saint is the living sacrament of what the Church is in its true identity.  We must become a living sacrament in the world that convinces the world that Jesus Christ is alive within his body.

~Scott Hahn 

The word "saint" literally means "holy," and, in the New Testament, "saint" referred to all who believed in Jesus Christ and followed his teachings.

Everyone asks themselves the question:  Who am I and why am I here...how do I find myself.
In holiness we find real harmony between our self and God.  Holiness...is not some sort of self made perfection...rather...it is the union with the body of Christ.  Anyone who gains new life this way finds himself and becomes holy.
~YouCat

We are all called to be saints!

~Mother Angelica

Celebrate all the saints!
All the people in heaven are saints.

It's better to serve than to be served.

When we serve others....God gives us....

 JOY

Jesus...serve Jesus first

Others...serve others second

Yourself...serve yourself last